We reappeared in a large open field and I could see mountains in the distance. Empty F.I.Ts, equipment, crates of supplies, and people of various Races were everywhere and most of the latter seemed confused, upset, or both. It was still dark and the moon was high in the sky but it was so clear that I couldn’t count all of the visible stars, which was something that I wasn’t used to growing up in a large city. It wasn’t as cold as I had expected either, given what Mahair had told me about Varüus’kiel’s location while we were preparing to leave the Vancouver office. I did expect the night to be a very long one though, like at least a couple more months.

She had said that before it disappeared, along with everything else magical in nature, Varüus’kiel was a large island in the Greenland Sea between Greenland and Svalbard. It was untouched by man, overflowing with life, and the center of Danu’s power. Despite being in the Arctic Circle it was warm because it rested atop a caldera that produced a lot of geothermal heat and the mountains that surrounded it kept the interior of the island warm and protected from the storms beyond them.

There was a large variety of plant life in the interior of the island, some adapted to grow in the night months while the rest thrived during the daylight months. We would probably see a lot of animals too, including some not seen anywhere else on Earth. The reason that the island was untouched by explorers before it vanished was that Danu had cast a powerful enchantment upon it so that only those invited would be aware of its existence.

Those sailing past Varüus’kiel couldn’t see it, and if they were sailing to a destination on the other side or looking for new lands to conquer they would disappear on one side and reappear on the other with no memory of the incident. As for those who knew about the island but who had not been invited, or vessels hostile toward the island’s residents, they would find themselves returned to their point of origin if they got close to the island. It seemed a safe place for us to stay as long as Danu allowed us to.

Normally, I would probably be worried about all of that expensive equipment being outside and at the mercy of the elements but it was a clear night and I had other things on my mind at the moment. There was something that I needed to do, something that had been bothering me the whole time that we were getting people ready to go and tagging people and equipment for transport. I quickly cast a spell to locate my target and then I made my way through the crowds with my party mates following close behind.

“What’s up, Tae?” Rei asked, taking my hand in his own as we walked. Lissany quickly fell in step on my other side as Daenyss, Nishalle and the others followed behind.

“There’s something important that I need to do before Mahair decides to put me to work on other things,” I replied as I got my target in my sights. I purposely strode over to Hawkin, who took an uncertain step backward as my procession approached. “Hawkin… I owe you an apology. I was wrong to transform you the way I did, even if it was only temporary, and I hope that you can forgive me.”

Hawkin looked at the ground and shook his head. “You were right, I’m an asshole. I let feeling strong and confident for once go to my head and I needed a wake-up call.”

I tried to look Hawkin in the eyes as he raised his head again. My apology wouldn’t mean much to either of us if I couldn’t do that and I knew it. “That may be the case, but I acted in anger and that never really solves anything, it just makes more problems. Transforming you against your will was a violation and I feel ashamed of myself. It was just as bad as what my Mahair has done to all the players of Apocalypse Dawn. I was trying to make a point, but I think that the point that I did make is that it’s easy to abuse power, and I don’t want to be that person. I am truly sorry for changing you like I did.”

“You did change me back, and even a blind man could see that you feel terrible about it, so we’re good,” he said giving me a weak smile. “I guess we both have some things to work on and think about and it’s kind of nice to know that you have flaws and make mistakes just like the rest of us. Part of what pissed me off about you is that everyone thought you were so damn perfect in the game.”

“Well, I think that I’ve proven that’s not the case,” I replied, emitting an unladylike snort. “And maybe you’re not such an asshole after all.”

He actually laughed, and for once it didn’t sound derisive. “Nah, I’m an asshole, but I’m working on it because that’s not who I used to be, or what I want to be. When I figure out what that is, I’ll want another go in the F.I.T.”

“If I have any say in it, then you’ll be at the top of the list,” I promised. “It’s the least I can do to make up for what I did. I’ll see you around, Hawkin. I need to go take care of something else now, but I thought that it was important I apologize to you first.”

