Dealing with Goblins
Disclaimer: All Publicly Recognizable Characters, Settings, Ideas, etc. are the property of Jim Henson and Co. The Original Characters and Plot are the Property of the Author. The Author is in no way Associated with the Owners, Creators, or Producers of Jim Henson and Co. No Copyright Infringement is intended.
Chapter 06
Sarah stared at the Goblin King for several moments.
"Could you elaborate on that?"
Jareth sighed and steepled his finger before his face as he considered his words.
"This is quite a lengthy explanation so I ask that you refrain from asking questions until I am finished. Bards are commonly placed into three levels. Low, middle, and high level. Weak bards are common, making up about two percent of your population. They tend to be very lucky, the happy and even unhappy coincidences common in stories is also common in the life of a bard. They subtly manipulate the fabric of reality unconsciously, in order to win a trip on a cruise or just a bar of chocolate, or to run into a boss or teacher on the street, after sending said teacher or employer a email saying they were going to stay home sick.
"Mid-level bards can consciously manipulate reality. Say a boy wishes to impress a cheerleader: he may experience a heightened level of athletic prowess as such a trait is common in stories. Your dog Merlin may become far more intelligent as your power grows. As I'm sure you've noticed in your readings, intelligent animals are another common theme in stories. Many animals will become smarter by being with you.
"A mid-level Bard can use spells and technology from well-loved stories, for example a laser gun toy from a popular sci-fi show can be made to truly fire lasers by a Bard, and Bards can even forge their own weapons, by making their own stories popular. But only a really powerful Bard can forge their own weapons without fostering belief and love for that one specific item. If you were a high-level Bard and wanted a magic sword, you wouldn't need to write a book describing the sword and its powers. You could use the general belief in magic swords to make one for yourself in a small amount of time.
"The more popular and loved a story is, the more powerful the items and spells for it become. For example, if a Bard writes the Elvish words for 'Speak Friend and enter' above the entrances to their home, no one will be able to enter unless they speak the Elvish word for 'friend'. Since 'Lord of The Rings' is a very popular and well-loved story, the belief and love of the it acts as fuel for the spell.
"A Bard can also grant another magic user power, again through conscious manipulation of reality, since underdogs becoming great warriors or even powerful warriors becoming even stronger when pushed to their limits are common themes in stories.
"The extremely powerful high-level Bard can create constructs of their characters. Say you have a character in your mind, you draw a picture, create a story of how they came to be. If you were a powerful enough Bard, you could bring that character to life, a being literally born from your thoughts.
"As it stands, you are a mid-level Bard, though admittedly one of the more powerful ones. Now, any questions?"
Sarah gaped at the Goblin King as she realised how powerful she could actually become.
"...How many mid-level Bards are there?"
"Not many. I'd estimate a few hundred in the entire Aboveground, and even fewer ever learn what they are, or how to utilise their power properly. As for high-level Bards, Bards capable of forging their own weapons or creating constructs...there hasn't been one in well over twenty-five hundred years."
"Oh...wow. I see what you meant when you said my power wasn't aggressive, but it's still powerful."
Jareth nodded. "Your magic puts you on equal footing with any Sidhe in the Underground. It is why the Labyrinth and I chose to give you certain powers. Well, I gave, the Labyrinth traded. It bound itself to you so it could channel the power of the Ether through you."
"The Ether?"
"Yes, the Ether. You remember the love and belief I spoke of for stories? That is called the Ether. It is the energy created by the sum of the intellect and belief of every living creature capable of sentient thought. Some Gods are born of this. Many of the Native American Gods are born of the Ether, as well as the Greek Gods. About half the Celtic Gods where born from it. Some beings ascend to Godhood through it. Such as Lugh of the Long arm. All creatures of the Underground draw power from the Ether to different extents. The more widely believed in a species of Fae is, the more power they may draw from the Ether. That works on an individual level as well. Though my ilk draw power from the Ether, it is not our only source by any means. Some Sidhe refuse to use it, preferring not to rely on humans, who are the Ether's greatest contributors, and who they view as weak for power. The first of many magical creatures were born of the Ether; most species of goblins were. You, as a Bard, can access the Ether and its power directly. You don't have any power of your own so much as you channel it. The Labyrinth wanted access to the power of the Ether, so it bound itself to you. In exchange, it gave you power."
"What does the Labyrinth want the power of the Ether for?"
