S.A. Archer's Blog, page 12
December 23, 2011
Aftershock 9/16
Chapter Six
The building the humans constructed as their jailhouse possessed no magical wards whatsoever. Of course the majority of humans, with the exception of the various orders of wizards and druids, forgot the power of magic. The concrete and metal sufficed to barricade human miscreants, Donovan supposed, but it possessed no power to control the comings and goings of the fey.
Which meant that either the young firebrand called Bryce was content to stay there or was so woefully untrained as to not know how to simply walk away from it. These young Unseelie assimilated far too closely with the humans. Understanding humans enough to pass among them unnoticed was a must. There were simply far too many of them to avoid that. But never subject yourself to their laws or their expectations. Certainly not the Sidhe at any rate. Fey sometimes contented themselves with passing off as human, taking humans as friends and working amongst them. It stained them.
The security cameras outside the jail could not penetrate Donovan's Glamour. Invisible to eyes physical and electronic, the Sidhe strolled along the wall of barred windows, glancing in. Most of the cells stood empty. Humans of various bedraggled states occupied a few. Picking out a Sidhe among humans was no more challenging than selecting a polishing and ornately faceted gem from mud-caked river stones.
Like most fire wielders, Bryce possessed crimson hair, one of those quirks of magic that affected appearance. Just as most Seelie were fair in complexion and coloring and the Unseelie tended to be dark.
The young Unseelie slept on the cot, a thin woolen blanket tossed over him. No other occupants in the cell. Donovan didn't concern himself with the possibility of the humans in the adjacent cells stirring from their slumber. In a blink, he teleported from outside the cell to stand just next to the head of the cot. Dropping his Glamour, Donovan descended on the youth. His hand clamped hard over Bryce's mouth, muting his startled cry and keeping him pinned against the pillow. In a panic, the boy swung a fist. Donovan caught the boy's wrist before he could connect. He easily held him fast in the moment of testing strengths. A test that proved how soft this new generation of earthborns was. They lacked not only magical training but physical training as well.
Donovan leaned close, his expression stone serious. In a low voice for Bryce's ears only, he said, "You want to stay here?"
Donovan allowed Bryce just enough movement to shake his head.
"Then you will come with me, Unseelie. Learn your true nature. Learn to control your fire. And follow me." Each a mere statement of fact. Not a question.
His impossibly green eyes widened in fear. Even still, Bryce nodded as vigorously as he could.
And just like that, they were gone. Teleported away.
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 10/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/27/11!
The building the humans constructed as their jailhouse possessed no magical wards whatsoever. Of course the majority of humans, with the exception of the various orders of wizards and druids, forgot the power of magic. The concrete and metal sufficed to barricade human miscreants, Donovan supposed, but it possessed no power to control the comings and goings of the fey.
Which meant that either the young firebrand called Bryce was content to stay there or was so woefully untrained as to not know how to simply walk away from it. These young Unseelie assimilated far too closely with the humans. Understanding humans enough to pass among them unnoticed was a must. There were simply far too many of them to avoid that. But never subject yourself to their laws or their expectations. Certainly not the Sidhe at any rate. Fey sometimes contented themselves with passing off as human, taking humans as friends and working amongst them. It stained them.
The security cameras outside the jail could not penetrate Donovan's Glamour. Invisible to eyes physical and electronic, the Sidhe strolled along the wall of barred windows, glancing in. Most of the cells stood empty. Humans of various bedraggled states occupied a few. Picking out a Sidhe among humans was no more challenging than selecting a polishing and ornately faceted gem from mud-caked river stones.
Like most fire wielders, Bryce possessed crimson hair, one of those quirks of magic that affected appearance. Just as most Seelie were fair in complexion and coloring and the Unseelie tended to be dark.
The young Unseelie slept on the cot, a thin woolen blanket tossed over him. No other occupants in the cell. Donovan didn't concern himself with the possibility of the humans in the adjacent cells stirring from their slumber. In a blink, he teleported from outside the cell to stand just next to the head of the cot. Dropping his Glamour, Donovan descended on the youth. His hand clamped hard over Bryce's mouth, muting his startled cry and keeping him pinned against the pillow. In a panic, the boy swung a fist. Donovan caught the boy's wrist before he could connect. He easily held him fast in the moment of testing strengths. A test that proved how soft this new generation of earthborns was. They lacked not only magical training but physical training as well.
Donovan leaned close, his expression stone serious. In a low voice for Bryce's ears only, he said, "You want to stay here?"
Donovan allowed Bryce just enough movement to shake his head.
"Then you will come with me, Unseelie. Learn your true nature. Learn to control your fire. And follow me." Each a mere statement of fact. Not a question.
His impossibly green eyes widened in fear. Even still, Bryce nodded as vigorously as he could.
And just like that, they were gone. Teleported away.
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 10/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/27/11!
December 20, 2011
Aftershock 8/16
Jhaer grit his teeth as he plunged into the crossing paths of magic. Didn't make a difference, though. A scream ripped from him as the magic tore through his element and into his unprotected body. The ley lines, the very arteries of the planet, penetrated his flesh, his mind, and his magic. Unlike anything he'd ever experienced, the massive power boost expanded his consciousness until it shredded his endurance. The earth. His element. The total of the entire planet. All of it. Alive inside him. Around him. Part of him. Saturating him. His essence and the planet, becoming one in totality.
His eyes opened to all that the earth knew. All its secrets. All its history. All its potential. All its violence.
And all of it wholly within him for this frozen moment of time.
Strands of magic laced around Jhaer, binding him. Penetrating him. Lancing into the very heart of his existence.
Like the wildly chaotic force of a landslide, the ley lines tumbled Jhaer and knocked him free of their path, tossing him through the intervening layers of soil. He burst from the ground and rolled onto the grass. Claiming deep a lungful of air, he struggled to process all he'd experienced.
