“The first Old Ones didn’t know how to count their enemies. They had words for one to seven opponents, so they invented a ranking system with seven ranks. For the first rank, a youth had to kill seven enemies to become an adult. He had to kill seven to the power of two foes to become a warrior. At rank three one was seen as a mage. For the last rank they had to defeat seven to the power of seven enemies. A feat that could only be achieved by slaughtering fae, as no other race was so numerous.”

- A memory of the Old Ones.

***Fairy***

***Gardener***

“Wood and bark! The humans should be hunting them, not us!” Summer complains. She is outraged since an Old One sneaked into Fairy and assassinated Winter. It took the three remaining leaders of Fairy three weeks to clean up the infestation of necromantic magic.

I must admit that the spell which turned Winter into a lich intrigued me. It reminded everyone of why the Old Ones are feared throughout the world. None of the long lived races dare to forget the danger of gaining the attention of a creature which can manipulate magic like clay.

The spell on Winter is the perfect example, since it was originally a creation of the fairy lords before it was altered, and was never used outside the realms. The Old One encountered the spell for the first time. He took a look at it and warped it into something entirely different. What took us centuries to figure out, he warped and redefined it within a day.

Most likely he didn’t even know what he was doing and simply decided to experiment.

I sigh. And the Fairy lords intend to fight such beings. They certainly haven't learned anything from the last war. Or is it simply fatalism? Are they so tired of hiding in Fairy that they intentionally forgot why they are here in the first place?

My finger wanders over the bark of the large tree. I planted it myself in the centre of this small glade. Reluctantly, I return my attention to Summer, Autumn and Spring. The three of them are enraged about the demise of their fellow fae lord. Apparently, it doesn't matter that he was about to take over all of fae, his equals included. “I guess it's simply a matter of principle,” I whisper.

Spring spreads her hands. “I never expected this stupid plan to work. In all honesty, I am surprised that it created as much discord as it did. So what will we do now? Is the wedge which we drove between the humans and supernaturals large enough to warrant an all out war? Or do we prefer to continue on in hiding?”

Autumn snorts and shakes his head. “As if we have another choice. Now that the Old Ones have released a video of our practices, the humans will turn against us sooner or later. Even those who don't believe that the video is real. And who says that the Old Ones can't get another spy into Fairy? For millennia, we believed ourselves safe, just to find out that the Old Ones can walk into our safe haven as they please.”

“And we still don't know how they did it!” Summer hisses. While Spring and Autumn were talking, she took delicious delight in crushing the delicate flowers which grow in irregular patches all over the glade. Winter's death affected her the most. Among the fae lords, he was the closest thing to an ally as she would ever get. Spring and Autumn are more of the moderate and careful kind. It's possible that they’ll cancel the entire campaign.

Maybe a few wise words are necessary. “It took them a while, but they showed us that even Fairy isn't impenetrable. With a little more time, they might even find a way to attack Fairy, or wipe us out entirely.”

“So you are saying that we have to go through with the war?” Spring's expression turns ugly. She clearly isn't pleased. The whole affair was started by Summer and Winter. Now that Winter is gone, the moderate faction has the upper hand among the fae.

Yet it seems like they are powerless to change their course of action. Anything else would mean that they have to admit that they are in the wrong. And who likes to admit to himself that he is wrong?

What a pity.

***Carinthia***

***Magnus***

Annia bursts into the living room and runs over to the TV. “They are doing it!” She switches it on and hammers her finger onto the buttons to select the news channel.

“They are doing what?” I ask. Just a moment ago, I was enjoying my married life by lying on the couch with my pregnant wife at my side. Having someone to cuddle with is the best thing in the whole world. It was quiet, and for a short time it seemed like we didn't have a single problem.

“They are invading Earth! It’s like in that movie, the one in which the Martians attacked,” Annia proclaims as the TV comes to life.

“Invade what?” Sely looks up and squints her eyes at the screen.

A reporter is frantically trying to describe the recent events. “Sprouted huge trees in every capital city! A seemingly endless amount of troops is spilling forth from these 'portals'. They are all fae and they are killing everyone who stands in their way. Civilians are advised to flee to the country. All able-bodied people have to join forces with the military in an attempt to take back the cities...”

The reporter continues to rant about moral atrocities and crimes of war. I listen in quiet silence for a few more seconds until it seems like all other information isn't of immediate value. “So they are doing this the hard way? Are they operating anywhere other than in major cities?”

Annia shakes her head. “I haven't listened to a lot of it before I hurried to alert you, but so far they didn't mention anything else besides the capitals. Seems like the fae want to strike down the human governments and weaken their industrial capabilities.”

I rub the sleep out of my eyes and wave for Annia. “Go and fetch the others. There is a lot to discuss. Mainly how to defend our territory if the conflict starts spreading beyond the capitals.”

Sely looks at me with a grim determination in her eyes. “Do you really think that the conflict will spread? Isn't it a good sign that they limited their attack to the capitals? Surely, it means that they don't have nearly as much troops as we feared.”

I shrug and turn down the volume of the television. I don't like to shout when there is no need for it. “Who knows? I think we should expect the worst. The fact that they are only attacking the capitals so far could also mean that their ability to create portals is limited. They decided to attack major population centres first. Makes me glad that my territory is kind of insignificant.”

Sely runs a hand through her hair and we listen to the human news channels for a while, switching from one to the other. After a while, it becomes clear that none of them has any more information to offer. We wait for the other family members to join us, but one thing quickly becomes clear to me. “They are completely ignoring rural areas. And stick to the big cities. A few well placed nukes would solve the problem.”

My wife gasps. “The humans would never do that. And who says that the fae haven't taken precautions? Their whole tactics remind me of a blitzkrieg. They want to take over without destroying major resources. Such a coordinated attack clearly demands a lot of thought and planning. They didn't do this on a whim, or because your assassination of Winter provoked a reaction.”

It certainly forced them to move their plans forward. I allow myself a few moments of silence to gather my thoughts. “You are probably right that they wouldn't present themselves as openly if they didn't have something as simple as a nuke covered. I still think that I should strengthen my Veil to the point that only humans are let through.”

Closing my eyes, I concentrate and give the necessary instructions. The Veil only interferes with beings who hold a certain level of magical power. Anything else is let through without causing problems. As the creator of the Veil, I can adjust the settings. It certainly won't stop someone determined from pushing his way through, but it will at least alert me to the fact that someone entered my territory. Sadly, this won't protect me from a fairytree which opens a portal directly in my territory.

I sigh and get to my feet. “Talk with the others about necessary steps to defend ourselves. I have to go to Hatlix. We have to finish that thing and activate it earlier than I expected. A few more weeks of testing would've been more to my liking, but Fate seems to have other plans.”