An interesting thought. A clone took Aerellis back to Methelia and Den Mother was able to fully relax. In the den, the werewolves were on edge about me, but one growl from her made them stand down. I saw the litter, spritely jumping around and playing with each other. However, looking at them closely, I could see why Den Mother became paranoid when it came to their safety.
Different parts of the pups were mixed with mana. It was amazing, however, nothing close to the copious amounts of mana I found floating around the thin membrane of arcane in Earth-Sky Tower. These pups had only a very small amount of mana embedded into them, which was like a different pool of mana for them. Mana Perception proved me right. Deep in thought, my eyes suddenly widened at the prospect. “Did, did you use nature magic to merge mana into them?”
“Yes,” she said proudly, her tail wagging nonstop.
Is she fucking crazy?! I gazed upon the pups again. But it worked! So, they’re half wolf, half mana? Goddamn, they’re mana wolves! This revelation was quite the eye-opener for me. It made many questions pop into my head, and maybe some eccentric ideas.
Deep inside me, I knew I’d hit a plateau soon enough. No matter how powerful I became, the body of a human had its limits. But I don’t use my body’s mana, I use my second consciousness’ mana and cast from there.
“Yes, you do use your body’s mana. Didn’t you realise?”
Eh?
“You’re an idiot,” I felt her palm her face. “So, when you first found out how to achieve Division, you tested using your body’s mana but your secondary consciousness’ cast in order to use mana without draining your stamina, right?”
Did I? I can’t remember. I felt her groan again in mental pain dealing with me. Well excuse me for not remembering something that happened a million years ago.
“Okay, fine. I won’t explain it, just know that what you’re thinking is probably possible. Probably…”
My attention went back to the pups, sniffing my hand cautiously while I squatted. “Den Mother, forcefully making elves into werewolves is bad. Unless you have their permission, unless it’s something they want, then you can do it. Otherwise, it’s a no-no. Don’t worry about your pups, elves are pretty weak. In fact, these little guys are in more danger with werewolves around than pure-blood elves. To be honest, these little guys are probably already stronger than elves,” I surmised, because the sheer amount of mana they had compared to an elf was night and day, “all you need to do is teach them to defend themselves, and also teach restraint and control.” As I spoke to her, I felt a sharp, but weak pain on my fingers. I was bitten, not ferociously, but playfully. Its entire snout and mouth were mixed with mana, and I felt my mana draining from me; a negligible amount though.
“Done.”
“Hmm?” I picked up the little biter but my attention shifted again. “What is?” I asked Den Mother while playing with the pup that assaulted me.
“Those who wish not be with me, have been given their freedom.”
Just like that, the werewolf problem vanished. I should really practise and use mind spells more, I thought, getting a better feel for its usefulness. If I had such power at Ulanos, there wouldn’t be a need for such death. To think it’d be this easy, I gave myself a mental smack about the head.
“But I still am concerned. How can I be sure,” the Den Mother bemoaned, “that they will be safe?”
“You can’t. Nobody can. Nothing in life is sure, anything can happen. We’ve just gotta do the best we can, right?” I turned to my assaulter, “Isn’t that right, Biter?”
“You’ve, named her…” Den Mother commented, which I didn’t pay much mind to. With a contemplative expression, she ambled around the litter of pups and I, pacing back and forth as if trying to see them from different angles. “That flame on your hand, it lives?”
“Hmm?” I looked up and found Den Mother’s eyes glued to the dim light. “Yeah, she’s Celosia, the daughter of a late friend of mine. I take care of her now. In a way, I feel like she’s my own daughter,” a warm smile crept upon me.
“I,” a low rumble reverberated, “am old,” Den Mother licked the mana-mouthed canine and grabbed her by the neck, dropping the clueless pup right into my hands, “all of these pups will not survive under me, and they will lose me to time soon. Though I may abhor admitting it, your guardian of nature is right. I implore, young human, take as many of them into your care as you can. Give them a safe life.”
