The Goblin and the Empire

by JD Cole

  “That is very… irregular, Lumina.” The guards looked the sprites over, who each returned the cautious, curious gaze. The last time humans had any interactions with sprites, the two peoples had been at war.

  “Brevha’s visit concerns a grave danger to both the humans and the sprites,” Lumina replied. “Please, take us to the Dominion at once.”

  ~

  The Dominion had already begun assembling in their hearing chamber when it was first reported that sprites had been spotted at the border. It would have taken a twenty-minute walk just to reach the edge of the city from where Lumina’s group had been met by the Paladins, so Brevha asked for, and received, permission to open another gate in front of Tirapan’s tallest tower. There, met by heavily armed Paladins, they rode the elevator to the very top, and Lumina noted that while the sprites were impressed with his city’s architecture and the speed with which the elevator carried them, they kept their composure well.

  Lumina, and the rest of the humans here, knew that while mystics could easily scrye this city to keep an eye on the Paladins, the treaty crafted so long ago gave assurances of human privacy. Such was sprite reputation that the humans never once considered that Windham had ever spied on Tirapan. This truly was the first time any sprite had ever experienced Tirapan’s technology since the war with Sen’giza ended more than ten thousand years ago.

  The elevator opened to reveal a glass floor with marble walls, doors equipped with electronic sensors to slide them open when the appropriate input was received, and a ceiling that seemed to be one large light source. The sprites blinked as they realized there was water under the floor, and even fish. At the end of the hall, the large, double oak doors that led to a waiting area opened, but the Dominion summoned them in right away, through a similar set of doors on the opposite end of the circular waiting room.

  The hearing chamber was a modest room, again circular in shape, and the Dominion members were all seated in boxes arranged on the wall high above the ground where Lumina and the sprites stood.

  “Deschin Moniscii,” the Dominion Elder called. Seated higher than the others, he stood and bowed respectfully. “We are honored to meet you. I hope you find us to be worthy stewards of the land your people so generously granted to us all those generations ago.”

  Brevha bowed. “We find your city as beautiful as it is exotic. I thank you for your hospitality, considering I arrived without formal invitation.”

  “Lumina is becoming known for such informalities,” he replied, then looked down to address the wayward scholar. “Lumina Ja’Gracin. You have always been unorthodox, but I sense you bring bigger news today than the last time we saw you.”

  “Grave news, unfortunately.” Lumina looked around at the Dominion members. “I fear by my actions, Tirapan is now at war with the Shadowlands.”

  A loud murmur arose at that claim, and Lumina looked down, folding his hands behind his back and waiting for them to calm.

  “Explain yourself!” one member shouted.

  “What have you done?” yelled another.

  The elder raised his hand for silence. “Lumina, you set out a month ago with a quartet of elves to rescue who they claimed was the new Sprite Queen. What happened?”

  Lumina nodded. The sprites did not know he had already made radio reports on the matter. More accurately, he didn’t think they knew. He made another abbreviated report now on that assumption, recapping his journey beyond the Ythsimerin with the elves, the skirmishes with both humans and the Chek’than, the meeting with Krin Ahgl, and finally the return to Windham Castle, where he had been for the last several weeks.

  “How do the goblins factor into any of that?” asked another member. Lumina hadn’t had the time or privacy to radio ahead before bringing the sprites in.

  Brevha placed a fair hand on Lumina’s shoulder, looking up at the Dominion head. “Elder, might I be allowed to address you on this matter?”

  “Of course,” the elder replied, motioning for her to step forward.

  The sprye cleared her throat. “First, I would like to state, officially, that the Sprite Kingdom owes you a debt of gratitude, and most especially to this Paladin, Lumina. His aid was invaluable in rescuing our new queen not once, but twice.

  “Ercianodhon has discovered that the Birthright is reborn. We have forces at this very moment laying siege to Matari. As Lumina explained to you, it was an effort to distract him and hide the existence of the queen, but our ploy has failed. The king, in his insanity, broke through our defenses mere hours ago at Windham and attacked the queen-”

  Another murmur, subdued this time, began at this revelation.

