This work is fiction. The work has no relationship with any person existing at any time anywhere whether real or imaginary or copywritten. Everything in this work is mea culpa.
This work is the property of Kerrik Wolf (saethwyr@ (SPAM) hotmail.com). Please remove (SPAM) to contact me.
You should not read this work if you are under the age of legal consent wherever you reside. This work may or may not contain any and/or all of the following: death, cannibalism, dismemberment, violent acts, implied sex, explicit sex, violent sex, rape, blasphemy (depending on your religion), BDSM, torture, mimes, necrophilia and just about anything unwholesome that you could consider.
Feedback is encouraged. I enjoy hearing from people. Positive feedback will be appreciated, cherished and flaunted in front of people. Negative feedback will be appreciated, cherished and listened to, that I might continue to grow. Flames will give me a good laugh. Feedback may be delivered to: saethwyr@(SPAM)hotmail.com. Please remove (SPAM) to contact me.
Loose Threads
Seventy Nine
Iain looked over the goblins, who sat in their fireteams as had become their habit, over where Ygerna and Gormlaith stood and finally where Kasumi waited with Yuko and Mielikki. “I want to thank all of you for being here when asked.” He smiled slightly. “Otherwise I would have had to make your presence here an order.” Arianrhod looked surprised and his smile vanished. “I speak to all of you as the Grey. Understand that what I am going to ask you to do is not a command, but it is critical that you hear me out with an open mind, for the safety of all of us may rest on the decision that each of you comes to today.” He watched people exchanging confused looks, especially Ygerna and her mother. “We are clan. We are Grey clan. Human, goblin, dragon, Sidhe, unicorn, it does not matter what race we call ourselves, for together we are clan. Our enemies will not stand against us if we remain united.”
He paused and smiled inside at the silence and the fact that everyone’s attention was focused on him. “There have been some things going on behind the scenes that you have been deliberately kept from knowing about. It started when, a few months ago, Mielikki sought out Arianrhod with a request to scan some goblins because she had an unanswered question about fertility.” He watched heads nodding among the goblins. “She decided, all on her own, that she was interested in why the goblins were infertile.”
All movement stopped as the goblins focused on him with an intensity that was almost frightening. “As you know, she is a goddess, and she has some ideas about how gods do things, so when she examined you, she was surprised to see nothing.” Frowns spread as he smiled. “This nothing was actually rather disconcerting, so she did the same scan to Ygerna, Kasumi, Yuko and Gormlaith and, later, all of the clan. In all but one of the cases of the preternatural beings that she examined, she again found nothing, which was very unexpected.”
Arianrhod raised a hand and Iain pointed at her to acknowledge her request to speak, just as April did during training. “I don’t understand. Why is nothing unusual?”
“You believe, and I think you were actually told, by the goddess that you worship, that you did something wrong a very long time ago and all of the fey were punished with a curse of infertility because of it. Is that true?”
Arianrhod nodded. “It is one of our oldest stories.”
Iain looked at Ygerna. “And it is part of your history as well, correct?”
Her face was a study in confusion. “It is,” she called. “The fey turned away from Danu and were punished with infertility.”
Iain nodded. “Mielikki, what was your question?”
Mielikki smiled. “I had heard this story too. All of you are infertile because your goddess cursed you. And yet, Ygerna is pregnant.” All eyes turned to focus on the Sidhe woman, who paled under their stares. “My question was simple. How can Ygerna be pregnant if she is cursed with infertility? Iain cannot counteract a curse of infertility, at least not yet.”
“What did you discover,” Kasumi asked.
“I found that the fey have been lied to for a very long time,” Mielikki said. “Danu did not curse any of you. The only person here with any curse is Yuko, and she truly bears a curse of infertility. Until it is removed, she will never become pregnant.”
“Why would our goddess lie to us,” Gormlaith asked plaintively.
“Neither Danu understands why you became infertile,” Mielikki said. “Or at least they did not until yesterday. What they did, being tricksy, is tell you that they knew how to reverse it, but they would only do so if you rededicated yourselves to them and you did so absolutely. Anything less than perfect devotion and they would not lift the curse they claimed you carried. Thus, they could always say there was something that you hadn’t done to please them, if they bothered to say anything to you at all.”
“I want you to remember that Mielikki discovered the truth of that lie,” Iain said, “because you are clan and her sisters and brothers. I didn’t task her with this. I was working on other things and, honestly, your fertility problems weren’t uppermost in my mind. I’d get to it when I could, but right now I didn’t have the time to investigate.”
One of the goblins raised her hand and Iain pointed at her. “Mielikki said that the goddess discovered yesterday why we are infertile. How did she discover the truth?”
“Because Mielikki figured out the truth and we told her,” Iain said.
Arianrhod’s hand shot up and Iain recognized her. “When will she come here to make us fertile?”
“She can’t make you fertile,” Iain said. “You are fertile now.”
Arianrhod didn’t bother to raise her hand. “I don’t understand. If we are fertile, why haven’t we had children?”
Iain gestured to Mielikki to start. “When I asked why Ygerna was pregnant, I did a lot of research, not only on my own, but with Theodora and, later, Daya and Iain. It turns out that the Sidhe and the goblins are distant cousins. This is important because Ygerna, Gormlaith and you are all incapable of having children for the same reason. Interestingly, it’s also true for Kasumi, Yuko and presumably the other spirit folk around the world. All of you are infertile because you need a certain amount of magic to be present or you will not become pregnant.” She looked around the area, “Ever. It is true there is magic here, but for a very long time it has been getting weaker and, about the time Arianrhod was born, it became so weak that you couldn’t conceive.”
“It turns out,” Iain said, drawing everyone’s attention back to him, “that the ley lines have been sucking up the magic like sponges. Because of this, the magic grew so weak that you couldn’t have children. When Mielikki figured this out, she came to me and we worked out a way to reverse the process.” He smiled at the goblins. “The reason we are meeting today is because Mielikki asked a question and then figured out the answer to something entirely different. That’s why we are meeting today. The reason we are meeting here today is because,” he pointed at a white line that trailed along the ground into the trees, “that line marks a ley line on our property. This morning, I reversed it and it has been releasing its magic into the area.” The goblins looked around warily. “In a week, if both of you spend a lot of time around here, if you have sex with another fey, regardless of whether or not it is during one of your breeding cycles, the females here will have a high chance of becoming pregnant.” He looked to his side. “Except for you, Yuko.”
She nodded, her eyes filled with an ancient pain. “I understand.”
Iain looked at the goblins and then everyone else. “Because of Mielikki, goblins will probably get pregnant at the next breeding cycle, for the first time in thousands of years, and it will have absolutely nothing to do with Danu. She didn’t ask the question, she didn’t do the research and she has no idea how open a ley line. Mielikki did this and she did it for you.” He grinned. “And now I would like you to consider rewarding her for what she has done.”