I squatted there, frozen by her words. Was she this brittle? Despite the entire reasoning behind turning elves to werewolves and attacking us being the protection of these playful ones, she was now throwing them off on me. But, can I blame her? If my ass was old like Aldis and I’m in prime croaking time, I’d probably get someone to take care of Tacari, Aviana, and Celosia. I’d probably be in denial of my seniority and try to amass enough power before coming to a conclusion that I won’t live forever.
“Forgive me,” Den Mother cut my brooding time short. “I haven’t given thought to your situation before asking.”
“Hmm? Oh, nah,” I brushed it off, “I can take them, but I won’t be able to take care of all of them, so I’ll get some of my friends to do a little adopting. So,” I stood up, “what can you tell me about their diet?” I asked, one of many questions that incited a long and friendly conversation.
Afternoon came around, and I returned to Steyza with a bunch of floating mana wolves. “Hey there!” I rested my hand on her shoulder, “Let’s visit dad!” I immediately focused on casting Riftshear, not giving her words a chance to invade my ears. The pristine white containment cell held a rather perplexed Fenral Rilas.
I ripped his manacles away. Okay, that sounds more exciting than simply transmuting them to arcane-encased mana and using Transference to refill his near empty pool of mana. The security guards came darting toward us, their staves, gloves, and wands alit with weaponised spells. They quickly saw that a fight wasn’t needed. Fenral broke down completely, his eyes like broken dams.
After I used my victory over the werewolf menace and the prospects of infinite mana potions for the entire Tyrr populace as tools to lobby the elven government, getting Fenral Rilas out of prison was a piece of cake. I’d always thank Anjali mentally every time a bureaucrat yielded to me.
Within a couple weeks, the Kynhall Bridge linked the Tuvos port, Silverport, Aquan, and the Rizt institute. Elven architects met human architects and a lot of knowledge, hints, tips, blueprints and schematics were exchanged. On the other end, carriage-loads of mana potions were stored at the Tuvos port and I made sure to give the Genuks a recipe for the low-tiered version of the mana potion, which would be the potion that fuelled the entirety of Tyrr. The higher-tiered mana potions would be distributed at controlled prices by the elven government.
Not everything went as planned, but I felt like it turned out the best way it could. There wasn’t anything I could do for the elves that died from the werewolves’ attack, but the Kynhall Bridge gave Tyrr extremely large steps forward. Their one limiting factor since the beginning of time – mana – was no longer a limiter. And, should anything at all go awry, the Kynhall Bridge could be destroyed with a single spell from me.
~
“Dude,” Pyro’s grin grew brighter and brighter, “these are wolf puppies! I want the one with the tail!”
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“They’ve all got tails, Pyro,” I palmed my face, trying to hide my laughter. There were just two pups remaining now. Pyro, August’s family, Volt, and Dawn’s family got one. And of course, I gave Biter to Tacari, so my family had one.
The snow-scaled Skyer flew me far east, into the Ingen tribe’s lands. Ingenaar sure had progressed in the long time I didn’t visit. To my surprise, there were many humans amongst the orcs, living as if there was no hatred at all a few years ago. Leisurely floating along with my arcane dragon earned the attention of some kids and they investigated me with their gliders. A few of them even managed to touch the gliding dragon after their curiosity got the better of them. Finally, Skyer landed, spreading forth a small wave of sand in the exact same courtyard Sek’hana’s father and I duelled in many moons ago.
Wonder where she is? Will she even have time to take care of it? I asked myself, rubbing the base of the noisy pup’s ears.
“Eric!” Neth greeted excitedly, nearly making me fall off of Skyer in fright.
“Hydra’s ass, Neth! Do you want me to have heart failure?” I held my chest. “Because that’s how I get heart failure!”
He chortled, blocking his mouth with a sly simper, “Good to see you too, Eric! It’s been too long! It’s been,” he mused, yet somewhat looked disappointed at the same time, “really damned long…”
My eyebrow raised, “Something’s wrong, huh?” I cried inside. Just when I thought things would be fine for a while.
