Golden Crown: The Fey Lands Saga book 2

The Quest for Healing: Fey Lands, court of light

        Traveling from the castle with my satchel stuffed with dried food, a canteen and vials for potion ingredients. I wish my prism bird Koshine would take me. But I could fly now instead of writing a horse. though I wish I had something fast than my new wings. I could fly but I had to rest often. One night as I set up camp near a brook I spied a water nymph playing in the reeds. Tall as a stand of cattails she was plump with long seaweed coloured hair. Her body was covered in a set of thin green and grey scales. Her skin between fingers was webbed. Her pointed face opened to reveal sharp filed teeth the colour of pure pearls. I bowed to her and I could hear a musical giggle.
    "Forgive me." I said, "Guardian of the waters." She smiled revealing those teeth, "Permit me I pray that I might spend a night by your waters?" Again she smiled before diving into the water, her emerald and silver tail flashing in the bright starlight.
    Had she had legs before? I thought to myself, "of course I did you Fey." She said, voice liquid as cool water, musical with a lilt. Her voice had a three part harmony to it, its liquid quality extending so that her words were like a song. "Forgive me then water guardian." I said with another bow, "No forgiveness needed young Fey." She said, "I am Ilen young Fey, and you are?" "Phaydra." I said, a hand lifted, her thin graceful arm waving languidly, "I need no further introduction from one so august as yourself." "Phaydra Galatine, curse breaker and recently made High Fey." "High Princess of the courts of light, bonded to High Prince Lian, future High Queen of all the courts of light." Princess of the courts of Darkness, friend to High Queen Raylonna and High King Eldaris."
    Her bow was as a dance, "Please young Fey the honour is all mine." "Not that great an honour I assure you." I said blushing, "You are then not the Phaydra of legend?" "I am indeed she." I said, "then you must claim your honour." Said Ilen as implacably as a thunderstorm, "You are she to whom we all owe our lives." "I." She lifted that webbed hand again, "no young Fey." "Say nothing of it, without your help we of the other kindreds would be withered away." "You mean?"
    Ilen drifted over to a rock and sat, brushing tangles from her hair with swift sure movements. "The high magic that keeps Fey powerful and almost in vulnerable keeps those of the other kindreds similar." "Before the curse we kinds other than had great power." "I watched as our Queen withered to a point that she could not call up the mists that obscured our hidden places." "That's terrible." I said, "I know, which is why you are due honour and praise." Said ilen.
    "Its just uncomfortable, I merely agreed to die that the evil Queen and her night devourer God would not gain a foothold." "Sometimes the simplest acts do the most." Said Ilen, "You may of course stay and spend a night by my waters." "It would be an honour for your company." "Many of my sisters have gone to the river Tholisthwirn to pay homage to our Queen." "She relinquishes and a new queen rises." "I have already given my farewells." "I will perhaps need to leave once the new Queen is born."
    "Born?" I asked, "When a Queen of the water kindreds wishes to relinquish and we do encourage it, that a young new queen rule she gives birth to her offspring, the one who will proceed her." "In the birthing she gives up all her power that the new young queen will hold it." "Once the Queen emerges from the egg, lain in a nest of magical seaweed, or in a nest of reeds and stones in fresh water the old Queen simply dissolves into the water." "The new Queen's first rite is to drink the water from the old Queen's dissolved body." "In that way we believe that she carries the spirit of the old Queen and thus her wisdom." "Which is why our Queens even a few hours old have the instincts of the magic, and carry the knowledge to rule."
