46.3 Drifting Seeds

General Summary

Day 1049

We’re a day from the stump and river traffic is growing very congested, which is clearly unusual for the area judging from the angry shouting and general malaise settling across the water. No one seems to fully know what’s going on and everyone is heading downstream - no one is going against the current.   Ausha and I use our flying lens to get an aerial view of the traffic in this area, which at least lets us see the problem at hand: A blockade of black-hulled, black-sailed ships crewed by Soul-Rending Crocodiles and accompanied by enormous crocodiles in the water - large enough to tear apart smaller ships.   Occasionally, a ship will be allowed to pass through after handing over large bags of something…presumably a bribe. Occasionally a failed bribe results in a ship being sunk. Moreover, the blockade extends into the air with giant birds: Cloud-Piercing Rocs. Crocodiles and rocs have very little in common, and Skyen tells us it’s very unusual for them to be working together.   The strength present in the blockade is remarkable, but still not enough to dissuade me from engaging. Mistress, Lyssa, and I take flight to approach the line of ships, and are intercepted by a roc with a clearly commanding presence. The roc (a wizard) informs us that a treasure is being born by the stump and none are being permitted to pass, though he can clearly sense all of our power and is taking pause with it. It's a rare opportunity for me to be a little more pushy and intimidating than usual, and I em flush with the presence of my partners at my side. This roc gets to experience my most sinister, powerful presence as I remark that I'm here on fae business, and that the treasure is not important to me. Perhaps some of the 'lesser' fae in the area would be interested in it.   I can sense the fear and anxiety coming off of him, despite his carefully neutral face. After a little more posturing, he sends a messenger to confer with his commander and settles in awkwardly to wait with us. His emotional state is so repulsive in the combination of fear and...possessiveness towards Lyssa. His jealousy spikes as I kiss her shoulder and she makes a show of feeding me small appetizers while I arrange tea to host the roc commander who will inevitably come to have an audience with us. I imagine the spirit folk here must be able to sense something strange about her, and perhaps her heritage makes her particularly precious here.   When the messenger returns, it is to tell us that their commander wants us to meet at a neutral site, far from their army (which is downstream near the stump). This, I tell them, is unacceptable to me. We will meet here, because I don't want to worry our teachers by running off unattended. I love getting to see the gears turning in the roc's head as he wonders at who might be powerful enough to be teaching me.   Nevertheless, their commander does eventually arrive, soaring in through the comparatively small birds circling above. He is almost as large as Haze, and silvery-white in contrast to the other brown birds. As he takes on a humanoid form, his silvery feathers transition smoothly to ageless white hair. Clearly, he is an elder, but his face is smooth and he feels ageless, sharp, and focused. The fan he carries is a peer to Daybreaker in its strength, which does not surprise me. He is not quite my equal, but clearly a leader. Magically, he feels vast and majestic and I am reminded of the Zephyr magic I've encountered before.   Introductions are made, and he is General Jian Ming. Mistress, to my amusement, simply doesn't offer her name and elects to say that in these lands, I speak for her. I suppose she is no longer a Hand - she doesn't have an impersonal face name to offer this stranger.   To his credit, Jian Ming offers a lot of context even before I point out that I am here for the stump, not the treasure.  But as he tells us that the phenomenon has been manifesting for just over six months, I have to point out that it does sound like a fae treasure, and one that a cousin of mine might be using to communicate with me and my fellows. My mind goes to Artemisia, but it could just as well be Asphodeloideae...sisters, cousins, aunts. Whatever they are, it is no coincidence that something is being born here. Jian Ming seems to mull this over without malice as I probe at his emotional state. He, too, seems very aware of Lyssa but in a curious way, not as nefarious as the other roc who had been attending us.   Eventually he asks if he can show me the phenomenon and hear my thoughts on it. It is clear that he doesn't want to take me as an enemy, so I let him lead the group of us away from the River and deeper inland to the thing I have been expecting: An enormous stump rising 40 metres into the air. No other trees or wreckage surrounds it after all this time, but it sits at the midst of a whirling mass of radiant, holy magic. It feels like the grotto, and what I imagine Asphodeloideae's people would have felt like - light, hopeful, aspirational. And yet utterly unapproachable, even to me. Clearly it has not finished manifesting. Within the haze, many spirit folk sleep peacefully at various points. Crocodiles quite shallow, and a springbok the furthest in...50 metres into a 1000 metre fog of magic.   Arrayed around the landscape are several armies of varying organization. The rocs, of course, and the crocodiles. But several more mercenary groups as well, and the remains of at least three destroyed camps. Jian Ming tells us that people had started gathering here to worship, for the mist seems to be healing those within it, and then the crocodiles showed up to prevent anyone else from getting near. For now, the rocs have allied with the smaller groups to stand against the crocodiles with the expectation that no one else will approach until the phenomenon has abated.   I mention the juxtaposition of seeing the crocodile blockades near such magic - it brings to mind the fae of light and dark who once lived in their territory. I can see the flash of curiosity travel through our helpful roc companion: Apparently there are old rumours that the crocodiles have ancient fae magic.   As for the rocs, they have come here in hopes of offering the treasure as a gift to an old enemy. The spirit empire that was wiped out by the Firebird Empire also covered the home of the Cloud Piercing Rocs. Apparently their empress has woken and is waging war against his people again (not unfairly, he remarks) and attempts to talk with her have been met with brutality. I appreciate his quiet acceptance of the situation - even though generations have passed since her empire was destroyed, she holds rightful fury for the descendants of her enemies. And they have achieved enlightenment and steadiness by making their home where she once ruled, by exterminating many smaller clans of spirits.     Jian Ming hopes that offering the treasure might be the start of peace talks, because there seems to be no way they can stand against this spirit empress and her fae allies.