Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 316: Promise Kept

There was one change made to the Temple that I had no hand in. Alcoves had been added. Instead of just alcoves for the four Gods that had answered my call, each of the Tuatha De Danann was represented, each given an alcove.

That change made sense. What didn't was that a relief and small sculpture that depicted the moment I accepted my [Divine Mandate] had also been added. A place at the very entrance of the Temple, a place that made clear I was on the path to Godhood and would be accepted as a member of the Tuatha de Danann Pantheon.

I watched in growing dismay as Yeti after Yeti approached that depiction of my transcendence, a tiny spark of divine energy generated as they paid their respects. That spark added to the [Divine Domain] that was now mine to control.

"Teigh," I heard.

Caraid was calling my name to gain my attention. How long had I been standing here not to have noticed that he had arrived? That the portal was open and the Sidhe were migrating.

"Any problems?" I asked, turning from the Temple.

"Nothing to speak of," he assured me, "a few altercations between a few people migrating. Small matters of precedence and station. Nothing that wasn't sorted out quickly."

"Good," I replied.

"I have one last matter to attend to before we return to Seastan Deireanach.

"I noticed snow leopards outside; let's see what Tia thinks of them."

I had promised to keep an eye out for cats while I traveled. As it stood, Tia was the only Cait Sith in this Universe, at least until her kittens were born. I hoped the snow leopards would change that.

Contacting Tia was easy enough. A mental tug on the bond that connected us, a quick message sent asking her to join me was all that was needed. For most Cait Sith, a dimensional rift between the world and the realm would be required; for the Queen of Cait Sith, she could simply step through.

For one brief instant, she was standing in both places, but her position of Queen protected her from the forces at play between both realms that would have atomized anyone else attempting the same feat. As a guardian against [Paradox], she had a few perks, this ability to coincide in two places at once, one of them.

Tia arrived naked and glowing with health. The Sidhe had no taboos against nudity that other races might, and her decision only made sense considering the changes made to her body from her pregnancy.

She had arrived in a half cat, half Seelie form. Her skin was covered with yellow fur with hints of black fur creating patterns. Her teeth, eyes, and claws conformed to her cat shape. And her body showed signs she was heavy with child, made evident by eight swollen breasts.

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Tia was Cait Sith, and unlike Seelie, she would have a litter. Kittens. She would need the extra breasts to feed each child. She could have shifted entirely to conceal her condition, but if she did, the milk that she had begun producing would go to waste, and she would have to restart.

"Tia, I want to show you something," I said, motioning her to follow without explaining my actions.

She tried getting me to explain myself, peppering me with questions as we walked. It reminded me that for all her newfound power, her position as Queen of Cait Sith, she was still barely past adolescence. Like me, she had been thrust into her role much sooner than expected.

Her gasp of surprise and delight when she first noticed the snow leopards were worth listening to her constant stream of questions. She practically pounced on the nearest leopard, picking it up and petting it before it could respond.

"Do you think they can be made, Cait Sith?" I asked. I hoped so. It would make her reign as Queen less lonely if possible. She would be able to establish a network of spies almost as facile as the Azi. They wouldn't be able to pass wards, but cats could get into anything and were ignored, for the most part, considered innocuous and harmless.

She didn't respond to my question. Instead, burying her nose in the pelt of the leopard. It began purring as she continued stroking it. That purring became louder and louder with each stroke. Tia responded to that purr with one of her own. And as the two continued, their bodies began to synchronize.

Breath, heartbeat, purr. Each pass of Tia's hand down the leopard's coat brought them closer together, linking them as a harmonious resonance took shape. Magic gathered, magic comprised of [Time], [Fairy], and something unique to Cait Sith.

It started as a small kernel of energy emanating from that connection Tia had formed with the leopard, and as she continued, as time passed, the effect expanded. Until with a burst of primal energy, a pulse of [Power] embedded with the energies of Cait Sith was released.

Released and expanded.

The energy was transformative and pervasive. I watched as that small kernel of controlled potential pulsed in concert with Tia's heartbeat. And with each heartbeat, the magic contained in that kernel expanded, growing larger, until, like a dam that had collapsed, it released of the fountain of magic that had fused, imbued with the genetic markers of the Cait Sith.

