I was in a good mood as I ‘ported with Sleipner into the Baltic Sea, heading for the shore of Sweden. The area I was heading for was known the world over for its inhabitants. The slender beauty and natural magical ability of the Ælven people was a byword, and the supernatural allure of the woods where they’d chosen to found their magical kingdom was acclaimed everywhere.
But it was a kingdom, not a Kingdom.
With the advent of the Racial Classes, the elves had come swarming out of their homelands and thrown themselves into fighting the Shroudzones, determined to reclaim their place of elitism among the Powered Races. They were naturally heavily outnumbered in this endeavor, but it was true that on an average, the elves had the highest Levels of any species, since every single bloody one of them had magical ability.
I suppose halvyr did too, so I couldn’t complain.
I didn’t really need to be meeting with them personally, but it was a show of their status that I would. Queen Huellia was one of the few natural Tens on the planet, and didn’t need to de-Level to stay there. With the help of the Allegiance that had rapidly formed among her people after knowledge spread, she would be able to break Ten easily enough... as long as she pressed on.
Even with the Double Helix method, you still had to pay to truly pass Ten, and in the meantime, she could at least acquire Foundation Levels.
Getting the first news of the Monarchy system, even with just a week’s advantage, had given her an unmatched lead in acquiring Vassals directly and forming her Allegiance. I was not at all surprised to learn that the Ælves had different factions among themselves, and indeed there were other Allegiances under enterprising elven nobles who had their own ideas on how things should be done.
They wanted to talk with me, to get an idea of the world outside the Shroud... and maybe find some unity where there were only divides that were starting to manifest now. As the most magically powerful person around and source of so much information, they needed some help to settle things down.
The fact that the Land was not going to like what they were doing to it with their magic was also probably unnerving them. Wot, elves not make enchanted forest without consequences? So unfair!
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I’d only skimmed the fjords and shores of Scandinavia in passing during my scan of the Baltic, I’d not sensed that far inland. The forest of Ælfheim kind of glowed in the Commune with Nature, not hostilely, more... insubstantial and fey, as if it was messing slightly with the will of the world, trying to remove itself therefrom.
That would be par for the course. Elven kingdoms in myth and legend were always isolated from humankind. Aloof snobbery wasn’t going to stop when you were the prettiest and the best Casters in the world, right?
Ælfheim only had one port, Roaringshore (annoyingly and spontaneously renamed from the Elvish despite the elves when The Human Tongue popped up), which saw all its naval traffic, the primary route of trade for the country.
I rode into the harbor, whose magic-Shaped breakwaters held the pounding of the Baltic at bay. The meeting place was the Sea Palace of the Queen, which was in an isolated small inlet connected to the river that emptied into the harbor. One could easily sail right up from the harbor and into it, if they were allowed to.
Riding along the top of the water was pretty much the same thing.
The gates were opened in expectation, as I’d Messaged ahead that I was ‘porting and would be there inside twenty minutes. I could have Teleported right there at such short range, but Lived-Lines were kind of an obsession for me at this time, and for Sleipner too, now.
There were no vehicles around the Sea Palace, and the only land access was a picturesque bridge and walkway arching over from the nearby hills that bordered the lake. It was still cold and icy this far north, of course, but the water was clear despite the chill, which only set off the hanging ice and frost on the surrounding pines and stonework.
The elves spent a lot of time and artistic effort on things, filling up their long years, so there was subtle yet complex stonework everywhere, telling stories and anchoring magical effects in the clever, distracting manner of elven magic. Glamour was mixed heartily in with the Wards, and the whole thing definitely gave off a feel of otherworldly nature and beauty, as if you were walking into another magical realm. The trees on the shore had been Animated and moved around here and there, further adding to the Formations they’d developed, manipulating the real effects of the temperature and weather on things here.
I didn’t have any problem seeing through such effects, naturally enough, but the QL of the work they did was enough for me to admire in passing. It still lacked the true ageless refinement of Tens doing the work, and didn’t have the weight of time and history behind it that it should, which kind of threw off the aura it was trying to display.
Sleipner came rolling up smoothly over the river and lake, passed the open gates raised by the alert sentries craning to get a look at the now-famous Unicorn Motorcycle, and swept firmly around the lake to the main doors of the castle.
The queen and her son were both there to greet me, which was only proper. In terms of both Allegiance Rank and support, I could only rank above her. Be it Charisma, Acclaim, Recognition, Wealth, Bannersworn, or true Vassals in both number and quality, I was above her, despite her having most of a century of a headstart on me in gathering her people.
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Indeed, some of her own people had left her to serve under The Jet and Silver, which I knew had to rankle her. They had no plans of coming back, either. My Allegiance simply had too much to do and get done, before and after the Shroud, and our high-minded goals sang to the magical and good of heart.
Sleipner glided up off the water to the wharf there, and delivered me up the steps by Ward-riding just above them, swinging aside to let me off in front of the elves and sole human there.
That last was an older man, at least in his sixties, but still hale and hearty. He had the Aura of a Faux Seven Wizard, so that would make him 120 years old, at least.
Tall human older Wizard living in Ælfheim. I lifted an eyebrow to myself as I stepped off, feet not quite hitting the ground with Footsteps of the Mage, my own Aura plucking at the web of magic all around in subtle fashion, making those assembled to meet me twitch despite themselves.
