The first warning the world had was a piercing screech that was heard by everyone at once, followed by a brilliant light the shone from every reflective surface on the planet. The brilliant light dimmed to reveal a beautiful young woman sitting in a wooden armchair that dwarfed her. The heavy wood was only a few shades darker than her own skin contrasting well with her deep black hair that had been left loose to hang over her shoulders. She was dressed in an elaborate pleated leather skirt and tight fit top dyed a deep sea blue, gold thread traced swirls over her shoulders below the high V-cut neck before running in a line down the center of her body; snowflakes of silver thread fell from the gold accents at first dense near her shoulders and then thinning out as before vanishing where the top was tucked into a simple belt. Her outfit was topped off pale knee high leather boots decorated with sapphire accents giving her the look of video game character.
“Now that I’m sure everyone is paying attention let me first apologize for disturbing you. Unfortunately, we have some announcements to make that everyone should hear. When I’m done addressing everyone there will be a series of unusual events, I have to stress that you not panic. Yes, they will be disturbing, and given the locations affected some of them will be frightening for some of you. I can assure you the people within the affected areas will be taken care of, unfortunately circumstance and necessity don’t afford me the liberty to provide a proper explanation.” There was a brief pause as she seemed to be silently speaking to someone outside the mysterious reflection before she faced forward again. “To the governments of the world, I need to stress: This is not the work of any nation on the planet, nor is it an act of aggression. Some of you are no doubt already receiving urgent messages so I will be frank: your missing soldiers and their families are with us. Due to the nature of impending events don’t we don’t have adequate time to train or recruit through traditional methods. I assure you they will return those who survive their training within a decade.” She stood up and stepped to the side of the chair as an imposing figure that towered over her appeared.
The figure was dressed simply in a pair of loose leather shorts with a set of pale leather bracers with fist sized blue gems set in them. The creature was covered in white fur striped with brown and resembled a creature of myth with its blend of human and tiger features. As it settled into the chair that had obviously been designed for its immense size he nodded to the woman and thick fangs flashed as he spoke silently to the woman. Before addressing the people watching in a rumbling bass.
“As my bonded said this is a matter of necessity, if it wasn’t I would have taken a gentler and more cautious approach. We are acting to prevent a disaster that could shatter the planet and this message alone while necessary posses’ significant risk so I will be frank: do not attack the barriers, they are designed to retaliate against any aggression directed at them and they are precise but not gentle. I also encourage you to find peaceful solutions to your disagreements, humanity is facing a crisis of the sort less than a thousand beings in all of existence can even imagine and fewer still understand. As such every available person will be needed to address it. If word reaches me that any nation has instigated a war for any reason the ones responsible will dealt with before the day is over, I’ll give you a week to recall any troops you have deployed. I particularly detest pointless killing so be assured the first to do so will be made a particularly memorable example of.” The creature’s expression was unreadable but the ultimatum was issued with the same flat tone that one spoke simple facts like the sky was blue. Apparently finished speaking it stood up and walked away. The woman shook her head and then faced into the reflection again.
“Forgive his rudeness, his day has been extremely busy already. Arrangements have been made to ensure additional relevant information will be made available to those that need it.” With that final message she waved to those watching her and the image faded away.
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Frosthome Fortress, unlisted void space
I walked out of the simple chamber Marisa had chosen to deliver the message from and gently rubbed at my temples. I’d been awake for nearly a week straight laying out the foundations for the barriers and had worked myself to the bone for the month before that helping the First Tactical Battalion with preparing the old training grounds for their unsuspecting recruits and arranging enough living accommodations for an expected influx of noncombatants.
“You need to rest kitten” Marisa said as she came out behind me.
“Tonight, I promise. I still have a few tasks left to do.” I replied and gritted my teeth against the pain as my bones broke and reshaped and my body twitched at the sudden itch of my fur retreating. After a moment my feline form had vanished and I looked as human as her. The pale fur had been replaced by sun darkened skin and work hardened muscles. I closed my eyes as Marisa combed out my unruly mass of waist length copper brown hair with her fingers and pulled it into a ponytail for me.
