Interlude: Irvin

Irvin was spent. His reserves of energy, his will beaten out of him. This latest torture was the most horrific of all. They had not only castrated him; they had cauterized the wound, significantly reducing the chance of healing. The wound certainly beyond his ability to regenerate.

He was so tired. Unsure how long it had been since Prince Teigh departed, his insane idea to close CERN and confine the emission of God Particles must not have worked, or he would have been rescued by now. Irvin knew the Prince was still alive, his Oaths were still part of the weft that composed his Soul.

He was still part of House Teigh. But that was little comfort in the quiet of the night when he sobbed, his moans of desperation and pain so profound that his cell had been enchanted so that other prisoners would not hear how he endured. Or when he had gained the special attention of Queen Mab and she decided to take a personal hand in his torture.

Those moments were always filled with additional humiliation. This last session had been the most vicious. Her anger magnified; she took an inordinate amount of time using his body as her method of releasing that anger.

The removal of his manhood had broken something in him. That last bit of spirit and belief in Prince Teigh had finally died. He wasn't sure the Prince would come for him anymore. Or when he did, there would be a person worth rescuing. Queen Mab seemed to embrace the evil that was done in those torture chambers, and there was nothing or no one willing to stem her madness.

Perhaps it was time, Irvin thought. Time to Fade. To allow himself to become nothing more than a whisper on the wind. A bit of quicksilver and stardust that would carry the last remnants of his identity and allow him to escape the pain. He wasn't sure how long he had endured. But it was long enough he decided. No one would fault him for embracing the Fade.

[System Announcement: The Talahm Capital, Cathair-bhaile, will be modified within two weeks updating the infrastructure and adapting to changes to the World government. Talahm has evolved from a duality of opposing factions between the Seelie and Unseelie to a triumvirate of power with a new faction addition, the Tuatha de Danaan. This faction has been established as a co-equal branch of the World government. All treaties and alliances with extra-planar governments and civilizations must be ratified by a two-thirds majority of the Seelie, Unseelie, and Tuatha de Danaan monarchies.]

[World Announcement: Ranked King Teigh Mac de Beleros y Cyronax has claimed Land and territory to form a kingdom. The Kingdom of Aingeal Geamhraidh has been established. The Faction for these Lands has been selected and set to Tuatha de Danaan, any previous residents with the current faction of either Seelie or Unseelie will be allowed one year's grace period before those residents must either convert to the new faction or relocate to the appropriate Kingdom based on their established default faction.]

The System messages shocked Irvin out of his despair. His tears transformed giving life as the smallest spark of hope was rekindled, a small grain of belief that had not been completely destroyed. He'd clung to the belief that Prince… No, King Teigh would return. That the pain and sacrifice that he, Cedric, Lohne, and Uron had been forced to endure would be for nothing.

He'd hoped in the quiet solitude of his cell, as he worked feverishly to regenerate the days wounds, that all of this would have meaning, that he was not tortured and tormented for nothing.

[World Announcement: As a member of House Teigh your faction will automatically be updated to Tuatha de Danaan. You must disavow House Teigh and repudiate the adoption if you wish to join either the Seelie or Unseelie faction.]

[System: Do you wish to renounce your standing in House Teigh?]

[Yes/No]

[World Announcement: House Teigh enjoys protection to attacks from Seelie and Unseelie for one year. Duels are permissible, but attacks, capture, and torture are disallowed during the one-year grace period.]

[World Announcement: The Seelie Faction has restricted the movement of House Teigh members, incarcerating House members. Penalties apply while these limitations are in force. (Note: Seelie Faction experiences Beleros Bane, 10% penalty to healing and regeneration. Seelie Faction experiences Cyronax Fury, 10% of crops, plants, and harvest are subjected to Winter's Blight. Seelie Faction experiences Danu's Wrath, 15% penalty to fertility.)]

[World Announcement: Seelie Faction has tortured and left permanent wounds to a son of House Teigh. Penalties applied: A Wound Reflected Debuff - Seelie Monarchy and Court fertility rate has been reduced to zero (0). Debuff becomes permanent if healing and repair is not implemented and successful within one (1) week.]

Salvation? Possibly Irvin thought as he selected No, remaining as part of House Teigh. The System messages suggested that might afford him some small protection. He huddled on the dirt floor of his cell, hugging himself for warmth as he read and re-read the System messages.

King Teigh would come. His belief restored.

Irvin was being held in a cell as far from the workspace of the Court's chief torturer as possible, so he was unable to hear the furor that the World Announcements made. But as he fought to ignore his body's pain, he could imagine. Queen Mab would not take kindly to having her will thwarted, even if it was a System edict. How she would respond was uncertain. Each time she joined in when he was tortured, she seemed to be standing on the precipice of sanity. The discovery that her son had been replaced with an illusion, her uncertainty if he still lived, had consumed her. Some worried that she had tumbled into the abyss.

The sound of the cell door being slammed open was the only warning Irvin received before he was attacked. Queen Mab's elemental affinity allowed her to make use of sound. She had the ability to remove free will, her voice dulcet and alluring, or shatter bones, walls, and gems. She had awoken powers that were part Siren and part Banshee, if she hadn't been able to trace her parent's lineage, she would have been suspected of being Unseelie.

Her abilities were not the type that Seelie boasted. Hers did not shine a light and make bright that which was hidden, she was not the ideal that the Golden Court boasted. She had a high Mind, Nature, and Death affinities, the first two acceptable, it was the Death affinity that was worrisome.

Her ability to mesmerize and charm was so powerful that there had been hints that Consort Puck the Trickster and King Lugh Clear-Sighted were bewitched and ensnared. That they failed to constrain her most severe impulses because they had been enthralled.

She was vain and delighted in the obsequious nature of her toadies. Any that could stroke her ego quickly becoming a Court favorite. Those brave enough to draw her attention inevitably found themselves demoted from favorite to plaything when she grew bored.

And now she was furious.

Furious that whatever plans she may have had for Irvin were worthless. Furious that the World Announcement made public what she had tried to keep secret. Furious that the Morrigu was already demanding answers. But most of all Furious that the power that had existed between the Seelie and Unseelie, the fine balancing act they walked to maintain the status quo was now shattered.

She had worked in tandem with the Morrigu to minimize the Power and Courts of the lesser-fey. Refusing to acknowledge any Ranked King or Queen that was not Seelie or Unseelie. She had refused to even allow any Ranked Seelie to ascend to the King or Queen level. Those lesser-fey that progressed that far were summarily executed or banished. Her prowess in the dueling arenas was so formidable that no one had made the attempt to Rank up for thousands of years.

That an upstart hybrid, a mistake of nature had not only broken that edict but had claimed enough Land to become a co-equal ruler of the Seelie and Unseelie was unforgivable. Yet even in her anger, even if she had descended into the pits of insanity, she maintained enough reason to know that Irvin must be healed.

Her Court and people would endure much, but to take away their ability to propagate, would break the bonds of compliance and acceptance. They would band together and rip her from the throne, piece by piece if she was the instrument that ruined their fertility.

Finally, Irvin had the ability to spite the evil bitch. Healing required him to acquiesce. Without his consent, any attempts would be superficial at most. And he would refuse Seelie healing even if it meant he remained castrated for all eternity.

Damn her. Damn them all. She would take his manhood, would she? Well, she could go fuck herself with it.