I send my mind to the outskirts of the building and hover there. I feel at my current limit, stretching further would be unpleasant. I want to return, but my father’s consciousness gently nudges me to continue.
You went through the rift, this is much easier than that, he tells me. You’re just afraid because you don’t want to expand the radius of people whose feelings you perceive. I assure you that’s not the case. Long-distance telepathy requires effort and proper concentration.
Love, I’m here, Gotrid assures me. I know that you feel far away, but I’m right next to you.
That gives me some courage and I dare to venture further. Every time I want to stop, thinking this must be my limit, my father nudges me again. Before I know it, I reach the border of Nebula’s base.
I don’t want to go further, there are humans, I refuse to budge no matter how much my father tries to encourage me.
Fair, you need to put up smarter defences first, he stops pushing me. Just remember that this isn’t your limit and we will be working on expanding it.
What’s your limit? I’m curious.
Approximately a radius of two kilometres, he boasts. That’s for general telepathy, though. If there’s a Divementis attuned to me, we can communicate even at a distance twice as far.
Will I be able to do it with my partners who aren’t telepaths? I ask eagerly.
I could do it with your mother, so there’s no reason it wouldn’t work for you, he says encouragingly. Now, try to explore the Divementis premises but don’t go after anyone specifically. We don’t want to startle our people.
Will they feel my presence?
They will, but unless you go after a specific individual, it shouldn’t bother them, he explains. I do it regularly to check if everything’s okay.
I stretch without opening my eyes and clutch Gotrid’s hand. It’s only thanks to his calming presence that I was able to venture so far. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been always desperately suppressing my telepathy. Now, I’m supposed to do the exact opposite. It will be hard to break that habit.
“Love, your stomach has been rumbling for quite a while now,” he says aloud. “We should take a break.”
I pull my mind back and slowly open my eyes. It’s not as if my mind leaves the body for long-distance telepathy, but it dulls the perception of my surroundings.
“You did well, son,” my father opens his eyes as well and stands up. “Your husband is right, let’s take a short break.”
Gotrid and I stand up supporting each other and we devote a moment to stretch our wings. I hope it will be possible to fly in the afternoon. I explicitly asked Advin to squeeze it into our schedule somehow. However, when Advin storms into the room with a bewildered expression, my hopes get crushed.
“The Japanese government finally reached a decision,” he blurts out. “Ichikawa-san wants to meet both Your Majesties in person. They also demand to visit our headquarters.”
“Aren’t they afraid to enter the Divementis premises?” Gotrid raises his eyebrows. “I figured they would insist we return to the Celestial Embassy.”
“The Earth is being invaded by monsters, so meeting telepathic aliens pales in comparison, hemaya,” my father shrugs. “Besides, we’re on the same side and they know it.”
“What did you just call me?” Gotrid tilts his head.
“Hemaya is the Divementis term for one’s children’s partners,” he clarifies. “It means ‘bonded into the family.’ You might be a different species, but since you’re bonded to my son, you feel the same to me as a Divementis spouse would.”
Gotrid feels proud about that and grins.
“Your order, my Emperor?” Advin coughs.
“We will welcome them, of course,” my father decides. “Let’s invite them for tomorrow so that we have some time to prepare. Advin, take my son and his husband to get some rest, I’ll take care of the Japanese government in the meantime. I met the Prime Minister in person several times, so I’d better be the one to arrange it.”
Advin nods and leads us into a lounge that’s been vacated just for us. Ayala is here already, preparing drinks and snacks. We get comfortable on a sofa and I’m surprised to see Uriel helping out.
“Your Majesty,” Uriel’s eyes get wet when seeing me.
“What’s wrong?” I get startled even though I don’t feel anything bad coming from her.
“She’s just happy to finally get reunited with Your Majesty,” Ayala waves her hand and serves us coffee and sandwiches. “She volunteered to help around the Royal Quarters until she levels up and rejoins the Imperial Guard.”
“Right, Uri used to be one of the guard captains,” I realise and watch her as she’s serving us a plate of cookies. Gotrid immediately goes for one and stuffs it into my mouth.
I almost choke on it when I notice a group of Divementis staring into the lounge through the glass. My guards don’t want to let them inside when I’m here, so they start arguing with Vermiel. At first, it looks like they are just unsatisfied that their staff room is currently occupied because of me. Then the argument becomes more heated and it doesn’t look like a simple misunderstanding anymore.
Your Highness, please, let us talk to you! I get a desperate telepathic message. Alarmed, I quickly get up and hurry to the door.