Arianrhod frowned. “How?”
“What has Danu done for you? She lied to you for thousands of years. She encouraged you to abase yourselves to her in ways I don’t know anything about, but I doubt it was anything simple. She did this to you and she did this to Ygerna and Gormlaith and the Sidhe and the rest of the fey. Why does she deserve your love or adoration?”
“You worship Danu and she took that as her due and otherwise ignored you. Mielikki, who you do not worship, took it upon herself to solve the riddle of why you were dying out as a species. And that’s exactly what was happening. Every goblin who died could never be replaced. Every Sidhe who died could never be replaced. Eoghan,” he shrugged, “Eoghan just hastened the process. The same thing is happening in China and Japan and anywhere magical creatures live. There will be no more kami or oni or Sidhe or goblins. The only places there will be fey children will be wherever Mielikki and I decide there will be.”
Arianrhod spoke up. “You want us to worship Mielikki.”
“I think she has earned your devotion and love in a way that Danu never did. I do want you to worship her and to stop worshipping Danu. Not only do I think she has earned your love and worship, one day, and one day soon, she may need it to help protect our clan.” He smiled at the puzzled faces looking back at him. “Only Mielikki and I can decide where there will be fey or spirit folk children. Only I can open the ley lines and let the magic return, although as she becomes more powerful from the love her worshippers give her, one day I believe that Mielikki will be able to learn what I can do and open ley lines without me.” His smile was hard as steel. “I see no reason to waste my time running all over the world opening ley lines so our enemies can become more powerful or teach them how to become more powerful, but it means that one day they will come here to take me and Mielikki away to serve them. And if they do not come here, their gods will almost certainly do so. Only Mielikki can protect us then and only if she is powerful enough to withstand their assault. Only you can give her the power to protect us, for when those beings come for me and her, they will almost certainly kill you and your children to cripple the clan. If they do not, our retaliation will destroy them and they will know this.”
“If they do not kill our children,” Yuko shouted abruptly, “they will take them from us.” Goblins snarled in fury as she glared at them. “I am infertile, and you will have children before me, but I know that Iain will help me too and so they will come for my sons and daughters along with yours. Mielikki will protect us. Danu will not. Amaterasu will not. Today Mielikki is my goddess. Who will stand with us?”
Almost as one, the goblins shot to their feet, yelling their agreement.
Iain looked at a stunned Mielikki. “It’s just a small start, but welcome back to the goddess business.”
“This is not the way I intended it,” she snapped at him. “I intended to appeal to their reason, not their emotion. I told you what to do and you ignored me.”
“I do my job my way,” Iain said. “Always have. You don’t like it, fire me.”
Arianrhod joined them, glancing back at the still yelling goblins for an instant. “We will need to learn how to worship you, Lady,” she said to Mielikki. “Should we petition you or your high priest?”
Mielikki gestured irritably at Iain. “He seems to have all the answers right now.”
“Only because of you, Lady,” Arianrhod looked at Iain. “Is this why you had us learn to read?”
“No, but it’ll help. You’ve got training in a little while, but you and I’ll get together after lunch and I’ll bring a bunch of her books with me. Bring a couple of your senior people and I’ll give you a quick primer in how to get started worshipping Mielikki.” He smiled. “I just sent your twee the time and April knows not to try and steal the afternoon from us.”
“Thank you, Iain.” Arianrhod turned and ran towards her goblins, already yelling at them to fall into formation so they could run to training.
Yuko, Kasumi, Ygerna and Gormlaith joined them as the goblins ran off. “Can you help me, my goddess,” Yuko asked.
“You are my next project,” Mielikki told her with a smile. “Between Iain and me, we’ll figure it out.”
“Thank you, Lady.”
Iain looked at Ygerna. “Another reason I’d like you and Gormlaith to switch to Mielikki’s worship is because as long as you are her subjects, Danu can access what you know. If not for that, I’d have really liked to have had your help on this. You know a lot about ley lines that I don’t, but we couldn’t chance Danu finding out what we were doing. She’d have tried to claim me if she thought I held any answers.”
“Why tell us now,” Gormlaith asked. “She could still learn from us.”
Ygerna smiled. “She found out yesterday.” She nudged Iain. “You told her.”
“I also opened up a ley line in Ireland so she has someplace to take her new fey so they can reproduce.”
“Danu tried to reward him for what he’d done,” Mielikki said with a sudden smile. “He politely turned her down.”
Ygerna frowned. “You do not turn down a reward from Danu, Iain.”
Mielikki’s smile became a grin. “It was quite the reward, too. She offered to let him get Queen Ygerna pregnant.”
Ygerna stared at her in shock for a second before she hissed angrily. “That bitch.”
“Ygerna?” She looked at Iain curiously. “It wasn’t her. Queen Ygerna really wasn’t excited about the idea of being offered up as a prize, even if by Danu. She was so grateful for my letting her off the hook, she’s going to give me a knighthood come the summer solstice. I told her you’d contact her to work out the specifics so I don’t end up her slave.”
It was interesting to watch Ygerna force her hackles back down. “It is quite the honor, Iain. I will make the necessary arrangements and thank you for explaining what was really going on.” She smiled at Mielikki. “I will admit that I have always had a close relationship with my goddess, but I have never lived in the same house that she does. This will be interesting, Lady Mielikki.”
“Why are you forsaking Danu,” Gormlaith asked her daughter. “She is our goddess.”
“We had an agreement,” Ygerna said. “She would keep her hands off of all of us in return for the newly born children we gave her. She just tried to sink her claws into Iain by offering him something of hers, and she did so while knowing full well that he would never get Queen Ygerna pregnant and then abandon her and the resulting child. She is an oath breaker and I will have nothing to do with her because of it.” She looked at Iain. “I will tell Arianrhod of what has happened. Perhaps she can use it to strengthen the resolve of any waverers amongst the goblins.” She smiled at Mielikki. “I believe from what I know about my new goddess that she would want us to work together much more closely than she and I have in the past.”
“I would like that,” Mielikki said. “Cooperation is the only way we will survive what is coming.”
“I do not know if I can do this,” Gormlaith said. She looked almost miserable.
“Then do not,” Mielikki told her gently. “I will never demand you worship me. That was never my way and now that we are both clan, I couldn’t demand it even if I wanted to. Iain would never let me.”
Gormlaith surprised her with a hug. “I know you would never require that,” she said as she let Mielikki go. “But I would be a spy for Danu if I continue worshipping her. If so, I would have to resign my post and leave the clan. All of you have done so much that I couldn’t stand the thought that I could betray all of you whenever Danu wanted me to.” She looked at Iain. “He would let me stay, but he would have to do what he did before and keep me from knowing things that Danu cannot. That would mean I couldn’t do my job, and Iain has been nothing but true to what he said he would do for me. For him, and for his friendship and loyalty to me, I will try to worship you.”
