《The throne》


 1. A chance encounter

    In an unremarkable building, within an unremarkable city, there was an average guy. As far as he knew, Daniel Trethon was just like everyone else at the fast food establishment he worked at, an unfortunate soul with little to no real world talent stuck in a dead end job. The only really unique things about him were that he was from another country, a small island nation which spoke the same language and had a similar culture, and had only recently moved, after his mother died, and his golden eyes. But still, he had a mundane job in an unremarkable city. Write out a customer''s order, give it to the cooks, charge them, next in line. Write out a customer''s order, give it to the cooks, charge them, next in line. So on and so forth. Week after week. Daniel found it boring, incredibly so, but he also found it perfect for drowning out the things he didn¡¯t want to think about, like how he was in a dead end job, in a country far from home, and that his Mother just died.


    Yeah, his life wasn''t the best. But it was fine, as long as he kept at it, things would be fine. Though something didn''t quite sit right with him about his life. Small things seemed off. But he paid them no mind.


    The day started like any other, the restaurant full of people. The air filled with the sounds of the hustle and bustle of life. Then something changes. While behind the counter Daniel finishes writing an order for a man in blue, tenth person matching that description he¡¯s encountered all day, and sticks the ticket onto the ticket holder. ¡°Order up!¡± He yells to the cooks, turning to look towards them. Startled, he sees that no one is in the kitchen, turning back around he notices the restaurant is empty. A silence has descended upon it. In the space of a blink, everyone had vanished. Except for outside, where he hears people yelling.


    As he looks outside, he can see a figure, standing on a platform that seems to be hovering in the air. As he watches, the figure gestures, and holes open in the sky, before objects fly out, towards unseen targets. A feeling runs through his body, familiar, yet alien, like a half remembered dream, it urges him to go outside, and fight, as it does, his eyes glow gold briefly. ¡°SHIT, KEEP RUNNING¡± He hears someone yelling outside. Before two people sprint up to the door of the restaurant, the one in front wearing some kind of futuristic armor and carrying a bolt action looking rifle, the other, wearing something a little more archaic, and carrying a large and ornate spear. Behind them large black boxes slam into the pavement, before exploding violently. ¡°DAMMIT SAM, YOU SAID THEY WOULDN¡¯T BE WILLING TO FOLLOW US OUT OF THE MAZE!¡± The one in high tech armor yells. ¡°I thought that was the case, he must have been waiting at this exit, or near it. Wait, who is that?¡± ¡®Sam¡¯ says as they turn towards Daniel. ¡°YOU? FUCK, AS IF THIS DAY COULDN¡¯T GET ANY WORSE. A TRETHON HAS TO GET INVOLVED!¡± The one in high tech armor exclaims while her fingers scramble to grab something from a pocket on her armor. ¡°What, what the heck is going on?!?¡± Daniel asks as he cowers behind the counter.


    ¡°Long story short, magic is real, so are fairies, the one out there wants to kill Sam here! And I can¡¯t let that happen¡± The one in technological armor says, even as they carefully load a shell into their rifle. ¡°Magic? I¡¯m calling bullshit on that one!¡± As Daniel says that something slams into the outside of the restaurant and explodes, raining bits of the walls down on those taking cover inside. ¡°Nalya, we REALLY don¡¯t have time for this¡± Sam says, as he pulls out a spear. ¡°I KNOW! Look, can you call THIS anything but magic¡± Nalya says as she aims the rifle she just loaded at the person attacking them. ¡°Fly: The chains of heaven, that which Lyn made to bind her foes eternal¡± She intones, before pulling the trigger. A bolt of white light flies out, before detonating into a series of¡­ Ribbons? Ribbons, with glowing script scrawled across them, glowing with the same golden glow as Daniel¡¯s eyes. They quickly spring outwards to entrap the figure attacking them. ¡°GO!¡± She yells to Sam. As he hears that he sprints out, spear in hand. Sam then proceeds to leap up, and stab the figure with his spear, space seeming to fold in on itself to bridge the rather large gap. Blood sprays up into the air as the attacker falls to the ground, very very dead, judging by the massive hole in their chest.


