Tristan descended the Queen's Wood and both-direction spun his crucible, connecting himself to the Fey Realm's essence.

How interesting, the familiar voice of Zeltana said in his mind.

"How are you doing that?" Tristan muttered as he walked toward the chambers below where he hoped he could find Bertram and Rory.

You have enough essence capacity now that when you connect to the Fey Realm's essence, I can squeeze my consciousness in along with it. While you're here, connected to the Realm as you are, I can provide guidance. I cannot read your thoughts – those are closed off due to some weird purple film.

"Mind dragon blood," Tristan replied as he reached the chambers and found them empty. Damn. Okay, well, let's get Felicity on it. "Felicity?!" he called out, his voice resonating through the entirety of the Fey Realm.

Heading upstairs, he met with her in front of the Queen's Wood, "What do you need?" she asked as she wagged her tail back and forth in her usual fox-sized fairy dragon form.

"Go find Bertram and Rory. Tell them I'd like their assistance in case there's a fight."

"We're going to fight people?" Felicity asked.

"Maybe. We're unsealing the Fallthorn Forest."

She clapped her front paws together, "Neat! I'll go find them. Hey! Dragon-lady! Where you at, you scaly bitch?!" she flew off toward the Summerbalm Springs proper.

Tristan turned to face the slowly coming together group of fairy dragons, all of whom were in their Elfanoid form and wearing armor that appeared to be made of the same alloyed metal as his suit of armor. Interlinking chain loops, with a cloth padding underneath, and scales layered over the important, vital parts as to not restrict movement.

Dorni, the Underboss of the Gnomes, walked over, "Are you satisfied?" he asked with a slight smile.

"You have been outfitting our forces," Tristan replied.

Dorni scratched his bear, "We finished preparing goods for the market a while ago. Figured moving onto an armory was the next reasonable step." He pointed to a section of the crafting area that was hidden from view, "We dug a hole, made a nice underground section with perfect proportions – you should come see it." He waved a hand and Tristan followed him over to a set of stone steps that went down into the ground. Fairy dragons filed past him wearing armor and holding weapons, joking and chatting among themselves.

Two massive, stone doors that slid into the polished, dark granite walls opened up to reveal a chamber easily two-hundred feet long and fifty feet wide, with racks upon racks of weapons and armor – being distributed amongst fairy dragons who were entering from the opposite side and being outfitted by the Gnomes. "We have enough to outfit double the population we have currently," Dorni said confidently.

Tristan saw another chamber off to the left – a small corridor – and walking through he saw a longer and bigger room that was filled with Unicorns who were walking down almost like a line of assembly; Gnomes and fairy dragons on either side, outfitting them with armored plates protecting their vital components, their horns covered with bladed helms that made them appear quite fierce.

New designs and alloyed metal instead of Adamant Wood? Fascinating work they've been doing, Zeltana thought to Tristan.

He shook off her comment and glanced at Dorni who had joined him, "Well?" he asked expectantly.

Tristan nodded and felt a little bit of tension in his stomach, but given his learning of the Realm's history from Zeltana, he was aware of the familiarity with war and conquering. "I want to make one thing clear," Tristan said firmly. "We will not force people to fight who do not want to. Make sure the word is spread – volunteers first."

Dorni nodded and stroked his beard with more fervor, tugging on the long strands that looked like iron wires. "I'll spread the word. You may want to appoint a warmaster, though."

Tristan shot a look down at him, "Why would you say that?"

"You're re-expanding the Fey Realm, and we don't know what happened in the Sealed away sections," Dorni said quietly. "I died along with several of my brethren – only because we are stored in the eyes did we survive the Kobold invasion of the Undermount. That, and the confined space to hold choke points." He shot a glanced back to Tristan and his voice hardened, "The Fey Realm is a bountiful paradise; more so with your recent changes. Others will try to harm us here. We need someone who can fill in an advisory role when it comes to mass, armed conflict."

The leader of the Spriggan, if he is still alive once the seal is undone, Zeltana said with confidence. A master tactician.

Tristan sighed but knew Dorni spoke wisdom, "Very well…but I hold firm to the idea that only volunteers unless we are extremely, truly desperate."

"Aye," Dorni said with a confident nod. "Will do."