    I thought about this for a while, "So every nymph of the waters must visit her before she dies to pay their last respects?" I asked, "Indeed." "All water kindreds do this, Lorelei Merfolk, Nymphs of the waters, all of us." "If you have queens don't you, shouldn't you have your own waters to rule?" "You are under the High Fey aren't you?" I asked as I prepared a pot of stew, "Indeed we have waters." "The high Fey don't rule us, we pay tribute to the high Fey because the waters are on their lands." "But they do not interfere with any kindreds be they land bound, water bound or air bound." "High Fey may sit upon the councils of we kindreds and offer advice." "But all in the Fey lands know that one kindred does not rule another." "My kingdom may be within the bounds of the Fey, but we are apart and keep ourselves to our laws." "As long as we break no Fey laws we may rule as we have since the first Queen was birthed from the goddess of the waters." "thank you for explaining this to me Ilen." "I too will keep to the custom and acknowledge the Queens and kings of the lands." Ilen nodded, "When is your next queen expected to be born?" I asked next, "Within the next three days." "Once the egg becomes clear and one can see the newborn inside we wait with bated breath." "It is so for all water kind." "The egg depending on the colour is fertilised by a passing water kind, male and it slowly becomes opaque then slowly clears until it is as clear as a flawless crystal." "Then it takes on a glittery sheen before it dissolves and the new being is born into water." "For the egg is placed as to be just above the water." "When the egg dissolves they fall a few inches and breathe their first within their new home."
    Ilen sighed and dove under the water. For. She did not surface for a long time. By then I'd eaten my meal and walked around the camp chanting and setting up wards against those Fey or kindreds who might do me harm. The Vedrani, psychic attacking mind devourers, Bologs with their poisonous bodies, and night devourers, bats, spiders and rats with evil magic still roamed the lands. Fey would defend against them but one must be certain to guard one's home and camp in the woods against them.
    I was unrolling my bedroom and making it comfortable when Ilen emerged from the water again. She sat looking into the sky for a long time before she stretched out on the rook as if it were comfortable to lie on, "It is, and because its night I can afford to sleep out of the waters for the evening." "Good night young Fey and pleasant dreams to you." She gestured to herself and a bubble of water covered her entire body, cocooning it within itself. That's how she could stay out of water without dehydrating, "Its good for nighttime resting outside, but it cannot protect from the sun, and I cannot walk about with it." "It only protects me if I lie still, and i don't stay out of water for more than a night, a night and day if its raining." "Oh." I said as I rolled over. "Goodnight Ilen."
    The next morning Ilen was singing, lifting her hands to the morning sun. She stopped as I rose from my bed and began to pack up. "Have I wakened you?" She asked, "No you didn't." "I have a question however." "You may ask?" "May I gather water from your brook?" "I need seven waters from several places." "Ah indeed." "You may gather it, I have added magic to it already." "As the new queen is to be born she must sojourn to all the waters to greet each and every subject." "How?" "She opens portals between." She froze.
    "Ilen?" I asked. She lifted a hand to silence me as she stared into the water, "She arrives." "Goddess Wave Walker she arrives." "How?" Again I was silenced, "Oh Goddess." I had a gift for seeing flashes of things, but apparently Ilen could scry through water, "I can." She said impatiently taking a hand to smooth the water and gesture for me to stay silent. She smiled as she watched the smooth water. Apparently I could not see what she could. I tried very hard to keep my mind as quiet as i could. After a while she began to dance, calling up a thin mist about the water. It glowed a shimmering blue before it vanished and she sat chest deep in the water. She gestured for me to come forward to collect my water. "We must go to her." Said Ilen, "Water from a newborn Queen is very powerful." "It will spread through her water." "the river will be saturated with it." "Come."
    She gestured to me and I entered the water to which she began to chant rapidly, "Submerge." She said. I did and realised that I could breathe under water, "Of course you can, Fey would be poor immortals if they couldn't breathe under water." Her voice was even more musical to my ears under the cool water. My satchel seemed to have grown a bubble of air around it to keep its contents from damaging. I saw a tunnel of water gathering around Ilen's hands. "Go." She said.
