Of peaceful destruction, among other oxymorons.
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Elssie was deeply aware of Badb. She could sense the emotions, the storms that roiled within Badb. Ellsie knew Badbs oldest memories. Those things that nine thousand years had not clouded nor diminished.
When Elspeth had begun puberty, there had been complications. Her first menstruation would not stop bleeding. Nothing would work. She had been in school when the flow started. Elspeth was fully informed about her body, the changes, the whys and wherefores. When she saw that she had spotted, she knew what that meant. Elspeth was excited in fact. She was becoming a woman, an adult. The pleasant excitement however changed when the flow became heavier. It would not stop and continued to get worse. The school had called her ” Aunties” to inform them. Badb and Nemain were on ther way as were the paramedics and ambulance. Elspeth had passed out from the blood loss in the ambulance. The attendants raced her to the hospital. In the E.R. they began immediate transfusions. That had saved her life, even so the bleeding continued. Eventually, the surgeons had to perform an hysterectomy as part of the attempt to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, Elspeth was growing weaker even with the continual transfusions. When it became clear that she was not going to survive the Morrigna made a decision for her. With no clear idea if it would heal or hurt her, Macha drew a pint of blood from Badb. Badb insisted it be hers. Then, on the next visit, while Macha and Nemain kept the nurses busily distracted Badb substituted her blood for the blood in the transfusion. It helped. They had reasoned that without the oral ezyme, the change would not be triggered. If it did , then Elspeth would become Aos Sidhe, if not, it would heal her, or it could hurt her. It was an act of desperation that somehow or another worked. Within half an hour Elspeth had improved, no longer pale gray and drifting in and out of consciousness. They did not count on the side effects. Elspeth remained human. A bit stronger and healthier, with the added benefit she would never get sick again.
The other side effect however was completely unexpected. Elspeth fell into a coma. Elspeth began seeing Badbs memories. The wars and killing and violence that Badb was always at the heart of was expected. To experience Badbs first memory, the dark and bloody time of her birth was actually horrifically terrifying.
Badb had not always been Badb. Badb had been created in a laboratory. No mother, no father save agony and terror. Badb, was not born, Badb endured. Badb was what had survived, the rage that had given her strength, the hatred that had devoured her despair.
She had been born Cathbodua, the first child born naturally in centuries. All of Falias celebrated. This child had been a beacon of hope. The future of the Aos Sidhe resided within this baby girl. A proud people, now reduced to a single city, less than a thousand souls left. The only saving grace being that the enemy was even worse off.
Storms reigned supreme across the world. Here and there small bands of humans sought refuge in deep caverns, hidden valleys, anywhere they could find to shelter and hide. Ruin was the general state of the planet. Two pockets, remnants of a highly advanced rivalry carried on. Raiding, skirmishing, sabotaging. The ancient war carried on.
Into that world, a beautiful little red haired green eyed girl had been born. She captivated everyone that knew her. Her laughter , her smiles, were the healing balm of a dying people. In her bright eyed innocence hope had been reborn. Cath, as all called her, wandered at will. No one would harm her, no one would allow harm to come to her. She was loved beyond measure.
Cath had never known want, or fear. She had never experienced any form of hardship. Nothing despoiled her innocence. Her bright eyed wonder at the world, her open trust and love for everyone. Falias, with a population of barely a thousand people, had no secrets. Everyone knew everyone. All of the blessings of a small town, with the curses as well. Around little Cath, the war continued, though she had no idea it occurred. Which was part of the plan, the real hope she represented. Her parents, the leaders of this city, held hope that if Cath could grow into adulthood, without fear, or hardship, with no resentment or hatred of the others, that she would bring the ancient war to an end by bridging the gap in communication.
When she had grown and had ascended to power she would have no hatred to cloud her mind and prevent peace. A peace that would save both the Aos Sidhe and the Fomor. If peace were not found and found soon then both peoples would fade into oblivion. In essence and form the Aos Sidhe worshipped her as their goddess of hope and peace. The scientists took samples of her blood and skin tissue, to analyze, in an attempt to unlock the secret that had brought her into this world. Both of her parents, watched over her.
When Cath had reached puberty, she had grown into a breath taking young woman. As it turned out, a fertile young woman. Cath dreamed of becoming a mother, it was her primary desire.
