Dealing with Gods was never a good thing, especially with Gods that had been instrumental in an ongoing conflict. I had a few misgivings about meeting with Athena and Loki, even if they hadn’t been part of the reason the Tuatha de Danann had been locked in [Sleep]. Each was a member of a Pantheon of Gods that had repressed the Sidhe. They had kept my people locked onto our home world, refusing to allow us to expand as new worlds were discovered and made available to claim and colonize.
The Tuatha de Danann had agreed to a Faustian bargain; why they had felt the need to agree was beyond me. But Danu had agreed to the demands made by the [Conclave of Gods], leaving the Sidhe at the mercy of others. The Sidhe were supposed to be ignored. We were supposed to be allowed to grow and expand without intervention. Of course, that part of the agreement would be ignored.
The Tuatha de Danann had barely entered [Sleep] before Olympus and Asgard had orchestrated events to leave our people trapped and isolated on our home planet. The promises of unfettered freedom and expansion were ignored, limiting our growth to our world and denying us the chance to receive [System] upgrades.
My court had tried to talk me out of attending the meeting that Athena and Loki had requested, but I was adamant about my decision. I would meet with them and find out what they wanted. I would agree to nothing, make no deals, and sign no treaties, not at this first meeting. But I would listen and consider what they said and how the Sidhe might be able to take advantage of whatever scheme the two might be up to.
I felt a slew of barriers snapping into place as I entered the conference room Athena had reserved. Sight barriers, sound barriers, and magic barriers. Each more than their name suggested. The ability to scry, spy, or use foresight to see what happened behind these barriers was all but impossible.
Those protections became even more powerful when three different sources of the Divine bolstered those protections. I didn’t recognize to whom the third Divine energy signature belonged. I had dealt with Asgard and Olympus to recognize the others. It would be possible to circumvent the barriers that had formed, but not without notifying those of us that had gathered.
I wasn't surprised to find Athena and Loki waiting; they had both been signatures on the invitation I'd received. I was surprised to find that Set and Coyote were also in attendance. At first glance, these four would seem to have nothing in common, but I had spent time educating myself about each of their Pantheons over the years, determined to know my enemy. I knew the commonality that connected them.
Metis, the mother of Athena, was fated to give birth to a twin, a brother prophesied by the Fates to usurp Zeus's throne and rule all of creation. Zeus responded once the Fates warned him by swallowing Metis, giving birth to Athena himself, circumventing that prophecy with a technicality only available to a God. He gave birth, Athena springing fully born, geared in her iconic armor from his head. Her brother was never born.
Zeus remained in power, and there was no change in leadership.
Set was a God of War, but his [Domain] was often confusing. His followers often created love charms inscribed with his name. He was considered a benevolent God, despite his dominion over war. He is purported to protect Ra when the evil serpent Apophis tries to stop the sun's journey each night. His benevolence extended to the afterlife, and he was honored for protecting the dead and the living.
He was the first murderer, killing his brother Osiris in a failed attempt to reign and rule over all of creation. His attempt was thwarted the change in rulership fell to Osiris's son Horus.
Loki was powerful in magic, illusion, and shape-shifting. He was the father of Hel, the Goddess of Death, Fenrir, and Jormungand. He was a trickster God, and his fellow Gods could never be certain if his offers of aid were benevolent or malicious. His parentage was looked down upon, his father a Jotunn. He straddled the line between good and evil and was fated to die with most of the other Asgardians during Ragnarok.
His attempts to steal Odin's throne were always stymied at the last moment, and there was never a change in leadership.
If there was one God comparable to Loki for trickery, it was Coyote. But he was originally credited as the world’s Creator and empowered with the [Domain] of creation. He is worshiped as a force for good, using his tricks to outsmart evil and protect the People. He can be killed, but his power of creation allows him to be reborn soon after.
He was the spark that gave life to all Creation, but his authority was usurped, and the leadership of the Gods changed.
To rule over their prospective Pantheons was the unifying goal that bound each of them together. They were either fated to rule or precluded from gaining a position they coveted. Whether by prophecy, failed coup attempts, or usurpation of the position they once held, they had all been denied a chance to lead their Pantheons.
Athena watched as I calculated what the presence of these four Gods might mean. Her Divine Aura resonated with intellect and wisdom, a [Domain] that allowed her almost to read my mind as I processed what those gathered together might mean. What was foremost in my thoughts was one of rebellion. Each of these Gods wanted to rule or was fated to rule at one time.
Athena, Loki, Set, Coyote.
Olympus, Asgard, Egypt, The People.
Four of the most powerful Pantheons. Four of the most powerful Gods.
I wasn't sure what they wanted with a member of a much-reduced Pantheon. But one thing was clear. Whatever was discussed and decided here today might have far-reaching repercussions. And I intended to leverage this discussion to Tuatha de Danaan's advantage.
"A Universe is dying," Athena said without preamble once the barriers were erected and no force in existence could pry within the confines of this room. Even Fate, themselves, would have no way of opening the weft and weave of focused energies that had snapped into place without alerting the four deities that had joined together to shield this room from prying eyes.
"A Universe is always dying," Set interjected dismissively. "That is the inevitable conclusion of life."
His perspective as a God of the Afterlife would put him at odds with the urgency of Athena's pronouncement. His [Domain] would embrace a Universe's death. To see them as allies for whatever this was meant that there was something problematic about this Universe dying.
