A forest that was not there yesterday

[unprophesied_of_ages]

The Lord Ruler is in his palace, when he sees a sight he hasn't seen in centuries. Trees, sunlight...is he hallucinating? The fact that there's a forest in his living room isn't the surprising part. The fact that there's a forest on his planet is. As soon as he walks through the door to where his living room isn't, it's definitely not a hallucination.

His stores of Allomantic metals abruptly disappear. They're still physically there, but the power is completely gone. He immediately turns to go back, only to see more forest.

At least his Feruchemy still works—he can tell because he's still alive—but that won't last him forever. He only has so much stored youth, and without both sets of abilities he can't replenish it. He hasn't been in so much danger since the beheading that one time. Returning to Scadrial is the highest and currently only priority. If spontaneous forests are a thing, he needs to find someone who can explain them and more importantly how to get back.

The next few hours are spent walking in an essentially randomly chosen direction, with the sun to his right. He's quite certain that suns are supposed to be moving across the sky, but that's not a pressing emergency. He already knew he wasn't on his own planet when he saw proper trees and plants instead of ash-covered monstrosities. Whenever he calls out, nobody responds. If it's an empty spontaneous forest, he's probably doomed.

After some time, he hears his stomach growl. He hasn't seen much that looks edible, but possibly that's just because he's not used to real plants. Berries. Berries used to exist. Those berries look tasty, and if they're poisonous it's not like he needs to worry about it. As always, he has a truly ridiculous amount of stored health in his gold jewelry. Tapping gold just in case, he eats a handful.

Comments

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"They don't have ways to sense it directly? Then we'll have to be convincing. Offer to destroy things in exchange, maybe, or even let it think it might be able to talk someone into letting it out.

I can buy this world a thousand years at a time, but sorcery is the only thing I've heard of that might permanently destroy the threat. If it might work, I want to try to look into it."

[imeanforever]

"The reason mental sorcery is so obscure - that Thorn didn't have Twirl rearrange my brain to suit him - is that you need uncoerced, genuine, freely supplied insight into the mind you want to ensorcel. You can't get that from a vassal and I'm not sure you can get it from someone you're bribing who's trying to manipulate you."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"We can pick some gratuitously destructive sorcerer and hope they hit it off? I'm already far from sure this would work even in the best case."

[imeanforever]

"But this is clearly not something that will work in the next month even if Ruin is very chatty. So that's a lower priority."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"I did say nothing was immediately urgent.

How many vassals are left that we need the—her for? We haven't stopped Thorn yet."

[imeanforever]

"Is there anyone in your court whose name only you know?" Promise asks the Queen.

"No."

"What would you need to do in order to quickly and efficiently collect a court of between sixty and one hundred fairies in four to eight locations, heavily skewed towards sorcerers, expertly commanded and mostly psychologically loyal, fifteen hundred miles from your palace but with a gate available?"

"I would send my Arcane and his Red Flight of vassals, and the Diamond Nine. If I knew the court leader's identity I could omit the Nine."

"But even without that identity, you're sure Arcane and the Flight and the Nine can take care of it?"

"Yes."

"Who leads the Nine?"

"Veracity knows the names of the other eight."

Promise finds Veracity on the chart and then consults her map. "Will they need the gate?"

"Not necessarily. Arcane can cross the distance."

"Quickly?"

"In minutes."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"Is there a safe way for us to see Thorn's face when he realizes who's after him?" Alendi is asking the important questions.

[imeanforever]

"Probably not," says Promise. "Queen?"

"Canvas of the Flight is a gifted artist and could produce a rendering if she witnessed it."

"So there's that."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"Close enough, I suppose."

"Oh, and you should probably pick a nickname, your former Majesty."

[imeanforever]

"I am the Queen," insists the Queen.

"She can call herself whatever she likes," says Promise. "We will not win ourselves any points with any fairies, even ones who hate her, if we try to call her something else. Even Thorn lets his vassals self-nickname."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"Even when they name themselves things like, for example, 'the Queen?' asks the Lord Ruler.
"But if there's a lot depending on it, accuracy isn't that important."

[imeanforever]

"I could call myself the Eternal Perfect Empress of All That Exists and all anybody would do about that is ask if I minded them shortening it to 'Perfect'," says Promise. "She can be 'the Queen' until she no longer feels it represents her well."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"If it's that important to every fairy, it's probably not worth it to press the issue."

[imeanforever]

"There may be oddballs on the subject but it's very pervasive." Promise shrugs and turns back to the Queen. "What instructions would you give Arcane and Veracity to mobilize them and theirs against the court I have in mind?"

And presently Promise and the Queen have hashed out airtight versions of these orders, delivered them to Arcane and Veracity, and seen the relevant fairies streaking off towards Thorn on the wings of Arcane's spell. (Promise looks like she may have a crush on Arcane.)

[unprophesied_of_ages]

(Alendi is going to fail to notice that.)

"To the gate to Thorn's court, then? Since that's where the Flight and the Nine can deliver him."

[imeanforever]

"I'll reopen it after giving them half an hour to mop up."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"I like the idea of being able to mop up Thorn's entire court in half an hour."

[imeanforever]

"Me too."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

Alendi is going to spend some of that half hour deciding whether to have Thorn paraded through the streets like emperors everywhere, or just announce victory.

[imeanforever]

And after the half-hour elapses, Promise opens the gate to Thorn's court, and sends the Queen through to have a look around, and the Queen returns to report that the work is complete.

When they get there, all of the vassals who were in the court near the waterfall are lined up neatly in the garden, blinking and breathing but otherwise still, and Veracity is standing watch over them. Thorn is not among this set.

[unprophesied_of_ages]

This should probably have been predictable. Thorn does have multiple courts.

"Make them answer our questions," Alendi orders the ex-Queen. "Truthfully and without tricks."

[imeanforever]

The Queen repeats this order.

[unprophesied_of_ages]

Alendi can't really tell which fairies would be highest-ranking, so he asks some who they answer to and questions the person they point out.

"Where is Thorn."

[imeanforever]

"Sir," Veracity interrupts, snapping her fingers at the fairy who was about to answer and shutting him up, "we've got all the sub-courts already. According to Arcane, Thorn is in the one south-southwest of here."

Promise giggles.

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"Oh." The Flight and the Nine are good. "Have him brought here, then, locked down enough to be safe to a vassaled mortal.
Er, pass that on," he directs to Veracity's master.