The essence surged out from him and into the spiraling runes of Elvish text, filling it up completely. There was a tremendous crashing noise all around Tristan that forced him to grit his teeth – as if thousands of glass vials were smashed on the floor. All of reality blurred around him before a shockwave rippled out; centered on the rock and extending out to the horizon.

All around him, the pools expanded into enormous lakes, grottos with sparkling water of the various vibrant hues, waterfalls burst forth from rocky escarpments that sprouted up from the scattered rocks and boulders amid the expansive waters. The stone he was standing upon shot up into the sky, expanding in width and fragmenting into various terraces that were filled with bubbling hot or cool, exuding-icy-mist pools that cascaded down into the lake below.

And then the noise stopped, reality ceased its warbling, and he heard enchanting singing. Not enchantment spells, but singing that utterly captivated him. The singing was in Elvish, and was hauntingly beautiful.

"Oi kuutamolla eksynyt matkustaja, (O traveler lost in moonlit glade,)

Tule lepäämään sinne, missä hopeiset vedet kahlaavat. (Come rest where silver waters wade.)

Äänemme kulkevat vapisevien puiden läpi, (Our voices weave through trembling trees,)

Unelmien laulu tuulessa. (A song of dreams upon the breeze.)

Kädet harsoiset ja silmät kirkkaat, (Gossamer hands and eyes so bright,)

Tanssimme tähtiyössä. (We dance within the starry night.)

Yksi katse, yksi askel - ei haittaa, ei kipua, (One glance, one step—no harm, no pain,)

Jää vain, etkä enää koskaan lähde. (Just stay and never leave again.)

Aamu unohtuu, maailma jatkuu, (The dawn forgets, the world moves on,)

Mutta täällä kanssamme, sinä olet laulumme. (But here with us, you'll be our song.)"

"Hello!" Tristan shouted out, trying to find the source of the singing, looking around in all different directions.

The Matriarch landed on the outcropping and cleared her throat, roaring out, "Lord Tristan Winterbloom demands your attention!"

Tristan glanced at her as the singing suddenly stopped, "I don't demand their attention."

"Trust me, Tristan," she whispered. "They are vain creatures, very neurotic."

The lakes and pools rippled and then broke apart, and Tristan finally saw these nymphs. They were ethereal beauties; all women who were absolutely gorgeous. Their skin coloration varied in all manner of colorations just like the different colored lakes and pools. The hair color was complementary to their skin coloration, but all of them had what appeared as gossamer threads interwoven among the damp locks.

The eyes were like shimmering opals; black and silvery unless viewed from a different angle, then flickering in their eyes like rainbows. Almost all were slender, and they laughed, sang, and moved through the water – sometimes looking like people swimming, other times seeming to have their bodies shift into various oceanic and aquatic creatures. Not a semi-permanent shift like what Felicity could do, but a flickering shift that Tristan was not sure was a trick of the eye or actual magic.

He also felt very, very bashful because they were all very much unclothed. He turned to The Matriarch, "Uhm…I don't mean to be a prude, but they are all naked."

She blinked a few times then laughed, "Lord Tristan, you care about that?" She shook her head, "Get used to it. Nymphs are wild and untamed, just as the surging waters they hail from. They can travel from anywhere in a body of water to another part of that same body of water. Their songs are enchanting and can transfix non-Fey Realm occupants. And they can shift into the forms of aquatic creatures at will."

Tristan nodded and just kept his gaze on The Matriarch's hide. "They don't seem hostile."

"They are capricious. They could be kind now, and turn vicious the next."

The various voices clamored closer, and Tristan sheathed his sword, but kept all of his spells active. He turned and was thankful his armor covered his head, because he couldn't help but blush as the absolutely gorgeous women who were gathering around the base of the rocky mount he stood upon. Some turned into small fish, swam up the waterfalls, and took up spots in the pools slightly below him. They waved, giggled, and gossiped amongst themselves in Elvish.

"I…" Tristan cleared his throat and found his voice. "I'm Tristan Winterbloom. Lord of the Fey Realm. Do you…have a leader?"

A petite nymph with rainbow hair that glistened and sparkled popped up in one of the pools below him. She was attractive as well, but there was some sense of malice in her gaze that caused Tristan to instantly evaluate her as a threat. His Lucky Instinct spell seemed to back him up on that idea, as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle upward.

"I am Thallia," she said. Her voice was smooth, and her moderate-pitched voice rolled out like the ebb and flow of the tide, her words an elegant flow all their own. "Do you insist upon speaking in the Standard Tongue?"

Tristan nodded, "I know Elvish and can speak it well, but I am more comfortable with this language."

She crossed her arms over her bosom and the water below her lifted her out of the pool on a geyser, until she was at an equal height to him. She raised an eyebrow, "Let me see you."