"True," Loki agreed, "but not the reason for our concern." Hel, his daughter, was the Goddess of a version of the afterlife, so Loki was often neutral in matters of life and death. He walked both paths and was able to balance along both of those paths adroitly. He gave birth to monsters that were fated to precipitate Ragnarok and a daughter that would collect the souls of all that perished during that cataclysmic event.
"It is how and why this Universe is dying that concerns each of our Pantheons and peoples," Coyote added, trying to shape the direction of the narrative. That shaping was also understandable; shaping was as much a part of him as creation. His changing shape was how he fathered so many of the People. His many shapes gave breadth to his Divinity.
"Ragnarok has begun in this version of the multi-verse. The tides of time and fate have reached their end, and soon this Universe will join an infinite number of other Universes where the last spark of creation has faded and where the final flame that burns to fuel the life-giving energy of the last star has flickered and failed," Athena continued as if none of the others existed or had spoken. She had agreed to partner with Loki, Set, and Coyote, but it was obvious she didn't want to.
"Normally, the death of a universe would cause minor fluctuations across the multi-verse. Those incarnations of our Godhood that faded would continue to exist as part of the myriad incarnations of each other linked by our common Divinity."
"What she is trying to say," Loki interjected, "is that there are countless instances of each of us scattered across the multi-verse. As Gods, we are linked after a fashion. What one knows, each of us knows. And as a Universe dies, the multitude that still exists absorbs that Divine aspect."
"But that pattern has been cleaved," Set boomed in anger. "Zeus and Odin have usurped the loom and altered the scissors of Fate."
"They have managed the greatest theft across all of creation," Coyote explained. "The weft and weave, the very tapestry the Fates have created, has been stolen, and as Ragnarok rages and God after God perishes in that war, they have found a way to harvest the Divine mandate of those that fall, and make it their own."
"Their actions will reverberate across the multi-verse," Athena continued, her voice laced with warning. "Their Power will grow, while the other Gods, no matter their Pantheon, will grow weaker until only the two of them exist to battle for sole dominion.
"We have consulted Fate over this matter, but they see this as inevitable, an inevitability that cannot be stopped or stemmed. But the [Oracles] offer a different opinion. [Oracles], each of us has sought out, risking Zeus's and Odin's fury in order to find a solution to their actions."
"Death is inevitable," Set affirmed, "but what they would do is more than death. It is the eradication of even the memories of who and what we are. They would absorb the records that follow life as it moves across the wheel of reincarnation.
“Death is transitive, a second in time, a brief respite between each cycle of life. They would destroy the wheel of reincarnation, the cycle of rebirth, and stand supreme on the ashes of dead worlds and dying Universes."
"Cassandra.
"The Oracle of Delphi.
"Dodona.
"Mimir.
"Ashareera vani.
"The I Ching.
"The Agbala Oracle.
"All oracles of great power, each has been consulted, and all have responded with the same prophecy," Loki said.
"Seek the Son of Sun and the Son of Ice,
for he has the Power to Call the Hunt.
The Power to open the path
and walk the road betwixt and between.
One will become two,
and he who has been faithful will be set free.
He will free his people, unleash their fury,
and restore balance and the divine to its proper course."
"The one line of the second stanza remains confusing. Forces are obfuscating and hiding the meaning behind that passage," Athena admitted, "but the first stanza directly references you.
"You style yourself de Beleros y Cyronax. Son of Beleros, the God of the Sun, and Cyronax, the God of Ice. Only the Sidhe have the ability to call the Hunt, and only the Huntsman can negotiate with Fairy to open a road that will allow you to travel to the Universe in question.
"We believe the second part of the prophecy was significant and personal, a message for you. A Divine promise that your actions will change the Sidhe’s fortune."
It was. And if I was interrupting the first line of the second stanza, it meant change for me as well as the Tuatha de Danann. It seemed to be saying that Caraid would no longer be a soul that is a part of me, that he would be given a body and freed to live his own life. As for the second part of the prophecy, I could only guess what I would need to do for the Sidhe of that Universe, similar actions as I had for this one.
I had freed them from the yoke of oppression that Olympus and Asgard had mandated when I gained a seat in the Senate for Talahm. I had reunited and restored the balance between Seelie and Unseelie when I'd created the Tuatha de Danaan. It seemed I was being tasked with repeating those accomplishments.
"The second passage gave us insight into what we might offer to gain your cooperation," Set said.
"We will see one of your Gods freed from Sleep if you are successful," Loki offered.
"We will restore at least part of the Tuatha de Danann and set in motion the means to free them all," Athena agreed, her voice resonating with [Oath].
"No," I replied immediately, emphatically, and almost dismissively. "The Hunt, Fairy, and I will not be used by Asgard and Olympus.
"Our memories are long, and we remember it was just this kind of aid that placed the Tuatha de Danaan at a disadvantage.
"Danu agreed to Zeus's and Odin's plea for help. The Universe was dying, they warned. A young scion, unique across all existence, a man of prophecy was destined to heal a breach of a divided and fractured Eternity.
"So, Danu acted and directed Gwyn ap Nudd to provide a path, a way through the Summerlands so that the will and power from a conclave of Pantheons could travel betwixt and between to imbue a stone with the power of the Divine.
“The stone was created, and the word and the will of that world were protected. And the titanic battle between the forces that would see Eternity whole and those that would hold on to power with it fractured was waged, not once but twice.
"You repaid Danu's gift and aid with jealousy, betrayal, and greed.
