The Unseelie King

PJO World

The Realm of Winter

The knowledge of one who has lived as long as Queen Mab is numerous beyond Aemon's already vast expectations, for she has lived for thousands of years and as such has accumulated much that needs to be imparted. 

Aemon expected the process to be painful, yet contrary to his expectations it is a painless yet not comfortable process. Similar to his integration of Dane Whitman's knowledge and skills, Aemon finds that the bulk of it is carried out within his subconscious while his conscious mind lays claim to and integrates the Winter Realm into his being. 

It is a ritual and process which he ignorant of in the beginning for neither he nor the Other tied to his being understand truly what is happening other than that once the process is completed he would become the ruler of the realm and the King of both the Unseelie Court and the Winter Court. 

Yet as the assimilation of Queen Mab's knowledge continues Aemon finds himself slowly understanding the process and the intricacies of the faeries of this world.

For one, the Realm of Winter is a domain created by Queen Mab that lies within the Feywild, the dimension which lies adjacent to the world of the living. It is vast, much larger than the mortal, and theorized to be infinite by many; for through it one can travel anywhere. From the realm of Hades, Tartarus, and even other dimensions, all are within reach through travel of the Feywild as long as one knows how to navigate the realm. 

The dimension is suffused with potent magic, unrestrained emotions, it is the source of the Mist, and it is also the place from which the fey originate from and as such is named accordingly by many. 

It is due to possessing such an origin that the fey possess such magical prowess, metaphysical weight, and wild emotions. 

The Feywild is massive dimension one can travel in it as if it were a country, and its corridors are almost maze-like if traversed without a guide. It does not have a consistent layout and, thus to those unaccustomed, seems to change often. 

It does not help that time flows at a different rate in the realm, sometimes slower, sometimes faster. Seasons can change in the blink of an eye, mountains and caverns can appear where minutes before no such things were visible, and its rivers change their courses at the whim of some unknown force.

That same unknown force seems to be adverse to the surveying of the Feywild, thus no map of the land has ever been produced. 

The most known sections of the Feywild are divided into Seelie and Unseelie territories,and between these two exist a neutral space called the Borderlands, which is neither part of Faerie nor of the mortal world.

Food or drinks from the land are known to have hallucinogenic and euphoric properties, particularly faerie narcotics and alcoholic beverages. When ingested, these may trap people, mortals or demigods and at times even gods, in the Feywild until dismissed by the ruler of the Court. It is for this reason that even gods of all pantheons are wary of entering the territory of the Seelie or Unseelie Court.

The territory of the Unseelie Court, the Winter Realm, is an artificial domain created by Queen Mab within the Feywild. The realm is tied to Queen Mab's life and the lives of the fey of the Unseelie Court are tied to the Winter Realm, giving them a form of immortality that their Seelie counterparts do not possess.

It is largely through this method that Queen Mab ruled over the untamable fey of the Unseelie Court unopposed, for if she were to die the Winter Realm would vanish and they along with it. 

Unfortunately for Queen Mab, she did not account for the slow decay of nature at humanity's hands and as such was mostly unprepared when she began to fade away just as Pan, the Greek Lord of the Wild, is also fading. 

With her fading the Winter Realm also began to fade and with it the lives of the fey of the Unseelie Court. Of course the civil war between Queen Mab's children did not help matters and instead exacerbated the already grim situation. Were it not for Miquela, Lord of the Autumn Court and elder brother to Malenia, the Winter Realm would long fade away and along with it the Unseelie Court. 

As all of this knowledge begins to etch itself within Aemon's mind he begins to understand how truly dire the situation is for the faeries. 

With Miquela's sacrifice they may have survived for another five years at the most, a paltry amount of time for a people whose livespans are theoretically endless. 

"Your method is flawed." says Aemon to the remnant of Queen Mab. "No, not flawed, selfish." he corrects himself. 

"And?" replies Queen Mab with an uncaring shrug. 

"Did you not wish for your children to inherit your legacy?" he asks. 

"If any of them had been worthy, then perhaps. Unfortunately I was cursed with incompetent wastrels for children." says the Queen. 

For a moment Aemon remains silent, unable to understand how a mother can be so callous and uncaring to her children. 

"Is your nature as an unseelie fey the reason for such indifference to your children?" Aemon asks. 

"Naturally." replies Mab with a grin that shows her teeth. "Soon enough you will be the same, for the King or Queen of the Unseelie Court must embody all of its virtues."

"Hmph, say what you will but my rule will be nothing like yours." snorts Aemon in disgust. 

"So you claim. However the fey of the Unseelie Court are not like their Seelie counterparts who can be ruled with compassion and kindness. One needs an iron fist to rule over the cruel, cunning, and malicious Unseelie Court." is all Queen Mab says in response, seemingly unbelieving of Aemon's bold claim.

"Cunning and compassion can be employed in equal use, one does not negate the other." replies Aemon. 

"Perhaps, but it can only work for so long." shrugs Queen Mab once more. 

"8000 years." says Aemon with a smirk, causing Queen Mab to raise an eyebrow. 

"Elaborate." demands Mab. 

"My ancestors ruled their lands for 8000 years without resorting to your brand of cruelty. Of course the occasional rival house was wiped from existence, but those instances were far and few while you were constant in your cruelty." Aemon explains.

"Hmph." snorts Queen Mab, no further response coming from her. 

With a chuckle Aemon ignores the spirit of the former Unseelie Queen and instead focuses on learning what exactly is happening to him. 

Thus far he understands that the remnant Queen Mab's is slowly being melded into his being and is the reason for his gaining her knowledge as well as ownership of the Winter Realm. 

This is only possible due to her accepting him as her Heir, and had she not done so no amount of sitting on the Winter Throne would have given him ownership of the Winter Realm as well as rulership of the Unseelie Court. 