“I’m serious Cadfael. Despite your power you still need to take care of yourself. I already ordered Ferith to activate the barriers, and the others are more than capable of training the recruits.” I chuckled and shook my head; Marisa still hadn’t adjusted to her new reality. She had a natural talent for manipulating energy which had helped her adapt to her newfound power after she’d ascended to divinity.
“Do you remember what you’re training under Synbel and Drystan was like?” She visibly shuddered at the brutal memory. “Precisely, and they were being gentle with you out of deference to me. With this group they are going to be beyond brutal. Not only do we have to make them accept the fact that magic is real, we’re also going to have to train people from countries that frankly hate each other to work together with the same unspoken understanding the First has. It’s going to take several years to get them up to even the minimal standard their work will require.”
“Fine, but I’m going with you, and you should probably put on some clothing that fits this form.” I glanced down and realized the simple leather shorts I’d worn to maintain a semblance of propriety had fallen off when I changed my shape leaving me naked. Marisa followed my gaze and blushed.
“Ah, sorry I didn’t think of that.”
“I can accept you can bring down a blizzard on a whim, travel between planets, heck I’ve even gotten used to the fact that you can change between the forms of your past and present lives- oblivion, I even enjoy using your wings as a blanket when you have them now. I can even accept my position and the fact that I can quite literally summon a house out of the ground and heal with a touch.” I laughed at her confession and nodded. “But I’m not sure I’m ever going to be as casual about nudity as the rest of you.”
“Trust me we’re all aware, why do you think everyone leaves when you use the main bath? It’s probably going to get worse once the new recruits settle in. I can look into arranging a private bath for you, no promises as I honestly don’t remember the layout well enough to know where there is room to carve one out.” She shook her head.
“I’ll adapt eventually, not reason to go changing traditions older than Earth on my account of me, besides I doubt you’d do anything with the female members of the First.”
“Please, even if I wanted to all of them except Davina are terrified of offending you,” I laughed, “and the only reason she won’t is because she tried before I met Corena and I left her floating in space for a year.” This time it was Marisa’s turn to chuckle at the image of the towering draconian floating in the void.
“That would do it. Enough stalling though. The sooner you take care of things the sooner you can sleep.”
“I’ll go get my armor on before I met the soldiers we just shanghaied into this mess, in the meantime maybe you can see about getting the noncombat arrivals settled in? Synbel and Sunrunner didn’t arrange to collect just the soldier’s families.” Her eyes flashed as there was the bone shaking thump that accompanied the displacing of air and power whenever a large group appeared on the planet and she grinned as she rushed off down the hall to greet the new arrivals, a fur lined coat materializing on her shoulders as she ran. I managed not to laugh at her eagerness; it had been almost a year since I brought her with me after saving her from my enemies. If it weren’t for the fact either of us returning to Earth would have caused catastrophic fallout, she would have at least gone back to see her parents. We’d resorted to having a messenger deliver a letter saying she was safe, and to bring back most of our personal belongings.
I stepped out of my rooms rolling my shoulders to help my armor settle into place. The rings of the chainmail were so minuscule the suit looked more like a set of woven silver than durable metal wrapped around a sturdy set of tanned leather. A symbol of an eight-pointed star enclosed in a circle resting in the palm of an open hand was marked in a brilliant blue on the right breast of the armor. After a bit of consideration, I’d decided to leave my weapons behind even my arm guards had been left on my nightstand. I was going to be dealing with mostly normal people so showing up armed to take down a titan would be overkill. Synbel stood at the end of the hall dressed in in loose fit grey pants and he’d elected to let his floor length black hair hang free over a set of pale wings that managed to make even the seven foot tall man seem small.
“Another report?” I asked with resignation. He nodded and pulled out a sheet of paper. “Read it to me as we go. Don’t want to spook the trainees more by appearing from thin air.”