    ¡°And that¡¯s this one down¡± Nalya sighs, ¡°I suppose I should start explaining, come on, let¡¯s pick this guy up and get out of this place¡± As she says that she starts walking out to the now dead assailant. ¡°Where are we anyway?¡± Daniel asks as he follows nalya, who walks out to the body, before placing a little piece of paper on it, and muttering some words Daniel doesn¡¯t catch, causing the corpse to erupt into flame, before being reduced to ash. ¡°Remarkably calm, to be expected I suppose. We¡¯re in a pocket dimension of sorts, a way of limiting the damage done to the real world during fights. It pulled you in thanks to your innate potential, it detects people with magic and pulls them into an extra dimensional space which is a copy of an area of the real world.¡± Nalya explains, even as she pulls Daniel along into an alleyway. ¡°Alright, now that that¡¯s done, let¡¯s get out of here, stand close.¡± Daniel, Nalya and Sam huddle up, before Nalya holds a hand to the sky, ¡°Release!¡± Cracks appear in the sky as a wave of energy washes over them.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    And the world fills with color and motion. All the destruction is gone, and the streets are full of people, an unnatural feeling of¡­ wrongness, is lifted, so slight as to be only noticeable now that it is absent. ¡°Right, now that you¡¯ve seen this you¡¯re part of it. It¡¯s unsafe to discuss what¡¯s going on right now, but in short, there has been a Coup, and Sam here came to bargain. Let¡¯s get back to my apartment, then we can discuss what¡¯s going on and clue you in.¡± As Nalya says that she leads Daniel and Sam out of the alleyway and along the sidewalk. ¡°How are we going to get there? More magic?¡± Daniel asks. ¡°Nah, we¡¯ll be taking the bus¡± Nalya replies as she and the two she is leading walk up to a bus stop. After a while, a bus pulled up, as they are want to do, and Daniel and his strange companions got onto it, paid the driver, and went to find someplace to stand.


    Their appearance turned some heads, it¡¯s not every day you see a group composed of someone in sci fi armor with a bolt action rifle, a guy who looks like he just stepped out of a fantasy novel, and a remarkably calm young man in the uniform of a local burger joint. But most people just shook their heads and chocked it up to cosplay for some or another convention and moved on. As Daniel and the others waited for their stop, just like everyone else on the bus, a thought occurred to Nalya. ¡°Hey Sam, do they have busses where you come from? You seem a little too used to this for it to be your first time.¡± Sam looked back at Nalya, having been looking out the window at the world outside. ¡°Yes, I hath traveled via similar measures many times in the past.¡± ¡°Huh, why do you use that spear then?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? You still use that weapon from ages past.¡± ¡°Fair point. Ah, this is our stop.¡± Nalya remarks.


    As they step off Daniel realizes something. ¡°This is the same stop I get off of to go to my apartment.¡± Nalya just keeps leading them towards an apartment building though¡­ A very familiar one. Then she goes to the 4th floor, and goes all the way to the end. ¡°Hey wait, this is right next to my apartment?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°How did I never notice?¡± ¡°1. I leave and arrive back here at a different time from when you¡¯re at your apartment, and 2. Magic¡± ¡°Are you gonna explain that ever?¡± ¡°Yep, right now.¡± Nalya says as they step into the apartment, it¡¯s tidy, and fairly ordinary looking, then she walks around the corner and reveals a curious sight. Nalya¡¯s room is filled with a mix of mundane objects, books, plates, tables, stuff you expect to find in such an apartment, and more magical tools and equipment, with a rack for her gun and armor located next to the coatrack, and a large tome, evidently magical due to it starting to glow as they entered the room, on a bookshelf next to some cookbooks and a few romance novels. ¡°Alright, let me just change out of this, stay here and please don¡¯t mess anything up.¡± As Nalya goes into the bathroom to change, Sam and Daniel take seats on a couch, and awkwardly wait for her return. Soon enough, she reenters the room, helmet off and armor in hand. Short brown hair and brown eyes on a face that¡¯s pretty, but not overly so, in every way she looks somewhat average, forgettable, like someone you could pass by going to work every day and never learn their name.


