Chapter 91

Once the liberation of Kedyrn began, Morgana more or less ordered Imelda to take Jukar back to the villa near Auckland to begin her Mage apprenticeship. I also noticed Rowenna doing a little mental editing on the young Finian to remove traces of her witnessing of higher magic and wondered just how much mental editing had been done on me in my training. Not that it would have done me any good, Morgana removed memories, she didn’t seal them off. Rowenna did the same, it caused fewer incidents where a memory that might be inconvenient, could be retrieved accidentally. I also spent a 24 hour period in Loegria getting what Mage Xi called an ‘initial scan’, which admittedly wasn’t too intrusive and was returned to the front lines ... as it were.

“Any idea how Ferrimoot might react when he discovers what happened to Jukar, my Mage?” I asked Morgana during a quiet moment.

“Julia has already spoken to him. He’s happy with us training her as the Tuathan system didn’t do anything in the way of training really, in pretty much the same way as the Æsir one. They’re given a quick set of basics and then it’s up to them, sink or swim; few get to longevity, even fewer get to old age. It’s a very ruthless system,” Morgana replied. “I suspect long term he or his successors plan a similar training regime to ours. Freya’s of a similar opinion too.”

“Very few High Mages?” I queried.

“Hardly any, those they have protect themselves against any who see themselves as a rival, usually fatally,” Morgana answered.

“No wonder the Council never seemed to concern itself with them ... the Tuathans that is,” I mused.

“They were a minor pest; few if any were a match for even an ordinary Mage, those that were, knew well enough to keep out of our way. Frankly the Sidhe gave us a lot more problems,” Morgana confided as Mage Xi approached.

“Mage Morgana, journeyman Mage John,” she greeted us formally.

“Mage Xi,” we both replied.

“I was hoping to be permitted to continue to study the memory John has of Jukar’s emergence,” she requested.

“Certainly Mage Xi, as long as it can be done here and now. John may be needed later,” Morgana replied.

“It may take a while, but we can always come back to it if necessary,” Xi nodded.

“John, please co-operate with Healing Magic until or unless I have need of you,” Morgana ordered.

“Yes, my Mage,” I replied and gave a formal bow which hid my irritation, but made Morgana grin anyway.

I followed Xi over to where the other nine healing Mages were and they started their inquisition which at times was downright uncomfortable as they approached the memory from several differing ways looking through my thoughts and bringing several matters to light which I’d only been partially aware of, but were medically significant.

Several hours later, absolutely wringing with perspiration, I was released from their ‘care’ with the added proviso that they might need to look again once their initial analysis was complete.

“Wasn’t so bad now was it?” Morgana enquired with a chuckle.

“I learned a few things,” I replied with a wry smile. “But next time, it’s someone else’s turn.”

“Considering it’s the only time anyone has witnessed an emergence who knew enough to understand what was going on, that might take a while,” Morgana replied, still grinning.

“If anything, they at least know where to start looking, although I suspect experimenting will not be permitted for a good long while,” I acknowledged.

“Totally against the Accords,” Morgana agreed.

“Dorry isn’t covered by the Accords,” I chuckled.

“You dare,” Morgana warned.

“Everyone needs a hobby,” I replied with a smile, deliberately baiting her.

“It’s a good job I know you’re kidding,” Morgana replied. “Otherwise you’d be in for a mind-scan to learn any intentions you have.”

“My intentions in that area are honourable. I’ve no desire to hurt anyone I care for,” I responded to her look.

“Good, though if you do figure it out, come see me and we’ll talk about the ramifications as well as the who and the what,” she acknowledged.

“Yes, my Mage,” I replied formally.

“In the meantime, Ketty’s pregnant, so we’ll be visiting soon,” Morgana announced with a smile.

“I knew,” I murmured.

“You did? You kept that quiet,” Morgana chuckled.

“A gift of mine, I’ve learned to keep quiet about it after a few telling’s off by my ladies,” I chuckled.

“Yes, subtle isn’t one of your greater virtues,” Morgana laughed.

“I follow my Mage’s lead,” I replied with a grin.

“Really?”

“Telling it like it is,” I chuckled.

“Ah, that lead,” Morgana replied, shaking her head slightly in wry amusement.

At this point a portal opened and Talshish as well as a couple of other Sidhe of Verenestra’s forces stepped through.

“Greetings Talshish. How goes the liberation?” Morgana asked him.

“In general well, Mage Morgana, though resistance in places has been quite heavy. May I introduce Jolint and Ginfio, advisors to Queen Titania,” Talshish replied.

“Honoured, gentle-beings,” Morgana and I replied politely to them.

“The honour is ours,” they both replied.

“How may we help you?” Morgana asked.

“As Talshish stated, in general the liberation has gone well. Queen Oonagh’s forces have been driven out of the majority of areas. However, on the south coast of Kedyrn there is a large holdout of forces under a command loyal to her and they are attracting other forces loyal to her into that area. In order to extirpate those forces we will need to withdraw some of our own from towns and villages we have ‘liberated’, some of whose loyalties are suspect. We’d like to request from our allies, sufficient forces necessary to keep the peace in those towns,” Jolint explained.

“Would this not stir resentment?” Morgana asked.

“The resentment, we feel, is already there,” Ginfio explained.

“I see,” Morgana nodded. “Very well, I’ll inform those who will be going to expect trouble. How many will you need?”

“One hundred Mages would suffice, plus a ready squad to jump in should things get out of hand,” Jolint requested hesitantly as if expecting a no.

“Very well, we have more than enough available numbers to cover that, plus we have the Seer group here to direct things,” Morgana agreed to their obvious relief.

