Blayney had been correct in how those we met treated us. They saw us, they made no effort to hide that they were assessing our potential as threats to the herd, without acknowledging our presence. Because we had yet to have been welcomed to Herd Lands, we were considered unknowns.

It was interesting to see how they observed without making it appear like we were being watched. The process had almost transformed into an art form, a dance as individuals weaved in and out of our perception. One person happening to cross our paths, just as another was left behind. A constant intertwining of bodies and observers, none stationary, a fluidity to their movement that made their ability to spy on us a convoluted ballet, a production of movement as the in and out of bodies was orchestrated to confuse and disguise intention.

I would have never noticed the coordinated maneuvering in my previous life. But here, my perception was heightened. Things that appeared mundane were filtered through the lens of that perception, and innocuous patterns were identified and analyzed.

The Kelpies were good. But there were too many instances of a form, an individual, I’d seen previously once more passing us by. Perhaps they discounted my ability to discern the different characteristics in coloring, structure, and gait. Or perhaps they didn’t care and thought me and mine not much of a threat.

This was to my advantage.

The Kelpies, themselves, were uniformly black in their horse form, but there were a few subtle variations. Shades of black or highlights that allowed one who was perceptive to see the difference. A white marking highlighting the ebony deepness of their black coats.

As we approached an area where several Kelpies had gathered, we finally were acknowledged. A council of Elders was awaiting our arrival in front of what Blayney had identified as Elder Hall. Three women, two men, all in their human shape. As with all Sidhe, age was hard to determine. I’d yet to see anyone that looked much beyond thirty in appearance.

But a few hints, an aura of history and antiquity that influenced insight, a person was able to discern a solidity to an individual that translated to age. That aura and the actions for two of the Elders seemed influenced by timelessness, not so much a sense of age as permanence.

It was in the small gestures and shifts of stance, a subtle nuance of movement and attitude that indicated these individuals had observed countless millennium. That they had an established history and their psyche had become ingrained with habits that reflected that history. Eras of differing morals and expectations had become so deeply intrinsic in their nature and behavior that they weren’t even aware that these subtle undertones in kinesics betrayed their advanced age. Mannerisms and bias that were distinct enough for those with high enough perception to note those influences.

I saw no weapons on any of them, but none were needed. The claws and teeth the Kelpie brandished were well suited for that purpose. Any manufactured weapons would have been redundant. Even in human form, they were not defenseless. The ability to shift between forms was seamless and effortless. They would be able to attain those forms more suited to combat long before any spell or attack we might make could reach them.

These Elders, waiting as we approached, managed to conceal their emotions perfectly. No raised eyebrow, no flash of anger, or sneer to belittle or humiliate Blayney was given or allowed to hint at the response our arrival would foster. They could have been carved from marble, with their indifference. Their lack of emotion gave an additional gravitas to this encounter. They were somber, unyielding, and unapologetic. But they were also wary and uncertain.

Some hidden trigger seemed to animate the guards that had been stationed to protect them, an invisible line that Blayney crossed as we moved into position. His actions somehow foreshadowing his determination. Whatever it was they noticed, they reacted as if it were a threat and moved to bar his path.

Blayney took their reaction in stride. He had been expecting this, his provocation intentional, and he was prepared.

Swiftly transfiguring between horse and human he began to address the crowd. "When Belisama, Goddess of Lakes, crafts, and lights, first saw these waters she thought ‘let the fish and eel prosper’," Blayney proclaimed confidently. He was aware, to the exact millimeter, of his position and stopped just short of the guards and the Elders. His voice carried, certain and determined. He would have all those gathered know his intentions.

"She made her home on the shores, spending her days and nights creating great and miraculous tools.

"She tamed the fires of the sun to allow kilns, furnaces and cooking to ease the life of those that would worship her.

"And She harnessed and tended small hearth-fires to fight back the dark and extend the rule of light into the night.

"But She was alone and had none to share these treasures with. Isolated from the other Gods as each breathed the magics of Divinity into the world.

"She had seen the intransigent behavior of those creatures her fellow Gods had created. And as Sidhe forgot that they were one and gathered together into tribes to make war on one another, to rule over lesser fey, she despaired.

"She wanted better for Danu’s children.

"So, She turned Her abilities to craft and tame fire toward a new task. She would create life. Life that was more balanced. She thought to combat the uncompromising and isolation She found anathema in the Sidhe by creating companions that were not so rigid.

"She thought that if those She would imbue with life were capable of experiencing the wonders of this world in form and function more suited to the exegeses of nature, that understanding and empathy for others would allow for a patient and peaceful people.

"And so, She collected clay and waters, enchanted them with abilities to heal and shift, and sculpted three forms.

"Horse, Water Serpent, and Man.

"And She breathed life into them as She melded these forms.

"Three became one. And the first Kelpie was born," he lectured.