The Mounds, created by and bound to the magic of Danu, a Seelie, had never felt like this. The magic of the Mounds had been pure fey, recycling and renewing like the flow of rain from the sky, to the river, and through mist back into storm clouds. And yet flavored with Danu's essences. Tainted by her Seelie nature. Now he drank in magic of the ley lines, flowing through his element of earth, like the purest of waters. This magic was not filtered through any fey before him. This was pure in the wildest sense. Uncorrupted. Making him beholden unto none for his access to it. No wonder the exiles thrived. They were free as no Unseelie of the Mounds had known freedom.
Jhaer, head of the Unseelie Elite, may have been the man who sank into the earth. But the man who rose from it was Donovan. Dark chieftain. The one who would gather the scattered Sidhe and unite them. Not just for mutual protection. He'd create for the Sidhe, and the lesser fey loyal to them, a new beginning. One here on the surface. He'd teach the earthborns what it meant to be Sidhe and Unseelie.
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 9/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/23/11!
His eyes opened to all that the earth knew. All its secrets. All its history. All its potential. All its violence.
And all of it wholly within him for this frozen moment of time.
Strands of magic laced around Jhaer, binding him. Penetrating him. Lancing into the very heart of his existence.
Like the wildly chaotic force of a landslide, the ley lines tumbled Jhaer and knocked him free of their path, tossing him through the intervening layers of soil. He burst from the ground and rolled onto the grass. Claiming deep a lungful of air, he struggled to process all he'd experienced.
The Mounds, created by and bound to the magic of Danu, a Seelie, had never felt like this. The magic of the Mounds had been pure fey, recycling and renewing like the flow of rain from the sky, to the river, and through mist back into storm clouds. And yet flavored with Danu's essences. Tainted by her Seelie nature. Now he drank in magic of the ley lines, flowing through his element of earth, like the purest of waters. This magic was not filtered through any fey before him. This was pure in the wildest sense. Uncorrupted. Making him beholden unto none for his access to it. No wonder the exiles thrived. They were free as no Unseelie of the Mounds had known freedom.
Jhaer, head of the Unseelie Elite, may have been the man who sank into the earth. But the man who rose from it was Donovan. Dark chieftain. The one who would gather the scattered Sidhe and unite them. Not just for mutual protection. He'd create for the Sidhe, and the lesser fey loyal to them, a new beginning. One here on the surface. He'd teach the earthborns what it meant to be Sidhe and Unseelie.
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 9/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/23/11!
December 16, 2011
Aftershock 7/16
Chapter Five
During the daylight hours the streets around the castle in Kilkenny swarmed with busloads of visitors. Jhaer bided his time until the dark of night grew long and the city as still as it was going to be. A modern city had grown up around the castle. As Jhaer strode past the art museum, the castle came into view just across the paved street, as if nothing more special than just another building in a sea of buildings. A high stone wall around the property blocked not only the back access to the castle but the long enclosed courtyard as well. Even as Jhaer approached the wall, he knew exactly where each footfall nearby struck the ground. Tracking movement through the vibrations in the earth came second nature. He had no worry about being seen as he teleported from outside the courtyard wall into the property.
With the three remaining wings of what had once been a square-shaped castle to his left, Jhaer veered right. A paved walking path stretched into the distance before curving back around the other side of the courtyard that served as a public park. The flat, center expanse of grass during the day hosted picnics and leisure games involving ball tossing or kicking. At night the open field provided no cover, so Jhaer traveled amongst the trees along the courtyard wall.
All the while his focus flowed through the ground beneath him. Searching. Seeking. Catching a hint of movement. A surge. A flow.
Not underground water. He'd feel the saturation of the mud if that had been the case. This had a throb to it. A pulse. Of course he'd encountered ley lines before; the earth was crisscrossed with them. For the most part he'd avoided them. Like lightning, the ley lines moved immense power. Just like the airborne equivalent, getting in the path of such a force had potentially deadly consequences.
Jhaer positioned himself above the crossing ley lines that had guided the druids, secretly consulted by the builders of the castle, to select this place of power. Jhaer raised his arms before him, simultaneously closing his fists. As he did this, the earth beneath him sank. Like a liquid, it gathered him inside the cool element until the ground closed over his head, leaving no sign of disturbance on the surface.
The residual power from the ley lines vibrated through the ground around Jhaer like a warning. There was nothing for it now. Turn back and Fade? Or go forward and risk instant death? Even as Jhaer thought it, he knew there truly was no choice. He moved through the layers of sediment to within a foot of the nexus of power. The rush of magic roiled through the ground like the wild flood of energy in a pyroclastic flow. Massive even at this distance.
Pain postponed was just pain prolonged. Same could be said of death, if that's what came of it.
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 8/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/20/11!
During the daylight hours the streets around the castle in Kilkenny swarmed with busloads of visitors. Jhaer bided his time until the dark of night grew long and the city as still as it was going to be. A modern city had grown up around the castle. As Jhaer strode past the art museum, the castle came into view just across the paved street, as if nothing more special than just another building in a sea of buildings. A high stone wall around the property blocked not only the back access to the castle but the long enclosed courtyard as well. Even as Jhaer approached the wall, he knew exactly where each footfall nearby struck the ground. Tracking movement through the vibrations in the earth came second nature. He had no worry about being seen as he teleported from outside the courtyard wall into the property.
With the three remaining wings of what had once been a square-shaped castle to his left, Jhaer veered right. A paved walking path stretched into the distance before curving back around the other side of the courtyard that served as a public park. The flat, center expanse of grass during the day hosted picnics and leisure games involving ball tossing or kicking. At night the open field provided no cover, so Jhaer traveled amongst the trees along the courtyard wall.
All the while his focus flowed through the ground beneath him. Searching. Seeking. Catching a hint of movement. A surge. A flow.
