A Temperamental Enchantress- Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 2  quote quote quote

Tsukishiti, Moon Elf Capital- Mira Nelson

The city was every bit the wonder that Mira had expected. Both her parents and some of her moon elf friends had described it with great excitement and wonder. Her limited experience in Hiroto’s home had shown her that with magic and their connection to nature the elves had accomplished great things. It was even being blended into how things were done in Eris’ Rise, but the capital had it at an entirely different level.

Whereas, Konig had felt similar to what she would have expected a renaissance era European city to have been, Tsukishiti was more like something out of a fairytale. The building were all shaped into and around the massive ironwood trees. She could have run up one of the trunks but waited patiently to be taken up an elevator. All the while she tried not to gape and look too much like a tourist.

Eloria was her home now and for all intents and purposes these were her mother’s people. She wanted to connect with that side of what Eloria had to offer her just as much as she did with the human kingdoms. As they rode up Hidenori didn’t say anything further to her, but she watched him weaving magic. She could tell it was some type of communication spell that was broadcasting out into the forest but she didn’t pry further than that.

When they reached the Throne room it was just as beautiful as it had been described. It was like the room had been grown into the tree rather than crafted by destructive means. There were guards, functionaries, but none of the nobles who had been present for her mother’s introduction. That made Mira feel more at ease.

In the center of the room was a wooden throne which had was part of the tree itself. It looked very uncomfortable but she remembered Daichi teaching her that was because the Throne was both a person and an institution. Konoe and Yua were affectively the king and queen of all moon elves, but they were always supposed to remember that they were the servants of all even as they were revered.

She approached and dropped to a knee as she had been instructed but within moments she felt a warm hand upon her shoulder. “Stand child. You are even more beautiful than your mother if such a thing is possible. And while I appreciate you showing deference, I consider your mother not just my vassal but also my friend. So I’d like you to think of me as an aunt.”

Mira looked up and saw Yua, the female half of the elven rulers. Her mother had indeed always spoken warmly of the woman. Something was off though. Mom had told her that the available information they had placed her at peak Tier 3 but it was clear she had passed into Tier 4. Mira would guess that they were of comparable levels.

Some of the shock must have shown on her face because Yua said, “How wonderful. You are just as perceptive as your mother said. Is gauging the power of others part of what a meta-mage can do?”

Mira stood and straightened her traveling leathers. For the first time she was self-conscious that her clothes were dirty from her rushed trip. “Um, no not exactly, your majesty.”

At that Yua’s husband, Konoe stood up snorting. “Not majesty. We are not human royalty to lord it over our people. If you must call us by a title then Saisho is appropriate. Or to be more technical Saisho no otoko for me and Saisho no josei for my wife. But, my wife has told you that she thinks of you as a niece. We have not yet been blessed with a child, so while you are here, please consider us to be surrogate parents, even if you are a young adult in your own right.”

Based on what her parents had said about Konoe, Mira hadn’t expected that warm of a welcome. Then it dawned on her. Children were extremely precious to the moon elves who were far less fertile than humans. So once his wife had declared her to be an extended part of their family, he couldn’t help but feel protective of her.

She wasn’t sure exactly what to say but took a chance. “You honor me, uncle, and I truly look forward to learning more about my mothers people as they are part of me that I strive to better emulate. But, now I bear grave news. Which must be shared.”

Konoe gestured and three chairs shaped like wide green fronds rose up from the floor. He waited for Yua and then Mira to be seated and then sat himself. “Please tell us your tail, niece.”

She then explained about what they found at the village. She didn’t spare details and tears came to her eyes as she described the horrors she had witnessed. Yua and Konoe exchanged glances before Yua said, “You are also your father’s daughter. He saved an elven village and despite being a human was clearly saddened by the loss of life which occurred before he could intervene. Your compassion does you honor. But how can you be certain that the threat remains.”

“You asked before how I could tell that you had grown in power. I must not have done a very good job of hiding my expression, but as meta-mage I can feel or even see magic around people. I hadn’t even realized it until a short time ago, but after seeing a number of the druids, I realized that your aura was closer to Hidenori’s than the other casters. So you must have passed into Tier 4. I would guess you were right about my own level.”

Again the two exchanged glanced but it was Konoe who answered, “That is very perceptive of you and accurate. An attempt was made upon our lives a few months ago by those we believe to be part of the cult of Alucien. We survived, but Yua experienced a break through. It is rare, but it enabled her to surpass her previous limits. Now we have been busy hunting down any remnants of the cult we can find in our kingdom. Sadly they are like roots and keep springing up.”

Yua sighed. “It is always like that with hate and pettiness. Love must be nurtured and fed, but hate grows without such need.”

“We have encountered the servants of Alucien. He tried to recruit both my father and brother but both spurned him. He didn’t seem to take that well, but all we know about his is that he is some mysterious master acting behind the scenes.”

Konoe stood suddenly, “All of you must clear the room. Hidenori you may stay but please ensure our privacy.”

Mira watched, unsure what was going on. Within minutes the throne room was clear and she felt a magical dome spring into place which would prevent any type of scrying or eavesdropping. At least that was its purpose. She didn’t mention that she could probably pierce it given a little time.

After a moment Yua said, “As you know, we moon elves live much longer than humans. To us the thousand years since our ancestors were exiled to Talos is barely more than three full lifetimes. That is still a significant amount of time, but we have retained a bit more about what happened.”

The archdruid spoke up then. “No one knows for sure why the exile happened only that a huge number of people were exiled from Solun, which is the name of the continent which was our former home. It is speculated that there was a magic which blocked the recording of any such history, at least for a period of time.”

Mira whistled as she contemplated the scope and power of a magic like that.

