Completed Meeting of the Minds

[Nairth San'Seya]

It had taken some measurable effort to wear his patience thin, but Nairth San'Seya could no longer ignore or send away the persistent messengers. For weeks now he'd been sent all manner of correspondence, seemingly out of nowhere. It was odd enough that another court sought Nairth's audience; his was one of if not the smallest of the Parlors, but stranger still was the sender: The Erlking Midir himself. Certainly not someone whom Nairth wished to converse with

Nairth had no love for Midir. Fundamentally, they agreed on a great many things. In practice, however, Nairth found Midir's tactics to be needlessly aggressive, and his morality skewed. Whereas Nairth preferred to treat and heal the blights of Fae society, The Spring King believed that his Autumn counterpart would rather squash any and all dissension without mercy. To say he was uneasy about the sudden attention from the Erlking would be a slight understatement. When finally he allowed this latest messenger to deliver the message he brought, he didn't receive much in the way of an answer.

A request for an audience with him, that was all that the message contained.

Meetings on neutral ground with the other fae rulers were obviously commonplace, and perhaps it was pretentious of Nairth to suspect something afoul as he did. Already he could hear the nagging voice of his Chamberlain telling him to stop being so stubborn... No, she would be correct. If Midir wished to speak with him, then it was likely a matter of importance. The San'Seya had felt wounded when his pleas for help from the other courts against the shadow plaguing his lands had gone unanswered. It would be nigh hypocritical of him to do the same to another King.

At Elowen's request, Nairth would dress somewhat less extravagantly than was his preference, keeping the silvery crown hidden away, and wearing clothes that did not shimmer at the faintest hint of sunlight. He almost felt mundane. Ever since his previous Chamberlain's disappearance, though, he was scarce allowed to gallivant anymore, for fear his life was at stake

Leaving his son Tharu to watch over Grovehaven in his absence, Nairth set out for the location given immediately. He'd made Midir wait long enough, and now he would hear his piece.

Midir

 

[Midir]

There was no pomp, no ceremony, no pavilions nor chairs set out. Nothing that would herald a meeting of two powerful fae. That would defeat the point, wouldn't it?

Midir sat perched on a mossy section of rock and stone. Once upon a time, a great many years ago, the stone had been a part of a wall. That wall had made up a tower. It had been a feat of engineering for the time and, to the humans, had been a place to be feared or awed by. But time did not care for the names and deeds of heroes. She brought all to heel in the end including this tower. Now there were songs about songs about songs about this place and its true purpose, true history, had been consigned to oblivion.

It was a sombre thought to dwell upon given the meeting ahead.

Midir held no love for the Spring King, least of all because he was green and a green King in a time where balance stood teetering on the knife's edge could be the thing to topple it. But there were far greater threats and a green king was better than no king. Mab was... Mab. Andronicus a puppet and the Furies even harder to discuss business with. Asemir fought the good fight which at times meant staying out of fighting altogether, so who was left?

The white stallion he had ridden this way snorted as if sensing his thoughts and then continued on grazing with barely an ear flick in his direction. Midir watched the beast for a moment this his head turned to the sound of approaching feet and the approach of magic. Taking a breath he stood and eased into the cordial mask of a politician.

"King of Spring, how good of you to join me."

 

[Nairth San'Seya]

Narith knew this place well, the tower that had once stood so tall there were talks amongst the mortals that ascending it would lead you to the heavens. It was said that chaos and order, darkness and light, and good and evil all joined hands with one another, dancing with their opposites atop the highest point. It was all drivel very typical of the human mind.

As Nairth looked out from the decidedly ordinary-looking wagon that wheeled him along the last leg of the journey, however, the Spring King would look at the fog-laden remains with misty-eyed nostalgia, a somber smile breaking his stony expression. Indeed, there were many songs about this place, and he remembered one above all others...

Descending carefully from the wagon, still not directing eye contact towards his Autumn counterpart, Nairth walks quickly to the scattered bricks sunken in the ground and reaches out to lay his hands upon them. The Tower in The Mist. That was the song that he and his departed love had danced to, the night they'd first met so long ago. It was here where they first confessed their feelings, late after a joint-court festival, where he'd first felt lips upon his own.

What would she say if she could see him now?

It was his fault that she could not.

The San'Seya remained still for a moment, composing himself. It wouldn't do to become emotional now, of all times. Midir thought little of him as it was, not that he cared much about what the Erlking thought of him. Taking a deep breath, Nairth at last turned to Midir and bowed his head low.

