Day 292
Alder and I work together on the shadowgate magic and succeed in sending all of the winter Vanguard through to our tree, accompanied by some autumn Vanguard as watchers and the dwarves sent by Torrick. Alder and Miriam also go through. For now he can only escort people through the gate but Magdalena tells us that he’ll be able to manage to link the magic to a token and eventually assert a freestanding gate that anyone can use. The possibilities are wide now - he could escort us to Deldrin or back to the Keep, anywhere there is already a gate waiting for him.
But for now he and Miriam are tending to the fae and so for the first time in a long while I am without both of my brothers. Andstella, Hella, Kadia, Dawn, and I are alone in Dreamfall with the rest of the Vanguard.
Days 293 - 3296
Magdalena spends a few days working with me on fae magic. She teaches me partnership with the trees, which can offer assistance if you know what you’re looking for: Spells, recipes, power in the form of a leaf that will help you when you need it. She’s interested that Alder was gifted a leaf, of course.
And some things can only be made in a grove, like the cloak that I passed on to Alder.
Over the week I find that my memories integrate better and the skills of these ancient fae are more readily at hand. I can speak with the others easily now, as though it were elvish. And the rest of the magic of dusk is accessible as well.
Day 297
In what has become a nightly ritual, Magdalena, Andstella, and I settle down at the top of the ziggurat with tea. I have learned, somewhat by accident, that the fae brew their tea completely differently from how elves and even humans do it. As the arbiter of evening tea I am used to my nightly ritual of carefully measuring out leaves or whisking the ground powder with water. When I found myself reaching for a jar of already-soaked leaves….I let those ancient memories have their way and portion out what I expected to be a very unpredictable weak tea of many varieties.
Magdalena and Andstella seemed to like it but I can’t imagine Caravel or Mistress reacting with such delight. Perhaps I will have to simply prepare two different teas each evening.
As we watch the stars wake, Magdalena tells us that when the storm thaws she will depart. But what will we do? For Andstella it seems that her future is clear - Dreamfall needs someone to oversee its construction and rebirth.
I speak with more confidence than I feel - I’m here to build a new Empire. Not my own, but an extension of the one I love. There may be a Barrier between us but the same ideals can exist here and be ready to join with the Barrier falls.
Magdalena is pleased at this answer despite teasing me for being a princess. I have all the elves of the Empire with me and the fae of day and night will join us as well. Lyssa’s dwarves will likely join us as well. When I begin to speak of trolls she hushes me.
“You’re not ready for trolls, even though you want to be,”
And once again I am a student in a classroom with a maddening equation on the board.
Humans, then. They’re missing a connection to something larger. Even on the other side of the sea they are fractured. In the Empire we have cities and Frontier towns that support each other; people, materials, knowledge, and stories flow in both directions. The people are the heart of my Empire but they serve one another instead of dozens of smaller lords or would-be kings.
So if I’m to collect humans, where do I begin? I speak out loud as I dissect my train of thoughts, waving off Magdalena’s chiding interruptions. I arrive at Solace, Drognar, and Whitewater. Two of the three are led by men who wish they could be doing something else.
Two questions remain, then.
- How do I formalize an Empire and bring these settlements under our banner?
- Do I collect the pieces I currently hold and build something or do I continue chasing new pieces?
Neither has a simple answer. To complicate things further, I receive a letter from
Amytri: After the Storm.
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