A tiny part of me was incredibly amused at the situation. Before the change, I had occasionally consumed amusing stories about parents and the troubles they had with their children. Even now, I wasn’t quite sure why I had liked those stories, maybe it was some sort of subconscious attempt to make myself feel good, or right, about my previously childless status or maybe I wanted to vicariously enjoy reading what I didn’t think I’d ever have. Either way, one of the threads that many of those stories had in common was that children didn’t respect their parents’ sleep, be it as toddlers with incessant crying in the middle of the night, as children, bringing excitement at wholly unpleasant hours of the morning or as teenagers, coming home from parties they should never go to far too late in the evening. Whatever the case, it seemed to be some sort of universal law, if children are involved, the parents’ sleep suffers.

Now, after I had acquired a teenage vampire and a munchkin of my own, that universal law seemed to apply to me, too. Lia, Silva and I had kept watch throughout the night, mostly Lia and me so that Silva could sleep and keep watch during the day, but now, far too early for my tastes. Luna was tugging at my arm and no matter what I tried, I didn’t manage to get back to sleep. Not even grabbing the munchkin and pulling her into bed with me in hopes that she’d get some more sleep had helped, it had only shifted her attempts from tugging at my arm to trying to tickle me.

“Stop that,” I grumbled, only for her to giggle and cuddle into me. Hoping that she might have given up and I could get some more sleep, I tried to close my eyes, only for the little monster in my arms to speak up.

“Neh, mum, can you help me with the notifications I got? And those attribute points, you told me they are important and I’ll have to be cautious where to put them,” Luna asked, her voice between prodding and pleading. Letting out a sigh, I quickly realised that there would be no more sleep for me, not until the little monster needed some sleep of her own, likely right when it would be my turn to stand guard. For a moment, I considered to push her off, to try teaching her that uninterrupted sleep was quite vital but looking at her, I knew I couldn’t be as rough as I would be with somebody older.

Instead, I first helped her with the notifications, making her slowly sound out the letters before explaining to her what the words she read meant. Doing so had the advantage that I learned what traits and skills she had received, though I quickly realised that her skills were lagging horribly behind. Two of her divinely granted support skills had gained levels, but the rest was just as low as it had been when she was level ten, only that she was now at a much higher level.

“Okay, little one;” I began, once we had read through all notifications, “First, the attributes. It’s an important decision, one that we both have to think about. From what you told me, your class needs an almost even spread between Intelligence, Intuition, Charisma and Courage, each interacting with different aspects of it,” I began, before having to make a mental detour and go over the different attributes with Luna once again. She was just a child, still learning her way, and that showed, making teaching her a bit more exhausting than teaching adults would be. But at the same time, I had noticed that Luna was far more invested, for lack of a better word, she tried her best at all times, acting like a little sponge that just absorbed my words. It was… pleasant? There was a warm, strangely soft feeling filling my chest, almost as if I had too much caffeine, but with fewer heart palpitations. Somehow, I didn’t want to lose that feeling.

To my endless amusement, Luna started to nod off by the end of the lesson, her excitement having burned out what little energy she had recovered after fainting from level-up stress. Now, she was simply sleeping, just like I had hoped earlier. Holding her close to me, I closed my own eyes, quickly dropping off into unconsciousness.

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“You are a good mother, my dear,” a familiar, tritonal voice quietly told me and when I looked around, I realised I was on that strange, drab-grey surface under an ocean of blackness.

“Lady Hecate,” I tried bowing to the presence I felt, only to realise that the presence was all around me. Turning, I tried to see if there was anything to focus on, only to come up empty, the entire vast grey desert I found myself in was empty. So, realising that it didn’t really after, I briefly focused, gleefully noticing how responsive the Astral here was and easily conjured up a chair for myself.

Sitting in the presence of a Deity might be considered irreverent but I had no doubt that I wouldn’t have been able to create the chair out of Ice. She was a deity of magic after all, and this was Her domain, I might have some titanic ambition, even some vestiges of mortal hubris, but I wasn’t arrogant enough to delude myself that I’d be able to forcibly use magic against the will of a Deity of magic, in that deity’s domain.

“It is a pleasure to converse with you,” I added, trying to find the right words to ask what the Hel was going on, without being rude to Her. A part of me wanted to start asking questions, not just about what was going on right now but also about magic in general. If there was one thing I had always lacked on my journey through Mundus, it was somebody to answer the wide variety of questions I came across. Why did certain magic effects work the way they did, how did a certain spell actually work, why were runes the way they were, there were so many questions I wanted to ask, but couldn’t, simply for lack of an authority on the subject. I had found some answers in the Mages’ Guild, but my time there had been incredibly limited, just a few days over the course of two years, just too little time and too many questions.

“I can feel your confusion, my dear,” the voice told me, amusement thick in Her tone. “While your fascination with magic is admirable, I’m afraid I won’t simply hand you the answers you seek. It would cheapen your path and even if you were to walk it till the end, it wouldn’t truly be your path any longer. No, giving you the answers you seek would be regrettable, I want you to find your own answers, to make your own path,” the voice explained, sounding strangely eager at the prospect.

“As you say, Lady Hecate,” I allowed, knowing that there was nothing else I could do. “But maybe you could grant me some guidance in regards to the maiden, the one I call my child and you call your Acolyte. I’m afraid I know little about child rearing, have never aspired to become a mother. And yet, I’ve got two young lives in my care, lives I want to see thrive,” I admitted, knowing that some answers would be incredibly useful. I was trying to chart a course of Lia and Luna, only that I was doing so blindfolded, without a compass or map, simply with guesswork and hope, trying to make sure that none of us ended up dead.

“An important admission, young Mother. One that not many mothers dare, especially those who, like you, find themselves in the situation by accident. Granted, many of those accidents are of a different variety than yours, but that changes surprisingly little. Maybe you should try doing what so many mothers in history have done before and seek the guidance of your elders. Maybe a certain crone, a Grandmother, could help you,” She suggested, making me wince at the idea. She had told me the same, after the original ritual, only that I wasn’t sure how to contact the Grandmother. It was a rather intimidating prospect, to try reaching through the Astral and using it to bridge the void between Terra and Mundus.

It was possible, that much I knew due to the ritual to get the Book and the feather but that had been to receive something sent to me from Lenore. Now, I’d have to rework the entire ritual to contact the Grandmother, without even knowing if the Grandmother would speak to me.

“Ah, yes, just like so many mothers before you, you are afraid that the one you call Grandmother would reject you. For now, I shall help you with your two daughters and give you a few words of advice. And maybe, if you are a perceptive student, I’ll give you an answer,” for a moment the voice paused, before letting out a giggle and adding, “Maybe:”