Four Clan Chiefs and fifteen Wise Women groveled below the dais, surrounded by unbonded Elementals. Shane floated over the center of the dais, almost as high as the second floor theater boxes, while his Light Elemental floated at his side with long golden wings curving around them both like a feathery cocoon. The surviving Knights knelt before their new Chief of Chiefs, and those eight wolf-like creatures stalked in circles below.

"Are those things dangerous?" Shane whispered. "Is there any way to get rid of them?"

You should bond one. Allow your most trusted subordinates to bond the other three.

"Why would I want to do that?"

The daughters of my mother are very clever. You can do many things with their power.

"Your mother?" Shane asked.

The Shadow Hunters are a single Elemental with two bodies. One white wolf, one black wolf. You can see this yourself. So it is with Mother, she is one Elemental with two bodies. Each body drinks one half of the Divine Power.

"The Elemental that branded my body," he began, "is also Ashe?"

You mortals cannot understand the true nature of the Elemental Queens, but yes, the Queen of Light and the Queen of Darkness are the same Elemental. One Elemental, two bodies, two sets of behaviors to display before you mortals. She is my mother. She is the mother of my sisters, the Shadow Hunters.

"And what are these powers?"

The black wolf can be sent far away to hunt. The white wolf can hide near your person and listen for new orders, new targets to hunt. They can both fight together to defend you, and if you die, they will avenge your death. They can also find the other daughters of our mother.

"Is there a limit to the distance between the wolves?"

They can travel at least a hundred miles apart. Perhaps they can travel much further. I am uncertain.

Shane floated down toward the dais. One of the wolf pairs stalked up in front of him. Both wolves sat on their haunches.

Do you wish me to hunt your enemies, mortal? a female voice asked in his mind, with a sinister and twisted giggle.

"I will bond with you," Shane said.

Yes! Yes! Thrash, yearn for life, and die. We shall slay many enemies, mortal.

"Fintan!" Shane cried, amplifying his voice. "Lady Maeve! Spear! Come to the dais."

He felt storm sorcery from a theater box on the second floor. Maeve floated into the center of the spire, carrying the spy with her. Fintan stood from his position kneeling near the front of the rows of Knights.

"The three of you will each bond with one of these wolf pairs," Shane said. He waited until the three accepted their new Elementals in turn. "I will need help from all three of you. My Light Elemental told me that these wolf pairs are known as Shadow Hunters. Fintan, fly to the other cities with your Knights and inform the local governments of my ascension. Your Shadow Hunter will be able to warn you if the government workers are bonded to Shadow Hunters themselves. We need to start wrangling all these Elementals under my direct control."

"It will be as you say," Fintan said.

"Go immediately," Shane commanded, waving the man away. After he was out of earshot, Shane continued: "Special Agent Elaborate Spear, I want spies watching every pregnant woman in the entire nation. This culture of drowning infant daughters ends immediately. If there are any newborn girls that go missing, the entire male half of that bloodline needs to die. Use your Shadow Hunter to enforce this. Make sure the public understands what is happening."

The spy bowed and then marched off without a word.

"Lady Maeve, I need your help most of all. I want every single factory in the entire nation making airplanes. Take direct control of each facility if you need to. Use your Shadow Hunter to make disgruntled shareholders disappear."

"I'll need a team," Maeve said.

"My Light Elemental will be able to vet people for loyalty," Shane said. "Bring your team to me when you have chosen. I will have copies of the schematics by then. There have been a few improvements to the design as well, for cold weather flying."

Lady Maeve eyed the Light Elemental uneasily, but she said nothing. She floated back up to her theater box, crackling with blue lightning. Shane turned his attention to the fifteen Dream Elementals spattered around the dais.

It would be unwise to bond more than one of them, the Light Elemental said. In this Domain they are very dangerous. And very annoying. You should send the others back to the Elemental Queen of Dreams, their mother.

Shane nodded. One of the cyan Elementals floated toward him, dancing and giggling. And what will you Wish for, mortal? Will you be like these boring old women? Will you Wish the peasants wore no clothing?

"I will bond with you, but the others must return to the Queen of Dreams." As soon as he finished speaking, fourteen of the Elementals dispersed in flashes of cyan light.