    ¡°Alright, I suppose I need to explain how all of this works to you don¡¯t I?¡± Nalya says as she drops down onto a nearby chair. ¡°Shortest possible explanation is that once upon a time, there were a large number of sapient races that inhabited this world. Among them were Man, who had no gifts, besides reproducing the fastest of all the races, and the fae, who possessed an inner world, a sort of pocket dimension, which they can store things in, create portals to, and control every facet of subconsciously. Eventually mankind discovered magic and drove off the other races. Including the Fae. The Fae in turn, created a massive series of pocket dimensions, connected up into a sort of maze, The Fae Labyrinth. Broadly separated into two areas, the inhospitable Maze of Many Worlds, which forms the outer layer, and the Inner Labyrinth, where the Fae actually live. There¡¯s a lot more I could discuss about that but right now let¡¯s focus on what you are. You are a Trethon, it¡¯s your last name, your family is what is known as a ¡°Blessed¡± family, who are able to perform miracles and call upon the stories of their ancestors for power. Thaumaturgy, the recreation of miracles through ichor, the art I practice, you possess an innate ability for it. It works by saying or writing out Rites, stories about Miracles that happened in the past, and charging them with Ichor. I actually have a small book of Trethon Rites, the things you would need to use your power. But, well, that depends on if you want to continue with this.¡± ¡°I, I don¡¯t think I want that. This shit doesn¡¯t even involve me, and I don¡¯t think I want to get involved in it.¡± Daniel replies. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s your choice, but still, take the book.¡± Nalya hands him a book as he stands up to leave ¡°Even if you wish to avoid this, it may still come for you. And you may find it interesting, it has a lot of stories of your ancestors.¡± Daniel gets up and walks out, returning to his apartment to reflect. This is crazy He thinks I was next to a real life magic user for all these months and never noticed. And only the incident of me being pulled into¡­ Wait. CRAP, I AM SO FIRED. He thinks as he realizes he had vanished in the middle of his shift.

 2. Time stands still for no one.

    Over the next few months Daniel continued his normal life. Occasionally reading sections of the book Nalya loaned him. As it turns out the Trethons have two main abilities, apparently collectively known as their Mythos, an amalgamation of thousands of miracles layered up to create a permanent passive effect, and a powerful and cheap active effect, like a deep ravine cut by a flowing river, having an impact even when there isn''t water flowing through it. The Trethon¡¯s passive effect is Determination, an ability which allows them to get up and keep fighting, even when they should really have been killed, along with granting a general boost to their physical abilities, and their active is a nearly endless supply of magical knives, the Desired Weapons. The book revealed that he was descended from a god of thunder/lightning, whose progeny granted his descendents some power over his domain, and the ability to perform miracles. Miracles, as explained within, are incredible magical events, wishes granted via the power of ichor, which leave an impact on the world which can be used to create a less powerful echo of their effects. The Trethons thus rose to prominence during a time of strife. When man rose against the other races who oppressed them, wrath of the gods in hand, the elements at their beck and call, and even death as their ally, that is when they arose. Through conflict the Trethons rose to prominence, with countless heroes born to their bloodline, and countless miracles achieved. Within the book there were instructions to use most of these powers. On a whim, Daniel decides to try calling up the Desired weapons, discovering that they felt¡­ Natural, to use. Upon calling up the daggers he immediately felt the proper way to hold them, knew in his heart how to throw them with enough force to penetrate armor, how to use them to injure, incapacitate, or kill. It was a weird feeling, mildly unpleasant, and a little disturbing, causing Daniel to drop them in shock. Unnerved by the knowledge flowing into him, how to kill, how to inflict harm without killing, how to use them with maximum effectiveness, how to cause incredible pain, Daniel was terrified of himself. So he shied away from the powers within him, trying to ignore them, to forget. To drown out that day of the fantastical in a sea of mundanity. Somewhat hindered by him getting fired due to vanishing during the middle of his shift. So, for a few months he went job hunting, but eventually he caved and asked Nalya for help, as it turned out she was both quite understanding and very apologetic about the whole thing. With her help, in the form of some loaned money and some time helping him track down jobs, he was able to get a job as a clerk at an insurance company. Though, something felt off, everything about his new job felt vaguely dissatisfying. Counteracting this was his growing friendship with Nalya, they encountered each other in the halls from time to time, and it was nice to vent a little to her, and in turn listen to her explanations of the various magical conundrums she has to deal with as protector of this city. (¡°God damn lancehorns¡­ Why do they have to heal so fast?¡±) As it turns out her job as a mage has two main components, patrolling the maze of many worlds, a set of pocket dimensions where monstrous creatures roam deep within, a dungeon thing straight out of a video game, complete with loot, mostly cards with different effects, one of which, as it turns out, was responsible for the pocket dimension he got caught up in. Dealing with spirit incidents is another duty she has, incidents where the souls of the dead spawn a malignant spirit or a spirit manages to cross over from another dimension called the sea of souls, literal ghost busters stuff, though thanks to the other mage in the city, she doesn''t deal with spirit incidents that much. Nalya also briefly mentions dealing with "Blood martyrs" which she explains as basically being vampires. Nalya doesn¡¯t actually explain much, using general terms and analogies rather than completely explaining. He does learn that there¡¯s another mage in the city, a Necromancer named Joe Johnson (yes really), and even meets the guy, who turned out to be a nondescript native of the city who became a necromancer after a plane crash, which he seems reluctant to talk about. Over the course of these months nothing much happened, till one day in mid fall.


