PART I - GOD OF DREAMS
“Morpheus!” Callie exclaimed suddenly, stopping Jesca and Pixyl in their tracks, the saddle-wearing Artemis also looking back with a confused expression.
“What?” Jesca asked.
“That’s his name!”
“Who’s name?”
Callie shook her head, as if to clear it slightly. “I’ve been wracking my brain for a few days now, trying to remember who the god of dreams was. The name finally came to me, and it fits him perfectly, I think.”
“Name for who?” Jesca said, still not sure what Callie was getting at.
“For my Symbiote.” Callie pointed to her head. “I’ve been wanting to give him a name because I don’t like calling him, ‘it’. I just couldn’t remember who the god was. Morpheus, the god of dreams. He’s a really obscure one, so it’s no wonder it took me a bit.”
Pixyl shrugged her shoulders. “Seems like a g-g-good choice.”
Callie grinned, and then saw Artemis visibly roll her eyes before continuing her walk, and even Iris rippled vaguely exasperated colors. “Hey you two, be nice!”
Interruption over, the three, with the drakeling riding at her normal spot on Jesca’s shoulders, followed the unicorn towards the hill up to the training field. It was the first day of Midsummer, although there wasn’t much planned for the day. Across the kingdoms, this first day of the holiday was generally used for travel and time with family, or for preparing for the parties and crafting gatherings. Here at the camp there was even less planned. Nobody needed to go anywhere, and Captain Kela’s crew had things well-organized, which left the recruits and visitors with very little to actually do. If the weather held, and it currently was looking somewhat iffy given the far-off dark clouds, there would be another bonfire come evening, but until then everyone had to find ways to amuse themselves. It was only mid-morning, though, so there was at least some time for things to clear up.
Earlier, Major Celeste and Trainer Olin had approached Pixyl, generally bemoaning that they also didn’t have much to do, and Celeste offered to provide some focused training on Flashstep control. Olin wanted to observe as well, both to provide additional assistance, but also to formulate possible tactics that might work well for Pixyl, given her limited ranged capabilities and Striker role, in conjunction with the new skill. He apparently had been thinking about it all week. Honestly, they both seemed to be trying to fill up what might be an otherwise boring day. Pixyl didn’t have an opinion, so went along with the idea with a blase shrug.
However, Pixyl had made it quite clear that she didn’t want Callie or anyone else from their friend group watching. It made her nervous to be the center of attention while working on something she wasn’t very good at yet, and Flashstep wasn’t exactly something you wanted to be playing with when you were nervous or distracted. Callie reluctantly agreed not to be her cheering section, but was sure that the Pixie would attract some kind of a crowd anyways, if only as a novelty for the visitors. Callie didn’t mention that, though.
Jesca herself had a few hours to kill, but was going to be spending the afternoon with Kela’s people working on the Midsummer organizing, and flat out told Callie and the others to keep away. She wanted things to be a surprise for her friends. Still, that left a few hours with nothing to do, and Koda suggested Jesca practice some of her Beastmaster skills. Specifically, he recommended her Mounted Combat perk, as he had the same perk as a Paladin, as well as cavalry training. Jesca had been generally reluctant, but with a little urging from Callie and Pixyl, agreed to allow the big Bearkin to lend a paw.
“You’ve tested the new connections, right?” Callie asked again with a hint of worry. “You’re sure it’ll get bigger, right?”
Jesca rolled her eyes. “Yes, we have.” It was the third time Callie had asked. “Now, stop worrying about it.”
“Well, I just don’t want to see her get squished again.”
Using her new Enlarge Companion skill, Jesca was now able to increase the size of Artemis until she was big enough to hold a normal sized person. So while it would be about six to eight months before the unicorn was naturally strong enough to support her, and probably at least a year until she was full height, with the spell that could be done now. If Artemis was wearing a saddle and other pieces, they would also grow, or shrink, along with the unicorn, too. But the first time they tested, the buckles on the attachments snapped under the pressure, causing Artemis some painful bruises, which were thankfully fully addressed by Jesca’s quick application of Heal Companion. It turned out, much like shapeshifting and Jesca’s Camouflage skill, the effect would only work on natural materials, or on things fully inside of natural materials. In turn, the Herdmaster and Fullo’s leatherworkers had worked overnight to rig up a full sized saddle setup using scufrow as attachments, which would shrink appropriately when Artemis was back to her normal size. That way, as she grew, the saddle could serve her indefinitely without needing replacement.
