Six Months Later…

"Jareth… here…"

Jareth looked up, seeing that Garthan was holding out a mug of hot, mulled ale. He took it with thanks, blowing on it lightly before taking a drink. He closed his eyes for a moment, content to savor the taste.

"So… you said you needed to discuss something with us. Something you didn't want to talk about out in public. What's going on?" asked Randel, seated next to him.

He'd called them both into the command tent, and after dismissing his Ughlánas orderly, sat at the tactical table with a pensive frown. "I've been thinking. About… Papa. The Rebellion. Mostly… I've been thinking about what our end goal should be."

Randel looked at him, puzzled. "End goal? Well… survival, for one."

Jareth nodded, "Yes… for the immediate future. But we need to look into the long term. It's not enough, Randel. Surviving… isn't enough."

Garthan looked just as puzzled as Randel. "But, what else is there? It's not as if we have any hope of conquering them…"

"No. I don't mean conquest." Jareth took another drink of his ale. "Our people need a future… something more than just survival. They need hope."

Randel's expression was a bit incredulous. "And how do we give them that? It's all we can do just to keep them alive."

"I know. That's why… I came up with a plan." He pulled a paper from the pocket of his tunic, spreading it out on the table before him. "This is a map of Eire… it lies here, near this other large island, across from this landmass." Jareth looked at them both and chuckled wickedly, "They tried to make sure maps didn't get into our hands… mostly to make sure we didn't know where to run. But… I pulled one over on them. You see, the Underground… it's Above… only… not." He could see they were completely confused. "Never mind. The point is, I was able to obtain a map of this coastline Above. I believe the land we're on is a copy of that land. The land Above. And this map… judging from the landmarks, shows us to be located here," he indicated a spot near the coastline. "We get boats… cross the water here and get to the big island… it's called Pritaní. Work our way across it to the water between it and that landmass, here. Then cross again. We put as much distance between us and the Fae as we possibly can."

Garthan looked grim, "It sounds like a good plan, but… we have no idea what's there. Could be more Fae. Could be something worse. We could be heading into a trap."

Jareth nodded, "Yes… which is why Randel is going to go ahead of us."

"I am?" Randel asked. "I mean… I will, if you want… but…"

"I do. You are going to take a squad of Ughlánas and at least two Othánas with you. You will cross these waters, cross the landmass. Find us a homeland, a place that's uninhabited and can be defended. It will need to have resources… stone, wood… arable land and water. It must be far… far away. While you're looking for our new home, we'll be doing all we can to get away from the Fae… by moving to Pritaní. We'll use boats, move under our own power, so they can't read our transport signatures and find us."

"The Fae are there, too…" said Garthan.

"Yes, but not in such numbers as in Eire. It would take some time for them to mount any kind of offensive force to expel us. Meanwhile, we hide and hold on, until we get word from Randel that he's found a place for us."

"And how do I do that?" he asked.

"Start with short range transports. Let an Ughlánas go ahead of you, since they don't need a link to transport at will. He can take a look around and if it's safe, he can bring your party forward, then you can use that spot to transport another distance ahead. You keep going… far beyond the borders of the Fae… out into the wilderness. When you find a place that has what we need, take a rock that has been buried in the ground on the spot. Give it to an Ughlánas. He will transport back to me. They can find me wherever I am. I can use the rock as a link to transport to you and look it over. If it's suitable… then I will return to our camp and start transporting our population there."

Garthan looked at him wide-eyed, "You're talking about… founding a Kingdom of our own."

"Yes. It's the only way. They'll just kill us by ones and twos if we stay here. We need a land of our own, one we can fortify. Grow our own food, use resources of our own. A place where we can rest… where women can raise their families without fear… where men might live long enough to see their children learn to walk…" Jareth's face turned grim. "Have you noticed? No one is bonding. Heart-bonding, yes… but when is the last time you'd heard that someone life-bonded?"

Garthan and Randel looked at each other, both with a growing expression of horror. It was Garthan who stated the obvious, "No life-bond means no children. No children… means no Goblins."

"Eventually, yes. That's exactly what it means. And the women that are having children… after they have their first son and daughter… they're only bearing males. Do you understand what the consequences of that is?" Randel shook his head.

"It means… that Danu will not bring forth more girls to grow the population. Not until it is safe to do so." Jareth could see them mentally working out just how severe the situation really was. "She is, however… bringing forth more warriors. That means… we're headed for more war. If we are going to survive as a species… as a people… we must find a place where we can keep our women safe, where they can feel free to have their families in comfort and security. Only then will Danu trust us with more women in our population."

"He has a point," said Garthan, as he met Randel's gaze. "How are we supposed to establish any kind of population at all if we keep losing our men and females aren't being born?"

"Exactly so," said Jareth. "I thought about that when we lost… Momma. She never bore a girl… a sister for us. A wife and mother for someone else. But if she had, and she'd had another child, I know for certain it would have been male… just as all third births have been lately. And that's if the woman is fortunate enough to actually conceive a third child. Their husbands seem to die before they can even conceive their second. Do you see, now? Women will become rarer than Dragon's Tears soon… and if we stay here, we will lose the few that we already have."

Randal groaned, "And here, we've been counting on the Fae dying out. From what you've said… we'll die out before they do."

