I was looking at a map of the known world, the part of the world that had been explored. Urt was a mirror image of Earth with only the names of discovered land masses varying in certain instances. I was comparing this map to decide where to place another Sithern. As I was searching, I noticed what had yet to be discovered. I was trying to understand why the Sidhe hadn’t discovered Greenland, Iceland, Australia, or the Americas.

That made sense for the humans. Their skill in shipbuilding hadn’t advanced far enough for any actual type of ocean voyage. But that didn’t hold for the Sidhe, not with two species, the Selkie and the Kelpie that could live in water, especially not when powerful Sidhe like the Sea Hag existed.

The map I was looking at was probably an order of magnitude better than anything the humans that had attacked our people had. It was detailed and showed all of Africa, Asia, and Europe. Russia had yet to be consolidated, divided between Europe and Asia, but the boundary of the world map showed the territory firmly in the control of Shapechangers.

The detail exhibited, the perfect scale between landmasses, the exact topography of mountains and rivers required talent and time. Someone had to have made an effort to travel the known world and made the time needed to perform exacting surveys. That was part of why I didn’t understand the lack of information on the map I was looking at was the level of that detail.

The main reason was the Selkie. They lived and swam the oceans of the world. They should have come across the missing continents and countries at some point over the last million years that they hadn’t suggested that magic or the Divine was at work. Something hid and protected those undiscovered areas, possibly placing a spell or array that would force those searching to look away.

What was just as interesting was that the city of Atlantis still existed. Not a continent itself, not like the legends that Earth suggested. Instead, it was on the island of Santorini. An island that was still unharmed, one that hadn’t yet to be destroyed by a volcanic eruption and sunk. It was this volcanic eruption that might destroy the city in the future.

The island was centrally located in the Mediterranean and had a well-established and profitable trading hub. Interestingly enough, Rome, Alexander, and Egypt had never attempted to claim the city or declare war.

The technology that existed in that city relied on psychic energies. The people were talented in controlling the powers of the mind and capable of telepathy and telekinesis. The Silinium I brought to this world would allow them to take a technological quantitative leap forward, enough that it should be easy for the Sidhe to bargain for an alliance.

If the Atlantians knew of Silinium, they might be willing to enter into a trade and military alliance. The Sidhe would be the only people capable of sourcing and mining the metal; that might be enough to gain their aid.

“There are parts of this world missing from this map,” I said, conjuring illusion and replicating the Earth that I had once lived on in my past life. The globe I fashioned began rotating above the map, allowing each of the twelve council members to compare the differences.

“I wonder why no Selkie have mentioned these landmasses?” I asked, highlighting those areas on the globe that I hoped to use in my plan to expand Sidhe territory. If I could set up a Sithern on Greenland and Canada, our people would have thousands of years of grace to grow stronger and repopulate our decimated population. At least if my assumption of Man’s exploration of the world holds. And based on the world’s current technological reality, it should.

“There is a ley-line barrier crisscrossing the oceans,” Lleu Llaw explained. “Great manifestations of raw magic that make it dangerous to navigate. It takes a concerted effort fueled by ritual magic to part those barriers. And even then, you can only create a small tear that lasts minutes at best.”

“With the loss of our magic, we would be foolish even to attempt a crossing,” Nimue added.

“And before the loss of our power, those that attempted a crossing were either trapped on the other side or died,” Merlin said, his words probably the real reason no one had bothered.

For the Sidhe to risk death for no real gain or reason? For all our bravado and belief in our superiority, there were times the Sidhe could be cowardly, entrenched in actions that were familiar and safe.

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“Humans have made it across those barriers, or they didn’t always exist,” I informed them. “I know these areas became populated by primitive people, humans finding their way to each place long ago.”

“They have never had the same sensitivity to ley-line magic the Sidhe have,” Titania suggested by way of an explanation, “They can ignore or traverse areas steeped in raw magic that we would find difficult, even painful. Their use of iron would have made an accidental discovery possible. I’ve always thought the reason they have such problems using magic was the iron that permeates their blood; it acts as an insulator, grounding any magic that they try to control.”