“Right, well most of your predictions about the barriers going up was correct. It took them a few hours to work around the gaps in the communication network the barriers made. At first most of the nations tried throwing those missiles at them. We overheard some talk about nuclear weapons but apparently nobody could reach them?” He said making a mark next to something on his papers.
“The barriers are versatile but I wasn’t sure they’d be able to manage the fallout from a nuclear warhead. Figured it would be easier to lock them away than deal with cleaning that up.”
“Fallout?” he raised an eyebrow and I frowned as I remembered he’d never had to deal with warfare the way humans waged it on Earth.
“Hmm, imagine the result of compressing all the heat energy on a planet into a space the size of a dagger tip and making the dust from the resulting explosion when it was released toxic to anyone that touched it for several decades at least.” I offered as a rough explanation.
“Forgive me sir, I say this having blown up entire battlefields and slaughtered planets, but that seems insane.”
“Why do you think I prevented them from using them? Keep going.”
“Right, a few of the larger countries tried wave tactics, Ferith tuned the shields so they mostly just suffered minor inconvenience in the form of the barriers releasing a burst of power that should have broken their limbs and caused significant incontinence. Nothing they should recover from in a day or two.” I stopped and stared at him.
“You need to talk with Marisa and Davina about the state of Earths medical abilities.” I sighed and shook my head. “It’s gonna take at least a year for their bones to heal, and even then, most are going to be impaired for the rest of their life unless they get a proper healer to treat them. How did the messages get received?”
“Mostly poorly. Diplomats and ambassadors have been arguing all day blaming other nations, some have blamed aliens-”
“Technically not wrong”
“Yes, so I was told. And every Head of State is vying to be the one that leads an assembly to discuss how to proceed. So far, they don’t seem to even be considering taking your advice to form a planet wide legal system, or even acknowledging the suggestion that they form a unified government. Mostly all the leaders have been hiding in bunkers ever since Sunrunner delivered those letters.” I shook my head, really the list of directions were just suggestions this was also proving to be a steep learning curve for the First Tactical Battalion and our allied pantheons. I’d wanted to try and unify Earth for the trials it was going to face, and hopefully so when the soldiers I was about to meet returned there wouldn’t be too much backlash to their unified front.
“The culture on Earth was built in its early stages mostly by people that barely remembered fragments of their past lives, most of them can’t even do that now. Without the ability to manipulate Energy or create proper constructs they didn’t start intermingling until well after they had been firmly set in their ways which has caused a lot of conflicts and as a result there are some very old feuds almost as bad as those between me and the lower council members. I’d hoped this might push them to set those aside but I guess it will have to wait till the first awakened person loses control.”
“Hmm speaking of feuds the recruits have split themselves based on their origins and we’ve already had fights although nothing to lethal since we took away their weapons when we brought them here. On top of that we underestimated the number of their relatives so we don’t have enough housing for everyone.”
“That’s easy to deal with, combat recruits can sleep outside for the time being, we’ll dangle the ability to build their own barracks over their head as a reward once they advance in their training as incentive.”
“Which still leaves the issue of them fighting with each other. There frankly aren’t enough in the First to train all the recruits, maintain surveillance on the barriers, handle discipline, and deal with our other duties.”
“Well then, it’s fortunate I thought to ask for help. The Night Queen has agreed to let my nephew assist in training.”
“Do I want to know what that’s going to cost you?”
“He want’s a new weapon. More precisely one on par with his previous axe that’s soul linked.” Synbel gave a low whistle.
“Can you even do that? I mean I know you forged most of your own gear, and Lady Marisa’s weapon, but wasn’t that forged by your father?”
“Yes, which means that in order to make something equivalent I’m going to need to deal with his guild. Given our last discussion ended with me ripping apart the souls of half the Master Smiths and tossing a majority of their journeymen in the crystal prison I doubt they will be in a charitable mood. Weyland at least is still friendly but most of them are terrified of what I’ll do, or more precisely that I’ll break with the council entirely and lead the First in a purge.”