    ¡°Hey Daniel! Want to go to the Festival of Lyn with me?¡± Nalya asks when she encounters him in the hallway. ¡°I, I don¡¯t mean to sound stupid but, what is that?¡± Daniel replies. ¡°Oh, Lyn is your ancestor, we think, and also the founder of thaumaturgy, the type of magic I use and that you have in your blood. The festival is dedicated to her, and has singing, dancing, good food, and magic demonstrations. Traditionally you go with a friend, or an enemy. It¡¯s this saturday and you looked¡­ down, I thought you might enjoy it.¡± ¡°Sure, how formal is it?¡± ¡°Not too formal, it¡¯s a festival after all, just wear a nice shirt and clean pants and you should be fine.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°See you then¡± Nalya says as she scurries off to her apartment. Soon enough the day comes and Nalya meets up with Daniel, she wearing a blue dress, and Daniel wearing a nice enough shirt and trousers. They exchange greetings, before she leads him off to a quiet alley. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re going to be going through the fae labyrinth to get to the Festival. Otherwise it would take forever on a plane. Turns out the connections between the pocket dimensions that make up the Fae Labyrinth can connect over arbitrary distances, so we magic users often use them for transport. Part of our duties is in fact charting, stabilizing, and clearing the lower layers of the Fae Labyrinth.¡± As Nalya says that she gestures, and a rift opens in the air. ¡°Come on. Just through here.¡± As Daniel follows her through he sees that the world on the other side of this seems¡­ Off. Like a version of the city constructed by someone who has never actually seen the place, based off of stories, dreams, and half remembered glimpses of its foundation. It¡¯s also empty of life.


    As Daniel follows Nalya, a little stunned, they enter another portal, and the world shifts. ¡°Blue zone, safest place in the Labyrinth.¡± Nalya says as they enter a new pocket dimension.


    This one seems to be an overgrown castle, hovering in the sky stars above, ocean below. At the center of the castle, whose architecture seems, old, and strange, yet¡­ Functional. Like all the features that don¡¯t make sense are actually just based on different design principles. At its center is a blue glowing crystal. Roughly spherical, and floating at the center of a large tree¡¯s branches. On its surface is a symbol, which looks like a person with wings spreading behind them, and a spherical thing at their center, it looks like¡­ a world, where their heart should be. Daniel looks at it, puzzled, it feels, Familiar, in the same way as the abilities within his blood. At his unspoken questions about it Nalya speaks up. ¡°Oh, yeah, we don¡¯t know what¡¯s up with that, or actually why these places are like this in general. They all follow the same formula, flying castle, with a blue orb at the center, with that symbol on it. With some variation. Most are overgrown though.¡±


    ¡°That symbol, it feels¡­ Familiar.¡± Daniel says, looking at the orb, a confused expression on his face. ¡°Ah, yeah, it¡¯s similar to the flag used by an old nation of the Fae. I don¡¯t know where you would have seen it though.¡± Nalya says, even as she leads Daniel to another portal she opened. The pattern continues for a few more transits, entering places which are similar to places in the real world, or warped versions, folded or mutated in strange ways, or fantastical places that couldn''t exist outside, there doesn¡¯t seem to be a pattern.


