Brand

"Dan, lets go."

"What is it?" He asks groggily but the seriousness on my face and tone pulls him back to reality with professional quickness.

"Shit, it's here?!" He whispers already grabbing his coat and following me out the door.

We move through the shanti slums of organized chaos with ease that only comes through repetitive familiarity. The Shanties having been our home since the cult stated here.

"How long do we have?" Dan asks as we rush forward through the back ways. The houses closer together the alleys dirty and dingy even for this place where life is cheap. I jump over a decicated corpse on the street abuzz with flies unmoved in over a day but I've seen worse, at least here there are no dead children around or whimpering rape victims being eyed by other predictors for another round.

The stink of the ink wells and dye fields is a welcome stench as it covers over the rank of death. No whimpering raped children though...

By those standards these alleys are extremely clean. I ignore Dan as we rush through the mire, rushing towards the city gates where the pilgrims like to gather after a service of worship.

"Hey Brand are you sure about this? They say that a contract with a spirit is for life. Think we know what we're getting ourselves into?"

"Shut up and do what I say and we can finally get this over with and go home." I say urgently as I use the cover of darkness and the riot in the city to sneak towards the temple.

"I don’t have a home," Dan mumbles under his breath as he follows but the sentiment causes a stab of pain into my heart, I don’t have a home either. These past few years the Conclave of Shadow has been my home, and they are yet to betray or disappoint me but for this mission they know they couldn't have foound anyone else crazy enough to steal the blessing of a god.

*

Sachihiro

"I must warn you my friend regarding that woman, many men have lain with her through the years. She is no good for a man of your stature amongst the community, there are many other daughters with good families that you could marry or even bed for the evening.’’ Solomzi says solemnly as we watch the young beautiful woman serve drinks to some of the men.

‘’Why is she not protected like your other women?’’

‘’She has no family to look after her and the other women don’t want her in their home as her beauty always attracts the husband from their bed.’’

''How many children does she have?’’

‘’That one is also barren unfortunately, truly cursed by the ancestors. Not wanting the shame of his child being birthed by a girl with no name or family an elder poisoned her to cause a miscarriage, the girl hasn’t been with child since. My friend, I can see that look in your eye; do not bother with that one. She has nothing to her name nor can she bear you sons, if you want her you can have her any number of times without issue. There is no need to attach your name to her forever in the process, my daughter-‘’

‘’Your daughter is truly a beauty but you do her an injustice keeping her from all the young men that have found an interest in her. Besides, there is no honour in taking advantage of a woman that after being used in the way you describe is able to keep her head up and that stubborn set in her eyes. What is her name Lomzi?’’ I ask looking at Ingwe’s brother directly.

He looks back stubbornly a moment as we ignore the other men drinking and talking as they share the meat being passed around. Meat from an Awakened magical python considered a delicacy in these parts and a huge part of why these people live so long even before Awakening. I’ve attended a number of these gatherings of men the Aldermen occasionally participate in on occasion since my return. Solomzi and I have become friends in a way though Ingwe personally has never been close to any of her family now they are as thick as thieves, Solomzi and her.

He sighs, "my friend, what will my sister think if everytime you come away with me you return with new wife huh?"

"Organise it for me please Lomzi, and keep the girl protected at your homes while I get my house in order." I say sincerely.

"Fine fine." He says waving it away and taking a sip from his gourd.

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"Now tell me, what is her name?"

He shakes his head after a quick look at me as though he doesn’t understand me at all, I don’t understand me half the time. "Her name is Thandeka."

*

Shea

I appreciate Sachihiro his poise and self confidence even when faced with my power and age. I have had a younger lover before and though I was obviously more capable that he would ever be, with more wealth than he could ever accumulate and a long history of life he could only hope to aspire to in his vastest ambitions.

I intimidated him and I knew I intimidated him for on top of all that I was smarter than him. Though I loved him deeply he always saw himself as inferior to me and that hurt his pride and hurt our relationship. Sometimes love isn't enough if the man feels less than he is actually regarded by his partner. Since the moment I met him Sachi has never had that problem. I can beat him in a fight any day by sheer skill alone let alone power. I am so much more intelligent than he will ever be even with his Awakening and the blessing of Wisdom to help enhance him.

