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Loose Threads
Ninety Nine
All five of the medics were larger than usual, having been designed by Theodora for evacuating centaur pokegirls or larger than human sized pokegirls who couldn’t change to a bipedal form or otherwise become smaller. Unlike the standard medic, they were also battlefield evacuation units. This meant they had light shielding and armor and were capable of loading and unloading incapacitated personnel without assistance. Normally they would be guarded by troops or combat drones while rescuing wounded personnel. Fortunately, today things were much more peaceful.
The top of each medic unsealed with a loud hiss and moved out of the way so that the integral gravity lifting units could levitate the unicorn each held out of it and deposit it gently on the grass. Then they closed and lifted off to float towards the shuttle that had brought them.
Theodora stood with Iain and Golden Cloud. Other members of the herd waited nearby to welcome their newest members when their queen ordered them to. Outside the glade, clan members stood sentry to prevent any feral attacks.
Theodora motioned towards the prone unicorns. “They’ve got neural overrides on their heads that are keeping them unconscious for the moment. I’d like Iain to remove them when you’re ready to wake them up so they don’t have a foreign object that might bother them. It was the best way to keep them asleep while unloading.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Iain said. “Golden Cloud, do you want to wake them one at a time or all at once?”
“We will wake them all at once.” Golden Cloud’s ears flicked as she leaned her head forward, nostrils flaring as she sampled the air. “They were all herd queens and carried our dead so they will understand what has happened and adapt to being reborn quickly. Later they can help when we awaken members of the herd who will be confused about what has happened.”
“Um, all right,” Iain said.
Bells sounded around him as Golden Cloud laughed. “You still think they will not be our dead reborn, stallion? You will see and later you will apologize with many, many treats.”
“If you’re right, then I will and gladly.” He headed towards the unicorns. “Theodora, how fast will they wake up?”
“I don’t know. Move quickly. The neural overrides are located between their ears.”
“If I jerk them free, will I harm them?”
“No, they’re held on with a bit of unscented adhesive that will flake away in a few minutes once in contact with air. The worst you’ll do is muss their fur.”
Iain walked around each unicorn, carefully examining them as he did. The neural controllers were about the size of a child’s fist and he noted the location of each one as he moved to the unicorn the farthest from where Golden Cloud stood. He started with this one and quickly moved to the next unicorn, grabbing each controller and pulling it free as he did. Once free, he merely dropped the controller rather than try to juggle a collection of them while removing the next. When he got back to Golden Cloud he turned around next to her just as the middle unicorn jerked and lunged to her feet. “Set the next batch of controllers with mechanical clamps that can be remotely released at a safe distance,” he said quietly to Theodora as another one did the same thing. “Otherwise someone is going to get hurt when that happens and they were too slow getting out of the way.”
“Lesson learned and I’m glad you weren’t injured,” Theodora muttered. “I’ll leave before I become a distraction.” She vanished.
One of the unicorns was a little taller then the others and more solidly built. She looked over where they were standing. “Golden Cloud, why is there a human here?”
“The Queen, this is Iain and he is known in the herd as Reluctant Stallion. He is my chosen breeding stallion and has helped to bring about the fulfillment of the prophecy. You and the others with you were all dead and have been reborn. You are the first to be reborn under the prophecy.”
The farthest mare looked at The Queen. “You are The Queen? You were dead before I was born.” She shifted her gaze to Golden Cloud. “If we were dead, who is herd queen now?”
“I am, Deer Killer. You know Yellow Mouth. The mare next to you is Kicks Fish and the one closest to me is Silence. Each of you was a herd queen, which is why I chose you to be awakened first. You will help with the others, who do not know the prophecy as well as we do.”
They need to eat, Theodora informed Iain through his twee.
“Golden Cloud,” Iain said, “they’re probably hungry or will be soon. A good feed will help them to settle in a bit and they can meet the rest of the herd.”
Golden Cloud bobbed her head in a nod. “That is an excellent idea, stallion.”
“How are you Golden Cloud’s stallion,” a mare asked.
“Look closely at him, Yellow Mouth,” Golden Cloud said. “He is like the first stallion and can take on a stallion form almost identical to that of the first stallion.”
The Queen walked over and sniffed him. Iain, conscious of the horn, stayed still. “He is not First Stallion.”
“I never said I was. From what I have learned, this first stallion was one of the People and a dragon like I am.”
The Queen’s ears went back. “How is it that you know this? He only told me that he was a dragon. That secret was his gift to me and me alone.”
“I figured it out when I realized that the unicorns of the herd have the blood of the People flowing through their veins.” He slowly took a step back from the horn that was almost in his face. “It’s a very long story and this isn’t the time for it. There have been some changes and Golden Cloud needs to tell you all about them. Part of the prophecy said that the herd would go on an impossibly long journey before it was reborn. That has happened and you are no longer in the forest you once knew. There are dangerous things around, and my people are part of the new things you’ll have to get used to.”
