To Sup with Goblins
To Sup with Goblins
~*~
All Hallows Eve, a night we of the Fey love to cause mischief in the human world. Every year since I was but a child my uncle, Anansi, would take me to the mortal world and let me run among the spirits and revelers. I adored running among the other creatures of the night helping or tormenting the humans I found. Strangely, though I look as if I am a creature of darkness, I helped those humans I found on All Hallows Eve.
I wished that this year I would be going to wander the mortal world and help those I found, but that was not the case. This year my father’s mother, the Grand Goblin Duchess The Great Eight Soul Eater, had invited my father, my sister, Cinder, and I to join her for the Goblins’ All Hallows Eve Supper. She had never invited us before and to deny such an offer might be seen as grievous insult. We would be going to visit my grandmother for the first time in my life, the only advantage we held was that both Cinder and I were now Ladies of the Sidhe Court.
Cinder and I were the opposing sides of the same coin. Cinder was all that was physically great in our Goblin blood while I was all that was magically great in our Sidhe blood.
Cinder had eight eyes the color of the hottest fire with six on her face and two in the back of her head, hair like copper in color and consistency, pearlescent skin the texture of sharkskin, and four sets of fangs with caustic poison that was acid in the air but could render a creatures internal organs to soup while keeping the skin like a leather canteen. She is a master of only one form of magic, fire but she was so powerful that even I had to be impressed and few magics impressed me.
I bear only two eyes containing no white with only the color matching Cinder’s, my hair is soft as silk but black as the darkest night, my skin is blue-grey velvet, my magic is of the highest power in all the Sidhe court, and my face is high cheek-boned with sculpted features of the Sidhe. My own fangs are only four in number, all so small that most are unaware that they exist but all have heard of my powerful neurotoxin venom. I bear two sets of nails, one as humans as both my human grandfathers’ were, the other talons that slip into the tips of my fingers when not needed, both sets are black as my hair.
My sister and I were separated as children and raised by very different guardians and teachers. I was given to the magical tricksters Lord Puck and Anansi, our father’s half-brother. Cinder was given to the Slaugh where it was assumed she would be killed. Fortunately for my sister, she was not a meal for the Slaugh but one of their best students.
Our father, Fanged-doll, is not so graced as his two daughters and is the child of The Great Eight Soul Eater. Rumor has it that our father was conceived when The Great Eight Soul Eater captured a human hero in an illusion and seduced him. When the human was experiencing his release she removed her illusion and revealed her true form before draining his life. For our grandmother was once known as the Drainer of Heroes and even after her name changed her habits hadn’t. Our father was born with a rather human appearance and it was only The Great Eight Soul Eater’s pride that saved our father from her gullet.
Fanged-doll has two very human arms and two very human legs, but he also has four very arachnid limbs. His arachnid limbs grow on his trunk between his shoulders and hips and he keeps them wrapped around his body so few know about these extras. My father also has eight, pitch black eyes located around his skull, human in shape but without a white or an iris. However, my father’s saving grace is a single set of fangs that hold a neurotoxin.
The neurotoxin that my father is graced with is the predecessor of my own neurotoxin and it is his saving grace from his Goblin kin. When his mother went to devour her son she forgot about his fangs and Fanged-doll was fast enough to get to bite first. The Great Eight Soul Eater was helpless for a day and her son was offering his service to the Goblin King before the first night fell. Since that day my father served the Goblin King as Goblin-Human ambassador. It was how he met my mother, Star-child, the Sidhe-Human ambassador.
Cinder and I were not worried about meeting with The Great Eight Soul Eater on our own, but the inclusion of our father worried us. While our parents were not able to spend nearly as much time raising us as most parents could spend with their children, we do love both our mother and father fiercely. Sadly the difference between our parents is that while both are half-Human, half-Fey, our mother is the beloved child of a true-love mate of Sidhe and Human while our father is the result of a sadistic psychological torture of a Human by a Goblin. The Great Eight Soul Eater does not love her son but she knows how to manipulate the feelings of others.
The dangers to our father are great but both Cinder and I are very capable warriors. Cinder can overpower almost any of the Goblins’ warriors while with my magic I can shield all of us from nearly any attack the Goblins could throw. The best part is because all three of us hold human blood we have a natural immunity to cold iron.
Cinder and I were calm as we entered the Goblin Underground, Fanged-doll was walking tall, he stood over six tall while Cinder and I flanked him at only five and ten each. Our father wore the black crest of The Great Eight Soul Eater’s house on his tunic’s chest. My sister wore her bronze armor, self decorated with scenes from the last Goblin-Sidhe War, not that either of us had witnessed it. I was dressed in a loose toga of sky blue and a sash of royal blue. Among the goblins, who regularly were nude, we were a colorful procession.
Even though it had been nearly a century since our father had set food in the Goblin Underground, he walked it as if it hadn’t change and it probably hadn’t. While we hadn’t had much time to discuss this trip, it was agreed that Cinder and I would follow our father’s lead. I was pleased to see how Fanged-doll stood among the Goblins while he was seen by society as less for being half-Human he didn’t show any fear of his blood. I found it hard not to be proud of my father as we marched to the den of The Great Eight Soul Eater.
As we entered The Great Eight Soul Eater’s hall I realized that even though I had known The Great Eight Soul Eater was a giant Spider Goblin I never really appreciated that a quarter of my bloodline was actually a massive spider. When you see The Great Eight Soul Eater for the first time you have to wrap your mind around a spider that is larger than your average room. Her legs were thicker around than my torso and her eyes are the size of my head.