"You coveted the power of Gwyn ap Nudd, even as you feared him.
"You saw for yourself the true power of the Summerlands, and you would control them.
"Every transaction, every meeting, every discussion from that moment was a battle of control as you whittled away at the Tuatha de Danaan Pantheon until you offered a choice. They would enter [Sleep], or Talahm would be destroyed.
"You sentenced them using spurious claims that only the mind of Athena could unravel. You forced them to choose between their duty and their [Duty]. And you did it, hoping that while they Slumbered, you would have the opportunity and the time to wrench away control of the Summerlands from the Sidhe.
"And you might have succeeded if they had forced Gwyn ap Nudd into [Sleep] along with the rest of the Tuatha de Danann Pantheon. But He is beyond. You found out too late that His Power is immutable and transcendent, that He is a [Cosmic] power.
"He is an abstract concept. He is a weapon of [Justice], and as that weapon, He stands beside Eternity, Time, Death, Life, Chaos, Order, Infinity, Love, Hate, and Oblivion.
"It doomed your scheme to fail from its inception, but the Tuatha de Danaan and the Sidhe paid the price for your hubris," I continued, my voice steady, my rage apparent.
"And now you come to me with the same request?" I demanded.
"Only the Sidhe can help?" I sneered.
"Only Gwyn ap Nudd can save the Multiverse?" I taunted.
"Just do us this little favor.
"Open the Summerlands, but this time, instead of allowing us to send our Divine will and word as a mandate through that passage to create an object of power capable of determining the Destiny of a Cosmic Entity, the power you gave into the hands of a Man-King, trusting he would succeed, you would have the Sidhe sacrifice the first person who stands as the fulcrum for our people.
"Yes, our memories are just as long as yours. And I find it suspicious that now that the Sidhe have broken the bonds that held them to Talahm. Now that Olympus has been sanctioned twice. Now that we are about to claim another world for the Tuatha de Danaan and get our first real update to the System.
"Now you call for a meeting and tell me the fate of all Multi-verses will be determined by how I act.
"You would have me serve as Hero and Fool.
"My duty to Talahm, Ijal, and my throne would be placed in jeopardy. If I were to agree, you would keep your bargain. Danu might be woken for the briefest of moments before Zeus and Odin noticed and forced her back into [Sleep]. And I wonder what would happen to the Sidhe that foiled their schemes for the third time?" I asked, knowing full well what my fate would be.
"He is too angry to see reason," Set advised his fellow Gods. That they had added him to this meeting was the only reason I hadn't left as soon as they made their offer. The Egyptians had been instrumental in allowing the Sidhe to take their seat at the Senate, and I would not repay that help with insult.
I wasn't foolish enough not to think even the Egyptians had offered their help as a form of altruism, they may not be as venal and greedy as Zeus, but they would gain something from this action.
The reason they had helped, the reason we had gained a seat on the [Conclave of Gods], was that the Egyptians were furious that Zeus had conscripted spells, artifacts, and techniques and bastardized what had been stolen in order to gain control of the secrets behind CERN.
If they had been approached, given information about the virus that infected the System?
I believed wholeheartedly that if Zeus and Odin had approached the Egyptians and offered them a partnership when they had devised the method to slip that virus into the System, events and outcomes would have been drastically different.
It was the nature of Gods to covet power, to try to increase their [Authority] and [Domain]. When a being is worshiped by billions, They become convinced that what They want, They deserve.
The secrets of CERN and the god-particle were Theirs by right of Their Divine Mandate.
"If you won't consider Our offer," Coyote said, the glint of humor, his devious nature now active, "make us one of your own."
And there it was, the trap laid, the bait offered. But perhaps a trap that could be turned back on those determined to catch and control what they hunted. The other Gods gathered were not idiots, and they knew what He had done. And they were not happy. By offering me the option to set terms, He had telegraphed their desperation.
Whatever Zeus and Odin were doing in this Universe embroiled in Ragnarok, they were frightened. There could be no other reason for them to consider letting me set terms otherwise.
And even though I knew this was a trap, I would walk into that trap with my eyes wide open. And I would set the terms that favored the Tuatha de Danann. And maybe, just maybe, turn the trap around and snare one or two Gods in my own web of intrigue.
I would set terms as harsh as those that had forced the Tuatha de Danaan into [Sleep]. Terms that were carefully worded using the skills of Sidhe to turn truth into a lie, lie into truth and do so without breaking [Oath] or gaining the attention of Gwyn ap Nudd.
These Gods, for all their power and Hubris, even the Gods Loki and Coyote that used guile and deceit as easily as they drank Ambrosia, could be bound by the skills of a talented Sidhe word-smith.
Coyote had offered, and I would accept that offer.
The Sidhe would set terms. I would call the Hunt to travel to this other Universe, and I would call a conclave of my own to get the best bargain for my people and our Gods I could. I would have Morrigu and Queen Brigda craft the words that would bind us all.
Those two Queens had walked with the Tuatha de Danaan before They were enjoined into [Sleep]. They had learned and weaponized the power of words and [Oaths] long ago. I had certain advantages, but I was an infant compared to them. The most important advantage I had at this moment was the ability to know when my skills were lacking and the humility to admit that lack and ask for help.
I hoped that humility and understanding of what my strengths and weaknesses were would be enough to see the Sidhe and the Tuatha de Danaan through the bloody waters I was about to unleash.
