Dad was pacing back and forth through the small waiting chamber, his hand going to the hilt of his sword without him noticing. We could hear noise from through the door, but not enough to discern what was going on inside. Something that didn’t help dad’s nerves any, that much was obvious. The door opened momentarily, and Pock rushed past into the storage, before he returned with a clean white sheet.
Dad called out to him, but was blatantly ignored as the door slammed shut. “When all this is over…” I rose and put a hand on dad’s shoulder. “When all this is over we will both be too busy fawning out our new family member to do anything else. Isn’t that right, Amber?” Amber looked up from where she was sitting, rifling through an alchemical text she received from one of Ozweld’s associates. “Yeah, what Ashes said!”
The door opened again, and we could hear crying from inside the room. “Congratulations, your highness, the Queen is resting and has delivered triplets, two boys and a daughter!” Pock stepped aside just in time to avoid getting trampled as dad rushed past.
Both Amber and I followed behind, though I paused long enough to give Pock a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Good work, both of you.” I said as I nodded towards Brimstone. Pock gave a grin of his own. “Of course, your Highness, both Brimstone and I always give our all. You know that, but your words are appreciated.” Pock seemed tired. Then again, considering how long the birth took, I couldn’t say I was surprised.
I walked over and stepped up to where mom was lying, with three small bundles in her hands. She seemed exhausted, but happy. With her hair battened by sweat and deep rings under her eyes. “Meet your new siblings, kids.” Her voice cracked, no doubt exhausted from the trial.
Dad reached out for one of them and gently lifted it into his arms. “My… they’re precious, Yun-Yun.” His voice was quivering as he carefully lifted the little bundle and peered down at the sleeping baby within. He returned it to mom and just stood there in silence, lost for words as Amber and I joined him beside the bed.
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As I entered the balcony, I could see Amber looking out over the mountain valley. She seemed exhausted. These last few months after our siblings were born saw an unprecedented growth for the mountain home. And now that the pinnacle was entering its more active cycle again, things would only get more hectic from here. “Seems like you’ve had an exhausting day.” She nodded as she took a sip of the cup next to her.
“Yun-Yun asked me to babysit the kids, and as you know, they are bundles of limitless energy. Uncle Ozweld and the rest came to help, and we’re still all exhausted from dealing with them. They were still as running around like crazy when Yun-Yun came to pick em up. And they didn’t take any breaks at all except to eat lunch.” I leaned onto the stonework railing, relishing the evening wind. “Well, that’s kids for ya, isn’t it?”
Amber put down her cup. “What about you? How’d the repairs go? I turned around, so I was leaning with my back on the railing. “It went well enough. The most problematic part with all of it was the currents nearly ripping the tools out of my hands, really. That aside, Ozweld’s alchemical solutions helped speed up the repair job a lot. And since he came to help you out as well, I’m surprised he finished them on time.” Amber grinned.
“I gave him a Twin Potion, so he got a copy of himself for a while. He said he wanted to help look after the kids, but needed to get the potions and solutions done, too.” I arched an eyebrow. “And you just had a Twin Potion just lying about for him to drink?” Amber shrugged as she leaned back in her chair. “I might have planned a small prank with it, but figured Uncle needed it more than I did.”
That made sense. “I will say though, your Uncle and the rest have adapted to life here pretty damn well.” Amber nodded slowly in response. “Even though it’s been a few months, I still find the idea that I have another uncle weird, you know. I have an entire family I never knew about on top of my adoptive one.” I walked over and gave Amber’s hair a friendly rub, leaving it a mess. “Well, that’s not an issue, just make up for the lost time now that they are here.”
“I can still remember when they arrived a few days after the triplets were born and asked about my parents. Even carried that amulet with their portraits in it. Amber fiddled with the necklace around her neck. It was a gift from Ozweld and held small pictures of Amber’s birth parents. I put a hand on Amber’s shoulder. “I will admit, it was awkward watching the entire scene unfold on my end. You seemed, I don’t know… lost.”
