Season 8: Natural Allies - Faye Persona/Elias Winterborne

*Taking place about a week after Miandra's coronation*

Elias walked up the steps towards the glittering castle. They were here for business but glancing back over their shoulder, they treated themselves to a moment to admire the view. The twilight reflected off the calm ocean and the stars twinkled dancing on the water. It truly was a beautiful sight and they are glad Kithrin didn’t get to change the purple sky. As much as they loved pink, purple just seemed more mysterious and fitting with Miandra’s style. Then Elias took a deep breath and Faye stepped through the large doors of the castle to meet with the newest of the Archfey.



The castle under Sarastra’s reign had been a delicate structure of crystal - opaque to the point that you could just make out the shadows of those on the other side of walls. It had only been a short time but as the Twilight Court began to adjust to its new Queen the castle was already more solid. The crystal walls were denser like quartz, completely obscuring what lies beyond them.



It was a simple matter to get a guard to escort them once Faye gave their name and connection to the Queen, and a short period of waiting for the story to be verified. They passed multiple rooms with their doors open, leading to large libraries which Faye could have sworn were not there before. More evidence of Miandra’s influence, it would seem.



They were left in an antechamber - a plainly decorated room with a large oval table in the middle, made for meetings not meals. A few minutes later, the Queen of Ken and Cunning walked into the room quietly and closed the door behind her, no guards following in. She looked across the room at Faye and Elias knew the title was no idle boast. Miandra’s eyes read Elias with a placid look that seemed to read every secret they had in a glance. Whether it was true or not, this was the aura of the newest Archfey - knowledge is power and the Queen of Ken and Cunning holds all the power here.



Miandra had changed - taller of course, though Archfey are known to change their forms and size at a whim, but there were other differences. Her black hair now drifted up into the air behind her like the tail of a comet, streaks of white and silver running through. As a crown, she wore a simple metallic tiara, and her tunic and trousers were full of dark, rich purple tones varying from pink to violet.



After a long moment - or perhaps it just seemed that way - Miandra smiled politely and sat down in a simple chair at the table. “Welcome to the new Twilight, Elias. Are you still glad you helped me instead of one of my rivals?” The tone was warm, but the question was direct and sudden.



Faye smiled cooly, the presence of an Archfey was unsettling but they knew that strength was needed to impress Archfey. They had to display that if they wanted respect, so they focused their thoughts on the simple idea that if Miandra did not want to hear what they had to offer, then they would not be standing in the room before them… and what was that old saying, a good product sells itself? Something like that.



They took a moment to study the new form, the clothes were nice and what they expected from Miandra, an effortless style that would make one think they wouldn’t be a need or even an option to move. But there was no great heaving gown, the outfit was practical and ready to dart across the room at a moment's notice. Not that she needed to now of course, she was practically a god and could probably heal from any injury barring one. Cold iron was not easy to come by.



They bowed deeply, eyes glancing up to meet the Queen’s “Of course I am. Despite the fairly obvious power differences I see a kinship between us, you draw your power from secrets and knowledge rather than brute strength and I think that makes you smart, I think it makes you a good leader. But that was not the only reason for me helping you. The Raven Queen gave me a vision of a war breaking out between the Courts and I intend to try and stop it. You are new, an Archfey not already set in the old ways of division between the Courts and I think you would be someone who prefers avoiding a conflict like war when ken and cunning can be used instead.” They look back to the Queen, wondering if there’s any chance of them being able to read them… probably not.



Black eyes danced across Faye’s face like she was following a pair of mayflys. “I wonder what secrets you draw power from, young Eladrin,” she mused, and then leaned back waving a hand vaguely in the air. “A vision, though? From the Shadowfell? You might get Alassar with that sort of talk, but my Court is a place of facts and knowledge - a secret isn’t useful if it’s only maybe true. That is what it means to not be set in the old ways.”



She gestured a hand to the wall, and a diagram appeared showing dozens of symbols representing the various Courts of the Feywild, all centered around the four largest symbols - the Sunflower, the Snowflake, the River and the Mountain. “Of course there’s conflict coming, and I’ve worked hard to ensure that the Twilight Court remains apart from all of it.” The sunset and stars motif was not quite as big as the four largest, but it remained one of the biggest symbols on the board. Miandra looked back sharply at Faye. “You opened with a prophecy, which - future note, isn’t a good move with me, and then speak of a conflict that none would dare involve our court in out of respect. What’s your big play here? What are you actually after that you think smarter heads are needed for?”



