Phantasia

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” said another voice, “Like the pebbles on a beach, they will never merge together as one but merely brush against one another, eroding their strength until they are washed away,” A gust of wind sliced the air between them and both faeries turned to the source. Perched on some rocks, with a smirk on his almond face and with grass-green hair billowing around his shoulders, Awyr looked as casual as ever. “There’s too much tension between them,” he continued, “Tension we can take advantage of,”

Dyfrio huffed. “I say we stay away from that place. The more we get involved, the more likely they are to draw conclusions – especially now they have a Water faerie of their own actively assisting them. They’re already getting too close to the summoning ritual and if they realise what’s really going then so will Phantasia. We can’t afford to have so many complications while we’re still gathering our power base,”

“I’m afraid we’ll have to deal with them,” said Awyr, “Tirio’s attack gave us more information than you give him credit for,”

Tirio frowned and crossed his arms. He had no time for the constant battle of wills between Wind and Water. When the two worked together they could form devastating storms – as he had seen with the complex schemes of Princes Dionysus and Freyr – but when the two came into conflict, as they did with the resentful Dyfrio and the cruel Awyr, the storm became an uncontrollable tempest.

“I took the opportunity to watch the leyline flow around that ‘Academy’ while Tirio’s ballet was under way,” continued Awyr, “I thought it might be interesting to get a spiritual insight into your little white-haired Princess. I had no idea I would instead see seedlings of darkness clamouring for nourishment as the chaos unfolded,”

“Demons?” asked Tirio, “They have a transmutor there whose power is too great for the average human,”

“Far more than demons,” said Awyr, “When your golem rose above them and panic gripped their fragile spirits, I witnessed the shadow flaring for the briefest of moments,”

“You couldn’t pinpoint it?” asked Dyfrio.

“I could not,” replied Awyr, “There was only so much one could see before the emerald eyes of the blossoming dryad were diverted towards me,”

“So, whatever Dionysus wanted to protect is there of all places,” said Dyfrio, his scowl growing ever deeper, “Either it was a lucky guess on Thetis’s part, or Dionysus told her more than he said,”

“Oh, I wouldn’t put it past my people to have had a hand in things,” said Awyr, chuckling to himself, “Queen Áine loves unpredictable as much as any of us, and throwing a gaggle of opposing forces into an already volatile stew is a sure-fire recipe for chaos!”

“So, we must do battle with the warriors of Seelie after all,” said Tirio.

Chapter 42
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