Amber gave a tired chuckle. “Lost, huh? More like my entire world fell apart once again. I just accepted Yun-Yun and Gran-Gran as my adoptive parents in my mind, even though I did so in my heart years ago, then Uncle just shows up out of nowhere like that.” She let go of the necklace. “Still, I’m happy they are here. Since it let me reconnect with a part of my family, I didn’t know I existed. Besides, Uncle Ozweld and Aunt Bellina haven’t had it easy either, spending years traversing the plains looking for any signs of my missing parents and I.”
Amber went quiet as she looked out over the partially obscured night sky. The smoke from the volcano covering most of the sky and obscuring the starlight and the rising moon. In the distance, we could see movement against the glow of the volcano’s peak. “Looks like Uncle Moor is out practicing flying again.” Amber perked up and looked where I pointed.
“Oh, you’re right, I can’t really make out specifics because of the darkness, but I can see them flying around the peaks.” I cast a glance over at Amber. “Think he’ll be able to land without crashing this time?” Amber seemed to ponder it for a few moments. “Not a chance. Sarirrva has declared he’s the most inept flier she has ever seen. I guess Uncle Moor’s forte lay in magic, not flight.” I couldn’t say I disagreed with that assessment.
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“You’re worried about Libra.” It wasn’t as much a question as a statement. Cassandra looked up at me from the garden chair, then looked back over to where Izrah was cradling the small child, feeding her from a bottle. “ I… yes, Lady Labyrinthia. She is… my daughter, after all. Even if not in any regular way. Besides, she has… grown on my over the last few months. Not only that, but being literally one with her for so long made me understand what she went through. As a result, our bond is as deep, if not deeper than that of a regular mother and child. Even if how our bond formed is not the same.” There were rings under her eyes, not because Libra was causing issues, but because she was developing insomnia from worry.
Hmm, I guess I could help ease her worries then. “Well then, Cassandra, how about I show you a little something.” She looked up at me just in time for me to touch her forehead with a finger. And her eyes lit up with a bright blue light as a vision of the future manifested itself for her.
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The young woman entered the festival encampment. Her long white and black hair billowing in the air behind her, untouched by the torrential rain. The festival itself was well underway, with Beast-kin of all the tribes mingling and making merry. The young woman stopped and asked a question from a sheep-kin, who directed her towards a large tent at the far end.
The woman nodded and thanked the man, then walked onwards towards the tent. Once she entered, she found it mostly empty, with only two people within it. A Bear Beast-kin and a Tiger Beast-kin. The only two people who seemed down on this day of plenty and celebration. Once they noticed her, they looked up. “May we help you, human?” The woman hesitated for but a moment.
“No, but I might be of help to you this day.” The two Beast-kin glanced at one another. “How would you be able to be of aid to us? Not to mention how you would know of our troubles?” The Tiger Beast-kin looked at the woman with a curious expression. The woman opened her arms. “Twenty years ago, on this day, the festival was interrupted by invaders from the Shrouded Isles.” The two Beast-kin stiffened. “Because of the events that took place, you both swore vengeance on the one who caused all of that. And while I might appear different, the culprit behind all that, was me.”
The Tiger Beast-kin stared at her for a moment. “Do you seriously think I would-” “Nari fought hard against the compulsion when ordered to kill the man she loved. This allowed him to flee and caused even more suffering in the long run. Yet another sin I will carry for the rest of my mortal life.” She was deliberately antagonizing the Tiger Beast-kin. She then turned her gaze towards the Bear Beast-kin.
“When Lady Labyrinthia denied you your vengeance, she was right to do so, as the woman you wished to kill was nothing but a mere vessel, as innocent in all of this as Nari was, just another one of my puppets.” She could see the Bear Beast-kin strain to not let his anger take complete hold over him. “And yet, you step into our tent and admit all this. Why?” The woman closed her eyes. “I have learned what it is to be human, all of it, including guilt. I have destroyed untold thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lives, all without a single thought but of my own plans. And now the guilt haunts me without pause or remorse. A feeling I could not feel in my previous state.”
