Have you ever been swallowed whole by a giant earthworm? A worm with teeth? Of course, you haven’t, people wouldn’t live to tell the story if they had. Me, not so lucky. I became much too familiar with the inner workings of the damn worm; the teeth tearing into me with the power to crush stone and create tunnels at prodigious speeds trying to destroy and digest me.

My Sidhe regeneration abilities and [Greater Heal] were all that saved me. My shield and armor were nothing but tissue in the face of the daunting compacting pressure, destructive power of internal acids, and the blazing heat of the Crawlers internal working.

Legs and arms that were severed, my torso crushed to paste, my spine severed. The sheer destruction that my [Greater Heal] and regeneration needed to offset was horrific. Using my magic while ignoring the pain that was continuous as the damn worm seemed to take relish in chewing on me required my entire focus.

The heat I could disregard, I was a child of Beleros, the heat of Stars was part of that lineage, these temperatures were nothing to be concerned with. The acid I was able to traverse making use of Unseelie heritage, Cyronax allowed me to harness the absolute cold that existed in deep space and freeze the acid into solid compounds, allowing me to ignore that biological shitstorm.

And shitstorm is what the Fates had in store for me. In any biological organism, the process of ingestion always divides at some point. The materials digested either becoming nutrients to sustain that organism or becoming waste by-product.

I, King Teigh Mac de Beleros y Cyronax, having saved two worlds had become nothing more than the droppings of an oversized worm. Now if that isn’t the shits, I’m not sure what is. Needless to say, I survived my ordeal. The Crawler only getting one pass at making me a meal.

I didn’t bother to equip new armor or to clean myself up, I was too furious at the ignominy and embarrassment. Excrement be damned, that thing would die, I thought furiously as I withdrew another sword from my Ring and channeled my affinity with cold through the blade. Rushing back at the departing Crawler, I began hacking. Wide swaths of fury and outrage breaking off huge chunks of the beast.

The ability to channel absolute zero allowing me to shatter and destroy huge segments. I’m not sure how long it had taken for the damn thing to shit me out, but it took me seconds to destroy its carapace and leave the last vestige of neural functions twitching. Even this last semblance of life was an affront and so I released a nova of fire so intense that rivulets of stone and Crawler flowed together as newly formed lava.

[System Notice: Your fortitude in the face of overwhelming odds is prodigious. Increase Will – 2 points.]

It was only after I had had my revenge and received that announcement that my hindbrain released control of my actions and my intellect engaged. The first thought was removing any trace of shit from my skin, the next equipping armor, but then I paused to reflect on my actions and how I had survived. Finally, when I had calmed down and I realized I had Ranked and Leveled up, and never bothered to open my Status menu to see that meant, I accessed my System Menu.

[System Notice: Spell and Skill Status menu functionality have been restored. Note: System Integration on Earth has allowed for an evolution of these abilities. Magic and Skill use are more intuitive and organic. User is able to create spells that utilize affinities over 60%. Skills can be trained and acquired in the Ring of Hidden Depths and no longer require activation costs to use.]

Name:

Teigh Mac De Beleros y Cyronax

King:

Level 3

Title:

Summerland’s Protector

Title:

Zeus’ Bane

Title:

Life-Bringer

Title:

Danu’s Kiss: You have been blessed by Wild Magic and the Goddess Danu.

The wee folk, sprites, and earth elementals will obey your commands.

You can call upon the Wild Magic to enhance any spell cast once every third day.

Sithern’s created by you will conform and move to your will after creation.

Health Pool

3506

Magic Strength

4706

Strength

15.03

Agility

20.03

Intellect

25.03

Will Power

22.03

Affinities:

Earth Affinity

15%

Air Affinity

60%

Water Affinity

15%

Fire Affinity

100%

Nature Affinity

75%

Death Affinity

15%

Mind Affinity

70%

Ice Affinity

100%

Skills:

One-Handed Sword

Master Rank

Two-Handed Sword

Journeyman Rank

Dagger

Journeyman Rank

Medium Shield

Master Rank

Armor

Master Rank

Perception

GrandMaster Rank

Belenos Aura:

An ability associated with those whose lineage and bloodline trace back to the God Belenos, allows the user to create a fiery aura that protects the individual, heals damage, and inflicts burning effect damage to enemies. True sight is active within the Aura radius, dispels all illusions.

