Razark had to laugh at the mirrored expressions of Dee and Noyala. Both had a raised eyebrow and a half-questioning, half-judging look on their face. The duo had just appeared through one of the abandoned gateways that dotted the great forest of the elves. They had set this gateway as their meeting place to plan for their next steps. The two had stopped moving right after noticing Razark and had been staring at him since then, which was about five minutes ago. It was obvious they weren’t going to be the first to speak.

“Is it really that weird?” He asked with amusement. “As I’m not officially part of the order anymore, naturally I wouldn’t wear the scout uniform either. It’s more of a symbolic thing, but the standard garb of an Alpyran seemed like a natural solution.”

“I think the point is not that you’re not in scout garb anymore. The problem is with the gap between that and now.” Dee commented.

For as long as Dee had known him, Razark had used what could be called a modest way of dressing. Part of that was because he drew enough attention as it was, and another part of it was that the scout garb really covered pretty much everything for practical purposes. He also didn’t like to advertise his appearance because he didn’t like people recognizing him. His current garb was very different. Nessera had mentioned that the Alpyrans were not shy about showing their form, but Dee had never associated that particular trait with Razark. The normal scout attire was form fitting, as proven by the several admiring glances directed at her posterior in the past, but it was that way for reasons other than appearance. Thus she had never considered that Razark might be showing off.

Now that was fairly obvious. He was clad in leather pants that left very little to the imagination and a sleeveless jacket that was open at the front. This left most of his body open for admiration. All in all, it reminded Dee a bit of the attire worn by Shunkaha the first time they had met during the Radiant Sun’s recruitment. “Am I expected to leave off my gear as well? I just got it made, and I didn’t bring a change.” Dee asked with a slight bit of amusement creeping into her voice.

“No. Like I said, this is more of a symbolic thing half done for myself more than any other people and the scout gear doesn’t carry the markings of the order. My current clothing is something of a reminder of my departure to myself and others. That said, if you ever do want a new garb, I know a couple of excellent Alpyran tailors who would love to have you as a model. You’d rock the clothes they make and wear, though knowing you I suppose you would not like the added attention.” Razark replied with a small chuckle, finding the humor in the situation. He also realized the radical departure. That was part of the point, as he was using that as another way of cutting his ties to the order.

He gestured the two to take a seat by the small campfire. The fire was kept small on purpose so their presence would not be noted by any nearby elven rangers, though with the size of the forest it was unlikely one would be nearby just at this time. They were not planning on staying here for long, but they still had to make some plans.

“So how are we going to do this?” Razark asked for feedback. He had his own ideas, but wanted to hear thoughts from the other two.

“Well, we have two vague but separate goals here.” Dee started off. “We have the bigger mission given to us by the grandmaster, and I have my promise to help Noyala. The two might or might not overlap, which brings us to this. What is it that you need done Noyala?”

“That depends.” Noyala said a little evasively.

“Depends on what?” Dee asked, gently but firmly. “I need to know some of what to expect at least.”

Noyala considered for a moment before replying. “It depends on a few things actually. It depends on the current situation. It depends on my family’s reaction. It depends especially on my sister’s reaction. And it depends on how far we can go. I have vague plans that go all the way to the impossible heights of taking the Unseelie to become the number one community on Pantheon, but we naturally won’t be able to accomplish everything I have set my sights on. We have to see what’s realistic to accomplish and then go from there.”

Dee realized that Razark’s presence might be part of why Noyala wasn’t too willing to share. “I think it might be beneficial for us to work separately.” Dee said while looking at Razark. “How about this. You’ll try to find everything you can about whatever is stopping the grandmaster from speaking. While you’re working on the bigger objective, I’ll do what I can to help Noyala. We will gather periodically and exchange information as we might learn things that might help with the other objective. Besides, I think we’ll both be able to move more freely that way.”