A working theory that made sense would explain why only the rare individual had even the slightest glimmer of talent. They were able to harness the Divine blessings the Gods granted them quickly enough. Still, any attempt at controlling or using magic was a pale reflection compared to the Sidhe, Elves, or Dwarves.

Those people who could tap into the mystic arts would often find that they could trace their bloodline back to an ancestor from one of those races. They were hybrids, human in all but one aspect. The talent for magic bred true, no matter how far back the connection.

“I need these two areas scryed for [Fairy rings],” I said, pointing to Greenland and Canada. “Who is the best at divination magic?”

“I am,” Nimue declared unequivocally.

“She is,” Fionn agreed immediately.

There was a hint of possessive pride in his statement. A lingering look of desire between the two. A look that spoke clearly to those with the eyes to see that they were more than a pair of royal Sidhe. They were devoted to each other. A devotion that only those that had stood the test of time could embrace. A passion that those that could claim immortality would understand.

Nimue wasted no time in crafting a scrying pool created using illusion and glamour. A whisper of words invoked a cantrip she used to give focus and direction to her magic. The scrying pool formed. It separated into two pools of water, each reflecting a rising tide of images as the water began to churn. The water crashed against nothing, the pictures flicking in and out of existence as waves rose and fell.

The ley-line barrier they spoke of was a tangible obstruction. It held rivers of flowing magic that segmented the world and attempted to block her scrying.

But Nimue was different than most Sidhe. She was not too proud to admit when she needed help, and a casually offered hand towards Fionn was all that was required before he reacted to her need and clasped her hand. At his action, the other ten royals moved into position, hands clasped, powers pooled.

Nimue became the authority of that borrowed power. She was the wellspring that could marshal and direct that pooled energy. Magic returned by [Fairy] rising at the behest of twelve of the most magically gifted individuals on the planet. And as the magic rose, the Wild Magic stirred.

I reached forward, adding my hand and magic to their pooled efforts, amplifying the gathering magics as we formed a coven of thirteen. The Wild Magic had always acknowledged me, always responded to my need. It moved, not so much at my bidding; the relationship was not one of master and servant but youthful friends playful and joyous. When we encountered each other, there was an innocence steeped in unmeasurable power.

It always tested me. It always tasted the texture of my magic. I think it had become so enamored with me because I didn’t fight that testing. I didn’t attempt to direct or mold the Wild Magic. I let it pass through me, exploring as it moved, without fighting the intrusive nature of that testing.

The waters finally calmed, the image within the pools morphing until they reflected two different pictures of [Fairy rings]. One was a simple circle of stones, each covered in a type of lichen that gave the [Ring] life and allowed [Fairy] to designate it as a place of power. The other, hidden in an overgrown forest of spruce trees. It was a more traditional mushroom [Fairy ring], perhaps the most popular choice of plant, fungi, or mineral nature used for this kind of formation.

“Can you maintain a lock onto those two locations?” I asked.

“I want to be able to open a passage betwixt and between, but I need to make sure the location remains constant until I create Sitherns that can link with the [Hall of Portals] located in Seastan Deireanach.

“I can,” Nimue assured me. “Whatever I see, I can return too. It will be much easier next time. The magic will remember and open the way easily. We won’t need to join in a coven to brute force our way through.”

“Then I will use the path your magic has created to bridge this vision with the Summerlands and traverse the pathways between and here and there.

“Let’s do this tomorrow from Seastan Deireanach so I can travel there and back establishing both Sithern in one day,” I said.

“I will need people to go with me and plant the Sithern; one of them will be someone that will become bound and host of the Sithern that we will be growing. It would be best if you decided who that person should be. It can’t be any of you; you’ve already taken a seat as members of the Twelve.

“You will need a second person to bond with the third Sithern, too.

“The two people need to be able to spend most of their time devoted to growing and nourishing the Sithern that will bond with it. So, consider strong people. People you know are strong enough to protect the Sithern and those that choose to live there.

“Talented builders, herbalists, or crafters might be ideal. A Sithern dedicated to researching enchanting, blacksmithing, and arrays would be ideal for Sidhe growth and protection.”