Cyronax Aura:

An ability associated with those whose lineage and bloodline trace back to the God Cyronax. Allows the user to create an aura that harmonizes with the elements of Winter and Absolute Zero. True sight is active within the Aura radius, dispels all illusions.

Spells:

Nature’s Blessing: Allows the individual to commune with and claim lands and bind with the land’s spirit: warning the binding process works both ways. The individual is claimed by the land as much as the land is claimed by the individual.

Fire

Fire Blast

Fire

Absorb Shield

Fire + Air (New)

Fireball

Nature

Heal Self

Nature

Heal Other

Air

Wind

Nature

Greater Heal

Mind

Glamour

Air

GaleForce

Air + Fire

Light Globe

Created Spells:

Blight

Stone Breaker

Illusion: Look Away

Sacrifice

Portal

Summerland (Way Point Saved)

Portal

Talahm

Faction:

Seelie

-1500 (Disliked)

Unseelie

+0 (Neutral)

Olympian

-5000 (Hated)

Asgardian

-5000 (Hated)

Cernunnos

+5000 (Revered)

Volar-Fey

+5000 (Revered)

Most of the bonuses from gems and jewelry were no longer effective. The Ring of Hidden Depths being the only exception. I was happy about the increase in abilities, but the real bonus had to be the ability to create spells and skills more fluidly. No longer needed to restrict my choices to System approved and sanctioned choices.

As long as my affinity was high enough, I could test the limits of my imagination. It meant a fighting and casting style that was more holistic and entuned with the evolving combat style I was working on.

Not only satisfied but ecstatic at the changes my Rank up had supplied, I closed my Status menu, much happier than I had been a few moments ago. Anger and disgust mitigated, I finally got around to remembering my plans before the encounter with the Cave Crawler.

“Gentlemen,” I said after trudging back to where I had first discovered the Abhac, I decide not to reapply the Look Away illusion. There seemed no point, the noise from the encounter with the Crawler must have made my presence known, “I think the fluctuations you have registered belong to the Portal from the Summerlands that I just recently created. The ambient energies should return to normal quickly.”

The Abhaic were on edge, armored with weapons drawn, surrounded by the earth element they were certain to have bonuses to abilities in their place of Power. It may not have been the smartest thing I would ever do, striding forward like that, but all I could think of was that sometimes shit happens.

They reacted explosively. The very ground, walls, and ceiling shaping into stone spears and spikes that targeted me instantly. I was just able to raise my shield in time to prevent serious damage, as the cave seemed to explode in fury. The earth raining down on me in continuous cycles of bombardment.

Each spear, each spike aimed lethally, they meant to kill.

I understand reacting when startled, but this was simply over-kill. Granted a knee-jerk reaction to being scared might be to lash out. But their bombardment continued long past the point where any uncertainty of who or what had addressed them should have become something they addressed.

After an entire minute of their attacks. As my hastily cast shield began to be overwhelmed by a growing stockpile of earth as more and more weapons were used to attack me and shattered on my shield, I’d finally had enough. Deciding that turnabout was only fair, I cranked up Cyronax Aura lowing the temperature in the pile of rocks, metal, and soil that was accumulating against my shield.

Instantly the rocks began to shatter. The absolute zero temperature of the aura seeping in and finding any and all flaws, expanding what little moisture was contained within crevasses, I created my own bombardment of explosions and projectiles. My shield funneling the results back at the Abhaic that had attacked.

I doubted I would be able to do any real damage; their constitution and body make-up was too resilient to be affected by the very realm they controlled. But my actions did work to give them pause. And those few seconds were long enough for me to gain their attention.