Osiris and his wife Isis were proud parents, over joyed to learn they would be grandparents one day. Life continued apace. The war was kept far away from Falias. Caths parents canvassed the men of the Aos Sidhe searching for examples of intact genetic fragments that would compliment and complete a child of their daughter.
A sort of detente existed with the Fomor that could not last. Amidst this precarious balance there were those among the Aos Sidhe, driven by envy and malice that plotted and planned revenge against those that had failed to recognize their significance and had kept them consigned to the shadows. Narcissistic fools eaten up in envy over a child.
An envoy had arrived with the offer of a cease fire. The two powers, Aos Sidhe and Fomor, to cease hostilities and maintain the territory held respectively. A situation that clearly favored the Aos Sidhe. The Fomor held influence along the south east of Africa, The Arabian Peninsula and along the south Asian coast. The Aos Sidhe reigned over the great inland sea and all lands that embraced that sea. The land of the two rivers, the realm of the Euxine and the central Asian steppes. A position which gave the Aos Sidhe control of more than two thirds of the feral human tribes.
After long debate and violent disagreement, Osiris was determined to seek peace. Taking a contingent of advisors , they would meet the Fomor at the birth of the Nile. The great falls. There were those that warned of treachery. Osiris ignored their warnings. No one could have predicted the degree of treachery that was unfolding.
Among his advisors, secret enemies had congregated. After they had reached the great falls, they planned to murder Osiris, then the rape of Isis and Cath. Turning them over to the enemy. Rape is not exactly the right phrase. Vivasect, eviscerate, in essence, a rape of the fundamental structure of life itself. There were those that believed that the key to the salvation of both the Aos Sidhe and Fomor lay in the cellular structure of Cath and her mother. An analysis of Osiris would be conducted, vivesection was planned.
Isis would be studied, dissected down to her molecular base. Cath, they had very special plans for Cath. Testing evolutionary cellular response. The child had been born fully intact. She was the first intact Aos Sidhe in generations. Her DNA was unblemished. All three strands inter wove without weakness or error. Could this be passed on? Both peoples had become so damaged by the weapons used and their effects on Cellular disruption. Viruses that unraveled DNA and randomly reassembled it. Chemical contamination that broke down cell walls. Radiation that forced mutations. Viral leukemia, Cancers, the list goes on.
Set had his plans. There would be no aspect unchallenged. Systemic testing down to Quantum molecular levels. There was also the key to the Aos Sidhe powers to unlock. Biologically driven and encoded shared quantum entanglement at a sub cellular level. Entangled molecules that were passed on, shared along family lines. Spooky actions at any distance, across any time.
The Fomor were not the same species as the Aos Sidhe. Vague, superficial similarities in form did not provide for any shared attributes. The Fomor had mechanical chemical two strand double helix DNA structure with complex amino acid bonds. This was supplemented and enhanced with nanotechnology.
Where as the Aos Sidhe had three structural strands with very simple amino acids and base forms. In the natural state, no decomposition of cellular structure, which meant, no aging after they reach full adulthood. Robust and rapid healing. Poisons had no effect. Any atmospheric gas combintations did not matter as long as Oxygen was present. The Aos Sidhe had many advantages. Rather, the ancestors of the Aos Sidhe had those advantages. Prior to having created Human hemoglobin supply, the Aos Sidhe had been starving to death. Types of food did not matter as long as protein and hemoglobins were the primary make up of the food. Once the integration and forced breeding of various species was under way, humans evolved along planned forms of development. The Fomor were quick to try and usurp the human cattle. To use them as subversive weapons against the Aos Sidhe. Which is where the entirely silly gods concept came from.
The Fomor, used their technology and physical superiority to over awe the primitive humans. Creating the first religions as social control system. Essentially gaslighting and brain washing on a mass level. The Aos Sidhe were slow to catch on, having very little direct contact with humans. Humans were to be harvested. One doesn’t have conversations with their hamburger. Or at least, one wouldn’t expect to be understood or have a response. It was the Fomor, in their regions of control that began the mass blood sacrifice displays. Rather than simply drinking the blood, the Fomor ingested the meat, finding fresh hearts to be a delicacy. The Fomor were a separate species. As alike the Aos Sidhe as an chimpanzee is to an orangutans. Externally that is. At the cellular level they were as unalike as fire and water.