Patricia Wayland [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHc2c3THm9ujCbbYSHLZilrYziCADHROeihY50zgI7FT9BlKNjIg0QlMq8RcnP9evVk9uTboKZad5ZoVFcVhuRYoCMMPC_BNL-Rjo4ghpyErUh8VsuFLydCuSU8fQr7Tzw7RP0REFE2QYqVhkhBBoQLA=w621-h931-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
The Cultivator’s Citadel was a massive building between the center of the city and the Processing District in the northwest that was one of the few buildings sporting greenery as various trees and plants spilled from balconies and adorned windows.
Their party had delivered supplies produced in the citadel before but had never come to the building itself, having normally loaded up the supplies in the district to the west dedicated to storage and logistics. As they were led into a small office, they came face to face with Patricia Wayland.
Paul’s sister was a tall runeforged woman with long dark brown hair in dozens of braids that stopped halfway down to turn into tight curls. The intricate metallic rune tattoos covering her body, which every one of her species bore, were a brilliant blue that matched the color of her eyes and stood out against her warm brown complexion.
The noblewoman greeted them with a wide smile and gave a gentle laugh as Saiya embraced her in a friendly hug, “Welcome, I’m so glad to finally meet you all. I’ve never met anyone that my obstinate brother has ever shown any interest in, aside from his old adventuring party. I had hoped that it would have been a potential spouse but now I’m convinced that he decided to skip the partner part and go straight to having a brood of children.”
The runeforged eyes sparkled as she took in the party’s reactions. Phoenix blushed in embarrassment, Dazien chuckled in amusement, the twins both grinned with pride and Uriel looked slightly horrified by the idea.
“I might have teased him about acting like a dad but I never expected him to actually pursue the idea,” the redhead bashfully admitted.
The older woman laughed, causing the others to smile at her levity, “I don’t think anyone can ever predict what Paul is going to do,” Patricia continued and gestured for them to follow her out of the office, “Come with me and we can get to know each other a bit better while I show you around. Have you ever seen what we do here?”
“It looks like a vertical farm from the outside,” Phoenix probed, “My world was exploring the technology but it looks like the magic in this world can produce a lot more than we could. What all does the clergy produce here? What is it?” she asked suddenly, noticing some of the awkward looks and flushed faces of her teammates, “Did I say something wrong?”
Patricia looked on amused and asked the young Wayfarer, “Has nobody explained the functions of the clergy of the Cultivator to you?”
Phoenix blinked then asked in confusion, “Isn’t it just something like growing plants? I know you deal with making most of the city’s food.”
The older woman chuckled and teased, “We grow and breed many things here.”
“Oh, like animals for meat?” she asked curiously.
The runeforged gave an amused smile, “Not just for meat. Now follow me.”
Phoenix wondered if they did some kind of pet program too as her party followed after the noblewoman who led them through the floors to show them the different farms as well as the pens with pregnant animals that were meant for food.
The interior walls were covered in murals that denoted the theme for each floor. Saplings growing into large trees, sivatherium caring for their young, and people deep in the throes of lovemaking.
That last mural made her pause and Phoenix could feel the rising heat in her cheeks. Apparently, she had missed the hints being dropped that not just plants and animals were cultivated here. She looked down at the floor as though it was the most interesting thing in the world at that moment and could hear the soft chuckle of her mentor’s sister, “I understand that you are still young and my brother mentioned that you have not been exposed to much of the world or people in general but there is no need to be embarrassed about the cultivation of life. It is a beautiful and sacred activity that one should be pleased to partake in.”
Phoenix felt a bit more uncomfortable but instead of arguing, she inquired, “You speak like you’re a priestess yourself. I thought you were a noble liaison?”
“I am both. I have found a wonderful purpose in providing food and offspring to the people of my city. I doubt Paul told you if you haven’t asked but he and I were both conceived in this very citadel on this very floor.”
The Wayfarer finally chanced looking up to find the woman’s eyes as she admitted, “I didn’t want to pry but I was curious as to how a human and a runeforged could be blood-related. I assumed he was adopted since most of the city isn’t human.”
Particia nodded as though understanding the confusion and explained, “Paul mentioned your old world only had humans. The different species can reproduce together but mixed offspring won’t be conceived like what we’ve seen happen with some plants and animals; they’ll be one or the other. Here we can perform certain services that can ensure conception as well as allow for a couple to make certain choices about the child, which includes the species they become. My mother was a human and my father a runeforged. It’s a common practice to let the first child’s species be left to chance while following children are a bit more… designed.”
The priestess paused for a moment as they reached a room and gestured for them to enter before continuing, “We can help select certain traits that the parents possess and want to pass down, then we allow them to gestate here before delivering them to their parents after they are born.”