The two Beast-Kin glanced at one another. “And so you sought us out so that we might have our revenge.” The Tiger Beast-kin concluded. The woman, Libra, nodded. She closed her eyes, for a moment, then seemed to calm down. “No, I don’t think so. I won’t let you take the easy way out by letting the two of us have our revenge. If we were to kill you now, it would be a hollow vengeance, as it would free you from your guilt. And while you might be lying, that would be a poor gamble to come here and do so, in case we took you up on your offer. So go, waddle in your guilt until you grow old and decrepit, then return, and we shall free you from your guilt.” The Bear Beast-kin looked from the Tiger Beast-kin to the woman and back. Then just took a deep breath. It was as if all the air deflated from him.
“If that is your wish, Sister, then so it shall be. You were wronged far more grievous than I, after all. Go human, your life of misery shall be our vengeance on you. If you wish to take the easy road out, it shall be by your own hand, not ours.” The woman looked at the two, then bowed respectfully. “If that is your judgment, then so be it. I shall accept your judgment this day, as I did twenty years ago when I threw myself to the judgment of the gods. And while I know it won’t make up for the things I did… I apologize for my actions back then and if I could take it all back, I would.” As she turned and left, the two Beast-kin seemed calmer than before, as if a heavy burden was lifted from their shoulders. The woman stepped into the rain and left the encampment soon after, disappearing into the rain. The Beast-kin would never see her again.
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Cassandra blinked. “Was that-?” I nodded. “The future, two decades from now, give or take a few months.” Cassandra glanced over to Izrah and the small bundle that was Libra. “Was she telling the truth?” In response, I shrugged. “I can’t say for sure. While I can see the future, I cannot experience it as if I’m there myself. It’s not the same as reading memories. It’s like you are an outside viewer, looking in, like watching a flick or vid-call. Was she genuine, maybe. I at least, think so. Will that drive her to do something stupid. Perhaps, but that’s the thing about being mortal. Your choices are your own, and you have to live with the consequences of those choices, good or bad.”
Cassandra hesitated for a moment. “But if you could see the future, couldn’t you just see her future outcome?” I nodded slowly. “I could, but to what end? Altering her destiny would mean I interfered, and the entire point of this is to let her live free of divine interference for the first time in her entire existence. Whatever fate befalls her, she will have to face it alone unless she specifically asks for aid. And even then, it would likely be minor at most, to minimize the interference. Besides, the future is difficult to predict.”
I paused for a moment, to conjure a cup of tea into my hand. “People think the future is a series of threads, or nearly stacked grains of sand, or maybe stones. It’s not. The future is like overly wet clay and mud. Some parts have hardened and are impossible to change, like that conversation Libra will have twenty years hence. Others are as malleable as wet mud, and about as secure. Even by having this conversation I can see about a dozen different futures come into existence, and just as quickly disappear with every word I speak. It’s why speaking prophesies is not something that is common, and the future is seldom, if ever revealed to mortals outside very specific events. The events that are set in stone. Even should you see the malleable future, it’s not likely to come to pass, as even a single change will alter it, however miniscule that change is.”
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Cassandra Tilted her head. “Like the butterfly effect?” I looked at her for a moment. “Nothing as catastrophic, but a pretty good approximation where the malleable future is concerned. Even a single flap of a butterfly’s wing could change the malleable future. Because that flap sent a bit of pollen into a duke’s nose and that duke sneezed, thus avoiding an assassin’s arrow and boom an entire timeline is averted.” Things like that happen everywhere at every moment, so understanding what future comes to pass, is no easy feat. But I will tell you one thing, Cassandra. You can sleep soundly here. No danger will befall you or your family while you live in my domain. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to hurry along, enjoy your tea with Duplica.”
I retracted my presence and refocused on my surroundings. The endless flower field of medicinal plants stretching out in front me was filled with deities. On a raised plinth, Grandfather was waiting along with Medino. Under the small glade of trees where I and Aunt Inlas were standing, I could see her shuffle nervously in her long, beautiful gown. “Deep breaths Aunt Inlas.” She looked at me and nodded. I was in human form, simply because being in my true form would be… inconvenient on so many levels. Aunt Inlas led the way, and I followed behind, holding the long drape and cloak on her dress. Medino’s face lit up as he saw Inlas approaching. I would admit they made a nice couple. The music that played as we approached seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. As we arrived, a gust of wind sent several teal and light purple petals flying around both Medino and Inlas. Then silence fell over the field as the ceremony began.
