The web took his mind. His body was fine, he was where he had been as he had been, but his mind...

As near as he could tell, the room turned dark, a swirling place of mists and air that rolled without feeling cold or hot. A girl was there, a woman, but without the curves one generally associates with maturity. She wore a black spidersilk dress that was webby across the upper chest, small dark jewel chips at the junction of the strands. She wore a necklace with a teardrop shaped Jewel of shifting colors, and a second necklace, a gold hourglass pendant, all the dust in the bottom chamber, which rested below it. Her shaggy blond hair was almost long enough to pass her shoulders. Her eyes were deep Sapphire, and her voice, when she spoke, held caverns and depth.

“Captain,” she said simply, a nod of her head towards him, “I apologize for this interruption, but this seemed the best way to communicate with you. There is a being, I believe he is known to you, called as near as I can tell, Q. He is going to kidnap two of my people shortly, and will abandon them on your vessel. This I know as fact. I have seen what I can see, and the cost to retrieve them is too high. They must remain for a time. I apologize for that, and were it safe to do so, I would simply retrieve them. The Q entity is stubborn, however, and there is a strong chance that doing so could plunge the realms into another war. We are just beginning to recover, and as my people can be safe with you, I shall entrust them to your care."

“But they are not your people, they are the Blood, and there are things that you, as a Landen, need to know. They must respect you, and in turn, there are things that you too must respect. I shall do my best to ease this transition.“


Sapphire eyes lightened to sky-blue, and her voice softened, sweetened. If this had been the first experience of her, even with the dress, it would have been easy to take her for a somewhat simple young woman – sweet and unimposing.

“This message will play twice. Once now for you, and then once again when your healer is present. There are things she must know as well. Once she is with you, and you are both ready, you will have to activate the web. If you wish others to hear this message as well, they will need to mix their blood with yours and hers.” She pursed her lips, clearly trying to figure out how to explain. She sat back on the air, feet hooking back as if on the rungs of a stool that simply was not there, the dress trailed below her. “To activate the web,” she said, clearly trying again, “simply prick your finger and allow a drop of blood to touch the Jewel at the center. She must do the same. The message will then appear to you both. It is keyed to the blood based on gender, so if you wish more people to hear, the people of one gender may take their time adding the blood, but the blood of all people of the second gender must touch the Jewel at the same time.” She gave him a small apologetic smile. “I would have just made the web a summoning spell and come in person, but my husband had hysterics when I suggest it.” Her smile became warm and loving, though the look in her summer-sky eyes was exasperated.

“To the medical side first, then.” A small glass appeared in her hand and she took a sip before vanishing it again. “The two who will first be taken are a Black Widow Queen and a Demon Dead Warlord Prince. Each has their own health concerns. The Queen first.

“As a Blood female, she will be unable to use her powers without great pain to herself for three days out of every month, this is called her Moontime. The only reason my father and brother do not get to speak to this is that I promised I would.” She muttered something uncomplimentary in an unknown language. “A witch’s moon time involves blood, and males get a little… testy… when a witch they serve is bleeding, especially when that blood means that she is vulnerable. We females grudgingly allow the males around us to fuss, if that is what will make them less likely to tear out someone’s throat. Expect arguments, expect her to be snappish and sharp tonged.” She seemed to consider. “More so than usual. Expect him to be on edge and defensive. The best thing, really, is to leave them both alone for those three days. However, right before her Moontime, and she will know when it is coming, ideally she should have contact with the land. If your ship comes to a port where this is possible, this will help ease the Moontime discomfort.“

She brushed some hair back, and then seemed glad to be done with that subject. “Because she is a Queen, she will instinctively crave a connection to the land. Even when it is not her Moontime, if it is safe to do so, please let her spend some time with the plants when possible. This may be an issue with the Warlord Prince, but I will get to that. The Blood are the caretakers of the realms. We were created to protect the people and the Land and the Queen is that bridge."

“As a natural Black Widow, she has a venom sack under the fingernail of her right ring finger. The healer should keep some samples of her venom in stock, incase of emergencies. The venom sac needs to be milked every few weeks, and one of the first warning signs of trouble if it is not is that the finger will become very hot. If it is not milked, the venom can crystalize and milking it would be almost as painful as not, however if it is not… the pain will build until only the removal of the venom sac, and the finger with it, will end the pain. Hopefully she will not be stupid enough to let it get to that point normally, but should she be in a deep healing sleep for too long, it will have to be done for her. After the milking, she must have some poison; ideally her own, but if it is too thick, the body will reject it. She will be able to make some in advance that is safe and will retain potency. The healer should ask for some of that to keep on hand, just in case. To make with her own, there should be four drops of her own poison mixed with a warm drink."

“It will also help to have some of her venom on hand to make an antivenom, for if she uses her snake tooth against someone else. As she would only do such a thing in defense, I doubt she will be willing to assist with a cure, but she might be, you would have to ask her."