"We will see," I informed them. "I will make no final decision here today. I will discuss your offer with my fellow Monarchs and determine if there is an agreement that we can craft that is satisfying.
"But know this. I am inclined to deny your request. In the end, the final dying gasp of Gods as the multi-verse ends is of little import to the Sidhe of this universe, of this time.
"I will not betray or leave to fate our future, not for anything. Maybe that means they eventually destroyed this universe as Zeus and Odin enact their plans, but that is so far into the future that even the Sidhe with their pseudo-immortality will be dead long before it happens.
"I need to speak with Tybalt," I said once I was alone. For anyone observing, it would appear as if I was speaking to myself. I hadn't activated my M-AI, nor was there anyone else nearby- at least not that most could detect.
But that wasn't exactly true for Sidhe. We had many species that were adept at [Stealth], a few Demi-fey, small people that exploited their size to increase the effectiveness of those talents with [Stealth]. The Aziza were one of those species well suited for [Spy craft], but they weren't the only Sidhe that took to hiding in corners and ferreting out secrets.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Cats were funny creatures.
Never really there when you were looking for them, but always underfoot when you weren't. Tybalt was a fellow [Monarch]. He had been the reigning King of Cats for as long as anyone alive could remember. We formed a tentative agreement, reciprocity between our two courts when I had first become King of the Tuatha de Danann faction. I had agreed to Tybalt's request that one of his people be stationed in my court. An ambassador, as it were, between the King of Cats and me.
I wasn't certain if the Morrigu or Queen Bridga enjoyed the same relationship with him if they had their own Cat ambassador, but I was certain that their kingdoms and courts were brimming with Tybalt's subjects, whether they liked it or not.
By the time I had entered the offices that they had assigned the Sidhe in the Senate complex, Tybalt was already waiting for me. His ability to travel to any place where a cat roamed was perhaps not as extensive and comprehensive as the Summerlands, but it came close, and it was not as risky. He could come and go anywhere in the multi-verse a cat existed, no matter the distance, without the worry of time travel or Paradox.
"The [Oracle] has agreed to see you," he said, answering the question I hadn’t had the chance to voice. It was uncanny how his relationship with that woman allowed him to act before action was required. I hadn't requested to speak with her yet, and she had already agreed to an interview.
I had almost no dealings with any other [Oracles], and those I'd encountered other than her were limited. In fact, I hadn't known of Tybalt's or the [Oracle's] existence until they approached me. That the King of Cats ruled Cait Sith an extra-dimensional pocket space, very like the Sithern, was a closely held secret. One that Tybalt guarded jealously.
Certain that he had my permission, Tybalt reached out to grasp my arm, translocating us between the here and there. For other members of the Cait Sith, the transition process required opening a rift, a tear in the fabric of space between both dimensions, but Tybalt was King. Just as Saor o Shlabhraidhean responded to my will through the Sithern host bond, Tybalt was able to effectuate the change in dimension easily, to command Cait Sith and move between effortlessly.
Cait Sith was attuned and bonded to Tybalt so deeply that it was possible that when, and if, he ever died, it would cease to exist. The inheritor of his title would have to create a new Cait Sith, one that responded to their will with the same responsiveness as the dimension that Tybalt had created did.
He had moved us to a less formal setting than the last time I'd visited. Instead of his throne room, I found myself in a woman's parlor. The [Oracle] firmly ensconced in a plush chair with two additional seats available. She had a pot of Unrey steeping, as well as the cups and accouterments that went with it. She had also prepared enough dishes for an informal brunch.
She, like most [Oracles], had traded their sight for the [Sight]. It didn't seem to change what they could perceive, her head moving to follow our movements as adroitly as if she still had eyes that could see. Somehow, she retained her vision and could perceive the world around her in some manner that made the sacrifice of her eyes insignificant.
I had barely managed to take a seat before she began speaking. Her voice was melodic, her words uttered using rhythm and music. I had heard her speak like this only once before and knew she was [Speaking].
It was a skill of all [Oracles], this ability to infuse their words with a gravitas that seemed to cause [Eternity] and [Time] to pause. It was as if those cosmic entities allowed the barest amount of their vast and infinite attention to notice what the [Oracle] said.
"Seek the Son of Sun and the Sun of Ice,
for he has the Power to Call the Hunt.
The Power to open the path,
and walk the road betwixt and between.
One will become two,
and that which has been hidden will be set free.
He will free the Sidhe people, unleash their fury,
and restore balance, and the divine, to its proper course."
"The words have been spoken," the Oracle said as she sat forward to poor Unrey for Tybalt and me. "It is for you to decide what they mean.
"Did you see what they said, what Athena, Loki, Set, and Coyote have discovered?" I wondered. With the barriers against scrying, spying, and fore-telling that Athena and the other Gods had erected, I found it hard to believe they hadn't found a way to circumvent even the sight of [Oracles], but it was safest not to assume.
"No," she admitted, "they guarded that meeting well. But it was a wasted effort. They could guard against that moment, but not the infinite moments that transpire once the barrier was breached and you each left the protections they had erected.
"All they managed to do was to focus the attention of every Oracle with the [Sight], a direction to see. By creating that blind spot they made it evident that something momentous was approaching. They blinded us from the meeting itself, but the future, the threads of futures that were spun as a result of that meeting were blindingly clear."
"They contend that Zeus and Odin in some parallel Universe have co-opted the tapestry and functions of Fate. That they have found a way to kill Gods and steal the Divine energies released from their deaths," I said.
