.^^ the Gilded Lily of Evermeet ^^

— Caroline —

Nearly a week after we started construction, the foundation and interior structure was completed, to my surprise. It looked like a massive skeleton without its muscles or skin, but even that was an impressive achievement in just five days of work. The stone and steel grew from the ground like living flesh, creating Teagan's vision without a single flaw, building itself before my very eyes.

The train was likewise moving along quickly, and the shuttle was already moving, albeit slowly, to test the tracks for weaknesses. Along the way, the earth mages that were accompanying it strengthened the walls to a near-diamond density, and enchanting it to absorb latent energy from the ground above and below, even the waves crashing against the beach, to properly fuel the high-speed transit and flight crystals, as well as the cargo level of the shuttle, magically compressed to handle all the cargo shipments that would be required to supply the entire city we were building.

After all, Beacon Point was several dozen miles away from the capital, Leuthilspar, and so was considered its own town, and soon to be its own city. We had already received, before we arrived, a trade agreement with the producers and suppliers of the city, to feed our people during construction, and later on the city, until it could depend on its own supply.

But, seeing as the land we were given command over was only big enough for the building itself and the beach in front of us, (plus the coastal ocean for one mile around us, apparently,) it didn't seem like we would be capable of having our own crops any time soon, so we would be spending money to strengthen the economy of the city, as was our original plan.

However, it seemed that the people and businesses that lived in Leuthilspar didn't want to move, not even to reopen their businesses. Their pride seemed to be honestly offended by the notion that they would abandon their ruined houses in favor of a less-ruined one, and also that someone they viewed as inferior, (me), was involved in the construction.

Instead of trying to convince them, Hilde and I extended invitations to the Elven Craftsmen in both the Silver Ridge and even Jerel and it's surrounding satellite towns. Even so, us buying produce and supplies from them would stimulate their economy and speed their recovery, so we decided to help any way we could, despite their continued rudeness towards me.

Teagan had taken to glaring at people just because they refuse to acknowledge me, but I just bore with it. I knew prejudice didn't go away, no matter who you threatened, so I was happy just to get this mission finished as quickly as possible, and go see this city that Tommy designed, and Caz's vineyard, too. As such, I did my best not to kill or squish the many, many High Elves and Sun Elves that were apparently nobles, who visited almost every day, demanding that they be given the rights to govern the Embassy, or given the penthouse's, or any number of other demands that I casually turned down, time and time again.

Today, though, one of the annoying people came while I was doing maintenance to the Sparrow, whose claws were too loose to grip the loads we were using it to lift, in the place of a Crane.

"You, Giantborn! I require discourse with you!" A man snapped.

I ignored him, and kept working, mentally telling Teagan to calm down, as he was inside the Sparrow, with his revolver already pointed at the man's head. He was getting continuously more touchy about people disrespecting me, and while I understood, I also wanted him to be a good peacekeeper, which he usually was. He was a bit too sensitive to people disrespecting me, which I didn't mind usually, but it was becoming a problem.

The man, (no, younger, perhaps a young man, 20~ish,) growled impatiently. "Did you not hear me, Trollkin? I require your attention!"

Teagan holstered his revolver, and took a deep breath, before addressing the man from ten feet over his head, levitating down dramatically. "Address my wife in that manner again, and I will remove your head from your body, Boy." He intoned faux-calmly.

'Well, He almost kept his cool.' I sighed, and began climbing out from under the machine.

"Excuse me?!? I am Amaris Blackhelm, the Heir-Apparent to one of the four Council Seats! You-" the boy began to bluster, and then choked as Teagan twitched his hands, casting a spell to force-choke the poor idiot.

"I am Teagan Skøll, Duke of the City of New-Chalet, father of Cassidy and Tommy Skøll, and many others besides, son of Hildegard Skøll, the Marquess of the Floating City; and most importantly, husband and Soul Partner to the most beautiful creature in existence, Caroline Smythesson, who did me the great honor of marrying me, binding herself to me spiritually and legally, taking my family name, and even bearing me children to carry it on, of whom I am so very proud." Teagan frowned, tightening his grip on the man's air supply, and lifting his body up to eye-level.

"Aww." I smiled lovingly.

"Altogether, my small family outshines your entire Council in both rank and prestige, so your relation to one of them gives me no pause. As I see it, you have only two choices. 1: You may leave this place with your life, but not your dignity; or 2: You may stay, and continue to insult your betters in a pathetic attempt at bravado. I warn you that doing so will only succeed in making me finally lose my patience with you and your fellows' Prejudice, and I will rip your head from your body, burn your corpse to Ashe, and therefore completely remove any evidence that you ever existed." He sneered as the man clutched at his throat uselessly.

The man did his best, kicking and choking like a hanged-man, to threaten Teagan, with amusing results. "I-st-ki-kill-y-you!"