“You are like one of the dragon wizards,” Deer Killer said. “They cannot be trusted.”
“Without my stallion, you would all still be dead,” Golden Cloud announced. “He holds the rest of our dead and he is the method by which the prophecy is coming true. He is trusted by the herd. I trust him. Yes, he is of the same race as the dragon wizards, but he has never tried to deceive me. He is true to the herd.” Her head shifted as she glanced at him. “And he speaks with the wisdom of the mares. No dragon wizard ever did that.”
“What of the goddess,” Yellow Mouth asked.
“She is here. When the herd travelled here, she came and so did the forest. Let us eat and we will talk.”
“What goddess,” The Queen demanded to know.
“During the time that Yellow Mouth was the herd queen, the goddess Mielikki came to the forest,” Golden Cloud explained. “She helped the herd in small ways and eventually we decided to seek her protection and guidance. We asked her to become our goddess and she refused, but eventually relented and accepted us as hers. That has continued until today and has benefited the herd greatly.”
“What of the First Stallion?”
“No one knows for certain,” Golden Cloud said. “Swimmer was chosen by First Stallion to replace you as herd queen after your death. It was during her time as herd queen that First Stallion disappeared. His horn was never brought to us and he is not among our dead. It was not long after that we began getting visits from the dragon wizards, who claimed to wish to trade with and know the herd.”
“Why us?” It was the mare that Golden Cloud had called Silence.
“I don’t understand the question,” Golden Cloud confessed.
“She’s asking why they were the first ones you woke up,” Iain said. Golden Cloud twisted her neck to look at him and he smiled. “I speak fluent Zareen.”
Golden Cloud chuckled as she turned back to the mares. “You five are among the most knowledgeable and well regarded of the herd queens. All of you are experts in our history and legends. The others of the herd will be confused when they wake up and you will help them to recover more quickly with your aid than they might otherwise do.”
The Queen’s ears went back. “Are you telling me what I will do?”
“Yes, I am. I am herd queen now,” Golden Cloud’s tone was hard. “I was born during your time as herd queen and I have outlived all of you. Subordinate mares obey their queen.”
Deer Killer shook violently and then bobbed her head. “You have grown more than I ever thought you would, Golden Cloud. You are herd queen.” She eyed Iain. “Let us see if he resembles what I was told the first stallion looked like.”
Golden Cloud looked at Iain. “Iain, if you would.”
“You order us but you ask him,” Yellow Mouth sounded curious. “Why?”
Iain shifted to his dragon horse form. “While I didn’t choose it, I guess I’ve earned my name of Reluctant Stallion,” he said. “I was not born in the herd and I’m not conditioned to its ways. I don’t take well to being ordered around unless I’ve allowed someone to have authority over me. I have not allowed any member of the herd to have authority over me. But when someone politely asks me to do something, I am usually willing to be amenable to their request.”
“You are the herd’s stallion,” Kicks Fish said.
“No, I am not. I am Golden Cloud’s stallion and I am going to keep breeding her until she bears a foal. I am not breeding anyone else in the herd. That will either be for my offspring or for some stallion who is reborn as part of the prophecy.” He stepped forward so the mares could examine him without crowding Golden Cloud. “And Golden Cloud told me that she doesn’t want her stallion trying to breed with other mares while he’s breeding her.”
“That is tradition,” Deer Killer said, “but it is also tradition that once you are gravid your stallion returns to servicing the other mares.”
“I am not herd,” Iain stated. “I am the Grey and I lead this clan. The herd is satellite clan and I am not joining the herd.”
“This is unnatural,” Yellow Mouth said. “Stallions always want to breed every mare they can and you do not?”
“I’ve been told I’m a lot more like a mare than a stallion,” Iain said as he changed to his human form. “And I don’t think like a stallion. You ladies smell nice enough, but I’ve smelled a unicorn mare in heat and the pheromones don’t make me crazy with lust, even when I’m in my dragon horse form.”
Golden Cloud turned her head to peer at him. “None of the mares of the herd have been in heat since you brought the herd here. What unicorn mare do you speak of?”
“In my travels I’ve run across a few unicorns here and there. Two were mares who were looking for stallions. None of them were outcasts from the herd, as far as I could tell.”
“You did not breed them,” Golden Cloud asked curiously. Iain gave her a flat look and she laughed. “It is a question that must be asked. If you had I would have asked to meet them to see if the foals were of high quality.”
“Ryan was the only Unicorn who carried my children, she was never herd and she’s dead.” He took a deep breath, held it for several seconds and slowly let it out. “Golden Cloud, sometime in the next few days I’ll set up an appointment with you so I can apologize for being wrong about the reborn. I’ll make sure the water is the right temperature and you have your favorite soap for your bath. And, of course, there will be a wide variety of treats.”