Shane used wind magic to amplify his voice again. "I am Shane, Chief of Chiefs, hear my proclamations!" The sound raddled the shattered fragments of blue crystal that were still smoldering on the floor. Several people lifted their hands to their ears to block out the deafening sound of his voice. "Every person in Riln has the right to clothe themselves as they see fit! Every man shall have at most one wife, and any marriages after the first are hereby annulled! The murder of an infant daughter will be punished thus, every single living male in the entire bloodline will be put to death! Finally, I denounce the right of emigration. Every person born in Riln will live and work for the betterment of our nation. Rilnese citizens caught living and working in foreign lands will be hunted down and slain. Let every city, every village, every town in Riln hear these words. I, the Chief of Chiefs, have spoken."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"You cannot do these things!" one of the wise women protested.

"Shadow Hunters! Slay the wise women. All of them."

Return their blood to mother! Return their blood to darkness!

The old women, who were already wailing or grumbling on the ground outside the dais, began to scream as the pair of wolves dashed forward to attack. It was over in just a few moments. Without any bloodshed, they simply slumped over, lifeless and pale, as snarling fangs ripped into their chests.

That wasn't very fun, the Dark Elemental complained. They didn't even try to run away.

One of the Clan Chiefs bravely began to speak. "The proclamations will be made known, and enforced, Chief of Chiefs. Lead us into our new future." Then he prostrated himself on the dusty floor of the spire once again.

----------------------------------------

The stacks of schematics remained in Lady Maeve's hotel, where Shane had left them in a hurry. The last of the books was open to the endpaper, and Shane carefully brushed steaming glue on the fibrous surface. He placed a copy of the anti-icing piping schematics on the glue, and closed the book tight, sealing the page in place. Then he slid the book away.

It was dark outside the porthole-like window above the desk in his suite. He stood up and left the office. The hallways were almost too dark to see. He felt his way with his hands into the private bathroom, then used fire magic to light the lamp, illuminating the marble water basin, and his toothbrush.

As he was brushing his teeth, he asked: "So, daughter of the Queen of Dreams, what are your powers?"

I can grant Wishes, within reason. However, you cannot Wish for a flying machine, as you already know. You cannot Wish for any change to our world that would require the help of another kind of Elemental. I can also help you dream at night. If there are other Dream Elementals active while you sleep, you may be able to meet with other people while you dream. The Wise Women used this power extensively to coordinate with each other at a distance.

"So I will be able to meet Felix?" Shane whispered.

The sixteenth Wise Woman had a Dream Elemental before Brigid killed her. This Elemental is now bonded to Felix, though I cannot say when this bonding took place. With some practice you should be able to find each other while dreaming at night.

"Well, I was about to go to sleep anyway. Maybe you can help me try to find Felix while I dream?"

Certainly.

Shane sank deep down into the soft comforters of his bed. Using wind magic, he suffocated the various flaming lamps throughout the room. In that soft, warm darkness, sleep quickly found him. Even as he slept, he felt himself being drawn into a lucid dream. It was, however, distinctly not dreamlike at all. In fact, it almost reminded him of being in the Elemental Plane of Spirits, or some other alien place he had never seen before.

The sky was littered with countless cyan and magenta nebulae. An eclipse, rimmed in dull orange light, was frozen in the sky overhead. Unseen peaks clambered upward, jagged and deep black, blocking the colorful marvels in the sky. Closer, shining blue-green aurora danced against the dark mountains like breeze-blown curtains. Shane found himself standing on a solid black, mirrorlike surface, and he quickly realized that it was water. It was a bog of some sort filled with hot pink lily pads. White-barked trees with frond-like pink leaves jutted up from the water. Cyan fireflies flew over the pool in swarms, illuminating the ripples in the water that appeared as Shane walked upon the surface.

"What is this place?" Shane asked.

The Elemental Plane of Dreams, silly.

"It looks different."

When you are awake, you perceive Mother's Domain in such a way that it resembles the physical world. It is only when you are dreaming that you perceive the Plane of Dreams as you see it now.

"And which one is real?" Shane asked.

Perhaps you should ask a philosopher.