"Did you notice that the desert outside the Labyrinth is no longer a desert?"
"You mean...?"
Jareth nodded. "The Labyrinth is wild magic. It seeks to grow and spread life."
"Wow."
"Yes... wow..." answered Jareth, frowning.
"Jareth?"
"Sarah, the Labyrinth...its bond to you will be irreversible in a month. If the bond is not broken, your lifespan will match my own. You will outlive your family, even if they move Underground. Their lifespan will extend to centuries, even millenia, but eventually they will age and die while you will not."
Sarah's eyes widened. She opened her mouth closed it opened it again, only to close it once more before turning to look at her plate.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked her voice calm but the strain in her voice told him she wasn't happy and just barely suppressing her anger,
"Because I want you," he replied with a shrug. "Also, I didn't see any reason to. If the bond is broken, it will hurt the Labyrinth and myself to the point where we would be weak enough to be conquered. A few months ago, perhaps the bond could have been broken without too much damage. But now..." He sighed. "Also, you've made it clear you wished to protect your family and friends. You needed the position of duchess for that, you could not have had it without the bond."
"That still doesn't explain why you didn't tell me. I would have accepted," she hissed.
"I know you would have accepted, but would still have been angry, so I waited until now because..." the Goblin King raised his hand and began counting the reason off his fingers, "One: currently I am in a position of power over you. You're my slave and bound by your word to do as I say. I herby order you not to retaliate. No shouting, punching, kicking, or screaming. Two: I haven't taught you any magic, so even if it weren't for the last order, you could not harm me."
"Wanna bet?" mumbled Sarah under her breath.
"Third: I wanted more leverage. If you break the bond now, your friends and my armies will likely go to war. Many would die. Not that I would allow the bond to be broken. Even when the damage would have been minimal."
Sarah began to rise from her seat as she glared at the Goblin King.
"You conniving, manipulative, self-serving bastard!"
"No insulting me either."
"You would use yourself and your kingdom as leverage? When this week is up-"
"You will have hopefully calmed down. You care about me and my kingdom, particularly those three friends of yours. You'd never let them come to harm. Also, no threats. And no seeking vengeance when this week is up. I'd consider doing so a breach of contract, Sarah." He smiled, "Actually I'd think I'd rather enjoy the consequences."
He rose from his seat and walked towards her, the infuriating smirk marring his otherwise perfect face.
"Come now, Precious, in return the Labyrinth has given you power. Transformation, shapshifting, and levitation all are now within your grasp. As the Labyrinth channels the Ether and becomes stronger, so will you."
He was a foot away now. He grasped her hair, twirling it in his fingers, enjoying her red face and shaking frame. He'd never seen her so angry, but she was keeping herself in check. She wasn't disobeying any of his orders.
"You know, you're very pretty when you're angry. Your eyes are so cruel, I think I'll endeavour to push your temper this coming week. I'll never get a chance to do so without facing your wrath, unless..." he tugged her hair forcing her to lean forward, "...I find a way to coerce you into becoming my slave again." His smile widened as her lips curled back and she suppressed a snarl. "But back to the matter at hand. I assure you when you turn into a bird and fly for the first time, you will forgive me."
"We'll see about that. Can you even teach me Bardic magic? Do you have any?"
Jareth shook his head, released her hair and stepped back, giving her some space.
"I have none. I am, however, well read on the subject. In theory, all you have to do is read stories, find common themes and use those themes. I've read that it helps to actually tell the story you want to occur. If you went to one of your football games, you could affect the outcome by narrating the events and saying what you desire to happen. If someone throws a ball and you say the recipient tumbles the catch before he has the opportunity, chances are, thanks to your power, he will fail. The better you are at story-telling, the more powerful you will become. I suggest you begin to study literature, what makes a story good or bad. Do you understand?"
"I think so. But the camp - the guy who started funding it began last year before I even wanted an excuse to get away. Can I affect the past?"
"To a degree, yes, but you cannot affect your own personal timeline. If you saw the player catch the ball, no amount of story-telling will change that fact."
"Wow..." Her smile turned to a smirk. "Can I move the stars?"
"No," he chuckled. "And it is doubtful you will ever have that power. Sorry, Precious. Now, sit down and eat everything on your plate. As soon as you finish, I'll escort you back to the garden. Higgle should be there, he'll tell you what to do."
"You mean I get to work with Hoggle?"