“Honestly most of us would be willing to do that. The Lifesmiths aren’t exactly what they used to be under the Cyngof. Perhaps you should consider following his will and taking charge.” I shook my head and waved off the suggestion as we approached the massive granite walls of the arena that had been constructed as a training ground.
“Drop it. I’ve got far too much on my plate to take on more projects right now.” As I neared the training grounds entrance the sounds of shouting in dozens of languages. I stopped for a moment before entering to draw in and weave the energy around me into a simple construct to translate the languages which did little to make the deafening arguments understandable. “Oblivion take it.” I swore and exercised a minor effort of will to summon more of my men.
The two of us walked past the crowd to the elevated platform at the far side without much notice, which given I was dressed in chainmail being followed by a seven foot tall bare chested angel in what looked like sweatpants carrying a clipboard. I stood on the small stage and observed half a dozen fist fights breaking out as soldiers hurled accusations and insults.
“Should I stop them?”
“No, I’m going to have Exzo make an example.” Synbel noticeably paled for a moment before a trio of men appeared at the training ground entrance and looked around. The one in the center was a sleek figured dressed head to toe in form fitting leather that had been stained black with substances I really didn’t want to think about. Behind him were two bemouths, Drystan had dressed in simple leather armor that did little to conceal the heavy slabs of muscle that would shame a grizzly bear with a mane of red and blue hair hanging around his shoulders. On the other side Oros would have been intimidatingly large next to anyone but Drystan and was dressed in a simple pair of trousers and a green silk shirt, his bald head and face were a patchwork of uneven skin covered in a mess of scars that highlighted the missing bits of flesh. Honestly, he could have healed the scars but he seemed to take pride in the fact his face, and the chest hidden under his shirt, looked like someone had run him through a food processor and then stitched the results back together with all the skill of a sleep deprived novice tailor. I nodded at the trio before taking a deep breath and weaving power into my voice.
“ATTENTION!” my voice carried and a few of the conscripted soldiers turned to look at me out of ingrained reflex while some glanced at me for a moment before going back to their arguments. I paused to note the faces that actually did pay attention.
“FALL IN OR FALL APART!” The threat barely made an impact and I made a gesture to the trio still standing at the entrance that was noticeably angered. Oros promptly grinned and waded into the melee picking up and throwing adult men dozens of yards into the air as he broke up fights while Drystan simply started walking through leaving a trail of men sunk into ground that had suddenly softened and hardened around them. Exzo just quietly followed the other two his leather covered head occasionally shifting as he glared at particular individuals. By the time he’d reached the foot of the stage he’d picked out a handful of ring leaders to use as examples. The three jumped on the stage and banged their fist to their chest before turning to the crowd. Exzo waved at the crowd and close to a hundred men were promptly lifted into the air and exploded.
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Actually, an explosion would have been nicer. Instead, they flew apart like an exploded diagram from an anatomy text book with all their parts more or less connected, worse they survived and the sound of a hundred men screaming as their bodies were pulled and held apart by magic was enough to settle the fights. Exzo held the men suspended in torment until everyone had oriented and looked at us with expressions of fear. It was one thing to die and kill, but seeing another being suspended mid air screaming while impersonating a medical lesson so you could see their heart beat and lungs expand was shocking the first time.
“Lesson one, when your assembled and the commander calls your attention, you will give it.” Exzo’s voice echoed through the stadium managing to drown out the screams without being loud.
I stepped forward and looked at the men before nodding at Exzo who reassembled the men and set them back down on the ground looking noticeably shaken. I couldn’t blame them; Exzo’s particular talent for deconstructing things was unnerving to be on the receiving end of when it was used to help, used as a punishment it was downright terrifying to live through seeing your body pulled apart while you were alive and put back together.
“Now that everyone is behaving let’s be clear, that right there was mild discipline. You’re here because you already most of the skills necessary to confront what’s coming. But don’t be mistaken, any one of the people that will be involved in your training can and will use you as an object lesson. The next few years of training will make whatever you’ve been through before seem like a walk in the park. There is no dropping out, no refusal, or quitting allowed. Trust me every single one of them will motivate you to move.”
