[The Cure] The Elysian Field

Henley glanced at Philicia and Golden Boy, curious to know if they were satisfied with this. Johnny Silverhand here was as mad as a hatter, but that didn't mean it wasn't going to be helpful. This was beyond his pay grade in terms of occult knowledge. "If the Monarchs want to proceed on this basis and are satisfied with the Oath presented by Dame Chunhua, far be it for me to interfere." Changelings worked issues out by way of Oath, and so if that was enough to satisfy the Kings and Queens, it was good enough for him.

The tired Ogre glanced at Yuan with a sympathetic look on his face, but he wasn't taken by the Playmate's emotional plea so much as an understanding of what the handsome Beast was going through.

"In stride? Hardly. We're making wartime decisions about a strike that is guaranteed to leave collateral damage and making decisions to try to minimize that damage, but it's a weighty, awful thing."

He leaned over a little toward Yuan.

"It's horrible that anyone should be a victim of the Fae. But so are we, and for once, the suffering will actually destroy something that needs to die as opposed to feeding the cycle. The Lantern will take no more."

One straightened finger found his own chest.

"It's not a hypothetical. The most recent victim is in the room with you, having just survived its Knight. That's my Fae. When it dies, it will never chase me again. This is what I desire above all - to be able to live my life without being hunted by it anymore, to have you and Gavin and our friends be safe from its agents when they inevitably come for me. It's too late for them, but when the deaths of the infected happen, I'll live with the fact that it was my doing. They'll haunt my nightmares, but I will sleep at night because nobody else will have to suffer because of It. That's the price of freedom for people like us, when we ever get a choice to pay a price to buy freedom at all."

Henley ties Yuan and wins on the reroll.

The Viper had been sitting in silence, listening to the going ons with a partially glazed expression. Aster knew very little about the finer points the Sovereigns and Not-Fawkes were discussing. She wasn't an occultist and knew this was out of her depth, but was thankful that she was not asked to leave. It meant someone wanted her informed at least, or that they at least respected her contributions enough to let her stay. Thus, the serpentine Beast was paying as much attention as her injuries would allow, partially distracted now and then by the pain, but more or less cognizant.

When sweet Yuan spoke up, Aster herself was unmoved, offering only a blink as Henley and Gavin grant the Peacock their own perspectives. For a moment the Viper thought to say nothing, but the flicker of conflict in her eyes signaled that she had something to say.


"This is a war," she croaked, forcing out the words as she collected her thoughts, "Nobody is thrilled about potential casualties, Yuan. No one wants humans to die, let alone folks here in the Freehold. The thing about peace is both sides either need to want it or one side's gotta be forced. And It can't be reasoned with. That means all the paths out of this thing are stained with blood, whether we want that or not."

"War is hell," she offered, "That's about the one thing I think everyone here can agree on. None of the options ahead are going to be good. None of 'em are going to be clean. And all of them are going to possess lives lost that shouldn't have even been in the crossfire... but I trust the Monarchs will take the path with the least amount of bodies."

It was a lot. It was too much. Objections kept piling on, one on top of another as people rose to defend their opinions. The Grimm shrunk, retreating to the back step by step.

“No, that’s not- I was-“ Words died on his lips, like overeager blooms on early spring frosts. Had he overplayed his hand? Probably. He had meant to point out how slippery the path was, to check everyone’s humanity.

All this talk of war. All this talk of hell. Like his day to day hadn’t been a living hell. Like he hadn’t weighted the price everyday when he opened his eyes. But obviously, he had no place in this room. No one needed compassion during a conflict. What they wanted were hardened and jaded soldiers.

I will have to pick them up. I will be the heir to all this guilt.

Moisture rose to Yuan’s eyes. “If you’ll excuse me,” he managed to croak, like grit against the glass, before his vocal chords seized with emotion. His lithe form left the Chamber in a hurried step to stop those present from seeing his sorry state. He would deal with this the same way he dealt with most things - outlive them. This too shall pass.