Yes, yes, my base Caster Level hadn’t gone down since Detroit, and my levels of awareness had only gone up.
For instance, I had no problem looking at their Alignment Auras, despite the Astral Wards all of them had up. All of the Elves were true Nines or Tens, even the queen’s son, and that simple access to the power of Valence V’s was a key power that allowed them to be able to command the loyalty of those below them.
Whether they could keep that loyalty in the face of the urgent Leveling of their Vassals would be hard to tell...
“Lady Traveler,” the queen greeted me first, given that we’d met before. They all blinked as Sleipner wheeled away and zipped off without a rider, heading for the forest nearby.
“Queen Huellia,” I acknowledged her, with the honorific adjustment for a Monarch, not a True Queen. “Prince Tistian,” I also inclined my head, and he quickly bowed to acknowledge my attention. I turned my eyes on the others, knowing who they were, but waiting for introductions.
“Lady Traveler, may I introduce Lord Vasilimar, Lord Myaenk, Lady Ilivia, and Lady Pryvoka.” Her tones were quite neutral as she introduced her rival, lesser Monarchs. “And you may know this man by reputation. May I introduce the honorable Master Tolkien?”
The Monarchs all bowed as they were introduced, all of them slightly flushed despite themselves. They could feel the pressure of my Monarch’s Aura... forget that from their queen, mine was overpowering without even trying to bring it to bear.
Master Tolkien also bowed after he was introduced. “Your Ladyship,” he said formally.
I reached over my back, pulled something out, and held it up for him to see. “It is a first printing. You would honor all who will read it with your signature, Master Tolkien.”
His smile lit up as he saw the cover of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey I was holding there. “Ah, a fan!” he said happily. “I would be delighted to do so, Lady Traveler!”
I actually had acquired the complete set of three initial books, long lauded for some of their prescience of the changes after the Shroud (although his elves were much taller than the reality), and it was a good way to break the ice. As for why I had guessed that he would be here... he was a linguist by training, and had basically published all the guides to the Elven language. I gave the world The Human Tongue. How could he not be here?
It also popped a nice hole in my overly mighty demeanor, and let them know I has foibles, too, I does.
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I got to admire more of their artwork and splendor, and the wealth that came with magic item production generating tons of revenue they could use to spend on fripperies. Whatever they wanted to do with their spare time wasn’t my concern, but the room they eventually brought me into was definitely made for business, a round table with plush chairs. Diplomatically, there was no true ‘high chair’, doubtless more a concession to me than to the new Lords who had popped up, who were styling themselves dukes, duchess, countess, and earl, respectively, and down-toning it to Lord and Lady for my sake.
They didn’t want to address me as High Queen Morningdark, after all.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I know there is a great deal of diplomatic maneuvering we could be indulging in here, and I’m sure you think you have time to do so, but I do not. I have allocated exactly two hours to this meeting, and then any further communication can be through a Jet and Silver contact in the future.” I surveyed them all as I sat down, bringing the casual pleasantries to a sharp end. “There are things to be done out there that only I can do. Being here means they are not getting done, and will not be getting done.
“Furthermore, the things I speak of here will not be secret long, because they are far too important to let remain that way. I can grant you a short head start to act on things, but the world will know what I am speaking of here with you. You do not get an exclusive to what I know.”
Their eyes flashed in disappointment that I wasn’t showing them any favoritism.
“Queen Huellia, you will take the first question. What do you have to ask of me?”
She exhaled softly, but also straightened at the recognition. “We would like to learn of the Elves and elven gods outside of the Shroud.” She paused for a moment thoughtfully. “All of us have seen the video of your meeting with the Goblins, so it is plain you know about this fact, and it is known you have had similar meetings with the dwarves and the gnomes. We would like this information as well.”
I nodded slowly. “The basic information is, in fact, very similar. The fact is that racial gods exist outside the Shroud. Whether or not they will come to Terra here is uncertain, for you are most certainly not ‘pure elves’, and they are not your Creators, as they are held to be by most elven peoples across Creation.
“Regardless of that, Elven is your racial language, and that speaks more for who and what you are then any snooty-nosed notion of racial purity from another world’s elven peoples. However, the fact you have your roots in Humanity will be held against you if you contact other elven realms.” Their flickers of dismay at this bit of news were quite easy to read.
“If you accept the Elven gods, then you had best be prepared for the consequences of embracing a racist pantheon instead of an overarching one, like the Aruan.” I slowly looked them over, back and forth. “The moves you are already starting to pull off will be magnified under those gods. Isolation from the greater world. Elitist views of superiority over other cultures and races. Great reluctance to initiate change. Lack of faith in science and progress, and continued divergence towards a more primitive lifestyle and a reliance on magic to make up for it.”
They flushed as I summed up what they had been doing in an unflattering light. Sure, it played to their racial strengths. The problem was that the rest of the world didn’t have to play along.
“Isolationism breeds ignorance, fear, and contempt. It is by far the hardest thing that the elves have to fight. The fact you have so many long years to fill, and the fact that your first years are still going to define your viewpoint during your later ones, means that it is difficult in the extreme for you to engage in faster-moving societies. This is particularly meaningful when dealing with government.”