by J B Forest
When Connak returned with the horses, they quickly remounted and resumed their journey. A short time later, Connak could smell the smoke of cooking fires. “How close are we?” he asked. He did not want to give away the magnitude of his senses to Aleesia and he also wanted to judge the range of his sense of smell. Using his senses to their fullest potential was still new to him, although he had been practicing with the mage for weeks.
“We are still a couple of hours away; we will enter from a side gate. There is not as much traffic going through it, things will be less complicated that way,” Aleesia replied. She assumed that he was ready to conclude this leg of their journey, but he did not seem to be the impatient type. They rode the rest of the way in comparative silence with only minimal conversation between the three of them. Connak sensed their approach to the outpost well before either of the other two, but again, he kept this information to himself. Finally, both Laosx and Aleesia called out at the sight of the outpost walls almost simultaneously. They both looked at each other in a curious manner.
Aleesia led the pair cautiously through the side gate of the outpost as the sun was setting. Connak was both relieved that the first part of their journey was completed and anxious to find out what type of reception they would receive from the Ljosar. Laosx looked forward to a warm bath and a bed to sleep in after so many nights in the forest.
Chapter 4 - Fae Dominion – Unseelie Domain
Deep within the Fae Dominion, Mogran smiled, pleased with himself. After years of unsuccessful attempts to breach the boundary leading to the astral plane, he had found the key. Once free of the oppressive confines of the Fae Dominion, he was free to travel the astral plane and invade any world that he desired. His options were limitless, but it was the human world that appealed to him most. They were one of the weakest of all the races that shared Inner Space and they were also the most pliable. Most other races, were aware that they shared the Inner Space with many others whether they chose to openly interact with each other or not. The humans however, believed that they alone inhabited the universe and if there were other beings, that the human race was far superior. There were a few exceptions among the humans, the gifted few who had been ‘touched’ by other races centuries before. Stories were passed down through the generations, but even in these families, the ones who chose to remember, were shunned. The ignorant humans had no idea that when compared to all the other beings who shared Inner Space; Fae, elves (despicable beings), demons, pixies, and others who shared worlds such as witches, weres, kitsune, and vampires – they were the most vulnerable.
Breaching the boundary to the astral plane was quite simple, that is with the right spell. Mogran found the spell in an ancient tome that he relieved from a Seelie wizard at the point of death. The wizard made his job even easier by lifting the protection ward from the tome just seconds before his demise. It was all quite touching. Mogran amazed himself with his talent for persuasion. The wizard believed that Mogran would provide the antidote to the poison in exchange for lifting the ward. In the end, all he got was a glass of water. Mogran, however, hit the jackpot! The tome was the key to opening so many doors that were previously sealed shut. He would be virtually unstoppable. Armed with the location of the portal to the human universe and the spell that granted him the ability to travel through the astral plane, he was ready to put his plans into action.
His scouts completed a few trial runs and even identified a suitable human candidate to carry out his plans in the human world. This human king appeared to be almost as ruthless as he and bought into the plan almost immediately. The human’s greed and hunger for power blinded him to the fact that he and his people would be puppets for the more powerful Mogran. The plan was simple; the human king would conquer the territories of the surrounding countryside with the assistance of Mogran’s minions disguised as human troops. He was free to rule any conquered lands however he saw fit as long as Mogran and his lieutenants retained access to travel freely through the lands without question. Mogran’s most trusted lieutenants would also serve as the king’s chief counsel.
Mogran’s interest in the human world was not immediate, but by inserting one of his people into the king’s inner circle, he was guaranteed access to key information and all vital decisions made. The ability to travel without question through the human world opened the possibility for unrestrained expansion. Mogran would allow the king to become a powerful foe for human adversaries while at the same time making the king more and more dependent upon him to maintain the power base. Once the king’s rule was well established, Mogran would make his move.
“Excuse me, my lord,” murmured Seth his senior mage as he bowed into the room. Mogran was shaken from his reverie by the mage’s approach. “What is it?” he asked harshly. “The first of the troops are prepared to leave for the human world. You wanted to supervise their transformation did you not?” Seth chose his words carefully; working for Mogran was both rewarding and dangerous. The Unseelie prince was notorious for his fits of rage at the simplest of things. However, he could also be very generous with his rewards when he chose to, for those who accepted life under his ruthless thumb. Seth was one of a host of mages who worked for Mogran. The Unseelie prince had no natural magic powers of his own so he surrounded himself with those who were adept in the arts, particularly the dark arts. Seth was one of the best.
Mogran had promised the human king troops to support his war. But he would never agree to deplete his own force to help anyone, much less the humans. His mages found a way to transform the Unseelie minions into human form. The minions were at the bottom of the food chain in the Unseelie realm. They resembled the ogres of human folklore and legend, walked bent over rather than upright and had only the most basic of intelligence and communication skills. They were controlled through fear and domination. The transformation would not only make them appear human, but they would eventually be able to communicate and understand at a higher level than their natural state. Mogran would send a few of his officers with the minion troops to control them. Watching the transformation was like seeing the birth of his brain child. “Let us go see this spectacular event,” he shouted to Seth.