That ripple of magic, tainted with the genetic programming to transform a cat into Cait Sith, borrowed nature's forces to propagate across the planet. Water, wind, and earth were seeded with the magical programming language that would reach across the globe. Anywhere it found felines with the potential to become Cait Sith, it would coalesce into a kernel of change.

For the snow leopards, that change was immediate. Dozens of kernels formed, the knowledge of what it means to be Cait Sith shared, and the ability to transform between cat and Seelie learned.

Tia's eyes glistened with tears as a people were born. The race of Cait Sith had expanded. These dozens were only the first of legions that would soon fill the realm of Cait Sith. I felt Tia's emotions across our bond. The loneliness she had ignored eased. She took a sense of comfort, knowing her kittens would be raised in a community that would cherish them.

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I spent the next month researching the various kingdoms of Man and how they interacted. This world's history was a mash of timelines. Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Ragnar Lodbrok all existed and ruled simultaneously.

There were enough differences between what I knew had transpired on that other Earth and this Urt that I couldn't assume events and history would follow the same path. This multiverse had already diverged. Significant events such as the death of Cleopatra and the ascension of her brother Ptolemy as Pharaoh harbored events that were fated to force even more changes.

I had already decided to meddle in the politics of man, concerned about what my intervention would mean, but determined to do what was needed to save and protect the Sidhe. With glamour, illusion, and magic, it would be easy enough to nudge events in such a manner as to take the focus off the magical community.

I decided that interfering with the assassination of Alexander the Great would be my first intervention. Rumors were circulating that Alexander was ill, that he had been poisoned. He had ordered his armies to stop their advancements and fortify the territories he had gained after his last victory.

He had had no recourse. His armies had almost mutinied, demanding they be allowed to rest, and General Coenus had convinced him to return home and let his soldiers recharge with their families. Most of those advances had included areas in India. Areas that Genghis Khan had ignored in his drive to conquer lands to the west, areas found in the Scandinavian kingdoms.

If events followed the timeline in this world as they had in that other, Alexander would die soon. The news of his illness and whispering of poison had already seen his troops demand the right to file past and pay their respects. If I wanted to save him, I would have to act and act soon.

I traveled the [Fairy Rings] as soon as I had decided to intervene, racing to the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II before it was too late. I had considered using illusion to mask my features but decided against it.

I would use illusion and glamour to my advantage, but I could not lie, and if I pretended to be human and were asked who I was, the answer would not conform with my appearance.

I could assume a persona cloaked in mystery and refuse to answer, but that would defeat the purpose of what I hoped to do here. Alexander was one of the greatest military minds of any generation. If I could set him and Caesar on a collision course, the Sidhe would gain some respite from Rome's policy of Sidhe annihilation.

Alexander was a student of Aristotle and worked hard to advance the sciences. His belief in the power of medicine was impressive in an age where superstition abounded. That he clung to this belief when the Gods were proven to exist was a testament to his devotion to testing known facts and demanding proof.

I would rely on his belief in looking for the truth as the means to embroil him in a war with Caesar. It should be easy enough to do, considering his poisoning had the weight of Rome behind it.

I cloaked myself in shadows and 'look away' spells as I approached the palace. My ability to go unnoticed allowed me to simply enter. King Nebuchadnezzar was the driving force behind the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and it was that type of attention to the structure that permeated his palace.

Marble, gold, and silver were liberally applied in frescoes and architecture. Rich fabrics of purple, as well as colorful art and tapestries, softened the harshness of the walls and floors.

It was easy enough to find where Alexander rested. His army stretched from the palace to the next estate, each man waiting patiently for their turn to pay respects to their beloved leader.

As I walked along the corridor, I used my control over fire and ice to announce my presence. The torches and candles that had been lit brightened before me, making it easier to navigate around people, while those behind me were extinguished. The oppressive heat that had gathered within the palace was eased by the cooling winds that swirled with each step I took.

I released enough of my [Cyronax Aura] to create a chill in the air as I walked. It became cold enough that those who watched me pass, began to shiver as the sweat that had collected across their bodies began to freeze.

No one attempted to stop me or ask who I was. I hadn't encased those waiting in line in ice, turning them into frozen statuary, but they were still frozen in fear. Their eyes were their only movement as they tracked my progress, the water vapor condensing into tiny puffs of fog as they exhaled in relief as I passed.