Mielikki hugged her back. “Thank you for doing so. I, too, will do my best to never do anything to make you regret this.”
Gormlaith gave her an amused smile. “There is no try, Lady Mielikki. There is either do or do not.”
Mielikki looked at Iain as everyone laughed. “This too is your fault.”
He smiled. “Guilty as charged.”
Kasumi waited for the laughter to stop. “There is still one unanswered question. Why is Ygerna pregnant?”
“It’s probably Iain,” Ygerna said.
“It is,” Mielikki sounded like she was trying not to laugh again. “I’ll let him explain.”
Iain glanced at Gormlaith and Yuko before giving a mental shake. They didn’t have any need not to know what he was about to reveal. Hopefully they wouldn’t be offended by anything they heard. “I have a lot of sex. And I have a lot of sex with pokegirls. A while ago I noticed that if the amount of semen I produce in an ejaculation drops off during the day, which is natural after more than a few orgasms, some of my harem would be unhappy. They actually blamed themselves as if they’d done something wrong.”
Kasumi nodded. “They would. You want them to be happy. What did you do?”
Neither Gormlaith nor Yuko looked uncomfortable, so Iain continued. “My solution was to boost my sperm production and everything else that goes into ejaculate in order to keep the volume constant. That’s not a natural occurrence and my body can only be pushed so far without help, so I used my magic to do the boosting. According to Mielikki, when I did so, I infused my semen with magic. The theory is that this provided the necessary magic to allow Ygerna to conceive, that it protected the fertilized egg until it could implant.” He met Kasumi’s eyes. “She also thinks it’s why you got pregnant so quickly after we got married.”
Kasumi looked at him thoughtfully. “That would explain a lot with why it took so long to become pregnant with Kozakura.” She frowned. “Does that mean Akane and Nabiki will have the same problem I did?”
Iain nodded. “It does.”
“While that might not distress Nabiki overly,” Kasumi was looking thoughtful again, “Akane will have to produce heirs to the style.”
“It also explains why Ranma is an only child,” Iain said quietly. “He will need higher magic around him too.”
“Can we help them?” She smiled. “Other than by you mating with my sister, of course.”
“We’ll figure something out. Magic can be stored, so you could give her an amulet for her wedding that surrounds her with magic so she’s more fertile. Or maybe a magic infused stone or other icon that you tell her helps with conception if she puts it underneath their mattress.”
Kasumi smiled. “You have been thinking about it.” She sounded pleased.
“They’re family too. I knew you’d be concerned about them and about Mizuho.”
Kasumi frowned. “My mother?”
“Is nearly twenty years younger than she would be if she hadn’t jumped through time,” Iain pointed out. “She’s still capable of having children.” He grinned nastily. “Imagine the consternation after everything that’s happened if she popped out a son for Soun to inherit the dojo.”
“I can quite easily imagine it,” Kasumi said coolly. “Akane and Ranma would have nowhere to live, and nowhere to turn to except to perhaps come live with Akane’s older sister and her family, for they are wealthy and have plenty of room for them. Nabiki would undoubtedly tag along since she might be able to freeload off of her older sister for a few decades.”
“That’s just evil.”
Kasumi laughed. “Is it?”
“My love, you have convinced me. As soon as we get back to your world, your mother gets kidnapped and she gets a tubal ligation, complements of Theodora and the Grey clan.”
She smiled. “I do not think that will be necessary, but I thank you for considering the fortunes of my sisters and seeking to ensure they do not become entwined with ours.”
“Suit yourself.” Iain steeled himself and turned to face Mielikki. “Do you wish to yell at me?”
Mielikki looked at Kasumi and the others. “If you will excuse us, I believe that Iain and I should continue this discussion in private.”
“What about his guard,” Ygerna asked.
“I have completed the course in bodyguarding Iain,” Mielikki said. “While it could be argued that if we are having a heated discussion I cannot pay attention to our surroundings with enough detail to perform that duty properly, I am taking him to my home where there are no threats. If we leave for any reason, I will either suspend our discussion or send for Dianthus, who is his guard for today.”
“That is acceptable,” Kasumi smiled.
“Thank you.” The terrain changed around them to the woods and an archway shimmered into existence. “Please enter my home, Iain.”
Iain did and found himself in a clearing in a stand of oaks almost identical to the one he’d just left. Only the neat cottage in the center of the clearing was different since it didn’t exist in the dimension they’d just come from.
Mielikki stepped past him and opened the door. “Come inside.” Iain followed her into the cottage. The interior matched that of the cottage outside, and Iain wasn’t sure if he was disappointed at how mundane it looked. She gestured at a table with benches on opposing sides. “Sit while I get something to drink.” Iain sat as she went into another room, returning shortly with a stone ewer and two wooden mugs. She filled the mugs and put one in front of him before sitting down on the bench beside him. “It’s apple juice.”
Iain politely sipped and put the mug down as the room suddenly spun drunkenly around him. “What,” he muttered.
“I am Mielikki and I am from Toril, but I came to there from an Earth like this one,” she said quietly. “There I was a Finnish goddess, just like the Mielikki from this world is.”
“There’s another one?”
“She exists, but she has no power and has even lost the memories of being a goddess,” Mielikki said. “Soon she’ll become a shade. In my case, like many gods and goddesses from that part of the world, my pantheon was in contact with other pantheons in the region. For example, the apples for this juice came from a small tree I grew from an apple I received as a gift from a friend of mine. You might know of her. Idunn.”
The room was still spinning, and Iain reached out with his power to try and stop it. Nothing changed. “This is from the apples that kept the Norse gods young?”
“Very good. The effects will pass in a few minutes. If you were mortal that sip would have added twenty healthy and active years to your life.” She reached out and stroked the hair out of his face. “You cannot disobey your goddess when I give you instructions, Iain.”
“I would have used reason if emotion hadn’t worked,” Iain replied. “However, emotion works better on people like the goblins so I tried that first. I didn’t force anyone, and I didn’t trick them either. You should have no complaint.” The spinning was beginning to slow.
Mielikki took a drink of her juice. “The problem, Iain, is that I should have a great many complaints, but I have none. The conversions I received this day were genuine and I believe that all of them will remain true to me. You are here because I have decided to reward you for what you have accomplished and what you will do for me in the coming years.”
“I really don’t need any sort of reward,” Iain said as the room finally came to a complete halt.
