Reivyn stopped and looked up at the gates of the Imperial Palace. Kefira stopped next to him and looked up at him with a curious expression on her face.

“What’s the matter?” She asked.

“I have an ominous feeling,” Reivyn muttered. He tore his gaze away from the gates and gave Kefira a reassuring smile. “I’m just being silly. I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Mhm,” Kefira smirked. She knew exactly what he was talking about. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there with you.”

“Thanks.”

Reivyn took a deep breath and continued walking forward. The Imperial Guards at the gate saluted Kefira as they breached the gates. Everything was the same as he remembered it the last time he had been there.

Despite that, Reivyn could feel his heart hammering in his chest.

Kefira turned and indicated to Serilla that she should go ahead and go about her day. She didn’t need her shadow protecting her in her own home. Serilla was always stoic in the presence of others, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have her own life and family. She nodded and happily waltzed away.

It was just Reivyn and Kefira.

“So what have Teilon and Kimberly been up to these past couple of days?” Reivyn asked as they bypassed the main chambers located in the front of the palace. Kefira didn’t need to report to her parents right away, so they moved straight toward the back where they could follow the path to where Refix and Ameliyn stayed.

“They’ve been spending their time with the mercenary officers,” Kefira said. “Don’t worry about them, they’re in good hands. Just take some deep breaths and let’s get this over with.”

Reivyn gave a tight smile and squeezed Kefira’s hand. They walked hand-in-hand through the cultivated path leading to the guest courtyards.

Time marches on, and everything has to be faced eventually. In no time, Reivyn found himself walking through the doors to his parents’ abode.

“Refix, dear, who’s at the door?” Ameliyn called somewhere in the main house. “I know it couldn’t possibly be our son. He’s got far too much important things to do than to spend a little time with his dear old mom.”

Refix looked up at Reivyn as he entered the building and gave him a wide grin.

“I don’t know, honey,” he called back. “Some stranger has graced us with his presence.” He turned to Reivyn and said in a much lower voice. “Good luck.”

With that, Refix got up and bounded out the still open door.

“Wait, dad!” Reivyn turned and called after Refix, his hand extended toward his father. Refix didn’t even slow down, and he disappeared out of sight.

Ameliyn came walking out of the hallway and stopped when she spotted Reivyn and Kefira standing in the open doorway.

“Kefira, dear, who’s this that you’ve brought to my home?” Ameliyn addressed Kefira. She didn’t even spare a glance for Reivyn.

Reivyn took a deep breath and sighed. Kefira glanced back and forth between Reivyn and his mother.

“You know who this is, mother,” Kefira answered in a weak voice.

Reivyn looked at Kefira in a bit of surprise. He had expected her to go along with his mother if out of nothing more than a little bit of fear, but she didn’t back down. Granted, she didn’t shout her support from the rooftops or anything, but that hardly mattered.

Ameliyn folded her arms and gave Kefira a stern look.

“Are you going to defend him, then?” She inquired.

“I will always stand by his side,” Kefira said, standing up straight.

Ameliyn stared at Kefira for a couple of seconds before breaking out into a warm smile.

“I knew I liked you,” she said. The smile dropped from her face as she finally looked at Reivyn. “Well?”

“Hello, mother,” Reivyn said. He gave a quick bow with his words.

“Mother? Who’s mother am I? Am I your mother?” Ameliyn demanded.

“Of course you’re my mother!” Reivyn said.

“Really? I would think that any child of mine would have at least attempted to keep in contact with me while he was gone for months on end.”

“I wrote letters!” Reivyn defended himself.

“You call those letters?” Ameliyn barked a short laugh. “They read more like tactical reports:

“They enemy have pushed us out of Piori. Their numbers are endless, and they don’t seem to care for their own casualties.

“We fought a defensive action against them at the river. We held for as long as we could before we had to fight a tactical retreat and march further down the road.

“They send a sortie against us everyday. The fatigue is building up. I don’t know how long we can sustain our position despite the Experience and Skill gains we’re accumulating.”

Ameliyn tapped her finger against her arm as she stared Reivyn down. It had been a while since Reivyn had written those letters, but he was fairly positive those were exact quotes. There had been more to them than that, of course, but he didn’t have much of an argument in his favor.

“Not once in any of those letters did you tell me that you were Okay,” Ameliyn added.

“I thought the letters themselves would imply that I was,” Reivyn answered sheepishly.

Ameliyn threw her arms up in the air.

“They only told me you weren’t dead! I don’t care about the military reports or how the war is going. I care about my baby! The only reason I kept my sanity was the letters your father wrote me. He knew better than to give me the details of the battles but leave out the details of how you all were living.”

Reivyn was distracted by the muffled chuckling coming from beside him. He turned to see Kefira holding a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from laughing. She was failing.

“What?” Reivyn asked, furrowing his brow.

“You did not write your mother battle reports,” she said.

“He did,” Ameliyn confirmed.