I understood their fear. It was primal, the fear of the unknown. That fear was exacerbated because those watching could identify who and what I was. I was Sidhe, but what scared them more than that was that I was Unseelie. Half of my bloodline could be traced to Cyronax, and it was the knowledge of how monstrous the Unseelie were that scared them the most.

The room where Alexander was being treated was oppressive. Smoke filled, the air was stagnant and redolent with the smell of the putrefaction of illness and the sickeningly sweet smell of burning incense. Priests and Hippocrates were in attendance, each spending more time blaming the other for their inability to heal the King than actually providing any service.

Hippocrates was the name given to those healers that relied on observation and prognosis to treat their patients. This healing method was in its infancy, but the people who practiced this methodology were slowly compiling treaties and successfully documented treatment plans into a Corpus that would grow in detail and complexity.

That they were present and attending Alexander caused some confusion on my part. They were skilled enough and knowledgeable enough to know that subjecting an ill person to the muggy conditions found in this room was antithetical to Hippocrates teachings.

I had to assume politics was in play. Either someone was interfering in treatment, or they had realized Alexander was going to die and decided it best to place the blame on the priests. Whatever the reason, it would stop.

I announced my presence with a spell. A summoning of wind that blew throughout the room, extinguishing the burning incense, cleaning the cloying fumes from the room, and replacing the stench of death and decay with the scents of freshly plowed earth and gentle spring rains.

"I wonder if you have been bribed to allow Alexander to die or if you have been extorted to allow the poison that is killing him to linger?" I said to those priests and Hippocrates in attendance, startling them into silence.

As I moved to the center of the room and approached Alexander, I released an illusion. I was transforming the space as I moved into a brightly lit meadow. Birds chirping, insects buzzing, and the sun's warmth spreading, the transformation appearing to originate from each step I took.

A few guards moved to intercept me. Men I simply killed, each igniting into a pyre of fire for the briefest of seconds before there were only slags of metal left. I had considered diplomacy for this first visit, but the Sidhe were not prone to dance to the whims of others.

I would be seen for what I was. The strength of the Sidhe had for too long been diminished in this world. But now, that would change. [Fairy] and magic had returned. It served little purpose to pretend we were anything less than what we were.

And with that thought, I expanded the illusion I had created. Populating the peaceful meadow with the most monstrous of us. Slaugh, Redcaps, Goblins. Each empowered by my glamour, each releasing an aura of bloodlust and rage. Their appearance was enough to cow the remaining guards and those soldiers that had lined up to pay tribute.

"Alexander. King of Macedon. Conqueror. I have come to offer you a bargain.

"I will save your life, and in exchange for healing and restoring your body to health, you will swear a binding Oath to enter an alliance with the Sidhe. One that will bind you, your heirs, and your heirs, heirs," I continued, not allowing him to speak or anyone else to interrupt as I spoke.

"We have a common enemy.

"Caesar attacks my people. And he was the hand behind the order to have you poisoned. He struck a deal with Antipeter after you removed him as Viceroy of Macedonia, to return him to power if you were to die.

"Iollas stands behind you, his eyes wet from tears. A faithful retainer that has pledged to serve you. The son of Antipater and the person who poisoned your wine with Veratrum album."

It had taken only a few days for the Azi-Feu to find the truth behind Alexander's illness. They had dispersed across the world, a new army of Sidhe spies to ferret out the information I would need. Their ability to move unseen and past any magical barrier would make it possible for me to upend the game of nations that Olympus and Asgard were playing.

I would use the secrets that they ferreted out to my advantage. Blackmail, extortion, or bribes, whatever the means, I would use any method to protect my people.

"You will pledge never to raise arms against the Sidhe and agree to work with Queen Morgan le Fey of the Sidhe to destroy Caesar.

"You will turn your armies away from Asia, away from Egypt, and concentrate on Rome. In exchange, the Sidhe will provide you with enchantments and wards that will protect your armies and people.

"As proof of my words, I will offer you the first of these for freea medallion of Danu, Goddess of Tuatha de Danann, enchanted to detect lies. The medallion will shine with a blazing light if someone lies. Further, anyone speaking falsehood while holding the medallion will die.

"The Sidhe do not deal in lies. And Danu will not forgive or extend mercy to anyone stupid enough to make the attempt while clasping an icon emblazoned with her [Symbol].

"Test the properties of the medallion for yourself and prove for those standing as witnesses that my accusations of poisoning and the person responsible are true.."