As we turned and went off in search of my Fae parents Rei leaned over to kiss me and whispered proudly, “That’s the person I know and love. I’m proud of you, Babe.”

The others were speaking too, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying as another voice echoed inside my head, demanding my attention. ~You apologized? To him, of all people? Queens of the Courts do not apologize. You know this, Taelya.~ It was the voice from earlier, the one that told me that we needed to come to Varüus’kiel, and I had a pretty good feeling that I knew exactly who that soothing voice belonged to. This was good though, it meant that I wouldn’t have to talk to my Mahair or Pájar about how to speak with her so I could give her a piece of my mind.

I focused my thoughts on the voice and its owner. ~Danu, right? Maybe I’m not ready to be a Queen then, maybe I never will be. When a person makes a mistake they should own up to it and try to make it right, especially someone in a leadership position. Otherwise, what kind of example are we setting for those who follow us? What kind of image do we present to those who don’t? I refuse to go down that road. I’ll hold myself accountable, even if no one else will, and I’ll do my best to never make that same mistake again.~

~Do you truly believe that, my child?~ Her voice sounded more pleased and amused than curious.

~Yes. Which is why you have either a lot of apologizing or explaining to do. Probably both,~ I snapped. ~Almost everyone is pissed at Mahair and the other Queens right now to some degree. I was a little pissed at her and a lot pissed at my Pájar, but I also know enough to suspect that they were following orders. Your orders. Mahair’s visions that brought her to this point, don’t tell me those didn’t come from you. You’re the Goddess of Magick and you created the Veil so I imagine it wouldn’t be hard for you to work around it. Pájar’s ‘realization’ that Mahair was missing something important, that probably came from you too.~

She didn’t even bother to deny it. ~Yes, I guided both of them.~

~What the hell were you thinking?! Are we just pieces on a chessboard to you?! You conspired to change a thousand people against our will! I’m trying to roll with this because I’m happy for once in my life, but I’m not even sure if I really am happy with who I am, or if you were just messing with our minds that much!~ I threw every bit of anger and confusion that I was feeling into my words.

There was a breeze through my mind that had the feel of an exasperated sigh. ~Perhaps some mathematics would explain things. Is one thousand people changed against their will but given a chance to survive and maybe an opportunity for true happiness greater, equal, or less than over seven billion lives wiped out in an instant? ~

~I…~ Wait, what the hell was that supposed to mean?

~ While you are trying to solve that, think about this as well. Your happiness is genuine and any changes in you or your friends as people are because the form, knowledge, and memories that you now possess have changed your perspective. People can’t see souls like we gods can so, while I can be assured that your soul hasn’t changed, mortals will treat you by what their senses tell them. They hear, see, smell, and feel a young Yseil'dhraí woman so they will treat you as such according to their personalities, and the way people treat you affects how you see yourself and the world around you. Even just the knowledge alone, without a change of form, would have changed you to some degree because growth and change are a part of learning.~ She explained slowly and patiently, like one would to a small child. I guess I was compared to Her though.

~So how much have our brains been played with?~ I pressed, needing to be certain.

~It depends on the extent of your physical changes. Everyone was given new skills and abilities, but you were all cautioned that those could carry over to real life in the contracts that you signed before entering the simulation. Other than that, only those who changed gender, species, or both had any mental conditioning or memory placement, and only enough to make you comfortable in your new forms. The vast majority of those who remained Humans had no mental conditioning or memory implantation at all. I like to think that if you were ‘brainwashed’, as many of you seem to suspect, then all of you would be working together as was intended rather than acting like obstinate children. And you, my child, would show more respect and reverence to your Goddess and the mother of your people.~ Despite Her words, Her tone wasn’t angry or frustrated but possessed a calm patience with a little bit of teasing toward the end.