The Unseelie Court, the more malicious of the two fey courts and the one most mortals consider to be evil. 

In truth it is more chaotic neutral aligned for the fey of the Unseelie Court value individuality and the absolute freedom to do as they wish above all. They subscribe to the belief of might make rights, yet still hold a semblance of honor; a twisted and dangerous form of honor, but an honor code all the same. They are ruled by the Winter Court, which in truth is closer to a family, and had the Winter Court been weak it would have been overthrown by a more powerful family and none of the unseelie fey would find it treasonous, for the greatest treason one can commit in the Unseelie Court is to be weak.

With this information in mind, Aemon cannot help but feel a slight annoyance. The culture of the Unseelie Court is one that could be considered a chimera of Gryffindor and Slytherin values. Courage and bravery to never back down before a challenge, and cunning to understand how best to overcome said challenge along with ambition to continuously raise one's station and power. 

They value strength and skill of arms, yet they are not above the use of poisons. To face a superior opponent head on is seen as foolish, but to use underhanded methods on an inferior enemy is seen as cowardly and dishonorable. 

Truly it is a contradictory culture, and yet Aemon cannot help the excitement that flows through him at the thought of becoming their King. The ambitions which he had to always temper for the sake of his family no longer need to be kept in check. 

He had always been a little ashamed to admit it to himself, he wanted it, he had wanted Winterfell and he had wanted it as much as he had ever wanted anything, and only his love for Robb, Sansa, Arya, Rickon, and Bran had stayed his hand.

But now? Now, there is no reason to stay his hand. The Long Night knocks at his door once more and the threat of the Great Other looms ever larger on the horizon. 

He will accept this role and with it he will vanquish the Great Other and any who dare stand against him and his family.

Winter is Coming.

…

…

…

Malenia did not know what to expect when Aemon sat upon the Winter Throne, but this is not something that she had ever imagined happening. 

"He did it." she whispers to herself as the decay of the Winter Realm begins to be undone before her eyes. 

Beside her Miquela gasps awake and falls from his throne. 

"Brother!" Malenia excitedly calls out as she supports him. 

"Malenia?" questions Miquela. "You live." he says as he gently places his hands at the side of her head and tenderly touches her forehead to his. 

Miquela had not expected Malenia to live should a new King or Queen be chosen for the new ruler of the Unseelie Court; she would be a constant blade that can be pointed at their back, it is an inevitable outcome they had accepted before taking their roles. And yet here she is despite they having a new King. 

"Our new King is a gracious one." says Malenia.

Before Miquela can respond the doors to the throne room are slammed open as a legion of Unseelie Knights wearing bronze and red armor matching Malenia's march into the room, their steps measured and in uniform with their leader. 

As the leading knight stops before Malenia and Miquela, the knights following her break into two rows and line themselves along the left and right sides of the throne room. 

"It pleases me to see you alive and well Finlay." says Malenia as she helps Miquela to his feet. 

"You honor me Commander." replies Finlay with a bow. "I am most glad to see that you were also spared."

"Did he kill no one?" asks Miquela.

"He indeed did not kill anyone my lord." answers Finlay. "When we fought, a mere glare from him was enough to force us on our knees before rendering us unconscious. As such all who survived the War of the Shattering still live." 

As Finlay finishes explaining the situation to Malenia and Miquela, five more groups unseelie warriors enter the throne room, each dressed in different uniforms denoting their roles.

"Eredin, I see that our new King did not grace us with the gift of your death." sneers Finlay. 

"Hahaha, the same can be said for you, Finlay." replies Eredin with a bloodthirsty grin and a touch of madness in his eyes. "Although I am sure that it is only a matter of time before he realizes that you belong with the Seelie Court instead of here."

Hearing Eredin's words Finlay cannot help but snarl at him while placing her hand on the handle of her sword. 

"Hehehe, already itching for defeat?" taunts Eredin as he to makes to draw his sword. 

Before he can however, an icy voice sends a chill down his spine. 

"Draw that sword and I will present our new King with your head as a gift upon his awakening." the voice says, seemingly coming from the shadows. 

With a nervous chuckle Eredin lets go of his sword and moves away from Finlay, placing himself and his subordinates before the Winter Throne with the other warriors not far behind in doing the same. 

And so they wait in silence for their new King as the throne room slowly returns to its former glory around them. 

Cracks disappear, rubble returns to their unbroken state, and even the frost on the walls and windows slowly disappear despite the winter chill remaining within. 

As the last of the damage is repaired and the darkness completely retreats from the throne room a shockwave of magic erupts from the Winter Throne and reverberates throughout the Winter Realm, the Feywild, and even reaching the mortal plane, announcing the ascension of a new ruler to the Winter Throne. 

The shockwave is felt by all supernatural beings of significant standing, but most importantly it was especially felt by beings of nature and even more so by the beings of the Greek Pantheon.

 As Aemon opens his eyes a crown begins to slowly form around his head. Perhaps it is due to Aemon's bias or due to his blood, but the crown takes the resemblance of the crown described in the tales told of the Stark kings of old, The Winter Kings; an open circlet of hammered bronze incised with a mix of the runes of the First Men and the Unseelie Court, surmounted by nine black iron spikes wrought in the shape of longswords. 

With the formation of each spike, the sizzling of Aemon's skin burning can be heard throughout the throne room, causing the fey to watch with eyes wide in equal part horror and awe, for wrought iron that has yet to be heated and shaped is toxic to all faeries.

As the final spike is formed and the crown is completed the echo of a dirwolf's howl echoes through the throne room and all fey of the Unseelie Court kneel before Aemon, the Winter King, and the Unseelie King.

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