"I owe you an apology, Erlking. I allowed my stubbornness to delay this parlay quite considerably it would seem." Raising from his bow, Nairth tucked his hair behind his shoulder once more. "So I shan't waste your time any longer. You wished to speak with me, and I am here. Am I to assume this involves a certain tension I've heard whispers of boiling over?"

Midir

 

[Midir]

"Please, you're a King now. Midir is fine," he said with an easy smile though it never reached his eyes and thus had the perception of being cold rather than genuine. He gestured to his left and from the Other materialised a table and two chairs with a bottle of golden wine chilling in a silver basin.

"I can respect a man who prefers to get to the point but in the interest of tradition. Wine?" he offered. The rules and customs of hospitality extended even to a monarch and whilst this might have been neutral ground it was he who had asked for the meeting and so he to whom the role of hosting fell in a manner of speaking. Even if it was just providing drink and somewhere comfortable to sit and talk.

He would pour a glass if the other King accepted before his own, or otherwise just pour himself one before sitting.

"Tensions is certainly the political way to describe it," he laughed humourlessly. "But the first reason for me calling this meeting was because I believed you deserved to know. It recently came into my lap the evidence that proves it was Tatiana behind Oberon's death."

 

[Nairth San'Seya]

In all the time he had known Midir, though they had never been friends, Nairth had never seen the Erlking smile. It wasn't particularly bright, but it did seem that the Autumn ruler was at the very least giving his best effort at being cordial with him. Nairth was more than willing to match that effort, his personal feelings about the powerful Fae aside.

"I figured I had kept you waiting long enough, but far be it from me to turn down a drink after a rather droll trip." The San'Seya took a seat across from the other royal, taking the offered glass with a grateful nod of his head before leaning back to sip the golden nectar. "There are a great many traditions I am not yet particularly well-versed in. I received my title on rather short notice, as you're aware." Oberon's death had been sudden, but it was a slight untruth for Nairth to claim he had no idea it was coming.

That was why Midir would find the Spring King's eyes so drawn to him when he made the claim that Tatiana had been behind the late King's demise. Nairth had assumed this meeting was purely about the Summer, but this was... well, unexpected.

It wouldn't have been shocking to Nairth, Tatiana conspiring to kill Oberon. Not if Nairth hadn't come to a very different conclusion.

"You're sure...? I'd be very interested in seeing this evidence, if you are keen to divulging it with me, Midir."

Midir

 

[Midir]

Midir gave a curt nod to the request. He hadn't expected anything less for it was exactly what he would demand to see too. With a weave of magic that thrummed through the air a stack of parchment neatly bound with a ribbon appeared on the table in front of them both. It was not a large stack, perhaps ten or so pages, but from a glance there were detailed notes and even sketches. The Erlking waved a hand towards it in offering.

"My spymaster had written a full report with the evidence in, but it started when a fae from your Court decided to hide within my Court. The Wilds are... vast and it is usually an easy thing to do. It was happenstance they were found and questioned. It appears as though they were paid rather handsomely by the Summer Court to swap Oberon's wine for a special blend. A special blend I happen to know comes from Tatiana's personal artificer. "

He took a sip of his own wine.

"Raphael has recently returned from a mission into Summer and has confirmed the wine was brewed there and he uncovered a few... other matters. Plans of attacks on all the Courts, meddling in affairs to make us dance to her tune. I am quite confident my niece intends to weaken us to aim a spear at the heart of Winter and restart the Feud."

A feud which last time had gone on for so long fae couldn't remember a time before it and had cost mortals and fae their lives.

 

[Nairth San'Seya]

Nairth did his best not to look as doubtful as he was of these findings before giving them a proper read-through. Midir wasn't the kind of person to leave a job half-finished; If he was showing this to him, he was confident in its accuracy.

The issue was that much of what he'd found clashed with what Nairth already knew to be true, in troubling ways. It was certainly within Summer's character to arrange such a regicide, and Tatiana was never shy about her feelings towards Springs's beliefs... "It doesn't shock me. Likewise, I doubt you were terribly surprised to learn of such subterfuge from her, Midir." San'Seya hadn't met this Raphael before, but he'd heard enough. Midir wasn't in the habit of putting his trust in anybody but those he deemed loyal. A wise trait.