"They have suggested that by co-opting the threads of fate they increase their own power beyond what should be possible," I explained. I wasn't worried that Odin or Zeus would hear my words. Cait Sith had its own protections against scrying and spying. Without those protections, it would be impossible to combat [Paradox].
And combating [Paradox] was the reason the Cait Sith existed, both the people and the place.
"They suggest that this is the first step, the first of many and that Universe after Universe, God after God, will fall to this tactic until only Zeus and Odin remain to battle for the remaining scraps of Eternity.
"They warn that if something is not done if we do not restore the balance, not only will all Gods fall, but the very Cosmic entities of [Eternity] and [Infinity] will find their function suborned."
"And what do they expect you to do to solve this problem, not of your making?" Tybalt asked in disbelief. "Why would they turn to the Sidhe, who they have persecuted since we first walked the land for help?"
"They would have him use Gwyn ap Nudd, use Fairy, perhaps they would even ask that you use the Cait Sidhe if they knew of its existence to walk the path of Summerlands, to venture to this Universe where the Fates have been compromised, where balance has been corrupted, and restore order," the [Oracle] answered for me.
"It is possible," she continued. "Their plan might work, and you are tricksy enough to spin their plan to the benefit of the Sidhe. I would counsel against it, but in every future, I can see, you agree.
"So, what brought you here?
"What is it you wish to ask of the Future, what question do you believe I as [Oracle], can answer that will make your decision easier?
"Your path forward of some benefit for our people?"
"Will my plan to wake the Tuatha de Danaan succeed," I asked. "If I go, will I come back or should I abdicate my Throne and install a Regent until Ryu is strong enough to rule?"
I had already decided that I was going. The Oracle didn’t refute any part of the prophecy that I had been given. Nor did she dismiss the repercussions to this Universe if Zeus’s and Odin’s actions were allowed to stand.
If the trick to absorb the Divine mantel of slain Gods could be limited to their own Pantheons, I would have refused immediately. But the Tuatha de Danaan would also perish in their mad scheme to become the one true God. To think of their Godhood stripped from them as they died in Sleep was abhorrent. They had already suffered enough, been subjected to such indignities that no other God or Pantheon had been forced to endure. They had sacrificed themselves, entered Sleep to protect their children, and I refused to treat that sacrifice with indifference.
Zeus and Odin playing the role of a pair of parasitic vampires that would drain cosmic forces that had been divided and distributed by the Alpha and the Omega was the height of hubris. It was insane, and I could not believe that when all was said and done, the Alpha and Omega would look at what they had done and allow the last spark, the last kernel of life in every universe to flicker and die.
They would try to remake all the universes in their image before the Alpha and the Omega intervened, and they were too deeply flawed to allow that to happen.
"The Tuatha de Danaan will wake, Zeus and Odin have cast the die that breaks the chains that bind.
Your task is daunting for you must face the Horai, Goddesses of Time
A task made possible using a Servant of Time found within the Cait Sith.
Sneak past Heimdall a God of Light to brave the Halls of Odin,
Made possible with the power of Shadow claimed by Cu Sith.
And restore the World Tree,
Only now possible that Irvin has restored Sithern and Tree.
Once accomplished, only then will Balance be restored,
Once accomplished, only then can you return.
Once accomplished will the Dreamers Awake,
The Sidhe, the Tuatha de Danaan, and the Worlds of Fairy protected."
[Quest Created: Help Athena, Loki, Set, and Coyote to foil Zeus’s and Odin’s schemes.]
[Quest Created: Travel with Gwyn ap Nudd to Urt and stop the theft of the Divine.]
[Quest Created: Defeat the Olympus Goddess of Time and steal Zeus’s lightning bolt.]
[Quest Created: Avoid Heimdall and steal Odin’s Eye.]
[Quest Created: Replant the World Tree by planting and creating a new Sithern.]
[Rebuild the Sidhe and appoint a Council of Twelve.]
"There are no certainties," the Oracle said her voice still heavy with the weight of prophecy, "but in those futures where you succeed, your success accomplishes what nothing else in the long history of Sidhe has managed.
"You restore balance to the broken. Punish those that would use treachery, theft, and deceit with real consequences. And give the Sidhe back their soul by restoring the Tuatha de Danaan."
"Your prophecy triggered quests," I informed her, and Tybalt by proxy, "I wonder if I should even bother with the Oaths I was going to use to bind Athena, Loki, Set, and Coyote?"
"They would find it strange if you didn’t," Tybalt suggested.
"Not so strange that they would rescind their request, but enough that they would make plans to maneuver and circumvent any rewards fulfilling those quests might generate," the Oracle agreed. "And they will know about the Quests. They will have gotten their own set the moment System took notice and active."
"Set can be trusted," I said thoughtfully. "He has always given succor and aid to both the living and dead. His principles cannot be corrupted, nor can he be intimidated.
"Athena, for all her vaulted wisdom, can be tricked. She acts with a purpose and sense of honor that she ascribes to everyone, even after all these years. Even after all these years, after all, those that have betrayed and broken trust with her, she remains steadfast. She cloaks herself in those principles and that honor."
"Coyote often lives up to his reputation. He can be tricky and hard to pin down, but in this, he will remain steadfast," the Oracle informed me.
"It is Loki that may represent a problem. The Oaths that you demand, he and the others swear to, will be the framework that determines his actions. Make no mistake, he will attempt to break those Oaths. To skirt the edge as an Oathbreaker without actually breaking them. He will not risk Gwyn ap Nudd’s attention for any reason.