  “Many fae perished,” she admitted, her eyes closed to hold back her tears. It only took a moment for her to compose herself. “And had it not been for Lumina,” she continued, “the queen would be among them, sacrificed to Ercianodhon’s hatred.” She gestured at Lumina. “He alone stood against the Goblin King, fought him hand to hand, and held him at bay long enough for reinforcements to arrive.”

  Eyes widened and heads slowly nodded upon hearing this.

  “As Lumina says,” Brevha went on, “The king will now see your people as being at war with him. But I ask that you not blame Lumina for this. As far as the sprites are concerned, he is a hero of the Crown. Further, I have discussed this at great length with the mystic council and royal families. Should Ercianodhon turn his attention to Tirapan in retaliation for Lumina’s actions…”

  Brevha took a deep breath. “The armies of the Sprite Kingdoms will mobilize on your behalf.”

  Heads went dizzy, including Lumina’s. Brevha had committed aid from not just the sprites, but elves, gnomes, dwarves, merfolk, vampyres, wolves, kathet… all of the nations who acknowledged the sprite crown.

  “But… but the treaty?” the elder protested.

  “The treaty is still in effect,” Brevha clarified. Humans and faeries would remain segregated societies. “But the only reason the Goblin King would attack you now is because one of your people saved our queen from his rage. We will not repay Lumina’s heroism by allowing his people to suffer.”

  “It is possible,” Lumina broke in, still trying to believe all he had just heard, “that the king will not retaliate. I hope we do not need to see your offer realized, Deschin.” He shook his head clear. “There is another matter, elder. During the attack, the king managed to capture Queen Kelli’s father. I have pledged to help retrieve him. The queen’s royal counselor insists that the king will use her father to continue his assault from the safety of his castle using necromancy. My actions earlier will be pointless if I leave her to be tortured to death now.”

  All of the members nodded in agreement as they looked around at each other. The Dominion seemed energized with purpose after all that Brevha told them.

  “We will of course help you in any way we can to recover the father of the queen,” the elder finally said, after confirming the mood of his fellow Dominion members, or Doma. He nodded to one of the Doma, who silently excused himself, then the elder sighed deeply. “I will be grateful to see the aid you promised, Deschin. If Lumina did not get the king’s attention before, what we are about to do certainly will.”

  Brevha nodded. Sprites knew full well what Paladins were capable of. She had even heard they could destroy mountains if provoked, and while she thought that an exaggeration, she did not dismiss the notion outright. The humans were not to be taken lightly in battle, but the terms of the treaty purposefully kept their population number low. Unlike sprites or mystics, humans multiplied quickly if left to nature, quicker even than elves or merfolk, the most populous of the faeries.

  The treaty mandated that humans not populate more than could be sustained on their given lands of Tirapan, which had created a culture in the human city of strict birth control laws based on abstinence coupled with genetic tailoring. The abstinence ensured the necessary low birth rates as well as the focused discipline prized among Paladins, and the approved genetic controls allowed for
the healthiest possible offspring to authorized parents.

  Were they to be drawn into a goblin war now without the Sprite Kingdoms’ help, Tirapan would likely be overwhelmed and annihilated. Brevha could not imagine several hundred humans overcoming hundreds of hordes of irenaks, vampyres, and trolls, bolstered by tens of thousands of undead goblins. Still, she noted that there did not seem to be much fear emanating from these humans at the prospect of confronting Ercianodhon. Even the concern on the elder’s face was less than she would have expected. And now that she considered it, he almost seemed to be worried about something other than the Goblin King.

  “We have other allies,” Lumina stated. “One in particular, I think you will want to meet. A youth named Derek Hawkins.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  “No! No, no, no, no. A thousand times, NO!”

  “This is directly from the Elder, Bartley.”

  Bartley Ja’Hellett looked over his shoulder at Myo Ja’Non, the aged Doma who had drawn his ire. “They are still in conference right now?”