There was something that The Erlking was blatantly omitting, however. Something that it should've been obvious the King of Spring would want to know. Taking another sip of his drink, Nairth's eyes left the detailed report and met Midir's own again. "So who was it? The Spring fae who enabled this?" Midir had treated that little fact as more of an afterthought, but it was rather crucial information. What had become of this fae? As he was of Spring, he or she was Narith's responsibility.

Narith continued before waiting for an answer. "The Feud never really ended, I feel. It's merely been dormant, waiting to boil over when the embers are stoked back into flames once more. What's happening now was inevitable, and yet I was hoping we had a bit more time..."

A pause. Nairth set his glass gently down on the table, biting the inside of his cheek. The Erlking was being very open, and the San'Seya appreciated that. Perhaps it was time to share what he knew as well.

"In the interest of good faith, I do believe I have information that you should be made aware of as well. Something I have only shared with the Dusk as of yet."

Midir

 

[Midir]

Sadly, San'Seya was right.

Midir might have wanted to believe his niece was not capable of such things and that she had been truthful in wanting to keep the peace between Summer and Winter before the Feud reopened in its nasty genocidal glory. But it had been a hope of a younger man and not the King who sat here today. Not with the knowledge she had signed the order to torture his son's mate. That, rightly so, angered him far more than any murder of another King even if Oberon had been one he had considered a friend of a sorts. Maeve was as good as flesh and blood. An attack on her was an attack on the heart of Autumn.

"His name is Blodwyn, I believe he was one of Oberon's taste testers," ironically. "I can have him returned to you, he has been treated... fairly as a prisoner," fairly for a man who had murdered a king. He wasn't dead and Midir thought that a pretty good state to be in. The fae might not think so when his King got a hold of him however.

Midir found himself nodding in agreement with Nairth's assessment however and even more found himself surprised to be agreeing with the newly made King. It took a while, often, for rulers to become wise to the currents of politics and their true standing. He had to admit the Spring Lord earnt a little bit of respect in that moment.

"Dusk?" the Erlking's eyes took on an interested, intense look like a bird of prey who had caught the movement of prey. He drew fingers over his chin. "I would.... certainly appreciate hearing something you think Dusk should hear," their predictions of the future were things he regarded highly.

 

[Nairth San'Seya]

Blodwyn... come to think of it, when was the last time he'd seen that one? It must have been some time, but yes, he recalled his previous encounter with the traitor. "Ah, yes. How is his arm healing? The one I snapped when he tried to violate a human under my protection?" Blodwyn was no loss to Nairth, the San'Seya had already considered him a lost cause, one who believed Oberon's demise should have earned him far more powerful a position than what little he had under the previous rule.

"I've had issues with him in the past. Ask your.. friend... Fraeya, about those, should you wish to hear the tale. It was her that he sought to take advantage of, before you 'found' her..." There was a minute bitter tone behind his voice, but it was gone as soon as it came; San'Seya had been fond of that mortal, but he'd heard what Midir had made of her. A shame, but one that being angry at the Erlking over would be pointless-- She made her choice. "Return him or dispose of him yourself, it matters not to me. An execution by my hand would likely be more merciful than he deserves."

The King had to tread lightly sharing information regarding Dusk to Midir. Not out of a lack of trust, but because there was also information that had been entrusted to Nairth in confidence. Spreading secrets would not improve any relationships, that was for certain.

But Midir deserved to know more about the death of Oberon, at least. Finishing his glass, Nairth set it aside and leaned forward. "Blodwyn and Tatiana's actions may have been aimed to kill Oberon, but it's possible he would have died even had they not gotten involved." That was why San'Seya had never suspected an assassination attempt on his preceeding King; He believed himself aware of the cause of death already.

"Shortly before Oberon's demise, The Spring's lands have been dealing with a menace. A malicious being we have dubbed "The Shadow". Whether this being is a parasitic infection or something of a more spiritual nature hasn't been determined, but this Shadow has been infecting wildlife in our forests, causing them to become mutated, and enraged." Only several weeks prior he'd narrowly avoided having a large portion of Grovehaven demolished by one such beast. "I and my fellow Spring have been combating and containing this presence, but Oberon fell victim to it. I cannot say whether he was poisoned or not, but he died by my hand when he attacked me under the Shadow's influence."

It was as many had suspected: A regicide, though one of much different circumstances than was thought. Oberon would have been doomed either way. " With what you have told me, and since it has not infected a Fae since, however, I find it likely that the poison weakened Oberon enough to make him vulnerable. Therefore, the fault will still lie with Tatiana."