    Eventually, they come to a place which seems to be more inhabited, with a wall, gun mounts, a gate and guards, one of whom smiles and waves as he sees Nalya. ¡°Hey, Nalya! Who¡¯s your guest?¡± ¡°Hey Trev! This is Daniel Trethon, my neighbor who I decided to invite, Daniel, meet Trevor, one of my cousins.¡± As Nalya says that, she continues forward towards the gate. ¡°Right, stand still under the scanner. I trust you but we gotta be sure. And there are shapeshifters, possessing entities, mind controllers, and all other kinds of nasties, don¡¯t want to take risks.¡± Trevor says, gesturing towards something that looks like the unholy lovechild of an airport full body scanner and a ritual circle, with a pentagram etched into the floor, a computerized readout and two arms of a full body scanner, but made out of what looks like obsidian with glowing runes etched onto it, attached to a cylindrical framework that holds them in place and rotates them around. Nalya steps up to the scanner, placing her feet on the outlines and raising her hands above her head as the two arms swing around her. ¡°Clear, now onto the secondary check¡± As he says that he leads Nalya into a booth. Meanwhile Daniel steps up to the scanner as well. ¡°How does this work?¡± He asks as he places his feet in the indicated spots and raises his hands above his head. One of the guards smirks. ¡°It samples soul density, takes a normal full body scan for magical radiation, and does a few other things. Basically, it lets us tell if you¡¯re human, and how much heat you¡¯re packing, if any. We can¡¯t check intention with this, or the inside of Fae inner worlds, though we can detect if you have one, but, we can verify you¡¯re who you say you are if it¡¯s in our data banks. For guests like you we just use this, while for registered magic users we go through some more thorough checks, and they are allowed one backup weapon, this is a VERY inviting target for any would be attackers after all¡± Daniel nods as the scan finishes, before stepping off and standing by the booth to wait for Nalya. Eventually she emerges and they get on their way to the feast of Lyn. ¡°Have fun at the festival!¡± Trevor says as he waves them off. Nalya checks the time and realizes something. ¡°CRAP! We have to hurry, we¡¯re gonna miss the opening ceremony!¡± She frantically gestures down the road and sprints off, Daniel hot on her heels trying to keep up. They quickly run through a portal, after which the subtle strangeness of the Fae Labyrinth fades as they reenter the real world, this time the place they exit from seems to be built with the fae labyrinth entrance in mind. ¡°Quickly, to the central plaza!¡± She leads Daniel down the road towards a large open area, where a massive crowd of people are standing. Looking up Daniel notices the city is built under a colossal tree with pitch black leaves that seems to be about a mile high and with a canopy several miles wide, glowing pinpricks of light visible on the underside of the branches, glimmering like miniature stars. They arrive just in time to catch the latter part of the opening ceremony, held by a man standing on a podium at the center, wearing white robes and apparently using magic to stretch his voice and project his image for all to see. ¡°And so, in Lyn¡¯s name we gather here, at the base of the Tree planted by Melchior, He who forged his own path, to celebrate. Another year, new friends, new ideas, new experiences. We come to celebrate the birth of the new. Let us offer a prayer and a moment of silence to thank Lyn for her work in making this wonderful time we live in possible.¡± After he says that things go quiet as people offer their thanks to a long dead saint. ¡°Now that we have given our thanks, let us begin! Welcome, rejoice and make merry! The Festival of Lyn has Begun¡± And with that, a cheer goes up from the crowd, and they begin to disperse. ¡°It¡¯ll be a little bit before booths and activities besides dancing open up, everyone gathers for the opening ceremony so they need a bit of time to get back to their stations and get set up.¡± Nalya says to Daniel, ¡°In the meantime how about I show you some of the sights of this place¡± Daniel looks around, noticing now that this city is almost certainly magical, with buildings hanging in the air, snaking in and out of alternate dimensions. A number of people with decidedly non-human features, like elvish looking ears or red skin, seal this realization. ¡°Uh, sure.