"We were created as ambassadors, a unique species capable of fully understanding the nature of land and water. But Nodens, God of hunting and the sea, was jealous of Belisama and those Kelpies She created to ease Her loneliness. He wished to possess Belisama and would not share Her affections.

"And so, He acted.

"Those first gentle Kelpies were hunted, enslaved, and doomed to become nothing more than beasts of burden.

"Unable and unwilling to fight those that would hunt or enslave them, they prayed to Belisama, crying for release and a return to the Earth, for they knew. This world was not suitable for the gentle nature of those first Kelpies.

"And Belisama hearing their prayers grew angry. And in Her anger acted. For how the Goddess of craft could, not know the secret of weapons, and knowing those secrets, not be familiar with the rules of combat.

"In Her anger, She reached out Her hand to touch those that She had created and crafted Her response. She released her divine will and implemented change. The horse form grew fangs to tear, claws to rend, and manes of serpents to poison. The water-serpent form became longer, stronger, sleeker, with wings that allowed them to travel the air as easily as the water, and their fangs grew and contained poisons. Poisons that would paralyze their victims.

“It was only the man form She left unchanged, gifting them with no way to make Battle. She instead gave that form the gift of voice so that her original intent was not lost. They could broker peace where possible. But declare battle when needed.

"I, Blayney, Kelpie and devoted son of the Goddess Belisama, say to you that challenge is given. That Herd Lord Haygan has engaged in those acts that the Goddess herself found offensive and vile. Using trickery and the gift of voice, he set his trap.

"A trap to rid his herd of those that might challenge him for leadership.

"There were no new lands to develop. No new lakes to establish, no new territories.

"There was only slavery.

"There have been no trades made, no call to gather, no recruitment of sons and daughters from the Kelpie Herds because that was never Lord Haygan’s intent.

"His actions were based on jealousy and fear.

"And He conspired with a Seelie noble to enslave the Goddess Belisama’s children.

"For that, I cry challenge. Let Belisama witness the perfidy and evil that he has allowed to become entrenched within his heart.

"And for those of his. Those he trusted and conscripted to help with his nefarious plan, I say to you, pray.

"Pray that Belisama forgives you your loathsome actions, for I will not," Blayney concluded.

There was no time for those Elders present to respond. The words of Challenge had been given. The response to his challenge was immediate.

A glow began to emanate from Blayney once those final words left his lips. A presence, not unfamiliar to the Wild Magic that reached out responding by tethering his life force in the energies required to create the challenge arena.

The gift of voice was a unique talent, not solely the bivouac of Kelpie, but they were perhaps the most well versed in its use. Words possessed a power, a gravity, that could shape reality. Innuendo, gossip, slights, and slanted truths have begun wars, fostered discrimination, and motivated accusations. But the power of words has also brought peace and fostered hope.

Blayney’s use of voice stirred the sleeping mind of Belisama. It called forth those ritual precepts that she had established to allow wrongs to be righted. And it allowed the environment to conform to the politesse for established chivalry and doctrine.

The waters of the lake began boiling. Currents and tide set in motion as vast amounts of water leapt to obey Belisama’s will. Her Domain and those precepts that had been established when the challenge rules were crafted warped the weave and fabric of reality. The changes were awe-inspiring. Water began gathering, just a puddle to begin, but more and more of those waters that had once been passive, gentle waves of lake water lapping at the near shore coalesced and grew. The water joining together, taking form and separating from the lake.

A trickle at first that grew until an arena of water had formed. Crystal clear, spherical, the waters flowed above the lake, shaped to allow Kelpie to surround, to gather, and to give witness to the battle that was soon to be joined.

Two appendages were created and grew, snaking out until they had enough substance to grow and seek. The tentacle hesitated as it reached Blayney and entered the Elders’ building. The one I could see must have been waiting for something inside the croft, because it began moving again, wrapping around Blayney and attaching to his stomach. A metaphysical umbilical cord that firmed once connected and began to retract, drawing Blayney and whom I assumed was Herd Lord Haygan out of the building and into the watery arena.

Both men transformed when they had been enfolded within the globe, Lord Haygan into his full water-serpent form, while Blayney seemed to merge his horse and serpent form. The contrast in forms was jarring. Lord Haygan’s transition was seamless his form graceful and complete. Blayney’s form, on the other hand, seemed half-formed, as if he had gotten stuck between the two shapes.

His form drew hushed comments and whispers from those that would stand testament to the outcome of this battle. What I thought was a poor adaption, a failed attempt for a water form, was, in fact, something much rarer. Few Kelpie were able to transition and adapt the bonuses and strengths of their unique shapes into a cohesive whole. His form that looked like an amalgam, bits and pieces of all of his shapes was capable of mixing the stat bonuses and skills of all of his forms.