"But he will test and push those limits. He will be the one that tries to wheedle out of the promises that you force them to make. But something to reflect on when crafting the words that will bind them, those that practice trickery expect it, they will be looking for it. That makes them predictable.
"Craft your words carefully, but make it appear you are the plebeians he expects at Oath crafting. Allow something, some part of the Oath, some subtle phrase obvious to anyone with talent, a clear trap or trick for those not gifted in the art of deceit. A deception that he thinks he can exploit.
"Loki knows the Sidhe cannot speak a lie and will work to use what they see as a weakness against you. Athena and Coyote might see through any deception you come up with, rely on Queen Brigda for this part. Loki will never believe you have the ability to defeat him in a challenge of lies."
"Your prophecy spoke of Cait Sith, that I can only succeed if I face the Goddesses of Time with a Servant of Time," I said, "do you have someone willing to brave another Universe with me? Or will I find a Cait Sith able to help once Gwyn ap Nudd has opened a path through the Summerlands?"
"I will send one of my daughters with you," Tybalt informed me. "Send a message when you are ready, and I will facilitate the discussion with Gwyn and have her ready to join."
I wondered what Tybalt was up to as soon as he made the offer. To send one of his people was expected, but to send his daughter? I could only hazard a guess that as a cat and a King he had fathered multitudes by children by this point, but an acknowledged daughter meant a Cait Sith that was the daughter of the Queen of Cats as well as the King.
In truth, most of the Cait Sith could trace their lineage to Tybalt in some manner, but for convenience’s sake, and to honor his Queen, Tybalt had long ago made it a policy to only claim an individual as son or daughter if they were the progeny of his Queen.
The quests I was about to undertake were dangerous, so dangerous that he was almost certainly sacrificing whoever he sent, and Tybalt was many things, but wasteful was not one of them. He would not risk sending a daughter to her death unless there was something to be gained.
I was certain there was prophecy involved. This excursion may center on me, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be ancillary actions, quests, and events that transpired that affected the people I brought.
The Oracle was one of his subjects, after all. It made sense that she had shared the prophecy with him, a prophecy that made it necessary for him to send a daughter that carried the royal Cait Sith bloodline to fulfill.
The Morrigu and Brigda had been inventive in the Oath that they had crafted. Inventive enough that they gave even Loki and Coyote pause. They had followed the Oracle’s advice and created an obvious trap, something that Loki eventually pointed out.
He had acted exactly as expected, and the revised Oath that he and the rest were willing to swear, the real Oath that we had planned for in the beginning, was sworn to with little further argument.
They believed they had bargained to wake one Tuatha de Danaan from Sleep if I succeeded and stopped Zeus and Odin’s usurpation of the Divine from happening. But they had agreed to so much more.
The Oath demanded that they wake any Tuatha de Danaan of our choice. The operative word was ‘our’. I had made sure to have enough Sidhe witness their Oath, enough people gathered that the ‘our’ they had agreed to amounted to one God per person.
Each of the Sidhe who had witnessed the Oath was part of the collective, and when the time came to claim the reward, each of us would name one God. The Oath would be honored. One God. Each. Enough to wake almost the entire Pantheon.
"Tybalt!" His consort, wife, and Queen yelled, demanding his attention. A demand he ignored, his eyes and aura concentrated completely on his daughter and me. She had railed against sacrificing one of her children to what she felt was a mad scheme. Not even the words of the Oracle could dissuade her.
Tybalt would pay a price for his decision. Her anger at him may escalate to the point that he would have to replace her as Queen of Cats. It would depend on her, on what measures at revenge she engaged in. But she was Mother, Queen, Woman, and Cat, and to piss any one of those identities off as badly as Tybalt had been either the bravest or stupidest thing he had ever done.
Things had progressed well enough after the meeting with the Oracle. The Twelve Houses that I had created to help rule the Tuatha de Danaan faction had been informed of the quests I had received, and that it wasn’t certain when or if I would be back.
I felt certain I would, but not so sure that I would leave my throne empty. The Twelve would work together as regents until my host bond with Saor o Shlabhraidhean was severed. In that event, I had left instructions for the next ruler of my territory to be selected by the Sithern.
Anyone capable of creating a new host bond was capable enough to rule. And the Sithern was better able to judge an individual’s true motivations than the Sidhe. We were all too good at treachery and self-aggrandizing. The Sithern could see to the heart of our true self, the bond a connection between one soul and another.
It might be possible for the Sidhe to confuse the truth, to lie without lying, but that obfuscation was impossible when one was communicating within the realm of [Soul]. The lie would not be sustained within that realm, and a person’s true nature would shine for the Sithern to see.
Tylia, Tybalt’s wife was furious because of a restriction required for travel, one that was of Gwyn ap Nudd’s making. And even he was following restrictions placed on him by Fairy, System, and the Summerlands.
He would open the roads, allowing me to pass through the magic of Summerlands to the Universe where Zeus and Odin warped the tapestry of creation, where they had perfected a vampire technique that drained Divine energy instead of life force.
But only for me.
The Cu Sith wasn’t an issue, I was bringing Ag, a powerful Alpha from the first pack I had ever encountered. He was related to Beag, Ryu’s companion, and was well trained in shadow. Forming a companion bond with him was easily accomplished. And as my companion, he was considered an extension of me.
