A place of worship

"You didn't enter through the Dungeon portal with Duchess Wynne?" I asked.

"No, Your Highness. We have no memory of the before-times. Before this Sithern was magicked into being, our memories are ones of thought and fiction. Fleeting moments of wonderment and joy as the mortals dreamed our stories and told our tales.

"We are Myth made real, filled with the breath of life. It is why we have remained instead of fleeing to the Summerlands or Talahm. Duchess Wynne offered us passage through the portal to Talahm, but we were uncertain if the forms that we have been gifted would last in worlds not our own."

"You were all born at the same time? Adult and Ranked?" I inquired my surprise evident.

"Volar-fey are more attuned and connected to the cycles of nature. We do give birth to our children. But in rare instances, Danu stirs, and the flowers of the field respond to that stirring. The Demi are the result.

"No matter the species, Volar, Wisp, Aziza, Sprites or Fey. If they are Demi, they are magic given form and function. As long as magic exists, the Demi will survive and thrive," Petal explained.

"Are you bound by System?" I asked.

"At our birth, we weren't. But our agreement with Duchess Wynne altered us. That agreement gave us access and structure to the Ranks, levels, and skills that the System provides."

That was interesting. It made me wonder if Earth's population could be brought under System dominion. S-Prime might have an issue with it, but if it worked, it would be an effective way to stymie the God Particle Research project. I had planned something else, but perhaps System integration would be an effective countermeasure to CERN.

It would certainly be a permanent solution.

I'd had Cedric gather a few dozen Silinium seed nodes. Part of my plan had been to release these 'seeds' into Earth's ley-line streams. I thought it might work as a temporary stopgap to have the metal accumulating God Particles. The energies to be absorbed by the Silinium here, and with the Portal closure that should jump-start and multiply normal growth for the Silinium seed stock.

I did wonder how System assigned Rank and level for fey that was created and not born, or those inducted into the System without Ascension chambers. Perhaps it was an exception made for the first generation, and from this point on Ascension and growth would return to the conventions sanctioned and established by System. Or maybe Duchess Wynne had found a way to farm experience for them so that they were able to gain advanced Ranks and levels.

I would ask, but I had been informed, constantly, that it was considered taboo to breach the subject of levels unless you were considering forming a covenant bond; servant, staff, Vassal, House member, the type of bond that might be formed was irrelevant, but until it was in place, level and stats were closely held. I'd been to free with my information until that point had been forcefully impressed upon me.

The paths System provided were tailored to individual desire and determination. No two people would level and Rank up in the exact same manner. To question how an individual reached a certain Rank was tantamount to stealing proprietary lineage or declaring contempt and disdain for the family's heritage.

When I'd derided Leian's ability to attain her new Rank at the banquet, the insult of my words was much more egregious than I'd realized at that moment. It was common knowledge that the children of the Ranked and wealthy were 'power-leveled', but to actually discuss the actions and their results was never done publicly. To do so invited repercussions, for those who engaged in the practice felt compelled to defend the honor of those who had basically cheated and gamed the System.

Lady-Knight Petal waited patiently as I considered our conversation, the Sithern did not. Part of Danu's Blessing [Danu's Kiss] allowed any Sithern I created to move to my will. To become a living, breathing appendage that provided succor and protection. But those buffs and blessings were only meant to apply to any Sithern I might create.

Interestingly, it seemed no one informed Duchess Wynne's Sithern of that limitation. As Petal and I chatted, as I considered the idea that the System may have guided me here, for the sole purpose of infecting this World with the System Paradigm. The possible ramifications to Earth if System gained traction, the Sithern began to change; it conformed to some hidden signal I was unaware I was projecting.

The changes started with the flowers. The fields before me were beautiful and fragrant, the flowers were varieties I'd never seen before nor could I identify them before they began to evolve. But as evolution and mutation took root, they slowly transformed into varieties I was familiar with.

The ground cover became clover. Uniform fields of golds bloomed with blues, violets, and reds as flowers native to Earth erupted from the ground in an explosion of color and perfume. Tulips, roses, daisies. Flowers that were native to this world supplanted and replaced the cultivated garden that Duchess Wynne had created.

Trees stretched toward the sky; bark and leaf twisting and forming a path of trellises that opened a path leading to an exit in the distance. The trees natural cycle of growth continued until Cherry Blossoms had formed. Branches heavy with beauty and the promise of a bountiful harvest. Cherries, ripe and abundant matured, and the sound of water cascading in the background completed the newly transformed field.

A burst of magic. Magic that contained the joy and childish delight of the Sithern completed the metamorphosis as a Japanese stylized gazebo was constructed to complete the aesthetics. A landscape that would be perfectly at home, as the pride of place for any Japanese Gardener.

Satisfied that the Sithern has finished, I thought it prudent to acknowledge the gift and honor I had been given. Reaching into my Ring of Hidden Depths, I withdrew one of the Silinium seeds I had harvested. Reaching forth and injecting my mana into the metal, I acknowledged the pulse of life that began to beat in harmony with the Sithern.

Holding firm to will and intent, I began to sculpt the metal until a shallow bowl had been formed. I grabbed another Silinium seed to fashion a base. I constructed a pedestal for the bowl to rest upon and attached the crafted bowl to the unworked raw seed stock. Placing the materials near the gazebo, I withdrew a knife to once again make an offering of blood. This time encouraging my life's energies and magics to mingle with the blood that filled the bowl.

[You have created an altar of blood, magic, and life. Would you like to dedicate this Shrine?]