Golden Cloud gave an indulgent chuckle. “I am glad you have not forgotten. I will be waiting for you, my stallion.” She looked at the other mares. “Come with me. I will introduce the herd to you and then we will graze while we discuss what has changed, what will change and what has never changed.”
“What of this stallion,” asked The Queen.
“I’ve got a full schedule today. I’ll see you later, when Golden Cloud brings the herd around to introduce you to the rest of the clan.” He bowed to Golden Cloud. “I must be going.”
“Do not wait too long to apologize,” Golden Cloud said. “Now, mares, come with me and I will introduce you to the rest of the herd.” She led them away as Iain waited for Pandora to collect him to take him off to training.
***
It was only a few minutes before midnight and the night sky was filled with a glowing full moon that shone down so brightly that it allowed people to see without needing night vision. It almost overshadowed the red light slowly blinking on the post that was attached to the console that had been placed a dozen meters from the picnic tables outside the Sabine House.
Iain sat with his back against the trunk of a nearby tree and watched the area impassively. The children had long since been put to bed and the tables were filled with adults from the harem and inner clan. There was only sporadic talking, instead everyone who was present was intent on watching the console closely. It would have been amusing if everyone wasn’t so serious about staring at the metal box.
As the minutes ticked by, the tension rising from the people at the tables became almost palpable where Iain sat and watched. As usual, he was the referee, charged with disqualifying anyone who broke the rules. If it wasn’t for the fact that he had to be here, he’d have already gone to bed.
The light turned green and became solid. Instantly, people rose from the tables and walked briskly towards the console, forming a line as they arrived at it. The first person in line, Rosemary, peered at the display for a second, touched it with a fingertip and then stepped aside for the next person. She headed inside as the person behind her repeated the process and slowly the line advanced.
When the last person had finished, the console waited thirty seconds. Then the light began alternating red and green for another thirty seconds before turning red.
Ava stopped in front of Iain and offered her hand. He took it and used it to pull himself to his feet. “Thanks. I saw you in line.”
She refused to relinquish his hand and gave him a broad smile. “You did. Now I’ll have to see what happens tomorrow.”
“You mean later this morning.”
She chuckled. “True. Were you in line?”
“No. I don’t have anything to prove.” He tugged his hand free. “and before you ask, I sleep alone tonight.”
“I know. It’s odd, but I understand that you sleep alone one night a month.”
“That shows how much you’ve become a Grey,” Ninhursag said as she appeared out of the darkness. “Before you joined us, you’d have thought it abnormal that he didn’t sleep alone for the rest of the time. After all, he did sleep alone for a month at your house.”
“Mother insisted,” Ava told her loftily. She gave him a sidelong glance. “If I’d known then what I know now I might have disobeyed her and sneaked into bed with him.” She glanced at him again. “He’d have turned me down out of respect for Mother’s wishes, but at least I would have tried.”
“I’d have spanked you and then told her about what you’d done.”
Ava started and then shook her head. “Will I ever be able to distinguish completely between the years we spent in dreamtime and the real world? Dreamtime is the only place you have spanked me but it still seems like it really happened. Your comment made me remember the pain.”
“Be careful,” Ninhursag warned with a laugh. “Iain might offer to spank you in this world so you can see if there is a difference.”
“I will decline that offer,” Ava said. “What happens now?”
“We go to bed,” Ninhursag said. “And at sunrise the challenge fights begin.”
“Why was this ever started?”
Ninhursag looked at Iain. “This whole thing is your fault. You explain it to her.”
Iain shrugged. “Even in the smoothest functioning harems there are issues.” He grimaced. “Perhaps especially in what appears on the outside to be the smoothest functioning harems. Anyway, we had two separate harems that were being forced to work together and later to be combined. The only thing they had in common was the crazy guy who was sleeping with them. Where I couldn’t see it, there were a lot of fights taking place, both inside both harems and between the harems. But while I couldn’t see the fights, I knew about them. It didn’t take long at all before I got tired of my ladies sneaking around behind me, trying to decide things in a trial by combat and then getting healed and thinking I didn’t have a clue what was going on. Because everyone was involved, I couldn’t go to my usual avenues for remedy and instead I discussed it with Theodora for a while. She came up with the concept of challenge days. I took the idea to Ninhursag and April and got their comments on the idea. Then, without telling anyone what I was doing, I met with Allison and Silver to get their input. Then I put all four of them in a room together with me as a referee and we hashed out what we have now.”
“He kindly gave us lots of juices, beer and teas to drink and then threatened to not let us leave the room to pee until we’d finalized a plan,” Ninhursag said.
“What was the final version?”
