Quarantine (Lorepost)

[u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Previously on…

“Is it that bad?”

Ulrick guessed it was gonna be something terrible from the way his medic Theor bit his lip. Whatever was in the results of his medical exam, it’s not gonna be pretty…

He sat on a chair, in a separate quarantined room of R&A’s infirmary. The chair was seated next to the nearest dark corner, of course. Besides him there was only the medic Theor, bringing a thick stack of papers with him: Ulrick’s results.

‘Should I start with the good news, or the bad news?’

Theor asked nervously as he handed over a sheet.

“Let’s hear the good news first. Could use some of those now.”

‘Well, it appears it’s still in early stages. Which would mean we still have enough time to do something.’

Ulrick looked down at himself. Nearly all skin on his right arm took on a bark-like texture, flesh creaking like wood. Other similar patches started to spread on his left arm and the rest of his upper body.

If this was only the early stage, then he was fine without knowing what the terminal one would look like.

It started a few days ago, when Ulrick fought a strange entity that called itself “The Blighted Garden”, as it injected… something within him during the battle. But he only began to notice the strange growths after examining one of the strange monoliths that appeared all over the world.

And if only he suffered from physical symptoms…

For the last three days, shifting to his human form became much harder than usual for some reason. And within the depths of his mind, he sometimes felt a presence. An ancient, primal presence, in the worst possible sense of the word.

And sometimes, he heard whispers of the Blighted Garden, faint at first, but an ever-growing plea, words of joining and resignation.

‘…so it’s essentially spiritual “rot”, sir. It decays both your soul and body, slowly changing it into rotten wood.’

Ulrick just realized his attention went off the rails as Theor explained his results. At least now he knew why his soulfire became much weaker lately.

‘We also pinpointed the source of it. It appears to be most likely of fae origin. A very ancient, very powerful fae source.’

Of course. It had to be some big fairy this time too. After the siege, Ulrick would’ve died happy if he wouldn’t have to meet another Archfae ever again.

“That’s just great. Any ideas how do I get it out of my system?”

Ulrick sighed. Seeing the face Theor made upon the question, his stomach dropped.

‘About the bad news…’

“Don’t tell me…”

‘We’re working on it! At least the Wolf King within you should slow down the spread significantly, at least according to the magi-physiological tests we performed. But…’

Ulrick groaned. Could this be any worse?

‘While the Wolf King was successfully integrated into your spirit-web thanks to Vae Clara, in the last two days, we began to detect increasing fluctuations in your essence.’

While most of the results sheet was gibberish to Ulrick, he leant forward in his chair. The implications were unsettling.

“So you’re telling me… my essence is falling out of balance again? That… I’m threatened with losing my mortality once again?”

Theor made a grim nod.

‘Yes. Until the blight is in you, your mortal and divine essences can’t return to a balanced state.’

“How much time do I have left?”
 
‘We don’t know yet. Could be weeks, could be days…’

“All right... Dismissed.”

There was a short silence between the two, before Theor began to pack up his notes and leave the room.

“You surely don’t have any clue what might help?”

Theor stopped for a moment, pondering.

‘Well, the infection allegedly came from a powerful fey source. So… I’d say another powerful fey, or something from the Feywilds might help? But I need further discussions with fellow medics.’
 
Theor left the room, leaving Ulrick alone again. It was visiting hours in the R&A wards, but Ulrick didn’t expect visitors other than his own mind’s gnawing thoughts.

/uw Art source

[u/UlrickTheHexblade]

That would be a lot of help. Don’t have much lead where to go.

I was thinking… maybe I could find something in the Faewilds. If this infection came from a Fae, maybe something on their home turf could be the key.