I’m wealthier than he will probably ever be though I have dug deep into my families reserves just to complete the three floor of Deep Keep that are currently habitable. A concern but he just got back a month ago and I don’t want to jeopardise the all round happiness his presence has created, even Saya has come home for a longer stay. The addition of the three other women as concubines has gone mostly smoothly, Isis, Thandeka and the earthling Shravanthi. I hope to the seven above that the man doesn’t need more than eight women in his life, though he has been nothing but attentive since he got back going so far as to forsake training to always be around one of us or the children I still find myself wanting more time with him.

At least I like Isis, maybe a bit more than I should in fact but I’m a man as well. Another thing we maybe have to talk about, I wanna make sweet passionate love to my little Mira as a man does to his woman, but she isn’t just my woman, she’s his. But I’ve grown to love her; I love her a lot more than I thought it possible while also loving Sachi. Which is how I understand his polygamous ways, and I don’t like how Rigs gets to fuck her whenever he likes. That’s just unfair on so many levels...

I sigh, I don't even understand why these three women agreed to be his concubines in the first place. Isis is an exotic beauty that is a capable alchemist of some sort and apparently knows a thing or two about runes of power, hence the new brand everyone in the family now spots somewhere on their body. Shravanthi is from another planet where men mostly have a single woman from what I understand and after travelling with him spirits know how long down her to the Conclave she decides to join a harem of concubines? Doesn't make sense, not with her strong personality and hunger for adventure. Thandeka, well Thandeka is a special case but he could have taken the girl as a servant not try to smuggle her amongst us as a equal.

But looking at her body I won't lie and say I don't see what he must have seen. The girl another version of Ingwe, smooth dark skin, shape like an hour glass, ass like a cushion and she's cute even with that impassive face. I saw the girl smile the other day when she thought no one was around and my heart skipped a beat wonder. How does he even find such talent? What attracts them to him?

''What are you lost thinking about?" My man asks with his eyes still closed as I lie on his chest. I scowl at that, I need to cataloge his abilities as well so I know exactly how he does that.

''Nothing, I'm going to sleep now. You are my pillow for the next hour." I say as i snuggle up into his warm naked skin and revel in his scent, the perfect lines of his immaculte body, his soft warm cock under my tigh, mine.

*

Sachihiro

There is a trap in being married to a strong successful woman that wants the best for you and to provide for you. A young man that gets comfortable being taken care of slowly without even realising it loses the drive necessary for his own development, the hunger to strive forward. When a woman takes a younger man as a mate of course she will provide for him and shelter him from the struggles she herself has had to go through.

‎ But she also doesn't realise that she could as easily destroy his drive as she could help grow his vision. Shea cuddles deeper into my chest on my left pulling herself tighter onto my body and sighs contently as she falls deeper into sleep. The woman is powerful, much more powerful and capable than I am still. She provides for my family financially in ways I hadn't even thought necessary before I left for Tiba.

‎ My children have the best equipment, my home is being built using the most expensive of material and covens and enchanters are hired and paid to lay a foundation of a place that will outlast the change of the landscape around it.

My mates and extended family have been wearing the finest of materials and eating the richest of fare that will further their own Awakening and shape their bodies as they please. The Conclave has stopped recruiting and giving an allowance to it's many freeloader members and the funding of my family has largely fallen on the woman lying beside me.

‎ Everyone in my family has a monthly allowance of gold who's origins they aren't even aware of, well Kuyoki and ma are aware but still. Shea did mention how intimidating being with someone of her calibre could be for a lowly village boy like me but I didn't see it happening at the time, I didn't feel it ever would. I still don't feel any form of inferiority but because of my training I understand the trap in letting things continue as they have.

‎ I have spent most of my life trying to improve myself with knowledge, skill and power from all over the world and I am driven to be more powerful than I can even currently imagine. Like most Barbarians it isn't death that I fear but mediocrity in my chosen pursuit and for many years my chosen pursuit has been being the best version of Self I could ever be, the Ideal Self. But I have to divert my energy now, I have responsibilities I cannot shrink from and a home that needs my constant presence to be complete.

‎ The trap of being languid in the comfort my mate provides is worrying to an extent but not immediately dangerous, not when I'm aware of it. I need a constant source of platinum and gold though, nowadays what I once considered a fortune could hardly fund my entire family for a single month at the level of comfort they have now become accustomed to.