"That is a good answer," Shane admitted. "Can you take me to Felix?"

Why would I do that?

"I Wish that I could be near Felix."

How about I give you a flying machine instead? the Dream Elemental asked.

Before Shane could interrogate the Elemental, the flying machine in question popped into existence. And it looked completely ridiculous. Two boat-like pontoons, and struts connecting to the body, the airplane splashed down into the dark water in front of Shane. The airplane was tiny, about the size of a dog.

"You don't expect me to fly on that thing, do you?"

I would find it deeply amusing, like an elephant riding a horse.

"What the hell is an elephant?"

You have never seen one before, therefore, I cannot help you dream one into existence.

"Can you at least tell me where Felix is?"

Fly in your airplane, then follow me. He is here, dreaming, like you. I will lead the way.

Shane swung one leg over the airplane and sat down with one leg on either side of the body. Then the airplane immediately started moving. Fast. Very, very fast. The endless watery bogs and glowing pink leaves of the trees rushed past in a blur. The Dream Elemental, a tiny, glowing cyan woman, fluttered ahead, leaving behind a wake of pale mist as she flew.

The pontoons of the airplane slammed down into the bog, but no water splashed up onto Shane's legs. It stopped abruptly, and Shane climbed off.

You looked ridiculous! the Elemental observed.

"Thanks," Shane said. "So where is Felix?"

"Why are you one hundred feet tall?" a comically childlike voice asked. Shane turned to see a rodent-sized toddler sitting on the surface of the bog. Dark red hair and red eyes hinted at the toddler's identity.

"Felix? Is that you?"

"Why do you get to be so tall in our dreams?" Felix complained.

You know, the Dream Elemental began, I can make you taller, if you want.

"Wait," Shane exclaimed, "Brigid told me to never, ever listen to a Dream Elemental when they make such offers."

"She gave me the same warning," Felix said.

Shane dropped down and sat cross-legged on the surface of the water. "So how far north did you make it?" he asked.

"We are on the northern edge of the frozen desert," Felix replied. "We flew through the Plane of Spirits the entire way, so it wasn't cold. The interior of the spires are always warm too, but just outside the door it is insufferable."

"I will give the schematics for the anti-ice systems to the other industrialists, when my associate, Lady Maeve, begins her journey to the other cities."

"I don't think it matters."

"Why do you say that?"

"This cold is unnatural. It will be impossible to invade the south until after winter ends. The earliest you can expect us is, perhaps, five months from now."

"And how many airplanes will the factories in Black River be able to make in that time?" Shane asked.

"Perhaps five hundred," Felix said. "Even if we run the factories at capacity, there is always the question of pilots. It takes time to train them, and sometimes the Elementals living in the Realms refuse to grant people power. We might just barely manage five hundred pilots in such a short time."

"I found a new type of Elemental in the south," Shane said. "Shadow Hunters. I was wondering if you had any ideas about how they might be useful inside an airplane."

Toddler Felix nodded. "Brigid explained the nature of those things when I asked. She said I will find my own in the north. I was bored on the flight, so I thought about possible applications. I was thinking that maybe it would be possible to have an automated wingman that follows me around, which could be used to ram into airplanes during a circle fight."

"I asked my Shadow Hunter if she could fly an airplane, but she just remained silent."

"I'll try a few things once I get my own," Felix said. "They just need to be able to manipulate a stick and rudder. How hard can it be for a wolf to do that?"

"And how would you power this automated wingman?" Shane asked.

"I'm not sure. It would take a great deal of skill to create a second flame inside the engine of an airplane at an angle. I'm not sure it's possible."

"If you are just going to ram into another airplane, then it would need only be a smaller and much cheaper airplane. Also, maybe it could be attached to the wing, instead of flying by itself? Then it could be powered by burning oil for a very short amount of time. Perhaps we could ask an alchemist if there are any chemicals that could be used for short bursts of speed."

"You are better at this than I am," Felix said.

"I read a lot," Shane replied.

"We should discuss this topic again."

"Let's meet on a schedule. Maybe, once every seven days, at least until winter is about to end?"

"That sounds good to me," Felix said. "I'll see you in a week."