Konoe continued, “We have been able to gather a great deal of information about the cult and this in turn has provided us information about the exile. The inner circle members kill themselves rather than speak but some of the fringe members have enough information to share.”

“This is where it gets interesting and confusing though,” Yua said as she took over. “They are all quite insistent that those who were exiled were unworthy in someway and were seen as polluting the population, almost like they had a disease and needed to be cut out of the herd. That is scary enough but the bigger shocker is that they all insistent that this Alucien was responsible for the exile but that he is still alive today.”

“That doesn’t seem possible, but I can tell you that my dad was told that Alucien is alive today. Isn’t it more likely that this is some person who has simply taken up the mantle of the original mantle?” Mira asked.

“Yes that would definitely explain things, but there is one other issue. It is something I have been meaning to discuss with your mother, but with her pregnancy and other responsibilities, I have been reluctant to ask her to travel here,” Yua responded.

Mira’s eyes widened. A high intelligence score didn’t make you necessarily smarter, per se, but it definitely helped with processing information and even seeing patterns. Rather than put voice to what she was expecting next, she simply sat there quietly.

Konoe eventually spoke, “There are legends of dragons who lived that long and that even some of their descendants might live close to that long, but there are other rumors. Some of those we captures claim that Alucien is a being from some other place.”

Hidenori said, “That could easily make him a fiend or even a celestial as to our knowledge they are immortal, but everything we know about celestials says they don’t interfere in mortal affairs. As for fiends, they are killed on sight and I can’t believe that such a creature could have built up the influence to get twenty percent of the population exiled from Solun.”

Yua said, “Yes, they tend to be mercurial creatures. Highly intelligent and crafty yes, but they don’t seem to have the patience required. Plus there are always signs. It is one of the reasons that I agree with you that whatever attacked the village you discovered must be a fiend. But if Alucien is in fact the same man who was alive a thousand years ago, then it begs a question which you might be able to help us with.”

And there it was. Mira smiled. It was gratifying to be right. “If you are asking if people where my family came from live that long, then the answer is no. We have fairly typical human life spans.”

Hidenori sighed. “If people can come to Eloria from this Earth, then what is to stop them from coming from other places. There is one other piece of information we gathered though. Several of those we captured, especially those who seemed to be more of an inner circle in the cult all said the same thing before they died, but they spoke it in a language unknown to us and even divination magic has not revealed its meaning.”

Then Konoe repeated the phrase. “Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich starker”

He said it twice more before Yua asked, “Does that mean anything to you?”

Mira shook her head. “It isn’t English or Spanish which were the two languages that I spoke on Earth, but it does sorta sound like German. I just can’t say for sure. I wish I could be of more assistance. Perhaps one of my parents will know more.”

Yua said, “Well we are no worse off than before. We have more questions than we have answers. For now though, we have to gather information on this fiend that has fled.”

“Yes, I’d love to eat something quickly, but then I can be ready to go with you. I believe I can track its signature,” Mira said.

Hidenori’s eyebrow raised. “You truly believe you can track a fiend despite never actually seeing it? You and I are going to have to have some long conversations about what is possible with magic. I can see why Hiroto would have consented to take you on as his apprentice. This old man also would like to see new wonders before I pass on.”

“Well we can discuss it while we track the monster, although, and I mean no disrespect, but it might be best to send for my father. He is stronger than anyone I know and somehow I doubt that even he is strong enough to take this thing on by himself.”

Yua started to say something but Konoe spoke over her. “No, child, you misunderstand us. We will treat you as if you were our own daughter, and there is no way we would allow our daughter to hunt down such a monster. We have the entire might of the moon elf nation to call upon. Once we find out its location we will develop a plan. For now, you will be our guest. We look forward to you introducing the sun elf ambassador. Hopefully, he is less pompous than their last ambassador or I am truly sorry for all the time you have had to spend with him.”

The last part was said with a smile, but there was no doubt in Mira’s mind. This was clearly a command. She nodded but couldn’t keep herself from offering one barb. “Yes, Saisho no otoko.”

He frowned showing he felt the switch from congenial to formal but didn’t say anything. Mira kept her smile on the inside. What good was it being a teenager if you couldn’t tweak some adults. From there she allowed herself to be led to spacious and luxurious chambers which were near to those of Konoe and Yua. The honor wasn’t lost on her and she even managed to feel a slight bit of guilt for her last comment.

They brought her food with a promise that Yua would dine with her later. For now she sat looking at the food and tried to think of something which would keep her mind occupied. She didn’t really have the materials for creating a new enchantment here although she could request they be sent to her through her spatial bag, but then it dawned on her.

Maybe there was something she could do to help. Her father had sent a pendant which they recovered from one of the followers of Alucien along with a note asking that she examine it and let them know anything she discovered. It wasn’t the same as being together, but she did like that her creation allowed for her family to pass notes back and forth.

She pulled out the pendant and unwrapped the silk cloth she was keeping it in. As soon as she touched it, she felt a magical resonance begin to hum within it. It was connected to a spell. Her first thought was to try and track the magic, but before she could even begin to follow the threads, there was a flash of light which stunned Mira and knocked her to the ground.

She was too strong to lose consciousness but that had been a great deal of magic. Then she saw it. There in the air, inches from where she lay, was an oval shaped portal. Two hands reached out of it and grabbed her. They were smooth metallic hands. She reacted on instinct with her fastest spell, firing off magical missile at it, but the hands absorbed the force with no obvious effect.

Then the hands snagged her. They were impossibly strong. A part of her cursed that she hadn’t put more stat points into Strength but as easily as they handled her she wondered if any amount of strength would have been enough. She formed a mage shield but the hands still pulled on her. Then she was pulled through the portal and it popped shut behind her.