Mielikki smiled. “I thought you would try to refuse this gift, but in truth you are too late. I have already given it to you.” Iain looked suspiciously at the mug and she laughed. “The juice is exactly what I said it is, the concentrated power of the apples that keep the Norse gods alive. I offered it to you because I have it and few mortals ever get to sample it. But that had nothing to do with my gift to you. I have made you harder to kill, Iain.” She smiled. He’d seen that secretive smile on Sofia’s face before, but never on Mielikki’s. “And I have marked you as mine, which will warn off the Danu goddesses or any other god or goddess if they decide to try and claim you again.”
“Are we going to become lovers?”
Mielikki shrugged. “I honestly do not know that answer to that question, Iain. And I don’t know the answer to that question because I know that is a decision that we both have to make or the answer is automatically no. Do you want to be my lover?”
“Did you know there’s a pool about when we will become lovers,” Iain asked quietly.
Mielikki smiled. “I did not, but it’s not surprising.”
“There is no pool about if we will become lovers, only when.” Mielikki looked startled and he nodded. “They already know I am interested in you. And you already know I am interested in you.”
“I know that you will not be with all of the women that interest you, Iain,” she said.
“True. I remember you asked me if you could join the inner clan. Did you?”
Mielikki looked surprised. “I did. Why?”
“Who is in the inner clan?”
Her brow furrowed. “Monica, her harem, Kasserine, Ava and me. Why?”
“What is the difference between inner clan and harem? Honestly?”
Mielikki frowned. “I don’t understand the question.”
Iain smiled. “I presume that part of you does since you asked to become inner clan. The difference is that I am not in an intimate relationship with the women in the inner clan.” His smile faded. “Yet.” Mielikki just blinked at him and he nodded. “The inner clan is where women are vetted for entry into our family, or as the pokegirls in the family would put it, the harem. Ygerna and Kasumi and their harems were once inner clan. When the children get older that’ll change, and we’re putting together how the new inner clan is going to be organized, but right now that is the only distinction between the two. It gives me a chance to make some final decisions, the woman to do the same and the harem and family to decide if they’re going to protest her addition. No one has protested you and they knew my decision had been made when I asked them if you could become inner clan. We’ve just been waiting on you.”
Mielikki looked at him and then at the mug in her hand. “I do not know how I missed that.” She looked back up at him. “I hope you don’t expect perfection from me, because it looks like you will be sadly disappointed if you do.”
Iain turned and wrapped his arms around her. She was stiff for a moment before relaxing against him. “I can’t expect anything in anyone that I can’t expect in myself. Nothing and no one is perfect. As for you, I have known you weren’t perfect since the moment I met you.”
“You did?”
“You’d already made whatever mistakes caused you to end up in Golden Cloud’s forest as a goddess with a small chest of power.”
Mielikki laughed softly. “True.”
“And then, of course, you made the horrendous decision to make me your high priest.”
“That was probably one of the smartest things I’ve done in some time.” She pulled away from him. “And stop putting yourself down. Nobody likes it.”
“Wait until you meet my sisters before you say that.”
“I look forward to that day, Iain. When will it be?”
He grimaced. “I’m not sure. Anyway, that’s not what we’re discussing. You are inner clan and I have already admitted I am interested in you. Should we start dating?”
“I do not think that the time is quite ready for that. Both of us have too many things that take up our time and I do not want you to confuse the Mielikki that lives on the world where Nightraven is teaching you for years at a time. Do not pray to her.”
“I’ve been observing the rituals there, but I have been calling you Mielikki Grey when I do.”
She smiled. “I appreciate that, but I am not sure that will be sufficient clarification.”
“What about this tattoo or whatever it is that you’ve put on me somewhere that marks me as the property of the goddess Mielikki? I presume it’s unique enough that she’ll know she didn’t put it on me.”
Her smile widened. “That might confuse her more than ever. However, if there is a problem, with her or with anything else, you and I will face it together.”
“Agreed.” Iain sipped at his juice and put the mug down when the world started spinning again. “What about Yuko?”
“Removing her curse should be relatively straightforward when you learn how it is accomplished. From what I understand, Amaterasu doesn’t keep track of the people she has cursed. I have tried to meet her, but I am Western and therefore anathema in her court. I was told I might be allowed to speak with her high chamberlain in a few decades or so and to wait in the vestibule until then. I did not.”
Iain shrugged. “That’s not surprising. And bringing Yuko to her attention is probably counterproductive. It’s likely that she’s either forgotten all about Yuko or thinks she’s dead. It would be best if that situation remained unchanged.”
“I agree,” Mielikki drained her mug. “When will you be returning to your tutelage?”
“In about a week. There are a few things I’m trying to clear up before I go anywhere. That’s why early next week there’s a barbecue planned and Shikarou’s family has been invited.”
“I thought you felt that you had done what was necessary in reaching out to him.”
“I have. This is for something specific. Kasserine would like to meet him and this is as informal a setting as I can arrange.”
“Will I be allowed to attend?”
“I wouldn’t dream of excluding you. You’re clan and it sounds like you’ll be joining the family.”
Mielikki turned and looked at him for a long moment before smiling. “Thank you.”
***
Iain pulled out the two closest chairs. “Please have a seat, ladies.”
Tanika looked at Magdalene and dropped gracefully into the first chair. Iain pushed it into position as she looked up at him. “You are very polite, Iain.”
Iain moved to seat Magdalene next to her. “My mother and father did try to raise me with manners. Sometimes it shows more than others.”
“They did well,” Magdalene said.
“Thank you.” Iain sat down on the edge of the table. “But that reminds me about something. Tanika, I understand you’ve been spying on us and I would appreciate it if you stopped.”
Tanika’s ears flicked and she glanced at Magdalene as she blushed. “Kerrik must have told you.”
“He did. He also suggested that I threaten to spank you if you didn’t stop.”
Magdalene chuckled as Tanika turned bright red. “And what would your response be to that threat, my sister?
“Iain hasn’t made that threat,” Tanika said as she looked at Iain. “So I don’t have to decide.”
“And it’s a good thing he hasn’t yet,” Magdalene said. “You would challenge him and then he would spank you. The results of that would probably take at least the rest of the day to resolve.” She sounded vastly amused at the idea.
Tanika’s head snapped around to look at Magdalene. “You’re not upset?”
“Iain is my friend and, at this time, nothing more. And he is not now nor will he ever be mine to claim, even if our friendship develops into something more substantial.” Magdalene hugged Tanika. “If he is willing to be your lover then you should enjoy him while you can. Just remember that he is unlikely to become besotted with you enough to leave his family and you are unlikely to leave Kerrik.” She looked over at him. “If Kerrik told you that, then you two have probably discussed what would happen if there would be children from such an event. What was the resolution?”
“Any child in that situation would have two fathers,” Iain said. “We agreed that would be best for everyone involved. And while such hypothetical children were here at the ranch, they would have a multitude of mothers.”
“I did not expect that,” Magdalene’s voice was thoughtful. “But that would solve any potential conflict neatly. I would find such an arrangement acceptable.” Her ears flicked. “Why have you asked us here today?”