“What right do you have to make that decision!” a voice shouted from the crowd.
“Well setting aside the fact that I could literally rip apart the souls of you and everyone you know and turn the corpse into a puppet. I’ve made agreements with powers you frankly can’t imagine exist that designate Earth as my territory. To that end I have a vested interest in keeping it, and the people living on it, in good health. Due to the lack of foresight by bureaucratic idiots that everyone here should be familiar with. Earth is facing a significant crisis in the form of an impending return of its natural energy, I suppose for you it would be easier to understand as magic, qi, prana, or mana. Trust me this isn’t anything like what you are thinking. Your first round of training will focus on what exactly that means and why it’s risky but in simple terms if you don’t work with us, it is almost guaranteed the planet will be literally shattered. That’s not counting the panic that’s going to follow when other beings start showing up, or other factors that will be discussed during your more cerebral training.” I paused and looked around the group. “Now some things to make clear before I introduce you to your instructors. First as will become obvious once you leave here this is not Earth, we are currently in an abandoned corner of the universe. There are predators that will kill and eat you and your regiment before you know they are there; our healers are good but they have little tolerance for stupidity. You’ve already seen what one of them can do when moderately annoyed, trust me they can do much worse. I also need to stress that each of these people is part of a group known as the First Tactical Battalion. More commonly outside of Earth they are a source of nightmares. Every single man, woman, and thing among them has seen and done more in their life than all of you combined, at least half of them have personally been involved in depopulating planets overnight using methods that scarred their victims through several reincarnations. As Synbel here demonstrates with his wings not all of them are human in shape or appearance. As such unless you want to discover how creative someone can be when using magic to torture someone, I advise you treat them with respect and express any concerns politely. Is that understood?” There was a moment of silence before Drystan let out a loud grunt and the ground around them promptly surged up and grabbed them.
“Yes Sir!”
“Right, now with the basic warnings out of the way let me introduce you to some of your new instructors. First up those of you with experience in combat engineering will be learning from my great nephew Drystan, as he’s demonstrated twice now on top of being able to pull a whole building from the ground, he can also effectively use it as a weapon, this time next year anyone learning from him will be able to do such minor works as easily as breathing.” Drystan gave a slight bow.
“Oros,” The scarred man stepped forward with a twisted grin, “is going to be in charge of training those of you with reconnaissance specialties. Don’t let his looks fool you, he can vanish in broad daylight and I doubt any of you scouts can track him.”
“For combat operatives you will be introduced to your chief instructor tomorrow as he’s otherwise engaged with prior commitments, but for the time being Synbel will show you your dormitories and explain the facilities.” Synbel lifted one wing as a gesture of greeting. “And since you’re not going to be doing anything today for training your going to be in charge of making food for when the rest come back.” A small Mediterranean looking man wearing loose monk robes with obvious ink stains on his fingers and nose appeared on the stage without notice.
“Ah, this is Ferith. All of you will be spending time with him each day. He’s going to be teaching you the basics of energy manipulation, starting with the how to accomplish the bit of neuromancy that’s enabling you to understand me, translation constructs are going to be bread and butter of your daily life for a long time since none of your instructors speak English and he himself doesn’t even speak a language present on Earth. He’s also going to handle general education such as the politics at play in reality and the more notable groups and organizations to be aware of.”
“Now for those of you with expertise in medicine, you get the special treat of two instructors. First off you already met Exzo. He knows more about anatomy and physiology than any living being and can take you apart and put you back together in less than a heartbeat. As for the other instructor,” I glanced up and looked around the edge of the training grounds walls before spotting a burly outline against the blue sky that promptly swooped down and landed with a dull thud on the stage. Davina had the sort of build associated with female body builders and was mostly out of place due to the large leather wings on her back that matched the purple edged black scales along her back and arm. Her face was the same heavy reptilian features of most draconic creatures. “Davina here will be instructing you on the finer points of magical healing and treating toxins and diseases that you may encounter.” There were a few muttered comments deep in the crowd and Davina bounded off the stage before I could react and snatched up the offending party before coming back to the stage holding him under one arm like a sack of potatoes.