Croupier wasn't quite sure if he was hearing all of this right. Kidnapping humans? A mass sacrifice? All in the name of "safety"? It couldn't be that easy - just end a bunch of lives and hope it gave us the firepower to beat back the Fae? The whole thing sounded like a gamble...

The thought turned the Leechfinger's mouth into a smile. Yes. A gamble. With the biggest bet in history on the line - with a payout that could benefit everyone.

But most importantly... would it leave the Hedge open? Clear a path to his prize?

The more he thought about what the Nymph was saying, the more enraptured Dan Miller became. He hated seeing Yuan and Henley on opposite sides of the issue - they had been to him, and the budding business opportunity with Yuan would have normally been the factor that decided his allegiance. That is, if the offer on the table wasn't already so tempting.

Remembering he had the Nymph's number, Dan searched for his phone and fumbled it out of his jacket pocket. Keeping the phone low so the light could not betray him, the Leechfinger sent a quick text which read:

Ready to do whatever needs to be done.

Fawkes seemed to perk up, clearly having not considered the risk posed to the Elemental being piloted. "Oh! Goodness me, that is an interesting angle. I would have to touch it before the fairy ring was sealed, or I would simply break the ward. I suppose that means I'll have to do it backward from the inside out," they laughed, the tone ringing in an alien fluctuation. "A hob is a hollow being that does not dream. They hunger for one thing that defines their reality, yes? I would simply destroy it if I tried."

They flexed the mannequin's hand in front of them, considering. "Well I suppose I could chop it off before anything sticks, potentially. Nothing might even happen, or the madness can be corrected in post." The crystalline eyes flicked to Lotus, "He could just get a new one. Probably better, too, from the Market. And I am fairly certain if I ask,"

The entity tilted their head to glance at Golden Boy, "That I will receive the suicidal Onyx rhetoric I've been subjected to for the last few months. If he can stop a Keeper, I think he would find it's worth the limb. You have a pension plan, right your Lordship?"

"I'm sure I can find a reason to keep Fawkes on payroll if it stops a Fae."

Beyond that, Henley remained quiet. He was ready to go.

Henley, the Knight of Lores, the Knight of Storms gathered with the Witch King himself to cast the darkest of curses they could muster, with Victor handing his inspiring will to bolster his monarch. The Ogres chanted with sharp teeth, hands designed to wring life from throats, and primal magic of vengeance and petty malice. The downfall of the plague-ridden poisoned the threads of fate, and the hearts of the Terrible reveled in their buried nature, thundering at the chance to enact their shameful instinct for the good of their people.

Cinderella worked with Anthony Cartwright, using their connections and resources to drafting the illicit event that drew the crowds of the cultists for an industrial rave, and working Tanner's social media to set the bait. Victor and Lotus Eater made sure the right channels were tapped to reach the motorcycle gang, spinning his own Plan from the magic of a Mastermind and the Mask of a leader to recruit those moving on the mindless call of Phenex and Amdusias. Croupier herded some of the outliers, promising better thrills with a charming smirk. The Autumn Fairest also worked with Lotus Eater's experience in security, along with Blaze to make sure the site was secured and prepped as the the Sun Banisher, Roger, worked with Talos to get a handle on signal blocking while other court members, including Aster, swept the dying blocks for any undue surprises and sheltering mundies.

Icarus had arrived, but his Mantle was out of control. A quarter of the way through painting the Ring pattern into the concrete, no amount of encouragement seemed to land as the Fairest stared down the barrel of how many dead would be on his hands if he botched a detailed sigil. Shaking hands forced several redoes, and Fawkes' corrections seemed to only regress his confidence, and the waves of perfectionism was beginning to set off Gavin and Cinderella as everyone had worked up a cold sweat. Scorpio eventually called King Saturday, flustered and frustrated as the other Knight seemed to be pacing the premises and smoking a joint while he called his motleymate. Productivity picked up without him, and that seemed to be the final nail in the coffin. The Knight of Brambles was clearly unimpressed as the team was left in the lurch, and the Entity was relied upon to take point. As Cinderella eventually required a break (unlike those of the tireless Beast), she ate her snack on one of the higher overhangs to regard their work, eventually calling Gavin up for him to see the level of complication that was now covering the majority of the warehouse's floor. Running an eye for the strange, Gavin confirmed what Lamassu had promised, noting the layered reality crushing the space of dreams and unfettered ideas into layered tiers of armoured prison that spanned the planes. Looking at it made them both lose their lunch.