"If things keep going as they are… yes." Said Jareth, grimly. "This is why you will undertake this journey. You have an eye for good defensive positions. That's paramount. But you also know good farmland… how to spot resources. You'll find our new home. We'll fortify it, become so entrenched that all the Fae together cannot overcome us."

"Assuming they can find us, you mean," said Garthan.

"Oh, they'll find us. Count on it. But not for at least a century or two. Long enough for us to consolidate our position. Then, they have to figure out the logistics of bringing their armies so far from Ardalon. All to invade a land that we will have become very familiar with… and have prepared for."

"Jareth… it could take years. Years before I find a place far enough and with everything we need. Can you hold out that long?" asked Randel.

"If we have to, yes. That's why I'm keeping Garthan here and not sending him with you. If I fall… he'll need to lead our people when you find our new home."

"Gah, Jareth… no…" whispered Garthan, his expression almost nauseous.

"Yes. If I fall, you are the Goblin King. But take heart… I don't intend to fall."

"I'll be damned if I let you!" came the growled response.

Randel looked at the map in front of them. "So… we should maybe cross over first, before I go… in order to get some distance between us and Ardalon. It would be a real quick end to the trip if they manage to track me from the start. We need to make it harder for them. Hell, they might not even know a group of us broke off and is exploring the continent."

"Especially if once we get over to the big island, we scatter. I intend to assign groups of Ughlánas to each group of Othánas in order that we can all keep in contact, but we're going to melt into the countryside… caves… forests… wherever we can just vanish. As much as I don't want it to happen, it's likely that a few of the groups will be discovered. But… so long as the majority of us can elude them… we'll be ready to fly when we get word from you that our homeland has been found."

At this, he placed his hand on Randel's shoulder. "I can't stress to you enough; how important this is. You must succeed. Our people… all of us… depend upon you finding us a haven."

"I will. I swear I will or die trying."

Garthan put his hand on Randel's other shoulder. Almost as one, Randel and Jareth reached out to Garthan, hands to shoulders, forming their circle… a circle of trust.

A circle of hope.


Author's Notes:

Why didn't the Goblins leave Eire (or Ireland) after they ran away from Ardalon? Because they had no idea where they were or what was beyond the island they were on. One of the ways that the Fae kept them under control was to keep them ignorant and uneducated. Helayne was one exception, as she was a governess, but even she wasn't given any information that would facilitate an escape. Konrad Danaaru was the one that had that information, and unfortunately, he didn't make it out. That's why Jareth made it a point to conjure a map from Above and work out where they were actually located. They knew that there were lands beyond Eire but not much else.

Another point to mention: previously, in 'The Magic of You', I mentioned that the age difference between Randel and Karina was extremely common. This chapter gives the reason why.

When the Goblins rebelled, there simply weren't enough females being born, to the point that at the time of this story, the male population outnumbered the female by 3 to 1 proportions. Even after the founding of the Kingdom, it took a very long time before the proportions started to equalize (remember, an Othánas doesn't reach adulthood until about 200 years). A woman reaching her majority would likely bond almost immediately upon reaching that majority, and would have tons of men falling all over themselves to get her to choose them.

Could an Othánas woman choose not to pair-bond and have a family? Certainly. But it goes against their instincts, for the most part. Again, I would like to reiterate that the males cannot in any way coerce a woman to bond… she has to want it herself. And just because many human women choose not to have families (or delay having them until later in life, as I did) does not mean that an Othánas woman will feel the same. She is not human and has an entirely different set of instinctive responses and behaviors than we do.

So, if men outnumber women 3 to 1, and the unbonded male population was to ever have mates, they would have to wait for them to be born and grow to adulthood. Thus… it was quite common that a male would be much older than his wife. This is also why it was considered perfectly acceptable that Jareth's best friend would have bonded with Jareth's adult daughter, a girl he'd known from her birth (I foreshadowed this in 'Kingdom' when Lily was telling Sarah about bonding). It happened a lot, all through the Goblin Kingdom.

It should also be noted that while Jareth and the Boys are discussing (and quite worried about) the gender disparity in terms of birthing new Othánas, this should not be taken in any way to mean that they regard women as nothing more than breeding vessels. This couldn't be further from the truth. Women are very highly valued in their society, and for much more than just breeding. They are the foundation of their civilization itself, and without them… Goblin society would be barbaric indeed. The women are much better at organization and administration than their male counterparts, and much of the decision-making for a family, town, etc. is done by the females for this reason. It's one of the reasons Jareth was so willing to have Sarah take over a lot of the administrative functions of their Kingdom in whatever way she saw fit… he just naturally assumed she'd be better at it than he was.

The happiness and protection of their women is the entire purpose of a male's existence (or so they see it). Jareth and the Boys see the lack of reproduction as a failure on their part to provide safety and security for the women, not a failing on the part of the women themselves. If the women don't want to life-bond… it's because the men have failed to bring about the circumstances wherein life-bonding is desirable to them.

Also… look at the difference between how the Othánas view this crisis as compared to the Fae. The Fae men blamed their women for their reproductive problems and looked elsewhere for solutions, where the Othánas men looked within, to see what they could improve. I thought it was an interesting contrast.