That was when the full scope of my stupidity hit me. I just lost my temper with a Goddess. Not just any Goddess either, but the creator of the Fae, my own patron Goddess, and one who was powerful enough to create a veil to contain all of the other Gods and magical creatures for close to four hundred years. ~I apologize, Great Mother, but since our minds were being affected it was a legitimate concern.~

~I would not take your free will from you, nor allow it to be taken,~ Danu explained. ~We gods gave the sentient Races free will for a reason and it goes against our laws to take it away, no matter how much some of us might like to at times. Worship and loyalty mean nothing if they do not come from the heart. I will not break that law, though I will have to bend another, and I will be sanctioned for it.~

~You will see soon enough,~ She responded as I felt Her presence leave my mind.

“Tae? C’mon, snap out of it, Babe!” Rei’s voice brought me back to the world around me as I opened my eyes to see him and everyone else in my party looking at me in concern as my fiancé gently shook me.

“Sorry everyone, I was having a chat with Danu,” I told my friends as I shook my head to clear it.

Well, it looked like you were spacing out to us,” Rob said with a sigh of relief.

“Wait, you spoke directly with the Great Mother?!” Kinara asked, staring at me open-mouthed.

“Yeah, it was no big deal,” I said, trying to make light of it. After all, if she had directed my Mahair and Pájar then it was probably a common occurrence among the Yseil'dhraí. “She seemed amused that I would apologize to Hawkin so while I had her attention I gave her a piece of my mind about the whole transforming us without consent thing. She explained some things and was pretty cool about me losing my temper, but she said some things that have me concerned too.”

Kinara though seemed to disagree as she shook her head so fast that I imagined it might pop off. “Taelya, talking directly to the Great Mother is a very big deal! Yseil'dhraí can sometimes get emotions, thoughts, or visions from Her to guide us but nobody has actually had personal two-way communication with Her since the Four!”

“Maybe it’s because I’m a prodigy and we’re so close to her center of power,” I suggested, a little uncomfortable with being singled out like that.

“That’s why we come here to hold Councils, but I still haven’t heard of anything like that before. We need to report this to the Queens,” the Summer Court Yseil'dhraí insisted.

As we made our way through the crowds of people and F.I.Ts in search of my Mahair I told the others about Rhaennan, my connection to her, and everything else that I thought important. Nishalle was as floored over the revelations about our father as I had been and she had made no secret that she was pissed about our mother not even being willing to hear him out before casting him out of our lives as she had. Though she was glad to have Amoiraishe’s comment about us having the royal bloodline explained.

We had changed into our combat gear and the others formed a protective circle around me and Kinara as we walked. We were getting attention from the former players by having two Yseil'dhraí in our group, and it wasn’t the good kind of attention either. It seemed like a lot of those who were angry about their transformations were blaming Yseil'dhraí in general, forgetting that some of us had been players just like them. We had ten people surrounding us though and after the first hostile glares I had mounted Ghost and pulled Kinara up to join me. Thankfully, between Ghost, Lissany, Nishalle, Rob, and Pete, and the fact that we were all fully geared, nobody was willing to screw with us.

Kinara and I weren’t the only ones getting attention either. A lot of people recognized Robyn without her glamour on and most of the Kitsunes we passed stopped to stare at Rei, or rather his snow-white ears and tails. Our Wisps and their colored glows were also garnering attention on a night where we had little but the full moon and Kitsune ghost-lights to see by. I saw some other Wisps among players from other servers, but not many. Eventually, we made our way to a large gathering of Fae, including my Mahair and Yseil'dhraí from all three of the other Courts as well.

Narek was standing next to Mahair holding a crying little white-haired Yseil'dhraí girl in his arms, a girl whose Danann’syr marked her as Queen of the Winter Court. Seeing those markings on her forehead as she looked over his shoulder at me and my retinue with teary blue eyes helped me to figure out pretty damn quickly why everyone was looking so grim, Queen Seshaire was dead. I didn’t know whether I should mourn the loss of a grandmother that I didn’t even know, be relieved that I wasn’t the next queen, or feel sympathetic for all the pressure that was going to fall squarely on the shoulders of a three-year-old.