"Also, just so you're clear, I would not be punished for that course of action, because the laws of your land allow me to challenge you to a Mortal Duel to defend my family's honor. Now, while I still allow you the breath in your body, Make your choice, Boy." Teagan ignored him, and then tossed him aside like a dirty rag, making him skid on the smooth marble floors of the hangar for several dozen yards.

When he landed next to me, I hugged him, and kissed him thoroughly. "That was very nice to say, my love." I smiled.

He blushed. "I'm trying to be threatening, you know, no one will respect me with you loving on me like this." He muttered.

I smirked. "That's fine, they'll get over it." I kissed him again, then looked up as the man struggled to his feet, and stumbled off, as the small entourage that had come with him followed him on the long walk back.

I blinked, seeing them mount a set of horses, the first time I'd seen anyone mount a horse the entire time we'd been here. Then the horses darted off with the speed of the wind, just like the horse that Hildegard had summoned.

Teagan gasped. "So all the horses are that fast... wow..."

"Impressive." I agreed, and kissed him again. "Now let's get back to work."

—

Later that night, Teagan received a message, and wouldn't tell me what it entailed, just that it was from Tommy, and she was fine, and that Caz was out on a mission to get rid of some pirates. I hummed, staring at him suspiciously, but he shook his head. "That's all you get, I'm sorry, the rest is her surprise for you, don't try to get it out of me, you know you'll win, it isn't fair." He protested.

I sighed. "I suppose that's true... what about my surprise? The one you promised me?"

"Oh that one? I'll show you in the morning, when the Council Shows up. You could say it's the Grand Opening." He smiled.

"Hmm... Alright." I nodded, and laid down, looking out the window of the massive singular pane of hurricane glass that was our view out over the bay, in our little apartment on the first level of the tower, the only completed residential floor so far.

He cuddled with me, sighing. "I want to leave this annoying place soon... these people don't deserve our help." He grumbled.

I frowned, poking his nose. "These people have long histories of oppression and being hunted down by other races, and most of them are actually old enough to have lived in those times."

"There's no excuse for being Xenophobic Assholes." He frowned.

"They are xenophobic because the people of Faerün have never treated them properly, and they have been enslaved repeatedly, for thousands of years. The South Continents, Silver Ridge And Black Sands, as well as Here, Evermeet, are the only places that they are safe from other races. Here, they managed by locking everyone else out. In the South, they just seized control, and built the Empire, whose nobles are almost all tiefling's and elves." I refuted.

"But-"

"But... no, being assholes is inexcusable, I agree. They are using their history as a crutch, an open, diseased wound that they refuse to heal, because they're too jaded to even consider the fact that one day it won't even matter anymore. They're clinging to the pain of the past, and using it as an excuse to cover their own personal faults. But that doesn't mean that they don't deserve peace." I finished, and laid back down, pulling him to my chest.

He sighed. "Still... they're rude to you, and it's making me angry."

I smiled. "I know, and you're so adorable, defending my honor like that. My adorable little Darth Vader!" I laughed at how well it fit, and he snorted, kissing my cheek.

"Alright, Alright... Fine... sleep. Tomorrow is a big day." He chuckled.

I nodded and cuddled him a bit more, relaxing and listening to the waves outside.

—

The next day, our work was interrupted by a group of four individuals, the Council, and the group of twenty high-elves armed with swords surrounding them.

Teagan spotted them, no doubt coming to avenge his treatment of one of their children, and he grinned, hopping over to them casually. "Hey, Good, good, perfect timing!!! Come on, you're just in time, I was just about to call you guys and gals! This way!" He turned and began leading them towards the freight elevator that was established in the skeletal structure, in lieu of the eventual finished elevator.

I joined him, intrigued as to what he was showing them, as they and their soldiers all fit easily on the large elevator.

As we rose in the air, he grinned, casually filling the tense air with his best professor's tone, commanding the space and preventing them from even attempting to interrupt him. "As you can see, the skeleton is finished already, a month ahead of schedule, and the foundation and lower levels are entering their final phases, again a month ahead of schedule. The helix will begin immediately after the column is finished, and then the building of all the different neighborhoods will begin. My City will flourish, with its thousands of Craftsmen from all over the Southern Continents, selling their wares and honing their skills! Ahh, it'll be glorious!!!" He laughed softly.

One of the four council members, one of the women, scowled for the first time. "Craftsmen from the Southern Continent? What do you mean? We never allowed that!"

"Why should I care?" Teagan asked calmly, acting purely innocent. She stared at him, too confused to be angry, and he continued. "You see, you have granted me this plot of land as my personal property, and my family's property, as annexed land, for an Embassy and Bank. Therefore, you have no say in who comes or goes in my tower."

The man who'd spoken to us the last time hummed. "That is true." He said with a sense of finality, and the others silenced themselves instantly, even the murmuring soldiers shut their mouths.