¡± Nalya starts pointing out various things about the city, from its sheer size, to the way buildings are built snaking in and out of the Fae Labyrinth. ¡°You can¡¯t see it, but this place is built on a massive convergence of leylines, it¡¯s what feeds that massive tree and a lot of the magical defenses.¡± As they walk Nalya continues to point out interesting locations. ¡°Ah, and here¡¯s the magic association Headquarters.¡± Nalya points to a building which seems heavily guarded and fortified. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Well defended. Most defended part of the city, which is saying something when the entire city is built like one massive fortress.¡± Daniel, remarkably calm all things considered, asks Nalya about that. ¡°Why is this place built like a fortress though?¡± ¡°Well, for one thing it¡¯s the first, and only, city belonging solely to human magic users. And it was founded during a time when we were prosecuted and needed protection. Beyond that, this place has some¡­ Dangerous items stored inside. And Magi have a tendency to end up slowly layering more and more magic over a place the longer they live there. Oh, looks like the food carts are starting up, let¡¯s get something to eat.¡± As Nalya says that she leads Daniel off to go get stuff to eat. The festival passes by in a blur of food and games, though feelings of nostalgia build up inside Daniel¡¯s heart, before they come upon a demo held by another Blessed. One of the Davis family, masters of projectiles. Berg, who demonstrated his ability to throw a rock hard enough to dent a piece of tank armor, and make his projectiles follow impossible paths, twisting and turning, orbiting around him, or hitting the opposite side of an object. As the Demo wraps up, a group of kids runs by, laughing and playing, triggering a nostalgic moment for Daniel, as he remembers simpler times, playing with his own childhood friends back in his home country. He shakes off the feeling and follows Nalya as she darts off to talk to someone she knows. At one point Nalya finds a merchant selling enchanted goggles that let one see the flow of mana, with a few examples out for demo purposes. Putting a set on, Daniel can see rivers of glimmering blue light that flow through the ground beneath him and saturate the air with power. The Tree the city is built under is especially fascinating when viewed through the goggles, appearing to be pulling the lights from the ground and into its leaves. ¡°Wow, that is¡­ Incredible¡± He says. The shopkeeper laughs ¡°Yeah, I sometimes forget how beautiful it can look, probably due to using the damn things every day to arrange fiddly ritual arrays and having to check each one I make for defects. Kinda takes the magic away.¡± Eventually though, the festival comes to a close. Just not how anyone anticipated it would.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    KABOOM. An explosion rocks the streets as a column of smoke reaches skyward. ¡°Alert, Rebel forces detected. The grail device is under attack.¡± An intercom hollers to the skies. Nalya pales. ¡°Oh¡­ Shit¡± Soon the streets fill with the sounds of combat as Fae forces pour out of portals to attack the city from within. ¡°Take cover!¡± Nalya yells as she pushes Daniel into an alleyway. ¡°I gotta go help. Stay here until things quiet down.¡± At that she runs off, grabbing something out of her hair, and chanting something Daniel doesn¡¯t catch. He cowers there, in the alleyway, as combat fills the streets, before quieting down as the invading Fae are defeated by the literal army of mages attending the festival. Though, people seem¡­ Distressed about something, abnormally more than this attack would seem to warrant, given how quickly it was subdued. ¡°Damn it, Damn it. This is the start isn¡¯t it?¡± He hears one magic user say to someone who seems to be their girlfriend. ¡°I¡¯m afraid so. It seems like it¡¯s been destroyed¡­ Hey, is that a guest? Uh, who brought you here?¡± Daniel stands up and says ¡°Nalya, if you know her.¡± The girl nods in recognition. ¡°Ah, alright, she should be back in a bit, she is one of the ones who needed to go through a debrief, she took down the leader after all, no surprise there, glory hog.¡± ¡°Um, do you mind showing me the way there?¡± Daniel asks. ¡°Sure, down this street, then take a left at the crossroads. She¡¯s in the big building that looks a bit like a church.¡± Daniel nods and starts walking that way. An abnormal calm suffusing him, he should be freaking out, he knows, but he¡­ Isn¡¯t. And he can¡¯t explain why. Unnoticed by him his eyes glimmer with flecks of gold as he wanders the streets.