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“Anyone else?” As I asked, a giant of a man, dressed in furs and wielding a giant spiked metal club, entered the ring. The sun was setting over Kal-Minos as yet another foolish challenger approached. Who’d have thought there would be so many against my wedding with Shaluna. Then again, most of these weaklings were “Representatives” and not the ruler who was against it. As per tradition, Minotaur weddings were a two-part affair. Anyone against the wedding could challenge the groom and bride to annul it until the sun set on the wedding day.
Once the sun finished setting, if the groom and bride went undefeated, the ceremony would take place in private between the two. The challenges began at sunrise and were from a bunch of politically inclined monkeys that wanted to somehow win my hand in marriage either for themselves or their daughters.
As if I would ever entertain that idea. But because of their foolishness, plenty of good men and women were going to need medical treatment. Shaluna requested the challenges were to be nonlethal. Unusual, but nothing I couldn’t agree with.
She was handling herself easily too, thanks to getting the best gear money could buy, and several buffs from myself. Nothing in the traditions said the bride and groom couldn’t support one another, after all. And as she landed a graceful roundhouse kick to send the knight she was facing flying out of the ring, she looked beautiful indeed.
I felt a thud on the back of my head. I turned towards my challenger, who looked at his broken iron club in shock. “Honestly, what shoddy workmanship.” I gave him a light flick with my right index finger, and he went flying out of the ring. As he landed, the sound of a horn echoed across the city. “The Sun has set. This challenge is over. The rest of you GET LOST.” I hurried over to where Shaluna was waiting and scooped her up in my arms. “Let’s get changed.” Her joyful laughter as I carried her out of the arena was music to my ears.
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“Not going to join Pearl at the wedding?” I looked up from the hill overlooking the above ground maze in Pearl’s domain and at Indella as she landed beside me. “Never been a fan of weddings, besides being together with so many deities makes me feel… small. Besides, Milady runs me ragged all day, be it via missions or training, so finally getting some more spare time to myself is nice. Although, I plan to visit Keari again later, Lord Rubolg cleared up the skill from before just before the ceremony began, so I figured we would talk about it and what it means. Besides, I have the ceremony later too. Mind helping me pick out a dress?”
I felt weird for a moment, as if someone was looking into my deepest darkest secrets. “Mind asking before doing that in the future? That was… extremely unpleasant.” Indella looked up from whatever she was looking at. “Hmm oh right, sorry bout that. Still, this skill is weird. You said it just popped up on its own?” I nodded.
“Pearl didn’t seem that surprised. I guess she suspected there might be side effects from separating me and Keari like that. Rubolg seemed more intrigued than anything once he was notified and the skill now displays correctly, so there is that, at least. However, you’re dodging the question.”
Indella flopped down on the grass beside me, then lay down and looked up at the starry sky. “ Fine, I’ll help, also, enjoy your spare time it while it lasts. Before you know it, it’s back to the eternal grind. Such is the fate of divine servants such as us. I followed her gaze skyward. “I think I will take you up on that suggestion, and not wait to visit my dear sister. Since heavens know when I will have time after tonight.”
Indella gave me a lazy wave. “Sure thing. See you in a bit for dress testing.” I stood up and phased back to Milady’s domain. A power given to me by Milady directly to facilitate travel over great distances. I still wasn’t completely sure about my relationship with Indella. She was nice, and I definitely considered her a close friend by this point, but sometimes she felt a bit… distant. Bah, better think of something else.