“All adults in the harem and inner clan are eligible to participate. There are a few exclusionary reasons, but merely not wanting to play isn’t one of them,” Ninhursag explained. “As you saw, challenge opens at midnight on a challenge day and closes after thirty minutes or after a minute of inactivity at the console. All challenges are first come, first served. A person can only participate in one challenge a day, either as challenger or as challenged. Any running, walking while using enhanced speed, fighting, arguing or pulling rank while going to challenge someone results in a disqualification and the standard point loss.” She gestured around them. “The seating here is designated into two rings, and inner and an outer. Theodora keeps track of who sat where and nobody can sit in the inner ring for two consecutive challenge days.” She smiled. “The various courts and outer clan have identical programs set up on different days than the harem’s challenge days so we can monitor the other fights and keep there from being problems. Finally, to keep things really interesting, once a quarter we have a completely open challenge day in each division and court where anyone can challenge anyone else in any court or clan rank.”
“And, as you know, the actual combats start right after sunrise,” Iain added. “We have five arenas for harem and inner clan here and we’ll keep all of them busy while we grind through all of the fights until they’re done.”
“Because of the nature of the fights and because not everyone either regularly challenges someone or is challenged, the leaderboard for challenge days is kept completely separate from all other leaderboards,” Ninhursag said. “There is a point line in the overall leaderboard that takes challenges into account, but it merely gives two points for winning a challenge and one point for fighting in one even if you lose.”
Ava frowned. “That sounds like winners get three points and losers get one.”
“That is correct,” Iain said. “And in the case of a tie, which can occur if the timer runs out before someone is defeated, they each get one point.”
“How has it worked so far?”
Ninhursag chuckled. “Surprisingly well. There are some regular grudge matches but, for the most part, the challenges are composed primarily of people trying their skills out against someone else out of curiosity or a desire to prove they’re better than their opponent. Because you point even if you lose, there are many matches where people just want to test themselves against someone they know is probably superior to them so they can see what they might want to work on improving.”
“Or because someone else has more points than an individual does in the challenge category on the overall leaderboard and wants to add points to hers.” Iain smiled. “But if there isn’t a serious fight in a challenge, both people can be disqualified and that is the only way you can get points subtracted from your challenge category. This means that challenging someone who won’t or can’t fight back will hurt your overall scores since a disqualification reduces someone’s challenge category score by ten points. That little rule is for bullies or people who think they can try to pad their scores by play fighting.”
Ninhursag smiled nastily. “And it has led to situations where the obvious leader in a fight has yielded to her opponent rather than tempt the referee into a disqualification because her opponent refuses to fight and get beat up. A yield is a loss, which still gets you a point. It’s not much, but it’s a lot better than losing ten points if the fight is disqualified.”
Ava’s eyes went wide in surprise. “Does that happen often?”
“Not anymore, which is why we put the policy into place. We keep track of each other’s rough power level and, outside of the aforementioned grudge matches, we only challenge those close to us in abilities, or at least those we think are close to our own level. Right now the disqualifications are most likely to take place in the quarterly challenge cycle, because it’s easy to misjudge someone else’s power if you don’t watch them train regularly.” She shrugged. “The system isn’t perfect, but we do the best we can.” She looked evenly at Iain. “The first challenge day in my court since it expanded is going to be a bloody mess. I’ve heard rumors of death threats being issued.”
“Apparently it doesn’t take long being Unseelie to corrupt an Elf,” Iain noted with a smile. “We’ll get them sorted out.” He bowed to both women. “But it’s bedtime and I need to go to bed so April can ask about my insomnia in the morning.”
***
Pandora stood fast under the rain of magic missiles as they scorched her armor and skin. She hissed angrily. “When I get my hands on you.”
“When? If!” Rosemary grinned from where she stood at the other end of the arena. Her mana bolt struck Pandora in the face. “I am going to win!”
Pandora charged across the arena in a blur of movement. Rosemary went into a partial crouch and seemed to freeze as the Archangel swung into a kick, her body glowing with energy as she channeled chi into the attack.
Rosemary popped like a soap bubble as Pandora’s kick smashed through where she was standing. In almost the same instant, the area filled with flames as the fireball detonated on Pandora’s back. On the other side of the arena, light wavered and solidified into Rosemary as she dropped the camouflage while finishing her spell.
The forcefield that comprised the arena’s walls kept the fireball from washing over the spectators, who still flinched away from it, some with cries of shock.
Rosemary faded away again as she reinstated her camouflage. Pandora took a deep breath and summoned her wings. She spread them wide in an X formation and the roar of thunder filled the air as lighting flared from all four wings in a blinding cascade that filled the entire arena with a flashing web of electricity.
Rosemary screamed as her convulsing body appeared a dozen meters from where she’d vanished. She hit the ground hard as the lightning faded and was instantly back on her feet. She vanished.
