Asriel

"Tell us Asriel, how much are those rings worth out in the rest of the world?"

Seer Vadik asks looking at me intently. The tribal Seers seem agitated about something.

"I honestly don't know. Such things are rare even where I come from and very prized possessions. Are they common here?"

I ask my question directed at Zhen.

He clears his throat. "No not common in the kingdom, almost unheard of in fact, Crysta?"

He passes the question along and Crysta nods sagely. "Rare, mentioned in folktales but first I'm seeing them."

We are having this little conference in Zhen's tent as the standing tribesmen structures are housing the injured and this tent is warded to prevent listening in at least three ways. Plus it’s big enough.

"We can't just give them our ore. They want it a lot more than we thought. The first thing is to figure out why so we can better estimate our leverage," Divina says to no one in particular. A paranoid distrustful woman who seems to have seen a bit more of the world or is just a general skeptically.

"Why are they even talking to us? Why not kill us all and take what they want?"

"I think politics prevent them but I haven't the slightest how or what the material is worth to them. We don't want to sell ourselves short nor do we want to aggravate them."

"Fae are allergic to steel," I say trying to work out the problem as well."

"They seemed to handle it just fine during the past day." Frey, the Jotnar chief says as she stuffs more food into her mouth. Hardly chewing.

"I will bet you none of the steel weapons came into contact with their skin. If it had they would have had a violent reaction. It seems they are fine with celestial steel though" I point out.

"That almost makes sense. But they seem to have mythril in abundance."

An exhausted Zhen grumbles, sitting down on a stool and pouring himself and the dwarf beside him some wine.

"Not necessarily. If this is a special squad often used in infiltration and extraction it could explain how they all have mythril weapons. Did you notice how well they moved in the night when they came?

"This couldn't have been their first such raid," I speculate.

"So you’re saying they do this often?" Seer Onredje asks, scowling.

"I'm saying they could be doing this often all over the seven worlds. You have to keep in mind that fae aren't based on Gaia or on any other world we know off.

"The fae live in worlds they've build themselves over the years. It is said they have one central world and that the strongest and oldest amongst them have their own worlds they've developed through the millennia."

I look at each of their fascinated faces. I can feel Mira's gaze as she tries to be an unassuming presence in the corner listening. Barely awake, but well fed. She is always eating.

"They always return to Gaia as this is their ancestral home but the fae are the most well travelled humanoid species in all the seven worlds. Eight if you include their world, where time travels differently."

"You learn all this from your mysterious Order?" Frey asks looking drowsy now that she's full. She has two guards outside the tent. Probably the only chief with a dedicated guard detail.

"Yes."

"So what can we squeeze out of them?" A Seer I haven't met before ask right before the tent flap opens and in walk the other chiefs. All looking hale.

"Friends," a cheerful Chief Bjorn says jubilantly.

He is a charismatic man if not completely sane.

Greetings and introductions commence, again. Zhen offers more refreshments. Hoarding his tea but generous with bread, wine and mundane meat.

"Tell us what you know," Bjorks is the first to get us into topic. We get them up to speed.

Bjorn keeps testing his reattached arm seemingly not sure whether or not it's as good as new but finding no cause to complain. I can see it in all their faces, a slight trauma. A hesitation they've probably never had before. To be tested and found wanting and worse, found wanting and survive.

"Let's focus on something else for a moment," I say looking at the eccentric chief.

"Chief Bjork. Why haven't you Awakened?" I ask him bluntly.

He flushes red and his beard shivers a moment in apparent outrage. He looks into my eyes. Trying to find something then looking away.

"I don't know how," he finally says. The silence in the tent is pregnant.

I nod, expecting this.

"It is not a difficult thing. It is something that is actually suppose to happened naturally for humans as you gain in level of condensed ether. But it seems to bottleneck in you Barbarians, you have a blockage of some kind.

"It seems to make you stronger with terrifying auras when berserker, but hardly doing what it was meant to. You all probably get more unstable and itch for a fight as you age." I say, using examine generously.

I'm surprised to see that Divina is also at the threshold of an Awakening but seems to be holding herself back. I disregard that as she is obviously not a Barbarian. Interesting, but not pertinent.

"I will be leaving tomorrow. I have stayed long enough. But throughout the night and the whole day tomorrow I would like to work with all the tribesmen that should have already Awakened to their power.

"This berserker curse that was places upon you seems to be limiting your growth and prevent mages from developing amongst your people."

Bjork grunts. The Seers exchange looks, hopeful, fearful, distrustful. I don't like that they still keep secrets from their people and I'm not sure whether their Rage comes from a generational curse is common knowledge or not.

We have a long discussion about Awakening and how the process usually goes. Zhen seems to be an expert on the topic and I take the time to fall asleep.

It's possible all the fae we fought in the initial attack are less than 100 years old yet still gave me such trouble.

Overpowered little shits.

* * *

Carmella

I sit and heal a few people at deaths door to their stupified awe.

Then watch as more are brought forward to be put back together. Others who were for all intents and purposes dead to their fellows.

Humans are such fragile creatures. Their bodies not resilient enough nor their ways conducive enough for proper growth. Yet they love to fight and conquer each other like children having tantrums.

Something inside of them still remembers the time before recorded history. The war of creation, when we were all just clay for the gods to shape for war.

These Barbarians are a step further on that path yet are lacking in so many fundamental ways. To not feel ether at all? Such tragedy. Truly they are a cursed people.