I suppose there's no harm in that, Tristan thought as he stopped fueling his armor and it receded. This resulted in a lurid smile from Thallia. "Happy?" Tristan asked.

"I'd rather see more of you, but I understand given your heavy red blush that you may not be comfortable with that." She bowed slightly, then stood up. "So…you are the heir of Zeltana's legacy."

Tristan nodded, "That is correct."

Thallia glanced past him to The Matriarch, "And I trust that you're no different, eh Big M?"

The Matriarch let out a huff, "I've told you not to refer to me like that."

Thallia waved the comment away like chaff on the breeze, "I shall call you what I wish. You may protect the Realm, but you do not hold sway over it." She settled her gaze on Tristan again and smiled devilishly, "Unlike this one here. He is handsome."

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Tristan cleared his throat, "Sorry to interrupt, but was there anything I needed to solve since your portion of the Fey Realm was sealed? Any Incursions? Things I need to worry about fighting?"

Thallia put a hand over her bosom, as if flattered, "Ah, you called it my portion of the Fey Realm. Such a flatterer." She looked him up and down once more, and licked her lips. "You seek to reintegrate us as subjects, I trust?"

"Yes," Tristan replied. "I am going to be working on unsealing all of the Fey Realm, and rebuilding it."

"You will need to convince me," Thallia replied. "And there are a few ways to do that. The first is to elevate me in position. Restore the Fey Court."

Tristan glanced at The Matriarch who rapidly explained, "The Fey Court was a form of Fey Realm governance before Zeltana's sacrifice to save all from disease. Each bloodline of Elf had a representative, and Zeltana could overrule them all if she chose; but she left much of the Realm's matters to us. One of each species also served; so Unicorns, Spriggan, Nymphs, Gnomes, and more."

Thallia nodded and stepped off her geyser to walk up to Tristan. The fairy dragon escort surrounding him raised their scythe-paws, but she waved them off. "I don't have ill intentions," she said softly and soothingly. She walked around Tristan.

Tristan followed her gaze by turning his head slightly, "I do not plan on ruling with an iron fist like how my predecessor did. I want the Fey Realm to prosper under my rule. I've already brought non-Elves here."

This stopped Thallia in her tracks, and she cackled with delight, "Oh did you now? That is fantastic. I have always had a curiosity towards other heritages."

"Plus," Tristan added, "I have means to access The Mortal Realm, and have the beginnings of a trade empire. Having nymphs assisting my captains in their trade expeditions – with your inherent ties to the waters…imagine having a whole ocean to explore."

That caused Thallia's eyes to light up, and she grinned. "That sounds enticing…not for myself, as I do enjoy the Fey Realm quite a bit. But some of my sisters would jump at the opportunity." She traced a finger along Tristan's armor, "You would allow us into The Mortal Realm despite our reputation?"

Tristan blinked, "I've heard that Nymphs sometimes lure sailors to their doom."

Thallia shook her head, "Old wives' tales. Back when our portion of the Realm was unsealed, and Zeltana gave us permission, we could travel to The Mortal Realm. All we ever wanted to do was fill the world with our song and be promiscuous. Sitting upon the shoreline, or just in the water's edge, and singing our hearts and souls out. Plus, sleeping around which is always fun."

The Matriarch extended a wing around Tristan and pulled him in to whisper away from Thallia, "She speaks the truth, but sometimes those they sing to are utterly enthralled – not by enchantment necessarily, but by the beauty – and they spend their whole lives trying to chase Nymphs down. They have lured men to their death on occasion…but they are not inherently evil or cruel."

Tristan nodded and gently pushed her wing aside. "I would love to hear the song of the Nymphs echo once more in the Mortal Realm. I can take some of you out with me tomorrow morning, and we will be right next to the ocean. I do want you to help me, though. To enrich the Fey Realm." He walked over to her and tilted his head down slightly to look at her smaller frame, "Will you submit to my will if I agree to re-establish this court, and allow those who choose free reign of the Mortal Realm?"

Thallia grinned, "You have a deal." She tapped her forehead and then touched Tristan's chest plate. "Lord Tristan Winterbloom. I, Thallia of the Summerbalm Springs, Prime Nymph of the Fey Realm, do swear myself to your service." That smile shifted to a lurid look once more, "And I mean any service you desire from me. I will say, I've never had a Winterbloom Elf in my grotto before, I'd love the opportunity."

Once more, Tristan blushed mightily, and glanced back to The Matriarch, "Is there some type of ceremony or ritual?"

She shook her head, "Words can bind here in the Fey Realm. It is done."

Tristan looked back to Thallia, "Would you like to meet some of the new residents at the Queen's Wood?" he asked with enthusiasm.

