Alanna thought she was as presentable as she was going to get and so prepared herself for her royal visit. However, the maidservant had different ideas or perhaps it would be better to say the queen did. She was not yet prepared for a visit. That left Alanna rather bored so she thought to interroga—get to know the maidservant. The woman was apparently, and to absolutely no one's surprise, a shapeshifter who went with the name Eadan. She had lived for as long as she can remember in the land of shadows. She served under Queen Medb for several centuries but she seems to only vaguely recall a time before when this land was linked to the overworld. It was there she born but when this land was given to the sovereignty goddess she and all other of her kind were pulled elsewhere. Even though everything about this place was a mirror of the place above it was not quite the same. There was a piece of everyone that was missing.
Alanna felt she could understand that piece as even though she had a strong connection to the land here, no one else really seemed to. They had the smallest of connections and it somehow sustained them or at least a portion of their power. Yet, Alanna felt a void in them where something should be. She could not understand why it was within them. She had thought to ask but had no idea who would be open to speaking about it. She was unsure if it was a taboo subject so she thought she would just wait and listen, and hope that perhaps it would be answered that way.
Eadan had explained that the queen was engaged with an important task which could be anything from actual matters of state, if they had that here, to a powerplay. The maidservant understood how bored the druidess seemed to be so she brought in a board and sat it at a table. She explained that this was to play fidchell which was actually quite fun to play. She had thought it was going to be easy but late into the games it became rather convoluted with several of her pawns in her line becoming captured. She lost the first few games but after nearly an hour she finally achieved victory. She then in true American fashion declared herself the ultimate victor and quit playing. She had one and now would always be the champion of whatever game that was called.
A bit over 2 hours passed before she was finally called before the Queen. She had been somewhat nervous but after her bath the familiar fog screen had appeared to show she completed a quest and gained a new one. It reminded her that she had a purpose and that helped strengthen her resolve.
Congratulations you have completed the quest Survival I.
You have entered Dun Scaich. You have received a quest Quest: Uncover the past II. Description: There are many truths out there learn the second truth.
She was unsure what the point of these quests were. She hadn't seen any experience or any obvious upgrades. Much like her ability points it seemed to be just some arbitrary messages from the land or her power. She was almost convinced it was attempting to display her quests in a way she would better understand them, like she were part of a role playing game. Yet unlike a game her power ups, although measured with numbers on a fog display, was not really quantitative. She did not feel or otherwise intuit any change from stats, and although she could feel the change in her shapeshifting thanks to a acquiring a shape, she felt no change in her spells, mana, health, etc. So, for all she knew it was just trying to relate to her understanding of power in a rather haphazard way.
The quests were interesting. Well, at least the uncover the past quests were. The survival ones were garbage and she would like to do without them. Except life was about survival and perhaps the reminder alone was worth a quest. She was feeling rather overconfident when she came into the otherworlds. She did not really want to think to deeply into that. The first truth was that all life was part of the cycle and that the faery lives did not have souls that went to an afterlife but were reincorporated back into the cycle as their former selves. That was interesting and likely very important information for her real quest for the land.
The next truth would likely be very interesting and she started to get the barest hint of the bigger picture. So, she followed Eadan who took her back to the entrance hall and through the central doors. The main hall in the keep was very interesting as it blended aspects of a throne room and a mead hall. There was a large hearth that had an stone chimney's that traveled up through the ceiling and hopefully the roof as well placed on either side of the hall. Alanna could not tell from here but she figured it was a good bet it did. There was a long table set up on the left side complete with at least twenty seats. The fireplace on that side had various racks for using the place as a cooking platform.
The floor was covered in the fur of different slain beasts. She imagined some had to be several pelts combined as even the brown bears that once inhabited this place were not as big as the carpeted areas would suggest. There were linen tapestries that held the colors of the queen's house decorating much of the room's walls and even a few banners with the symbol of the house. It had not quite dawned on Alanna but she looked down at her outfit to find it was in the colors of her father's house and the raven was one of their symbols. She had not recognized it while putting it on because she had not grown up with the Kirwan name.
These thoughts were fleeting when she saw the large throne and the undeniably beautiful woman who perched upon it. The throne looked to be made of wood and perhaps bronze and while it may have been nice Alanna would not know. She was to entranced by the blonde woman who sat with one arm resting on an armrest and holding up her chin while the other had a chalice. Her left leg was draped over the other arm and she looked both regal and relaxed. She had the brightest blue eyes that were enhanced by a golden tiara and torc inset with what was likely sapphires. Her body was covered in a long leine that was dyed in a vibrant red. The brat was unlike the single shoulder covering Alanna wore but instead crossed over both shoulders and had a half cape that was draped over her lap. It was dyed a dark black and had patterns of gold embroidered into it.
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The contrast between the red, black, and gold of her outfits and the light color of her skin and hair created a unique and powerful presence. It was quite well done. The woman had full red lips with delicate nose in near perfect symmetry with her other features within the oval shape of her face. Her eyes had a slight slant that was reminiscent of Alanna's own. She offered a smile as Alanna entered and stood from her throne setting her chalice on a stand next to the throne. She walked forward and the maid kneeled immediately which caused Alanna to stumble slightly with not knowing the correct etiquette. She decided to curtsey as a formal bow was unlikely to be correct and kneeling was only meant for those subservient to the monarch. Which she was most assuredly not.