Razark could see what Dee was going for, and this actually coincided with his own plan. He had no obligation to help Noyala and had a mission of his own, which might or might not overlap with Dee’s objective. Truth be told he could also move more freely if he didn’t have to watch over Dee. Despite her abilities, she wasn’t an immortal yet. “Agreed. Let’s keep this as a meeting place. We can discuss further meetings when necessary but let’s set the next one two weeks from now. If you don’t show up in five days after that or at least leave a message then I’m coming to look for you. Agreed?”

Dee gave a nod of agreement. Normally Razark wouldn’t have left so quickly, but he could sense the two needed to talk alone. As such he excused himself and disappeared into the forest. After giving him a moment to leave the area, with Dee checking that he actually did do so, the two could finally get to the real point. “Ok, tell me what you can. You can tell me more later on, but I need some basics at least.” Dee said, looking deep into Noyala’s eyes.

Noyala gave a small sigh of resignation and started to explain. “I already mentioned that strictly speaking, I’m in the running for the next Winter Queen. I also mentioned that I’m as far down the list one can be and still be on the list. That’s partially because my sister was trained as a potential heir, while I was trained to become the person who removes the obstacles on her path and do things she can’t be seen doing. It’s one of those little quirks of the court. Everybody knows the important people have their hands stained with blood and greed, but it’s important that they won’t be seen doing anything personally. Thus people like me.

“I may have futzed the importance of my family a bit earlier when I talked about it. We have very little in the way of royal blood, but my parents control a large portion of the Winter Court armies. How much do you know about the succession anyway?” Noyala asked.

“A little. I know that the King and Queen are married, but that the position doesn’t move to their children. Something about not being able to have children? I’m guessing it has something to do with the Authorities drawing on their life.” Dee summarized.

“That’s correct. The position of a monarch comes with the associated Authority which is more of a curse than a blessing in my opinion. Among other things, it draws on the life-force of the person controlling the Authority. That life drain also makes it impossible for the Queen to become pregnant as the child would be drained to death as well. That said, the royal blood has spread to the noble houses over the millennia, and any noble house with even a bit of royal blood is eligible. Theoretically at least. In the case of the Winter court, the noble families each nominate a daughter of suitable age for the position when it becomes apparent the old king and queen are about to pass away. Their other daughters retain eligibility as well, in case the nominated daughter dies, but a queen has never been chosen outside the nominated daughters. In this case, the one dying is the Summer King, who was much older than the Winter Queen when they assumed the position. It is natural he would also be the one dying first, although I suspect he might have gotten a bit of help in that. Unfortunately, if one dies they both die. That’s another one of the downsides of the Authority.” Noyala’s expression made it clear how much she disdained the ‘cursed’ power.

“You said theoretically every house is eligible. And in practice?” Dee prompted.

“In practice only a handful of the most powerful houses rotate the position among them. Those houses have held the power in the court for as long as anyone can remember. Now there are slight exceptions to this. Sometimes a new house rises to power and can take the throne for a generation, but they usually fall by the time the next monarch takes the position. On some occasions one candidate outside the top houses is so obviously better than all competition that they are kind of forced into the position.” Noyala explained patiently. This was common knowledge to every Unseelie noble, but not really to outsiders.

“The heir apparent would be an example of the last one, I assume?” Dee asked.

Noyala scratched her ear a bit showing a mix of emotions. “Ah, about that. I think the matter of what you call heir apparent has become a little confused as the news have traveled outside, but essentially yes you are correct. The current frontrunner for the position is an example of the last possibility, and she is eclipsing all the other choices. Her refusal to accept the Authority and the marriage are major contributors to the current civil war, though not as big of a contributor as most outsiders think. Lots of other factors are converging here, such as the Spring and Autumn courts’ unhappiness at being shut out of the position. As it so happens, my sister is also an example of the second exception. With our parents both having such a prominent position in the army, our house has become one of the front runners.”

“So where do you and your goals fit into all this?” Dee asked, getting to the point.

