At first, the gifts that the two were giving out seed quite normal and reasonable. There were simple but intricate things like protective blessings, rings that granted nature attunent, cute dresses, and then Elder King Drider threw the whole progression a curveball.
He got to Nola, the white haired Nymph from the new pentacles, smiled, and created an [Irresistible Appeal] charm out of thin air.
At Saint Rank.
The power of that charm would make even Incubi under Rank Five fall fawning at her feet, and make it nearly impossible for anyone else to be mad at her when it was active.
Of course, Princess Thalami wouldn’t stand for the Dark Fae showing her up to one of her own people, so a few stops later when she got to Monika, the Dwarven Master Smith, who was technically Dark Fae, she turned over a blessing of [Fortunate Creation] that would cause the items she made to co out far superior to what her skill level should logically allow.
It was a Luck Elent spell, exclusive to the Light Fae, and also at the Saint Rank, so King Drider couldn’t claim to have given the best gift.
The gifts went normally for a few more exchanges, and then the two Royals t in front of Wolfe, with only Khalifa, Drazzit, Cassie and Ella left to greet.
"You’re determined to make this a competition, aren’t you?" Princess Thalami demanded of her counterpart.
"I have no idea what you an. I rely gifted a lovely young woman a bit more luck with the gentlen, and you got all riled up." Drider replied with a casual shrug.
Of course, they both already had gifts prepared for their Princess, as making one on the spot would be inconsiderate and show a lack of preparation on their part.
So, they both handed over the gifts while Cassie and Ella tried not to laugh.
Both Princesses had gotten a Saint Rank blade, one gleaming Fae Silver, the other in Black Mythril. But the enchantnts on them were also polar opposites.
The silver blade presented by Princess Thalami to Khalifa contained light magic to burn foes to ash.
The inky black blade presented by King Drider to Drazzit was a vampiric blade that absorbed everything from life force to the heat in the victim’s body, leaving them a frozen, soulless husk.
Both Fae looked to Wolfe for his decision, but Wolfe only shook his head.
"I can’t call a winner of that one. They’re too perfectly matched." He replied.
Then the two Royals reached into their pockets and handed a single coin to the Princess of the opposite faction. The spell on them was simple, and the coin was simply a mark of favour, granting the bearer passage through the lands of the other Kingdom.
It seed to be a tradition as well, and the two Royals turned to Cassie and Ella with matching smiles.
As both were pregnant, that opened a whole new realm of gifts for them, and let them get creative with their competition.
King Drider looked toward Wolfe, then nodded in satisfaction at whatever he saw there.
"How about we do all of them at the sa ti? Best of three?" He suggested.
Princess Thalami nodded, and the King’s smirk told Wolfe he was definitely going to cheat.
They both reached into their storage pouches, and took out three items, gift wrapped.
They turned them over to Cassie, Ella and Wolfe at the sa ti and waited expectantly.
Ella unwrapped hers first and found that she had received a charm of youthful motherhood from Thalami. It would prevent her from suffering during childbirth, with the added benefit of eliminating any stretch marks and unwanted excess weight after the child was born.
From Drider, she had received an enchanted nursery set that allowed holy and unholy magic to blend without conflict.
The Eternal King of the Underdark smirked, as he knew that she had no idea what value that item held for her. At least not yet.
So, it appeared to be Princess Thalami’s win in the first round., though Ella politely thanked them both for the thoughtful gifts to make her pregnancy easier.
Then Cassie opened her first gift and discovered a heart shaped diamond amulet with a [Foresight] and [Bountiful Lineage] charm woven together on one side and the Noxus Family crest on the other. It was stunning, and Thalami frowned as she saw how much Cassie liked Drider’s gift.
The second gift a traditional Light Fae Princess’ crown, with a dozen minor blessings on it, and with gems perfectly matched to her gown.
Wolfe helped her put both of them on, and Cassie created a small mirror in her hand.
"They are both exquisite. Thank you so much."
That wasn’t the clear victory that they had been hoping for, and it left them to see how Wolfe liked their gifts to determine who had done better today.
Wolfe looked at the two boxes in his hands. He could see what was inside them perfectly well without tearing the pretty wrapping paper, but he carefully unwrapped them anyhow.
In one hand was a history book of the Magi Clans, written by Princess Thalami herself, and in the other was a mory Crystal with King Drider’s aura on the mory spell.
Thalami looked back and forth between the two gifts and then at the other gifts around the room. That was when it dawned on her what he had done.
The old man had used [Foresight] to see what she was going to give, and had co prepared with gifts of exactly equal value.
It was a brilliant prank, and the fact that she hadn’t realized he had done it until the very end made today a clear victory for him.
Wolfe bowed politely, pretending he didn’t know about their little ga.
"Thank you both very much. There is nothing more I could have asked for today than the safety of my Family and knowledge of their past." He declared.
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