“Well, it’s actually the opposite. Quite the happy occasion, but erm,” he opened his glider, “that depends on who you ask.” He smacked himself on the forehead, “I’m not sure why I didn’t just think of asking you from the get-go. Anyway, follow me for a bit.”
I shrugged, “Lead the way.”
In a few minutes, Neth and I were in a void plane, eavesdropping.
“This is one of the meals shared between families of those that are to be unified,” he explained, then simply looked at me from the side.
“I’m, not sure what that means, but by the looks you’re shooting me now, Sek’hana and that guy are gonna get married, huh?”
He faced forward again, hands resting comfortably behind his back, whilst he looked on with forlorn eyes, “I love my sister, and so, I hate to see her like this, but I can understand.” The sneaky orc sighed, “You see, our mother is dying, and one of her wishes from long ago was to see her daughter unified with another. Sek’hana, of course, doesn’t love him. He’s just one of the eligible candidates.”
“How are you sure she doesn’t love him?” I questioned, and his gaze set upon me once again.
“Are you an idiot?” He shook his head and looked forward once again. “I’ve only known my sister to love one person. Usually, I’d leave people to figure out such things on their own, but you’re apparently an idiot and we’re pressed for time.”
Ugh, no way. Don’t tell m–
“Sek’hana loves you, Eric.”
Hydra’s glorious ass, Neth! My mind screamed.
“But I told you this,” Donna rolled her eyes at my stupidity.
“Those are some heavy words, but what exactly do you want me to do here? I don’t see Sek’hana that way, and I already have four women.” I tried making him see my logic. “The chieftain of the Ingen tribe can’t be the fifth woman of a human, can she? It doesn’t add up.”
“Says the man who married a royal negotiator, seduced the daughter of a filthy rich family, conquered the queen of his country, and even went to another world and bewitched an elf…” Donna posed.
“I was about to side with you, Eric,” Dawn scratched her neck, “but when she puts it like that…” and shrugged.
I think you guys are missing the fact that she’s an orc and I’m a human.
“I’m sure orc women have pu–”
“PG-13, please, Donna!” Dawn interrupted.
“Fine!” Donna groaned at Dawn’s request, “But you get what I’m saying. If things don’t work, they don’t work, but at least try, dude. Besides,” I felt her evil chuckle, “if you don’t, I’ll probably warp out and say something which might backfire. You’re better at speaking than I am now. Go be a man!”
Neth’s brows furrowed in suspicion whilst I apparently sank in my thoughts. Cool, great. Alright, let’s go stop an orc marriage and possibly marry the Ingen chieftain. When Anjali wrings my neck, I’ll make sure to bring you two down with me.
Levitate put me a bit behind the group of orcs eating, making it look like I simply Voidwalked through the door when I suddenly appeared. Here goes…
“Good afternoon. My humblest apologies for my rude interruption, and even deeper pardons for what I’m about to say. My name is Er–”
“We know what your name is!” the man Sek’hana became betrothed to spoke up, clear anger rolling about his face, but a very thin lid stopped him from truly exploding. “Why do you bother us?!” His tusks were shown clearly, whilst every other person looked at me with much disdain, everyone except Sek’hana and her parents. The other members of the family viewed me as an unwelcomed visitor, which was very much true.
Guess we’re cuttin’ straight to the chase then. I sighed mentally, then looked Sek’hana right in her eyes, as she did me. “Sek’hana.”
“Y-yes? Why do you, interrupt us?” she questioned, confused whether or not to be vexed or happy to see me.
“I’ve come here, seeking your heart. I heard rumours about your unification and had to do something, I had to stop it, else I’d lose you fore–”
“Out!” the husband-to-be shouted, bringing his forearms down on the table and shaking the cutlery. “You aren’t welcomed here! Get out!”
Sorry, dude, I truly felt for him. I made a dick move. But it was already done.
