[Hlaeth] Ch 11 - An Invitation that is Not

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            Millions of tons of earth rained down on the mostly-dead unrecognizable things that used to be on the other side, while even more magical explosions went off as death and explosions did fun things in the manasphere as they built on one another.

            “<So, I’m not sure who or what is responsible,>” I finished up as mountains of earth fell back to the charnel pits below with a distant rumbling roar before the illusion vanished, “<but I’m pretty sure that anything short of a god is probably dead there, now, and they probably have better things to do with their time and the armies they just lost all of rather than come here again.>”

            The elves looked both appalled and impressed. “You have seen such things before, Magos Aelryinth?” the elfin maga asked me carefully.

            I flicked up an image of the four-dimensional Klein Bottles we used, and they bent forwards to study its recursive form with interest. “<My homeworld is also subject to regular Portal-based invasion techniques. These are the tools we use to collapse those Portals and absolutely punish those nearby. They operate by chucking them into the Portals and then running like Hell.>” An illusion of a spy tossing them into a Portal in the middle of a camp of a lot of orcs popped up, and then said spy jetted quickly into the distance as the timer clicked down rapidly, and a repeat of what I’d just posted, only over a much smaller area, went down, not incidentally taking out most of the orc horde encamped around the Portal on BOTH sides of it with the dual eruptions.

            “<You might say we don’t like off-worlders coming to our lands with conquest and colonization on their minds.>”

            “An expertise and attitude we seemed to have availed ourselves of,” she noted diplomatically. “Would you be willing to repeat such displays before the Throne?” she asked me formally.

            I put a hand to my forehead. “<Oh, gods. Politics already?>” I asked rhetorically. “<If you are looking for someone to blame for this mess, I am very much not in the mood, Elder.>”

            “I can assure you that we will in no way blame you for what has happened here,” she told me quickly. “However, the Court will want some proof, and many will simply not want to believe a human was generous in their aid at this time. They will instead want to blame you for everything that has occurred.”

            There was something off and hollow about her words, indicating that she wasn’t going to defend me at all, and their interest was about more than an event that had basically already resolved itself.

            Ah, of course. They were worried about ME.

            A spellcaster at my level of power was an extremely dangerous being. Even Eldritch the Elder staying scrupulously silent, as if he wanted to be ignored, and couldn’t be absolutely sure he could prevail over me in a Casting Contest, it seemed. These elves preferred Leveling on the Tower, or perhaps that was all they were allowed to do.

            I went looking for it, and so I found it, letting out a sigh.

            A very subtle spell to study magic at XII, which was complex and sneaky enough to overcome my Astral Ward.

            Eldritch over there was getting a very good look at my Aura, and doubtless was quite unnerved by what he was seeing, especially after the show I had put on.

            Why to their Court, then? They could just ask questions here…

            Wards, of course. The Royal Court would have magical protections up the kazoo, and basically armies of bladesingers, wardancers, swordmages, and mageblades. They’d be able to neutralize me one way or another, and the balance of power would be entirely in their favor.

            They could then question me at their leisure, detain me if they wished, and imprison me if they desired, all in the name of their own security and the clear potential I had to be a deadly danger to them.

            “Magos Aelryinth?” she asked hesitantly. I’d been nothing but helpful, after all. The delay was quite noticeable.

            “<No>,” I finally answered, and she tensed visibly. “<I’ve places to go and things to do that do not involve a collection of gargantuanly ungrateful powerful Casters of an untrusting species finding a way to maneuver me into a place of power where they can contain me at their desire or whim.>”

            “Magos Aelryinth, that is not our-” she began soothingly.

            “TRUTH.”

            Her words cracked and broke on her tongue as she staggered, all the High Mages did. The facades of careful disinterest broke, and I read fear of me, anger that they’d been found out, awe and suspicion of the powers I was connected to, overwhelming concern of the threat I represented, shattered pride at their power being threatened, the arrogance of believing they knew the best way, envy of the power I held, disdain that a mere human wielded such power, scorn that I was even worthy of such power.

            A complete lack of trust that I was what I seemed to be.

            “<Repeat your lies, if you are able!>” I challenged their chosen speaker back with the contempt her words deserved. Elven was DAMN good at conveying contempt, too.

            She had a Wand in hand now, and her lips were thin, her expression hard as she looked at me, all of them looking ready to Cast now, starting to inch sideways in an instinctive attempt to surround me.

            “<Commander Tellusian, would I be remiss to theorize that you’ve had some problems with very powerful infiltrators recently?>” I asked the rather shocked Commander, who was looking at all of this in alarm and great concern. There was no doubt whatsoever that he’d back the High Mages, who doubtless included his teachers.

