Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 22: First Vassal

My hands 'caught' fire. Engulfed in a blaze of energy that emanated more warmth and gentleness than destruction and wrath. The energies slowly spread around and in Cedric as blood flowing from wounds was staunched. Wounds were not so much cauterized as they were sealed shut, more like woven and rewoven to follow the structures, form, and function that was homeostasis.

My perception followed the flowing energy and allowed me to guide that energy to examine the internal injuries Cedric had been ignoring in his stoic determination to protect me. Most of the organs and vessels I found conformed to anatomy I might find in any human. Where the differences occurred, they were dramatic.

Four lungs instead of two. The lobes of the human lung seemed to have developed separately for Seelie two in front, two behind. Meridian clusters existed, tied to a physical network that allowed for channeling magic. And an energy core, that was tied to the bloodstream, nerve, and meridian networks.

He had been shot in the upper chest. Far enough from his heart to not be immediately life-threatening, but the torn blood vessels and a punctured lung would certainly have been life-threatening on Earth. The chances of him bleeding out before reaching a hospital and surgery almost certain.

Here the cells of his body cooperated, moved, and repaired as I focused my will and my intent. White blood cells and platelets multiplying and gathering where I directed. Speeding up the rate of healing exponentially. Scabs formed and flaked off as wounds healed, only to be replaced by healthy tissue in seconds. Scars smoothed and faded.

Blood cells multiplied and replaced lost fluids, dividing and replicating, until a balance was achieved.

What amazed me was how little actual help and magic I needed to use. Cedric's body's natural healing ability was prodigious. In fact, if I had simply removed the arrow, the rate of healing that was normal for him would have healed the wound in a matter of seconds, moments at best.

It made sense that his healing ability was so advanced. The Sidhe were, for all practical purpose, immortal. They had to have fast healing and adaptive abilities to live as long as they did.

It explained why cell division was so uniform. There was no breakdown in cell reproduction.

Even though I hadn't been needed to heal or save Cedric, this was the single most amazing thing that had happened to me since I'd arrived on Talahm. This ability to heal. To save a life. The energy to renew and extend the existence of others was soul nurturing.

I wasn't sure how anyone who ever had this power over death. This power to restore life and health could ever turn from the path of healing. The ability to understand the why's and how's of life on a microscopic level was as close to understanding the mind that created the Universe as was mortally possible.

As I finished my healing, a gentle wind began stirring. Stronger and stronger. Embracing me and those with me.

Wild magic was stirring. Frolicking and joyful. Danu the Goddess of creation. The goddess that was the mother of all Tuatha de Danann was strong in this realm. And she was pleased by what we had done here.

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Standing.

Uncertain why or how.

I began releasing my energies and magic in a fog of white mist that grew until the clearing we had fought in was saturated with those energies.

I began to chant a prayer. A dedication to the Earth Goddess Danu.

Warm and moist beneath the hill,

Voices and laughter are soft and still

Glints of light and shadows long move.

Earnest crafts folk of diminutive size.

Dance with creativity before the eyes,

And tumbling out the treasures come.

The land is quiet and still above,

No hint of the secrets within the hill.

This place between, below and above.

The magic is and always was.

Words are treasures polished bright,

Poems by day and rhythms by night.

Words of Danu, Druids, and Sages,

Thoughts and truths for the coming ages.

Return to her breast and find comfort there.

Warm and moist beneath the hill,

Voices and laughter are seldom shrill.

Danu's children are spun of light,

Sleep in safety, everlasting night.

The words were an old ritual, a ritual that could be found even on Earth. It allowed supplicants to ask for the Goddess' blessing, and in this case, entrusted the fallen into her gentle care. As I finished the chant, the energies, and magic I had released combined with the Wild Magic and time stopped.

Everything stilled for just that one second to remind us that the Gods and Goddesses were real.

That they may have entered a type of slumber and dreamt, but they were not as far from us as one might think. We were the gossiper whispers that made up their dreamscape. We gave function to the Divine. And Danu was pleased that I had remembered the old ritual to summon her blessing and gift those slain into her soft embrace.

These Greek enemies. Satyrs, Gorgon, and Artemis's daughter were ripped from the destination in the afterlife they were promised, their souls forbidden and stolen from the lands of Tartarus and Hades. Instead, they joined the thread of life and fabric of creation that welcomed them to the Summerlands as new children of Danu.

The cycle of life and death, their reincarnation and next birth that had been stalled and forgotten since they died in this place was re-awoken, and these souls that I had dedicated to Danu represented a fundamental shift in the paradigm of this Universe. And with this change, the Gods and Goddesses of our paradigm began to stir and wake.

'Rejoice', the Wild Magic seemed to sing as time resumed. 'For you are truly blessed. Danu smiles upon you!'

Priests have been blessing the land with blood offerings since stone weapons came into existence. An offering to Belenos and Danu. A blessing on these lands, and a prayer for guidance and protection.

Danu who makes the crops grow.

Belenos who warms the soil and brings life and renewal to the lands.

Wild Magic.

Danu breathing softly as the wind gently caressed our cheeks. A kiss from a Goddess long forgotten but stirring softly in dreams and worlds of simpler times. A blessing and a reminder that they lived and were happy with what their children had done here.

The words here had meaning, and the detritus of our battle, the bloodshed, the bodies of the dead, responded to those words and began to glow, shimmering softly as these images of death and battle slowly faded along with the bodies until nothing remained but those living, the peaceful clearing, and the sounds of small animals and insects.

"Who are you?" Ril asked reverently.

"He is Prince Mac de Belenos. And from this moment forward, he is my liege," Cedric answered as he tentatively tried to sit up. Succeeding, he continued moving until he was able to kneel in front of me.

"My lord," he continued. "I pledge my life as yours. Forsaking all others, in the sight of Danu, the wellspring of the Tuatha De Danann, I dedicate myself to you and yours, and offer you my fealty, my sword, and my power."

"We Witness," Ril and Gil said in response to Cedric's pledge giving a formality and reverence to his actions acknowledging his pledge as a ritual.

[Cedric has pledged to become your vassal.]

[Accept Yes / No ]

"Arise.

"We accept you and name you the first of our Vassals.

"Arise, Cedric de Mac. You have proven your bravery and skill. You have defended us and sacrificed for us. And we return your pledge with our own. As long as our house stands. You and your heirs shall be forever known as the first amongst our vassals."

I had no idea why I responded in that matter. The words just felt right. The response expected and based on a millennium of tradition and history. The ability to accept Vassals, part of my royal prerogative.

The system seemed to agree.

[You have accepted Cedric de Mac as your vassal and taken the first step in creating House de Mac.]

[Quest Rewards - For defeating the Olympians and returning to Danu those that defiled the Summerlands you have been awarded your first Vassal.]

[Experience - Promotion from Prince level 1 to Prince level 2 (to take effect during next cultivation of accumulated experience)]