“Two ladies have recently joined the clan and they have asked to meet you,” Iain replied. “While that’s a bit odd, I normally wouldn’t disturb you for something that simple. However, it’s Kerrik’s mother and his sister, so they’re your mother in law and sister in law and I thought you might like to meet them as much as they want to meet you.” He smiled as they both stared with wide eyes at him. “I assure you that they know you’re not moon elves and they are nothing like Drake’s mother is. I didn’t set this up until they asked to meet you and until I reassured myself that there were no shenanigans involved. They’re both rather nice people.”
“I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Magdalene said.
“When did Kerrik bring them here,” Tanika asked. She gently pushed Magdalene’s arms away.
“Kerrik took me to meet them in Evermeet,” Iain explained. “And he cheated a bit. He deliberately had me shadow walk him back to the year Ava became an adult, so they haven’t had the next ten thousand years to be abused by the kind citizens of Everneet for being related to him and refusing to drop dead. And they brought another member of their family with them, a baelnorn named Selsharra, who has also joined my clan. She’d like to meet you too, but she’s off with some of my undead harem on a raid.”
Magdalene and Tanika exchanged a look and then Magdalene sighed. “So you’re marrying his sister?”
“Her name is Ava and she and I are betrothed. Kasserine and I are also betrothed. However,” he held up a finger, “Ninhursag has asked me to reassure you that we will still entertain your potential additions to the family.”
“Why bother,” Tanika asked. “You’re safe now.”
“This isn’t about that,” Iain replied. “This is about making my family stronger. You and Magdalene and Kerrik aren’t related to Kasserine or Ava by blood. Neither are your children and they are strong bloodlines. Nor is this about me being a greedy drake, although I admit that I am one.” He shrugged. “Even if it doesn’t work out with your daughters and me, we hope to become friends with them. After all, eventually our children will need mates just as much as yours do. Your sons and daughters might marry my sons and daughters or our grandchildren might be involved with your family.”
“Kerrik warned us,” Tanika said, “that we should only consider our truewizard children for you. What about for your children?”
“Let them meet whoever you want,” Iain smiled. “Or just bring over a passel of your kids and grandkids and let them mingle with ours.”
“Does this include Kerrik’s other wives who might be interested,” Magdalene’s ears were focused on him.
“That depends on the wife and her behavior,” Iain replied. “If any of, say, Jenna’s kids try to eat any of mine, or anyone else for that matter, I’ll kill them, and I’ll kill her too if she tries to stop me.”
“Jenna is content where she is and does not leave her home,” Magdalene replied. “However, should that change I will warn her before she might come here.”
“We don’t like her either,” Tanika said. “Which is fine since she despises us.” She grinned suddenly. “I still can’t believe Kerrik asked you to marry his mother.”
“He didn’t,” Iain replied. “Ava did, right after we got betrothed. You can ask her to explain it, if you’re willing to meet them.”
“If?” Tanika gave Magdalene a confused glance. “You brought us here so they could meet us.”
“No, you are my guests and my friends,” Iain replied. “I asked you to meet with me here, so I could ask you if you would satisfy their curiosity about their extended family and let them meet you. If you refuse, that’s the end of that.”
“They’re not like my father’s mother,” Magdalene asked.
“Kasserine Grey is nothing like her. She was willing to get betrothed to a dragon and let her daughter, who she loves more than her own life, get betrothed to me. In addition, she’s been cool with everyone here. She and Kerrik are getting to know each other, and that even with the fact that she and Ava are his students.”
Tanika’s ears flicked sideways. “What?”
“Nobody else can be trusted to teach them without doing anything weird to them and I don’t know enough to be their instructor.”
“Are they as advanced as you are?”
Iain shook his head. “They are not. I volunteered to return to my first instructor so they could learn from him.”
“Have you,” Magdalene asked curiously.
“I have. She kept me for a year and let me return. When I go back, I’ll shadow walk so I’m only gone for a few minutes so she can keep teaching me the way she does. I do the same on my return so I’m not gone long here either. She agreed to this as a reasonable alternative.” He smiled. “Kerrik insists I’m only on sabbatical from him and I have to return to finish both my magical studies with him as well as complete advancing to master rank in his school of martial arts.”
“Do you have something on Nightraven,” Tanika asked. “She’s never let a student go early.”
“I hold nothing over her head,” Iain said. “I am her first student with family who actually cares about them, and she understands how important they are to me and how much more compliant I am if she lets me do this. Even if I am gone for an hour a year for the next thousand years it only adds forty two days to that time period if she absolutely has to have me there for a millennium. And she has let students leave for short times before, it’s just been a long time since she has.” He smiled grimly. “And I mean it’s been a long time for her. It’s probably been a couple of rises and falls of civilization for the rest of us. For anything else, you’ll have to ask her.”
“I want to meet these women, if you will be present for the meeting,” Magdalene announced.
Iain chuckled. “Interestingly enough, Kasserine asked for the same condition if she could meet with you. She’s nervous about meeting you.”
“Why,” Tanika asked bluntly.
“She feels she neglected Kerrik in his childhood when she followed her sister’s orders and feels that neglect has continued until recently, even if he hasn’t been anywhere near her. She’s relieved that he doesn’t hate her but she’s still worried that you might.”
“She’s worried that we might hate her?” Tanika sounded shocked.
“Let us meet her,” Magdalene said.
Iain looked at Tanika. “You are your own woman and Magdalene can’t speak for you. Will you meet her?”
Tanika gave him a grateful smile. “You have no idea how many people presume she can. I want to meet her and I want to meet my sister in law too.”
“Then if it’s all right with both of you, I’ll get them now.”
Tanika’s ears flicked. “What have you told them about us?”
“I told her that you’re married to Kerrik, that you’re both my friends and that I expect her to be on her best behavior if she gets to meet either of you. It’s the same thing I told Ava. It’s not my right to tell them anything else without your permission, and it’s actually easier if I just let you tell them whatever else you think they should know.”
“Thank you. Go get them please.” Tanika waited until he was gone before turning to her sister. “Magdalene, I want to thank you for bringing him to us.”
“You’re welcome,” Magdalene said, “but I think Iain was careful to try and pique our interest so one of us would. That’s why he took Kerrik’s name in the first place.”
“I don’t care,” Tanika said. “He’s the first real friend we’ve had in a long time outside of the family. Usually they’re just acquaintances or enemies.” She rolled her eyes. “Or wives that Kerrik just hasn’t married yet.”
“You knew what he was like when you married him, sister.”
“I did, and I recognized that he wasn’t like Father. He still isn’t.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t mean I don’t want more of him than I get.” She sat up and composed her face when the door opened.