    I was pushed forward in through the tunnel and emerged into a sunny warm place where the river roiled with creatures. Ilen followed close behind and we emerged near some rocks and reeds. In the center of a nest of woven reeds, drifting in the current was a tiny nearly transparent nymph, tail gleaming. Around her head she wore a crown of fresh water pearls woven with reeds and scales. Her long hair was braided with feather and long thin weeds. she looked up as we emerged. Her tiny voice was like harp song.
    Her thin hand raised in greeting, "Ah Ilen." she said as Ilen bowed before the nymph, "Majesty." "Were you given a name upon your emergence?" "I am Sirishentha, Queen of all the fresh waters." "Majesty may I present Phaydra Galatine, High Fey Princess." the queen nodded, "I know of you." she said with a merry giggle, "My mother's spirit imparted this knowledge to me."
    "It is an honour to meet you your Majesty." I said with a bow, "You may call me Queen Sirishentha young Princess." She said as if gifting me with something beautiful, "then it is a pleasure to greet the newborn Queen of the fresh water nymph kind." I said, "so formal." Said the new Queen, "Majesty far be it from me to correct one so high." Said a nymph with blue green scales, hair as black as midnight, and eyes like opals, "But one must give honour where it is due." "High Fey Phaydra Galatine is only giving you the utmost respect to which you are due." "As our Queen you must get used to the respect you are granted." the Queen giggled then lifted from her nest of reeds and dove into the current. "Forgive her Princess." Said the nymph, "She only emerged from her egg an hour ago." "No forgiveness needed." I said lamely, "i am Lady Arkaisa, attendant to her majesty as I was before to our old Queen." "when you return from your quest." "Don't look as if I have two heads, water holds knowledge." She said impatiently as I did give her a look, "You must give this news to the High Prince, and the Kings and Queens of the courts of Fey." "I will." I said, "i could reach Lian now and." "It would not be proper to mind call." Said Arkaisa with a grimace, "We water kind all have this ability, and telling something of this magnitude would be in bad form." "It must be announced."
    "After all when you bare children." I blanched, "Eons from now." She said, "Would you want people telling people casually about it, or would you rather have it announced?" "Announced certainly." "then you owe this same curtesy to our ruler and Queen." "Of course, forgive me." "I do forgive you, you have only been High Fey for only a Fey year." "She and you must learn your places and the proper rituals for such as these."
    The new Queen returned and said, "you may gather water from my river of course Princess." "Thank you your Majesty, Queen Sirishentha." "No thanks needed." "After all you are creating a powerful potion." "How?" "I know much." "Since I can read your thoughts." "Majesty." Said Lady Arkaisa, "Its rude to pry so deeply." "Well i know sh's making the purifying draft of the spirit." "Majesty you may know such as that." Said Arkaisa with an apologetic look my way, "But one usually asks permission of one before reading one's mind." "Well I'm Queen aren't I?" "Why can't I read the minds of those I come in contact with?" "You may without any consequence any of your subjects majesty." "But she is not your subject, but a passing royal from another kindred." "Under the laws of the kindreds treaty, performing magic on another especially a royal is forbidden." "And she is royalty, and another kindred." "But mind reading isn't magic." Said the young queen splashing water around herself, "Majesty." Said Arkaisa with a graceful bow, "Mind magic is magic, its not rites and chants, runes and potions, but it is magic." "I can't help it." The Queen wined, "You can and you must Majesty." "Else-wise you will be seen as Somme one who cares not for the rules of society." "Oh very well." Said the Queen vexed.
    "I have to learn a lot too Queen Sirishentha." I said soothingly, "Not as much as me." Said the queen settling into her nest of reeds again, "Perhaps not." I said calmly, "Majesty that was rude." Said Arkaisa, "Its fine." I said, "She will learn."
    After gathering my water I left the nymphs for their celebration with the promise that I would return to see the Queen of the water nymphs on my way back from gathering what I needed. They were already catching fish with their nets and harvesting water vegetables and plants and decorating their hair when I finally flew over the river into the setting sun.