The problem was the Cait Sith. Tybalt must have known this issue would arise. The Oracle wouldn’t have been so sloppy not to have informed him that for the Cait Sith to travel with me, she would have to form a companion bond just as Ag had.
As a Ranked: King I had earned three bonds, and two of those were now filled. I had bonded with Meala, my mount, years ago. She was a cross between honey badger and bear. She and I had meshed well together from the moment we met. Ag was an acceptable addition; I had known him and his pack for decades. We had hunted together at times. So, the bond was easily offered and easily accepted.
But Tia was more than a cat, she was a person. A Sidhe with enough intelligence that she understood what a lifetime bond between the two of us would mean. Both of us could effectively live forever, even if we could be killed, and Tia was the daughter of the King of Cats. It was within the realm of possibility that she might be Queen herself one day.
If I died, she would be freed. If she died, she would use one of her nine lives to be reborn, and the bond would remain. I refused to mention that I had a System perk that allowed me to be reborn once every year, so in truth, I may have many more lives than her or any of the Cait Sith.
That would have probably infuriated Tylia even more. To know that there was no escape, that the bond between us would last until the last Star flickered and died was more than she might be able to bear. She was intelligent enough to see there was no recourse but too emotional to care.
Gwyn ap Nudd was the Huntsman, and he would not and could not be diverted or bargained with.
But to allow her daughter to be effectively collared? To allow her to enter into a bond of companionship without any recourse? For that was how she and most Cait Sith saw the companion bond. Too often, their people had been caged and collared in their cat form. Forced to pretend to be pets and ornaments. They had developed a natural abhorrence at even the suggestion of being tamed.
"It has been decided," Tybalt said, speaking to his daughter and not his wife. "They [Oracle] has seen and given [Prophecy]. I regret what I ask of you, but I ask as your [King] and not your Father.
"If this foul technique to steal the Divine powers of other Gods is allowed to stand, then Fairy will die. The Sidhe will fade. And the Tuatha de Danaan will become nothing more than whispers of dreams before eventually, even those dreams fade beyond all remembrance.
"Gwyn ap Nudd has agreed and set conditions. Needs must, Tia. Every good ruler knows that at times, you have to sacrifice what you love most, for what your people need most.
"And I think you will find the chafing against the bond, or the bonds of slavery your mother believes the companion bond to be, are nothing but gossamer threads when those bonds are shared by a person of honor.
"King of Tuatha de Danaan, Teigh Mac de Beleros y Cyronax, Prince of Seelie, Prince of Unseelie. Lord of Sun. Lord of Healing. Protector of Kelpie. Zeus’ Bane. Odin’s Bane. Slavery’s Bane. His very titles speak of his honor.
"Would the person who became Slavery’s Bane become so lost to his own sense of justice to wield the lash? Would this person hold tight the bonds of mutual companionship as a weapon?
"You know he would not," Tybalt concluded, turning his attention from Tia to Tylia. "He has proven he can be trusted. His actions when resolving Paradox stands as a testament to that proof."
Before Tylia could refute his words, Tia accepted the companion bond that I had offered earlier, and whatever she had planned on say, those last words objecting were moot.
There would be five of us following Gwyn ap Nudd today, and before any more words, accusations, or recriminations could be said, Gwyn opened the path and we stepped forward, striding across the metaphysical realms that separated each Universe. Ignoring the pain and cries of a mother certain she was seeing the last of her daughter we took that first step that the Summerlands made possible.
Meala, Ag, and Tia each now firmly ensconced as part of my soul. Each tethered to me with a golden companion bond that merged the four of us into one astral being. Four plus one more. For no matter where I went, Caraid would go.
Events moved quickly once we had reached an accord as he reached out to enfold my companions and me within a bubble of his [Domain]. Once satisfied, he took a step through. The Summerlands I was familiar with opened before him, before us, for one brief second before it changed. The land and sky that we were familiar with transforming, becoming the void. That lifeless extension of the universe that existed between stars.
With each step Gwyn took, we moved across that void, a realm of endless night, countless stars, and shimmering barriers that allowed each of the galaxies and universes that numbered across the multiverse and [Infinity] to remain unique, distinct, and separate.
I don’t know how he knew which Universe to aim for, I had only been informed that one of the incarnations of Zeus and Odin were at fault. Perhaps the System was guiding him. I felt the Wild Magic and Fairy answer to his will and finally understood. It allowed him to home in on our destination and kept most of what was lurking in the void hidden to spare our sanity.
Not everything. We passed eldritch horrors, Cthulhu that strained the mind and defied comprehension, but we were protected. He was Gwyn ap Nudd and even these titans of horror and nightmares of destruction gave way before him, intelligent enough to know they would not survive if they attacked.
The passage seemed to last forever, and take no time, and although we were protected, our ability to see the monsters that lurked within the void muted, the sight as galaxies formed, suns went nova, and planets were created and destroyed gave beauty and form to the path we walked.
Some time along that path I fractured, two parts of me were severed, as System functionality was diminished. The Universe we would arrive at was not guided by System, and unlike Earth, we wouldn’t have the mechanics of a Dungeon to allow our connection with System.
System fought against the Universal paradigm we would have to work under, refusing to be severed from us completely. I sighed in relief once a small connection was formed. A large part of what made me what and who I was, from the support and prodding System offered.
I would lose access to Status as well as System access to my spells and skills, but I would retain System announcements, the ability to use [Identify], the [Map], and a way to track experience gained and quest completion.