Midir

 

[Midir]

Midir listened intently to every word and his face grew grimmer and grimmer with every passing revelation. A parasite strong enough to weaken the strongest of faes was a disturbing revelation and he found himself quietly glad their lands did not share a border. Though that did not mean the disease might not be in his own lands. The Wilds were a sprawling, uncontrolled thing with a life of its own. He would have to ask Olyssa to make a thorough investigation into the possibility it was already there.

"That is... very troubling news," the Erlking took a sip of his wine and wondered why his brother had not said a word to him. Did he think such a thing not worth mentioning or was there an alternative motive there? He did not want to think such a thing of Asemir - the two had tried hard over the centuries not to let politics come between them - but it was hard not to feel a little put out this knowledge had come from an almost stranger rather than his own blood.

"I thank you for sharing this with me. I will have my people check the Wilds to see if we carry any such... thing," deaths would have been made aware to him though. If it was in Autumn perhaps it was slumbering. "If you require help I do have quite talented people who might be able to identify this... thing. And find some way of killing it," Olyssa would be thrilled to be put on such a task.

 

[Nairth San'Seya]

Nairth would have assuaged him of such worries had he known the slight pang of betrayal Midir felt at not being made aware of such a thing. The King had played the Shadow's existence very close to his chest, confident that he'd confined it to the Spring lands for the time being. "Lady Eske is the only one outside of Spring who knew of this, and I requested that she keep it somewhat under wraps for the time being."

The King shook his head, staring over at the remains of the tower with a growing frown. "I can no longer, in good conscience, keep such a sordid secret from you and the others though. There was worry if I did so at the coronation, it would be perceived as deception. and I would be believed to have performed some manner of coup d'é·tat"

Nairth had assigned his son to keep lookout in the Wilds for activity related to the Shadow. Tharu was young, energetic, and always eager to prove his worth. The Prince was, however, forbidden from fighting that entity should he encounter it. Nairth had narrowly survived his own battle against a Shadow-stricken minotaur. He doubted his less-powerful son would fare much better.

"My own scouting has recorded only one encounter with it outside of Falwood; A group of slavers from the Night Court ran afoul of it in the Wilds. One of the pixies they were smuggling survived, but aside from her there was nothing left. Not a major loss, I suppose..." The only Court Nairth disliked as much as Summer was undoubtedly Night. Two sides of an extremely unstable coin, they were. "But it could mean it's beginning to grow bolder. It may be in our best interest to deal with it before we must confront Tatiana. More than that, she must not know it exists, lest she seek to use the situation against us."

Midir

 

[Midir]

Midir could feel the scales shifting, the balance of good and evil, light and dark, tilting just a little in one direction. It was like the sound of marbles piling up on top of one another. He grimaced and not only for that reason. The promise he had made to his son echoed in his mind as Nairth proposed to put off confronting the Queen of Summer.

"Normally.... I would agree with you," he said reluctantly. If he was acting as a King he most certainly would have agreed without this hesitation. The threat to more lives in his land and beyond, of an evil that could grow, it was the far greater and obvious threat than his nieces scheming. "But I made a promise to my son. It is... a promise I would not like to break," he admitted reluctantly. Weakness, especially one for his son that could potentially put him in danger, was not something he revealed lightly. Whether the Spring King knew it or not it was a large act of trust.

"Lorcan's mate was kidnapped and tortured with iron under her instructions to garner information. Not just about my Court but others. The girl didn't know at the time my son was her mate and she revealed nothing, but understandably he wants those responsible to be brought to justice."

 

[Nairth San'Seya]

Perplexing.

That was the situation laid before the two kings now. The safety of their courts was being endangered on two fronts, and as though fate's cruel hand found amusement in driving a wedge between the already unsteady allies, each court had a desire to fight their battle first. Nairth knew that letting up on his fight against the Shadow could very easily allow the entity to recover from what damage The King and his men had done to it, and possibly spread into other lands.

At the same time, San'Seya sympathized with Midir. The King of Spring knew the pain that a father felt at letting down his offspring. It was the kind of sting that one couldn't simply avoid or overpower; no Father worth calling himself such was immune to that feeling. The Erlking's words were laden with hesitance, though, a hesitance Nairth knew too well.