“Well, what was I supposed to write?!” Reivyn threw his own hand up in the air. “I figured what I wrote contained all the information needed to alleviate your worry. I told you about the progress of the fighting, and it implied I was doing fine and well.”

“I would have preferred to hear about your daily life,” Ameliyn said, her tone softening. “I want to know what you’re thinking. What you’re feeling. Leave the details of the war to your commanders. I want to know that you’re not only physically safe, but mentally, emotionally, as well.”

“I’m sorry, mother,” Reivyn hung his head.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Listening to the care and warmth in his mother’s voice despite how mad she was at him made him realize just how lucky he was to have Ameliyn as his mother. He had only considered what he himself would have been interested in hearing, and he failed to give his mother the comfort she needed.

“Come,” Ameliyn held her arms out.

Reivyn walked forward and embraced his mother.

“I’m glad you’re back,” Ameliyn said into his ear. She pulled away and led him to the couch. “Come. Sit. Talk.”

Reivyn nodded and sat down next to his mother. Kefira took a seat opposite them.

Ameliyn had already heard everything there was to hear from Refix and Kefira, but she demanded Reivyn retell it in his own words. Over the course of an hour, Reivyn told the story of his adventures in Vairo and Theyaih. Ameliyn managed to coax his emotions and state of mind out of him during each of the major incidents he faced.

He told of the exhaustion and drudgery involved with hunting down the spies in the terrible weather. Ameliyn dragged out of him the fact that he was worried he was growing too callous in how he handled human life, something Kefira had alluded to during the operation. He hadn’t noticed it at the time, but Kefira had seen the signs and had been worried about him.

I have the nature of the Abyss in my soul and body, Reivyn thought. I need to keep a handle on it.

He explained how he had felt terror and despair upon fighting the huge, cloaked man in the Battle of Piori. He had been worried about his father’s safety above all else, especially with more of the hooded figures standing just out of range of the fight.

Ameliyn had chuckled at hearing that.

“That’s exactly what your father told me,” she said. “Well, not exactly. He was worried about you, not himself.”

Reivyn cracked a smile at the words.

Reivyn described his feelings toward the young conscripts and how he felt it was his duty to guide and support them as much as he could. He hadn’t been able to think about it too much as it happened, but he got a little choked up and tears threatened to spill out of the corners of his eyes as he thought about the dead conscripts.

Ameliyn reached out and hugged him. She rubbed his back and comforted him.

“Shhh, there’s only so much you could have done,” she whispered. “You did everything you could. You were a light in the darkness for them for as long as you could be. You can’t dwell on what more you could have done, but should instead focus on how many of them you were able to save by your actions.

“It’s not that you didn’t do enough. It’s that it would have been a hundred times worse if you hadn’t taken responsibility.”

“I understand that, logically,” Reivyn said, a small hitch in his voice. “It doesn’t change how I feel in my heart. They were just kids.”

“Reivyn, you’re just a kid,” Ameliyn retorted. “I don’t care what experiences you’ve had, or what memories you have from your dreams. You’re still a teenager.”

“You and dad were teenagers when you fled Vynndin,” Reivyn pointed out.

“Yeah, but neither of us had to lead a war of children against a bloodthirsty adversary. All of our subordinates were much older and more experienced than us. We had people to lean on, not the other way around. And even then, I wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone else.”

“It doesn’t seem like we have a choice,” Reivyn sighed, pulling back from his mother. “You and dad had your ordeal to deal with, and I’ve had mine ever since going through that portal in the Revenant Dungeon. Come to think of it, both of those incidents were orchestrated by the same person…”

“Don’t worry. Your father and I haven’t forgotten about him. He might be in an entirely different Realm than us right now, but we’ll find him one day.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Reivyn laughed.

“Ok, now tell me about your little vacation island,” Ameliyn prodded.

Ameliyn was gravely concerned about the incident where Reivyn had seen the Tier 8 monster floating in the ocean. She continually asked if he had any lingering fears over it, but Reivyn reassured her that he was fine. It hadn’t affected him over time.

Surprisingly, at least to Reivyn, he felt much better after delving into his own psyche and divulging how he had felt in each of the incidents. His mother’s comfort over the fallen conscripts had seemed to lift a weight from his shoulders that he hadn’t noticed he’d been carrying around.

“And now we get to the final crux of the matter,” Ameliyn said. “Why in the world would you stay in that jail cell and not come home to me right away?”

“I was still only thinking about myself,” Reivyn admitted. “I assumed dad and Kefira telling you what was going on would be good enough. I’ll do better in the future.”

“If I let you go,” Ameliyn muttered.

“What was that?” Reivyn asked. Reivyn had heard his mother clearly, but he played along, anyway.

“Nothing,” Ameliyn replied with a smile. “So…” She motioned for Reivyn to continue his reasoning.

“Oryin had been a pain on multiple occasions already,” Reivyn articulated his thoughts. “I knew that only total destruction would send him away for good, but that wasn’t the entirety of my decision.