I quickly dismounted and made my way toward the gathering with Kinara following right behind. Everyone was so quiet, except for the bawling little girl and Narek looked crushed as he tried to console her. Mahair watched me approach and nodded her head sadly at my unasked question and said in a low whisper, “Sasha didn’t have the time to wake everyone in the New York office properly and ended up moving everything and everyone by herself. She got all of it here, but she was already sick and the strain was too much for her.”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t get the chance to get to know her,” I said honestly. “It sounds like she was a strong woman who cared about the people of her Court.”

“She was, and she was as stubborn as you and your Mahair put together,” Narek said with a sigh as he approached. “We will hold off on her mourning ceremony until things are settled down. Tíana, my little snowflake, this is your sister, Princess Taelya of the Autumn Court and one of her apprentices, Countess Kinara of the Summer Court.”

I tried to smile and seem friendly because with everything that was going on I didn’t even want to think about how confused and upset that little girl would be. She needed someone to tell her it would all be okay and put her mind at ease. “It’s nice to meet you Tíana, everything is pretty confusing and upsetting right now, isn’t it? But family and friends can help make things better. I know that our Sha’mahair is gone but you still have our Pájar and…” Narek shook his head and I realized that this girl didn’t even have a mother. Who was watching her in the game while Narek was with us on Autumn Server?

~Seshaire was watching over young Tíana outside the simulation when your father left to join the Autumn Server. Her mother was killed by Humans before I erected the Veil. She will need someone to train her how to use her magick when she comes of age, and how to be a good Queen,~ Danu’s voice explained before her presence disappeared from my mind as quickly as it came.

I quickly finished my aborted sentence with, “… and now you have me too. And I have another sister and lots of very good friends that are like family, would you like to meet them sometime?” Yes, my friends were not far away, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her at the moment, especially when she was acting a bit shy and there were other matters to attend to. Tíana nodded quickly and then buried her face in Narek’s shoulder. Narek seemed pleased, but I had done it for her and not him.

Kinara and I were quickly introduced to the other Yseil'dhraí, including Sahnae’s mother, Queen Anatha of the Spring Court, and Queen Qwenyth of the Summer Court. I could see the family resemblance immediately between Sahnae, her older sister, and her mother even without the green hair and silver eyes. Qwenyth was a stunning beauty with deep brown eyes and bright fuchsia-colored hair rather than the lighter cotton candy color that Kinara sported. It was Qwenyth who asked, “What is the mood like out there?”

“It’s mixed,” I replied with a shrug. “Some are happy with who they’ve become and others feel violated and they understandably blame the Yseil'dhraí. I’m worried about any of us out in that crowd on their own, Kinara and I made it through because our party was with us, and we had Ghost too. I know why you did all this, and I know who is ultimately responsible, but most of those people out there don’t and they see all Yseil'dhraí as the bad guys, whether we were born that way or not. Once we have those who want to change back to their old selves or to other forms changed, we cannot allow the F.I.Ts to be used without full knowledge and consent again. We could probably get people with gender dysphoria, disabilities, or terminal diseases to sign up eagerly enough if we still need to increase our numbers.”

All three of the adult queens nodded somberly. “We will also need to find the other Fae and other non-Humans who will have appeared when the Veil fell and bring them to safety until we can find a place for ourselves long-term. This is Danu’s domain and only the invited can come here, or remain,” Anatha said with a sigh.

“Well some governments are making it easy for us, putting them all in one place,” I said as I thought about what Mahair had said about camps. “Could we send out a summons for them? Maybe if we used Nature’s Call and sent out a message to let them know where we are and to join us and bring any other non-Humans. The magick users among them would be able to bring those with them who can’t use magick.”

“That could work,” my Mahair agreed, “if we all work together.”

There were only nine Yseil'dhraí women among us who could use Nature’s call, with seven of us being from the Spring and Summer Courts. Since we would all be leaving our bodies defenseless while we concentrated on our work we would be counting on those loyal to us to protect us if any of the hostile former players made a move. I was hoping that it wouldn’t come to that, but I didn’t always get what I wanted and we felt it best to be prepared until we could call in more Fae and other allies.