“Enough,” I said. “I mean you no harm, yet. But if you continue to attack that will change. I simply wished to inform you of our presence and perhaps solve the mystery of the fluctuations you may have detected. I am King Teigh Mac de Beleros y Cyronax. I have used the Portal to return from the Summerlands. With me are Duchess Wynne and her people, as well as two children of Danu.”

I think it was my announcing that there were children of Danu that snapped the Abhaic out of their killing frenzy. The fear and wariness replaced by disbelief and wonder. To be claimed a child of Danu, a Sidhe had to be a direct descendant or newly created. With Danu in sleep that was impossible on Talahm.

“Impossible,” an Abhac exclaimed. “The Gods have not meddled in the affairs of our world in hundreds of thousands of years. What kind of idiocy are you trying to foster? If you are trying to claim the impossible in order to assuage the anger of Their Majesties, it is useless.

“That is if he is King Teigh. Wasn’t the missing Royal a Ranked Prince?” Another Abhac said joining the discussion.

“Are you suggesting a Sidhe, any Sidhe would lie about who they are?” I asked in amazement.

“A Sidhe lie?” He sneered. “Of course not. Everyone knows a Seelie would never lie,” he continued his voice filled with derision. He wasn’t wrong. Seelie and Unseelie could twist words so well that the truth was buried so deeply in exposition that you would never know exactly what could be believed.

“That may be true. But I had made a definitive statement. I introduced myself and gave a Name. I am King Teigh Mac de Beleros y Cyronax this leaves no room for ambiguity or obfuscation,” I answered my declaration authoritative and my words are given weight. Introducing oneself was different than sharing Name. One was a matter of social convention, the other was imbued with the same touch of magic that geas was formed with.

No Sidhe would lie. But even more important, no one would use the magics of Name and True name. They resonated with a bit of the spark and essence that made you, you. An energy, a signature, that could not be faked or counterfeited.

A True name was similar to a word of power. A fundamental truth that would brook no prevarication. An individual had to be firm in their resolve. To really understand who they were, and where they fit, what role they intended to play in the Universe. It was more than knowing your level, class, or Rank. A True name was for all intents and purposes a statement of the true nature of who you are.

It wasn’t until I’d resolved the CERN dungeon, that I finally understood what my role, what my life’s journey would be. I would create a place where Sidhe could live. No ambiguity, no restrictions. We as a people had been too long divided between Light and Dark. Seelie and Unseelie. We had ignored and trivialized those we considered lesser, diminishing their achievements and contributions to our race.

Danu’s gift of a new race, a new opportunity, was not something I was willing to forsake. Sure, there may be some cynicism. People might believe that I used her gift as an excuse to accomplish what I was already scheming and plotting to do. And they may be right, to a point. There may be some cynicism, I may be a bit of an opportunist.

Even so.

The fact that I could now share my True name meant that in the end, my decisions to take advantage somehow fulfilled and merged with my desires to become my life’s work.

One of the Abhac stepped forward, his movement almost in tandem with the rest of the Abhaic parting to allow him to take that step, to become more. The spokesperson for the group.

“You are correct. A Sidhe does not lie. But there have been too many people discovered to be protected by illusion, enchantments, and glamour to be certain you really are Sidhe.

“The destruction and revelation of Lord Kel and Lady Patricia’s scheming and alliance with Olympians was only the tip of the iceberg. Duke A’Daoine has spent the last year rooting out and destroying the circle of influence and embedded spies that had infiltrated through his lands.”

They thought I might be cloaked in illusion. I suppose that made some sense, I had used glamour to hide and observe without being noticed. But that illusion was a harmless look-away spell. What exactly had happened that trust was so easily broken. I wondered if social wariness was the new norm, such that a Sidhe King might be suspect.

As I considered his words, something he said leaped out at me. Something frightening in its implication. But it would explain how so much had been done to the tunnels and caves. How what appeared to be a fully formed mining endeavor was in full operation. And it was much more worrisome than the fact they suspected my identity.

Lord Kel and Lady Patricia and their scheming and plans had been revealed only a few days ago. Perhaps ten at the most. So how could a year have passed? And if it really had been that long, what must have happened to my people?