Aidan

The Realms

Thirdday, 3rd week of the 9th month, Age of the Chosen 1

Late Morning

Caer Macht, Mistvale Highlands

Congratulations! You have reached level 46 in Sex.

Congratulations! You have reached level 16 in Dominance.

Congratulations! You have reached level 23 in Foreplay.

Aidan hummed to himself as he left the Lord's chambers. He left Brighid behind, sweaty and exhausted and still twitching from aftershocks. She'll catch up. Riama appeared from the shadows, twining between his legs as he walked, and Aidan took a moment to pet her and scratch her ears before seeking out Ailis.

He found her, as usual, in the library. "Good morning, Ailis," he greeted her. He bent down to kiss her on the cheek, but she turned her head and met his lips with hers. That brought a smile to his lips that only widened when her mouth opened and her slim hand tangled in his hair. Glad I washed my mouth and brushed my teeth before I left; this would be more than a little awkward if I didn't.

"Good morning, Apprentice," Ailis said eventually after breaking for air. A soft red flush suffused her cheeks and lips, and it took considerable restraint on Aidan's part not to dive back in for another kiss. Instead, he walked around the table and sat down across from his mother-in-law/frenemy/mentor/love interest; Riama immediately claimed his lap. "Here for more lessons?"

"Yes," he nodded, "and also on command from your daughter."

"Oh? Brighid commanding you? This promises to be interesting." She took a sip from her ever-present tea while she waited for him to explain.

"Oh yes, she had quite some words for me yesterday." Aidan snorted to himself. "Despite her inclinations, she has no trouble telling me when I've fucked up. Which I'm happy for, don't get me wrong; I don't want a mindless doll. Anyway, she reminded me that I was supposed to tell you about the effects of some of my spells." He gave Ailis a quick description of his Animamancy spells and the consequences he faced after expending so much of his soul battling the Taig.

By the halfway point of his explanation, Ailis's flush vanished, and her skin went even paler than normal. She set down her teacup; Aidan noticed her hands trembling before she hid them under the table. When he finished, she remained silent for a while before speaking. "I will not second-guess your uses of these spells, Aidan; I was not there to experience what you did, and in any case, you remain here with us. Instead, I will teach you what we know of souls."

Ailis drew in a shaky breath and settled into her lecturing voice. "Living beings are made up of three core components: the body, the mind, and the soul. The body and mind you know well enough for now; there are intricacies, but we can put them aside for later lessons. The important thing to know is that the soul is the only one of those three with continuity. It is possible to transfer the soul from one body to another or even leave it bodiless, but regardless of where it resides, your soul is provably yours."

Aidan thought back to an encounter in the streets of Ceallach Macht. "That makes sense; I know for a fact that when I die, I return in a new body."

Ailis nodded. "I did not know that for certain, but I suspected it. It is harder to prove that one's mind is separate from their soul, but I can show you the research later if you want to see it. So. Your body is not you, and as hard as it is to understand, neither is your mind. You are your soul. It is the essence of what makes each person and creature a unique individual. It contains all the collected experiences of your life, much like the body collects scars and the mind stores memories."

"So experience points are a measure of the soul?"

Ailis frowned and shook her head. "No, although it is a reasonable question. Experience points are an expression of growth in the soul, but they are, hmm, they are an extra layer built on top? Experience points, Classes, levels, Skills; these are all ways to understand our souls, but they are like playing a game of pantomimes. Let me use you as an example: when you lost experience points and Skill levels upon revival, that did not change your soul. The only thing that changed was your mind's ability to understand it."

Understanding dawned. "I am my soul, not my mind or body. When I revive, my soul is intact, but my new mind is less in tune with it."

"Exactly," Ailis nodded. "However, when you cast one of your spells that are fueled with your soul..."

"I'm actually destroying who I am to do it," Aidan finished, horrified.

Ailis nodded again sharply. "A soul can recover from damage, just as the mind and body can. But, just like the mind and body, that healing changes the soul. You become someone different. A small cut that generates a tiny scar does not meaningfully change how your body works, and a second of your Soulfire Blast here and there should have a similarly negligible effect. But when you shear away whole sections of yourself to power suicidal magic strong enough to obliterate an army?" She shuddered.

"I see," Aidan said, swallowing. This was his Earthly agnosticism biting him in the ass, he realized. He was willing to accept that such a thing as a soul existed, especially given that he was in a world with magic and gods, but his life on Earth hadn't prepared him to consider the implications of that.