Iain led Kasserine and Ava in and sat them on the other side of the table from Magdalene and Tanika before pulling a chair around so he was sitting at the head of the table. “Kasserine, Ava, I’d like to introduce you to Magdalene and Tanika Wolf. Magdalene, Tanika, I’d like to introduce you to Kasserine and Ava Grey.” He flashed a grin. “And I am probably the most nervous person here.”
Ava eyed him curiously. “You are?”
“Yeah. You’re my friend and my betrothed. Kasserine is my friend and my betrothed while Magdalene and Tanika are my friends. I don’t have many friends and so I really hope you four can get along and hopefully be friends with each other.”
Ava nodded. “I hope so too. So far I haven’t met anyone here that I don’t like, and you said that Magdalene and Tanika are married to my brother.” She looked at Tanika. “Kerrik can be kind of scary sometimes. How’d you manage to look past that and love him enough to marry him?”
Tanika grinned. “Our father found out about Kerrik and sent me to find out what he was like. I figured the easiest way was to get close to him and I seduced him. We stayed together for a couple of years and I decided he was the one for me. Magdalene wasn’t having any luck finding a good male and I invited her to meet him. We’ve been together ever since.”
Magdalene chuckled. “You’re right, though. Kerrik can be incredibly scary sometimes. He’s just not scary to us. I understand that Iain can be pretty scary too, but I doubt he’ll ever scare you.” She looked at Kasserine. “I’m Magdalene.”
“I’m Kasserine. Do you do the shaking of hands in greeting?” Magdalene just extended her hand and Kasserine shook it. “I think Iain did an excellent job of defusing potential issues in our meeting by focusing us on his apprehensions instead of our own.”
Magdalene glanced at Iain. “I agree. He tries to hide it, but he’s smarter than he pretends to be.”
“I’ve noticed that,” Kasserine said. “And he’s surrounded himself with an excellent staff to try and address any of his perceived shortcomings as a leader.” She glanced at him again and seemed amused as he suddenly looked uncomfortable. “He also does not like being praised.”
“I got lucky with the quality of the women who I’ve managed to get to like me,” Iain replied.
“Of course you have,” Ava said. “I like you.” She looked at Tanika. “He saved me from being raped by my tutor.”
“Your mind had already been raped,” Kasserine growled, “as had mine. But he saved both of us from Lyssand.” She looked at Tanika. “And because of that rescue, he was challenged to an honor duel by Lyssand’s clan’s best fighter.”
Magdalene chuckled again. “And he probably slew this fighter almost instantly.”
“He did,” Ava said proudly.
“I have noticed,” Magdalene said quietly, “that he trains as hard as he must but he is always holding back. I wonder if he even realizes that he’s doing it.”
“We can ask April,” Ava said.
“No,” Kasserine disagreed. “We should ask Sofia. She is more unbiased in her observations of Iain.”
Iain gave a mental sigh of relief as he watched them interacting. He really did hope they’d become friends. They were well suited to each other and it would help when, one day, Kerrik realized that Ava and Kasserine would not be his early warning system after all.
***
“I may owe all of you an apology,” Iain said quietly.
Dominique cocked her head curiously. “Whatever for?” She looked at the rest of the group. He was at his class in formal magic and Kasserine and Ava had recently joined her, Kasumi, Ganieda, Rosemary and Ygerna as his instructors.
“I think I know why my progress in formal magic has been so slow,” Iain replied. “And, if I’m right, it has nothing to do with the quality of the instructions I’ve been receiving.”
“That only makes sense as we are exemplary instructors,” Rosemary said with a grin.
“The Enchantress that was blended with me was a hands-on instructor who enjoyed physical correction,” Ganieda’s voice was soft and even, but her teeth showed slightly and her eyes were suddenly angry. “Which is probably why I want to rip Rosemary’s ear off for suggesting she’s one of his teachers. It’s probably one of my other blend’s fault for why I want to instead pin her to the ground, bite it off and swallow it.”
Rosemary flinched away from her. “Please resist both of those urges,” she said frantically.
“While she may not be as qualified to teach as you are,” Iain laid a hand on Rosemary’s and the Mistoffeles visibly relaxed at his touch, “she has been helping me to understand formal magic and that means she is helping to teach me.”
Ganieda nodded, her expression smoothing. “That’s true,” she admitted. “Rosemary, I didn’t threaten you, but I apologize if you’re offended.”
“I’m not and I accept your apology,” Rosemary responded instantly. “What is the reason you feel your progress has been slow, Iain?” She smiled when Kasumi raised an eyebrow. “He isn’t the fastest student we’ve seen but he isn’t as slow as some of the goblins are at learning a simple spell.”
“It’s nice of you to say that,” Iain spoke before anyone else could, “but I am progressing far faster in my other magic studies than I am in formal magic and that includes the limited training I’ve gotten in how to use priestly magic.”
“I didn’t give you more than a small number of lessons before we came here,” Kasserine said, “but you grasped the fundamentals without any difficulty.”
“He has never had a problem with comprehension,” Kasumi was looking at Iain affectionately. “But he has had insurmountable problems successfully casting any offensive magic and most defensive spells are also difficult for him.” She leaned forward slightly, her eyes intent. “If you think you may need to apologize, then you almost certainly feel you know where the problem lies. Let us ignore any apologies and focus on the underlying issue instead. Why do you think you’ve been having problems mastering these spells?”
“I think I’ve had a mental block because I’m afraid to master them,” Iain said without hesitation.
Ava and Kasserine exchanged a look. “I have heard of that with people who have an almost complete aversion to killing,” Kasserine said thoughtfully. “But you obviously don’t have that issue, considering how quickly you killed Zarn during your duel.”
Dominique’s eyes narrowed. “You were in a duel? Why haven’t I heard about that before?”
Kasserine gave her a reproachful look. “Iain told me that some of his family would be angry at him for being involved in a duel, even though he had no choice and he fought that duel for Ava and me. You sound like one of the ones he was discussing and, if so, that is probably why you weren’t told. We did inform Ninhursag and April and they said they’d disseminate the story.”
Ganieda snickered when Dominique’s face went stony. “She has you there.”
“My tutor, Lyssand, was controlling me and my mother with magic,” Ava announced. “My mother was using her body to pay for my tutelage and he was influencing her to continue doing so because he was hoping she’d have his child. He was using his magic to make me want to be his wife while this was going on and he tried to have sex with me although I am underage. Iain helped my mother to sack him and had to hit him to do so. Lyssand went to his clan and used the same magic while he demanded revenge on Iain. He thought that if Iain was dead then we would fall under his control again. Their dueling champion, an accomplished duelist named Zarn, challenged Iain to a duel. If Iain had refused that challenge, as we were his hosts, then Lyssand’s clan, the Swift Arrows, would have legally claimed everything we owned in compensation and quite probably executed Iain if they could have found him. I’m sure Lyssand would have tried to use his magic on us again. Iain didn’t have any choice and accepted Zarn’s challenge to protect us. He killed Zarn as soon as the referee started the duel. Zarn didn’t have a chance and I, being betrothed to Iain, am glad he didn’t. You should be too.”
