Day 18 of Midwinter, Sunrise

Mag Mór, Tir Tairngire

Annwn

Finally, the Sword of Light was mine. The usurper king stared up, betrayal and sadness in his eyes. The blade remained deep in his gut. Inside, I felt Tadg fighting to regain use of the limbs that I now fully controlled. I smiled, watching the light fade from his father’s eyes.

As his life slipped away, the body I held grew and cracked, bones rearranging themselves. I wasn’t yet the size and shape I had held in Cruachan, but I was no longer trapped in the deformed in-between. Black feathers covered my body, even reaching my face and the sharp, cruel beak. My curved claws were jagged and sharp, veritable blades made for rending flesh from bone.

Danu toyed with the former queen, buying us time to achieve our goals. We would bring together all of the Síorláidir, in body and in weapon form.

Caileach had already acquired the imprisoned Arianrhod in the form of the Cauldron. I had the imprisoned Taranis in the form of the Sword. We would not bother with Eiocha. Without her domain, she was worthless to us.

Maponos, in his numerous forms as the Bodach, had Bren and the rest of the Tuatha completely distracted.

We still lacked Teutates as the Stone and Camulos as the Spear, but the new Síorláidir, the children of the Cold Moon, would bring them to us, unbidden. After the death of the Ellyllon, I was sure of it.

The giants and those they battled had mostly destroyed one another. That section of the battlefield was a grizzly mess of exploded flesh and broken bones.

Danu’s voice, low, resonant, and commanding, cut across the field. “Enough. Come to me.” I felt the inexorable pull of her summons.

Caileach raised her bloody hammer to her shoulder and turned, the grey tatters of her robe dragging through the gore. The multitude of soldiers that Maponos controlled grinned through the mask of their distended forms until finally the copies fell helpless amid the bodies of their victims. I flexed my new, half-formed wings, and together we moved toward the smoking horizon. Tech Duinn loomed, its peak lit crimson in the purple morning sky.

The survivors could not follow us there. Not yet. That was the design. We would allow them to lick their wounds and bury their dead. If and when they rose again to resist us, the battle would be on our terms.

Mag Mór seemed to sag in our wake. Screams grew distant. The clash of iron and steel dulled. Even the wind carried a hush, as it often did after a storm.

Tadg wailed from deep inside me, but I drowned the sound beneath the inferno that occupied the same space. I would not be captured again.

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Power swelled inside of me as Nuada’s boons were added to my own. Light. Judgement. Hunting. Beauty. I was the first Síorláidir to embody this many domains. I had no way of knowing exactly what would happen, but I laughed, feeling the domain power ripple through me as the notifications began.

Name: Aillén

Race: Corrupted Síorláidir

Current Power Rank - Combined Level 98

Current Progression Status:

Combined Physical Progression +105

Combined Mental Progression +102

Combined Spiritual Progression +100

Domains:

Judgment and Light

You have been gifted with the following boons:

Dawnpiercer

Blazing Mantle

Burning Pulse

Radiant Surge

Guilt-Sight

Penitent Brand

Domains Gained: Beauty and Hunting

You have been gifted with the following Beauty boons:

Radiant Countenance

Siren’s Tongue

Glamour Veil

You have been gifted with the following Hunting boons:

Hunter’s Instinct

Predator Endurance

Trophy Claim

You have one soul-bound affliction:

Possession- Tadg mac Nuadat

Innate Racial Abilities:

Rapid Regeneration

Advanced Identification

Magic Sense

One magic item is in your possession.

You have acquired: Gealltóir, the Vowkeeper.

Item abilities unlocked:

Scourge of the Fae- When wielding this saber against any fae, your attacks are twice as effective.

One relic is in your possession.

You have acquired:

The Sword of Light

Relic abilities unlocked:

Never Miss

Blinding Blade

The four Síorláidir stood, once again, on the topmost ledge of Tech Duinn, staring down into the fire and ash. I was reminded of the first time we had stood here, after we had reshaped Uisneach and created the Heart-shaped Pool for Danu. The landscape of Annwn and even our very bodies had been forever changed because of Danu’s will. After all this time, we still follow her commands.

We jumped and descended into Uffern as I let the description of my new boons play out in my mind. I hungered for the day when I could use them all to destroy any that stood in our way.

Radiant Countenance

Your form glows with an otherworldly brilliance. Allies rally to your side, while foes falter beneath the weight of your beauty.

Siren’s Tongue

Your words drip with enchantment, carrying the power to soothe, deceive, or ignite passion in all who hear them.

Glamour Veil

You bend perception with a thought, donning faces of awe or terror until none can tell the mask from the truth.

Hunter’s Instinct

No shadow, distance, or ward can shield your prey. You feel the pulse of pursuit as though the world itself guides your steps.

Predator Endurance

Your body surges with primal vigor, moving tireless and swift, as though every heartbeat were forged for the chase.

Trophy Claim

Each kill yields more than flesh; the essence of your prey lingers, a token of strength or gift of power bound to your triumph.