“This one’s mine Commander. Seems even humans have the sense to recognize good looks.” The other three shot the struggling man a look of sympathy before noticing he was passed out and promptly began pretending that he didn’t exist.
“You know the rules, as long as they are willing and can serve, I don’t care what the people serving me do in their free time. Just remember they are still fragile.” I said and then looked back at the troops. “For those of you worrying about your families, rest assured they are cared for. In a few months you should have all learned enough control I won’t have to worry about redrawing my maps on accident at which time you will be able to see them, and for those that have the means you will be allowed to build your own homes and live with them when not training or on missions. Until then they are being kept safely away from you so you don’t turn your family inside out by accident. At present they are getting a similar, if more polite, speech from my wife and being introduced to teachers whose methods are far gentler what you will be subjected to. This is for your sake and theirs as I’m well aware that several of your countries would treat your disappearance as treason, they are protected. Your personal items have been placed in storage for safe keeping as well, once you have advanced far enough in your training those will be returned to you.” I stepped off the stage and Synbel took my place.
“As you heard we will be in charge of training, if you find you would prefer to focus on a different area or have trouble grasping the lessons, speak up and we will find a role more in line with your aptitude. I would also advise you learn to get along. You all serve out commander now which means you and your kin are under his protection, he will fight for and with you so long as you treat the rest of us with respect. If any of you try getting into a stupid fight like I saw when I came in, I will save him the trouble and personally correct your behavior. Now while most of the instructors are here let’s start your training with the basics of combat. The room to the side has an armory, I suggest you pick a weapon and then we will split you up in groups and start drilling.” I didn’t bother paying anymore attention, Synbel was going to have to break most of the soldier’s notion of combat and get them used to the idea that firearms were no longer useful for them. Despite my best efforts I hadn’t found a way to enchant bullets with enough power to force their way through the defenses used by the first tactical. A few hours of fighting with more traditional melee weapons would be enough to ensure all of them became personally familiar with Exzo and Davina’s unique brands of healing.
“Are things going well on your end?” I asked projecting the thought through my bond with Marisa as I passed through the exit.
“Harder than I expected. Most are having trouble with the idea this is a different planet and magic is real. Sprouting an apple tree helped, I think Khan appearing out of thin air next to me solved a lot of that. Did you know he likes kids?” I frowned at the reply. It had been an eternity since I had seen the great tiger with children and the memories were bittersweet, “I see, your son?”
“Yes,” was my short reply “and other times. Crotchety beast will protect and treat them like his own cubs but as long as he doesn’t offer to teach them to hunt it should be safe enough. Any problems?”
“Nothing serious. Though I wouldn’t mind if you happened to appear looking particularly awe inspiring. I’m not confident in controlling my strength if some of these men do more than leer.” I grinned at the thought focusing on a shape from my past lives and gritted my teeth against the wash of pain again as my body twisted, stretched and expanded to fit the mold my energy and will gave it. Shape shifting of any sort was unpleasant unless you were born to a race that was adapted to it. Even for me while I was limited to taking the forms I’d held in past lives and it hadn’t been that long ago when doing so would cause me to blackout from the pain. For someone that hadn’t learned to endure pain by ignoring it, or who like Davina could simply sever their nerves the pain could be lethal. Still after a few moments I managed to straighten up, fanning the double set of wings on my back and rolling my shoulders as I tried to get the armor to settle into place after it adjusted to the new form. Like this I was nearly a head taller than even Synbel, the added muscles in my shoulders and chest that enabled me to move the wings also made me more barrel chested and my hair while still floor length had bled from its unremarkable sun lightened brown into a pale white with streaks of metallic silver. Even the four massive wings were eye catching, the feathers looked nearly transparent and were visible only due to the light that reflected off them causing a halo of refracted light that made the almost equally clear bones to be hidden under a rainbow of color.