Not underground water. He'd feel the saturation of the mud if that had been the case. This had a throb to it. A pulse. Of course he'd encountered ley lines before; the earth was crisscrossed with them. For the most part he'd avoided them. Like lightning, the ley lines moved immense power. Just like the airborne equivalent, getting in the path of such a force had potentially deadly consequences.
Jhaer positioned himself above the crossing ley lines that had guided the druids, secretly consulted by the builders of the castle, to select this place of power. Jhaer raised his arms before him, simultaneously closing his fists. As he did this, the earth beneath him sank. Like a liquid, it gathered him inside the cool element until the ground closed over his head, leaving no sign of disturbance on the surface.
The residual power from the ley lines vibrated through the ground around Jhaer like a warning. There was nothing for it now. Turn back and Fade? Or go forward and risk instant death? Even as Jhaer thought it, he knew there truly was no choice. He moved through the layers of sediment to within a foot of the nexus of power. The rush of magic roiled through the ground like the wild flood of energy in a pyroclastic flow. Massive even at this distance.
Pain postponed was just pain prolonged. Same could be said of death, if that's what came of it.
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 8/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/20/11!
December 13, 2011
Aftershock 6/16
Chapter Four
At his desk, slumped back in the chair, the words of the younger Unseelie replayed in his mind. In the past century or so, many Unseelie had migrated from the Mounds to the surface world. With the expanding power and control of the Seelie Court, the freedom-loving Unseelie found exile more palatable than persecution. The growing number of Unseelie outside the Mounds had made this safe house a necessity, when the Elite's mission involved reaching out to one of the exiles. Other fey, of course, never fully left the surface to concentrate their numbers in the Mounds. Entire communities of lesser fey lived in secret and seclusion on the surface. But the noble elves, the Sidhe, has always lived in the Mounds before the All-Mother's Seelie tendencies finally manifested in her growing favor of one Court over the other. Had she stood fast in her neutrality and commitment to balance, none of this would have happened. A pointless regret now. Nursing the pain accomplished nothing.
Jhaer knew Tiernan's parents. Remembered when he was just a lad less than a decade old and they left the Mounds. He probably didn't even have a memory of what it had been like there. Tiernan's family had been one of the first to leave. More soon followed.Lifting the paper, Tiernan left and Jhaer read the names. Bryce and Kieran. Both just in their early twenties. Living for thousands of years, the Sidhe bred extremely slowly, a fertile couple only producing a few offspring in their lifetime. To all appearances, though, the exiles bred as rapidly as the lesser fey and humans. For the most part, Jhaer dismissed the outcast youths as no threat to the Unseelie Court, and not even worth keeping an eye on. Especially when matters in the Mounds with the Seelie deteriorated day by day.
But these youths were Sidhe, and by definition the personification of magic. Untrained, perhaps. Undisciplined, to be sure. But wild and free and the very essence of Unseelie. And the earthborn Sidhe almost assuredly outnumbered any surviving Sidhe from the Mounds. They were an untapped power, a resource that practically begged predators to hunt them. Jhaer had not missed the rumors about the wizards, long ago driven out of Ireland, beginning to weasel their way back in. Though by far the worst, wizards were hardly the only threat to the Sidhe. Vampires, and even opportunistic lesser fey like the retched changelings, would pick off a Sidhe if they could manage it.
If the earthborns and exiles were all that remained of the Sidhe, the race would be extinct inside a year. Word of the Mounds collapse would already be whispering its way into the wrong ears. Though his people may not have been completely destroyed with the decimation of the Mounds, the end was only postponed until the scavengers descended upon the weak and wounded. Any Sidhe from the Mounds who did not link to the earth realm would Fade, and die from it or from an attack as soon as they grew too weak to fend it off. The earthborns, untrained and scattered, would be as easy to pick off as cubs once the pride that protected them was gone. More merciful if they all would have just died in the collapse than to Fade or die at the enemy's merciless whim.
Tiernan was right. The Mounds were gone. The fey realm was never coming back. It was Earth or death. And Jhaer never for a moment considered bowing to death. Not for him. Not for the Unseelie. Not for the Sidhe.
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 7/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/16/11!
At his desk, slumped back in the chair, the words of the younger Unseelie replayed in his mind. In the past century or so, many Unseelie had migrated from the Mounds to the surface world. With the expanding power and control of the Seelie Court, the freedom-loving Unseelie found exile more palatable than persecution. The growing number of Unseelie outside the Mounds had made this safe house a necessity, when the Elite's mission involved reaching out to one of the exiles. Other fey, of course, never fully left the surface to concentrate their numbers in the Mounds. Entire communities of lesser fey lived in secret and seclusion on the surface. But the noble elves, the Sidhe, has always lived in the Mounds before the All-Mother's Seelie tendencies finally manifested in her growing favor of one Court over the other. Had she stood fast in her neutrality and commitment to balance, none of this would have happened. A pointless regret now. Nursing the pain accomplished nothing.
Jhaer knew Tiernan's parents. Remembered when he was just a lad less than a decade old and they left the Mounds. He probably didn't even have a memory of what it had been like there. Tiernan's family had been one of the first to leave. More soon followed.Lifting the paper, Tiernan left and Jhaer read the names. Bryce and Kieran. Both just in their early twenties. Living for thousands of years, the Sidhe bred extremely slowly, a fertile couple only producing a few offspring in their lifetime. To all appearances, though, the exiles bred as rapidly as the lesser fey and humans. For the most part, Jhaer dismissed the outcast youths as no threat to the Unseelie Court, and not even worth keeping an eye on. Especially when matters in the Mounds with the Seelie deteriorated day by day.
But these youths were Sidhe, and by definition the personification of magic. Untrained, perhaps. Undisciplined, to be sure. But wild and free and the very essence of Unseelie. And the earthborn Sidhe almost assuredly outnumbered any surviving Sidhe from the Mounds. They were an untapped power, a resource that practically begged predators to hunt them. Jhaer had not missed the rumors about the wizards, long ago driven out of Ireland, beginning to weasel their way back in. Though by far the worst, wizards were hardly the only threat to the Sidhe. Vampires, and even opportunistic lesser fey like the retched changelings, would pick off a Sidhe if they could manage it.