“Designer babies?” Phoenix said with surprise while looking around the room which reminded her more of a large medical lab on TV rather than the ones she visited in the hospital, “I know some people have been chasing that dream for generations in my world. I also heard of some people that abhor the idea.”
“There are certain things we don’t alter and, like I said, the traits must be present within the parents. There are some other limitations to what we can do. Another thing we have struggled with is the requests from prospective single parents, this is one of the reasons someone like you is so interesting to the Cultivator.”
Phoenix froze involuntarily at the statement, a sudden rush of panic flooding her at the idea of potentially encountering yet another divine entity. She stared at the runeforged and asked a bit harsher than she had intended, “Why would the Cultivator be interested in me?”
Patricia smiled warmly, “You are a Wayfarer,” sapphire eyes flickered upwards to take in her wild red curls and emerald green eyes set into alabaster skin, “Aside from your rare characteristics for this part of the world, Wayfarers are rather unique in that they cannot reproduce more Wayfarers. They will always produce their partner’s species or… something new.
“When Wayfarer’s reproduce the results can be… unpredictable sometimes. The Runeforged were a species spawned from a Wayfarer millennia ago, along with the Felions, Faeborn, and Gemites; though, the latter is a much more recent addition.”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Dazien who rolled his eyes and shook his head, “My parents were both gemite, just like me. I got my coloring from them,” he said as he flicked a lock of dark purple hair over his shoulder for emphasis.
Their current guide spoke up again, “By ‘recent’ I meant a few hundred years. You, Phoenix, would be a welcome donation to our cause since Wayfarers are so compatible with every other species.”
Now everyone was staring at the Wayfarer as she blinked owlishly at the woman before she finished processing the words and asked incredulously, “Wait, you want me to help the church make babies?”
Patricia nodded with a bright smile, “In a sense. You would be justly compensated for the service, of course, and would be helping so many people.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Phoenix’s jaw dropped open as she stared incredulously at the noble priestess before sputtering, “I–I didn’t even know it was possible for me to have kids. I… my whole life… I knew I wouldn’t be able to…” she got a slightly uncomfortable look, glancing at her friends then leaned forward to whisper, “I haven’t, um… ever, you know… had a female cycle thing…”
The older woman chuckled, “You’re a Crystal Caster, that’s normal and doesn’t preclude you from having children if you desire it.”
The redhead was momentarily stunned as the idea flitted through her head; the idea that she had long ago thought an impossibility for someone like her. She had questions, though, and now worries, “Does that mean I have to worry about getting pregnant if I don’t want to?”
“No. While you can have children, you’ll need either the right rituals or gain a few more Caste levels to better control your own physiology,” the priestess explained, then glanced around at the group and asked hesitantly, “You have had the talk right?”
Phoenix was confused by the question that seemed like a slight detour. They were all adults, well old enough for that even by this world's laws. Of course they had the “birds and bees” talk. Then Uriel spoke up as he glanced at her curiously, “I believe Phoenix would be the only one who potentially hasn’t. We never thought to ask.”
She was still slightly confused, remembering how they definitely all talked about their attraction, or her lack of it, and the upcoming post-moon celebrations, but she was saved by Patricia, “As your Caste increases, your body burns off the things it no longer needs to function. Replacing it with more durable and powerful magic.”
“Oh, yeah. I learned about that a bit when I first arrived,” she recalled, “No digestive system at Crystal, no lungs at Sapphire, not sure about beyond that though.”
Patricia moved behind a white counter and started pulling out some glass vials and a few papers as she continued, “The vascular system and most other internal organs are at Emerald. Muscles and nervous system at Ruby, which includes the brain. This process is also what makes higher Caste people age slower and become more beautiful. You all will eventually no longer need to perform any Mundane physiological task.”
The priestess pulled out a few more instruments from under the counter to place on top and Phoenix finally noticed enough to ask what she was doing. The woman grinned mischievously and said, “Just sign the contract here,” pushing forward the small pile of papers then lifted a needle with a syringe, “Then I can take a sample and we’ll begin our research.”
Phoenix was surprised when her entire party moved to shield her from the glint in the priestess’ eyes and Dazien spoke harsher than she would have expected, “Apologies, Noble Wayland, but we will not stand by and let you… study our party member without her fully understanding the ramifications of her decision.”
The woman laughed boisterously, “Of course, Mister Smithson. Paul told me you all might be a bit protective of your Wayfarer–”
“Our friend,” Uriel corrected with narrowed eyes.
“Yes, of course, Mister Karislian,” the noble said, holding up placating hands, “Do not mistake my actions for manipulations. I know some of our clergy might seem a bit… singularly focused, but if you read the contract,” the runeforged emphasized her words by placing a finger on the papers, “You would see that I plan to study the composition of Miss Fraser’s more unique characteristics and will not produce any offspring from the samples directly. If there is a request made that might desire her direct involvement, that would be brought up and handled in a different contract.”