  “As far as I know,” Myo replied. “The sprye is even talking of alliances.”

  Bartley shook his head, returning his attention to his computer. “I have actual work to do, Doma. Chek’than are searching for us, from deep space, remember? One of them found us already, and more are coming! You cannot pull my team off this project to go and harass some faery.”

  “Harass? We are talking about war with the Goblin King!”

  “So you have told me. I am not impressed.” Bartley stood and walked over to the window, pointing outside at a large vehicle resting on a concrete pad. “Do you see that Ripwinger? Fill it up with gravity bombs, drop them on his castle. I have just solved your problem. Leave my people alone, this research is too important. Sen’giza has been dormant for ten thousand years, and getting it operational -if that is even possible!- is going to take every second of study and development time we can muster.”

  “Bombs will not work, and you know it, Bartley. You cannot kill him, and any faeries you do kill just turn into goblins. Lumina has already involved-”

  “Ah, Lumina, my old proctern. See! You have a genuine scholar to aid your efforts, you do not need me. He taught me everything I know, so-”

  “It is a rescue mission, Bartley.”

  “Who?”

  “The Sprite Queen’s father.”

  Bartley didn’t turn around, but spread his hands in a frustrated gesture. “And… why are we helping the sprites?”

  “Because their queen is jimani. Her bloodline traces back to Taromus Ja’Hassin and Arii Moniscii.”

  Bartley did turn now. “A human? Inherited the Birthright?”

  “Lumina told us a few weeks ago. That is why he went through the Ythsimerin.”

  “I thought he went to investigate that Chek’than?”

  “It was kept secret by the Dominion. The Chek’than kidnapped that girl, who did not know what she was or what she had. Lumina helped rescue her.”

  “So the Chek’than was not damaged from a battle prior to arriving here, like you said earlier?”

  Myo shook his head. “It was a fully-functioning exin-class shock trooper. The new Sprite Queen defeated it, and spent a month in recovery for her efforts.”

  Bartley’s expression darkened. “I knew it was unlikely that Lumina just ‘happened’ to stumble on the crash site.”

  Myo nodded. “The Chek’than found Sen’giza and was using it as an operational base, and kept the queen prisoner inside it.”

  “Found it... or had been onboard it this whole time, in some kind of stasis?” Bartley stood silent for several moments, then turned back to his work station. “Even more reason to keep our focus on this research, if the Chek’than know about faeries and magic-”

  “Lumina thinks he found something else out there you might be interested in…”

  “What would that be?” Bartley asked, swiping through charts and notes on his screen.

  “A Khorev.”

  Bartley’s hand stopped in mid-swipe, and the Doma turned to leave, smiling. “Of course, I understand you are busy, so I will just tell the elder your team cannot participate-”

  “Get back here, old man! What about this Khorev? Is it a man or a woman? And where are they? Myo!” Bartley leapt from his desk and followed Myo out the door.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  “The stone should allow you to maintain the shi’un for several days, if necessary,” Dufangen said. “Do not forget to weave the necessary changes I spoke of. We want this shi’un to minimize thoughts of Tom Ingram while the Queen heals.”

  Sorvir nodded and reached out to receive the enchantment from the mystic. Dufangen turned to regard the human women, enacting her language spell. “We will do everything we can to rescue Tom. I’m afraid there is nothing you can do but wait. However, this spell will enable you to wait with the Queen in a dream world.”

  “What do you mean, dream world?” Vanessa asked.

  “It’s like that thing me and Devon did, right?” Kim chimed in. “That trial thing for Kelli?”

  Dufangen nodded. “It is similar, but you will not be living out a different life. You will still be yourself, but in a more peaceful setting, something the Queen will find relaxing and comforting.” She looked at Vanessa. “Perhaps even at your home back in the human world.”

  “I think I’ll pass,” Kim said. “Maybe if Devon was here. But since I’m back in the faery realm, I should probably do something productive and try to learn about how the werewolves and vampires crossed over from your world into mine. Do you have any like, historians or something here I could talk to about stuff like that?”