Without pausing, Pandora drew a dagger and hurled it to her left. Rosemary appeared an instant before the knife struck, punching through her armor and sinking into her chest. The Mistoffeles yelped at the impact and collapsed, her heart shredded by the blade.
The forcefield dropped and April recovered Rosemary. “It’s odd,” she said evenly, “but I don’t remember ever seeing that electrical attack from you before.”
“You haven’t.” Pandora put a hand on her cheek and healed her burns. “I want my knife back.”
“The healing cycle will dissolve it. Theodora will have to make you a new one.”
Pandora grunted and headed for where Iain sat with Ninhursag. She eyed him belligerently. “You have any comment?”
“You did well. Nice win.”
She blinked and her face softened. “Thanks. Rosemary’s gotten a lot better, but she’s not in my league yet. I’m pleased she chose me to test herself against.”
“Catch me later today sometime after dinner and I’ll fix your hair if you’d like.”
She nodded. “I will. I’ll get a shower and see if someone needs relieved with the children so they can come watch.” She turned and jogged towards the showers.
Ninhursag watched her go with a slightly irritated expression. “You should probably disqualify Pandora for that knife throw.”
“It was a potentially lethal attack. It was not an automatically lethal attack,” Iain said quietly. “All attacks are potentially lethal but she obviously used precognition to know where to put the throw so it wouldn’t be instantly fatal. After all, it takes more force to penetrate the armor Rosemary was wearing than it would have taken to puncture her skull.”
“True.” Ninhursag glanced at him. “A healing cycle would fix her hair.”
“I look for reasons to touch my ladies and you all look for reasons to be touched by me. It’s a good system.”
She smiled. “Also true. And it’s a system I am not going to disturb.”
“And there is the wisdom that keeps you as my maharani.”
Theodora appeared. “Ninhursag, your presence is requested in the arena.”
Iain watched her get up. “I was wondering who you challenged last night.”
“Dianthus. I want to see what a thousand years of being dead has done to her skills.”
Iain put a hand on her calf to stop her. “Are you ready for what happens if you lose?”
She nodded. “I am. You won’t stop loving me and I’ll still be the maharani. As for my court and the new additions, if it becomes necessary to force them to grow up then I will grind them like I would wheat while making flour.”
“You know we’ll face them together.”
Her face lit up with her smile. “We will. And I have a solid core of loyal Elf types if it comes to it. That includes Dianthus, even should she defeat me today.” She grinned. “But I won’t go down easily.” She headed off at a quick lope.
Kasserine slid over to take Ninhursag’s place. “You’re worried she’ll lose?”
“No, I was worried that if she does, she won’t take it well.” He put an arm around Kasserine and she smiled and leaned against him. “She’s used to winning. I’ve sparred with Dianthus since she came back and, not only has she gotten much better, her style has changed a lot.”
“If she wins, does that put her in the running for maharani?”
Iain shook his head. “Dianthus is not interested in being a leader. That’s a good thing because she isn’t a leader. Besides, I am the only person who decides who is and who isn’t the maharani.”
“What is Dianthus then?”
“She’s mine.”
Kasserine looked at him. “My sister, the queen, had a guard she spoke of as you just did of Dianthus. He was utterly loyal to her, but it only made her disdain him for what she perceived as weakness. I do not hear that tone in your voice about Dianthus.”
“You won’t. She waited a thousand years for me. Nobody else did and I wouldn’t expect them to. I don’t understand why she did it, and I may never understand her reasoning for doing so. But whether I understand it or not, the least I can do is accept it and reward her for it with what she tells me she wants, which is to belong to me body and soul.”
Kasserine nodded. “How does accepting her as yours make you feel?”
“Puzzled.” Kasserine frowned at him and he shrugged slightly. “I am devoted to you and I am devoted to several other women here but I could never imagine giving up complete control of my life to any of you. However, while I don’t understand it, I accept it in her case. Now, let’s see what happens.”
Dianthus entered the arena and Ninhursag held up a hand. “I want this to be between us without using our bows.”
“Why did you challenge me?”
“I want to test you. I want to see how you’ve changed over the time you were gone. If you’re better than I am now, then I want to test myself.” She nodded towards the stands. “I want to make sure you’re good enough to help us protect him.”
“I am not who I was before I died. I don’t care about status among my sisters. I am here for Iain.”
“You never really did care about anything but him,” Ninhursag pointed out. “Not after he refused to believe you were ugly, which you never were.”
Dianthus frowned. “It’s hard to remember before. It was so long ago. All I really remember well is Iain. I will do this.” She turned and ran to where Iain sat with Kasserine. She gestured with her bow. “Will you keep these for me until I can return for them?”
“Always,” he said solemnly, as he pulled his arm from around Kasserine and took them as she carefully handed her bow and quiver to him. “I will keep them as safe as I can.”
“Then I know they are safe,” she said formally before running back to the arena.
