BECMI Chapter 309 – Other Offers
“If your suspicions of the Sidhe are too great, I give you the option to join me,” I stated calmly to the shocked and aghast Shaden elves below. “I am Elvar Celestia Archmagos Victora! I have begun the foundation of a new Elven Homeland among the tribes of Eislas, far to the north of Sidheduiche! The climate is not as friendly as the Relarin, there are far more dangers around, and you will have to learn to have friendly relations with humans, dwarves, and hyn alike, who will be your neighbors and your allies against those who threaten us all.
“Unlike the Relarin, there is room for all of you. There are also clans with the Lumina Trees that offer the guidance of Corellin, or you can follow the Way of Heaven from the Pyramids raised in this realm to gather magic to it.
“If you wish to join me, then you need merely inform my mother by the Testing Tree, and we will arrange passage if she approves of you. We do not have a cap on numbers for now, but acclimating you to the sun will be a stressful time for you, so be ready for that. Master Helamong will be in charge of your initial training as well, so be prepared to greet him when you come.
“As for the royal family and its supporters…” I had no problem guiding the image to look down at the Royal Palace, whose supporters were glaring up at me in rage, so many of their plans destroyed by my words, “there is an alternative for you, if you seek an Elven Kingdom by conquest.”
The stunned look on the faces of the king and his daughter, the Princess Eralatai, was almost comical.
“The ancient elven realm of Sylvuna has fallen to its own cowardice and an immensely large number of orcs. But one Lumina Tree stands to still call it an Elven Homeland.
“The power of Gaebrel cannot save the Tree. The elves who should have protected the Tree instead went into hiding within the hearts of the trees, seeking to sleep past their invaders… but their invaders never left.
“If you want a realm by conquest, then save Sylvuna, rescue the elves in treesleep, and you can claim your kingship by right of the conquest they hid from. Just be aware that you cannot serve the Tree, and if you wish it to remain an Elven Realm, you will need the approval of Corellin for it to remain so.
“If you don’t think you can do that, then find someplace else to conquer. You could move a substantial number of Shaden into western Zanzyr and found a Principality in no time, for example, and Zanzyr would welcome you if you were to do so.”
“I have no desire to see you or yours up north in my realm, and if you attempt the same kind of treachery against me and mine as you did against the Sidhe, I will wipe you from the land.”
I shifted my image from viewing the palace, whose people were doubtless seething in outrage, and turned it back to the city below.
“My cousins, you may be wondering why it is so important to have an Elven Homeland for our home on the surface. The reason for that is simple, and that is access to Halcyon magic.
“The priests of Gaebrel have no power on the surface.” I paused to let that sink into them. “Gaebrel uses the power of the Radiance crystals they wear to purify enough Radiance energy to transform into a variant of clerical divine energy and allow elves like us to Cast divine spells.
“Radiance crystals are destroyed almost immediately by the touch of sunlight, which means also moonlight and starlight.
“You probably do not realize this, but our people’s access to Healing magic has been one of the great powers that has enabled us to survive in the deeps for these last few millennia. Elves on the surface have great difficulties wielding such magic. The Halcyon magic which incorporates our people’s love of the green and harmony with nature taps Druidic ideals in theurgic harmony to allow the Casting of many Druidic spells as arcane magic for Elven Wizards.
“You cannot learn Halcyon Magic outside of an Elven Homeland surrounded by the green. King Ershultaen’s attempted conquest of Sidheduiche is doubly foolish, as if he succeeded, the Lumina Trees would be lost, the magic of the forest would follow, and his family would be reigning over a firetrap of a forest drying out as the nightly rains stop. His conquered Elven Homeland would swiftly revert to a dead and dying forest, which would also doom those of you left behind.
“Oh? You question that? Than I ask the elders among you to think upon the Blessing of the Waters. We were told that Gaebrel blessed the lakes and rivers to ride, allowing us to travel the deep ways more easily, to fish the waters and support our people.
“If you compare the time of the rising of the waters, it is just within two years of the nightly rains that began to fall that formed the Relarin forest of Sidheduiche above us. If you had Halcyon magic and could Commune with the land, you could follow the flow of those nightly rains down and into the lakes and rivers of our deeps over days and weeks and months, slowly filtering down to us, bringing us the prosperity of our surface cousins.
“If those rains are lost, than the waters recede to those of our ancestor’s days, and suddenly there will be far too many Shaden chasing not enough water in the Deeps, and we will have no choice but to head to the surface.
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“This is also Truth.”
Incontrovertible fact. It was not an opinion. It was absolute fact!
There would be no Shaden invasion of the surface!
“Lastly, there are several mandates set down on our people that will not apply on the surface.
“First of all, there is no relation between souls, spirits, and gemstones, and this is also Truth.” I gave them no chance whatsoever to disbelieve me. “My dominion is in Blood and Souls, and souls have no relationship to gemstones. Gemstones may bear power, but that is a result of magic.