"Midir." It was perhaps out of turn, what he wished to say. That had certainly never stopped him before, however. "It is not weakness to care about, to feel empathy for one's child." Nairth did not elaborate, did not attempt to push the topic further. Midir knew Nairth's history, what he'd done in the past. Nobody knew about the failings of fatherhood as he did. San'Seya poured himself a bit more to drink, humming in thought as silence hung over them for a time.

After a few sips of his fresh glass, Nairth nodded his head, closing his eyes as he leaned back into his seat.

"What you speak of is a serious transgression even without the promise you have made..." Another pause, much shorter this time before he continued. "As you're no doubt aware, what the Shadow is doing is an affront to the tenets of Spring. This corruption of nature goes against everything my kingdom stands for. To ignore or delay the annihilation of this aberrance would be treason against my people."

Shifting away from the most imminent threat to nature in order to involve himself in a war with Summer would be seen as a heretic act by many, particularly the younger of his court, too fresh-minded and hot-blooded to remember what Summer was truly capable of.

"However... I cannot stand idly by and allow The Summer to freely abduct members of an allied Court either. This is also unforgivable. Very well, if this is how it must be, then I have made my choice, Erlking."

San'Seya straightened in his chair, taking a deep breath of the misty air that surrounded them, filling his lungs to bursting before he slowly exhaled. He'd known this was a possible outcome, but there would be many unhappy with his choice.

"The Fae under my command will obey your word when the time to strike arrives, Midir. You have The Spring's full capabilities at your disposal to combat this threat. With the exception of me, myself. I will remain in the Spring's land, and do everything I can to combat our other foe alone until aid can be given."

Midir

 

[Midir]

A brow quirked at the use of his given name but he did not berate him for it. He supposed when you asked another King to send fae to fight and die beside your own the formalities could be put aside.

That same brown soon knitted itself with its twin however as Naith mulled over the quadrium they found themselves in. Surprisingly, the Erlking was having his own internal struggle with what matter to deal with. Summer and this... Shadow were both large weights tipping the balance drastically off course. If there were another to be added... One and ideally both needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. But for his son's sake and the promise he had made he was relieved somewhat to hear that that the King of Spring would indulge him.

"Thank you, Naith," he said the name slowly. It was odd, this unlikely friendship. Or perhaps it was to be expected that the two seasonal courts who had worked for most of their existence not to be pulled into the whirlpools of Summer and Winter would eventually turn to one another for help.

"I do not wish for you to shoulder the burden of the Shadow alone in the meantime. I will send Olyssa to you, my Beast Keeper knows more about this world than most people when it comes to its many creatures. She might be able to help come up with some kind of... weapon."

 

[Nairth San'Seya]

Nairth took notice of the brief look that Midir gave him, but The Erlking himself had told him to use the name when he'd arrived. Even if he had not, he hardly found it an affront. There was a saying that conflict and war could turn enemies into brothers. San'Seya never saw himself considering Midir a brother, but he did respect him greatly. The Autumn and its people thrived under his guidance, and that was all that mattered to a King when all was said and done.

If he was being entirely honest with himself, Nairth was no more a fan of this forced division of labor than Midir likely was. Ideally, they would be able to focus their resources on one threat at a time, but with two dangers so imminent, ready to strike at any moment, they had to be ready for a knife in the back.

Most important of all though was that Titania did not learn of the Shadow's existence. If she knew about that second threat, Nairth had no doubt in his mind she would use that knowledge to her advantage. She wasn't the type to see the bigger picture, the bigger threat to Fae as a whole. Selfish p'tahh.

Nairth's name sounded rather foreign coming from Midir's lips, but it brought a small smile to his face nonetheless. The King's head tilted to the side, rather amused by his choice of support. "Olyssa, yes. We have met, albeit briefly. She definitely has the spirit to contend with unfavorable odds." It was the nicest way that San'Seya could refer to the green-haired Fae's temper. One he'd been the subject of once before. She'd called him quite colorful names, if he recalled correctly.

"I shall send an agent of mine to you as well. One whom you can command my forces through, known as Razareal. He hasn't seen much in the way of battle since before Oberon's time, but I think you will find him quite able and eager to act against the Summer, with a tactical mind much more refined than is easy to come across in this day and age."

Of course, that meant Nairth had to find Razareal, and nobody truly knew where he'd gone. Still, he was under standing order to remain in Spring, and San'Seya doubted he would disobey. The Erlking would have his help.

Midir