When I arrived on the balcony next to Amber and Keari, they didn’t seem surprised. “Figured you’d show up soon, sis, glimpsed you speaking with that silver-haired girlfriend of yours.” I blushed by that sudden mention. “She… isn’t my girlfriend, you know.” I couldn’t help but feel bashful. Keari glanced at me, then shook her head. “I keep telling you Amber, she’s hopeless. I have seen obvious signs, yet she keeps missing them.” Amber nearly choked on her tea as she laughed at Keari’s comment. Ugh, this was getting out of hand.
“Ok, enough about that. Have you looked at it, yet after it was unscrambled?” Keari looked up at me. “I have honestly been too busy with other things to really focus on it, but I’ve glanced at it, yes.” She gave me a crooked grin. “A pretty crazy skill, truth be told.” Amber seemed to perk up at that.
“You never really gave me the details about what the skill actually does, mind sharing?” Her voice was rather strained, probably because she still had tea inside her windpipe. Well, there wasn’t any harm in telling her about it, and if I didn’t, Keari would.
Just give me a moment to pull it up, so I get the wording correctly. No point in getting it wrong just because I try to take it off of memory.
Twin Soul: Connects your soul to its other half via a mystical bond that not even the gods can break. The twin-souls can share emotions and senses, but not thoughts, even across dimensional borders and have access to all inherited and racial features, that their twin possess.
Amber remained silent for a moment. “That seems… completely busted.” She concluded. Understatement of the century there. Keari’s skills were quite insane already, but sharing my racial features was nifty. This would mean Keari would recover from injuries far faster than a mere mortal would be able to, and allow for other pieces of shenanigans down the line that I would likely have to teach her. As soon as I figured it all out myself, this also meant Keari’s abilities with fire and cold were at my command too. Which was a benefit to my work.
That skill didn’t extend to Racial Unique skills, however, so my status as immortal dream entity wouldn’t get transferred to Keari. Not that she needed it, considering how long Titans lived anyhow. They weren’t dragons who just got stronger the older they became, but they could apparently reach some pretty advanced ages, from what Milady told me about them. And while Keari was only a Demi-Titan, that would still mean a long life indeed.
“Erika, you with us?” I was brought out of my musings by Keari. “Sorry, got lost in thought for a moment. What were you saying?” I gave an embarrassed grin as Keari shook her head. “I asked if you wouldn’t mind teaching me how to block the random sensory swaps. It would be terrible if they happened at an inopportune time, like when I’m working, or worse, during sparring with mom.” Both Keari and I shuddered at that thought. “Sure I can, so what you do is…”
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Erika left after explaining how to block the sensory swapping, since she had some last-minute prep to do. “Miladies?” I turned around. “Oh Brimstone, what brings you here?” The Duergar gave a light bow. “Your parents hope you will join them for dinner in a few minutes, the private dining room. I wish I could tell you more, but it’s related to traditions among Fox Spirits, which, I regrettably know little about.”
I glanced over at Amber. It was almost time now. “Sure, thanks for telling us, Brimstone. Say hi to Pock for us!” The Duergar nodded and hurried out. Eager to get home to his own dinner, no doubt. Amber and I walked together through the halls towards the dining room, and passed the entrance just in time to see uncle returning.
He went in for a dive, pulled up and flapped to stop his momentum, and overcompensated, flipping himself over on his back and crashing into the ground. Sarirrva landed next to him, as graceful as ever. “You truly are hopeless, dear.” Uncle got back to his feet and resumed his human form.
“At least I didn’t crash-land this time. Not in the same way, anyhow.” Sarirrva took her human form as well. “And that is an improvement, I admit, though not by much. We will be practicing landings tomorrow and maybe, just maybe, we can get some proper skills into you. Oh, hello you two.” Sarirrva waved at us as she began dusting off uncle’s clothes.
Uncle nodded. “Fair enough. Practice makes perfect, as my first magic teacher always said.” Sarirrva gave him a strange glance, but said nothing about her thoughts on the matter. “Well, we should get going. We’re late for dinner and Yunika wanted us all on time.” She began dragging uncle into the halls, past the guards, who did a poor job and hiding their amusement. Not that I did much better.