If the earthborns and exiles were all that remained of the Sidhe, the race would be extinct inside a year. Word of the Mounds collapse would already be whispering its way into the wrong ears. Though his people may not have been completely destroyed with the decimation of the Mounds, the end was only postponed until the scavengers descended upon the weak and wounded. Any Sidhe from the Mounds who did not link to the earth realm would Fade, and die from it or from an attack as soon as they grew too weak to fend it off. The earthborns, untrained and scattered, would be as easy to pick off as cubs once the pride that protected them was gone. More merciful if they all would have just died in the collapse than to Fade or die at the enemy's merciless whim.
Tiernan was right. The Mounds were gone. The fey realm was never coming back. It was Earth or death. And Jhaer never for a moment considered bowing to death. Not for him. Not for the Unseelie. Not for the Sidhe.
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 7/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/16/11!
December 9, 2011
Aftershock 5/16
Jhaer held the device to his ear. Each hollow chirp like a knock on an empty house. A summons to someone who was not there and could not hear.
"Hey, Jhaer. What're you doin' up here? On another mission?" Tiernan's Irish accent lilted with informal familiarity uncommon among the Sidhe of the Mounds. "Where are you? Your office? I'll pop over."
Without waiting for the invitation, the young Unseelie appeared sitting on the corner of Jhaer's desk. Though only a century or so old, Tiernan's cocky attitude didn't soften for even the head of the Unseelie Elite. Then again, most exiles "didn't give a shite" about customs in the Mounds. Tiernan swept Jhaer with his light, nearly colorless eyes.
"Been in a scrap? You look wrecked. Did the other bloke survive?"
"I doubt it," Jhaer said seriously. "They're gone. Everyone. The Mounds. Just gone."
Tiernan lifted a brow, the grin disappearing. "Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"The Mounds collapsed. Nothing but a crater left. The Seelie crushed our home to pieces!" Jhaer pounded his fist on his desk, wishing it had connected with Lugh's proud chin instead. Why couldn't those arrogant Seelie have just listened to him? Not even just him, but all the Sidhe whose warnings and predictions fell on deaf ears?
"Ain't that a kick in the bollocks?" Tiernan's attention slid around the office, taking mental inventory of the equipment on the open shelves, his composure not even mildly ruffled by the devastating news. "Surprised it took this long, really."
Jhaer glared at his fellow Sidhe. "How can you be so casual? We're all going to Fade! The Mounds are gone! We have no source of magic to keep us alive!"
Tiernan actually chuckled. "No, you have no source. I never was bound to the Mounds." He shrugged. "It's not pure Fey, but hey, I don't have to worry about Fading."
Jhaer's eyes widened as he stared at Tiernan. "You're connected to this realm? But how? This place isn't magical. I mean, look at them. Humans have no magical abilities." His hand swept out in front of him, indicating the general populace.
Tiernan grinned crookedly. "Humans can't link to the magic, but that doesn't mean the earth realm doesn't have any magic. You need to get yourself connected to this realm's ley lines, that's what you really need to do." He hopped off the desk. "Mounds are gone, my friend. Let 'em go. Get yourself a crew and establish yourself. Earth realm's your home now. Better to embrace it than die fighting it."
Tiernan ripped a sheet from a note pad on the desk and started jotting on it. "I'll give you a start. Couple of earthborns. Early twenties. One's got himself locked up by humans, of all things. Bonehead, I kid you not. Other one's a corner boy, bashing around the streets. Trouble both of them, but you know how to straighten 'em up. Mostly untrained, but you're good at that, too." He left the note. "If they work out, you can owe me one."
Tiernan clicked closed the ink pen with finality. "And while you're reinventing yourself, you ought to think about a name change. Something Irish that'll blend in."
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 6/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/13/11!
"Hey, Jhaer. What're you doin' up here? On another mission?" Tiernan's Irish accent lilted with informal familiarity uncommon among the Sidhe of the Mounds. "Where are you? Your office? I'll pop over."
Without waiting for the invitation, the young Unseelie appeared sitting on the corner of Jhaer's desk. Though only a century or so old, Tiernan's cocky attitude didn't soften for even the head of the Unseelie Elite. Then again, most exiles "didn't give a shite" about customs in the Mounds. Tiernan swept Jhaer with his light, nearly colorless eyes.
"Been in a scrap? You look wrecked. Did the other bloke survive?"
"I doubt it," Jhaer said seriously. "They're gone. Everyone. The Mounds. Just gone."
Tiernan lifted a brow, the grin disappearing. "Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"The Mounds collapsed. Nothing but a crater left. The Seelie crushed our home to pieces!" Jhaer pounded his fist on his desk, wishing it had connected with Lugh's proud chin instead. Why couldn't those arrogant Seelie have just listened to him? Not even just him, but all the Sidhe whose warnings and predictions fell on deaf ears?
"Ain't that a kick in the bollocks?" Tiernan's attention slid around the office, taking mental inventory of the equipment on the open shelves, his composure not even mildly ruffled by the devastating news. "Surprised it took this long, really."
Jhaer glared at his fellow Sidhe. "How can you be so casual? We're all going to Fade! The Mounds are gone! We have no source of magic to keep us alive!"
Tiernan actually chuckled. "No, you have no source. I never was bound to the Mounds." He shrugged. "It's not pure Fey, but hey, I don't have to worry about Fading."
Jhaer's eyes widened as he stared at Tiernan. "You're connected to this realm? But how? This place isn't magical. I mean, look at them. Humans have no magical abilities." His hand swept out in front of him, indicating the general populace.
