The afternoon remained as dark as night outside.
Inside the warm cabin, Ryan tried to extend his trembling hand, hoping to escape the "cozy prison" of the bed.
"Not so fast! Stay here!" A delicate, pale hand darted out from the side and grabbed his, pulling it back into the covers. "Ryan, Morgiana is so close to breaking through. You just need to give a little more effort."
"Why am I always the one putting in the extra effort?" Ryan groaned, his face crumpling in defeat. "Lady, please, let me rest for a moment. I know my psychic energy is invaluable to both you and Morgiana, but this is getting unsustainable!"
"Ha ha ha!" The Lady of the Lake laughed softly, looking at Morgiana, who had fallen asleep on Ryan's left arm with a blissful smile and a rosy blush on her cheeks. The goddess wrapped her arms around Ryan's neck and whispered, "All right, I'm just teasing you."
Morgiana slept soundly, tightly clutching Ryan's arm as if she would never let go.
"You don't sound like you're teasing," Ryan grumbled. The Lady responded by pressing a soft kiss to his lips, her smile mischievous. "Come now, I'd never push you too far. But you have to understand, Morgiana is desperate for a breakthrough, and as for me…" She trailed her fingers along his chest, her voice turning playful. "Well, I've bet everything on you, my dear husband."
"You can claim I'm your husband all you want, but it won't matter until my father acknowledges it," Ryan shot back, relaxing into the pillow as the Lady finally released him. The bed was a bit cramped with the three of them, but having both the Lady of the Lake and the Fay Enchantress nestled against him was a rather luxurious situation. Despite his teasing, Ryan felt quite content. "You should be thinking about how to win his approval."
"The Master of Mankind…" The Lady huffed, resting her head against Ryan's shoulder. Her tone carried both reverence and a touch of dismissiveness. "What, do you think your father is so powerful? Hmm? The Master of Mankind? Let me tell you, Ryan, if I were at my peak, your father would have to defer to me."
"And when exactly was this 'peak' of yours?" Ryan couldn't help but let his mind wander into dangerous territory.
"Right now, I'm just a major fragment of my former self," Lileath admitted, a hint of melancholy creeping into her voice. "Most of my divine power and godhood were shattered during the Fall of the Aeldari and the great escape through the Warp storm. I can barely recall much of the Aeldari Empire anymore. During that flight, I managed to preserve three artifacts from the previous cycle—Lileath's Crown, the Amulet of the Sun, and the Lunar Staff. But the Crown was destroyed, the Amulet lost, and the Staff… well, I gave that to Teclis. I have nothing left. Even now, you've recovered the Amulet, and yet you won't return it to me. As for reforging my crown? That's a distant dream."
"So the current Elven gods are fragments of the old Aeldari deities?" Ryan asked, intrigued. "What about Asuryan, Khaine, and Kurnous?"
"I'll have you know, in their prime, all three of those gods could have easily bested your father, the Master of Mankind," Lileath said with a smirk. "Take Asuryan, for example. He once aligned entire stars into perfect arrays and detonated them to destroy the C'tan known as the Nightbringer. Could your father do that?"
"Aligning stars… and detonating them!" Ryan raised an eyebrow. It was true the Emperor had defeated a shard of the C'tan Void Dragon on Mars, but that was just a fragment of the celestial being.
Ryan had to admit the gap in power. The Emperor was mighty, but in the long and vast history of the material universe, there were countless entities of similar strength. As Fulgrim had learned from Lord Kroak, the Master of Mankind was merely one among many who had left a mark on the cosmic stage.
"And what about Khaine and Kurnous?" Ryan pressed further, his curiosity piqued.
"Khaine's strength was second only to Asuryan's," the Lady explained, stretching her delicate white-stockinged feet into Ryan's lap and urging him to massage them. "He once ordered Vaul to forge him a thousand divine weapons and used them in a last-ditch effort to defeat the Nightbringer. He succeeded in shattering the C'tan's armor and injuring its core. But the Nightbringer retaliated by using the shards of its armor to destroy Khaine's physical form. This left Khaine scarred with the fear of death and destruction and also severed the Aeldari's reincarnation cycle. From that point onward, the Aeldari lost the ability to achieve true immortality."
"And Kurnous? Did he ever defeat a C'tan?" Ryan asked, his hands working on the Lady's soft, silk-covered feet as his mind churned with questions.
"Kurnous was weaker than Khaine," Lileath admitted, shaking her head. "My memories of those times are vague. I know Kurnous and Khaine fought side by side, but they were ultimately defeated. Kurnous and Isha were more concerned with the fate of the Aeldari themselves. They tried to intervene where they could, but their efforts were in vain."
"And what about Ynnead, the God of Death? Do you know anything about that?" Ryan asked, seizing the opportunity to gather as much information as possible.
"I vaguely recall the Crone Goddess Morai-Heg mentioning Ynnead, but the details are lost to me," Lileath said, her frustration evident. "I've forgotten so much because of the Fall and the ensuing chaos. Ryan, if it weren't for the pure Warp energy I've been able to absorb from you, I would have lost even more of myself. You've not only halted my decline but have started to restore some of my power."