Dominique was staring at her with wide eyes. “Damn, you’re protective, girl, and you’re not even fucking him yet.”
Ava looked at her evenly. “The whole time Iain was with us he went out of his way to be helpful and protective, even though he had no real reason to be that way and in spite of the fact that he wasn’t emotionally attached to us yet. Even the fact that he was there at all is because he’s protective,” Dominique blinked at her in surprise. “He was there to protect you, Dominique, you and everyone else that he loves, and he was there to protect you from my brother. I know that it bothers you because he’s not afraid of dying if it protects you, but you need to understand that he will do everything up to that point to avoid death. He does not want to die.” She shot Iain a glance. “And if I’m being honest, I can hardly wait for us to become lovers.” She grinned. “I think he’s a really good kisser.”
Dominique gave a soft chuckle. “He is certainly that.”
“Iain, what were you afraid of,” Ygerna asked.
“It’s an offshoot of the same problem I’ve been having with my guards,” Iain replied. “Historically, every time I learn something new that increases my fighting ability, my family responds by acting like I suddenly intend to throw myself into the middle of a fight and tries to add even more layers to my security. If I don’t learn anything new that’s offensive, nobody can try to treat me like I’ve suddenly become suicidal. I think that subconsciously I’ve been resisting learning anything offensive or defensive here because some of you are in that group.”
Ganieda’s fangs gleamed in her grin. “Without admitting that I am probably one of those women, now that you know this, can you work past it?”
Iain nodded. “I don’t have any choice but to do so. Because I don’t know any real offensive spells, if I couldn’t have used my bow or my pistol against Zarn, my options would have been pretty limited. I should have been able to defeat him with the magic I do know or maybe with my martial arts training, but it would have taken time and given him too many opportunities to seriously injure me while I was figuring out how to kill him without taking crippling damage in return. Against someone as good a spellcaster as Kasserine, who can cast death spells, it would have been even more difficult.” He rubbed his eyes. “It’s why I’m also going to start taking lessons from Zareen.”
Kasumi frowned. “What will the subject be?”
“I can use my truewizard magic to imitate some pokegirl techniques,” Iain replied. “She wants to teach me more of them. If I can, she’s offered to teach me how to be as good a hunter as she is. Considering that one of the things she’s really good at is avoiding contact if she wants to, to the point of people never knowing she’s there unless she wants them to, it would help increase my survivability. I’m always interested in learning how to get better at surviving.” He grinned. “And she set the hook when she made her lessons exclusive to me and our children.”
“That’s a powerful enticement,” Rosemary said. “I’d love to learn how to phase, fly and turn invisible like she can.”
“I agree,” Iain said. “I can already fly using my magic, but the others will be great to know too.”
Ava blinked. “You can fly?” She gave him an eager look. “Can you teach me?”
“After you’ve had a couple of years with Kerrik, I don’t think it’ll be hard for you to learn.”
Ava looked at Kasserine. “Is that all right, Mother?”
“You’ll be an adult then and can decide for yourself,” Kasserine reassured her. “But I want to learn too. There are formal magic spells that give flight, but they tend to end all too soon.”
“I’ll be glad to teach either of you anything I know,” Iain replied. “Just understand if I try to teach you something and I decide it’s too early in your development to learn it, that just means we’ll try again in a few years if you’re still interested. It won’t mean that I’m telling you that I won’t teach you something.” He smiled. “But that’s truewizard magic and I’m here to learn formal magic from my instructors.”
Ygerna nodded. “I am your instructor this week and I want us to go outside. As Kasumi noted, Iain already understands the underlying concepts. Now we’ll see if he can start putting them into practice.” She smiled suddenly. “If Iain can begin learning offensive magic during my lessons, I will try very hard not to feel superior to his other instructors for his being first with me. After all, I’m merely an ambitious bitch of a Sidhe and not an ambitious bitch of a pokegirl.”
Everyone laughed as she got up. “Iain, would you lead the way? I’d like to look at your ass for a change.”
“Sure.”
Kasumi hung back as the others followed him out. Theodora, I saw how deftly Ava first chastised Dominique and then defused the issue before she could get defensive. I doubt I could have done better, and Ava can’t know Dominique as well as I do. Just how intelligent is she, if it doesn’t violate privacy to tell me?
I cannot give you an absolute intelligence rating without violating privacy, but she and her mother are both very intelligent. Iain said he thinks that they’re as smart as Kerrik was originally. While I have no concrete data on Kerrik’s raw intelligence in his early life, the Wolf database suggests he started out as a genius. I suspect Ava is at least that smart.
Thank you for your candor. It was a very thoughtful Kasumi that followed the rest of Iain’s instructors outside.
***
Daphne grinned at him. “I was really surprised when Allison gave me my schedule and it said I was with you this afternoon and I’m listed as the instructor. I’m not an instructor for anything. What is going on?”
“You know I’m a dragon,” Iain said.
She grinned again. “You always smell good, but when you’ve been in your dragon form you smell even better than you do now.” She waggled her eyebrows at him. “The only time you smell even better than that is when you smell like me and sex.” Her voice turned coy. “Want to smell better?”
“You know, April told me if you went down this road to mention she has me next and something about you, her and explosive ammunition if I only got sex training from you.”
Daphne laughed. “You could have just said no.”
“If I’d said I didn’t want that, it would be a lie. However, right now I need your help and I thought I’d make it up to you. I get to pick my partner tonight and I haven’t asked anyone to sleep with me yet and I really don’t like sleeping alone. Interested?”
Her smile faded as her eyes took on an anticipatory gleam. “Just me?”
“I’m not going to ask anyone else if you say yes. Are you thinking about asking someone else?”
She sighed. “Winnifred won a bet against me. I should ask her to join us.”
Iain’s bed was big but even a harem master bed had limits, and a Whorizard who tended to try and take up the entire bed with wings she could spread while asleep and a constantly flaming tail definitely tested them. Winnifred sometimes did the same thing, and it would be even worse if they were together. At that point Iain would be sleeping on the floor. “I can catch her this afternoon for a quickie and tell her she’s taking your place. That’ll square the bet and it means that you can sleep with me tonight. Alone.”
Daphne cupped his face gently in her hands and tilted him up to look at her. “You’d do that so you could have me all alone tonight? That’s sweet, Iain.”
Having sex with Winnifred wasn’t the trial that Daphne was making it out to be, but Iain wasn’t going to say anything to dissuade her. “So we’ll continue the flirting after dinner until bedtime?”