“Ehm… why do you want to talk to me?” I ask uncertainly and order Vermiel to stop blocking the entrance.
“We just want to talk to our Crown Prince,” one of them steps forward, speaking Divementis. “His Majesty proclaimed that there won’t be any official audience in the near future which we strongly disagree with. You should meet your people, Your Highness.”
“Please, use English,” I say because Gotrid and the others can’t understand a thing and I don’t want them to feel awkward. “As for audiences, I’m here to train my telepathy before the Enemy strikes the Earth for real. We don’t have time for unimportant things.”
“Unimportant?!” the Divementis whom I finally make out to be a woman shakes her head violently. “My Prince, I know that you didn’t grow up among us, but this is of utmost importance. You have to bond with your people! It’s unprecedented for a prince of the Royal bloodline not to do so immediately after reaching maturity.”
“Bond?” I’m confused now.
The woman wants to explain, but my father storms into the room. He must have sensed that something was wrong so he hurried here despite his meeting with the Japanese representatives. My aunt Nyx is with him.
“What’s the meaning of this?” he gets angry and releases a threatening telepathic wave. “I told you that the Crown Prince is not giving audiences.”
The intruding Divementis shudder, but they don’t retreat.
“As the Crown Prince, His Highness has to undergo the Bonding Ceremony,” the woman insists bravely.
“Father, I don’t understand,” I frown. “I’ve bonded with Erik and Gotrid already. I don’t care if the Divementis have a special ceremony for it.”
“Tell him, Althorion,” Nyx sighs resignedly. “He needs to know and our people should get a clear statement.”
My father bites his lip, but he concedes.
“Son, the Bonding Ceremony is something only the Royal bloodline can do,” he starts explaining. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to put even more pressure on you, but it seems our subjects won’t take ‘no’ from me as an answer.”
“What kind of bonding?” Gotrid clutches my hand possessively. “Just to be clear, we won’t allow our beloved to take another partner.”
“Not that kind of bonding,” my father shakes his head. “Members of the Royal bloodline are expected to bond with their subjects when they come of age. For the Divementis, it’s when we turn forty. However, Aefener is a hybrid so he matured as fast as a human would. Therefore, he’s mentally and physically capable of undergoing the Bonding Ceremony.”
I’m staring at him, dumbfounded. Bonding to all Divementis?! Are they serious? There’s simply no way I would be able to do something like that and stay sane!
“Naturally, it’s not the same as bonding with your partners,” he quickly sets the record straight when he notices my expression. “The Bonding Ceremony is about connecting to the Divementis telepathic matrix and touching every Divementis for a split second. It’s something only someone with the Royal bloodline can do.”
“W-what are the effects?” I stutter, trying to imagine that. Didn’t Nala mention that there are more than twelve thousand survivors?
“I didn’t tell you because I suspected you wouldn’t like it,” my father lowers his head. “The Bonding Ceremony is a true coming of age for us of the Royal bloodline. Bonding with your subjects means that you’ll take responsibility for the prosperity of our entire race. As the Celestial Emperor, I’m sure you understand what I mean because you feel the same towards Celestials.”
I do understand. I understand so perfectly it makes me shiver. While I appreciate that my father was trying to save me from it, he should have told me. Still, I guess I must be grateful that he wasn’t trying to force me into it against my will.
“I won’t do it,” I say clearly for the crowd to hear. “I have a throne of my own if you haven’t noticed.”
“You heard the Prince,” my father purses his lips. “Besides, we have more important matters to deal with right now. We won’t have a future if we don’t win this war.”
“B-but…,” the Divementis look stricken.
“Your Highness, do you mean that you won’t undergo the Bonding Ceremony now because the time isn’t right, but you are open to it after we win the war?” the Divementis woman asks pleadingly.
I realise that I have to be extremely careful with my response. I don’t want to promise the Divementis something I won’t be able to fulfil only to disappoint them later, but my words can either totally dishearten them or give them hope. And they really need hope right now.
“I…,” I start extremely slowly, “I’m willing to reconsider it when things calm down.”
I catch my father watching me intently, but he closes himself to me again so I can’t tell what he’s feeling. I can feel the other Divementis, though. While I did refuse them, it wasn’t a flat-out rejection. I promised to stay open and it seems to be good enough for them. At least for now.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Go now, the Prince needs to rest,” Nyx shoos the crowd away and they reluctantly disperse.
“Damn,” Gotrid collapses back on the sofa and pulls me next to him. “As if you weren’t under pressure already. What do they take you for? You’re not some godly idol that can work non-stop and doesn’t have feelings.”
