Day 14 of Midwinter, Sunset

  The Deep Realm

  Annwn

  I watched as my brother disappeared into the waves with the Cup Bearer of Lir. It was ironic, as during the war with the Tuatha, it had always been a concern of mine that certain members of their court had access to water-bound minions who knew the secret location of our protected isles.

  Neit had never been worried about it. He said that Lir had always taken extra care to keep our refuge secret, even from members of his own family. He had worked to ensure our safety, raising his minion, Muirdris, by hand on the lichen native to the Deep Realm, and laying protection spells upon the shores of the islet. When it had become too dangerous for Lir to hold onto our secret, he had fled into the waves, far away from the prying eyes of Overking Nuada.

  Neit’s relationship with the Sea had preceded the birth of Lir’s family, dating back to the time of the first Síorláidir of the land and sea, Eiocha. It was she who pulled a grievously injured Neit into Tir fo Thuinn nearly 4,500 years ago. Annwn had changed him in ways that were unexpected to both he and the Síorláidir. Not only were his wounds healed, saving his life, but his height and strength increased.

  For the last four millennia, Neit had attempted to expand his family, only to be thwarted at every opportunity by the ruling members of the new gods of Annwn, the Tuatha Dé Danann. His son and grandson were killed, likely by servants of the Overking. A lesser man would have sought revenge, but Neit had focused only on the protection of his people. I knew Neit. He had been a hard man, and not responding to these acts of violence had taken all of his strength.

  Some, like Balor and Corb, saw Neit’s restraint as weakness, but I knew the toll that it took on him. Neit was a man of war, but a wise one who had known that acting on his impulses would make things worse for his people. It was excruciating for him.

  Not long after his son died, only four years ago, I came through the Heart-shaped Pool. Tethra found me and brought me to the place that would become my home and the grieving man who would become my father. She believes I reminded the king of his lost son, Prince Elatha, and that my presence filled a hole in his heart. According to her, Elatha had been cut from the same material as his father—they walked softly, carried a big stick, and feared nothing.

  Strange, because I fear everything. I feel a never-ending pit in my stomach when I march my adopted family into battle. I fear I won’t be able to protect the soon-to-be appointed Queen Tethra and how much I’ve missed out on connecting with my real family, whom I have little memories of. They are fears born from the edges of my influence.

  Neit once told me that being brave wasn’t about not having fears, which everyone had. Instead, it was about what you did with those fears. I have taken that to heart, perhaps too much so. That is the difference between the god of chaos and the god of harmony….to protect those I love, I will always do what needs to be done.

  The Inis Fer Falga, Isle of the Protected Men, hummed with activity. The sky was black with smoke from the pyres that burned our dead. The pyres were both a Fomorian tradition and a necessity, an attempt to keep the abhartach at bay. I have seen those blood-suckers awaken in the bodies of the fallen. That was to be avoided.

  I was alone with my thoughts. Tethra was overseeing the funeral preparation for King Neit, and Ruadan was around somewhere doing what only Ruadan could do. My thoughts turned to what Bren had told me about his newly learned fairy trance skill and its rejuvenating effect. I had wanted to attempt it since he’d explained it to me, in hopes it might alleviate the constant pain that wracked my body.

  Hearing Bren’s recounting of our last moments before our genesis, I had been able to piece together some of what had happened in Hy-Brasil. The darkness of the mysterious woman in black had wrapped itself around my torso, leaving me with agonizing dark scars and a hole in my memory. For four years, I had relied on súg to combat the pain, but I had given the last of the magical golden sap to Bren to heal the wounds he’d sustained battling Caoránach the oilliphéist in Lough Dearg.

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  I lowered myself to my knees, in the way I had seen modern-day Christians pray. I rested my elbows on the stone around the railing of the lighthouse. This was the highest point in the islet and one I had visited many times as I wrestled with recent decisions.

  I closed my eyes and focused. My energy boons quickly identified the wounds on my chest and back. I watched the familiar sight of my life force slowly leaking from the scars. I had seen this before when I utilized the boons from my domain classification, Mancer Savant. This time, though, I felt at peace. There was no urgency, no offensive or defensive need for the energy I was summoning.

  Bren had said that the fairy trance felt both similar and different from using the energy for our boons. He told me to watch the flow in the environment for as long as it took to understand its natural state. Then, I was to plug myself into the flow, with my body in the center. Just when I thought I was beginning to recognize patterns in the flow of energy, I was interrupted by the god of magic.

  Name: Cai Maccán

  Race: Síorláidir

  Current Power Rank - Level 15

  Current Progression Status:

  Physical Progression +43

  Mental Progression +53

  Spiritual Progression +50

  Domains: Harmony and Harvest

  Domain Classification: Mancer Savant

  You have been gifted with the following Harmony boons:

  Control Energy

  Graceful Agility

  Dark Vision

  Energy Resonance

  Empathic Influence

  Spiritual Augur

  Transform Energy

  Divination of Balance

  You have been gifted with the following Harvest boons:

  Maximum Yield

  Perfect Aim

  You have one blood-borne curse:

  Life Leak (Permanent)

  Innate Racial Abilities:

  Rapid Regeneration

  Advanced Identification

  Magic Sense

  One magic item is in your possession.

  Fragarach

  Item abilities unlocked:

  Trust Tongue

  One relic is in your possession.

  You have acquired:

  The Spear of Victory

  Relic abilities unlocked:

  Armor Piercing

  Return to Sender

  I sighed. So much had changed in the last two weeks. When Bren had earned the mantle of Chaos, my own had suddenly shifted to Harmony. I knew now that we represented a duality. What affected one would affect the other. All my boons appeared to have shifted to match my new domain. Only my domain classification seemed unaffected, though I imagine a sage or the god of magic would be able to explain the unnoticed evolution of Mancer Savant during the change. I took another moment to run through the most noteworthy parts of my power rank notification.

  Domain Classification:

  Mancer Savant- Masters the pure essence of energy manipulation.

  Energy Resonance:

  Enhances the Control Energy and the Transform Energy boons by allowing for multiple kinds of energy absorption at the same time, in perfect harmony.

  Empathic Influence:

  Influence emotions and thoughts positively by manipulating bodily energies. This boon can foster cooperation among allies and help to pacify foes. This is not a charm spell.

  Magic Sense

  Your attunement to magic not only allows you to detect spells, artifacts, and Power Rank Notifications, but it also grants you awareness of others' attempts to analyze your own abilities.

  Spiritual Augur

  When used with the Magic Sense ability, this boon allows you to push past magical protections surrounding power rank notifications.

  Transform Energy:

  Convert one type of energy into another—such as heat to light—or amplify or diminish energy in the environment.

  Divination of Balance:

  Foresee potential disharmonies in the future. This allows for corrections to maintain balance in the world.

  Maximum Yield

  This boon ensures every action, whether harvesting crops or defeating foes, yields the greatest possible result in any situation.

  Perfect Aim

  Your precision allows you to identify and exploit weak points with unerring accuracy.

  Curse: Life Leak

  This curse causes life energy to slowly seep away through scars inflicted by necrotic trauma, weakening the afflicted over time.

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