"I would not be opposed." She looked past Tristan to The Matriarch, "Big M, mind carrying me?"

The Matriarch's eyes narrowed, and she curtly nodded, "I will convey you and Lord Tristan."

Tristan looked back to Thallia, "Oh, one other thing. That down there is actual water, correct?"

"That is correct. Not clearcool; though for our purposes, Nymphs can travel through clearcool just as easily." She walked over to The Matriarch and scrabbled onto her back. Tristan joined her, and as he got settled into place, he felt quite trapped as Thallia pushed herself back against him, grabbed one of his arms, and wrapped it around her midsection. She glanced over her shoulder with a slight pouty look, "Don't let me fall off."

"Aha! I knew it! Get over here you hussy!" Felicity came flying in towards Tristan and Thallia. "Stay away from him!"

Thallia cackled and waved away the batting paw-claws of Felicity. "Is your fairy dragon bound to you in such a manner? My, Lord Tristan, you are sure enjoying the benefits of your station, aren't you?"

Tristan looked at Felicity, "We're just heading back to the Queen's Wood. Nothing untoward has happened."

Felicity growled and flew past Thallia, to Tristan's head, and landed atop it. Her paw-claw biscuits were aggressive. "Don't sleep with Nymphs! They want nothing but sex all day every day!"

Tristan felt himself getting redder by the second, "Can we just not talk about that type of stuff?"

Thallia laughed as The Matriarch lifted off and the fairy dragons all formed up in escort. "Lord Tristan, are you not experienced?"

"I…urm…no," Tristan replied bashfully. "I have had a life of training in arms and armor. I did not have time for…that type of thing. And in the place I was raised…well, people did not like Elves, we shall put it that way."

"Thought you were a bit off," she replied with a giggle. "You got something else in you other than just Winterbloom, hmm? What is it?"

"Dragonslayer."

Thallia shrugged, "Never heard of it."

Felicity leaned down and whispered into Tristan's ear, "If she tries to get into your bed, shove her away! Nymphs always get into someone's bed, then mind, and soon enough you'll never want to leave it!"

The flight back was awkward for Tristan, and he just listened to The Matriarch and Thallia talk back and forth regarding Nymph restrictions and how the Fey Realm would operate. In effect, the court would be comprised of each different species that existed in the Fey Realm. Thallia for the Nymphs, The Matriarch for the fairy dragons, Tristan for the Winterbloom, and one of the new residents to the Fey Realm to be decided in an election. Of course, Tristan would be able to overrule anyone else if he chose, since he was the ultimate authority.

The Matriarch landed in front of the Queen's Wood, and Thallia slid off her back. "I forgot how gorgeous the trees were," she stated. Walking over to one of the twisting roots that extended out from the front of the Queen's Wood, she tapped a tiny puddle and it grew in size to a shimmering opaline pool. "And now Nymphs can come and go between the Summerbalm Springs and here with ease."

Tristan slid off The Matriarch, and she shifted into her elfanoid form. "Lord Tristan, shall I set up the court chamber?"

"Please do," Tristan replied glancing at her. "I have to let the residents know they must elect a representative." He looked back to Thallia, "I appreciate your advances – really, I'm flattered. But I am not ready to…do those types of things with people."

The Nymph ruler pouted, "Well…if you change your mind…I would love to see if the old rumor about how Winterbloom are in bed holds true. Zeltana, apparently, was quite the promiscuous one; but she did not have eyes for other women like me."

He swiftly turned and headed toward the tree houses with the various residents. Felicity leaned down next to his ear, "You're not really interested in her, are you?"

Tristan blushed, "She…she is attractive. But I think I can only really be with someone I care about on a deeper level, if that makes sense. I never visited the brothels like father, or grandfather in his younger years before he got his bloodline."

Felicity made a satisfied noise, "Good. Make sure if you do choose someone, it's a fairy dragon and not some d-i-t-z-y stupid Nymph. Insatiable bitches, that's what The Matriarch called them once."

"Still a little odd envisioning myself with a fairy dragon," Tristan replied as he began knocking on doors and conversed with Felicity in between informing residents. "It is just…weird. Sure, Zeltana may have done it, but you're cute-fox-antler-creatures."

"Elfanoid form is meant to be able to work with Elves," Felicity replied haughtily. "And we can change our features to match our partner's ideals. Minus our face. But you want a bigger bust or butt? That's something we can do. Not like those stupid watery tarts! Only thing they got going for them is their singing. I swear, I'd slap that fishy-bitch upside the head if I thought I could get away with it!"

Tristan was slightly taken aback at Felicity's harshness towards someone she must have just met, given her age. But he also took note of the commentary regarding bust size that was couched rapidly in the middle of the miniature rant. "Good to know."

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