“Welcome Child born of my Egg,” the creature said as my father bowed to the giant Spider Goblin before us. I stared at her, taking in the ebony spider with red markings down her back. As I looked at the giant creature I recognized features that my beloved Uncle Anansi had as well. While Anansi was a black spider he was no where near as massive and he was really more of a grey-black. The Great Eight Soul Eater was like a piece of darkness brought to life and I slowly realized where my ebony hair and nails came from.
“Mother, we are honored to be called to sup with you,” Fanged-doll said from his low bow. Cinder and I exchanged a look before we bowed only slightly, neither one of us wanting to take our eyes from the massive spider. I knew that Cinder had caught the missing three eyes from the right side of our grandmother’s face. If we needed to fight our grandmother, I would come from the left and Cinder the right.
“I am so pleased to finally meet my lovely granddaughters,” The Great Eight Soul Eater said as she approached us. I was surprised how silent such a large creature was until I saw the small clouds below her talons and I realized that while The Great Eight Soul Eater valued magic she would gladly waste power to make herself seem more powerful. I felt confident that while my grandmother was powerful, I would be capable of overpowering her magic.
“Grandmother,” Cinder and I spoke in unison, we were working on a slight mental link that I had set up before we entered the Goblin Underground. It would help to intimidate the Goblins which is ninety percent of Goblin social behavior. “We are so pleased to meet you at long last.” My eyes were on The Great Eight Soul Eater while Cinder’s covered the rest of the room. Sometimes I did envy her eyes in the back of the head and the independence between each of her eyes. It was so limiting to only be looking one way.
“So you are the Sidhe-blooded Cinder and the Sidhe-blooded Ash,” our grandmother said and I realized that we were to be named by our Goblin blood. The Sidhe King had named us when we were born because the Sidhe had won the last Sidhe-Goblin War and it was the King’s right to name mixed-bloods. In the Goblin Court it was the head of the clan who named the children and we were to be named by The Great Eight Soul Eater.
“Mother…” Fanged-doll whispered as he looked at us nervously. He had been named to humiliate him for while my father seemed somewhat human compared to a Goblin he was still a nightmare compared to a human.
“The Sidhe-blooded named Cinder you look like a Goblin-blooded named Fire-doll,” The Great Eight Soul Eater hissed and I recognized the insult. In Goblin culture to be named ‘doll’ is to be lesser or weak. I prayed that Cinder would handle the insult with grace.
“Fire-doll, why thank you, Grandmother,” Cinder laughed before looking at a lesser goblin that was leering at her. With a wave of Cinder’s hand the lesser goblin burst into flame. He screamed as he ran across the floor, fire falling behind him like flowers of orange. I couldn’t help myself but join in Cinder’s laugher.
“Oh Sister you’ve made a mess in Grandmother’s hall,” I cooed and the goblins who were not in flames froze. I raised my hand and threw it forwards, letting the cleaning spell move over the floor. The orange flames flew into the air with the flakes of Goblin flesh that fell off the shrieking goblin. I lifted him up into the air with the spell, letting him burn away into ash and bone.
“I apologize, Grandmother, I too often rely on my sister’s ability to clean up my messes,” Cinder grinned and we both looked at our grandmother. My father looked serious but blank, it was a strange expression to see him make and one I did not like on my handsome father’s face. The Great Eight Soul Eater was staring at Cinder and I with deep intensity.
“It is quite all right, Fire-claw,” The Great Eight Soul Eater hissed, renaming my sister with a better fitting name. “We have The Ninth Soul to help with clean up.” At that the room was completely silent.
“Mother,” Fanged-doll’s voice was breathless like he had been punched in the gut.
“Come, it’s time for dinner,” The Great Eight Soul Eater chuckled and she moved to lead us to the dinning hall.
“The Ninth Soul,” Cinder whispered and we all knew the truth. The Great Eight Soul Eater got her name when she killed and devoured eight of her nine half-Sidhe half-Goblin daughters who had been named the nine Great Souls. The Ninth Great Soul had taken out three of her mother eyes when she killed herself to keep her mother from devouring her power as well. It had long since been rumored that the Ninth Great Soul would return to finish off her mother for slaying her sisters.
“At least now we know the rumor to be truth,” I stated as I took my father’s arachnid arm and Cinder slowly took his other arm. “I will bear this name and I with bear it well.”
“This is not what I wanted for you to experience in my homeland,” my father sighed, placing his human hand upon mine.
“It is alright, Father, we will be fine,” I said with a smile.
“All this and we still have to dine,” Cinder sighed.
“Thank you, Fire-claw, you have horrid timing with your comments,” Fanged-doll sighed and I squeezed my father’s hand.
“You forget, we are Ladies of the Sidhe Court, The Great Eight Soul Eater cannot attack us without declaring war,” I reminded them both.
“If you truly are the return of the Ninth Great Soul, you have gained Sidhe cunning this time around,” Cinder chuckled darkly.
“You speak with sugared lips…Fire-claw,” I whispered as I looked at Cinder and we nodded as we entered the dining hall together.
~*~*~*~
This has been a real treat for me. Ash and Cinder have been very real characters for me for a while as have Puck, Anansi, The Great Eight Soul Eater, and Solianna, but this is the first time I've really "seen" Fanged-doll. I knew little facts about him, like his fangs, his neurotoxin, and the eyes around his head, but nothing in great detail. This challenge has helped me to see on of my characters in full light. Thank you, Brigit's Flame, because of these challenges, I have a very real character I'm looking at now. I'm going to have to try and work on Star-child next.