Bringing the Feylings To Heel|Beastlands

[tuo]

Lysander's breath caught at that. "R-really? But..I'm just an acolyte right now, I don't know enough to really be a high priest." Even so he is already imagining how cool it would be to be a high priest, surrounded by faeries. "But..all right. I'll swear that." He says after a moment. After all he thought, this is probably just a formality or something.

[Kender Bard]

The rod glowed briefly when he agreed to the oath and a nimbus of light flickered over him and Atarai. It all lasted but an instant.

"Very good," Atarai said with a smile. She didn't even need to bring the other child into all of it. "Let's go back now and I will make the announcement of your new station right away." She slid an arm around him, casting a more friendly smile at him and began to walk him back. "You will make a fine priest, even if you are young. To my knowledge, you are the only one who has been raised as a Soahcian priest in training so that is better than anyone else we have."

[tuo]

Lysander smiled brightly. "Well..um, it won't make anybody upset will it? That I'm being made a priest and all. I don't want to anyone to be mad with me." Suddenly he remembers about Adam and Kura. "Oh! Has there been any word about my sister or dad?"

[Kender Bard]

"I've heard nothing from either," Atarai said, trying not to grin. She'd had the little girl gagged in short order so she really hadn't heard from Kura since the day she was brought in. "And no, child, nobody will be angry with you."

Once she arrived back at the court (and the brief-lasting glamor had worn off) she slipped the rod back onto her belt and raised her voice. "This day, this child shall be the feyling high priest to Soahc. He shall hence be known as Calacori'enflux."

Sioloc, who had come to the court to wait for Lysander's returned, squealed and clapped with joy. "Hooray for Calacori!"

Atarai smiled and bestowed Sioloc with a look that made the faerie beam brightly. Turning to her bird-flying sprite, she murmured, "Bring me the storyteller girl. And her sprite."

The sprite flew over to Harmony and landed nearby. Tom sat on her knee and looked at the other sprite curiously.

"Your presence is desired by the queen," the sprite announced. Harmony nodded and nudged Diana, who gave a start. To her father, she said, ~Now I think we'll find out what the queen is up to.~ She studied Lysander's face carefully, wondering if the boy had a pleasant or unpleasant time with the queen.

[Darastrix]

~Maybe,~ Schuldig said. ~But stay on your guard. I doubt she's going to tell feylings the whole story, and if she does, well. Nobody with a plan gives everything away without having some sort of backup plan to make people cooperate or else keep their mouths shut. It's probably best if you don't even accept anything to eat or drink if she offers it.~

[tuo]

Lysander looks a little embarrassed about his new title/name but grins happily anyways. He goes over to Sioloc to talk to her, at least partly to learn what his new title means and how to pronounce it properly. As Harmony studies Lysander's face, he seems mostly excited but if she looks hard enough she could see signs of worry or confusion.

[Kender Bard]

~I won't~ Harmony agreed.

"Time to go?" Diana asked.

"For me," Harmony let her know. She lowered her shielding a fraction. "You're going to tell the others what you see, right?"

"Aye," Diana agreed and touched her sign. This wasn't the same as dreamwalking and she found it more difficult, but with Harmony's shield lowered to let her in, she slipped into Harmony's mind.

"And don't fall asleep," Harmony added with a small smile. Diana smiled back and shook her head. Tom flew to sit on Harmony's shoulder. Harmony cast Lysander another quick look. He seems happy. But there's something off about it. All the more reason to be wary. She took a deep breath and approached the queen.

Atarai smiled at her and then led her away as she had Lysander.

"Where are we going?" Harmony asked.

"To talk in private," Atarai replied. When she went to throw the dust in the air above them, Harmony quickly side-stepped out of the cloud. Atarai gave her an annoyed look and took out a smaller handful. "Come here. This is only to make sure no nosy lesser faeries snoop in on what is meant to be a private conversation."

"I don't mind," Harmony said.

"I do," Atarai answered more firmly. "Come here. Now."

~Should I?~ Harmony asked, nervously.

~I don't think she'd try anything funny with you just yet, not when others can still see you and are relatively close~ Diana chimed in. ~But I don't like it either. Then again, who knows what she'll do if you keep refusing. Nothing pleasant, I warrant.~

[Darastrix]

Schuldig projected the image of where he was to Harmony. ~I don't fucking like this, and I'm thinking it's about time to go. If you can't hear me after she tosses that stuff over you, teleport to me.~

Touching both signs together, Schuldig muttered a chant and reached out to tap Thelon. ~You want a leg up on the faerie shit? Watch Harmony with me. The queen's been taking all the feylings aside one at a time for some reason.~

[Kender Bard]

Thelon gave wordless assent and began to watch intently.

~Right~ Harmony agreed nervously and stepped closer to the queen. She threw the dust over them and... Harmony reached out to Schuldig. She felt his mind and relief flooded through her. She reached out to Diana as well.