  “I’d like to learn more about Dragons, myself,” Erica admitted. “Considering I’m married to one, I mean.”

  “I’d like to be with Kelli,” Vanessa said.

  “Do you want us to stay?” Erica asked.

  Vanessa shook her head. “It’s okay. You guys do what you feel you need to.”

  “We do have historians,” Dufangen said, “if that is how you would prefer to spend your time. Once Sorvir initiates the shi’un, though, you will not be able join it.”

  Kim and Erica nodded to each other, then Erica looked at Dufangen. “There’s a lot we have to learn about our guys.”

  “And the nightfangs that were spying on them,” Kim added.

  ~

  “Greetings, Lady Erica, Lady Kim. My name is Yennis Girwey.”

  Erica and Kim looked up at the willowy sprite, his bright amber eyes friendly and warm. “H-hi,” Erica replied.

  The sprite, dressed in robes of subdued colors that spoke of academic seniority, gestured them into his office. It was of modest size, his desk in one corner, a bench against the opposite wall, and numerous shelves stocked with books and scrolls all around.

  Yennis sat at his desk. “So,” he began, “I understand you wish to learn about the Dragons? Not many choose to delve into that topic.”

  “Why’zzat?” Kim asked, taking a seat on the bench. Erica joined her there.

  “The Dragons are worshiped by most faeries, and even those of us who do not worship them, well, we still have enormous respect for them. It is generally believed that if a Dragon wants something known about themselves, they will reveal it. Most of what we have recorded is from events where Dragons were present. There are not many volumes written specifically about Dragons, mainly because it is deemed disrespectful to study them.”

  “Oh, well, I mean, we’re not trying to be disrespectful,” Erica said. “But, I never even knew faeries existed until recently, when I learned my husband and his brothers were all Dragons.”

  “Of course,” Yennis agreed. “I am familiar with the tale of the Steward’s Guardian, and it pleases me to meet individuals who have become a part of that story. But I imagine it has not been easy for you to process, intellectually or emotionally.” He looked at Kim.

  “What? Well, I guess you could say I might be marrying a Dragon, so I’m curious for that reason.”
She saw Erica looking at her with a mix of shock and amusement. “Whaaat? He might ask me, you don’t know!”

  “He might,” Erica agreed, chuckling. “I can’t believe any of this is happening, but somehow that’s the one thing I’m not ready for.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s still a kid, Ms. Greenfield!”

  “He’s an omnipotent Dragon who helped save the world, he’s not a kid. And I wish he’d hurry up and get his butt back here,” Kim added.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Zaiyensa cackled with delight as she watched Devon roar fire into the sky, where he manipulated it in the most amusing ways. He first wrote his name across the heavens, followed by “loves Kim 4 eva”. He then began to draw comical imagery which grew more and more complex until now, high above them both, a giant, fiery image of T’rsing’s mystic form, sans clothes, was bending over, his eyebrows raised and his hand covering his pursed lips daintily in a hilarious “oopsie” expression. The image’s wrinkled, saggy behind suddenly erupted with expanding flame letters that spelled “HAUNA!”, the Hawaiian word for “foul-smelling”. The word hung in the air for a moment before it exploded and set the sky on fire, consuming T’rsing.

  Pleased with his handiwork, Devon fell over, gripping his ribs as he laughed hysterically. Zaiyensa’s laughter was almost as raucous as his. It was some time before either of them calmed down, and then they spent as much time laying near each other in the haunting flower beds, regaining their composure. Zaiyensa reached over and ruffled Devon’s muzzle, smiling at him.

  “I have not laughed like that in an age. Thank you, Devon Kunali’i.”

  “Eh, minor,” Devon replied, wrinkling his nose as she let go of him. “Me and my brothers goof off like that all the time.”

  “Then I should very much like to meet them,” she grinned.

  Devon’s smile evaporated, and his eyes widened. “Really?” He sat up on his haunches.

  Zaiyensa sat up in front of him. “Of course!”