That Blayney was capable of this feat, spoke to motive. Lord Haygan, for all his power, and years as Herd Lord had never been able to create an amalgam of shape and function. Blayney had demonstrated before the entire Kelpie community that his shifting ability outstripped that of the Herd Lord.

The whispers grew louder as indignation and anger spread across those gathered. Understanding blossomed as Kelpie that had served faithfully began discussing themes of betrayal and treachery. Blayney had been one of them. The Herd had celebrated and feted his decision to split off and develop new lands and waters. As time had passed with no word, people that he had befriended, associates and childhood comrades had eventually concluded that Blayney had abandoned them.

And Herd Lord Haygan fostered that belief. Announcing that trade would not be expanded. Condemning Blayney for establishing and developing new markets with an infusion of fresh products and trade routes with richer, more influential Kelpie. Blayney had been branded traitor. Ungrateful. His actions branding him an outcast. His friends tarnished with the taint of that betrayal.

It seemed strange to me that Lord Haygan did not try to rebuke Blayney’s accusation when the challenge had been made. Neither he nor the Elders had yet to utter a word in defense or denial. Perhaps this demonstration of shifting ability was why.

No matter. Challenge had been given, and it seemed that was all that was required. It was possible that in some manner, the challenged was proscribed from using voice to answer. This limitation negating the natural mediation talents contained in ‘voice’ that Belisama had gifted the Kelpie when she first created the species.

Blayney had set the terms, he demanded battle, the only recourse was to fight and win. I wasn’t certain that the challenged even had the option to surrender and admit defeat until after the fight commenced.

The sphere of water that had become the battleground remodeled once the tethers had drawn both participants inside. Their placement was strategic, one near the top of the globe, one near the bottom, positioned so that the waterfall that spawned and flowed over them changed the conditions of the environment. They were soon forced to contend with the torrential flow of water and pressure as the bottom opened up and a cascade of water began draining out of the sphere.

The lake became active, immense waves and waterspouts battered at the globe, replenishing and maintaining the volume of water. But the currents and eddies that the constant release and refill made traversing and maneuvering problematic for any but the most adept swimmer.

Herd Lord Haygan appeared to have an advantage once the water currents began to impact the environment. His sleek serpent form was specially designed for this trial. Fins and tail allowing for smooth navigation, while the frill and mane allowed him to interpret the minute changes in displacement and progression. He was a sleek hydrodynamical predator. No wasted movements were allowed. Adjusting instinctively and immediately to current and circumstance.

Blayney’s form seemed clunky and inelegant in comparison. Still, he managed to adjust to the water's movement easily. Small twitches of muscle movement or flicks of tail easily compensating for the lack of fins. An economy of motion that allowed him to conserve energy while refusing to move even a fraction from the position the tendrils had deposited him at.

"Una, what’s happening?" I asked after a few moments of watching the two appear to be doing nothing but staring at each other.

"There are four stages to ritual combat," she answered.

"In the first stage, the challenger and challenged must first prove their abilities to control their form and that they are worthy of battle.

"The water then tests. Flow and current, eddies and whirlpools. Belisama’s waters weed out the weak. If those that would contend with each other cannot transverse the test of water, then the challenge has been decided by the one that prevails, and combat is disallowed.

"Belisama learned well the lesson the Seelie taught when they slaughtered and enslaved the first Kelpie," Una explained. "She requires the strength of form and the ability to adapt from those that would lead.

"The challenge sphere forces those that would contend to first prove that they have gained enough control over their water form to withstand the currents that can pummel and kill those not suited.

"If they cannot maintain position, if the current washes them out of the sphere, then they have lost the trial.

"Belisama created the first Kelpie to be peace-brokers, the original challenge arena did not contain the trial of battle. She thought by gifting multiple shapes, we would be uniquely suited to understanding the differences the Sidhe exhibited. When Sidhe destroyed those illusions, She allowed a trial by combat to become part of her test of trials.

"Her challenge trial, that was initially created and invested as an instrument of her divine will, was established as a vehicle to test the resolve and to solve issues without bloodshed. It became more. It was only after Her disillusionment with the rest of Sidhe, after She, in Her anger, adapted Kelpie and empowered them with the tools to make war, that She transformed the Challenge sphere and allowed it to evolve.

"What was once an instrument of benevolence and compassion has become an instrument of anger and vengeance," she said.

"The first trial has concluded," Irvin pointed out, his worry evident. I knew he was an adult by System standards and had Ascended, but in this instance, he was still a young colt, afraid that his father might not survive.

The water that had been cascading out of and forming a waterfall slowed until the sphere was once more uniform. The lake calmed, waves diminishing until nothing remained but small ripples responding to a gentle breeze. Waterspouts collapsed with one last explosion of fury and splendor before their destructive potential was spent.

"How many trials are there?" I asked Una.

"Four," she said, reminding me that she’d already mentioned this.

"Control. Endurance. Ability. Battle.

"Each progressively more difficult and dangerous."