Tristan turned and left the underground chamber, heading back to the front of the Queen's Wood where he saw Bertram and Rory standing with a now-armored Felicity in her elfanoid form. "You're not fighting," Tristan said.

Felicity frowned, "Why not?"

"You're going to be invisible and keeping me covered," Tristan replied. "Extra eyes and ears." He looked to Bertram and Rory, "She told you what we are doing?"

Bertram nodded curtly, his voice hardened and resolved but with a cheeky undertone of sarcasm. "Yeah, sure, we absolutely want to keep my little brother's Realm nice and safe."

Rory let out a light chuckle and spoke a moment later, "We heard that there may be combat depending on what happened in the sealed part of the Realm." She cracked her knuckles, "I can't wait to have a good fight. It's been a few days."

Tristan looked out at the still-gathering forces as The Matriarch landed next to him in her Elfanoid form, dressed in battle armor similar to that of the fairy dragons. "Lord Tristan," she said curtly with a slight nod. "We are almost ready."

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Dorni joined them and shared what Tristan told him about the volunteer force, ending with, "…The lad has a good point about that. Volunteers can be better trained as well. And with the whole Heavenly Realm deal Thallia is working on, we can have a hard to kill force with rejuvenation spells."

Tristan felt a mix of emotions churning through him. Anticipation and anxiety, at the possibility that he may one day command his subjects into conflict. A sense of tense excitement as his dragonslayer blood seemed to incite a sense of glee at the idea of violence.

He felt Felicity land on his shoulder, and glancing over was somewhat surprised to see her armor had shrunk with her body; making her into an armored attack fairy dragon. She pushed a paw-claw into his cheek with a little shove, "Like it? Dorni made it special for me," she whispered. "But I need you to put spells in the bits and pieces later."

The Matriarch spoke to Dorni, turning the conversation back to the battle-readiness of the Fey Realm. "I agree with the sentiment. We need a warmaster."

"The leader of the Spriggan," Tristan said. "If he's around still." He gave Felicity a slit pat on the head.

The Matriarch shot a glance at him, "How did you know?"

Tristan replied, "While I am connected to the Realm's essence, I can hear Zeltana. Ever since my crucible reached the capacity for Fourth Order spells."

Damned right, Zeltana said in his mind. I'm curious to see how you lead. From what I can tell, you have never commanded an army.

The Matriarch leaned in to Tristan ever-so-slightly, "If the Warmaster is still alive after all this time, you should be aware he was one of the driving forces behind expansion of the Realm. Part of his nature. It may be prudent to hold off on appointing him to the Fey Court."

"First we have to find out what happened in the Fallthorn Forest while it was sealed," Tristan said as he pushed away that decision for when it would actually happen.

Thirty minutes passed and Tristan stood, patiently, as he watched the fairy dragons and unicorns array themselves in their battle regalia. He looked out over the arrayed forces and walked down from the Queen's Wood as they came to attention. The unicorns standing upright with the fairy dragons in lines near them – formations that needed work.

He walked back up to the ramp leading to the Queen's Wood, and cleared his throat before speaking with the voice of the Realm. "We are going to free the Spriggan from their confinement in the Fallthorn Forest," he said with as much confidence as he could muster. "We do not know what awaits us – it could be a hostile Realm Incursion, it might be empty, or it may have been unchanged…but we must be prepared."

Making sure he was spinning his crucible as quickly as he could in both directions, raw essence flowed through and within him. He channeled it through his body; the cool, brisk flood refreshing him as he activated all of the spells in his armor: Scales of Our Foe, Armor of Ice, Near Miss, Lucky Instinct. He also activated one of the amulets holding Minor Barrier, and a small shield of prismatic force that fluctuated with silver manifested just above his left forearm. Drawing his sword, he activated Elemental Imbuement with a focus on ice, and Dragon's Doom. The weapon elongated and shifted slightly to become even more splendid, as veins of crackling ice traveled up from the hilt. "Prepare yourselves," Tristan said as he walked down the ramp.

The various bits and pieces of armor and weaponry on the arrayed forces shimmered as they, too, channeled their essence – though not as powerful or potent as Tristan's. It seemed that the Gnomes, with their ability to artifice and use metal elementalism, had stored spells into the armor that allowed it to be molded and shifted at will; some of the Unicorns became more armored, becoming juggernauts that would rival the heavy gendarme cavalry of the kingdom of Bhant's finest regiment. Others, their armor became lighter.