I kicked off from the ground as I cleared the training field and the first down stroke of my wings lifted me higher as it kicked up a small dust devil in my wake. I climbed higher with a hearty laugh at the simple joy that always came with taking flight and then looked around to orient myself before flapping my wings and diving towards the small city that had been built in the valley below the mountains holding the training grounds and my home. I spotted Marisa talking to a group outside the massive communal building we’d built, I twitched my wings to adjust my angle and came down in a near vertical dive before pulling up at the last moment and landing next to Marisa kicking up a cloud of dust before lifting her in a hug that was greeted with a laugh.
“I take it the soldiers are settled in then?” She said with a grin.
“Well, they are getting their first taste of training, I doubt settled is the right term for it though.” I replied as I set her down. “Any trouble with the civilians?”
“Not too much. A few snide comments from some of the more bigoted individuals though once Khan showed up most of them quickly quieted down. The usual leering from a few men-“
“I could volunteer them to Davina. She could use a few people to demonstrate regrowing organs.” She glared at me.
“No. I appreciate that you’re protective but looks are hardly a problem. And if anyone wanting to do more than look isn’t polite, well, I can volunteer them myself. Mostly a few people complaining about the lack of amenities, I made reassurances that we will take steps to address those. A few worrying about work as though their jobs took priority over being abducted to another planet. Some arguments about eating arrangements, demands for religious accommodations, and several other civic issues we really didn’t plan for.”
“Religious accommodations? Oblivion’s hunger. Religion isn’t exactly our priority. I don’t suppose inviting Odin and Hades to attend a feast with them would solve that problem?” Actually, I hadn’t seen either man in a few months, some of the other gods had visited regularly once news about me reincarnating again had spread out but aside from their help in the issue that had pulled me back into the public eye, we hadn’t seen each other in person.
“Sure, if you want to gain firsthand experience with quelling riots. I’m not sure you realize just how deeply some people hold their beliefs. Most people aren’t like you with memories of their previous lives where they are friends and literal mentors to gods. Look at how I reacted when I woke up in Sessrúmnir. I freaked out, and bludgeoned a valkyrie over they head with Freyja’s journal. After, I should point out, I had seen you turn into your feline form and rip a dozen people apart bare handed. That’s not exactly the sort of introduction to the universe that makes one feel safe.” I mulled the thought over for a few moments and nodded.
“Alright, I’ll see about getting some of the more friendly people I know to help construct some temples or something. Anything else?”
“A few demanded to know why we kidnapped them, others screamed a few profanities about their new neighbors, the entitled ones demanded to know why they had to live in dormitories. Somehow, they couldn’t understand why building individual homes for several thousand families in a year wasn’t possible. Of course, there were more complaints when I told them they would have to find useful roles for themselves, a few that complained about the mandatory lessons, it took me bribing them with longer life and better health to get them to shut up.”
“Heh, as always humanity will die in search of immortality.”
“And sex. Some of the First ran through doing their daily exercise. Not surprisingly the idea of being able to spend time close to them appealed to most of the younger people.” I grinned.
“I wouldn’t worry about it to much. The First will follow the rules, they have too much respect for both of us to do otherwise. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be here now.”
“True, however there is something else we need to discuss aside from work.”
“Oh?” the sense of concern I felt through our bond made my gaze sharpen as I looked down at her.
“It’s not anything major. I suggested to the members of the First that aren’t needed for training that it would be a good idea if they had a feast here in town to welcome the newcomers. However, we can’t attend, my parents while accepting of the fact were bonded insist on meeting you, which means the four of us will be having dinner tonight in the fort.”
“If it’s a dinner to met family perhaps I should see if Melisandre is free?” She paused and thought about it for a moment.
“No, as much as I like her, I think she might be a bit much for a fist meeting, particularly given my parents are a bit more conservative.”
“Fair, I’m not sure having her usual escort of sanguinarians among the newcomers would be a good idea either. A shame though, I’ve had a boar roasting in the oven all day. I guess I’ll have to find something else. Any other dietary limits I should be aware of?”