"I suspect," Ailis continued, "but cannot and will not try to prove, that the reason your revival took so much longer the second time is that you could not return until your soul healed. Whatever divine magic fuels your resurrection cannot craft a new body and mind for you until it knows who you are."

A new, even more terrifying thought occurred to Aidan. "Wait. If it's rebuilding my mind based on the changes to my soul, does that mean my personality and thought processes changed?"

"I cannot be certain," Ailis said, "but it is likely."

"Okay, message received, loud and clear. Be very, very, very cautious about using my soul to fuel magic. I need to apologize to Brighid."

Ailis reached across the table and took hold of his hand. "I am glad to see you take this so seriously. As I said at the start, I will not second-guess your usage of these spells, but now that you are aware of the full implications, your future choices have a better foundation."

Aidan nodded and squeezed Ailis's hand before entwining his fingers with hers. "Thank you, Ailis. This is information that I need to know, and I appreciate that you showed me why it is so important rather than just beating me over the head with it. The temptation must have been there." Ailis's lips quirked up at that, but she didn't respond. "I will have nightmares from the implications of all of this, but I brought that on myself. In the meantime, shall we proceed with our usual lessons?"

"Indeed."

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Aidan

Mid-Afternoon

Ceallach Macht, Mistvale Highlands

Congratulations! You have reached level 11 in Beast Magic.

Congratulations! You have reached levels 15 and 16 in Magical Theory.

Congratulations! You have reached level 6 in Incantations.

Aidan emerged into the late fall sunlight and stretched. It was starting to get cold at night, but the sun still kept things well above freezing during the day. This was his favorite time of the year back at home, though he expected it to get colder faster here. He shook his head; no sense thinking of Earth as if it was at all relevant to him. He'd just make himself homesick again.

"What is your agenda for this afternoon, my Lord?" asked Llwyd from his place at Aidan's left hand.

"Council meeting," Aidan grunted. "We need to go over the inventory of supplies and the list of casualties from Karsarrym's attack. If we have time after, I plan to bring up the Ash Shroud treaty as well."

Llwyd nodded. "Yes, sir. In that case, do you mind if I get started on recruiting for your guard? I expect you will be safe enough with Fionn around."

"Yes, please do. I'll bring a pair of elementals as an escort as well." A moment later, two eagle-shaped elementals swooped down and morphed into centaurs, taking positions on either side of him.

"Very well, my Lord. May your meeting be productive and not bore you to death."

Aidan laughed and waved as Llwyd split off, then proceeded to the housing unit that the Council requisitioned for meetings while they waited for construction on the Idyllic Forum to finish. He knocked at the door then let himself in. The smell of fresh-baked bread and some sort of stew greeted him.

"Oh, this is an upgrade!" He laughed. "I might even stop dreading Council meetings if there's food involved."

"Hmmph," scoffed Eilwen, not even turning to look at him from her position at the fireplace, "do not grow too used to it, youngling." She turned from the kettle and checked the oven. Whatever was inside seemed to meet her approval because she pulled out a tray and set it on a nearby counter. "Bread and butter are already on the table; help yourself. The stew needs a little while longer. And these," she declared, piling up a few rounded confections onto a plate, "are for you, Fionn."

Fionn eyed the cookies as if Eilwen had presented him with a plate full of hissing vipers. "I am not hungry at the moment, thank you."

"Oh, don't be a stick in the mud," Aidan chuckled as he sat down at the table. "She went through all that trouble to make them for you; the least you can do is try one."

Gerwyn let out a guffaw and added, "Yes, Fionn, give it a go! What is the worst that could happen?"

Fionn sent Aidan a betrayed look, then sighed and began to nibble at one of the cookies. Aidan pondered on that for a moment before shrugging and deciding it was an inside joke that he wasn't privy to. He cut off a hunk of still-hot bread and slathered it with butter before taking a bite. "Mm!" he moaned. "Delicious as always, Eilwen. Thank you for the food, in all seriousness. I know enough about cooking to realize that you were probably up all morning preparing for this."

"You are welcome," replied the elder centaur from somewhere behind him. "Say what I will about you, you are humble and polite, and I appreciate that. Here, this is for you."

Aidan's eyes widened as Eilwen set a plate down in front of him. Atop it was a giant honey-drenched roll of sweet bread. "Oh! I only said that as a joke to ease the tension, I didn't mean—"

"Are you saying you do not want one of my honey-cakes? I am sure I can find someone else to eat it, in that case."

Gerwyn was quick to add, "Oh, take it, lad. Do not be such a stick in the mud!" before laughing again. Even Anwn's lips curved upwards in a smile.