It wasn’t going to be easy to send out this message so Sahnae’s elder sister Laneera was going to concentrate on the message and spreading it as far across the globe as she could while the rest of us boosted the signal, so to speak. Aside from Laneera, I had the hardest job though. The Fae would be able to sense the presence of the Queens of their Courts, but the Winter Court’s new Queen was only three and probably wouldn’t be able to use Nature’s Call for a century or two and couldn’t even use magick yet. So we would be counting on my raw power and Winter Court blood to try and pick up the slack while I held Tíana in my lap.

“Okay, Tíana, we’re all going to close our eyes and think really hard about the Fae from our Courts, can you hold on to my hands and think really hard about the Fae from the Winter Court for me?” I asked my new little sister carefully, trying to exude confidence and reassurance. “I know that you’re still small, but I’m right here with you and together we can do big things.”

“Uh-huh, Taya,” she replied as she looked back at me and her little face scrunched up in determination. I tried to keep myself centered and not get all gooey-hearted as I closed my eyes and felt her tiny hands grip my thumbs.

I felt out for the world around me and all of its mana with my mind. This island was teeming with mana, filled with living creatures, and it was pretty big too. Beyond the vast open field where we had all appeared, I sensed rolling hills, forests, and more beyond what I could sense as I tried to focus my mind on Tíana and the Fae of the Winter Court as I poured as much power as I could into Laneera, who was forming the message and acting as our relay. Finally, I could sense Laneera’s message in my mind. “Fae of the Four Courts. We await you on Varüus’kiel, come when you can and bring what allies you can from the other Races.”

We continued to focus on our task until we felt Laneera beginning to tire. It was a lot that we had been placing on her shoulders but other than the Queens and myself, who needed to focus on the respective Courts, she was the most powerful Magus and Nature’s Call user amongst us. “Good job Tíana, I think they heard us,” I told the little one in my lap tiredly. As a reward for her hard work, I gently placed Willow in her lap and moved them both gently to the ground beside me so they could play while I recharged my energy. Both my Wisp and my sister seemed to be thrilled by this development.

“We will know soon,” Narek said. “Those who heard the call will come as soon as they are able. We still need to worry about those of us here though. It’s late and we’ll need to figure out what we’re going to do about shelter and food for the morning. We should have enough supplies to last a few days but there are a lot of us to feed and shelter, probably more arriving soon, and nothing has been prepared like with the Sanctuaries.”

“And we don’t know how long Danu expects us to stay here, this could be only temporary and we may not be welcome here for long,” Qwenyth added.

“Maybe we should ask Her then,” I suggested. “That’s kinda why Kinara and I came to find you all before we got sidetracked earlier. I had a conversation with Danu earlier, like an actual both of us exchanging words conversation, and She has spoken to me a few other times too.”

Every Fae within speaking distance was suddenly staring at me, making me very uncomfortable. There was a lot of muttering over the possible meanings of this, but nothing really constructive before we were interrupted by some of the Winter Court F.I.T attendants coming to inform their new Queen and Narek that all of the occupants of those F.I.Ts were now awake and getting equipped from their lockers. I didn’t even want to think about how much power that Queen Seshaire had used to move everything of value from the New York Branch. That could have killed a healthy Fae.

With that, our discussion was over as Mahair decided that it would be the best time for her to get up to address the people. She quickly hopped up onto a stack of crates and cast a light spell to get everyone’s attention. “Attention everyone!” Once she had their attention she continued speaking, delivering her news in a no-nonsense way. “Things haven’t exactly gone as we originally planned and we are currently on the island of Varüus’kiel, the center of power for the Goddess Danu. We have enough food and supplies to last a few days and we plan on returning those of you who wish it to your original forms…”

Mahair was cut short as her light spell and every other form of magical illumination suddenly went dark. The only source of light was the full moon peeking through the clouds as a large snapping sound rang out through the meadow and then a familiar feminine voice called out loud and clear, “No need to worry about that, my child. All of those who truly wished to be changed back to their original forms have been, just as you promised.”