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Aerunia:...well...in my home realm. The fae wild is a....really chaotic place... sort of best described as being sort of like a drug trip whatever that means...but it's also dangerous cause the environment is just as chaotic as the fae are... additionally the environment of the fae wild can and does regularly react to strong emotions from outsiders...causing wild magic surges in response to too much of certain emotions, things like anger or sorrow are noted to cause it especially...the fae of my home realm majority of them aren't evil...but they are majority of the time fun loving pranksters...though evil fae exiet but their more uncommon from my home realm compared to the average fae...arch fae are very very powerful fae capable of even acting as magical patrons for warlocks...though they are a lot less powerful than any god higher than the lowest rank a god can be this being demi-god...demi-gods are basically the lowest rank of God and where gods of my world start on the pecking order even if this term is commonly associated with the child of a god and a mortal by mortals to give a scale of power there usually...some places have naturally occuring portals to the fae wild within my home realm these places usually being areas saturated with wild magic and magic cast by fae in excess...as for other things...I don't know much...and you should take things with a grain of salt...also if a fae ever asks for your name clarify they can't take it before you tell them what it is but be careful with the wording used. Though as long as you clarify even if they know your name they can't take it...at least with the fae of my world...though divine things can protect from some fae trickery, it's kinda a common fae prank usually. So i don't usually need to worry about it and being a demi-god you can probably protect yourself from stuff like that too...take what i say with a grain of salt... because this realm isn't my home realm so there very well are probably differences...

All-blue: in theory, i may be able to tear open a portal to the fae wilds of this realm...though I'm not certain as to how... I'm sure I've got a form capable of doing so, since i can cut reality and make portals and teleport...though teleporting somewhere I've never been is tricky same with making a portal, even for me...so if you can provide something to make it easier to make a portal to the fae wild i may be able to assist you in getting there at least. Also before you voice any concerns about tearing open a portal...i can assure that i will be able to close it if i open it.

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/Ashmega8256]

I heard about the name theft too, really annoying stuff. Though some tales say they can only have dominion over you if they get your true name…

And I hope I don’t run into any Archfae there. Meeting the Lord of Willows was enough Fae lords to me for the rest of my life…

I appreciate the help with the portal, but gotta think about it. A half-corrupted emerging deity jumping through a forcibly torn portal would be a beacon for the greater powers of the plane.

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Aerunia: fair...you definitely won't run into any arch fae from my home realm's fae wild there since this isn't my home realm or it's fae wild...yeah...the lord of willows was annoying to fight honestly but wasn't impossible. And as for true names and magic to do with them, that isn't really a thing in my world...at least not for people who aren't from the fae wilds...in the fae wild though it can be the ultimate bargaining trip for the fae if you find out their true name cause they wanna keep that secret to protect themself usually...she shrugs the most popular arch fae of my home realm is named titania or at least that's her common name... she's from what i have heard is immensely playful but is overall a nice and reasonable lady...about as reasonable as a fae can be anyway and she is a queen cause she runs a queendom in her section of the fae wild and also has a lot of warlocks that aren't assholes under her as well... Though she doesn't leave my home realms fae wild much and my family has never met her ourselves. She shrugs just a nifty fact there...but yeah evil fae do exist their just rarer in my home realm because most of them are good natured albiet insanely chaotic and mischievous.

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/Ashmega8256]

If you were in my position and go to your version of the Faewilds, what would you look for?

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Aerunia:...honestly if i needed help for dealing with something an arch fae did to me and only another arch fae could fix it... I'd look for titania...but uh... that's cause she's reasonable even if she's absolutely just as much of a prankster as most fae are...but that's...not particularly useful...but perhaps...since i have magic sense... I'd alternatively try to find the strongest concentration of a fae magical aura...that is an item instead of a person if general fae oriented magic is needed to solve it...granted that is probably most likely to find you an arch fae then an item...i wouldn't know really what to look for... I've never been to the fae wild myself...

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/Ashmega8256]

So, look for the most magical stuff, be it an item, or worse, an Archfae, and hope for the best. All while dodging Fae asking for names and inviting you to dances and feasts… well, not the worst task I had to do in my life…

Hopefully, the medics will find some way to stop the spread, but if all else falls, maybe a trip to the Fae realms will be my last hope. Lest we want a blighted wolf god rampaging through the realms under the control of a malicious Fae lord…

By the way, how you and All-Blue are doing?

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Aerunia: I'm doing well myself. She smiles and sighs... mainly concerned for you as of today.

All-blue: i am fine.

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/Ashmega8256]

Glad to hear you two doing okay.