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Artemis trotted on ahead, seeming to proudly show off the brand new and shiny saddle on her back. For the recruits and camp personnel, the unicorn was no longer a surprising sight to see. However, there were visitors here, and the sight of the mythical beast caused at least a dozen of them to stumble in disbelief, and a couple to fall flat on their faces. Once told that Jesca was a Beastmaster, it seemed to make some kind of sense to most. But for the visiting Beastkin, it also turned into a ripple of hushed whispers, with both Jesca and Callie clearly making out the word ‘Mimarnae’.
Eventually, Pixyl needed to peel away to head over to where Celeste and Olin were waiting, both sending her a wave from afar. Callie gave her a quick kiss and then watched her go, admiring the view of her leaving for a moment, before the far off call of Koda caught her attention.
“Welcome all of you!” Koda said brightly, rubbing his furry paw down Artemis’s neck. He then looked at Callie and smiled even harder. “I quite enjoyed your music last night, Little One.”
“Uh … thanks,” Callie replied, a bit of a blush on her face and in her voice. “It was just a few simple things.” After finishing that first song on the beautiful guitar, Callie opened her eyes to find the remainder of her cabinmates, along with Jesca and Juniper standing or sitting close in support. It was an odd sense of family she wasn’t expecting, but given the theme of the song, it felt fitting, and she loved them all for it. Vanis had encouraged her to keep singing, as had the Bards. So she did, launching into two other selections that fit the mood, and then refocusing back to the original request to show some simple blues chords to Deduxia and Nekini. The other two Gnomes picked up the basics quickly, and soon both Callie and Deduxia were doing a little jamming together, managing to find a groove. In the end, while Xin, Vanis and Juniper had excused themselves to return to the fire, the rest of Ogre House remained, and a few others filled in the vacated spots, including Koda. Thorn and his son had also sat down nearby, but a bit away to give the recruits space, listening in for a bit before Nevikk seemed to fall asleep.
Koda shook his head several times. “No, Callie, it was more than that. It was wonderful. I didn’t know you knew music magic, but I recognized it and am happy you shared. Thank you.”
Callie wasn’t sure how to respond, beyond feeling more embarrassed. But Jesca gave her a comforting squeeze on her shoulder in support, and she eventually mumbled out a quiet, “You’re welcome.” It didn’t feel like enough, but she couldn’t come up with anything more.
“So,” Koda said, clapping his huge paws together and addressing Jesca to change the subject. “You’re to be a mounted knight, apparently. What do you know about it?”
Jesca shrugged. “Just what my perk has taught me and a little bit of riding instruction from the Herdmaster.”
“Ah,” Koda said. “So mostly nothing, you’re saying.” He grinned his big bear grin, somehow brightening the conversation.
“That’s about right,” Jesca said, grinning right back. Koda’s big smile was always warmly infectious.
“Good! It’s always best to begin from the beginning. So, let’s start with your mount, if you would? You said she can increase in size to hold you properly?”
Jesca gestured Artemis a few paces away, and the Beastmaster focused momentarily. There was a wibbly-wobbly shimmer and soon the unicorn was full-sized, or roughly the size the Herdmaster expected her to get when fully grown. based on how big her mother was. This adult-sized Artemis was larger in comparison to an adult Curvax, with her back being roughly at eye-level to Jesca, and a few centimeters above Koda’s own eyes. Artemis’s head rose above that, the spiral horn glinting in the mid-morning sun, and she was absolutely magnificent.
“Wow, she’s bigger than I expected,” Koda said, his eyes wide. “This is full grown?”
“Close to this, we think.”
“She’s almost the size of a Corsin, although much lighter than the bigger ones are.”
“Corsin?” Callie asked.
“Think of it as the big brother to the Curvax,” Koda explained. “Half-again as tall as they are, and the males built like a stone wall, although Corsin don’t have anywhere near the speed and endurance. We use them for cavalry, because they are bulky enough for both a rider and heavy armor, at least the males are. The females are less so, built somewhat more-lean like this, and much faster, so tend to be used as mounted scouts or highly-mobile archer cavalry. The big males with heavy barding are what I was trained on when I was young, though.” Koda looked Jesca up and down, tilted his head as if thinking and then nodded, as if reaffirming something to himself.
“What?” the nervous Catkin replied.
“Nothing, I was just picturing you leading people in battle,” Koda grinned. “You are going to be an absolute inspiration, Jesca.”
“Great,” Jesca growled. “Lucky me.”
“We’ll start with something simple,” Koda said, either missing Jesca’s sarcasm, or ignoring it. “Mount on up.”