Patricia met Dazien’s glare and added, “Also, we will be better prepared to assist her in the future should she choose to have a child of her own. Which will be especially important should she plan to join my family.”
Rayna spoke up this time in her defense, her arms crossed in disapproval, “You’re not planning to make this a stipulation of the potential adoption, are you Noble Wayland?”
“My, my,” the priestess chuckled, “You all seem much too suspicious and jaded for your ages,” the woman shook her head in slight disbelief, her lovely braids swaying with the motion, “Paul would drag me through the streets and toss me over the outer wall if I tried to extort one of the very few people he’s actually become fond of.”
The runeforged stepped to the side slightly to look past Phoenix’s party leader and meet her eyes, “Of course, this is not reliant on that and I would be happy to welcome you into the family. My brother has never asked me for anything this serious before and I would never deny him this kind of request anyway. I believe he knows this. All we’re waiting for is your acceptance, Miss Fraser. My main goal in meeting you all today was actually to take everyone’s measures in order to best facilitate whatever decision you make. Whether it’s becoming part of the family or remaining just a Protégé. Honestly, I mainly wanted to see how all of you would react to the request–which was actually encouraging.”
Phoenix broke eye contact first as she looked at the floor, processing the flood of information and feeling slightly overwhelmed by it all. When she finally sifted through the tangle of concerns she stepped past Dazien and took the papers, “Let me read over this real quick and talk with my friends first, if you don’t mind.”
The priestess smiled and nodded in understanding and Phoenix did just that. The contract was indeed what the woman had described it as. Additionally, they would store her samples with what they discovered was a ridiculous amount of security when Saiya explained what a “Divine Vault” was. Those samples, in turn, could be used in the future only with her express permission.
The only question she ended up having for the priestess was when they got to the section about compensation, “Is this correct? It says fifty [Ruby Mana Bits] and one ‘Divine Favor’,” she asked. When the priestess nodded, the Wayfarer tried to further clarify, “That seems like an absurd amount of money for a few samples.”
“It has been… difficult to get Wayfarers to agree to provide samples. Not all of my fellow clergy want to forgo the option of producing offspring but I believe the value of the knowledge we gain from the research alone is worth it. Plus, I hope that by showing you such respect and concessions, you will trust me in the future to help others in need.”
Phoenix gave a silent tilt of her head and asked, “I see. So what is this one divine favor?”
Patricia gave her a pointed look and glanced towards the center of her chest as she said vaguely, “My goddess thought to follow in the footsteps of her siblings.”
The two women stared at each other silently for a long moment before Phoenix turned to look at Dazien when he placed his hand on her shoulder and said quietly, “That is not a gift given lightly, Phoenix. I’m not sure how or why you received the others but you should not turn that down. Despite my own misgivings about the whole situation.”
Phoenix contemplated for a moment, feeling torn and unsure which direction to take. It was her [Guide Book] that helped her decide though as it appeared before her with a new quest.
New Quest: Light of Life
The priestess is requesting your aid to further the Cultivator’s cause.
Objective: Gain Cultivator’s Favor.
Objective: Sign the contract.
Reward: Rare Knowledge Tome.
With that nudge and a slight sigh, she signed the contract and handed it back to Patricia who was smiling broadly at her. She gave the woman her samples with a surprising array of instruments that she had no name for and, when she was informed that it was all over, was handed a small bag full of [Ruby Mana Bits].
Once Phoenix added that to her collection she began to ask where she needed to go to meet with the Cultivator when they were all startled by the deity’s sudden appearance right there in the lab room. Only Phoenix and Dazien remained standing in the presence of the goddess and the pressure of her Divine aura.
The Cultivator didn’t speak as she smiled at the pair of them and then pressed her finger to Phoenix’s Soul Mark, adding her own signature to the mix. The jolt of Divine energy surged through her body and she stumbled slightly before Dazien wrapped an arm around her to help steady her and keep her from falling. She had almost forgotten what the touch of a god felt like and how much it exhausted her.
Quest: Light of Life
Objective complete: Gained Cultivator’s favor.
Objective complete: Signed the contract.
[Potions of Makera 1] has been added to your collection.
Quest completed.
20 [Crystal Mana Bits] have been added to your collection.
The goddess gave Dazien a playful wink before vanishing as quickly as she had appeared, “Are you alright?” the gemite asked in concern as he shifted to help support her more.
“I’ll be fine,” she muttered absently, rubbing at the mark on her chest as the residual tingle of energy distracted her. She straightened after a moment of catching her breath and stated, “We should finish our business here now. I think I’ll need to get some sleep earlier if we’re leaving in the morning.”
They all agreed and Patricia led them to gather the supplies they would be delivering and thanked Phoenix once more for assisting her goddess.