    Interlude. Nalya¡¯s fight


    ¡°Alert, Rebel forces detected. The grail device is under attack.¡± A speaker hollers to the skies. I pale. No, it can¡¯t. I think, as I mentally switch to combat mode. Then I spot a large number of portals pouring out Fae forces, evidently Rebels¡­ ¡°Oh.. Shit.¡± I look towards Daniel, I know he has the potential to fight, but right now is not the ideal time for someone to learn how to use their powers in a fight. ¡°Take cover!¡± I yell as I shove Daniel into an alleyway, he¡¯ll be safe there, I hope. I sigh internally, no prepared charms, no rifle, and minimal Ichor in my pool. I¡¯ll only have¡­ 3 minor rites or 1 major and 1 minor before I¡¯m empty, but, I do have¡­ I guess I¡¯ll have to use it. ¡°I gotta go help. Stay here until things quiet down.¡± With that, I run off. It¡¯s time to fight. As I look down the street I spot my first target, a Fae sword user, looking the other way, perfect. ¡°And so Lyn wove the light of the heavens into her blade, to cut through that which defends her foes.¡± I chant the words for the first scripture, Moonlight blade, which greatly enhances the damage of a weapon against things that are magical, while also letting the blade cut through any of their magical defenses. Perfect for this scenario. Enchanted silver hair clip switchblade I keep on me for just this purpose, activate. As I push some ichor into the rite, and through the rite my improvised weapon, which glows with power as I sprint up behind my foe. Before stabbing outwards, right for the back of the neck. The sword user¡¯s magical defenses are pointless, and he is too focused on another thaumaturge to see me coming. One. Another Fae swordsman spots me and turns to attack. In response I activate Moonlight blade¡¯s other ability, expending its remaining energy as a slash of silvery light that can cut through magic and flesh with equal ease. Bingo, right into an artery. Two Don¡¯t like the look of that guy, he¡¯s a caster by the look of his robes, but he¡¯s too far away for me to get up close and use my normal method of attack. ¡°As his enemies fled deeper into the dark forest He spoke, ¡°The forest will provide no sanctuary for you, foolish humans¡± and from his words erupted flames enough to devour the forest and those who sought its protection.¡± Pushing Ichor into the words, the rite morph into a ball of fire which leaps out towards my foe, setting their clothing on fire and burning them a bit. Another short rite, down to one more. As they scramble to put out their now very much on fire clothing, the thaumaturge I had just helped takes a potshot at them and kills them. Three. Even as I move on to the last two fighters in this group. My Hair clip knife has pitiful reach, and I don¡¯t have enough Ichor left to both renew moonlight blade and accelerate myself. I smirk, good thing I¡¯m not just a thaumaturge. ¡°And so Lyn wove the light of the heavens into her blade, to cut through that which defends her foes.¡± I say as I sprint forwards, the other mages on this street having either run off or being embroiled in their own fights. No more ichor, but I don¡¯t need it. One of them, a caster by the looks of them gestures, opening some portals which start to spew out balls of fire, while the other winds up his sword for a slashing move, probably some sort of weapon technique, I need to take him out first. With a moment of concentration I prepare to open some gates to my inner world. Two, one as a platform, one as a shield. Turns out that a portal into the ground of your inner world can serve as both, making the prep time fast. I open one as a barrier just in time, fireballs slamming into it, while the other opens up, I leap onto it, then force it into the air before leaping off as well, sending myself hurtling skywards. Right above that swordsman¡¯s attack. ¡°Surprise, I can do inner world fuckery too jackasses.¡± I say as I Lunge in to stab the sword user before he can turn to face me. I then quickly slice the caster across the neck to kill them as well. Four, Five ¡°Alright, now I need to get over to HQ, and gear up.¡± I quickly manage to get to a building owned by the Legacy of Lyn, bolting inside I grab a rifle, fill my inner world with bullets, slap some armor overtop of my dress, and grab some Ichor containing charms on the way out, quickly attaching them to my armor before draining them of all they¡¯re worth. Topped up on ichor and magic bullets, and now armed with a rifle to use, I race off to try and make a difference. I manage to get up onto a rooftop with a good view of the route these intruder¡¯s seem to be trying to push down, and I start sniping. BANG, Six, BLAM, Seven, BLAM BLAM BLAM, Eight, Nine. And so it goes for a good ten minutes. When it¡¯s finally over someone with a higher rank pulls me over for interrogation, supposedly because I took out the leader, but we both know that¡¯s false. It¡¯s because I¡¯m a suspect in this whole mess, wouldn''t be surprised if some of the other people with fae blood are being pulled in for questioning as well, and also probably that they know if they don¡¯t get it off me now I¡¯m going to try and make off with this gear. They could be right.