~I'm still here~ Diana told the girl.

~Good~ Harmony thought and followed Atarai. This time the queen led her to seemingly the middle of nowhere, not to the cave she'd taken Lysander.

Taking out the rod, she said what she told the boy. "I wish of you to make an oath to me, Harmony. I want you to swear loyalty and obedience to the faerie-folk and me above all. Do you do so willingly?"

Harmony blinked. "No," she said. "Of course not."

"Why not?" Atarai asked.

Because I don't trust you, you freakish bitch, Harmony thought darkly. She guarded her tongue, at least a little. "I have no reason to. I only came here to learn more about being a feyling. In fact, I'd like to go home now."

"Ah," Atarai said simply. "Very well."

~What?~ Diana said surprised shock. ~It can't be that easy. It just can't.~

Harmony was suspicious as well. "I can just leave?"

"Of course," Atarai replied. "I just need to sever the bond between you and your faerie."

"What?!" Tom yelped and clung tightly to Harmony. "No!"

"Why!?" Harmony asked at the same time.

"I need every faerie and feyling that I can to help me here," Atarai replied. "And if you will not help me, then I will have your sprite do so. Of course, there's a fair chance the separation will kill him."

Tom made a small moan of despair and began to quiver and shake.

"You can't do that!" Harmony exclaimed, outraged.

"Actually, I quite can and I don't even need your consent," Atarai replied. "But I'm giving you a choice. Swear fealty and you may stay with your sprite. Walk away, and the sprite stays with me."

[Darastrix]

~Then either way, she loses a sprite and a feyling,~ Schuldig stated, ~so there's really no reason to sever it other than her not wanting any faerie not under her thumb.~ He grimaced and spoke quickly, his mental tone growing in intensity. ~She's wanting a lifetime of slavery from the feylings and she's using emotional blackmail to get it. If you swear it, there's a damn good chance that you'll be stuck with her and her fey for the rest of your unnaturally long feyling life. She can compel fey to her better than what I've heard Clears can do with that stick of hers and if she can sever the bond, there's no telling what else she can do before all's said and done.~

And soon every feyling who hadn't taken the oath yet would get to hear about it.

[Kender Bard]

Diana knew that Schuldig was right and she was already beginning to spread the word to those that she knew were yet unapproached. It would do no good to talk to the ones who had--they knew already and some did not care. Others... Well, they would be stuck now and there wasn't much she could do for them.

~This is ridiculous~ Thelon told Schuldig. ~She sounds evil to me. I'll not parlay with a monster and I'm sure many of the other leaders will feel the same.~

Harmony cupped Tom close. I don't want to lose Tom! The sprite shook and trembled. But I don't want to be a slave forever either.

Tom moved over close to her ear. "You saved my life, he told her quietly." His trembling tickled her ear and she felt a twisting in her heart. "I will save yours." She could hear the stark terror in his little voice, but felt the surge of his feelings. Sickening terror mingled with love and a grim sort of determination.

"Tom," she said, her voice breaking a little.

"Do you swear the oath or not?" Atarai asked firmly, impatiently.

Tom zipped away from Harmony towards the queen. "Yaaaahh!!" He flew straight for her face. The queen whipped around with a shocked look. Harmony felt frozen in place, unsure of what to do.

"Go Harmony!" Tom shouted. Atarai's hand snatched at him and she caught hold of one of his legs.

[Darastrix]

~Harmony!~ Schuldig's voice was sharp with tension and fear for his daughter. ~Tom's made his choice; stick around and it'll have been for jack shit. Thelon!

The same image he'd shared with Harmony earlier flew to Thelon, the sense of what Schuldig was asking of him clear. ~Or just help pull us toward Sensatia; I've got shit for teleport range and she's still just a kid.~

[Kender Bard]

~Goodbye Tom~ she told her companion quickly, sorrowfully.

Harmony. She heard him think it back.

Atarai yanked Tom back towards her and grabbed at him with her other hand. She twisted and there was a sickening crackling sound.

Tears filled Harmony's eyes. "I'll kill you someday!" she shrieked at the queen, but touched her sign and teleported back to her father, sobbing.

Thelon teleported to him as well at much the same time. Without a word, he touched them both and teleported THEM to Sensatia--but not himself. He remained behind. ~I'm going to try to help as many of the people here as I can.~

He'd remembered hearing another voice, another Mind. He reached for Diana now, flashed the same area image to her. ~Start grabbing who you can and get them here to me.~

Meanwhile, it was pandemonium back at the heart of the court. Feylings began to fight feylings and faeries as those loyal to the faeries tried to restrain and keep those dissident from escaping. Diana began to grab a couple of the children who had not gone to give their oaths and teleported to Thelon. Thelon dare not wait long. He thought he caught glimpses of movement nearby. Whether it was the wind or the fey, he couldn't be certain.

I'll be back, he promised silently to those who couldn't make it out and teleported away with Diana and several frightened children.