The queen seemed to ignore the display either way and clasped Alanna's hands then brought them to her own chest near her heart. Her eyes scanned over every facet of Alanna's face and her gentle smile grew even warmer when she saw whatever it was she was looking for. "Come," she said and dropped one of Alanna's hands and with the other led the druidess toward the throne where there was now a second seat that had not been there before. It was of equal size to the queens and both Alanna's seat and the throne were angled toward one another. "Thank you Eadan that will be all." The queen said and waived her hand toward the maidservant. The woman stood and backed out of the room with her head lowered then shut the door to the main hall.
The queen sat down and indicated Alana should do the same and when they were positioned the queen moved extremely close to Alanna while never releasing her hand. In fact she had at some point reclaimed the other hand and Alanna was a bit to gob smacked to really know when that had happened. The proximity was a bit unnerving for the druidess as the queen's face was so close Alanna could smell the wine on her breath. She pulled her head back a bit and smiled uncomfortably to which the queen realized her closeness and backed up a bit with a touch of red coloring her cheeks. "My apologies." The queen offered. "I can just scarcely believe that you are here. I mean I knew you would be coming but it has been centuries and well its just that it is so hard to believe." The queen said in a tone that started out soft due to the embarrassment but ended up being a bit frantic by the end.
Alanna was not really sure what to say but offered a smile and understanding. "Oh no, I apologize for the reaction. I just have never really been that close to another person that wasn't direct family." She considered everything that was said for a brief moment. "What did you mean you knew I would be coming?" She asked having parsed the words after her moment. The queen stared into Alanna's eyes and smiled softly. "You can feel it can't you?" She asked. "The call of the land it drives you forward. It asks you to help it fulfill the promise." Alanna paused in thought for a long moment.
It was true there was something within her memories especially with Nuada that resonated with the land. She recalled their was an ancient promise for a home. However, she was unsure as to whom the promise was made. Nuada was following the promise when he and his kin pushed into these lands, but the promise was not made to him. He merely followed the path to where the land was supposed to have been and no matter how hard Alanna focused on the memories of Nuada, she could not remember to whom that promise was made. The only thing she felt was the certainty with which she believed in that promise. "I do feel a calling from the land." Alanna finally admitted. "I know it has to do with the otherworld and its many lands. I recall their was a promise of a home and the vehemence with which we fought for it. Yet, I cannot recall the promise itself and neither the one that made the promise, nor to whom the promise was made is clear."
The queen seemed to consider this for a moment then nodded in acceptance. "None alive in this world or the one above can recall who made the promise. Yet we all know that a promise was given to the children of Danu that they and their descendants would find their home. The wording has been lost to the passage of time but we know that the land is supposed to be on the emerald isle and any that have lived within this land know that it was the place the promise led us to."
That made sense because from what Alanna could tell the land was a living entity of some kind. It had a will and it imparted that will through the various quests that the druids received. It was no different for any of the past iterations that were druids or held the class. Although, even the ones that were not druids, had a undeniable tie to the land. There was a connection that was beyond physical or emotional. It was a transcendent connection that even others in her family felt. Perhaps it was related to the soul as her grandparents both had been tied to the land in their current and past lives.
The druidess was deep in thought and Medb let her consider everything while she studied this young woman. The queen found her to be attractive in a way that defied reason. The long flowing red hair was undeniably beautiful but it wasn't what caught the queen's eye. The combination of features was enough to drive lesser beings mad. Her pale skin had the barest hint of freckles that were so light only the correct lighting would show them as they danced across her zygomatic arch. The exterior of her eyes were slightly higher than the interior which gave them an exotic shape, but the deep emerald pools that were her iris were the most fetching of all her features. Medb found herself lost in those emerald pools more than once and pitied the poor lads that would try to court this goddess in human form. She was a centuries old queen and a minor goddess in her own right and still had to fight the magnetic pull she felt from this creature in front of her.
Alanna frowned and a eventually offered a shrug to the queen. "I cannot yet say exactly why I am here but I know I will find out soon enough. The land keeps pointing me toward various places as it pointed me here. I learn more about the past in these places and I expect that the more I learn the more I will understand the will of the land." The queen smiled in acknowledgement and nodded in acceptance. "Then what do you need from me? Why did the land send you here?"
Alanna's brow furrowed as she considered the questions. Yet the clash she was witness to between Scáthach and Cú Chulainn was the first thing to pop into her head. The beauty and fighting prowess of Scáthach was something she would never forget. It was the most magnificent sight she had yet beheld and that included the unworldly beauty of this being in front of her. "I believe the answer to the first question is training. I need to learn to fight and also how to use the magic of the land. I recall the memories but the powers of each individual seem different and I do not know if I am using them in the best ways. The answer to the second I am not wholly sure of. I need additional information before I can continue." The queen's eyes lost focus on Alanna as she stared at something either within her mind or elsewhere. After a moment she nodded once again and stood leading Alanna toward the door. "Then we shall begin your training on the morrow. For now you will rest here with us tonight. I will have the greatest warrior trainer I know of become available to you." She said as her smile returned to her face.