Tiernan grinned crookedly. "Humans can't link to the magic, but that doesn't mean the earth realm doesn't have any magic. You need to get yourself connected to this realm's ley lines, that's what you really need to do." He hopped off the desk. "Mounds are gone, my friend. Let 'em go. Get yourself a crew and establish yourself. Earth realm's your home now. Better to embrace it than die fighting it."
Tiernan ripped a sheet from a note pad on the desk and started jotting on it. "I'll give you a start. Couple of earthborns. Early twenties. One's got himself locked up by humans, of all things. Bonehead, I kid you not. Other one's a corner boy, bashing around the streets. Trouble both of them, but you know how to straighten 'em up. Mostly untrained, but you're good at that, too." He left the note. "If they work out, you can owe me one."
Tiernan clicked closed the ink pen with finality. "And while you're reinventing yourself, you ought to think about a name change. Something Irish that'll blend in."
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 6/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/13/11!
December 6, 2011
Aftershock 4/16
Chapter Three
Any other day he would have teleported. Not this day. Jhaer's feet knew the path, fortunate for that since his senses barely registered the surroundings through the deafening layer of shock. Pastureland yielded to civilization as the early morning light glinted on east-facing windows in Kilkenny. Humans milled about, as humans are wont to do. Jhaer paid them no heed and they returned the courtesy.
From the outside the safe house appeared to be an unremarkable brick building in an unremarkable neighborhood of light industry and inexpensive apartments. The kind of place, if someone noticed it at all, one would assume was probably unoccupied and unworthy of interest, much less renovation. No mundane human eyes would notice the man in the dirt-smudged clothing turn down the alley and then slip through the Glamour that hid the only unbarred entrance.
Inside the long, two-story building, remnants of the former occupants remained by way of dusty and discarded industrial equipment and random cardboard boxes of broken junk and packing material. Through a grimy window, not a bit of this rubbish appeared worth the effort to steal. An intentional ploy.
Glamour again disguised the back hallway to the office space beyond with the illusion of a wall. Behind these multiple layers of protection, Jhaer opened an office door.
The Unseelie slumped at last in the leather chair behind the desk. Just bonelessly surrendering to the postponed fatigue, staring at nothing in particular. After an unmeasured amount of time, Jhaer opened one of the deep desk drawers. Nudging aside fake IDs and papers of random variety and usefulness in the paper-obsessed culture of the earth realm, he selected one of a handful of cell phone devices he'd procured.
He found the compatible cord and linked the phone to it and then to the power outlet in the wall until the device lit up, announcing it was charging. Not waiting for it to satisfy its hunger for the power it required to function while disconnected, Jhaer slid his finger across the touch screen.
The contacts symbol appeared on the first screen. He tapped it, then selected the first name of a Sidhe he scrolled to. The device chirped several times before the fake voice asked him to leave a message. Probably this particular Sidhe had been in the Mounds.
Jhaer rubbed at his face with his hand, as if this might wipe away the memories. Might prevent the thought of her as the crushing weight of failed magic snuffed out the light of her spirit without even the echo of her scream surviving to mark her passing.They could not all be dead. They couldn't be. Even though at the moment he felt utterly alone and disconnected from all he'd known and held dear. Jhaer slid his finger over the device to scroll the list again. Hunting… Searching for a name… Any name… Of someone who would not have been in the Mounds that day.
And found one.
Tiernan Kilgrave.
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 5/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/9/11!
Any other day he would have teleported. Not this day. Jhaer's feet knew the path, fortunate for that since his senses barely registered the surroundings through the deafening layer of shock. Pastureland yielded to civilization as the early morning light glinted on east-facing windows in Kilkenny. Humans milled about, as humans are wont to do. Jhaer paid them no heed and they returned the courtesy.
From the outside the safe house appeared to be an unremarkable brick building in an unremarkable neighborhood of light industry and inexpensive apartments. The kind of place, if someone noticed it at all, one would assume was probably unoccupied and unworthy of interest, much less renovation. No mundane human eyes would notice the man in the dirt-smudged clothing turn down the alley and then slip through the Glamour that hid the only unbarred entrance.
Inside the long, two-story building, remnants of the former occupants remained by way of dusty and discarded industrial equipment and random cardboard boxes of broken junk and packing material. Through a grimy window, not a bit of this rubbish appeared worth the effort to steal. An intentional ploy.
Glamour again disguised the back hallway to the office space beyond with the illusion of a wall. Behind these multiple layers of protection, Jhaer opened an office door.
The Unseelie slumped at last in the leather chair behind the desk. Just bonelessly surrendering to the postponed fatigue, staring at nothing in particular. After an unmeasured amount of time, Jhaer opened one of the deep desk drawers. Nudging aside fake IDs and papers of random variety and usefulness in the paper-obsessed culture of the earth realm, he selected one of a handful of cell phone devices he'd procured.
He found the compatible cord and linked the phone to it and then to the power outlet in the wall until the device lit up, announcing it was charging. Not waiting for it to satisfy its hunger for the power it required to function while disconnected, Jhaer slid his finger across the touch screen.
The contacts symbol appeared on the first screen. He tapped it, then selected the first name of a Sidhe he scrolled to. The device chirped several times before the fake voice asked him to leave a message. Probably this particular Sidhe had been in the Mounds.
Jhaer rubbed at his face with his hand, as if this might wipe away the memories. Might prevent the thought of her as the crushing weight of failed magic snuffed out the light of her spirit without even the echo of her scream surviving to mark her passing.They could not all be dead. They couldn't be. Even though at the moment he felt utterly alone and disconnected from all he'd known and held dear. Jhaer slid his finger over the device to scroll the list again. Hunting… Searching for a name… Any name… Of someone who would not have been in the Mounds that day.
And found one.
Tiernan Kilgrave.
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Part 5/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/9/11!
December 2, 2011
Aftershock 3/16
Chapter Two
Inhale… stale, dusty, moist. Blink… Pitch black. Try to move… Pinned.