“Ah, you consider the Radiance crystals, what are called ‘soul crystals’ to perpetrate this? No. Those are merely crystals imbued with the gammathaumic power of the Radiance, they have nothing to do with souls whatsoever. The ban on mining gemstones is so that the overeager will not go trying to dig up Radiance crystals, which are notoriously fragile, and sell them off for coin. It merely spread to other types of gemstones. Unless you are an Earth Elemental, gemstones have no relationship with souls and spirits, which are on a tier of existence above and beyond them, that of mortal life.”
I let them weigh on that and for the fanatics to accept and try to recover for a moment. More Dispels were urgently spiraling up to hit my Illusion, and failing utterly.
“Thus, if you emigrate to the surface and wish to use Halcyon magic, you will need to follow the Immortal Patrons of the surface elves. Be prepared for that. Other than that, outside of an Elven Homeland, Elven Wizards cannot be trained. Our unique links to magic need to be changed and supercharged in a nexus of magic to learn that Path.
“The Underrealms of this area are suffused with the power of the irradiated blackstone and gammathaumic energy of the Radiance, dating from the time of the Crimson Cataclysm which established it and the Doom of Darkmoor which broke that stone and dispersed it throughout these deeps. This constitutes a high-magic environment, but without the living edge of Druidic magic, Halcyon magic cannot be learned here, either.
“Ah, the priests wonder if Radiant Magic is viable on the surface world, especially since their Radiant crystals will decay and shatter there…
“Well, the answer to that is yes, but it is laced with a horrible truth and cost.
“Receptacles are built to harness the energy of the Radiance by eager Wizards, and such are only effective within the lands of Zanzyr, where the Crimson Cataclysm burst three thousand years ago. Furthermore, the use of the Radiance comes with two costs you have not seen yourselves, but are nonetheless very true.
“The Radiance, when used to accent magical spells, consumes the magic as it does so, permanently. Using the Radiance slowly destroys the magic of the world.
“The Day of No Magic is the result of using the Radiance to empower a spellcaster to Immortality. Repeated use of it will basically cause the extinction of all magical creatures. That includes we elves, and this is Truth.”
Angry shouts that I was lying about this died in knife-edges to the brain. This was fact, not opinion!
“The second thing is that using the Radiance exerts a toll upon the body that withers and corrupts. Gammathaumic radiation is not meant to be used by mortals, and it poisons and corrupts the flesh, first taking out limbs, and eventually turning the wielder into a Lich of the Radiance if this continues. One of the Princes of Zanzyr is this type of being, and one of its Archdukes is afflicted with the Wasting Radiance.”
That sounded horrifying, of course, but… “Naturally, this has not affected Gaebrel’s priests, because that would be inefficient. Instead, through the Radiant Crystals, the corruption of the Radiance is borne by the entire Shaden population, as it is displaced onto our newborn children.”
The shocked horror of the elves below was complete as they gasped.
“Our people did not suffer children born with deformities or mutations until after the Priests of Gaebrel started wielding the Radiance. The children born with such things are taking upon themselves the price of wielding the Radiance, instead of Gaebrel’s priests, and this is also Truth.”
Probably the most horrified at this knowledge were the Priests of Gaebrel, staring up at me in mounting shock and utter lack of disbelief, because Truth wouldn’t let them lie to themselves.
“Incidentally, those infants taken by the priests are brought out into the deep tunnels, where the nifloid tribes find them and raise them as their own. The blood of the Shaden did a great deal to stabilize their forms over time, and the goblin and hobgoblin tribes in particular likely owe much of their appearance and nature to Shaden blood. They are, effectively, the children of the children we abandoned and who paid the price for the survival of the rest of us. Ruthless, efficient, and pragmatic.
“Yes, when they come to invade us, we are basically killing our own cousins among them. Our blood by now runs through every goblin of the tribes.”
My gaze turned directly to the priests, many of whom had fallen to their knees on the steps of the temple, staring up at me in disbelief.
“The last concern of the Radiance is what you are building for Gaebrel inside the Pyramid, elder sisters.”
“THAT IS ENOUGH.”
A Light flared in the false twilight, imbued with Immortal Power, shining into the hearts of all of the Shaden here with the knowledge that this was Gaebrel, their Protector and Guide, who had never abandoned them, who had given them a code to live by, and whose tenets had ensured that the Shaden had lasted for four thousand years here in the Underdark!
Magic pushed and tore at the grand Illusion I’d woven… and then paused in shock when mortal magic held against the Immortal!
“Senior Technical Manager Gabriel, I am speaking with my kin. Do not interfere,” I responded coldly to this display of Immortal power.
A great black Skull appeared in the middle of the Light, and bit down.
The Light vanished, as did the awe, severed like a knife. Up in the artificial sky, the stunned elves could see the image of a shining character glowing from inside a great black Skull festooned with scarlet roses, something moving within as if He was struggling, but unable to get out!