It was a pared-down System, and even these functions only existed because of my connection to the Summerlands. I would have to test my spells and skills, but I didn’t think I’d lost anything. Instead, I would have to rely on natural ability and not System mechanics to function. The sensation was almost freeing in a way even if it was frightening, relying on myself instead of System. My actions and choices would be guided by my desire, not System generated quests and rewards.
Almost more important than the loss of System functions was the splintering of my soul as Caraid, the other half of my soul was splintered and ripped from me. He had been a part of me ever since I’d reincarnated into his body. The only time we had been separate since then was when he was acting as an agent of Gwyn ap Nudd. A responsibility he assumed to save my life.
This process of separation was painful, unlike when he answered the Huntsman’s call. He was torn from that shared mind space where he and I had formed a symbiotic relationship. His removal made it possible for us to become him and me, something I had long yearned to happen.
He was given a body, part Cernunnos, mostly Seelie. He didn’t have the cloven hoofs the Cernunnos sported, nor the impressive rack that the most powerful stags grew for protection. His body was completely Seelie, the beauty, grace, and litheness of that race born of void and stardust.
He did have horns, similar to something a ram might have, two protrusions that curved gracefully from his forehead. Each horn had the flecks of starlight that had been used in the creation of this new body scattered across them. Each formed and shaped by void, each deepest black in homage of that shaping.
I normally wasn’t aware when Caraid was serving the Hunt. His ability to answer Gwyn ap Nudd’s [Horn of Gathering] a simple function of who he was. But this, perhaps because a barrier between me and the System now existed was more.
It was like a tooth that had been pulled. You knew it was gone, but you kept testing, pressing against it with your tongue to prove to yourself that what you knew, was, in fact, real. System and Caraid were a part of who I was, to have them both changed at the same time had my soul hammering at the barrier that had been created constraining System and warping my access.
I barely had time to batter against that barrier before between one step and the next, we had exited the void, the stars diminished until only one remained. A single sun broadcasting life-giving energy and light to a solar system of nine planets. One blue and green marble, the only planet to sustain life.
As we arrived, we held steady above that planet, watching clouds form, weather patterns follow slipstreams, and the moon rotate around the planet as the planet rotated around the sun. Gwyn ap Nudd reached forth, his hand streaming with magic and Domain, as he answered Time’s demand to negate Paradox.
We watched as the planet slowed and stopped, before beginning to rotate in reverse. The years, decades, and centuries reversing as Gwyn continued to command Time to bend to his will. His actions were impossible if Paradox had not been involved. His actions proving that Time was mutable, the only constant that Paradox will not be allowed to warp the very nature of Time itself.
Gwyn continued to reverse Time, the planet’s continents moving. Five continents became six, as a landmass buried beneath the waves of a vast ocean rose again.
His actions did not go unnoticed.
Gods, temporal and of time, railed against his actions. Levin bolts of divine energies were flung in an effort to stop his action, bolts that Gwyn ap Nudd embraced and added to his working, additional energies and divinity that allowed him to increase the speed of Time’s reversal.
This Universe’s God of Time, Chronos, finally was stirred to intervene. A Titan that had been confined to Hades, used the disruption that Gwyn created, the weakening of the bonds that constrained him to gain His freedom.
Instead of stopping Gwyn ap Nudd, Chronos joined him in his efforts, the planets, the solar system reversing in time, returning to a point before Zeus and Odin had stolen the tapestry of Fate and the scissors that snipped the threads of life from Atropos. Before they had learned how to corrupt and absorb the divine domains of the other Gods.
Finally, when the other Gods of Time had been forced to bend to the will of Gwyn ap Nudd, Chronos, and [Time], they finished their working. As one they commanded time to stop and then to flow forward again. The Universe exhaled, and the goal, the imperative to move forward and to expand ever outward, ever-larger was restored.
"I have given you time. Time to gain the Eye of Odin. Time to gather Zeus’s Lightning. Time to restore Yggdrasil. Time to gather the Sidhe. Time to establish a Sithern," Gwyn ap Nudd informed me, his voice painful to endure. The weight of his duties from eons of his passing sentence in the name of [Justice] and [Vengeance] had become layered into the timbre and tone of every word.
"The Portal to Summerlands is yours to command. I leave Caraid as an instrument of the Summerlands and Fairy to help you. I have gifted him with a small amount of my Domain. Once your tasks have been completed, he will open the path and return you to Talahm.
"To your Time.
"It would be too cruel to allow him to follow you and constrain his ability to offer aid or advice, so Fairy has created a body. He is Sidhe and has been gifted with illusion, glamour, healing, and immunity to iron.
"He can be killed, and if that happens, he will return to the Summerlands and await with his brethren to be called for the Hunt," Gwyn ap Nudd warned. "Be guided by the knowledge that his death, will have you lost in time.
"His death will bar you from returning to Talahm. Time will not allow Paradox to fester and grow, without him your return to Talahm would engender that planet’s future."
Before the echo of Gwyn ap Nudd’s last word had quieted, he had left, and we had landed. Our passage completed, our entrance to this world observed by Chronos, a few hundred Sidhe, and a legion of Fomorians.
The sounds of fighting, grunts of pain, and bellows of outrage greeted our arrival, as we found ourselves delivered to the scene of battle. The Harpies, Centaurs, and armored men attacking a rag-tag group of Sidhe that were about to be slaughtered.