A generational curse that is so old and powerful that it has become part of their very beings. Still, it could be managed, even suppressed. But to undo it would need either divine intervention or extensive knowledge on how it was done to begin with. Mhmm, I wonder what I what use I could garner studying their curse. Breeding it into a purebred fae bloodline may yield some interesting spawn.

A lot of use has already been developed from their curse. They have adopted, and I shiver a little remembering how much pleasure I had gotten from beding one of them while it was having a fit.

It is fairly easy to use spirit and psionic power to induce the berserker fit during sex to great satisfaction. But once a Barbarian becomes a berserker it is nay impossible to control them mentally or emotionally, you can only rid it out. Which I'll admit is part of the thrill I got.

A loss of control I didn't expect, nor did I suspect is something I would so thoroughly enjoy. To be my age is to experience almost all the worlds of the lower realm have to offer. Surprise is a rare pleasure in and of itself, I had to come see them for myself. These Barbarians bold enough to send emissaries to the fae.

I haven't stayed on Gaia in some centuries, I could consolidate my gains here in preparation for my ascension to the higher energy worlds. I could have ascended decades ago but I don't relish starting from stretch as the least powerful in the play box.

I could go the other route and develop my own world and power until I get the chance to become a living world. Like a few others. Though even worlds can die, or at least become barren. As Lunar has shown. Poor fool.

It will be 3 thousand years before she is healthy again. A tedious amount of time.

I should probably get myself a few Barbarian lovers or build a base of operations here, a rest estate. Yes, I will build a base here and have a harem of Barbarian lovers to distract myself. I can get ravished often and thoroughly while seeing to the more lucrative resources to be found here.

I look at Nadim playing the diplomat.

We truly underestimated these humans. Maybe the whole Court should come out into the world again, interact with the short lived races a bit more to see what they've made of themselves.

Mhmm... we fall with-child easier with mortals than we do with each other. Though the half breeds are scorned at the courts I wonder if that isn't by some grand design.

Maybe the faes true place is here, on beautiful Gaia where they may prosper instead of relegated to such tasks fit for a common thug as stealing ore from humans. And worse, failing at it.

What could our offspring be without us stifling them? Mhmm, I wonder what has happened to some of my half mortal spawn that left The Glade. Nazim must find them for me.

Smelling Yaeshawn's bloodline on that mana dry girl has reminded me I also have descendants among the mortals. There could be hundreds of them by now, these humans breed like rodents after all.

What if I gathered them and trained them in our ways, whilst they stayed on Gaia? I could become their Matriarch and they would become a power in this world. Mhmm, something else to amuse myself while I consolidate my ascension. Yea, Nazim is definitely finding them for me.

If I could afford the time to have a few children by these Barbarians as well. What power they could have... Yes. I think I will absent myself from Court for a while and make this a 500 year project.

I will need to tell Carmen of course otherwise I'd never hear the end of it.

*

After all the healing was done, and a rough agreement was formed with the tribesmen all the lesser fae left. Taking messages and running errands.

The Court would soon know what had transpires here, but would they brush it off as another curiosity, or would they investigate? I'm not sure which I'd prefer.

I did manage to secure twenty tons of raw celestial ore for building a town that can be defended and house a minimum of 100 000 tribesmen comfortably, with room to grow.

We will provide some ten thousand minor rings of holding. Teachers for the natives in smithing and magic, and help with their Awakenings.

Honestly I think I got the better end of the deal by far. Anyone can build a settlement and they don't seem to understand how cheap it is for us to make the rings. It's a lengthy sure process, but an inexpensive one.

The teaching is where I'm not sure how much they got over us. The other 13 are ecstatic over the ore. But our ways have been refined and perfected for millennia of discipline, surely our teachings are worth a lot more to these mortals than we currently understand.

But then celestial metal is a finite resource. There are only so many known deposits throughout the seven worlds, and none on the Glade or anywhere in Court or Home. Once it's gone it's gone and it cannot be replaced.

Also, very little research has actually gone into its study as it’s usually too rare to waste on experiments. Hopefully we can figure out where it comes from and how to best use it. Huff, twenty tons for building a middling town and letting the fae teach them to be civilised. I almost feel bad for them.

The strange bold human who keeps trying to identify us has also asked for an acupuncture specialist. This is apparently to try to help the tribesmen Awaken tomorrow. That should be interesting.

I look towards what they call the Dawn Forest as I feel the presence of two dozen Ancient Beasts and an Ancestral Beast within those woods teeming with life. Very rare, very powerful beasts I can tell.

"Who will go pay our respects?" I ask, looking at the others.

Yaffa snorts. "There is an Ancestral Beast in there, it will want to rut. You know how they are."

I nod. Ancestral Beasts are a step above Ancient Beasts. They can take on multiple forms and can mate with any creature on Gaia to produce offspring.

They are so powerful that even we, the sidhe, give way to them as it is said 'the weather changes with their moods' in their chosen territories.

Ancients aren't compelled to ascend like everything else that breaks into the 4th manna evolution on this planet. They are the protectors of Gaia. It is known they love to fuck.

All demi-human beastfolk races are the offspring of such creatures, ancestor beasts.

Fucking them isn't a chore for us either as they are beautiful beyond imagining and very good lovers. It's just that they can go on for days...

Even a sidhe cannot keep up.

"If it's a male you go with Tara. The two of you can stem its appetites eventually, and I know Tara has never been with one," I say quickly to Yaffa already knowing it’s a male.

She snorts but smiles. It's not every day we get this much excitement in succession. I will definitely like living among the humans.

" I think I'm staying here a while."