Aidan decided to shut up and take a bite. It was rich and sweet and probably the best fair-style food he'd ever tasted.

"Oh, and there are few special ingredients in that; Brighid can thank me tomorrow. By the way, when are you going to marry her? It is obvious to anyone who sees you two that you are both hopelessly in love, so you may as well make it official."

Aidan choked on the dessert. Did she just drug me? And with what? Gerwyn laughed uproariously, pounding on the table. This time, Fionn and Anwn joined him.

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Aidan

Late Afternoon

Aidan emerged from the meeting several hours later, feeling flushed and horny. That witch, he grumbled internally, slipped me an aphrodisiac of some kind. He made his way out onto the main avenue, then turned toward the hill.

"Lord Aidan!" Aidan looked around just in time to see Sunnild flap her wings and launch herself at him. He caught her in his arms, but her momentum bowled him over, leaving her astride his hips, wriggling happily against him as she showered him with kisses. She wasn't wearing her armor, thankfully; the collision would have been much less pleasant if she were. Instead, a tight crop-top covered her breasts and little else while a pair of very brief pants served to preserve the rest of her modesty.

"I missed you so much!" Sunnild exclaimed, nuzzling against his neck. Her hips shifted, rubbing against the result of Eilwen's meddling, and she [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords], "Mm, and I can feel how much ya missed me."

Aidan sat up, shifting the eager harpy into his lap, and caught her lips in a fierce kiss. Her gray wings wrapped around them, shielding them from view as her lips parted and her tongue sought his. Aidan felt [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords] and decided that he needed to take action if he didn't want to end up putting on a public show.

"I did miss you, and so did Brighid. What do you say we go find her?"

"Mm!" came the younger woman's eager agreement. She shifted off of his lap before darting forward for another kiss. Aidan stood, dragging Sunnild with him, and wrapped his right arm around her waist. She molded herself to him, resting her head on his shoulder and reciprocating with an arm around his waist and a wing curled around his side. Aidan led her off towards Brighid's workshop, ignoring the glances, whispers, frowns, and smiles from the centaurs they passed.

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Brighid

Brighid's Forge, Caer Macht, Mistvale Highlands

Brighid heaved the enchanted blast furnace into position beneath the flue in her forge, then stepped back and heaved a sigh of relief. By some miracle—Thank Birgitte!—all of her forge equipment survived the dragon attack. It had taken her all day, but she had a fully-functional forge again, which filled in a tiny little hole in her heart. She loved Aidan, and she was pretty sure that she loved Sunnild, but smithcraft was part of her identity.

Brighid wiped her brow with the back of her hand, then looked down at her shirt. It clung to her breasts, plastered there by sweat. Grimacing, she reached down and peeled it off as well, tossing it into the corner of the forge to deal with later. "Ugh, I need a bath," she muttered to herself.

"Well, well, I thought I'd surprise you, but it looks like you're getting yourself ready for us, love." Aidan's voice came from behind her. Brighid's heart swelled in her chest, and she whirled to see him lounging against the doorway.

"Hello, love; how did the Council meeting go?" Brighid smiled at Aidan and made her way over to him. She paused partway there, tilting her head and asking, "Wait, what do you mean, 'ready for us'?"

Aidan grinned at her and stepped aside, making room for Sunnild to dart into the room and throw herself at Brighid. She caught the happy harpy and laughed, hugging her tight. "Our little dove came back to us!"

"Mm-hm! And I don't ever hafta go back. I'm all yours now." Brighid squeezed her lover extra tight and bent down to kiss her. Sunnild stood up on her toes to meet Brighid, her lips already parted. [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords]

"I missed you," Sunnild panted to Brighid between kisses. "I love you, an' I love him, an' I missed you both so much."

Brighid felt her heart swell near to bursting. She attempted to disentangle from the harpy, saying, "I am getting you all sweaty. Come on, let me clean up, and we can chat and have dinner," but Sunnild would have none of it.

"Un-unh," she denied. "I've got you an' I'm not lettin' go. We're all gonna get sweaty anyway, so I don't care that you're that way already."

Aidan stepped up behind Sunnild, fitting himself carefully between her wings and sliding his arms around both of their waists. Brighid smiled as she felt Sunnild wiggle back against him [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords]. "Well, we can at least move to our chamber where it's comfortable?" she suggested.

Sunnild started to object again, but Aidan accepted with a glint in his eye. "That sounds good, yeah. C'mere, Sunnild. Have you ever ridden on a centaur's back before?" Brighid stiffened

[content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords]