Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 288: Gauntlet Tossed

"You know the Gods of Olympus and Asgard are real," I said, still uncertain why they were finding it hard to believe they thought the Tuatha de Danann a myth. "If Gods for those Pantheons exist, why wouldn't the Sidhe Gods exist?"

"Zeus and Odin have appeared before their mortal worshipers too often not to believe they exist. They manifest direction on this plane of reality, leaving shattered lives and powerful children in their wake. They intrude in their followers' lives so frequently, there is no way to dispute or ignore their existence," Gwydion pointed out.

"Where are the Sidhe Gods? Why have they never manifested and appeared to our people?" He asked.

"Believe what you will," I answered, my patience having reached its limit. "[Fairy] has been restored, the Summerlands opened for those Sidhe that have died to rest in peace, Gwyn ap Nudd and the Hunt will answer the call of any Sidhe who dare to ask for justice, and the Tuatha de Danann exist.

"The fey have been restored. Magic returned. And I say to you, our Gods do exist. I have met them. And the Sidhe do not lie.

"The Tuatha de Danann don't manifest because they have entered into a Faustian bargain with the other Pantheons, one where they agreed to enter Sleep in order to delay Ragnarok. A bargain they accepted because it was made clear that the Sidhe would be the first people sacrificed when Ragnarok began," I explained.

"That doesn't mean they are completely impotent, even in [Sleep] they can act within the purview of their [Domain]. The Sidhe are creatures of [Dream]. We are the whisper in the wind that others hear. The monsters in the dark that mortals fear. We can spin illusions and glamour so well that they take on physical shape and form.

"If we, as Sidhe are all these things, how much more are the Tuatha de Danann? They exist, and they [Dream]. And whether you believe it or not. The [Dreamer] will wake. Like those dreams that seem fleeting but filled with promise and hope or Nightmares that portend doom and death, the Tuatha de Danann are both gift and bane.

"Call upon the Hunt if you have cause. Watch as Gwyn ap Nudd appears and rides to fulfill justice, and then say to me that the Gods of the Tuatha de Danann do not exist. If the return of your magic isn't proof, that [Fairy] has been restored, if the Summerlands opening isn't enough to give you pause, to kindle a spark of faith among you, nothing I say can or will," I proclaimed.

"You say the armies of Man have broken faith, that they have attacked the Sidhe under the flag of truce, breaking their words and despoiling their honor in the process. Hold them accountable. Call the Hunt, present your case to Gwyn ap Nudd, and watch as He and his Huntsmen ride against the armies besieging our lands.

"See for yourself what real Power is, and how the Sidhe can invoke that Power. And how the armies of Man are nothing but wheat and chafe to be harvested before His might. Gwyn ap Nudd is an instrument of [Justice], and when acting within his purview and domain, not even Odin or Zeus can stand before Him," I declared vehemently.

"And what of you?" Morgana demanded. "If we summon this Gwyn ap Nudd, where will you be? Certainly not on the front lines to deal with any consequences should He and His army not be as powerful as you claim."

"What does that matter?" I wondered. "From everything I have been able to glean, you are losing this war. They besiege you on all fronts. With the Fomorians and Man working together, at least for now, you are losing lives that have been gifted with immortality. How does demanding justice of Gwyn ap Nudd worsen your position?" I asked in disbelief.

"And if I am right? And the Hunt sweeps away the tides of Man assailing your lands and shore? What then?

"You and our people get time. Time to master the magic that I have returned to the Sidhe. Time to test the [Geas] that is binding the twelve Kings and the people hiding Underhill.

"Time is something the Sidhe have mastered as an integral essence of our nature as immortals. Make use of that time."

I would have to venture to the front lines at some point, but not until the Sithern was firmly established and the new World Tree planted and linked as part of the firmament and essence for the Sithern and this world. If Morgan le Fey or Duchess Boadicea, the General leading the Sidhe forces, hadn't called upon Gwyn ap Nudd by the time I arrived, I would act.

I would not be able to call Gwyn ap Nudd. I had had no part of any agreement that may have been brokered and broken, but I was a Sidhe King. Fully vested with my magic and experienced and practiced enough in its application to act.

I had thought something strange from the moment Gwyn ap Nudd agreed to ferry my group across the Summerlands to this Universe. He had agreed too easily, and I thought he had his own motives for doing so. I was coming to believe that he had been aware of the problems the Sidhe on this world faced and might have been frustrated by the limits placed on Him and his ability to dispense justice.

Without an agency of Sidhe asking for Him to intervene, there was nothing He could do. He was powerless, but maybe he was prescient enough to watch and see what was happening to our people. The reason He would dispense justice on a person's behalf, or punish the person calling Him falsely, proved that He had real knowledge of events that had transpired, or a way of ascertaining truth.

I had believed from the beginning that the vast legions of Huntsmen that He had collected over the eons served as His eyes, watching as events unfolded across the multiverse and keeping him informed and able to react appropriately when summoned.

Caraid had refused to discuss my theory. As a part of the Hunt, he knew the ins and outs of how Gwyn managed to fulfill his obligations. But that knowledge was bound by Oath and remained a function of his duties. The knowledge he gained as a Huntsman was sealed behind those Oaths when he was released from those duties to merge with me and live his life. I wondered if that knowledge was even sealed from him.

"Believe me or not," I said. "Test the truth of my words or not, continue to allow your people to be slaughtered or not. I have tasks that will restore the Sidhe, plans that could be delayed, if there was genuine need. But there isn't, and what I do will have far-reaching ramifications.

"I will plant the seed of change that will reverberate across all Pantheons. Zeus and Odin have encouraged the crusade to destroy the Sidhe. I will return to Sidhe what was lost, what was meant for them to nurture.

"Destroyed, they say, because they believed this responsibility was not meant to be controlled by one faction. Destroyed in truth, because they were not the Pantheon that was tasked with control of the Summerlands, and they were envious of our ability to nurture the World Tree and the Summerlands

"The Sidhe are better situated now that [Fairy] and the fey have been restored. If you are brave enough to summon the Hunt, you might find yourself winning this war of attrition that Man has engaged in.

"Do what you will, I will do what I must," I said, disconnecting the scry precipitously, turning my back on Gwydion, and walking away.

I realized my words and actions were harsh, and could be taken as insult, but that didn't stop me, or keep me from ignoring Gwydion as he called for me to wait when I began walking away. The [Geas] that bound him had loosened, but not enough for him to follow me far, and it was only a matter of seconds before we had far outpaced the area he was bound to.

I wanted to get to Limerick, and between the Fomorians, the Fachen, the refugees, and Sidhe distractions that could seem an unattainable destination. My quest to get the Sithern planted and the World Tree restored was taking longer than I thought it would.

"Caraid," I said, gaining his attention when we were far enough away that there was no chance of being overheard, "do you have any idea what is going on with my Power? Why am I so much weaker here now than I was when we arrived, and weaker than I am on Talahm?"

"You are not weaker. You have simply acclimated to the power-level for this world," he informed me.

"Acclimated?"

"When we arrived, our abilities and powers were based on what they would have been on Talahm. But as we acclimated to this world, our power levels became proportional to the people of this Universe.

"Your powers may seem diminished, but that is just an illusion. You are still a [Ranked: King], about to level up and become a [Ranked: Demi God]. But this planet, the ley lines, the ambient magic aren't as strong as they are on Talahm, so your magic seems weaker.

"If you consider your magic and abilities as proportional, and compare that to everyone else on the planet, you will still rank higher than almost everyone not blessed by one of the Gods. You are certainly the most powerful Sidhe in this universe, dwarfing even High King Lleu Llaw Gyffes."

"That may prove to be an issue," I lamented. "My ice-fire traps should have destroyed those Fachen easily."

"Maybe," he agreed, "but even on Talahm, those traps weren't enough to kill Mab's entire Court. The power-levels remain the same. You will simply have to familiarize yourself with the difference between what you can actually do, and what you think you can do."