“I’m sorry, son, I wanted to save you from that,” my father apologises on his subjects’ behalf. “I had no idea they would be so audacious to bother you during your coffee break. I clearly stated to all Divementis beforehand that you won’t be giving audiences.”
“For two centuries, we thought that the Royal bloodline would end with you, brother,” Nyx is more understanding. “No wonder they can’t help it when they finally got the Crown Prince.”
“Son, I don’t want you to feel pressured,” he reassures me. “You’re here to train and learn about your Divementis heritage. As I said, I’m still in my prime. Even if you eventually take over the Divementis Empire, it won’t happen for at least two hundred years.”
I nod. I still feel uneasy about it, but I choose to trust my father on this. With the incident taken care of, my father and aunt return to the meeting with the Japanese government, leaving me with just my Celestial escort.
“I feel safest with you around after all,” I murmur. “I know that you’re worried I might start preferring the Divementis, but that won’t happen.”
I envelop my arm around Gotrid’s back and pet his feathers. I can’t imagine not having wings and should we ever build Assiath in the real world, I will settle in the clouds and never come back. My perception might be Divementis, but my physical needs are Celestial.
“Your Majesty, the Earthborn rulers are calling,” Luviael enters the lounge. “I heard you’re on break, but would you be so kind and talk to them? Her Excellency is dealing with the Dragonkin Patriarch at the moment.”
“It’s not a proper break if you’re still working,” Gotrid doesn’t like it.
“They are my friends,” I take a tablet from Luviael. “The Earthborn dungeon master who was working for the Divementis must have reached them by now, told them about the current situation and they must be freaking out.”
I tap the icon and the call gets connected. As expected, both Twyla and Werden are squeezed to fit the screen and they look bewildered.
“Aefener, are there really aliens behind Draconia Online?” Werden blurts out without any greeting.
“There are,” I nod. “Sorry for not reaching out to you myself, but I was told the Earthborn dungeon master is on his way to tell you everything.”
“He did tell us everything, at least in a nutshell,” Twyla confirms. “We refused to believe it until we heard it from you, though.”
“I was just as surprised when I found out… which I did just a few days ago,” I add quickly. “As if being the Celestial Emperor wasn’t enough, now I have to deal with being the Divementis Crown Prince and…”
“Hoooold on!” Twyla and Werden widen their eyes. “You’re what now?!”
“The Earthborn dungeon master didn’t tell you?” I tilt my head and watch as the Earthborn ruling couple looks outside the scope of the camera, looking seriously pissed.
“I didn’t want to overwhelm you, Your Majesties,” I hear a male voice vehemently apologising. “The Celestial Emperor is indeed the son of the Divementis Emperor which is the only reason why they told Celestials first.”
“Wait… where are you?” Twyla narrows her eyes.
“At the Divementis base,” I reveal, hoping they won’t get even more pissed because I didn’t tell them. “I didn’t have much choice in the matter, my father came to fetch me with a spaceship. It’s just my second day here. Sorry for not telling you immediately, but there simply wasn’t any time.”
“So… you’re half-alien,” Werden gulps.
“The Divementis are Draconians just as we all are,” I set the record straight in case the Earthborn dungeon master didn’t emphasise it enough.
“Are we invited to the Divementis secret base as well then?” Twyla bites her lip nervously.
“I suppose you are,” I shrug.
“To a lair of telepathic aliens?” Werden shakes his head. “I know that they are your people, Aefener, but we would have no defence against them. We might send an ambassador, but I doubt our people will allow us to go personally. It’s too risky.”
“Send an ambassador then,” I agree. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to have all rulers gathered in one place anyway.”
I have to assure them several times during our chat that I’m really fine because Twyla suspects that I was abducted (which is partly true, I guess) and the call ends with Werden promising to send their ambassador to Nebula in a few days and keep regular contact. So much for a break.
*****
My father doesn’t push me to leave the Divementis premises, but he insists I must get comfortable with stretching my consciousness. To a certain extent, it does resemble mental flying so I even start to enjoy it a little bit. Still, my body doesn’t move during the meditation and my wings soon get sore.
“I have to stretch,” I refuse to continue after lunch. “I’m not able to focus with sore wings.”
“Your physical needs are indeed Celestial,” my father observes. “The Divementis don’t require excessive physical activity. Advin, take the Crown Prince outside for a flying session. I’ll catch up with some minor tasks in the meantime.”
I’m relieved that I’m allowed outside because I was afraid my father would try to overdo it with training. My cousin leads us outside and, in just a few minutes, I’m happily spreading my wings. I send a quick telepathic message to Liana to join me and she eagerly does so. I bet she needs a break as well since our government stands primarily on her now.