Magic flowing.
Jhaer flexed his awareness. The disturbed earth overhead shifted with a groan, threatening to settle into the pocket that entombed him. Jhaer touched the unstable rubble with his magic, calming it.
Alone in the dark silence. The foul air, stale with use, choked him.
Reaching with his magic, Jhaer ignored the useless senses of his body. The earth… his element… embraced him. Merging with it, his will taking form, the ground became as yielding as liquid. The bed of rock beneath him rose as the arch of dirt above receded. Higher and higher. Faster as the surface drew nearer. Until, at last, Jhaer rolled onto the open ground beneath a sky full of stars. Not the façade that had been cast overhead for so many centuries, but the real night sky.
Deep breaths of the fresh air cleared his lungs. Exhausted in body and in magic, Jhaer rested on the bed of earth miles above what used to be the courtyard of the Seelie palace. Slowly, Jhaer rose to his knees. What his eyes beheld wrenched his heart. Where the Mounds once formed great hills above the majestic home of the Sidhe now lay only an enormous crater. A few bits of magic still flickered. The ground rumbled now and then as large chunks fell into their final resting places far below. His home, the home of all Sidhe… gone. Destroyed. He'd warned them of this and the end had indeed come. It had come crashing down hard.
And for what? The Seelie's insatiable lust for power? His body numb. His heart, his very soul, defeated. Jhaer surveyed the crater around him and found what he expected. No one. No survivors. If not for his mastery over the element of earth, he too would be buried in this mass grave. Turning from the devastating sight, he limped away.
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 4/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/6/11!
Inhale… stale, dusty, moist. Blink… Pitch black. Try to move… Pinned.
Magic flowing.
Jhaer flexed his awareness. The disturbed earth overhead shifted with a groan, threatening to settle into the pocket that entombed him. Jhaer touched the unstable rubble with his magic, calming it.
Alone in the dark silence. The foul air, stale with use, choked him.
Reaching with his magic, Jhaer ignored the useless senses of his body. The earth… his element… embraced him. Merging with it, his will taking form, the ground became as yielding as liquid. The bed of rock beneath him rose as the arch of dirt above receded. Higher and higher. Faster as the surface drew nearer. Until, at last, Jhaer rolled onto the open ground beneath a sky full of stars. Not the façade that had been cast overhead for so many centuries, but the real night sky.
Deep breaths of the fresh air cleared his lungs. Exhausted in body and in magic, Jhaer rested on the bed of earth miles above what used to be the courtyard of the Seelie palace. Slowly, Jhaer rose to his knees. What his eyes beheld wrenched his heart. Where the Mounds once formed great hills above the majestic home of the Sidhe now lay only an enormous crater. A few bits of magic still flickered. The ground rumbled now and then as large chunks fell into their final resting places far below. His home, the home of all Sidhe… gone. Destroyed. He'd warned them of this and the end had indeed come. It had come crashing down hard.
And for what? The Seelie's insatiable lust for power? His body numb. His heart, his very soul, defeated. Jhaer surveyed the crater around him and found what he expected. No one. No survivors. If not for his mastery over the element of earth, he too would be buried in this mass grave. Turning from the devastating sight, he limped away.
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 4/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/6/11!
November 29, 2011
Aftershock 2/16
Thunder rumbled like a landslide and then the sky flickered. Or rather the magic that gave the ceiling of the Mounds the appearance of a sky. Both Sidhe warriors relinquished their aggression to witness the cascade of destruction rupturing the fabric of their world. Cracks like a spider's web shattered the illusion until the great bowl of rock overhead became visible for the first time in as long as any Sidhe could remember.
Jhaer kept his balance better the next time the ground shifted, although the horror that stabbed through him threatened to drive him to his knees. The thunderous sounds of earth ripping from earth filled the cavern that housed the magical realm of the Mounds. As the ground above them shifted ominously, Jhaer's hands snapped upward, fingers curled as if gripping something heavy. Trembling from the strain, his mastery over the earth alone supported the bowl of rock overhead.
"Lugh!" Jhaer growled through clenched teeth, "Help Danu! NOW! I can't… hold it up… much longer!" All his concentration, his strength, focused solely on preventing the Mounds, home to hundreds of thousands of fey, from catastrophic collapse, for as long as he could.
Differences postponed in the face of imminent demise, the Seelie raced toward the castle as Jhaer bore the weight of the world. With muscles trembling from the effort, Jhaer waited for the dread to dissipate, anticipating the creatrix to reach out and fortify the Mounds. But what he felt was life, the connection to Danu, fading away. The All-Mother, she who bound the Mounds together for centuries, was disappearing. She was dying.
All hope shattered, leaving only fatalistic determination. Through raw force of will, Jhaer held aloft the vast cavern ceiling, allowing as many fey as possible the chance to escape, the stronger ones via teleportation, the lesser fey certainly crowding the portals that might whisk them to the surface. Alone, Jhaer balanced each rock, each clump of dirt. For miles. Sweat ran in rivulets down the strained muscles of his body. Holding. Binding. Unyielding. And yet fissures snaked through the cavern under the oppression of tons upon tons of earth overhead. Fissures Jhaer could not mend. Fissures that sheared as chunks broke free and rained from the sky. Chunks that slipped through his shattering strength. Jhaer dropped to his knees, giving all his power to the failing magic. The edges of the cavern crumbled, creating a cascade as each lost rock freed those above it. Rockslides like waterfalls poured down in a roaring that could not completely annihilate the screams of terror. Down the ceiling fell in ever greater pieces until the entire cavern plummeted down like a mountain to entomb everything beneath, burying alive everyone who had not already escaped. Including Jhaer.
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Part 3/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 12/2/11!