Iain leaned back and Kasserine made a happy noise as she snuggled closer. The arena was located deep in the forested lands they owned so it was nowhere near anything anyone could damage or destroy with an errant attack. The actual arena was a square a hundred meters on a side. Trees were not allowed to grow in the arena, but other than that, no other modifications were done, so it was a relatively flat expanse of grass, bushes and weeds that changed regularly after each challenge day. Damage done to it during the challenges was not repaired until all challenges were completed, which meant that often combatants fought around craters and other terrain changes caused by previous bouts. Right now wisps of smoke curled up in places from where Pandora’s chain lightning had briefly ignited some vegetation.
Theodora appeared in the center of the arena along with two glowing circles, a red one at the north end of the arena and a cyan one at the south end. Starting locations were randomly set, but the randomization was weighted so usually the contestant starting points were equidistant from each other in relation to the center point of the battlefield. “Ninhursag, you are red, Dianthus, you are blue. Proceed to your circles.” She waited until each stood in her respective circle. “At my mark, you have one minute to prepare your defenses. When that minute has expired, your match will begin immediately.” She paused for a second. “Three, two, one, mark.” A counter appeared next to her and began scrolling backwards from sixty. The same counter appeared next to both Dianthus and Ninhursag.
Each Elfqueen quickly grew armor and cast some protective spells. At the end, Dianthus cast a spell that created a single robin’s egg sized ball of light that hovered above her head.
Kasserine leaned close to whisper to Iain. “I know that spell. It protects from hostile magic spells. The advanced version of that spell has multiple shield balls.”
“That’s a new one to me,” Iain replied. “Can I copy it from you?”
“That spell was in one of my spell books that I was forbidden to take with me when I left the court.” Kasserine was watching the timer wind down. “I haven’t yet found it in the books that Selsharra and the others recovered.”
Iain carefully didn’t laugh. When Selsharra, Eirian and the others had robbed the ruling family of Evermeet, they’d taken everything that wasn’t permanently attached to the walls or the floor. When combined with the library that the Baelnorn had been guarding for her family, they’d returned with a lot of books. It would take years to even catalog them all, much less search through them for a specific item. “Dianthus doesn’t have spell books and so she has to know the sorcerer version of it,” Iain murmured to her. “But we can ask Kerrik if he knows it and if we can learn it from him.”
“We will.”
The timer reached zero and Ninhursag instantly launched a solar beam at Dianthus. The ball of light zipped in front of her and caught the beam, fading out of existence a few seconds after the solar beam ended.
Dust exploded into the air as the ground humped up in a line from Dianthus, racing towards Ninhursag almost faster than the eye could see. Ninhursag darted sideways as a mass of sharp roots shot into the air, barely missing impaling her as they formed a dense, thorny mound where she had just stood.
Ninhursag gestured and the roots exploded into a ball of shards that shot towards Dianthus in a spreading cloud. Some of them hit, the impact spinning Dianthus to the ground in a light spray of blood, but she was back on her feet instantly as she began to glow with a soft red light. She raised a hand, palm out, and lighting connected the two combatants for a second.
Ninhursag caught the lighting bolt in her hand and fired it back at Dianthus, who in turn caught it and returned it to her queen. The bolt of electricity shot back and forth between them for several seconds in a dazzling display of light until a root burst from the ground in front of Dianthus to block the attack and take the bolt. It burst into flames as Dianthus fired a burst of blue energy at Ninhursag. A thick layer of frost spread across the ground between them as the bolt passed. The bolt took Ninhursag in the stomach and blasted her backwards into the force field wall. She slid down to one knee before pushing back to her feet.
“Who do you think is winning,” Kasserine said quietly to Iain.
“It’s too early to tell. This is still the opening phase. They haven’t gotten serious yet.” He nodded towards Dianthus. “But that red glow says she’s about to change that.”
Ninhursag created a crackling black ball of energy in her hand and hurled it at Dianthus, who stepped aside as it approached her. The ball twisted to follow and exploded in front of her, tossing her sideways in a tumble of limbs. She hit hard, rolled and came upright with a hiss as Ninhursag hit her with another thunderbolt, slamming her backwards in a spray of blood that was visible in the stands. Dianthus hit the ground again and rolled up on all fours. The ground shook and ripped open underneath Ninhursag, who fell halfway into the hole before it slammed shut on her legs and hips, cracking bone and making her yelp in pain. She dissolved into mist and reformed beside the hole as Dianthus climbed to her feet.
For several seconds, neither moved as they both used healing magic and their visible wounds slowly closed.