“Li, how are you managing?” I ask and I start hovering to have a quick chat with her. “Are Celestials listening to you?”
“They are because it’s been a direct order from you,” she nods. “We’re currently trying to tell all Celestials the whole story without startling them too much. As for the Dragonkin, Deminas is sending Fefnir to Japan to act as his deputy.”
“Fefnir is coming?!” I get excited. “Who’s going to hold the fort in Prague?”
“Artisa,” Liana says. “She proved to be very reliable and I bet she will be happy to get rid of Fefnir.”
“Is he bothering her?” I roll my eyes. The last time I saw those two, Fefnir’s interest in Artisa was super obvious—to Artisa’s annoyance.
“Fefnir volunteered, actually,” Liana smirks. “I heard that Artisa beat him up pretty badly when he tried to court her so he must be embarrassed.”
Gotrid chuckles, but he doesn’t comment on it. Since the ratio of male to female in the Dragonkin population is 3:1, Dragonkin ladies can be pretty picky about their suitors. Not wanting to embarrass Fefnir further, I change the topic.
“We should practice spells,” I suggest. “The training with my father is Divementis, but I can’t forget about levelling up my spellcasting.”
“Wouldn’t that exhaust you, Your Majesty?” Liana worries.
“Nope, I’ve been sitting the whole day so I have so much mana to burn!” I say enthusiastically. “I want to do something that’s purely Celestial for a change. Let’s do magic!”
Calling it magic is inaccurate, though, as my father already tried to explain to Erik. Celestial bodies naturally produce energy we call mana that can, in combination with willpower, affect matter itself. Telekinesis is essentially just the ability to move matter with one’s mind which ultimately means that I’m moving atoms to do my bidding.
Of course, not that anyone who isn’t a Celestial can actually understand how that works. Moreover, while every Celestial can do telekinesis (probably even little children once we start having them), delicate manipulation of matter is something we have to train. Right now, the average level of my subjects is around twenty which is hardly enough for fighting tough monsters, not to mention the Enemy.
I fly up as high as the Divementis shield lets me and hover. Practising spells on the ground might be easier, but we need to be able to cast spells while flapping our wings and when many things can potentially distract us.
I carefully channel a portion of my mana, just enough for this particular spell I want to test and try to condense moisture from the air above me. I can’t produce water out of nothing, that would defy the laws of physics, but I can easily collect water droplets from around me. It’s the same as using the Ice Barrier, only this one particular spell doesn’t involve lowering the temperature and concentrating the spell into a single spot.
I don’t expect to succeed because I failed a few times before, but when I feel the water condensing, I gain confidence and push on. My father’s training surprisingly comes in handy here. When I stretch my consciousness, I can draw water droplets from far away, much further than a normal Celestial would be able to do.
“Love, whatever you’re doing right now, you’d better stop it before…!” Gotrid’s alarmed voice disrupts my concentration, but it’s too late.
I look up and there’s a black cloud gathering above us. I admire it for exactly two seconds before raindrops hit my feathers and I panic. Celestials are scared of getting soaked since we can develop hypothermia easily. At first, it’s only drizzle, but it soon develops into a proper downpour.
Not knowing how to stop it, I order everyone to retreat. It doesn’t look very dignified because we fly back in a frenzy, but it is what it is. By the time we reach the nearest shelter, everyone is dripping wet and cursing.
“Are you kidding me?!” Liana is furious and isn’t afraid to scold me. “We have yet to master repulsion spells, Your Majesty!”
“I’m so sorry!” I frantically apologise to everyone because it’s a sad sight to see graceful Celestials resembling wet chickens.
Son, where are you?! my father sends me a telepathic message. Are you the cause of this sudden rain? The cloud is just above our premises, it’s suspicious. Disperse it this instant!
I chew my lip because I have no idea how to do it instantly. One way could be dispersing it with air currents but for that, I need to get closer. I spread my wings, but both Gotrid and Liana catch my wrists.
“You’re not flying anywhere soaked like this!” my Viceroy forbids me. “We need to dry ourselves before we catch a cold.”
“I think it’s clearing on its own already,” Gotrid points up.
I sigh in relief. I might have created a rain cloud, but it seems I didn’t gather enough matter for it to last. It’s indeed dispersing before our eyes. I hope nearby humans haven’t noticed this unusual weather phenomenon.
Everybody flatters their wings as much as they can to get rid of excess water. The guards conjure fireballs to keep us warm, so I don’t think we’re in danger of hypothermia, but my maids are still mad when we finally get to our accommodation.
