Myrddin's grand plan (Entry 104)

by Hayley Thomas

Dear diary,

Anaya’s threat made dealing with her a more urgent matter than we would have liked. Our two biggest worries about her talk with Luke were the foxant, as she would still need its egg for her ritual, and the Heart of Air. She had claimed to have retrieved it, which would have spelled disaster for the floating fortress and the giants. A quick sending to the foxant revealed the worst already. The creature was dead and its egg taken.

This of course increased our worry for the Heart of Air, so Luke cast a Legend Lore on the item, which revealed it was still in its location. Had Anaya lied about taking it? If so then I feared she wanted us to get it. Force our hand so to speak. And of course that would be exactly what we would do. A sending was done to the giants to announce our arrival. The reply relieved some worry in our hearts. The fortress was safe for us to come through. Luke teleported us to the teleportation room, where we were greeted by Ven.

Alistan inquired about Anaya’s claim of having taken the heart, but Ven assured us that nothing of the kind had happened. She then led us to Vespera, the leader of the fortress. We were greeted warmly, though with a hint of caution. Vespera thinks that we are there to gain control of the Heart of Air, but seeing there is a looming threat, they are willing to negotiate. They would need to land the fortress, seeing as they would lose control over it otherwise. Aside from that they require us to perform the ritual inside the fortress, so we do not need to remove the Heart of Air. All of this is of course acceptable.

Luke asked to inspect the Heart of Air, to see if everything was alright. I cast a non-detection spell on my brother so Anaya wouldn’t be able to scry the location. Call me overtly cautious, but I know what spellcasters are capable of and it would be unfortunate if she would simply be able to teleport into the room due to unnecessary risks on our part. After confirming all is in order, Luke rejoined us in the meeting.

Seeing as we need to do the ritual on board the fortress, we negotiated that they could land it near Tarn. We’ll be staying on board until we reach our destination, just to be sure. As we made ourselves comfortable, we pondered on how to deal with Anaya. In the end the best idea was to perform a fake ritual to draw her out, and then, hopefully, capture her. I suggested against informing Myrddin about this. I still don’t trust him to be on our side, but I seem to be the only one with reservations about what that is concerned.

The flight across the Lore wood to Tarn took the better part of three days. Anaya did not show up. I guess she won’t until we are exhausted, or fighting. Not while we’re on guard. I took the time to deal with another pressing matter. Inkheart. I had devised a plan to get her to release the cursed thorns from Liliana and Luke. Now I just needed her to agree to it. Luckily I have ways of talking to her. I cast a dream spell and transported myself into her dreams and shared my plan. I would turn her to stone, ending the need for her to feed, until the moment I could come up with a better plan. At that point I would release her again.

Of course this required an immense amount of trust from someone who I had not exactly been on friendly footing with. So in return she asked for me to show a sign of trust. In return for accepting my conditions, she asked me to tell her everything I know about Keralon, High King Ulther, and the feywild. A tall order which I need to think about.

The morning to the tenth, we arrived back in Tarn, and Vespera landed the fortress, burying it into the ground near the town. This of course drew a massive crowd. It is not every day that you land a giant flying mountain somewhere. Among them was Myrddin, who looked impressed. When we greeted him, he announced that he had a possible solution on how to deal with Ulther. Much sooner than expected I must admit.

We headed back to his cottage where he revealed his plan. He had done some research into what Ulther had been up to, and doing so from the point of view of the feywild. According to Myrddin, Luther had taken the King’s pledge, binding his essence to his kingdom. It would explain why both the Neverhold and the King have this massive scar. By doing so he hopes to become an archfey, simply by conquering the feywild. This also meant that if we weakened the Neverhold, it would weaken Ulther. Our best option as such would be to destroy his powerbase in the feywild.

And a good start for that would be to restore the kingdom of Immerglade. The last island of the ancient fey kingdom had never been conquered, because there is still an heir to that throne. And as long as there is an heir, Immerglade cannot be destroyed. I glanced over at Gael. He was the only other person in the room who that heir was, but his lips remained tight. Good, no need to divulge that information just yet. To also protect Tarn, Myrddin suggests using an altered version of Ulther’s ritual to transport Tarn into the feywild, and more specifically, into the Immerglade. Temporarily of course.

We looked at one another and nodded. It was an acceptable plan, and one with likely more success than trying to fight Keralon. The others then informed Myrddin about our plan to capture Anaya. He simply shook his head and said it would be all but impossible to do so. For a moment there was doubt whether we should attempt it at all but in the end we agreed we should still try.

Seeing as we would need all of us at our peak if we wanted to succeed, I informed them of my plan for Inkheart. And that I had agreed to share information with her in return. There were a few glances back and forth but no-one objected. Luke teleported us into the throneroom of Rosebloom, where the hag was waiting for us. I sent the rest outside as I sat down with Eileen Inkheart and told her all I knew about Keralon, king Ulther and the feywild. I omitted some details. Like what I knew of the Immerglade and such, but she didn’t seem to notice. What I noticed however, was that when I mentioned Vincent and his mask, there was a subtle twinkle in her eyes. She knows more about this than she lets on. I did not press the issue however.

When I had finished with my story she stood up. I once again promised to restore her when I had found a better solution, and she promised in return that if I didn’t, she would eventually get free, and then she would bring my soul back to haunt and torture me for a very long time. I just smiled. I have every intention to keep my promise, and If I for some reason don’t, then she would have every right to take revenge. She turned herself into a toad and I turned her to stone. A different kind of timeless prison. As soon as my spell was complete, the cursed thorns in Liliana and Luke pushed out of their veins and wilted away. One problem solved.