Seth ducked as Mogran waived his arm perilously close to the mage’s head. Mogran ruled with an iron fist, literally. Iron is lethal to Fae. He had his mages and scientists work together to design and develop a prosthetic device made of iron that could be worn over his hand. His hand was protected by a special glove, covered with protection spells that allowed him to wear the prosthesis unharmed. Many unfortunate souls succumbed to the iron fists, some just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Mogran fed off the energy of the dark corridors as they wound their way to the heart of the dark tower. The darkness was alive with evil. It fed on both fear and anger. The deeper they travelled into the heart; the air seemed to close in on them. The feeling would have been oppressive to most, but to Mogran the feeling was almost erotic. The heaviness of the air sent tingling ripples down his spine. He let out a deep sigh of contentment. The transformation would be a monumental step in his master plan. His long years of working behind the scenes and groveling at the feet of the Seelie royalty would soon come to an end.
Seth on the other hand; always entered the bowels of the tower with a sense of dread that he kept well-hidden underneath layers and layers of façade. He was forced into the service of the Unseelie prince to save his family. His capitulation could not ultimately save them. After the death of his wife and children, he found himself trapped. Sometimes he wondered if death was a better option. But he knew that death at Mogran’s hand would be very slow and extremely painful.
He had been in Mogran’s grips for many, many years. As a promising young mage’s apprentice in the service of the Seelie queen, he made a fatal mistake. He allowed himself to be lulled into a sense of superiority because of too much pride in his accomplishments. He began to openly speak of his growing powers and increasing importance within the cadre of mages to
anyone who would listen. Those boasts made their way to one of Mogran’s assistants who in turn alerted the dark Fae. Unbeknownst to Seth, Mogran was in the process of establishing his own mage cadre. The things that Seth boasted about were exactly the kind of characteristics that Mogran was seeking for his cadre.
One night, Seth arrived home to find his wife and family kidnapped. He thought that by accepting Mogran’s offer to enter his service, he could save his family. However, once he committed, his family was put to death.
He tried to rebel and escape repeatedly during the first few years. The value of his powers to Mogran’s cadre was the only reason he remained alive. It did not spare him from being slowly and methodically beaten into submission. After a time, he convinced himself that his work had a purpose and that refining his skills as a mage would pay off in the long term. His diligence made him a master of both the white and dark arts and he grew insensitive to the morals he once upheld. Recently, as this current project matured and moved closer to completion, Seth found himself becoming more and more depressed.
He originally thought that Mogran was just power hungry and obsessed with promoting his own interests. But he came to realize that the obsession ran far deeper than self-interests. Not only did he want to build his empire by overpowering the helpless humans, but he wanted to dominate all the worlds across Inner Space. Mogran’s master plan included overthrowing the Seelie Domain, annihilation of the Elven Realms and any other race that stood in his way. These realizations seemed to stir something within Seth. He could not say that even during his life with his native Seelie Fae that he felt any particular sympathy towards the elves, humans, or any other race, but the destruction of his own race was something that he could not bear. He was such an integral part of Mogran’s plan at this point, he was not sure that he could change his predicament if he wanted.
The sounds of chanting from the mage cadre floated towards them as neared the main dungeon. This was truly the heart of the tower. The black stone walls ran thick with condensation, the floors were uneven and cold and although torches were lit along the walls, the light was always dim. Seth excused himself from Mogran and walked briskly over to the other mages. “Is everything thing ready to begin the process?” he whispered his second in command. “Of course, we were just waiting for the Master to arrive, what took you so long?” replied Rahim. Seth grimaced. Rahim was second to him in seniority in the cadre but much more loyal to Mogran. Rahim was Unseelie and by nature more evil and power hungry. Seth had no doubts that given the opportunity, Rahim would do anything he could to become senior mage and destroy Seth. “Everything must be perfect, nothing can go wrong. I do not intend to incur the wrath of the Master because of miscalculation or mistake that the rest of you made in your eagerness to complete the process,” he responded.
“I assure you, everything is order.”
“Then let us proceed.” He turned sharply and approached Mogran. “Master, everything is in order, if you will step into the protective circle, we will begin.” “Must I come inside your cursed magic circle? Why can I not watch from here?” Mogran retorted. “My Prince, we are not quite sure what unintended consequences will befall those outside the circle when we cast the spell on the minions. Better to seek the protection of the circle rather than chance any misfortune,” he replied, bowing deeply so that he did not have to look into the evil prince’s eyes.
“I guess it is better to be safe than sorry.” Mogran hesitantly stepped into the circle and joined the cadre. “Let us begin.”