Thank God…dess for my night vision. Several people within my sight had changed before my eyes and everybody seemed frozen in place except for the Yseil'dhraí but even we had our eyes suddenly riveted to where the beam of moonlight touched the ground, and the figure standing in that light. She looked human, though she was tall with milky white skin and her black hair and violet eyes seemed to glow with their own light. She was dressed in a gossamer-thin white gown and the power coming off of her was insane, the very air seemed to vibrate with it. “I know all of you, and some of you know me, but all of us are meeting for the first time so let me start by introducing myself. Welcome to my domain, I am Danu.”

She looked around smiling warmly at everyone. “Now, my fellow gods are going to be very unhappy that I have shown myself to you and they are going to want to punish me for this, but we’re in my domain so I’m not breaking the rule, only bending it a bit. Oh good, no interruptions, this will make things go along a bit faster, so thank you for that.” Why was she thanking everyone? She had to know full well that the sheer amount of power that was oozing out of Her had almost every single person here paralyzed with fear and awe.

“Many of you have blamed my children, the Fae, for the situation that you now find yourselves in and for your change of form. Some of you even think that you may have been brainwashed. I would not have allowed anything that would have taken away your free will, which would go against one of the gods’ most sacred laws. If you must blame someone for your situation, blame me. I guided my children and am solely responsible for all of you being where and who you are now,” She said.

Then looking right at me, Danu smiled and added, “One of my children seems to think that when someone makes mistakes that they should own up to them and apologize. I do not see this as a mistake, but many of you have been hurt by my machinations and for that, I am truly sorry. I am not sorry that you are here though and please know that your brief suffering has not been for nothing. I have been waiting for this a long time, guiding events to this moment where I stand in front of all of you.”

“You see,” the Goddess continued with a long-suffering sigh, “the gods are weary of mankind and have been for some time. Humans no longer worship the old gods; the ones who brought them into being, who gave them free will, and who taught and nurtured them in their infancy. We are relegated to myths and history books, if that, while many of you worship no gods and many others worship figures and books of fiction written by men. Even many of you who worship these false gods do less out of belief than for your own self-aggrandizement or to feel superior to and persecute others.”

Danu shook her head sadly as She surveyed the people around Her. “Most of the gods wish to wipe the slate clean, to be done with humans and start again with creatures who might appreciate the gifts that they have been given and respect the natural world. This cannot be done without a unanimous vote of all the gods, and I am one of a small group of gods that believe that mankind can be redeemed. We believe that you can live and work in peace and harmony with nature and your fellow sentient races.”

I looked around and nobody had moved a muscle, but then we were mostly a captive audience, held in place by the power radiating from Her as She spoke. “I have searched through the myriad futures of this world and only futures branching out from all of us standing here now show the survival of all the races assembled here. In many futures, the Fae and other non-human races are exterminated by humans who are then in turn exterminated by the gods. In some, the gods wipe out humankind and start over as they intend, leaving only small pockets of the Fae and other races.”

“Nearly four hundred years ago I prevented my fellow gods from doing this and saved my children from the butchery of humans by creating the Veil and sealing myself, the other gods, and all creatures of magick within. Now the Veil is gone and the other gods are attempting to start where they left off, causing disasters, diseases, and increasing the numbers of monsters in an attempt to wipe you out so they can begin again. For all of your species to survive, and to restore balance to your world, you must begin to work together. You can no longer remain divided,” the Goddess insisted.

She turned then to look at me and the gathered Queens and the Fae gathered around us. “This goes for my children as well. Each of your Courts is faithful to your sworn duty but you each have your own way of doing things. That is fine, but you need to be loyal to the Fae as a whole as well as your Courts and you need someone who cares about all living peoples equally to show you your new path and forge the alliances that will ensure your survival. With that in mind, I have a gift for everyone here, a guiding light to ensure your future. Taelya nír Keshwaindyr, please step forward, my child.”