“Well, my mother’s subordinates were chasing me when we met. That was because I had done something that would reflect badly on our house if word was to get out, and it would ruin my sister’s chances at the throne. I’m not entirely sure how high her chances were in the first place, but my actions would’ve eliminated those chances for good. Those subordinates of my mother’s killed an old friend of mine as I mentioned. The very first thing I would like to do is to avenge my friend. That means my mother’s subordinates and maybe my mother as well. I have plenty of reasons to hate her, but she is also one of the hardest people to get to in the entire empire. Trying to get her might be a one-way trip.” Noyala admitted with a sigh.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. What else? Do you want to take the throne?” Dee swept the problem away for now.

Noyala considered the question. “I would say yes. I realize that to be one of those things that might not come to pass, but yes I would like to take the position in the end. The Unseelie have become weak and complacent. Even with defending our borders, the long peace and isolation have taken its toll on my people. This forest is not good for us, and I’d like to change that by leading us elsewhere.”

Dee nodded in understanding. “I think I know your answer, but I have to ask. What about the Authority?”

Noyala answered straight away. “The Authority can burn for all I care. It is a symbol of all the things wrong with our people, and it is one of the chains binding us into the forest. I don’t know how I could take the position without the Authority though. The symbolic value is very strong. That said the Authority comes with certain…strings attached which makes it impossible for me to accept.”

“Right then. Your mother’s subordinates. Do you know who actually killed your friend or do you want to take out the whole unit? We actually don’t know how many of them survived the fight with the centaurs that were chasing me.” Dee suddenly realized that Noyala’s revenge might have already come to pass.

“Even if they didn’t, the one that killed my friend wasn’t part of the group chasing after me, as only a part of the attacking unit could come after me. Most of them were prevented from chasing by a spell I used. I don’t know the specific person, but I have some ideas. I often worked in conjunction with my mother’s forces in the past. The unit was simply following orders so no need to go after all of them, but I won’t be sad to see some collateral damage as we try to find out the person we want. They made their choice when they started hunting me.” Noyala admitted the difficulty of their task. “That’s actually one of the reasons why I need your help specifically. Troops like the unit we’re talking about would never betray their own, but a psion should be able to pry the identity from their mind, right?”

Dee considered for a moment. She had never actually gone into a person’s mind to seek specific information. They had done some exercises with Moirai, but that was not the same thing. She also had a limited idea of what she was looking for. There were still ways though. “Not directly perhaps, but if we manage to capture someone with the information, then I can get the answer if we combine my abilities with a more standard interrogation. They might not be willing to say the answer, but they will be thinking about it if you ask the right questions.” Reading surface thoughts like that would be much easier than going digging into someone’s memories. Memories that could be faulty anyway.

“In that case, we need to go to the winter capital of Ordos. The unit usually follows my mother around but has its home base there. I can’t tell where my mother might be at this time, but at least some members of the unit should be on stationed back there to guard the facilities. We can learn more there.” Noyala decided. Dee’s knowledge when it came to this was limited, so she deferred to Noyala’s judgment.

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The city of Ordos was unique compared to the other capital cities, as it was not inside the great forest proper. All four of the seasonal courts had their own capital city and the whole empire had a joint capital city of Seldarassine where the courts came together to deal with matters that covered the whole empire. The Autumn capital was on the border of the forest, but even that city was still considered to be inside the forest, as were the other three cities. Ordos was different.

As the Unseelie preferred the mountainous terrain to forests, the city of Ordos was built in a valley between several mountains. The mountains were part of a mountain range that pushed inside the forest, so some could argue it too was within the borders of the forest, even if there were no trees in the vicinity of the city. The city itself was a large collection of tall buildings and ornate spires. The buildings were mostly formed from either stone or a strange white crystal that looked a little like ice. Both were formed with earth magic, so the buildings looked like they were carved out of a single piece of stone or crystal. They Unseelie also liked to add decorations to their houses, so over the millennia, even the simplest buildings had become incredibly ornate with graceful arches and sculptures everywhere. Notably, wood was used in some rare places, but only as decoration or to build something temporary.