“I said…” he stood up, his hands barely staying cemented to the table. He tried to show restraint, but each passing second threw oil to the fire that was his ire. One of his relatives rested a hand on his arm to calm his down, but it did exactly the opposite. Perhaps he felt like she pitied him and looked down upon him. Using the chair as a vault, he jumped over to my side, swinging an ice-encrusted fist to my face. If I did nothing, the spikes protruding from the back of his fist would impale the side of my head, breaking through my skull and immediately ending me.
A thin Ice Wall totally stopped him, and his action stopped me as well. “I will do as you wish and excuse myself,” I said to him before giving one last look at Sek’hana. I closed my eyes and sighed audibly, re-entering the void plane that I pulled Neth into before. He looked quite contented, but he didn’t smile.
He explained that this wasn’t something he wanted either, “But I’d be damned if my only sibling walks into unhappiness and I do nothing. Thank you, Eric. Do you mind staying the night at an inn? I’ll handle things from here.”
I shrugged and agreed. And here I thought I was just gonna give her a puppy and go back home. A clone told Anjali that I wouldn’t be home and told her of my homewrecking ways. So here I was at the inn, having a couple beers in a corner on my lonesome. My cowl was down so my face remained hidden.
After a while, a stranger, hooded just as I, approached me, then simply tilted his head in the direction he wanted to go. We stood outside in the alleyway behind the inn, “Whatever you can do to take Sek’hana away from my brother, do it. He’s an entitled fool that gets everything he wants from his family and doesn’t work for anything. I hate to say it, but he needs to learn a lesson. Think nothing of upsetting him. Quite frankly, he deserves to feel a little pain. I wish you luck, sir hero.” The man promptly walked away.
So, Neth and I did just that, upset the poor guy. Neth made sure Sek’hana visited me every night. By the third night, I had discovered what Donna said about the orc women’s similarity to human women to be true. Despite going as far as we did that night, she was still at a crossroads with disappointing her fiancé and his family.
I felt horrible about it, knowing that I didn’t love her like I professed. I felt even worse when it finally worked. Our nights together bore fruit when she eventually had a talk with her mother. Neth gave me all the details about the great controversy. Now Sek’hana’s family was held in contempt for what had happened, but both Sek’hana and her mom was happy somehow.
Even during introductions to the Archibald family, I still got a feeling that I hadn’t fully understood anything. Sek’hana, finally rebelling somewhat, had given up her position of chieftain to Neth. How in blazes did all of this happen? I wondered, watching Steyza and Sek’hana bond over the fact that they weren’t human but in love with one.
Donna warped outside of me whilst I played with my daughter, Aviana, simply observing everyone else converse. “Don’t you think we’ve come a long way?” Donna questioned. “Things have changed a lot, huh? Methelia is a much better place now, thanks to you.”
“You flatter me. Isn’t the queen nice, Aviana?” I held up my daughter and pushed her up a bit farther with void magic. “To be honest, I’ve been planning to fix the issues that the poorer parts of Methelia face.” I said, a farfetched wish of mine that I always wanted granted since bringing Calla – or Bad Ankle as she is rightfully named – to Aquan with me. Her hometown wasn’t the best place, and neither is a lot of other small towns and villages.
“Yeah, yeah, but before you go off to save the world, lend me a clone.”
~
Scadia, the young, petite mage from Yunaris hid behind Donna whilst one of my clones indulged in decadence with Steyza. I hadn’t a clue what Donna told the girl; I was too afraid to find out. All of my women were there, including Sek’hana, whom enjoyed the night with three clones. Orcs had an amazing sex drive apparently. Everyone else settled with two clones, even Donna.
Dawn and Scadia on the other hand wanted me alone, as if my clones were other people. Another unexpected guest also materialised into the room. The spirit lord of void and mischief, Vena. I didn’t even bother to question it. Hell, no one questioned anything at that point. Vena joined in the fun as well.
At the end of our licentious night, I fell asleep wondering who really wore the pants in these relationships. Me, or Donna?