Henely's suggestion with evoking Desire with the Stranger had landed to the younger Elemental, Croupier, after Lancelot expressed a balancing factor among excited Springs that him and Buck risking enthrallment would prove to be disastrous. A grand charge would be be unnecessary, but containment was essential. As the rave was kicked off, Blaze and Aster blended as bouncers of a sort, quietly marking and herding party-goers back into the fray, while also removing those who shouldn't have been there. Yuan was deployed as a softer touch for some of the clueless students, with grateful looks from Cinderella as he led them to safety. Talos had constructed an alarmingly accurate database, going under the radar as the one who had been culling Anthony's friends in the first place.


As planned, the lured infected started actively looking around and asking for Tanner among the attendees, his appearance flickering in and out of rumour as Croupier plugged away at the Spring Contract. Fights were starting to break out as interrogations escalated.

Winter Court officially declared the numbers satisfactory.

The herding motleys outside heard the radio traffic through their earpiece, counting down the summoning and the drop of the Entity in the Fae's subconscious. Lotus Eater held the dagger of fire close and ready as they stood next to the Spring-infected Elemental beholding the edge of the Ring. Lamassu rolled their neck.


They were there to contain the chaos from leaking the Killing Floor.

Nate Henley kept close to the Sun's Tongue, eyes blown and shark-like as he swallowed the anticipation of the blood in the water, and his Keeper on the doorstep.


Gavin was in charge of locking down the circle with the final sigil, in sequence with established contact. 

Lamassu knelt in sequence with the other Beast and etched the final phrase of the Name.


The mic cut and stuttered to sharp clarity as the listener was plunged and immersed in a howling bray that pierced the mind and lifted the spirit too high, too fast, making everyone stupid from the dizzying elation and primal rush.

For those inside, the wax and ear protection did nothing, melting to the glory in the wake of a God.

A mask manifests a Title, splitting into a white crow that vomits the face of a child-like entity. Saturn’s rings flicker and manifest into a halo of matter and vibrancy, shifting to an eight foot tall elven figure, the collar of their dress sprouting into antlers that twist and bloom from the back and skull, the details of its splendor impossible to see in the chromatic shimmer as the mycelium spread and rooted into the world awake. The bloom repurposed and tore through bodies in razor notes of trumpets and flutes, flooding the vision in the strobe of a shared heartbeat- A gasping mouth- Eyes erupting petals- Blood to liquid fever and diamond iridescence-



Lotus Eater remembered to breathe as Law returned, dancing on the edge of madness as she caught the Elemental. She could have just cut the finger. The world was sliding. She cut the hand.


They didn't know if Gavin had sealed the Ring. All the mental preparation had been for not. They didn't know why they were on the other side. They didn't know how they was looking at everyone.

Don't look up.






Mad laughter shrieked through the mic, distorted in time as it flooded everywhere at once, backwards and forwards, taken up by hundreds of voices that shook the building.

Cinderella's Wyrd had cracked to the surface of her form, her Mantle painful to behold as the fires of Summer’s hatred distort and speaks with the Authority of the Season itself. For a moment, the cacophony is drowned out, her expression tranquil as molten tears burn from her trembling smile.


Blades came out. The cult descends as the wave of wanton assault crashes in a torrent of unchecked violence. The Title burns with the contact of the blood, becoming blindingly alight like magnesium to water as the cacophony joins the culmination of the Freehold’s vengeance: it’s like an angelic chorus.



This is right.



This is good.



The dedication to Wrath is intoxicating.