            There was a moment’s pause before he answered, “Yes! There have been attempts by cruel Fiends and mind-bending creatures to infiltrate our islands in the past century, Magos…”

            “<I see. Your Elders are steeped in paranoia, but they knew the truth of the matter, and did not care. Their invitation to Court is an attempt to get me inside the Wards of a place where they believe they could contain and control me. I am not amused at their perfidy, Commander Tellusion!>”

            The moral outrage in my voice and on many levels in their own language made them all flush in various levels of shame, guilt, anger at being caught, and reproach.

            Elder Eldritch had only the anger of being caught out. My head turned to him, the gesture banishing the elfin who was about to speak as clearly and surely as a waved dismissal and curse directed at her. She almost shrank in on herself at the feeling of Heaven’s contempt for her actions bearing down on her.

            “So, you are aware I can see your Aura.” Eldritch’s voice was still strong and smooth, if bearing a bit of an internal echo, as if he was speaking more by magic than vocal chords.

            “<So, you are aware I can discern your control of the manafield,>” I replied curtly, his extremely tilted eyes narrowing thoughtfully. The other High Mages had withdrawn the moment he spoke, and were now watching the two of us warily. Their postures were also much more defensive, as if the fight that might break out was something they had to protect themselves and others from, not join into.

            “You have the greatest spell casting power I have ever witnessed in a mortal,” Eldritch murmured, staring at me, and making everyone shiver with that statement. “How did you come by it?”

            “<You have the greatest foundational magical power I have ever witnessed in a mortal. How did you come by it?>” I retorted promptly, in no mood to entertain his curiosity. Captain Fyanyl already had that answer.

            “He is the glaus nûrg mönt! He has slain armies of undead that would cover this land to the horizons! He has slain more Fiends than days in the lives of all those gathered here! Dragons born wedded to the will of Evil! Things from beyond the Stars that eat whole worlds! Things wrought of unholy philosophies and lies of reality!”

            The speaker was Wurdtrue, the golden dragon’s wings snapping wide, drawn up to his full power and strength. He was speaking in High Draconic, the mana in the air reverberating with every syllable.

            “He laid waste to an invading army that could have razed half this mortal kingdom and its masters, and you challenge his goodwill in this matter?” the dragon continued in regal disbelief. “Have the years finally laid waste to your wits, Eldest?!” the dragon boomed in a very potent combination of dismay and concern. “Do you think some Fiend wrapped in glamours could fool the Elder Trees? Who do you think the Land is favoring now?”

            All the elves’ eyes were drawn to the flowers that had abruptly sprouted around my feet, and were growing and rising with obviously magical speed, and absolutely no magic on my part.

            If you were aware enough, however, there was definitely an attention focused on us here that was far greater than anything mortal, Elders of any species notwithstanding.

            I still hadn’t grabbed for mana, he was waiting for me to try, and I was waiting for him to attempt something sneaky that I shouldn’t be able to sense. My concentration was already down to a razor-point, ready to plunge and fall, and when it did there was going to be a lot of magic going off VERY quickly.

            I really was surprised when the golden dragon moved up behind me and next to Feature, who had only slightly moved from his resting position, but was watching everything happening like a hawk, poised to strike with great speed as wisps of gold and silver energy peeled up from his nostrils and eyes. With startling solidarity, the other three dragons of silver and bronze hue promptly moved up to back up their elder behind me, all of them staring at the leader of the High Mages with unblinking intensity.

            Being backed by a dragon, of all things, was a new experience for me, and, I could tell, shook the resolve of all of the High Mages.

            I had little doubt these dragons were NOT the eldest of their kind on these islands, and acting against them under any pretext would be sure to cause relations with the dragons’ ancestors to turn very cold, indeed.

            “<You are debating an attack on the dragons to disable them, internally arguing that I must have taken some form of mind control over them to make them act against the wishes of the elves>,” I stated coldly, and watched them blanch again. It was like I was reading their minds, but Sense Motive at +123 was nearly as good as reading minds, and couldn’t be blocked by magic. “<Truth knows that is another lie.>”

            They all jerked and looked away, unable to meet the gaze whose eyes they couldn’t see, nor the extremely offended stares of the dragons.

            “<The dragons are perfectly aware I could do that to them, especially the eldest here>,” I went on calmly. “<He is also perfectly aware I will NOT do that to him, unless it is in his interests for me to do so. As a dragon, he is instinctively aware of his place in the great cycle of souls, and does not need to be talking to the gods to keep his sight on the goals of Heaven. You all, it seems, have wandered from the road and are headed to the shadows, thinking you are sacrificing your morals to protect your people, when in Truth all you are doing is showing your people that the moral way is the wrong way, and you are leading them to ruin.>”

            They staggered again, if not quite as hard, as the echo of the Word forcibly brought to mind the times they cut moral corners, justified arrogant or callous decisions to themselves, and exposed them as the lies they were.

            I wasn’t making friends out of them, but there was no doubt I was having a very, very pointed effect on them!

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