"Thank you for seeing the logic there. After all, a city must have residents, and after your citizens that I reached out to, the ones who were recently deprived of their homes and businesses by a tsunami, proved that they are too proud and prejudiced to allow themselves to see past my wife's involvement in the construction, to see the benefits of starting fresh, Well... I was at a loss, so I reached out to the Craftsmen I knew who would appreciate the Locale, and managed to gather a few hundred of them, which will have to do for a start." Teagan hummed.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Was that truly the reception you received? I am appalled at my people's lack of common courtesy... though I suppose not entirely shocked. We are a people who value Manners and Etiquette, but they seem to lose that consideration when speaking to people from other lands and races. You have my apology, for my lack of foresight in that matter." He hummed, thinking deeply.

"I would accept, but it was not you who instilled in your people several millennia's worth of vitriol. I do not blame you, or even them, not really. But to be clear, I would never subject others to that treatment, so the people I've invited are all Sun, Moon, Wood, or High Elves, as well as a few brave Half-Elves." Teagan shrugged.

The man nodded. "That is wise, though it saddens me that that is the way it must be."

"Ah, and here we are! The Crown Jewel, the Great Diamond atop the Diamond Tower! The Beacon that will guide all who have the approval of the Council to sail their crafts into these waters!" Teagan spread his hands as the elevator stopped, and we stood directly underneath the massive, 100ft tall, 100ft wide diamond. It was made via alchemy, of course, but it was still very impressive, and I was assured that it far exceeded the energy needs of the city, so what else it was used for was a mystery to me.

He led us up a spiral staircase that circled it, as the council and soldiers stared at the Diamond, and then I paused at the giant, glorious diamond French doors that were placed at the end of the spiral stairs, embedded into the diamond itself, facing the ocean.

The Diamond was shining softly, but it was definitely not hollow, so I was confused, just like everyone else. Teagan chuckled as the rest of them finally noticed the doors. "And finally, Le Pièce de Résistance, the Gilded Lily of Evermeet." He proclaimed, and pushed the doors open.

There was a universal, comical gasp, as the glorious interior became visible. Teagan calmly pulled me inside, and whispered 'surprise!' In my ear, ushering me along the gold-brick walkway, shaped like cobblestone, but made of pure gold. Roses and Lily's intermingled in the bushes next to us, each made of living gold. The bushes, the walkway, the grass, the fountains we passed as we entered the plaza, spewing water that turned to platinum mist and created small clouds that reached the walls and roof, and painted small rivulets of platinum that dripped down like real water, into the small streams of platinum that trickled all around us.

In front of us, at the end of the gorgeous and gaudy plaza, was a massive middle-eastern palace, modeled a little bit after the Taj Mahal, the Persian Royal Palace, Agrabah, or the Kremlin, I wasn't entirely sure which, maybe all of them, but also made entirely of gold, and any glass was made of pure diamond. Golems in the shape of golden seraphim stood perfectly still around the exterior.

I nearly walked into a divot in the center of the main plaza, which looked empty, but was apparently some sort of swimming pool?

"Ahh? Yes, you've found the home of my new friend, the guardian of this place, Lady Trekilas. I believe she's managing her children at the moment." Teagan smirked, just as a massive, no, gargantuan dragon appeared, and poured a sack of platinum coins into the pool, filling it partially, then laying on it with a groan of satisfaction.

"Hmm? Ahh, Teagan! Have you brought me guests already? I am having so much fun, I very nearly didn't notice, my apologies..." she hummed disinterestedly at the Council and the soldiers.

"Hello, Lady Trekilas, Yes, these are the Council of Evermeet, as well as their personal guard, I believe." Teagan smiled warmly.

"Hmm... they are? Curious. Greetings, little Elves. You have entered my Domain, and as such will obey my Law. The Hoard is to remain Untouched, and no amount of violence is acceptable. My children will keep the Peace, and the Clock Wardens they've chosen as their companions will keep them from eating those who would break the Law. You have been Warned, and are now free to wander. The bushes, the roads, the fountains and streams, everything in this Room is considered the Hoard. Admire with your eyes, not your hands. Touch. Nothing." She snorted a small stream of lightning cloud, sure she had made herself clear, and snuggled down into her pool of platinum.

As I was recovering from her arrival, a flock of adolescent or Adult blue dragons became visible, each of them claiming a single alcove or corner or hiding space for themselves, with their little piles of gold, silver, or copper, their own little hoards. They disappeared almost immediately, and Teagan chuckled at the looks on everyone's faces.

"You're all going to faint when you see the interior." He grinned evilly, and led us all through the massive doors, which opened on their own, and were big enough for even the Elder Dragon to easily walk through, something everyone noticed, before stopping in awe of the sight before them.