Amber and I followed behind the two, while trying our best to not grin like mad while looking at Uncle. He was always the type who seemed so serious and no nonsense, so seeing this flustered and more emotional side to him was always a treat. Uncle also regained his youth over these last few months, though exactly how was met with stony silence from him.
I managed to as Sarirrva one of the few times she wasn’t together with him, and she simply said it was a secret. I held a few suspicions, but there was no way for me to prove it either way, so I let the matter drop. Besides, it wasn’t any of my business anyway, not really.
As we entered the dining room, I could see mom helping the three little ones into their seats, her tails wagging happily. Dad was busy pulling out all the stops as he carried various dishes in from the kitchen. “Ah, there ye all are. The Ozwelds won’t be joining us, said it wasn’t their place or some nonsense like that. So, it’s just us tonight.” He placed the food on the table and then walked over to where mom was putting the finishing touches on getting my siblings to behave. Then grabbed her from behind and spun her around in a loving hug as the rest of us took our seats. “Now then, let’s get this show on the road, eh, hun?”
Mom twisted around in his grip, then leaned down and gave him a loving kiss while her tails wagged up a storm behind her. “That we should.” She then turned towards us. “As you all know, it’s normal for fox spirits to wait a while with naming their newborns. The reason is that the children are named already, but no one here, not even I know them yet. And so, we needed to wait for when their names can be revealed.” She paused a little and gave my younger sister a loving rub behind her fox ears, earning a delighted squeal from her.
“While it cannot be seen because of the smoke from Theranos, tonight is a full moon and a lunar eclipse, one of the perfect times to have the naming ceremony as the veil between the spiritual and physical is at its thinnest. This is the perfect moment I was waiting for to hold the name revealing ceremony.” The three kids looked at mom with attentive eyes. Their eyes showing intelligence that wouldn’t be present in non-spirits at their age. They still couldn’t talk, but they were smart enough to realize something important was going on and that they should be quiet.
Mom chanted quietly and several spectral specks of light began gathering above my siblings. Slowly gathering into letters that I couldn’t read. Though judging from mom’s expression, she could, as her face lit up. “So I hope you all will welcome your brothers Lumis and Renn and your sister Argentia to our little family. The three kids squealed happily as the glowing letters above them shattered into little showers of stardust, as each name was mentioned, and rained down as motes of light over them, before vanishing into nothing.
It wasn’t long before we were all busy eating our fill afterwards. The first proper family gathering since mine and Amber’s birthdays prior to all this. There were so many more people gathered this time, and far livelier. As I watched all of this happen, I could, for just a split second, feel a presence. “Sorry I’m late, took a bit of time to get ready.” Erika was dressed in a simple, but pretty gown for the occasion.
Dad looked up from where he was busy nuzzling Argentia. “Ye missed the naming, lass.” She just shook her head. “I did, but I didn’t.” She looked at me. “I couldn’t be here on time physically, but I watched it all happen.” Dad glanced between me and her. Then gave a sigh. “Fair enough. Take yer place at the table then. I swear this family is getting far bigger than I ever expected.”
Erika sat down on the other side of Amber, giving her a friendly smile as she did. “Too bad the Ozwelds won’t be joining us. Then again, I guess they feel it’s a bit early.” Amber shrugged. “Wouldn’t know about that. By the way, Erika, you sure you should be celebrating with us and not joining in on the festivities with Lady Inlas?” Erika gave a dismissive snort. “And miss out on mom’s cooking? No way!”
Erika was a frequent visitor to the mountain home whenever she could these days. Once we explained about our relations to mom, she was greeted as a long-lost daughter of hers and dad followed suit soon after. It didn’t take her long after that to behave as if she always was. Which, given she and I used to be one person, wasn’t far from the truth.
If anyone told me half a year ago that all of this would happen, I’d called them mad. Anyone would. But the people gathered around me right now were all precious to me, my siblings, my parents, my uncle and soon-to-be aunt. They didn’t tell anyone yet, but everyone noticed the engagement bracelets on both uncle and Sarirrva’s arms, so it was an open secret at this point. And as I looked at them all, I couldn’t help but feel blessed to be part of such a big, happy family.