The minions were all quietly standing within an area in the hall that was surrounded by a sheer curtain. There were just over 100 in this group. Hundreds more perished in earlier unsuccessful attempts. Seth sincerely hoped that this group would not suffer the same fate, he wondered if bringing Mogran down to witness was a mistake. He knew that the mages would suffer if this attempt was not successful. He had no real love for his fellow cadre members or the minions, but his sense of self-preservation was high. Mogran had never witnessed the process, it was painful for the minions, Seth was sure that Mogran would revel in their pain as much as the success of the transformation.
Seth nodded slowly to each of his cadre members, ensuring that they were all aware that the process was beginning. He began to speak the words of the dark spell slowly and in a loud, clear voice. The other cadre members joined him in turn until all of them were speaking in unison. A potion was given to the minions earlier that evening. It served to both calm them and make their bodies more susceptible to the spell. As the last words of the spell died down, a junior mage pulled a chain to lift the sheer curtain that surrounded the minions. The minions stood quietly staring blankly into the nothingness of the room. No torches were lit in the area around the minions. Nothing happened for several minutes.
Seth could sense Mogran’s restlessness. He leaned over and whispered, “It takes time for the spell to take effect. The spell is a very complex one and does not act quickly.” Mogran nodded and settled down slightly.
A low moan could be heard from the group of minions. The volume increased slowly. Suddenly the minions began to visibly tremble and one by one fell to the floor. Within a few minutes, the entire group was writhing on the floor in obvious agony. Mogran’s eyes went wide with surprise. He never really thought about the effects of the transformation on the minions. He rarely even thought about them as Fae at all, they were just tools to use to accomplish his master plan. He could feel the pain and fear emanating from the group, this was an unexpected benefit. The sensation drifted through his body from his head to his feet. Much of the tingling resonated within his groin. As the howling and writhing increased, the more pressure he felt. Too bad he had to hold back, he could not allow the mages to see him lose control or find out about his weakness. Witnessing this process was driving him to the point of orgasm; he would have to seek satisfaction later. This process was too important for him to miss because he was caught up in a blissful moment. He shook himself slightly, refocused and watched the process with a sense of pleasurable detachment.
Seth noticed that Mogran’s mood had grown from anxiousness to one of pure satisfaction as the transformation progressed. His eyes seemed to roll back into his eyelids for a half second. To Seth, it appeared that Mogran derived a pleasure that seemed almost sexual as he watched. Mogran’s physical reaction for the briefest of moments would definitely have been interpreted another way in other circumstances. Seth shook his head imperceptibly; surely the Unseelie prince was not so perverted as to derive sexual pleasure from watching others agonize. But then he thought of the stories passed on by those who had been unfortunate enough to catch Mogran’s eye when he felt the need for physical release. The experience was definitely not pleasurable to any of the victims, female or male. Watching others writhe in pain was an extension of what he demanded in the bedroom. This revelation was something that Seth kept to himself; he had a feeling that the information might be useful in the future.
The transformation was almost complete. Most of the minions were no longer writhing in pain but had quieted to soft moans. Some were completely still. Seth feared that not all of the minions would survive the process even though he and the other mages had fine-tuned the process as much as they thought possible. Seth even found himself marveling at the success of the experiment after so many years of failed attempts. Mogran’s manufactured army appeared human. Their skin was beginning to take on the features of human skin.
Although most Fae could shape shift into human form, many could not duplicate the human skin tone. Fae in their natural state retained an almost iridescent skin tone that would glimmer in the sunlight. Most humans could not bear to look upon the Fae in their natural state without some sort of consequence. It was not just the skin tone, but more often than not, when the Fae appeared to humans in their natural state they were manipulating them to do something. That ‘something’ was often sexual in nature, but the manipulation came in many forms. They would take on a more natural human f
orm when trying to blend in with the humans. Only a very few humans could see through the façade and recognize the Fae in this form. These humans were known as sidhe seers and this ability was passed down through certain human bloodlines.
The mages worked hard to develop a spell that would allow the minions to take the more human looking form. The minions were unable to shape shift in any manner. Succeeding in this attempt was a true accomplishment. The minions were thought of as expendable, so the cost of success was perceived as relatively low. The first of the transformed minions began to sit upright and then stand. Nearly an hour after the process began, the transformation seemed complete. The mages waited another quarter of an hour. It seems that only a handful of minions did not survive the process. Seth conferred with the mages and then turned to Mogran.
“The transformation is complete, my lord. You may address your new troops,” he smiled. “Let us dispel the circle and you can approach them.”
“Is it safe to approach them so soon?” Mogran asked. Although he was anxious to issue his first commands, Mogran did not want to act prematurely.
“Yes, entirely,” Seth responded. “If you wish, I can approach them first and introduce you.” Seth knew that Mogran would not risk injury on any uncertainty. But he made the offer to show the Unseelie prince’s cowardice to the other mages. Unfortunately, the majority of the other mages were either in awe of Mogran or were deathly afraid of him so the gesture went unnoticed. He raised his arms and whispered the words to dispel the circle.