As Dee and Noyala looked over the city, Dee had an odd look on her face as she observed the city. To Dee, it seemed like there was something missing, and she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. It just gave her a feeling of something being wrong, as she observed the people and the buildings. Noyala had a knowing smile on her face, as this was not the first time someone outside the Unseelie had this reaction.

“Do you want a hint?” She asked.

“No, give me a second. I almost got it.” Dee replied with a frown. The incongruity seemed to have more to do with the people and the wares being hawked by the merchants than the buildings themselves. Suddenly it hit her. “There’s no metal! I can’t see a single piece of metal in the entire city.”

Noyala nodded in confirmation. “Correct. There are some metals, but not in the open. As a race, the Sidhe have always had an aversion to metal. In the beginning, it was almost too toxic to touch, but we have slowly begun to get used to it. We Unseelie more than our weaker cousins at Summer court. Nowadays the aversion has come down to the level of allergies for the majority of Unseelie. That said, most of us still find the presence of metal uncomfortable and bothersome, hence why all the metal items are kept inside.”

Dee gave a meaningful glance at Noyala’s metal weapons. This brought a small grimace from the latter. “Yeah some of us have gotten over that aversion completely. Well, some have gotten over it, while some were forced to get used to it. A very unpleasant experience I might add. We have come to terms with the fact that most weapons are best made of metal. Still, moonstone is one of our largest imports as it’s one of the few non-metal materials that can rival metals like mithril when it comes to making weapons. Most of our weapons and all our armor is still made of either moonstone, noble woods or the hides, bones, and scales of certain beasts. People like me are an exception. Speaking of…” Noyala suddenly started swapping her weapons to those made of a greenish-blue crystal-like material, which Dee recognized as a variation of moonstone.

Dee had her own weapons hidden inside the shadows so that would not be a problem. Besides, it would not be her weapons that drew attention if she allowed people to see her. A bigger problem was that the population of Ordos was very homogeneously Unseelie. There were some elves in the mix, mostly the pale skinned and dark and white haired Dark Elves of Autumn court. One or two other species besides elves could be seen, but definitely no over two mel tall rakshasa-fox demon hybrids. This might be a bit of a problem, even with Dee’s stealth abilities.

“I can hide myself with the scout hood and mask, and combined with my aura I will mostly blend in. That said, there’s a limit to it.” She mentioned.

“No need to worry just yet, we aren’t actually going inside the city. The place we are aiming for is on the other side of that mountain.” Noyala pointed at one of the mountains surrounding the city.

“Still, we need to figure something out. We will sooner or later need to spend some time in the cities.” Dee pointed out.

“Can’t you…you know…” Noyala waved her hand expressively, suggesting Dee change form. “I thought that’s part of the kitsune thing.”

Dee gave a small sigh. “It is. And to a certain extent I can. The further away from my standard forms I go though, the harder it will be to keep that appearance for long. I’ll also need one of those earrings if I want to pretend to be a Sidhe.”

Noyala pursed her lips a bit in thought. “Well. That’s a bit of a problem. These aren’t just decorations. They are all enchanted for authenticity, and your identity will be open for anyone to see. I’m already futzing my own identity a bit with my own magic, but at least I’m only claiming a slight difference. I didn’t change my family, instead, I just note that I’m from a branch family and not the main house. On the other hand, if you want to claim to be a member of a house that you’re not, that’ll be noticed pretty quickly.”

“A dark elf then? I once pretended to be an elf with black wings to escape an elven war camp.” Dee suggested.

“Wait, you pretended to be a Dark Avariel? I think I heard something about that. An agent of the Autumn court attacked a Spring court war camp. The Autumn court, of course, denied any responsibility. It was a major diplomatic incident for a while.” Noyala laughed in amusement at the thought.

“I didn’t know they made such a big deal out of it.” Dee replied with a shrug.

“Actually that might work well. Dark Avariel are respected even amongst us Unseelie, and your presence will not be questioned nearly as closely. We can work with that.” Noyala liked the idea, as it could work to their advantage. “Still, no need for that just yet. We have a base to raid and a prisoner to catch.”