“Now, as to the Warlord Prince, Warlord Princes are violently passionate and passionately violent, however as the first Blood Male who will be taken is Demon Dead, the passion is not an issue, although the violence is. As a Demon, he does not need to eat food or drink water. He can be injured, but is harder to kill, and healing Craft will not work well on him. The sunlight will cause him pain. Being a stubborn male, he will try to ignore this in order to protect the Queen. You must not let him. He must drink three glasses of Yarbrah a day. I will send some as needed. If he cannot get that, he needs fresh blood, I recommend sheep blood, three times a day, about a spoonful, and once a week, about a spoonful of human blood. However, what he needs, and how long it will sustain him depends on the strength of the person who offers their blood. This is the only thing that can heal him if he is injured, and even this cannot regrow lost limbs."

Her eyes became sapphire again, and there was midnight in her once more spherical voice. “He is a Warlord Prince, and there will be a Queen. It does not matter that she is not HIS Queen, what matters is that she is the best chance anyone has of keeping the initial meeting from becoming a bloodbath. A Queen’s will is the leash that holds a Warlord Prince. When they arrive, make sure to be in the welcoming party. Then you need to tell the Queen the following: “The Queen of Ebon Askavi bids you welcome, and requests that you stay among my people a while, in peace.” Be careful of your word choices, and address the Queen, though the male will seem the bigger threat. Bring no obvious weapons, and do not act or allow anyone to act in an aggressive manner. She will understand the message, though he may be too close to the killing edge to do so. She will leash him. Once he is under control, you may tell him that the High Lord wishes that he help you defend your territory until such a time as they can return home.“

"Her eyes were once again Summer-Sky and she gave him a friendly smile. “I shall give you a gift, it will appear when the vision ends the first time. It is a ring, for your finger. It will become invisible once you put it on and never fall off accidently, though you are free to remove it. When one of the Blood enters your territory, it will pulse once. It will warm as you approach them until you have found them, at which time it will go inert again. This will help to facilitate your presence for the first meeting."

“As I was saying, Warlord Princes are over protective of Queens, well, of any females really, but Queens especially, and they are used to being a law unto themselves. Until they acclimate to the laws of your territory, they will follow the ones they know best. And one thing the visions have told me that differs…"

A deep breath, and then she continues. “For us, murder is not a crime. It is unfortunate, it is not the desired result of most interactions, because it can tear a family, a court, a territory apart, but it is not a crime. Warlord princes carry out the Queen’s will, and traditionally the Queen rules, if she deems something to be a crime worthy of death, any Warlord Prince in her territory is allowed to carry out that judgment. I know that this is not the case in your territory, but you must understand that even if you tell him as much, it will be the Queen who will remember, and the Queen who will command him, pull him back from the killing edge. He has lived hundreds of years as a Warlord Prince in Kaleer, and served even after his death. Knowing something when you are calm and rational is not the same as understanding it when someone you are protecting is hurt. As long as the Queen is well, and with him, all should be fine."

“Rape is a crime, and no matter what rules you put down, even the leash of the Queen will not stop him from killing a rapist. It is the most severe crime in our realms, and he was born, raised, and trained to defend against it. With this, I cannot help, nor would I."

“In general, when it comes to the Queen, expect him to be an over protective bully. She will want to spend time with the land, in the sun. He cannot go into the sun himself, and will not feel at ease with her away from him unless there are other males he trusts to protect her. Your best bet is to encourage a few males that YOU trust to earn her trust and his to offer to stand as escorts, men who would enjoy a quiet day with the land and a woman with a sassy temper. It should only be people who can be spared when you are at port, and people who want to serve in this way. If someone does not fit, they should be allowed to be excused of this duty without penalty."

“Generally a Queen chooses her own court, her own males, but really what that means is they choose us,” she said a bit wryly, an exasperated set to her lips. “However, there are no others there who are Blood as we are Blood, and I do not know if Landens can feel the pull that way. I know you are not precisely Landens,” she admitted, “but I could not find a better word, even for researching at the Keep and asking Draca.”

“Please, take care of them, and let them serve, give them ways that they can help you protect your territory. The Blood are good people, we are violent and can be cold, but we were created to be caretakers of the realm. Ask the Queen, the best way to deal with male aggression is to channel it to service. Give them good and useful work to do, and they should be assets, not liabilities. But if the air ever gets bitingly cold, tread carefully, and get the Queen to assist.

“If you need to reach me, place one drop of blood on the ring that will appear, or on this web if it has not yet, and say my name into the Darkness when alone. If I can, I will contact you.”

She fluffed her hair slightly, leaned forward like she was reaching for something, then blinked. Startled. She gave a wild-shy smile. “I guess that would be easier if I told you what my name was,” she admitted with a silvery velvet coated laugh. “Jaenelle. I am Jaenelle.”

There was a slight shimmer in her appearance, just a moment when he would be almost sure that she suddenly had a small spiral horn in her head, pointed ears, that her hair was more mane than hair, and that her hands ended in unsheathed claws, but that lasted less than a quarter second, then the vision vanished, and he was as he was, the web on his desk, a cool band of gold in he palm, decorated with a small pale iridescent Jewel chip.