Dianthus blurred forward as she drew daggers from somewhere inside her clothes. Grass shot upwards and formed into a wall in front of Ninhursag that was three meters high and spread sideways across the battlefield. Dianthus raced for one end and around the wall as Ninhursag calmly stepped through the grass and fired a solar beam into Dianthus’ back. Dianthus turned into mist, letting the beam pass harmlessly through her before reforming facing Ninhursag and hurling one of the knives at her. She vanished as Ninhursag dodged the throw and appeared next to Ninhursag, driving her knife into the bigger Elfqueen’s side before vanishing again and appearing on the other end of the arena.
Ninhursag gasped and staggered sideways. Her hand glowed and she lifted her armor and pulled it out from the wound, revealing dark purple lines quickly spreading from the closing wound.
“Using magic to try and heal will spread the poison faster,” Dianthus said from where she stood as the red glow around her faded. “And no one here can remove it without my help. You have no choice but to yield or lose. And our clan’s queen should not lose. Since you should not lose,” she went down on one knee, “I yield the battle to you.”
Ninhursag nodded. “I yield as well.”
Dianthus instantly teleported to her. “I have to stab you again to administer the antidote.” She drove the knife into Ninhursag’s wound before the other could respond. The purple faded. “Now you can be healed.”
Ninhursag gritted her teeth and activated another healing spell. “Can you teach me that spell?”
“It isn’t a spell. It’s a technique. Many plants produce toxins and I learned to mimic some of them when I was dead. I later learned to use them to coat my weapons. This one drains the victim’s vitality until they can barely move.” She looked up into Ninhursag’s eyes. “And I will teach it to you.”
“It’s not lethal?”
“You cannot kill the already dead, but you can immobilize them. Learning more lethal techniques wasn’t what I needed to master there, although I did learn new ways of doing that too. It is a lot of work to do enough damage to destroy a dead being and it will merely dissolve only to reform later somewhere else. It is much more efficient and effective to incapacitate the already dead and they cannot use it to escape.”
April joined them. “Both of you report to medical for healing and clear the arena for the next bout.”
“I’ll do better in our next fight,” Ninhursag told Dianthus.
“Undoubtedly you will. The question is, will better be good enough to defeat me?” She looked at April. “I must retrieve my bow from Iain before I can go to medical.” She turned and ran for the stands where Iain sat with Kasserine.
“April, score the fight as a draw,” Ninhursag said quietly. “I refuse to accept a win from her yielding to me and I won’t insult her by forcing her to accept a win from mine.”
“Why did she yield?”
“She told me she’s not interested in status. I believe her now. Her yield told my court that, even when she could defeat me, she will not stand against me. I appreciate that.”
April nodded. “Did Iain really bond all of the new Elves?”
“He took them someplace else and gave each of them a day and then used shadow walking to make them only be gone a few minutes. Now he’s giving each of the other members of my court a day too so they don’t feel slighted.”
April chuckled. “Considering that three of them came back as newly evolved Elfqueens, I suspect they had a good time. Do you think any of them will push to become harem?”
“I do not.” She smiled at April’s surprise. “Iain told them that if they did their jobs without causing trouble then they could continue to spend time with him, just like the rest of my court, but if they decided to become ambitious he’d suddenly be too busy to deal with those people.” Ninhursag watched Dianthus solemnly retrieve her living bow and quiver from Iain. “She’s gravity training on the Danger Room to get stronger.” She glanced at her second in command. “That means we’ll be doing the same thing.”
“We have to see if it’s safe for your pregnancy,” April countered. “But you’re right. As soon as it becomes evident that Dianthus is improving at any rate faster than what would be considered normal, the entire harem who can will be training there. I’ll formalize the program and have Bellona coordinate it. She had some experience training in higher gravity when she was with Shikarou.” She glanced behind her. “Dianthus is waiting for you. I can hold the field for a few minutes, but you need to hurry back. You really want to see the next bout.”
“Then tell Irena or Candace to come treat me and Dianthus here. We’ll be waiting in the stands.”
“They are both on their way. Now get off my field.”
While Ninhursag and April were conferring, Dianthus stopped in front of Iain and he wordlessly held out her bow and quiver. She smiled as she took it. “Thank you for keeping them safe.”
“You’re welcome. Interesting technique.”
She cocked her head. “You do not think it is a spell?”
“I didn’t sense any spellcasting magic, so it wasn’t a spell.”
She nodded. “I learned it to keep the Servants from wanting to close with me. They couldn’t heal it magically and it takes the equivalent of years to completely wear off. They do not fear being temporarily destroyed, but the idea of being crippled and helpless terrifies them.” She looked back at April and Ninhursag. “Irena and Canace are here. I should get healed.”
Iain’s response was forestalled by the rhythmic thumping of feet as the goblins jogged up in formation, Arianrhod in the lead. A quick count told Iain that the entire goblin force was present and, as he watched, Arianrhod brought them to attention and dismissed them to head for the stands before turning and running onto the field, stopping in front of April as Dianthus headed for where Irena and Candace waited for her and Ninhursag.