“Kefira’s mother seems determined to keep playing games, and I don’t know how many others are going to come out of the woodwork to scheme for Kefira’s hand. Staying in the jail was sending a message to everyone else: ‘I will take your plan, fight it on your turf, and still turn it against you.’

“It was a strategy to prepare for whatever future shenanigans Kefira’s mother allows.”

Kefira cleared her throat, interrupting the conversation for the first time. Both Reivyn and Ameliyn glanced over at her. Kefira had her head down and she fidgeted with her hands in her lap.

“Umm, about that…” Kefira said. She looked up at Reivyn with an apologetic look. “There won’t be any more games from my parents. My mother explained to me, in no uncertain terms, that the whole thing had just been to give us some time to verify our feelings for each other. She’s willing to move forward and announce our relationship publicly, now.”

Reivyn and Ameliyn stared at Kefira for a couple of seconds.

“So what you’re saying is, it was completely unnecessary for Reivyn to stay in that jail cell?” Ameliyn asked, quirking an eyebrow. Reivyn had a bad feeling. “He could have come home at any time, and it wouldn’t have affected his plans, at all?”

“Umm… yes?” Kefira said. It was more of a question than a statement.

Ameliyn leveled her gaze at her son. Reivyn pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut.

All of that progress…

It was still going to be a long time before their conversation was over.

—

Reivyn was put under house arrest.

He could come and go freely, but he had to have a maternal escort for the foreseeable future. Ameliyn had spent years apart from her eldest son, and then he had almost immediately taken off to fight in some distant war as a mercenary.

Reivyn completely understood his mother. It would have been hard not to after she had talked his ears off about it.

It wasn’t just his mother, either. His sisters had shown up shortly after, and he had to play the same song and dance again to regain their favor. They had missed their brother, and they didn’t let him off lightly.

As it stood, if Reivyn wanted to go anywhere, he would have a trail of five women with him at all times: His mother, his twin sisters, Kefira, and Serilla.

Kefira had her own things to do, but there wasn’t much for Reivyn to do other than spend time with her, anyway, if he wanted to go out. He had been strictly barred from going to the mercenary barracks in the short term. They were perfectly capable of handling themselves without him for a while.

Vyria and Xudrid had sent a letter expressing their condolences that they wouldn’t be able to accompany him on one last Dungeon delve. They weren’t about to get in between a mother and her son. They simply Partied up with some of the officers from the mercenary company for their Dungeon delve before returning to their Sect.

Jekyl kept in touch about the matters going on in the barracks, but Ameliyn screened everything and didn’t let Reivyn dwell on it. It was time for him to be with his family, not his work.

Reivyn didn’t complain, either. It had been a long time since he had just spent time with his family like this. Even before he had been whisked away across the Realm, he had been spending less and less time with his family. It was a good reminder for him, and he appreciated every moment of it.

Reivyn didn’t waste his time with his personal growth during this time, either. He still did his evening practices with Kefira, and he contemplated on his path forward. The two of them even shored up some of Ameliyn’s foundations. She had never completed her formal training, and some of the exercises Kefira introduced let her advance at a rate she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Reivyn was happy for his mother. Refix had been pulling away from her in terms of Level and Skill for some time after he and his sisters had been born, but from what Reivyn could see, his mother was actually a bit more talented than his father.

It might have been because his father was already over Skill Level 100 in his main Skill and closing in on Tier 6, but he had no doubts that his mother would eventually catch up to his father again.

He still remembered how devastating her Spells had been on the battlefield in Magron. She had been the lowest Leveled of all those that had come to their rescue, and yet she had done more for the battle than anyone else.

It made him re-evaluate his own progress with his magic.

“It’s a matter of experience,” Ameliyn answered. “I haven’t achieved Transcendence in any of my Affinities like you have, yet, and I would guess your technical skills are probably as good or better than mine at this point.

“None of that matters, though, when I’ve been using these Spells and magics for far longer than you at a higher Level. Of course you’re going to outclass someone who’s spent decades in Tier 2 and 3 from the lower Regions. I’ve actually had to fight above my weight class consistently, though, for almost my entire adult life.

“You also have to consider the fact that I’m mostly using my Tier 4 Affinities with all of my Spells. You’re still building your foundation and focusing more on the lower Tier Affinities. Eventually, the difference in potency will become apparent.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Just keep going how you’re going, and refine your Skills and Spells over time. Pretty soon, you’ll be on par with me.”

Reivyn had nodded his head, reassured, and continued his training. He had a clear idea on what he wanted to work on while in Tier 3. He didn’t have a map laid out for him on how to achieve the pinnacle Tier 4 Class, but he hadn’t had a map for his Tier 3 Class, either.

Reivyn was confident he would continue his path with the strongest Classes in the future. With that confidence in mind and his plan of action determined, he looked at his bloated Status Page.

It’s time to figure out how to consolidate you.