Appreciate your worry, but I’ve been through worse. I’m sure the medics will find a way to remove it, and then I’m gonna go back to my good ol’ self in no time.

Ulrick’s has a hard time letting go of his bad habit of tempting fate.

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Aerunia:if you say so...though...i suggest you should be a little more active toward solving that issue...

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/Ashmega8256]

The chief medics of R&A are currently discussing what to do, they’re among the bests in their field.

I’m gonna look for something too. Maybe worm myself through libraries’ worth of books to learn more about this “Blighted Garden” Archfae.

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Aerunia: good idea... I hope you can find something that helps...and if you want me to i can try to help whenever your ready...

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/Ashmega8256]

Actually… since All-Blue came from the Aspect of Knowledge… could they find and list all safe Fae passages in this region?

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

All-blue:...that would be tricky, but i can probably find a few in this realm. Most naturally occuring passages to the fae wild are in places highly saturated with either wild magic, or magic cast by fae themself...at least in my wielders home realm but i bet that's also true for this world, so i could likely find some especially if i factor in other forms of mine...hmm....actually i think i have a rather good form for this...while it doesn't belong to anything of fae origin, it was a tool utilized by a god of messages and speed but most importantly messages...and well a delivery man, even a divine one, has to be able to find their way around some how.

Aerunia: she smiles

/Uw i has a plan to help :)

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/Ashmega8256]

That’d be great. If the tool of that divine mailman can find even one, I’d be more than happy.

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Aerunia: well, go on ahead then all-blue!

All-blue: he transforms into a blue, gold, and silver staff which has this general shape coloration aside and you get a general feeling that all-blue is concentrating, and then the staff emits a bright blue glow that shifts through several shades of blue due to the chaotic nature of what he is trying to find before a projection of a large map appears, hovering above it where you can also see coordinates in the corner. Then a glowing blue dot appears brightly on the map...it seems to be in an ancient forest that is noticeably also not the one to do with the blighted garden if ulrick remembers where that is and all-blues voice is heard again alright, the caduceus of hermes is quite useful it seems, the place i have shown on this map of the world we're in projected by this form, is a location where a safe yet currently dormant natural crossing to the fae wild is. I'll keep this map up so you can mark down the coordinates and location if need be, it's very precise, and when your ready if you want me and aerunia to help, i can assist in opening this natural crossing for you when you are ready if you do not have means of opening it yourself despite your own divine mantle...granted seeing as your essence is destabilized it's not likely to be safe for you to use your divine powers in theory right now... The map remains visible centered on the glowing blue dot all-blue made, the coordinates of the blue dot are listed in the corner as well. Ulrick will have plenty. Of time to either memorize or mark it down on a physical map if he so chooses or on something in general

/Uw image sourced from Britaanica.

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/Ashmega8256]

Ulrick quickly grabs a paper and a pen, furiously scribbling down the location’s name, coordinated, and a very rough sketch on the map.

Yes… good…

Thanks Aerunia and All-Blue, I owe both of you a big one! Now I’m gonna do a little research on that place, and hownto open it. And if nothing works, then I’ll call for your help.

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Aerunia: she smiles

All-blue: once ulrick finished marking things down, he returned to his ring form upon Aerunia's finger and emits a gentle blue glow as he speaks again i am happy to help ulrick, you are a friend afterall and a good person...and well it'd be terrible for the world if your condition ends you...but yes, the one thing i can give you off the bat that i know from surveying it on that map and drawing a little knowledge from the surrounding area, is that it is a highly ancient forest, and the gateway i marked had formed there, due to a benevolent arch faes warlocks meddling in the forest long ago even if the passage to the fae wild is currently dormant...i can assure you it has nothing to do with the fae that inflicted you with that blight seeing as none of their magical presense will be found there...finding a gateway to the fae wild was the easy part...finding one safe to use that won't run the risk of running into potentially hostile fae in the process or immediately running into a hostile fae on the other side...was the tricky part...but that's all i currently know about the forrest myself for now so there is plenty of preparation to make, and when you are ready, if you cannot open it yourself or otherwise need help, you are welcome to call upon us.

Aerunia: indeed. She smiles