November 25, 2011
Aftershock 1/16
by S. Ravynheart and S. A. Archer
Chapter One
Jhaer dodged through the local fey crowding the market street of the village built up around the Seelie castle, thankful that his plain, loose-fitting clothing disguised him. Brightly colored streamers from the celebration draped from tree limbs and windows to flutter festively about the revelry. The ale flowed and the music played. Seelie fey of every race danced and sang ancient victory songs, obliviously ignorant that in conquering the Unseelie, they ensured the downfall of all fey.
Stealth carried Jhaer as far as the courtyard wall and then he unsheathed his fury and magic. With a rage that rent a boulder from the ground, Jhaer's magic burst forth. His power over the element of earth belonged to him alone, so the boulder that splintered the teak courtyard gate with the explosion of cannon fire announced with certainty the Unseelie Elite who wielded it.
Anticipating a final assault while the captive Unseelie monarchs imprisoned within succumbed to the pressure to surrender their authority, the Seelie forces lined the top of the inner castle wall beyond the courtyard. Archers drew back at the sight of him, even as the Seelie Champion on the parapet called out to Jhaer. The corona of sun magic flared around Lugh, as if determined to prove his nickname as the Shining One. The golden boy of the Seelie Court in his sculpted armor vaulted down into the courtyard with a dramatic flair. If the demonstration of grace and courage aimed to impress, it missed the mark with Jhaer.
"Lugh! Have you been staring at your own magic so long you've blinded yourself?" Jhaer rushed into the courtyard. As the archers launched their first volley, Jhaer summoned a shield of stone from the very ground before him. The rock wall preceded him, the last couple feet at the top tilted back over his head, in case any clever archers aimed with a high trajectory. After the arrows in the initial strike splintered on his shield, Jhaer jerked up his hands, his magic heaving skyward the ground in front of the castle wall to block off the archers. His personal rock shield fragmented into dust that defused to the ground he'd drawn it from. He snarled at Lugh, the sole obstacle between Jhaer and the castle proper. "This must stop! Before it's too late!"
"One Court, Sidhe!" Lugh proclaimed. "We can be brothers, you know. This feud can end. It should end!" Yet the Seelie ignited a barrier of fire, disproving his claim of brotherly love.
Jhaer shielded his face against the fire between them, an all too familiar tactic from the Sidhe with the magical aspect of the sun. "Light and dark cannot merge. One will always consume the other. You know this! Yet the arrogant Seelie's hunger for power would rather destroy everything than have balance!" With that, Jhaer sank into the ground, closing it up over him.
Moving swiftly through the earth in a self-contained cavern like an air bubble rising through a viscous liquid that parted the ground before him and resealed it behind him, Jhaer detoured beneath the flames. He felt the vibration from the footsteps of the Seelie above, rushing to pursue him.
An unexpected tremor charged though the earth and slammed into him, lancing a dread dead into his heart. The Unseelie warrior gripped his chest, breath stolen from him by a horrendous shift in the magic surrounding him. Stunned to the point of panic, Jhaer surfaced once more, the Seelie not but a few quick strides from him. Before a cry of dismay could escape his lips, a shockwave of magic knocked him off balance. A crack climbed up the outer wall like a growing vine, reaching ever higher.
"Trying to bring down the entire castle?" The Seelie snarled. "Danu is in there!"
Jhaer stumbled backward before catching himself, his eyes wide as he stared at the fractures creeping up the courtyard walls. "Would I knock myself off balance? Open your eyes, Lugh! Something is wrong!"
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 2/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 11/29/11!
Chapter One
Jhaer dodged through the local fey crowding the market street of the village built up around the Seelie castle, thankful that his plain, loose-fitting clothing disguised him. Brightly colored streamers from the celebration draped from tree limbs and windows to flutter festively about the revelry. The ale flowed and the music played. Seelie fey of every race danced and sang ancient victory songs, obliviously ignorant that in conquering the Unseelie, they ensured the downfall of all fey.
Stealth carried Jhaer as far as the courtyard wall and then he unsheathed his fury and magic. With a rage that rent a boulder from the ground, Jhaer's magic burst forth. His power over the element of earth belonged to him alone, so the boulder that splintered the teak courtyard gate with the explosion of cannon fire announced with certainty the Unseelie Elite who wielded it.
Anticipating a final assault while the captive Unseelie monarchs imprisoned within succumbed to the pressure to surrender their authority, the Seelie forces lined the top of the inner castle wall beyond the courtyard. Archers drew back at the sight of him, even as the Seelie Champion on the parapet called out to Jhaer. The corona of sun magic flared around Lugh, as if determined to prove his nickname as the Shining One. The golden boy of the Seelie Court in his sculpted armor vaulted down into the courtyard with a dramatic flair. If the demonstration of grace and courage aimed to impress, it missed the mark with Jhaer.
"Lugh! Have you been staring at your own magic so long you've blinded yourself?" Jhaer rushed into the courtyard. As the archers launched their first volley, Jhaer summoned a shield of stone from the very ground before him. The rock wall preceded him, the last couple feet at the top tilted back over his head, in case any clever archers aimed with a high trajectory. After the arrows in the initial strike splintered on his shield, Jhaer jerked up his hands, his magic heaving skyward the ground in front of the castle wall to block off the archers. His personal rock shield fragmented into dust that defused to the ground he'd drawn it from. He snarled at Lugh, the sole obstacle between Jhaer and the castle proper. "This must stop! Before it's too late!"
"One Court, Sidhe!" Lugh proclaimed. "We can be brothers, you know. This feud can end. It should end!" Yet the Seelie ignited a barrier of fire, disproving his claim of brotherly love.
Jhaer shielded his face against the fire between them, an all too familiar tactic from the Sidhe with the magical aspect of the sun. "Light and dark cannot merge. One will always consume the other. You know this! Yet the arrogant Seelie's hunger for power would rather destroy everything than have balance!" With that, Jhaer sank into the ground, closing it up over him.
Moving swiftly through the earth in a self-contained cavern like an air bubble rising through a viscous liquid that parted the ground before him and resealed it behind him, Jhaer detoured beneath the flames. He felt the vibration from the footsteps of the Seelie above, rushing to pursue him.