Elias considered for a moment before speaking, clearly the classic approach Faye would take was not going to work with her, “I see. I shall not mention prophecies again. I do not mean to involve you in a war my Queen, actually quite the opposite. My end goal is to achieve a peace and balance between the Courts that I think you might find favourable. A council, similar to what we have in Daring Heights, the Archfey would make decisions that affect the whole Feywild together but retain dominion over their own lands. But that will require time to set the groundwork and iron out the details. I would certainly welcome your much smarter head in regards to this, as for my current big play, that is to buy time, shore up support and allies and show the Courts that working together produces good results.”



Elais takes another moment choosing their words carefully so as to present them correctly. “It is not in the style of the Winter Court to make the first strike. The same cannot be said for summer. Titania intends to move on Ulorian under the guise that it is in service of justice for Daring Heights. If Ulorian were to fall she would lay claim to his lands and power and this would likely secure her ascension to being the strongest of the Archfey. She would be able to rule as Sarastra did. She has already made the threat that any who oppose her will live in fear of the day she has to lift that terrible sword.”



They walk over to the map and study it, taking in each symbol of the Courts, but there is no time to try and glean anything from it, “I do not care to see one Court tower above all the others. That leaves nobody to keep them in check and stop them from abusing power, it is a dangerous system if the leader is not an ideal one. I do not think Titania is an ideal leader. I have asked Morinn for leave to approach other Courts to support a decree from her that Ulorian’s actions were criminal and that he must make amends. I believe that this would prevent Titania from claiming his lands and gaining an advantage over the other Courts, punish Ulorian and secure a continued allyship with Daring Heights for any Courts who were in support of this. You have seen the value of adventurers, they did help you secure the throne.”



They walk back over to stand before Miandra again “my hope, and I am sure Morinn’s hope is that Ulorian will see he is outnumbered and will accept that he has lost. Then we could hopefully appoint a new River King. One who would be more prepared to work together to focus on real problems, like the Unseelie.”



They smile, “If you want to avoid being caught up in any war then this is a helpful way. This is not an alliance with Morinn directly, nobody would be deeming you an ally of Winter, you would be an ally of Daring Heights, but with the added benefit of ensuring you do not have to bend the knee to Titania. From what I hear the Bear King already declared his support to aid Daring Heights against Ulorian.”



As Elias had outlined their plan, the Twilight Queen had sat and listened impassively. Only a slight twitch betrayed surprise at the mention of appointing a new River King. When they are finished, Miandra regards Elias for a long moment without speaking and then leans forward, chin resting on the back of her hand.



“You are an interesting snowdrift aren’t you?” she says, not unkindly. “You bring me sweeping plans, to radically change the very structure of the Feywild, to try to force Ulorian off of his throne, try to redirect attention to the Court of Darkness of all things and all of this by supporting a tiny town in the Material Plane? What in the Wilds are you thinking?”



She took a long breath and stood up, slowly pacing along the other side of the table. “You helped me secure this throne, and for that gratitude I shall do you the favour of at least thinking this through. Now a council ruling the Feywild instead of a single court is interesting to me - that’s my preferred battlefield anyway and so the Twilight Court could potentially do well in such an arrangement. Perhaps that’s not your objective, but it is mine. There are certainly examples in the past of the dominant court being detrimental for the rest of the Feywild. However, that is only of benefit to a court if they don’t believe they will win the contest to become the dominant court - and currently none of the major courts would count themselves out and the lesser courts will follow the will of the major power they support.”



“The idea that an Archfey would cede their power just because a few other courts say they don’t like how he handled a particular situation… I have to say that’s a fantasy. He’ll see he’s outnumbered and accept he’s lost?’ Ha! Ulorian doesn’t listen to his own advisors, let alone other courts. Showing a united front against him is certainly interesting.”



The queen reached out to a book she had entered with, which promptly raised up and floated to her outstretched hand. Flipping it open, she waved her fingers over the open book and an image of Daring Heights on the hillside appeared in the air.



