I spent a few moments examining the bodies of the slain Fachen after the battle had ended. Most of that time comparing the adults' gemlike cell structure and defenses with that of the juveniles. I had been correct in assuming that diamond-like gems had crystallized throughout their bodies. Even their blood cells had embedded diamond dust as part of each cell's membrane.

The juvenile's body was in a transitive stage. Early signs of diamond structures were beginning to form, mostly centered around the Fachen's bones. I supposed from a biological standpoint that made some sense. The bones created the blood the body required to transport nutrients and oxygen. If the transformation centered around blood production, that would be the fastest way to supply the rest of the body with the changes being made.

I collected each body once I was done with my examination, placing them in the Ring of Hidden Depths. The bodies could be processed, the diamonds removed. They would prove useful, even on Talahm where our magic hadn't been stunted diamonds had their uses. The gem's hardness made it especially useful for engraving, and for runic and array masters that quality was highly coveted.

Both professions used an insane number of diamonds each year. They had no choice; a diamond could only be used one time for each runic construct or array that was crafted. The magic they channeled during creation became a part of the gem. The resonance between the crystallized structure and magic creating a dissonance field that spoiled the diamond.

The diamond and tools an enchanter used to engrave became steeped in magics of destruction and removal, making them even more brittle and easily susceptible to breakage. Even the smallest amount of force might result in the gem shattering and the array or rune marred beyond use.

As I had examined the bodies, I wished I had been able to bring Wynne along. The diagnostic tools that I had access to, gave me a great amount of detail, but she was a genius when it came to this kind of thing. She would have been able to extrapolate the creature's method of transformation and found a way to duplicate that process.

I would have her re-examine the Fachen when I returned. Maybe she and a team of bio-specialists might be able to graft the technique onto a plant. Bio-engineering plants to produce metals, oil, and plastics was one of our strongest technologies. The Fachen on Talahm hadn't evolved with this defensive measure as protection, so we had never thought to try something like this. I did pause and wonder how and why the Fachen needed such powerful defensive abilities here.

"We are being watched," Caraid informed me once I'd finished collecting the bodies.

I had felt the presence too, a subtle scratch on the periphery of my awareness. Someone pinging at the edge of my enhanced perception. They had moved into range of [Beleros Aura] once or twice, moving quickly away when that had happened. Not fast enough that I didn't detect the damage they had taken from my aura, but fast enough, they survived the fires.

"I noticed," I said. "They've gotten hit a few times by my aura while I was fighting. There is nothing for them to hide behind, so they must be using glamour to cloak themselves in invisibility."

"Do we search for whoever it is, or ignore it?" Caraid asked.

"Don't bother searching," a man said, parting the veil of illusion he had crafted, making himself visible.

He was Sidhe, either Seelie or Unseelie. It was hard to tell. He had the perfect features that both races coveted. There were differences that suggested he was a hybrid, something other than Seelie or Unseelie. The most striking difference, his coloring.

Most Seelie and Unseelie tended towards skin tones of ivory and alabaster. His was the deepest black. The black that shimmered with tones of purple and blue. That coloring included his hair and eyes, even his teeth and the sclera of his eyes were the deepest black.

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Shades of black that drew attention to his beauty. Blue and purple tones highlighting certain features. The effect worked to give depth and dimension to the man. The glistening drops of sweat he exuded standing near [Beleros Aura] added a sheen to his skin that reflected the light around him in interesting ways. The coloring gave him an exotic mien, a beauty that almost rivaled my own.

My beauty was enhanced because of a curse. It required me to don a mask of snowflakes and ice to mask and contain that curse. I had been wearing my mask for so long that it had become second nature, conjured instinctively the first thing each morning and equipping it.

To forgo my mask could have disastrous results. For those weak of will and unable to resist the seductive pull of my true features, they would have been trapped. Ensnared and enslaved by beauty's curse. Willing to do anything, sacrifice anything. This man had been sculpted naturally with something close to that same curse of beauty.

But unlike me, he didn't seem to care how others might react.

Maybe that was the point. Beauty could be used as a weapon, and maybe our ability to part the veil of his glamour to know that he was watching had angered him enough that this confrontation was an attack. His actions and words were conciliatory, but his innocence was a front for his real intention. I wasn't certain he meant to use his beauty as a weapon, but if he had, his efforts were wasted.

"And you are?" I asked, deciding it was best to talk before assuming his intentions were ignoble.

His startlement at my question only solidified my belief that he knew what he was doing. His disbelief evident. He was surprised that I wasn't befuddled, lost in dreamy wonder as I looked at him. He tried to hide his reaction, but it was too late. Perhaps someone else might have ignored his intent to attack since it obviously failed, but I wasn't that person.

I decided I would respond in kind, removing my mask and allowing him to see that beauty as a weapon was a potent attack that others might use, and not his exclusive bailiwick. I was pleased to see his eyes widen in fear. What was more interesting was the way our magics interacted. Sparks of magic began clashing. Fireworks of [Fairy] enveloping both of us as our beauty reacted to the other.

I had known that Sidhe beauty could beguile and entrance, but I hadn't realized that the magic behind that beauty could create such an explosive reaction. The fireworks were beautiful, in their own right, but their existence was evidence of a reaction as our two powers fought for dominance.

If this was a beauty contest, then we had moved beyond pageantry. They had fought wars because men and women coveted those they considered beautiful, but this was the first instance that I was aware of that the gift or curse of beauty had made war itself.

The power released as we gazed at each other began building. A pressure that seemed to increase the longer we looked at each other. It became a battle of endurance at one point. The pressure increasing incrementally, acting as an increase in power that tried to force each of us to look down, to admit that we were lesser.

I could feel the pressure building, but was able to ignore it. Not easily. I had to exert a small amount of my formidable will, but my ability to endure our battle with this strange method of a beauty contest was sustainable.

My opponent, on the other hand, began to exhibit obvious distress. The trickle of sweat that had created an interesting sheen to his skin becoming rivulets of water running down his face, a first sign that he was having problems withstanding the growing pressure.

The firework display, the magical manifestation of our battle, reached a crescendo as my opponent was finally forced to bend his head and concede defeat.

I thought briefly of proclaiming my victory by displaying the [Diadem of Focus], but dismissed the idea as petty and juvenile. The diadem was a crown of unparalleled craftsmanship, not a beauty contest prop. It was part of my [King's Regalia] and contained enchantments and effects that made me immune to illusion and charm.

I should have been wearing it and the rest of my [Regalia] already, his ability to hide behind glamour making it clear that I shouldn't take my rank as a guarantee that I was immune from what I might find here.

I took the time to equip the item when I restored my mask. A simple bit of my own glamour disguising the crown, making it appear as a band of metal used to tame and control my hair.

I was already wearing the torc of justice and cloak of light and shadow as a matter of course, but I hadn't thought to equip the diadem. There was no set bonus for equipping all four pieces of the [Regalia], and I often went without the diadem and scepter.

That would have to change.