Lileath explained that while the Elven gods had once been immensely powerful, they were now mere shadows of their former glory. None of them, save perhaps Asuryan, could hope to match the Emperor in his current state. Asuryan, however, still retained enough power to potentially challenge the Master of Mankind, especially within the sanctity of his Phoenix Realm.
The Emperor, after all, had never truly ascended to godhood.
Ryan sat in silence for a moment, processing everything. Then, he ventured another question. "Do you remember anything else?"
"What else do you want to know?" Lileath replied playfully. Her tone shifted to a teasing one as she added, "I'll tell you more if you promise that once we return to Bretonnia, you'll continue to spoil me. Make me happy, serve me well… Oh, and Sulia too. I quite like it when the three of us are together. But not Olyka—she still has too many secrets for my liking."
"All right, all right," Ryan muttered, amused. As if things aren't already like that…
"I do know this," Lileath said, her tone growing serious. "The fates of Elves and humans are tightly intertwined. The two races may never fully trust or merge with one another, but their survival is bound together. If one falls, so does the other. That's why your father sent so many defenders to this world—because if it collapses, it will become another Eye of Terror."
"I see," Ryan said, exhaling deeply.
"Do you, now?" Lileath purred, leaning closer. "Well, then… have you rested enough? Or are you going to tell me you're too tired again? We really should make the most of our time. I was thinking we could try that thing you mentioned last time…"
Ryan: "...…"
One Day Later…
The transport ship finally reached the end of the Darkflow River.
Waiting at the docks were the Norscan dwarfs.
All four kings of the Norscan dwarf clans and their queens had come to personally welcome King Ryan Macado of Bretonnia. They were:
High King Thorgard Crimson, ruler of Karak Vlag, and his queen, Svanator. King Rogmir Ulfsson, ruler of Thunderhold, and his queen, Friga Alaric. King Halcon Vikramsson, ruler of Raven's Nest Hold, and his queen, Inga Ota. King Tyr Vanseti, ruler of Eagles' Peak, and his queen, Vanlakarin.
The four kings stood proudly at the docks with their Ironhammer Guards, a grand show of respect for their Bretonnian guest. Ryan could feel their sincerity as he descended the gangplank. Extending his hand, he greeted them warmly.
"In the name of the Lady, I am deeply honored to be welcomed by such esteemed kings in person."
"Bah! It's no trouble at all," Thorgard Crimson replied, stepping forward to shake Ryan's hand with some effort. "We've all heard of your deeds, and the dwarfs respect strength. Besides, we need reliable trading partners. Once, we had good relations with the Norscans… until they turned to Chaos. Our trade with Kislev has also become unreliable. But we remember Erengrad
. That battle brought honor to us all. Now, I formally invite you, King Ryan Macado, along with the Fay Enchantress Morgiana, to visit Karak Vlag—a fortress that has stood unbroken for over seven millennia."
"King Thorgard, by Grungni's resilience and Grimnir's valor, it's good to see you again," said young Thorgrimsson, leaping down the gangplank. The young dwarf was excited to be back.
"Ah, our young beardless one speaks again, and once more he uses the wrong invocation!" Thorgard bellowed, though his tone was more fond than scolding. Placing his hands on his hips, he shook his head at the younger dwarf. "At a time like this, you should be invoking Valaya's cloak or Valaya's blessing! Not Grimnir!"
"But…" Thorgrimsson protested. "Without Grimnir's blessing, no one could survive in such a harsh place…"
"Then you'd better also thank Grungni for delivering the message on time!" Thorgard barked, smacking the young dwarf lightly on the head. "Still too rash! Not steady or reliable enough. Belagar was right to send you to follow this human king. At your age, you should be watching, listening, and learning—not running your mouth or jumping to conclusions!"
"Ow!" Thorgrimsson clutched his head, crouching in defeat.
"Please, follow us, King Ryan, Fay Enchantress, and…" Thorgard's eyes turned toward Lileath, who stood elegantly behind Ryan, dressed in her finest. The experienced High King immediately sensed that there was more to her than met the eye. "And who might this lady be?"
"You can call me Lileath," the Lady of the Lake said sweetly, looping her arm through Ryan's. "I'm Ryan's wife!"
"But isn't the Bretonnian queen Sulia?" Thorgard frowned in confusion. "And now there's a Lileath? How curious. What's going on here?"
Before Lileath could respond, Thorgard's face lit up with realization.
"Oh! I get it now! You're what humans call a 'third wheel,' aren't you? A mistress! Ha! You humans are so carefree these days, bringing your mistresses on diplomatic visits! Well, well, King Ryan, I must say, this shows real trust between friends. I can feel your sincerity already!"
How… did it come to this?
The Lady of the Lake's smile froze on her face, while Morgiana struggled to suppress her laughter, barely managing to cover her mouth.
"Right, enough talk," Thorgard said, oblivious to the awkwardness. "We dwarfs aren't like those chatty pointy-ears. Follow us! There's still some distance to Karak Vlag."
And so, Ryan and his party began their formal visit to the legendary fortress of Karak Vlag.
What no one knew, however, was that this visit would profoundly alter the fate of the dwarfs forever.
______
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