“Soren, take care of Liana for me,” I order the guard captain who didn’t come with us and stayed behind to hold the fort. “Dry her wings even if she protests.”
“That’s not necces-…,” Liana protests all the same, but I command Soren to take her to her apartment immediately. Soren looks very pleased about his task and even winks at me—a silent thanks. That’s one thing taken care of.
I make sure that everybody from my entourage has someone who will help them with drying. When we finally get to our apartment as well, away from prying eyes, I start stripping Gotrid’s wet robe. If he catches a cold, it’s going to be my fault entirely.
“Love, you’re the priority,” he objects.
The maids roll their eyes, divide us and take care of us both at the same time.
“We really need to learn those repulsion spells,” Gotrid sighs. “This rain might have been caused by you on purpose, but there will be times when we will have to fight in bad weather conditions.”
I couldn’t agree more. After drying our wings and changing clothes, we head back to the labs. I expect my father to scold me and it looks like he would very much love to do so, but he lets it go in the end. It’s as if he doesn’t dare to do anything that could potentially damage our fragile relationship.
We sit on the meditation cushions and I automatically hug Gotrid with my right wing. I feel much calmer and safer with him by my side during my telepathic ventures. He does act as an anchor just as my father promised he would. Gotrid smiles at me encouragingly as I take a deep breath and my mind wanders.
I carefully inspect the Divementis premises once more and gently touch the Divementis I randomly encounter. Most of them flinch, but when they make sure that my father is tutoring me, they relax and open up to me a little.
Good, let them get used to your presence, he instructs me. As their prince, your presence should be comforting to them. They are uneasy only because they read your Celestial thinking.
Is it really that different? I doubt.
You have no idea, he laughs. Your sensory perception is Divementis, but the way you think about things is so hopelessly Celestial. That’s okay, though. We shouldn’t forget that you’re also the embodiment of magic. Whether we like it or not, it’s an undeniable truth we have to come to terms with.
Do you know what makes me the embodiment of magic? I ask, but I suspect the answer.
Unfortunately, no, he has to disappoint me. Truth be told, we didn’t anticipate that the real embodiment of magic would emerge with the Great Evolution. We have no idea what makes the embodiment of magic so adept at magic.
I feel one with mana, I try to give him a feeble explanation. I don’t know either.
That you do, it’s the thing that makes you immortal, he confirms. Your mana circle is so well-developed that it showers your cells with rejuvenating energy all the time. You even have the ability to store extra mana in your feathers. Still, knowing all that brings us no closer to ‘why’.
Are there no Celestial records that would maybe explain that?
The Celestial Imperial Library was destroyed when Assiath fell, my father says. Celestial technology isn’t compatible with ours so we didn’t bother saving any data crystals. Besides, there wasn’t time for that. We hardly managed to secure the Celestial gene imprints the late Celestial Emperor entrusted to us.
Can you show me what he looked like? I suddenly get super curious.
I didn’t meet him in person, my mother did, but I can show you his picture from the Divementis Archive, he pulls a mental image and projects it directly into my mind.
I’m taken aback. While his face isn’t as androgynous as mine because that’s a Divementis trait, the late Celestial Emperor had very handsome features and possessed the same hair and wing colour as me.
Did he have more partners just as the lore says? I’m burning with curiosity.
Emperor Asteraoth indeed had a harem consisting of twelve consorts, my father recalls.
T-twelve?! I’m left speechless. Erik and Gotrid can never hear about this or I’m toast. I’m lucky that Gotrid can’t follow our telepathic exchange because we switched to the Divementis language which feels much more natural to use during full telepathic immersion.
But you’re half Divementis, my father adds quickly. You bond to your partners so deeply that, while having polyamorous tendencies, you wouldn’t handle such a number.
I’m not taking more partners, two is just right for me, I say adamantly.
Anyway, let’s continue, he prompts me. We won’t have much time tomorrow with the Japanese delegation coming.
I continue my venture under his tutoring until a familiar mind touches me. It’s a mind I can’t resist because it belongs to the person I love. I pull my consciousness back and open my eyes. Erik is squatting in front of me, smiling widely. He’s the type to smile a lot, at least when it comes to me, but it’s been some time since I’ve seen him so relaxed.
I melt in his embrace and shower him with my love. While I was training my telepathy, he’s been training hard in VR. He’s working towards becoming a Celestial. Hopefully, in a few months, we will share the sky. He will have hundreds of years to live and I want to spend them with him and Gotrid. We have to win this war.