That evening, as Liliana had already gone to bed, I wrote several messages. Instructions that would go to people I trusted, to fulfil my promise in that case I wouldn’t be able to. Fiachna, the Morenthene, Rachnar, Zem, Saphira, and surprisingly…Myrddin. He is on the side of the fey after all.

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Entry one: The trials

Entry two: The bramble

Entry 3: Rosebloom

Entry 4: Hearts and Dreams

Entry 5: of ghosts and wolves

Entry 6: Hillfield and Deals with Fae

Entry 7: mysteries and pastries

Entry 8: The scarecrow ruse
6th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

Entry 9: A betrayal of satyrs
7th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 10: The fate of twins
8th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 11: Cursed twins
10th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 12: Loss and despair
11th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Hayley's rules to being a Witch

Entry 13: the price of safety
12th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 14: A golden cage and fiery tower
13th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 15: A trial by fire
14th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 16: Keralon
15th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Letter to Luke 1

Letter to Luke 2

Letter to Luke 3

Letter to Luke 4

Letter to Luke 5

Letter to Luke 6

Entry 17: I shall wear midnight
1st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 18: peace in our time
2nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 19: Caern Fussil falls
3rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 20: I see fire
4th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 21: Cultists twarted
10th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 22: Ravensfield
14th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 23: The Hollow Hill Horror
15th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 24: Burn your village
16th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 25: Ravensfield burns
17th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 26: There will be blood!
21st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 27: A happy reunion
22nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 28: The embassy ball
23rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 29: The fate of Robert Talespinner
24th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 30: A royal summons
28th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 31: of Dogville and Geese
29th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 32: A boggle named Pim
30th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 33: A deal broken
1st of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 34: The cost of doing what is right
2nd of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 35: A dish best served cold
9th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

entry 36: Cornu returns?
10th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 37: A letter from Amarra
11th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 38: The case of the (not) missing villagers
14th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 39: A curse broken
15th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 40: Into the Lorewood
18th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 41: Cabin in the Woods
19th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 42: Myrdin and Anaya
20th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 43: Into the Immerglade
21st of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 44: A tale as old as time
22nd of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 45: The truth
23rd of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 46: Luke's Ordeal
24th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 47: The festival
26th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 48: Trouble at the Cathedral
2nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 49: Quinn's court
4th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 50: onwards to Latebra Velora
5th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 51: Where is my cow?
6th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 52: Here be dragons
7th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 53: Dragon hoard with a side of scarabs
8th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 54: Leave the basilisks alone
9th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 55: Return to Ravensfield
10th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 56: The needs of the many...
11th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 57: Dreams of Sister Willow
12th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 58: wetlands be wet
13th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 59: Baron Perenolde
14th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 60: Talebra Velora and the lady Morenthene
15th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 61: Cypria
16th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 62: Dragon takes Knight
17th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 63: Return to Talebra Velora
18th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 64: Your presence is “requested”
19th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 65: I stand alone
20th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 66: A day of normalcy
21th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 67: Into the Neverhold
22nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 68: The Warg King

Entry 69: Chased by birds

Entry 70: Whitewail

Entry 71: Nimmerhold

Entry 72: The menagerie
29th of Gobu, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 73: To the library!
30th of Gobu, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 74: The people's tournament
First of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 75: Nimmerhold party
First of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 76, The return home
Second of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 77: A week of peace
10th of Mannan

Entry 78: The tomb of the First King
11th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 79: I had a dream
12th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 80: The ritual for Sister Willow
14th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 81: Trouble at the Briar Ring
15th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 82: My day as a crocodile
21st of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

The return of the twins (Entry 83)
22nd of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Earth and Sky (Entry 84)
26th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Wolf's Rest betrayed (entry 85)
30th of Mannon

The end of a chapter (entry 86)
first of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

On the road (Entry 87)
second of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

The Red Knight (Entry 88)
7th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Dear uncle… (Entry 89)
8th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Cut the bridge (Entry 90)
10th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Home (Entry 91)
13th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

A tale of two shadows (Entry 92)
16th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Eileen Inkheart and the cursed village (Entry 93)
17th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Nidhog at the end of the world (Entry 94)
18th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Into Hillfield (Entry 95)
24th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Did it have to be spiders? (Entry 96)
12th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

The burning tree (Entry 97)
13th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Deep down the city (Entry 98)
14th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Heavy is the crown (Entry 99)
21st of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Genie in a bottle (Entry 100)
24th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Bad blood (Entry 101)
27th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Think about it (Entry 102)
2nd of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Arca Valon (Entry 103)
6th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Myrddin's grand plan (Entry 104)
10th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Nearly lost you (Entry 105)
11th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Who let the dogs out? (Entry 106)
18th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Land of confusion (Entry 107)
19th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Running up that hill (Entry 108)
20th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

I know what I am (Entry 109)
24th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Welcome to paradise (Entry 110)
1st of solstice, 129 Era of the Tree

Come out and play (Entry 111)
1sh of Solstice, 129 Era of the Tree

This is war (Entry 112)
2nd of Solstice, 129 Era of the Tree

Good things go (Entry 113)
3rd of Solstice, 127 Era of the Tree

Myrddin's grand plan (Entry 104)

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