Fairy dragons armor and weapons did the same – changing to their preference. Tristan approached the front-most Unicorn, the only black one out of the bunch. "Ready, Onyx?" he asked softly.

The black unicorn who had elected for the heavy augmentation of the armor stamped his hoof. "More than ready to carry you into battle. It's what I was bred for."

Tristan mounted up, finding to his delight that the minor barrier moved up his forearm to hover just above his bicep which is where he would have couched a shield if he was a jouster. Leaving his left hand free to get a grip of the rope-like mane to keep himself stable. Onyx turned in a tight circle, and Tristan pointed his blade to the forest's edge. "Follow my lead!"

Traveling under the trees of the Fey Realm was comforting, and the group were moving fast. Some fairy dragons had elected to mount up as well, whilst others had chosen to revert to their more animalistic forms that still carried armor and weapons.

Next to him, The Matriarch flew on might wings through the trees. Ducking and weaving, just as Onyx was doing to keep moving at a fast pace. Tristan was nervous, as his heart pounded as the armed force of easily five-hundred fairy dragons and one-hundred Unicorn cavalry coursed through the undergrowth at speeds that made him almost fear they would crash.

So exciting! Zeltana said in his thoughts. It has been a while since I have ridden a Unicorn.

"Do you feel what I feel?" Tristan whispered just loud enough for him to hear himself.

Oh yes. Next time you sleep with Felicity, make sure you connect your crucible to the Realm's Essence. I'd love to get that experience again. Zeltana laughed in his mind.

"Not happening," Tristan replied as they reached a clearing. At the center of the clearing was a large pine tree with the spiraling circle placed upon its trunk. "Onyx, get me closer to it," he ordered. "Everyone else? Take up defensive positions around the tree. If this is like unsealing other parts of the Realm, the local area will remain much the same." Tristan dismounted, Onyx right by his side, with The Matriarch right next to him.

Bertram and Rory stayed mounted on two white Unicorns and rode past Tristan. "We'll keep with a cavalry-style unit," Rory said.

Tristan placed his hand on the spiral as his forces spread out to circle up around the tree. "Ready?" he asked. After hearing several affirmatives from all around the tree, he poured his essence into the trunk. The spiral filled up before vanishing, and the world warped around them. A shockwave that expanded out from his feet; like a tidal wave of the earth. The world literally expanding under their feet just as it had with the other Sealed regions of the Fey Realm.

Trees shot up – charred, blackened trees, and he heard The Matriarch let out a pained noise of loss as all around them, for miles in every direction, there was dead forest that was ominously silent. Silent, save for the slight crunch noises that seemed to echo from all around.

From the blackened husks of the trees, skittering creatures emerged. Blackened and charred, diseased-looking bipedal chunks of wood. People made of wood; with bark that pulsated with a sickly hue, and faces that were carved into expressions of agony and contorted grimaces or wails.

This…this shouldn't be possible, Zeltana said in his mind. The Grafting of the Plague Realm made us immune to all diseases. These are the Spriggan!

Tristan watched with morbid fascination as the trees, all of them, slowly moved, buckled, and then shifted into the humanoid shapes until they were standing at the center of an army encircling them – the healthy pine behind them the only sign of life in a forest of dead and rotting wood.

The Matriarch whispered, barely audible, "It…must be…" she looked over to Tristan, "The Grafting of the Plague Realm must not have happened before this part was sealed…they are lost. We must end their suffering."

Not yet, Tristan thought as he spoke with the power of the Realm flowing through him. "Teidät puhdistetaan tästä vitsauksesta!" (You will be cleansed of this plague!).

The entire Realm shook with a thunderous roar, and he heard Bertram and Rory coughing. Glancing over, he saw as globules of a nasty, black goop were coughed out onto the ground.

You cleansed the current residents, Zeltana said with a firm resolve, But these are no longer your subjects. End the Spriggan's misery, and then I will teach you how to remake their species and restore them.

Tristan held up his sword, feeling the truth behind her words and feeling a deep remorse tempered by resolve spread through him. "End their suffering!" he shouted as he pointed his blade forward.

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