Jareth's eyes narrowed at the joy in her voice. "Yes, you get to work with Hogshout."
Sarah rolled her eyes, wondering if he realised how immature he seemed when he purposely got Hoggle's name wrong.
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Jareth escorted his temporary slave to the inner courtyard where the irritating dwarf was working.
"Hoggle!" shouted Sarah, running towards her friend and kneeling on the ground. She threw her arms around him quickly, gracing the little scab with a kiss to the forehead before Higgle could protest. The dwarf began pushing her away.
"Awwww, don't kiss me, don't kiss me!"
Sarah leaned back on her knees. "You don't like my kisses."
"They're bad luck for me." 'For anyone other than Jareth,' thought Hoggle. "Besides, we got work to do. You're working under me now, and don't expect me to go easy on you just 'cause we're friends."
"Of course not, Sir," replied Sarah with a mock salute and smile. The teen turned to the Goblin King only to find him gone.
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Jareth groaned as the vial he had just poured a red liquid into turned brown and started to smoke. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. He hated this room. Every time he came across an object meant for use in the black forbidden arts of his people, he always stored it here. It was where he preformed such work when it needed doing.
"I'd thought you retired this room, Jareth."
The Goblin King suppressed another groan and turned to see the Labyrinth. Its personification.
It wore a silver tunic and black leggings, brown boots and that irritating smirk that put his own to shame. It was a handsome face, though androgynous to say the least. It was impossible to tell if one was talking to a man or woman.
The Labyrinth appeared to be about forty years old by human standards. Its age always varied.
"I had hoped to, but then you bound me to Sarah. If she refuses to return my love, I will still need to marry her in every sense."
"Not true. Killing her is an option."
"No," he hissed, "it isn't."
The Labyrinth cocked its head to the side.
"It's not? Seems preferable to you ripping a piece of her soul out and binding it to your own. I wonder what she would do if she knew you were making arrangements to mutilate her very being."
Jareth turned back to his vials.
"She'd probably yell, and scream, and throw things for good measure. I'm surprised you are willing to kill her. She is a power source for you."
"Hmm, yes, an excellent one. But if she is useless to me, there is no point to her existing any longer."
"You care nothing for her?" snarled Jareth.
"I do, which is why I would rather she died than had her soul mauled to further my power. Are you certain you care for her?"
The Labyrinth began walking towards him, but he refused to turn and meet its gaze.
"You can't kill her, or allow her to be killed because you'd never forgive yourself for it. You're planning this, so that you can sleep at night. You're not doing it for her. Or maybe..." the Labyrinth placed its hands on the Goblin King's shoulder and leaned down to whisper in his ear, "...my dark king is just that desperate to have some light in his own black soul, he'll rip it out of the woman he claims to love. Or do you want to taint her light with your darkness? Have you considered that if you do succeed, it's still a two-way street? You will have to rip out a part of your own soul to bind to hers. It would be safer to kill her."
"I will not!" shouted Jareth, rising out of his chair and turning towards the Labyrinth. "She is my fiancée, my love, and I will not slay her."
The Labyrinth bought its hand to its chin and stared condensedly at its king. "No, you'll just rip out a piece of her soul and bind what's left to a piece of yours. Yes, that is infinitely more preferable." It rolled its eyes.
Jareth turned back to his desk.
"Hopefully it won't be necessary. If she loves me, the binding won't need to be forced."
The Labyrinth smiled and bowed.
"Let us hope you succeed, my lord. Before I go, I would like to point out that you are a selfish being, not because you aren't willing to kill her, but because I gave you ample warning to sever the bond and avoid this mess. But you, my dark, selfish king, chose to let the bond progress so now here we are. Blame me for forming the bond all you like, you had a chance to stop it." It smiled before continuing enjoying the king's discomfort.
"If a being with so much light can love such a dark one as you, she'll have to realise and accept that you were willing to do that to her; to maul her soul instead of let her go. And she must be willing to allow such a black soul to bind with her own. Guess I should enjoy the power boost from the Ether while I can."
The Labyrinth vanished in time to avoid the vial of smoking brown liquid from the king's failed attempts at potion making.
"Temper, temper," echoed its voice in the room. "You're as big a brat as your queen-to-be."
AN: Exposition dump! gods sorry guys I make you wait for people sitting around talking, Guess I'll just have to make up for it in my next chap! But I'm afraid this info really was necessary. Read and review!