I stared at Danu for a moment, unsure of what She was up to and why She would single me out all of a sudden. Finding that I could move though I thought it wise to do as She commanded. Pissing off your patron Goddess is generally considered a bad idea, after all. So I got to my feet and once I was within arm's reach I knelt before Her to ask, “Ummm… yes, Great Mother?”

“You told me earlier that you are not ready to be a Queen, and that is true, you are ready to be much more than that. You are the One, Empress of all Fae and the island of Varüus’kiel. The Queens shall still manage their Courts and command their armies, but all will be united as one people under your guidance. Until you have trained your sister to be a proper Queen for her Court, your father Narek will remain Warden of the Winter Court in her place. My children, show Taelya the love and devotion that you would me and learn from her, I entrust the future to you and all of those gathered here. Show them the way, my child.” With that, She held out Her hand and touched my Danann’syr and I could feel a tingling rush through my whole body and a surge of power like I had drunk an entire beer keg filled with cappuccino or maybe touched a few dozen live wires.

I could feel the mana around me better than I could before and this island wasn’t just big, it was vast, easily the size of a small country. I could sense every inch of it, to the mountains that encircled us and the sea beyond and it was all brimming with life and mana. Then it all dialed back down to the point where I didn’t feel like I was going to go insane from too much input and I opened my eyes to find that Danu was gone and everyone was standing around me staring. Well, except for the Fae and my friends, who were all kneeling. I tried to ignore all of that as I got to my feet once more and shook my head to clear it, wondering if maybe I’d just had some wacky dream.

“Tae, are you okay?” Rei asked in concern.

“Is there anything we can do to help? Holy shit, did you feel her power? It was terrifying, and you, I thought that you were powerful before,” Venika chimed in, sounding just as worried.

I tried to give them a reassuring smile and it wasn’t hard since I actually felt really good and energetic at that moment. “Language Venika,” I teased before nodding. “I think I’m okay. Please tell me I just dreamed that though.”

“You wish, Empress,” Nishalle said with a smirk, causing me to frown and groan.

“Umm… Your Highness, err… Your Imperial Majesty. I hate to be the one to break this to you, but you look different. I mean you still look like you, but your hair, eyes, and your Danann’syr have all changed,” Lissany said, stumbling over her words.

“Here, Mistress, you should probably have a look at yourself,” Daenyss offered, producing a hand mirror.

Holy crap, I looked like Danu, sort of. I still looked like Taelya mostly, the same face and pointed ears and such but my once bright red hair was now raven black, my golden eyes had turned a bright violet color, and both were the only things aside from the Wisps and moonlight providing any light in the meadow. My eyes seemed to glow the same violet as my irises but my night-black hair gave off this silvery light.

My Danann’syr had changed as well to show the Fae sigil for Danu surrounded by and connected to the sigils of each of the Four Courts. I liked the look of the Danann’syr, it represented unity to me, but I was never going to be able to go out at night again without attracting attention. At least I wouldn’t have to turn on a light to find my way to the bathroom. ~Geeze, thanks a lot, Great Mother,~ I grumbled sarcastically in my mind.

~You’re welcome, my child,~ Danu teased back. ~You have the easy part though. Do you realize how much effort it took to have an island roughly the size of Iceland reappear in the middle of the Greenland Sea without creating tsunamis or, at the very least, a significantly higher sea level that would cause flooding in coastal regions? My cohorts and I had to relocate so much water to the arctic while I was doing it. Now, my allies and I must try to thwart the plans of the other gods until you can all prove yourselves. We both have a lot of work ahead of us.~

~I don’t know if I can do what You’re asking, it’s a lot to place on the shoulders of one person,~ I said uncertainly as I thought about how the governments of the world were going to react to us amidst all of the other chaos going on out there.

~You don’t have to do it all on your own, my sweet child,~ Danu’s voice gently told me. ~You have your friends and your people to help you and together you will find more allies. Do your best and try to make the future what you wish it to be, and I am sure that you will do fine. I’ll be watching you.~