“We thank you. It will free up nearly a thousand of our people which will drive Oonagh’s forces into the sea before they can reinforce their position,” Ginfio acknowledged.

“Do you have the places and a timeframe?” Morgana asked.

Jolint handed an inscribed tablet to Morgana with a formal nod of his head as they bade us farewell and were escorted by Talshish back to wherever Titania was.

“We’ll go with plan theta, John. Inform the various Bureaus we’ll need their primary twenty for this duty. We’ll use Europe as the ready team to drop in if there’s trouble,” Morgana ordered.

“At once, my Mage,” I replied before porting back to a sealed chamber on our Earth where the Bureau chiefs were waiting.

“Trouble, John?” Mage Roxanne asked when I’d stepped through using the correct security request to the portal.

“Potentially, Mage Roxanne,” I replied before giving them all a formal greeting and getting pelted by paper pellets in return.

“Will you lot behave?” I chuckled.

“Hell, you’re too good a target, John,” Mage Adelaide chuckled.

“It’s the price I pay for being perfect,” I said with a grin, getting a couple of raspberries in return.

“So we’re holding the fort until Verenestra’s people deal with the holdouts?” Roxanne asked.

“Yes, Mage Roxanne,” I replied. “Jolint sort of hinted that there were troublemakers in the various villages and towns.”

“He’s probably got the right of that,” she nodded.

“Morgana ordered plan theta,” I added.

“Hmmm, good call,” Mage Amehlo agreed getting a few nods from the other heads.

“Basically set up a small fortress or strongpoint in each place and dare them to misbehave,” chuckled Mage Helen.

“Aye, the real troublemakers won’t be able to ignore them and they’ll have to win to bring the ordinary Sidhe round,” Roxanne mused.

“Just remember we won’t have any real friends there. I rather doubt the ordinary Sidhe ... assuming there is such a thing, will have any reason to like us,” Mage Tara added.

“According to Mage William, the main instigators of any trouble were the ruling class, however even he had to admit the bulk of the Sidhe were very intolerant of anyone ‘not Sidhe’,” I noted.

“Hence the mistreatment of slaves and the periodic culls dressed up as a hunt ... plus the eating people thing,” Roxanne sighed. “Always remember rule one, you don’t turn your back on one.”

“Verenestra is confident a new day is coming for the Sidhe,” I chuckled at Roxanne’s negativity.

“Going to have to kill off a shed load of them first,” Mage Helen added.

“Probably, though, if we can get Oberon and Titania to swear the Calvagh, it might force them to behave,” Mage Tara acknowledged.

“Anyway, this isn’t getting anything done. Our teams are ready, John. We’ll meet at Morgana’s current co-ordinates in an hour,” Roxanne dismissed me with a smile.

An hour later 120 Mages ported into the slave encampment and were assigned various areas of responsibility; save for Roxanne’s people who were our ready team for backing up any area where trouble erupted. Also present were a team of four Seers, one of whom, Seer Adsila, I knew well, who were acting in pairs to locate any trouble spots that we weren’t on top of, so to speak.

“Verenestra’s attack is going in,” Adsila announced several hours later to the various Mages either helping Healing Magic via Mage Benjamin, or doing as Róisín, Briana. Abi and myself were in lounging around listening to some of Arch’s tall tales.

“All our teams OK?” Morgana asked.

“Yes, the locals are behaving, a few have come out to the strongpoints to find out what to do with their slaves,” Adsila replied. “Most are OK, some are reportedly in poor mental condition, though none seriously abused.”

“We’ll arrange repatriation and medical care if that’s what they want,” Morgana added with a nod.

“Many seem to want to remain with their ‘ex-owners’,” Adsila announced.

“Their choice, as long as they aren’t being abused or taken advantage of,” Morgana shrugged.

“I’ve informed the teams of that,” Adsila nodded. “Potential trouble in the area we’d consider to be Yorkshire.”

“Let me know if it becomes more than ‘potential’,” Morgana replied.

“Ready yourselves,” Roxanne ordered her teams.

“Looks like a group of fifty locals are listening to a firebrand, all relatively young by Sidhe standards, all relatively arrogantly stupid too,” Adsila chuckled. “A few elders are there as well. They appear to be keeping an eye on him.”

“So long as they don’t break the peace they can howl at the moon for as long as they like,” Morgana chuckled.

“He’s apparently calling upon supporters of Queen Oonagh to take back what is theirs. I don’t think he likes the reply he got back from an elder about not having lost anything to take back,” Adsila added.

“True, all they’ve lost is Oonagh’s dominance. If anything they’ve regained their freedom,” Roxanne mused.

“Ah, he’s referencing the ‘nadorhuan’ now guarding them ... I think he means us, though I’ve no idea what a nadorhuan is,” Adsila went on.

“It doesn’t directly translate at all, Adsila,” Morgana replied. “Untermenschen doesn’t even come close, though it’s the closest literal translation in any language we use.”

“Ah, not a nice word at all,” Adsila chuckled.

“If used literally, yes,” Morgana agreed.

“I think he means literally,” Adsila chuckled. “He’s getting a lot of abuse from the elders for using it that way too ... oh...”

“Oh?” Both Morgana and Roxanne aske in unison.

“He’s stabbed the elder, his compatriots are drawing weapons,” Adsila announced.

“Ready team, here we go!” Roxanne announced as she and her team flicked out.

“They ran,” Adsila announced. “Medical aid is being given.”

“Where did they run?” Morgana asked.

“They scattered, but a core is heading towards our strongpoint, apparently we can’t be everywhere, they are saying,” Adsila chuckled.

“The Sidhe don’t have Seers do they?” I asked out loud despite knowing the answer.

“No, John. They don’t,” Adsila replied with a smile.