“I’d like that.” She leaned down and kissed him gently. “Thanks for not kicking me out when we met.”
He smiled. “Thank you for staying when I asked you to.”
She dropped her hands to her hips. “So, why are we here?”
“You know I can use my powers to imitate some pokegirl techniques.”
“Yes, like energy blade and hellfire.”
“Without me becoming a dragon, at least initially, I’d like to see if you can teach me dragon breath and flamethrower.”
“Can’t you do that as a dragon?”
“I don’t think I have a breath weapon as a dragon. At least, Caintigern hasn’t said anything about us using one and I haven’t felt the urge to breathe fire or anything like that. So if you can teach me to use some of your techniques and I later adapt them to my dragon form, it might come as a severe shock to someone on down the line who thinks they can kick my ass.”
Daphne grinned toothily. She loved fights where she had the overwhelming advantage on her opponent. “Well, if I can help you give someone a severe shock so you can come back to us, I will teach you happily. What’s the best way to teach you?”
“I seem to learn fastest if I can watch someone use a technique repeatedly. If you’d let your twee transmit to me what you’re doing and how as you do the technique, that might help more, but I can’t insist on that and I wouldn’t if I could.”
She nodded. “I don’t have a problem with that, Iain. I know more than those techniques, however. Can I teach you more of them?”
“One thing at a time, please.” Daphne was quick to anger, but she wasn’t the jealous type so long as she didn’t feel Iain was neglecting her, so he didn’t have a qualm about telling her more. “This is a test. If it works, I’ll learn more from you, but I’ll also be going to some of the others to try and learn other techniques. You’re not the only fire type and I would probably ask Raquel to teach me ignite and a few other fire techniques. But I really want to learn ignite from her.”
“That makes sense, but why her for that?”
Iain grinned. “She can combine it with hellfire.”
Daphne grinned back at him. “And that scares the shit out of people. Makes sense.” She eyed him curiously. “Do you think I should ask Pandora to make me Fiendish?”
“Daphne Grey, I like you as you are and I would like you if you were Fiendish just as much as I do now.”
“Not more?”
“Being Fiendish or not doesn’t have anything to do with why I like you, Daphne, or anyone else. I don’t want you trying to do something just because you think it might make me approve of you more. Being Fiendish isn’t a cosmetic change like cutting your hair. It’s more like getting a cybernetic limb.” He smiled at her. “The fact that you’ve been considering it for so long tells me you already know that. And you already know I’m very fond of you, so if you want to be Fiendish for any other reason than because you want it for yourself so you can help us by becoming stronger, you’re not doing it for a reason that Pandora will accept. Remember, you have to justify it to her.”
“Raquel could make me Fiendish,” Daphne said quietly. “If you told her to.”
“Pandora does that,” Iain’s response was firm. “She asked that she be the only person to make others Fiendish and I agreed. You backdoor this, or you even try, and Pandora will pull Raquel’s Fiendish template as soon as she finds out and Raquel knows it. And so do I.”
“Sometimes your sense of honor is infuriating,” Daphne said without heat in her voice. “Now it’s wonderful because I know you’ll back me up as much as you do Raquel or Pandora.” She sighed. “Do you think you might ever love a battle worn and slightly tattered Whorizard enough to marry her?”
“I’d say that’s a distinct possibility. It’ll probably take a little while, but I’m already pretty fond of you, even with your habits of not calling for help when you need it or ignoring just how much danger you might be flying into.”
“If I know it can happen, I’m happy enough to wait.” She cocked her head. “What about Lynn?”
“She’ll be teaching me some other things,” Iain replied. “I’m not so stupid that I don’t realize that if I start getting private lessons like this from some of you, hell, one of you, I’d better make sure I get them from everyone in the harem or I’d better be ready for rioting when this becomes some way for people like you to claim rank because other people aren’t teaching me. Either that or we’d have to turn challenge day into a weeklong event.”
Daphne chuckled. “I’ve always been glad you’re smart. What technique do you want to start with?”
“Dragon breath. I don’t expect I’ll learn it today, but after a few sessions we’ll be able to determine what kind of progress I’m making.”
She nodded. “Then let’s get started, mister.”
Iain Grey
Inner Harem
Ninhursag Grey - Elfqueen & maharani
Eve Grey - Megami Sama
April Grey - Duelist & beta
Dominique Grey - Blessed Archmage
Pandora - Fiendish Archangel
Canaan - G Splice (Hunter Amachamp & Alaka-Wham)
Zareen - Nightmare
Raquel - Fiendish Rapitaur
Sofia - Ria
Vanessa – Evangelion
Lucifer – Megami Sama
Ganieda – Snugglebunny Splice
Heather - Elfqueen
Dianthus Barbatus – Elfqueen
Marguerite - Unicorn
Outer Harem
Allison – Umbrea (Outer Harem Alpha)
Daphne - Whorizard
Lynn - Growlie
Chuck – Doggirl
Ryan – Unicorn
Winifred - Rack (German)
Rosemary - Mistoffeles (Uruguayan)
Silver - Pegaslut
Joyce – Milktit
Outer Clan
Melanie – Iron Chef
Siobhan – Nurse Joy (Glasgow)
Golden Cloud – equine unicorn
Arianrhod -Fey Goblin Female
Satellite Clan
74 male Goblins
89 female Goblins
Queendom / Outer Harem
73 Elves
Dionne - Elfqueen
Adrianna - Elfqueen
Heltu - Wet Queen
14 Wet Elves
Dead Harem
Dead Harem (22)
Eirian - Silver Dragoness
Aurum - Gold Dragoness
Skye - Blue Dragoness
Emerald - Green Dragoness
Beryl - Red Dragoness
Julia - human
Ling - Cheetit
Matilda - White Tigress
Liadan - Twau
Sorrel - Armsmistress
Natalie - Blazicunt
Maria – Slutton
Rhea Silvia – Chimera
Geraldine – Human analog of Iain
Alabaster – Dragoness (white)
Onyx – Dragoness (black)
Lapis – Dragoness (blue)
Garnet – Dragoness (red)
Iolite – Dragoness (purple)
Malachite – Dragoness (green with white swirls)
Dabria – Dark Queen
Omisha – Demoness
Mother s & Children
Vanessa
Myrna
Saoirse
April
Dorothy: Duelist
Meara: Duelist
Regan: Duelist
Canaan
Hannah: Huntress
Rebecca: Huntress
Joyce
Lisa: Milktit
Sherrie: Milktit
Harriet: Milktit
Lucifer
Olivia: Megami-Sama
Seraphina: Megami-Sama
Miriam: Angel
Haley: Angel
Zareen
Caltha: Nightmare
Kim: Nightmare
Xanthe: Nightmare
Epona: Nightmare
Philippa: Nightmare
Nott: Nightmare