Conception

The days following them making their bloodlines went by fast. Erdania, Ryun and Selia underwent a few tests to make sure that everything was well, and that Tarsh Yuron and his people would be able to help them.

They still didn’t know quite how their bloodlines would interact, but they had the best in the world present to watch over the entire process.

“You are certain that you don’t have any specific wish for your children?” Yuron asked as his assistants sat next to him with a writing implement in his lap, taking notes.

“No,” Selia shook her head. “We’ve discussed it, we don’t want to pick and choose how our children will look, it feels like a slippery slope.”

Yuron shrugged. “I have perks that can help randomize the traits from both parents, and allow only the beneficial and strong ones to carry on.” He didn’t seem to be bothered one way or the other.

The three of them had talked about it in depth. Ryun had mentioned some things from his old world that made him somewhat uneasy with it, and both Erdania and Selia had agreed that it wasn’t necessary. They wanted children that would be part of all of them, not perfectly made instruments to carry on their will.

Yuron’s mandibles twitched as he spoke up again. “I am unsure how your unique physicality will impact this though,” he looked at Ryun. “Though, I can make some educated guesses.”

“Please,” Ryun gesture for him to continue.

“You are no longer really human, and your body… it can have any shape that you want. Yet you still have a distinctly human appearance. It is because that is how your Soul thinks you should look.”

“The meaning of my Soul, of my being,” Ryun added with a nod.

“You have some knowledge of things of the Soul?”

Ryun just inclined his head.

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Yuron shook his head. “You are powerful, and I doubt you reached such a level without learning thing or two. Anyway, back on track, the mother’s race will be the base, it always is. But I am mixing pieces of your Souls, so the… meaning, as you say, will carry over. Physical traits, without all of my perks, they won’t be guided precisely, but there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.”

“We have complete confidence in you, Master Yuron,” Selia smiled at him.

“And I am grateful for it, but this will be my biggest undertaking so far. And I cannot foresee how your Bloodlines will interact with each other, though I am thankful for your restraint while making them. The only experience I had with a Bloodline showed me that they weigh heavily on the budding Soul of a newborn.”

“You don’t think that there is going to be any complications for us?” Selia asked, somewhat fearful.

“No, no,” he waved his hands quickly. “It is mostly a precaution. The power of the parents influences things a great deal, and you three are all powerful. My previous experience had a big discrepancy in power between the two parents. I have observed that it is harder for people with such gaps in power to conceive children together. My power can aid somewhat, and I had had many approach me when they had little luck on having children on their own.”

“That’s good,” Selia sighed, relieved.

“Although, I am uncertain as to how long the pregnancy will last. It varies, especially for interspecies conceptions.”

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“Do you have an estimate?” Erdania asked.

He shook his head. “Not a precise one, it could be six months, or it could be more than a year.”

“Well,” Selia smiled. “I am looking forward to being pregnant, though I don’t know if I would be thinking the same if I end up being in that state for over a year.”

Yuron’s mandibles clicked, echoing the sentiment. “I found that different people take differently to pregnancies. Some love it, others hate it. I hope that you’ll be of the former kind.”

“As do I.”

“I have some perks that I’d like to use on you today,” Yuron continued. “To make sure that your body is ready and as receptible as possible for the procedure and the pregnancy.”

“Of course.”

“Then we’ll begin the actual process tomorrow morning.”

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They prepared their bedroom for the procedure, though there wasn’t a need for much. It was simply to make it be more comfortable and warm for them. They gathered with just Yuron present. Erdania laid down in their bed, as Yuron prepared to take one of her eggs for the procedure.

Both Ryun and Selia were next to her, holding her hand. The look of the various instruments that Yuron had spread out on the table near him was intimidating. The formations etched on their surface were glowing faintly. She couldn’t help but break the silence as she tried to push her nervousness away.

“Those look more like some torture instruments that I’ve seen before,” she commented.

Yuron glanced back at her as he prepared his tools, his mandibles turning up in a smile. “They are not, I assure you. I know that they might look intimidating, but trust that there will be no pain. They are specially made to ensure that everything is done quickly and that no damage is suffered during the extraction.”

The effect of his calm tone and words was blunted by the metallic contraption in his hands and the grasping claw-like prongs on its end.

She swallowed, and felt Ryun squeeze her hand. “You know that those things probably can’t even hurt you right? Your stats are too high.”

She turned to look at him and narrowed her eyes at him.

“I’m just saying,” he leaned back.

“Well don’t,” she hissed at him, then waved at Yuron’s back. “Those things are not going into you.”

“Right, sorry,” he said in a repentant tone, but she could feel his mirth through their bond.

On her other side, Selia tried to stifle her laughter, and failed.

“Assholes,” Erdania whispered.

Yuron turned around and gestured with his free hand. “Ready?”

She sighed, then nodded her head.

The procedure itself turned out not to be painful at all, for Erdania at least. She had turned her head away, and it was over before she even realized it.

Then they moved to the last part of the procedure, the actual fertilization of eggs. Yuron gathered two pieces of Ryun’s Soul and one of Erdania’s.

“Huh,” Ryun said, his eyes tracking the tools. Through the bond he allowed both Selia and Erdania to see. His eyes could see the pieces of their Souls.

Yuron worked quickly, he moved to Selia and started layering perks on her. The first egg to be fertilized was Erdania’s and Ryun’s, and they watched through his eyes as the pieces of their souls mixed and something new was in the process of being born.

Yuron didn’t pause for them to take a closer look, but continued on to Selia, he used his tools to place the fertilized egg inside of her, then used the last two pieces of Soul Essence.

The process was over quickly, far faster than Erdania had expected it would be.

“That’s incredible,” Ryun whispered as he watched with eyes that could see Essence. He only allowed his eyes to touch on Selia, he kept his aura authority away, not wanting to somehow influence anything with an errant thought, and the rest of them did the same.

They watched through the bond as new life was conceived.

“There,” Yuron whispered. “I’ll need to keep watch and ensure that everything is proceeding properly. And I’ll need to refresh a few perks every few days, but it’s done.”

Selia put a hand over her stomach. “I-I’m pregnant,” she said, sounding as if she couldn’t quite believe it. Yuron faded in the background, stepping away to give them some privacy. Erdania barely noticed when he left the room.

She put her hand over hers, her attention still on what she could feel and see from Ryun through the bond. “You are, with our children.” Something shifted inside of Erdania, the old pains and worries fell away and she looked at Selia, her partner, the woman that she had loved for a very long time. Then she glanced at Ryun, who added his hand to hers, a faint smile on his usually wooden face.

They didn’t need such outward displays and expressions, they had the benefit of their bond so they always felt what each of them felt. And now, there was only one thing that all three of them were feeling, still, Erdania voiced it anyway.

“I love you,” she told them, and they raised their heads to meet her eyes. They smiled back at her.

“And we love you too,” Selia whispered back.

“We’re going to be parents,” Ryun said.

Before anyone could say anything else, Erdania leaned forward and pulled them both into a tight hug.

She couldn’t remember a moment in her life when she was ever happier.