“Now Daring Heights, that is an interesting point. I haven’t had any particular plans for it, but perhaps it should move up my list of priorities. Mesikammen has close relations with it I understand - and the city’s relative geography in the Feywild is bound to my power and court. The city is an asset for me - small, but on the list. Ulorian did it damage, in a cruel way - but I must say, not in a way that I wouldn’t expect from other courts, and Winter would be at the top of the list.” She frowned. “I suppose it wouldn’t do for other courts to be claiming to protect it and for me not to join in.”



Elias smiles and meets her gaze, it is a genuine smile, they had feared that they would not win her back rounds after mentioning a prophecy, but they make no attempt to hide that they are happy the Queen is listening. They know they could not hide anything from her if they tried. “You raise an abundance of good points. I know what I ask in the long run is a lot but I am not asking for that now. That is my plan but what is it they always say? No plan survives contact with the enemy? The hope is the support and working together will lay the groundwork but I do not expect a change like that to happen in one fell swoop. I don’t expect you to agree to a Council right now, especially the level of detail my plan has currently. But I would appreciate it being considered for the future.”



“The plans for the future are my end goal and somewhat of a dream still. I asked for this alliance instead of asking Morinn to do this herself so that she could see how working with other Courts can help get things done and be beneficial to the Feywild as a whole. I think it is important that the leaders see there is more to be gained working together than by working against.”



They relax their shoulders as they sigh a little “But, today I am not asking you to support a Council of the Feywild. Today I am just here to see if I can count on your support to help Daring Heights and make sure Ulorian is dealt with effectively.”



They glance back over to the map again, “aside from him being responsible for the horrible murder of my friends, as you said Ulorian is extremely radical. He does not listen to advisors which is incredibly dangerous and he has a potential to ascend, what with being King of a Major Court. I believe that would make it all the more reasonable to ensure that he does not sit on the Throne of all Thrones? If we do not act then there is a chance we would be the advisors he does not listen to…”



Their fingers dance over the illusory symbols “As for Titania, you said you don’t want war and that your preferred battlefield is not a literal battlefield. Titania is the warrior queen. If she dominates the Feywild what would that look like for those of us who don’t like to swing swords about. Summer doesn’t care for the ways of Winter or of ken and cunning. They are all brute strength and glory and honour. With Titania alone on the throne the Feywild might be less favourable for people who prefer our style of fighting.”



They walk back to face her, and gesture to the image of their home away from home, speaking with more certainty, “Daring Heights is a small town yes, but it is filled with some incredibly powerful individuals. More importantly, those powerful individuals are also currently unaligned individuals. I am by no means the strongest of them and you saw what I did with a few hours on the day of your coronation... I am sure the news of how we killed a Tarrasque in under 30 seconds has also reached you? Baine Cinderwood and Merla took down the Amber Duchess in a mere 12 seconds. They are a significant resource to have on your side and making the decision to back them in this would mean more to them than gold or magic items. At the very least it would be good publicity to show that the Twilight Throne is still strongly allied with Daring Heights. If we can count on your support I am certain that you could count on theirs.”



"Hmmm," said the Queensaid . "Let me reflect on this a moment." Her eyes grew distant, a violet hue covering them slowly as her head began to twitch slightly - a series of thoughtful expressions passing over her face in lightning succession. After more than a minute of awkward silence, Elais could only continue staring, unsure what to do in this moment, her eyes returned to normal, and she smiled at them.



"Well, Daring Heights falls within my purview, and comes with a trove of legendary warriors for hire. If Morinn wants to lead a political stunt against the River King I would be happy to support it on behalf of Daring Heights - in its current form. I do not believe it will have all the impacts you hope, but so be it."



Miandra stood up, only about 7ft tall at this point, and walked over to the Eladrin. "This council idea is complete madness, Elias. But I would be a hypocrite if I thought a minor player couldn't make big change after taking the Twilight Throne." She held out her hand to shake. "I agree to support Morinn's statement in support of Daring Heights in principle pending actually seeing the text in advance. I do not agree to forming a council at this stage, but I don't object to the idea should it return more fully formed in the future. How about that?"



Elias happily shakes her hand. “I will do all that is within my power to make this agreement worth your while Queen Miandra, and thank you for considering the idea of a Council. I will take your response to Morinn and ask that she shares the statement with you to agree before making it.”



They give a deep bow, “I am sure your new role keeps you busy so I shan’t take any more of your time. If there is anything I can help with in future, please do let me know.” They give a signature Faye style wink before leaving.



They look out over the sea and the stars into the twilight. One down… many more to go.