Emfam, Lardeth, and his lovers met with Galnyar and Keshnakh in the throne room. \u201cThis is absolutely ridiculous!\u201d snarled Galnyar. \u201cEmfam, if I didn\u2019t know better, I\u2019d say that Baldra was once one of the Zephyrs\u2019 old Fae Killers!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat was not of Over-realm design,\u201d replied Emfam. \u201cIt was something that an Under-realm man built as a means of espionage for the first Under-Splitters during the War of Stars.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd you have proof of it?\u201d asked Keshnakh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMalnar and Gorfanth are coming with that proof tomorrow morning,\u201d replied Emfam. \u201cI HAD intended for them to arrive in Wysper City on the day of Lardeth\u2019s coronation, but this matter takes precedence.\u201d Arsha and her lovers looked at each other, pondering on what could possibly prompt Malnar and Gorfanth\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malnar and Gorfanth were led to the site of Baldra\u2019s wrath by Lardeth\u2019s parents. Malnar stepped forward and placed her hand on it for only a moment before she recoiled. \u201cThat\u2019s the last of them, all right!\u201d she confirmed. \u201cWe have to destroy it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDestroy it?!\u201d protested Galnyar. \u201cThat\u2019s a cultural landmark!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith all due respect, Emperor Almaydia, that\u2019s not important,\u201d said Malnar. \u201cNot with the last of the Splitter Seeing Stones sitting here.\u201d Galnyar blinked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026A Seeing Stone?\u201d he gulped. \u201cYou mean\u2026the Lost Seeing Stone?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was never accounted for,\u201d explained Malnar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s so bad about a Seeing Stone?\u201d asked Arsha. \u201cWe use them every day to call someone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot this kind, Foxy,\u201d corrected Malnar. \u201cThis is the more dangerous early one, the one powered by a soul!\u201d As Malnar and the Felomphas gathered around it, Gorfanth explained the story behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBaldra,\u201d he began, \u201cwas an Under-realm man who joined the first Splitters. He was so good at espionage, he fancied himself a great actor. While it COULD have been a boast, one thing he really was good at was magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBack then, the original Seeing Stones were powered by their creator\u2019s very essence. Baldra learned how to make them and poured his very malice into them, making four hundred of them. He gifted the Seeing Stones to the rulers of the other Realms, even going so far as to leave a few scattered around. When he became the head of the Under-splitters, he put his plan into action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe used them as an intelligence network, spying on the other Realms and forming plans to upend them. That was what ultimately started the War of Stars and ended the First Age of Unity. He effortlessly blended in with the humans of the other Realms and managed to manipulate them to his own ends. The Stones were used to plant his thoughts and desires into those that owned them and would kill those that tried to destroy them. What he didn\u2019t know was that a few of his own local Splitters had given their enemies an idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was around then when the first skyships were built. They were used to conduct plans and soon were equipped with weapons capable of aerial bombardment. They used a Seeing Stone against him and quickly routed him, thus killing him, and ending the War of Stars. The All-realm Royals made a secret pact to find the other Seeing Stones, but they were never all accounted for\u2026until today.\u201d A man\u2019s scream then erupted from the Seeing Stone before it crumbled to dust. \u201cAnd thus, Baldra\u2019s evil really is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat did it,\u201d agreed Emfam. Galnyar stared at the remains of the Seeing Stone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor so long, my family has allowed the Fae near something that hid itself as well as Baldra did,\u201d he muttered. \u201cPerhaps it planted Baldra\u2019s name into the first Fae that discovered it long before my great-grandfather was born.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The revelation of the former good-luck charm\u2019s origins had shaken everyone in the Eastern District to their core. No one wanted to stay there anymore. The mass exodus led everyone to the other districts and the former politicians that ran the place (at the request of the people they served) had it cordoned off so that no one could resettle it until it was time once again. The rails and machines were ripped up, but the buildings were left to the elements, letting time dispose of them and returning the materials to nature. Galnyar was sitting on a couch as looked at a map of the Drelda Forest before he marked a red x over the Eastern District. \u201cWe should have left that part of the forest\u2026alone,\u201d he muttered. Keshnakh then glided up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. \u201cYou know, Mama always felt odd about the Eastern District.\u201d He felt the train of her dress wrapping his legs in comforting clouds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaybe it WAS a mistake to have the Eastern District form,\u201d she said, \u201cbut time can heal that kind of wound.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou say that with such surety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom experience. Oddly enough, this wasn\u2019t my first encounter with a Seeing Stone. I was only 150 at the time when one tried to control my dads. Orbak had it destroyed with Elgrad\u2019s help, but it took me a while to get over the experience.\u201d She then snuggled onto the couch with him. They then laid themselves in a manner where they took up the whole couch and she rested on top of him. She stroked his chest and sighed contentedly. He then ran his hand through her cloudy hair and sighed happily. \u201cBesides,\u201d she continued, \u201cno one got seriously hurt during its rampage. You allowing the Eastern District to be closed when the people who lived there asked for it to be closed proved you listen to the people that matter most to any civilization. This isn\u2019t a setback to your rule of the Republic.\u201d Galnyar then kissed her on the lips, even enjoying the feeling of her tusks on his mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what I did to deserve you, my love,\u201d he said as they repeatedly kissed, \u201cbut I thank the now mortal Divine Ones that our paths came together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It turned out that the abandoning of the Eastern District was both a societal and economic boon to the Fae Republic. New techniques were shared with the other districts and the railways didn\u2019t have to stretch so far across the Drelda Forest. The Capital Tree served as the main hub for all the Fae Gauge Railways. As planned, there were five gauges for each railway: Fae Minimum, Fae Narrow, Fae Standard, Fae Wide, and Fae Maximum. The main station for every railway was the last to be built and the grand opening was a significant event. Galnyar and Keshnakh\u2019s carriage was brought to a large red ribbon. Galnyar and Keshnakh left the carriage and shook hands with each of the politicians, railway board members, and railway controllers. Galnyar was then handed a set of massive scissors. He stood by the ribbon and began his speech. \u201cGentle-beings of the Realms,\u201d he said, \u201cit gives me great pleasure to announce the opening of the first Fae railways. We have had many trials and tribulations in getting here, but we prevailed in creating the newest forms of traffic for our wonderous Republic. To that end, I hereby declare Drelda Capital Station OPEN!\u201d He used the scissors to cut the ribbon and the crowd cheered along with the engines whistling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Emfam, Lardeth, and his lovers met with Galnyar and Keshnakh in the throne room. \u201cThis is absolutely ridiculous!\u201d snarled Galnyar. \u201cEmfam, if I didn\u2019t know better, I\u2019d say that Baldra was once one of the Zephyrs\u2019 old Fae Killers!\u201d \u201cThat was not of Over-realm design,\u201d replied Emfam. \u201cIt was something that an Under-realm man built […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,239],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-5438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-three-realms","category-the-three-realms-book-6-the-eternal-age-of-unity","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5438"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5439,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5438\/revisions\/5439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}