“No, just don’t prepare anything to bizarre, Dads already a little shaken up. Apparently, he had a heart attack after waking up while they were still bringing everyone through the path and he woke back up to see Exzo standing over him fixing his heart.” I winced.
“Right. I have some elk steaks, quite a few vegetables, and there’s some cream I can use as a base for a dessert. I’ll have to trouble to search the store room for something suitable to drink, and I suppose both of us are going to have to change into more suitable clothing. Rather that didn’t meet me the first time dressed for war or hunting leathers.” I paused for a moment. “Gifts. I need to get them gifts for a first meeting. Shit,” Marisa smiled at me.
“Relax Kitten. Just treat them with the same respect you show everyone and you’ll be fine. Besides you are already giving them a home and safety from the coming disaster. You plan to give them the opportunity everyone else has here to learn, to grow, to reclaim what Quertas and those cowards in the High Council took from Earth without being destroyed by it. I highly doubt some trinkets and fine clothes will compare to that. Go ahead and head home I’ll pick out a drink and prepare a room for them when I get back. Right now, they are helping Khan with the children while the adults get settled. They don’t seem to be bothered by him and he said he’d stay with them until dinner.”
“Alright. I suppose my formal uniform will work, and I’ll change back to my current form. I suppose I should probably lock up the frost forge as well, at least all the weapons are already locked up. And necessary or not I should give them some sort of gift. Their daughter is a goddess now after all, and given I’m essentially their son in law it’s inevitable they will draw the attention of some of my enemies. Perhaps a necklace for you mother, and a- actually is there anything your father would wear regularly? If we were on Earth, I’d give him a watch but I’ve never made one.” Marisa gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head.
“If you insist, like most men dad wanted to be a knight when he was young, and as you know he served in the military. A pendant with the First Tactical’s emblem should be fine. And since, as you said, our enemies are theirs perhaps it wouldn’t be bad to give them the tools to protect themselves.” I frowned at her. “Not like that Cadfael, I know how much calling for another ascension would cost you. But you can offer to restore their bodies and offer to teach them.”
I thought about the idea. Marisa had guessed correctly, meeting the requirements and arranging for another person, let alone two, to gain divinity was beyond what I could currently manage with my resources and connections. But it would be a simple thing for any of the First’s healers to restore them to the peak of health. I could even restore them to the prime of their life once I recovered the massive amount of personal energy I’d expended activating the barriers around Earth’s key sites. After that I could train them if they wanted. With the resources available to me in Frost home, and through the First Tactical Battalion’s contacts, I could ensure both had skill and power comparable to some of the younger gods.
“If your parents are willing, I’ll train them. Through from what you’ve said I think your mother would be happier to have free reign of the library. I’ll go get started, do you want me to take you back?”
“No, I’m going to stay here for a bit longer and keep helping. I think having an angel swoop down and hug me should deter anyone from being pushy. And if they still won’t listen, well Davina and Exzo just got a bunch of students that might need some practice.” I nodded and stepped back leaping into the air and circling around before raising my voice.
“I’ll see you at dinner love!” I watched as Marisa waved, her blush obvious even at a distance and then flew back towards the towering mountain Frost home had been carved into. Fortunately, I wouldn’t have much cleaning to do to make my home presentable, but I would have to seal a few things down before I started cooking. Some of the books in my library could kill a reader if they didn’t know how to protect themselves, and the Frost forge that was the central point was filled with a cold so intense it defied physics and could melt flesh as easily as metal which meant I’d have to seal it, and I should probably put away some of the riskier artifacts until her parents got used to the idea that even a seemingly benign object could cripple the unwary. I tried doing a mental inventory of all the objects and places inside the great mountain that could pose a risk to a normal person. Somehow, I don’t think most men had to worry about accidentally killing their future in-laws on a first meeting. Not to mention tomorrow we had to start the actual training for the soldiers, and Marisa would begin actually teaching the civilian population. At least we’d managed to terraform a significant enough portion of the planet to be habitable to ordinary people over the last year. As long as no one wandered to far into the snowy zones they would be fine.