It ends up being heavily enchanted, more so than most of the items I have made lately. However, since it concerns Lin's safety, I am completely fine with that. The only problem is that if other mages see it, they are likely to try and steal it.

Then again, from what she has told me most of the mages would go after her anyway, at least the male ones. Even if they did, it would take more than one mage to bring Lin down. Maybe ten mages working together could subdue her, but probably not without casualties.

That is just as she is now, once she has this staff and her new robe it will be even harder to subdue her. Of course, anyone who tries is going to get ripped into small pieces by me. After all I've been through to be with Lin, I will not allow anything to happen to her.

Although, admittedly most of what I went through was in my own mind, it still was a lot of work. Sometimes dealing with your own internal demons is much harder than fighting the real ones. I am still nowhere near having a healthy mind, but I feel like it has improved some.

Brightfire's lesson is going well and she is able to move around and play with the kids. Of course, they are going easy on her until she becomes more proficient. Seeing her having fun and playing around reminds me of the trip across the islands we took.

Brightfire was more carefree and less serious back then, it makes me wonder what happened. Honestly, I think it might be my fault that she changed even if I don't know what I did. Not knowing what caused it, I have absolutely no idea what to do, or if I should do anything.

Considering I would prefer it if we don't become intimate, I should probably not interfere. Lin might know what is going on with her, but I'm not sure if I want to ask her. It would feel weird asking Lin about another woman, even though I know they talk a lot.

However, asking Lin is probably the only way I am going to find out what is going on. Lin can probably even tell me what I should or shouldn't do about it. As much as I don't want to talk to her about it, asking Lin is probably the smarter move.

That will have to wait until after Brightfire leaves, which probably won't be for a while. Not only is she still getting used to her new form, but she is having a ton of fun. I don't want to interrupt her fun, so I look for something else that I can do.

However, Lin hasn't finished her robe yet so I can't enchant it and I can't work on the castle here. I don't really have any other projects to work on and it is too soon to work on the connection to Bones again. So, in the end I close my eyes and spend some time working on my core.

Core Upgrade Progress: 53%

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

My work lasts until Lin announces that it is time for lunch and I join everyone to eat. Brightfire stays and eats lunch with us, but I was already expecting that. After all, she has only tried one of her two forms so far, she still has the eagle form to play with.

Brightfire says "Ash, can you teach me how to fly?"

"Yes, I can. Well, I can teach you the mechanics of flying, but dealing with the wind takes practice."

Brightfire says "That's fine. Thank you."

Since I am giving a lesson anyway, I call over Mulan and Mushu to join us. Normally we would have to go outside, but since we can shrink we can stay in the cabin. For Mushu my normal form is close enough to his for me to demonstrate everything.

For Mulan and Brightfire, I have to shapeshift into eagle form for the demonstration. Before I can start the demonstration, Lin comes over to join us and shapeshifts into an eagle. However, she doesn't get it quite right and I have to help her fix several things.

Once she has corrected everything, I resume the lesson for the three of them. After I am done with the demonstration all that is left is for them to practice. Mulan and Mushu have been gliding for a while, but are still a little young for actual flying.

Their muscle structures haven't developed enough for sustained flight. So, after a couple of short flights, they go back to playing with Nala and Albion. Lin and Brightfire keep practicing, with some inevitable and hilarious failures.

However, considering it is Lin, I struggle not to laugh too loud and get myself in trouble. Practicing inside ends up being a good thing since it means their mistakes don't hurt as much. Before long the both of them are starting to get the hang of it, but they are also exhausted.

Lin says "I can't do it anymore! I never knew that flying would be so much work."

Brightfire says "I agree. No other training I have done was as intense."

"That is because you are new at it and don't know how to use the right muscles efficiently. With practice it will become a lot easier. It will take days of practice before you can fly for more than a few dozen minutes."

Lin says "Then how do you always make it look so effortless?"

"I have had lots and lots of practice. When we get to the tower you can ask Yui to show you my first flying attempts. You will get a really good laugh out of it. I made the mistake of learning in a room full of columns, which I ran into a lot."

Brightfire says "I have to see that!"

Lin says "I want to as well. I will be sure to remember to ask."

"I figured you would."

After resting for a bit, Lin goes back to sewing her robe and Brightfire leaves. I tell Lin that I am going to fly to the coast to work on the castle, but she wants to stay and finish the robe. So, I am alone as I take off from the balcony and fly towards the coast looking for a flat spot.

Once I reach the coast it doesn't take long before I find a cliff top that is nice and flat. I land, release the stone from my ring, and start shaping it using my mana. The fact that I already have the structure planned out saves me a ton of time.

Following the plan I built in my head it only takes me a half an hour to build the structure. However, while the stone we found is strong, it doesn't have a high mana capacity. So, I take out all the silver and gems that I have left, along with the drake's bones.

I set aside a few gems and a little silver to use on Lin's new robes, the rest goes into the castle. Then I start the hardest part, the massive amount of enchantments I have planned. I make a core for the castle, not as fancy as the one for the ship, but I don't want the castle to have a spirit.