An unexpected tremor charged though the earth and slammed into him, lancing a dread dead into his heart. The Unseelie warrior gripped his chest, breath stolen from him by a horrendous shift in the magic surrounding him. Stunned to the point of panic, Jhaer surfaced once more, the Seelie not but a few quick strides from him. Before a cry of dismay could escape his lips, a shockwave of magic knocked him off balance. A crack climbed up the outer wall like a growing vine, reaching ever higher.
"Trying to bring down the entire castle?" The Seelie snarled. "Danu is in there!"
Jhaer stumbled backward before catching himself, his eyes wide as he stared at the fractures creeping up the courtyard walls. "Would I knock myself off balance? Open your eyes, Lugh! Something is wrong!"
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 2/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 11/29/11!
November 22, 2011
End of the World 7/7
The fairy lights barely illuminated the mural on the wall that the Scribe indicated. Lugh rose and crossed before the faded images. His skin began to glow with the warmth of predawn, filling the chamber with enough light to see by.
"What is this?" He studied the circle drawn around the figure of the All-Mother. She appeared to be floating in the air. Small objects circled her.
"It depicts the story of how Danu created the Mounds."
Lugh snapped his head sharply toward Willem. His slightly pointed elfin ears prickling he listened with such intensity. "Continue. Tell your tale, Scribe."
"Few survived the collapse of the First Fey realm. The realm from which all fey creatures first arose. Unlike the Mounds, it was a true and separate realm of existence. Danu was one of the Sidhe who escaped. It was not long before the Fade began to set in."
Lugh knew this much. And knew they faced the same peril now.
"She gathered together artifacts that survived the collapse. Items that were imprinted with the magic signature of the first realm." Willem brushed his hand reverently across the image on the wall, painted with the practiced and skilled hand of a master fey artist. "She used them to create a surrogate realm, the Mounds, in a pocket of magic beneath the earth."
"Like a womb," Lugh agreed. Which was how the Sidhe whose focus of magic was procreation would manifest such a realm. "As she was the Creatrix of the realm, and tied to it, all who linked to the Mounds became tied to her. Becoming as her children." Lugh moved closer to the images. "Do these artifacts still exist? Could this magicraft be performed once more?"
Next to Lugh, who towered well over six feet in height, the Scribe's four-and-three-quarters feet seemed even more diminutive. With Lugh's inquiry put to him, Willem fidgeted, scratching at his pointed ear. "The All-Mother left a journal, which we of her order have studied in as great a detail as we are capable of. There are unclear passages, which might become clear once the artifacts are collected. The artifacts she used were consumed in the creation of the Mounds. However, others still exist. Lost. Hidden. Stolen. Passed down from father to son. Put away and forgotten like all other bits and bobs. Their importance forgotten as they became misplaced."
"Then how might we discover them?"
"There are ways."
The faint ray of hope broke through the black depths of defeat and death, no matter how slim the chance or how impossible the task. Lugh leveled the full force of his determination at the Scribe. "Then let us begin anew."
###
Thank you for reading "End of the World" Champion of the Sidhe: Part 1! See what happens to Lugh next in "Champion of the Fey" Champion of the Sidhe: Part 2.
Following the optimal reading order, the next story is "Aftershock" Rise of the Unseelie: Part 1. We'll be bringing your that story in its entirety over the next few months.
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 1/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 11/25/11!
"What is this?" He studied the circle drawn around the figure of the All-Mother. She appeared to be floating in the air. Small objects circled her.
"It depicts the story of how Danu created the Mounds."
Lugh snapped his head sharply toward Willem. His slightly pointed elfin ears prickling he listened with such intensity. "Continue. Tell your tale, Scribe."
"Few survived the collapse of the First Fey realm. The realm from which all fey creatures first arose. Unlike the Mounds, it was a true and separate realm of existence. Danu was one of the Sidhe who escaped. It was not long before the Fade began to set in."
Lugh knew this much. And knew they faced the same peril now.
"She gathered together artifacts that survived the collapse. Items that were imprinted with the magic signature of the first realm." Willem brushed his hand reverently across the image on the wall, painted with the practiced and skilled hand of a master fey artist. "She used them to create a surrogate realm, the Mounds, in a pocket of magic beneath the earth."
"Like a womb," Lugh agreed. Which was how the Sidhe whose focus of magic was procreation would manifest such a realm. "As she was the Creatrix of the realm, and tied to it, all who linked to the Mounds became tied to her. Becoming as her children." Lugh moved closer to the images. "Do these artifacts still exist? Could this magicraft be performed once more?"
Next to Lugh, who towered well over six feet in height, the Scribe's four-and-three-quarters feet seemed even more diminutive. With Lugh's inquiry put to him, Willem fidgeted, scratching at his pointed ear. "The All-Mother left a journal, which we of her order have studied in as great a detail as we are capable of. There are unclear passages, which might become clear once the artifacts are collected. The artifacts she used were consumed in the creation of the Mounds. However, others still exist. Lost. Hidden. Stolen. Passed down from father to son. Put away and forgotten like all other bits and bobs. Their importance forgotten as they became misplaced."
"Then how might we discover them?"
"There are ways."
The faint ray of hope broke through the black depths of defeat and death, no matter how slim the chance or how impossible the task. Lugh leveled the full force of his determination at the Scribe. "Then let us begin anew."
###
Thank you for reading "End of the World" Champion of the Sidhe: Part 1! See what happens to Lugh next in "Champion of the Fey" Champion of the Sidhe: Part 2.
Following the optimal reading order, the next story is "Aftershock" Rise of the Unseelie: Part 1. We'll be bringing your that story in its entirety over the next few months.
Can't wait to see what happens next? Get the full story right now!
Part 1/16 of "Aftershock" coming on 11/25/11!