“This is not one of the quarterly challenge days,” Kasserine said quietly. “Arianrhod has no business here.”
“Anyone is free to come and watch,” Iain pointed out. “And she’s not loaded out and wearing her battle kit.” Arianrhod was wearing black leggings, black tennis shoes and a black t-shirt with the Clan Grey Militia logo picked out in gold on the chest. She was carrying her swords, but goblins were as bad as Sikhs could be about always having at least one weapon on them at all times, even if it wasn’t a religious requirement as it was for a baptized Sikh and his kirpan. Considering the history of the goblins, it made perfect sense.
Theodora appeared. “Iain, your presence is requested in the arena.”
Iain sat up. “I’ve been challenged?”
“Yes.”
“Well this should be interesting,” he said as he got to his feet.
Kasserine touched his wrist, making him pause. “Be careful.”
“I will.” He headed for the arena, stopping in front of April and Arianrhod. “What is this about?”
April gave Arianrhod a neutral look. “She’s challenged you.”
Iain’s tone was cool. “She is outer clan and it is not the new quarter. This can wait.”
“Clan Leader,” Arianrhod said formally, “I have requested and received special permission from Ninhursag and April for this. Are you aware that April intended to put me forward as a harem recruit?”
“I’d heard something along those lines might be in the final stages.”
April stared at him. “Who told you?”
Iain ignored her to focus on the goblin woman. “She hasn’t nominated you for anything yet.”
“I forbade her from doing so.” Arianrhod lifted her head proudly. “I am the queen of the Black Rock tribe in the Grey Clan. Only a few people here outrank me as queen. If I wish to be nominated for consideration for anything, I will nominate myself.”
“That’s great, but it doesn’t answer my question. Why are we here today and now, where you couldn’t wait and had to get special permission to challenge me?”
“You have asked me to do something that is new to us. Goblins do not marry and we are not monogamous. I wish to determine if you are worthy of such a significant change in our lives.”
“I never said you had to marry me and I never said to anyone that we had to be monogamous. I can’t be monogamous to you. Whoever told you that was either mistaken or you misunderstood what they were trying to say.” He smiled coldly. “But if we do have children then you will have to change in that any child from me will have me at its father, be it boy or girl or whatever. That isn’t negotiable.”
“You will help make any child strong?”
“I will help our children be as strong as they can. I will not break them or cast them aside for some arbitrary goblin definition of what is strong enough.”
“What if our child is weak?”
“You are the strongest goblin here and I am a dragon. Our children will never be weak. The biggest problem we will probably have is trying to make sure the other goblin children are strong enough to compete with them.”
“I must test you to see if you are strong enough to be a worthy mate for me.” She gave him a wry smile. “I want the strongest possible mate for my first child and my tribe will insist that I breed with the strongest possible mate so our strength will increase.”
“Have you tested the males of the tribe yet to see if they are acceptable?”
She nodded. “I have. You are the last potential candidate. None of them could defeat me and none were worthy of breeding me.”
“What does this test entail? I’ve already noticed that you aren’t wearing your armor and gear.”
“This is an ancient test, passed down through the mists of history. We fight with simple weapons and no armor, as we would at the start of a mating. My goal is to test your fitness as a goblin and your goal is to defeat me without killing me, showing both your power and your control of it.” She grinned. “If you can.”
Iain looked at April. “This was approved by you and Ninhursag?”
“It was. We decided to expedite the challenge so Arianrhod could evaluate your fitness in a timely manner.”
Iain turned back to Arianrhod. “I have no choice but to fight you. What conditions do you want?”
“I was never able to defeat Lefan. You did. I wish to fight the dragon that defeated the king that I couldn’t.”
“These combats are not supposed to be to the death, which is what happened to Lefan,” Iain pointed out. “Not being able to kill you will make it harder for me to fight you.”
“And that is as it should be, but I will take whatever advantage I can in this,” Arianrhod said. “Killing me would mean that I could not bear you children.”
“Not to mention I’d have to deal with whatever passes for succession among the goblins,” Iain muttered. He raised his voice slightly. “You do realize that your chances of winning are still slight.”
“Imagine the glory I would get if I do win or if I even seriously injure you.”
“Very well. You want to fight the dragon that Lefan faced. You realize that such a fight will not be what you just said is an ancient test of goblin martial prowess. I am much larger than you as a dragon and my hide is proof against most weapons.”
“I know what I want and I know what I have asked for. I want to see if you would be a worthy mate for me. Lefan was not, but he was the best that was available. He was more powerful than I am but had little control of it. I am glad we had no children, for they would have had his arrogance and been as easily tricked as he was. You cannot defeat me in your human form. I have not yet been defeated by you in your dragon form and, at this point, you are not a worthy mate for me.”
“Are you acknowledged as the strongest and best warrior of the goblin women?”
Arianrhod gave him a slightly puzzled look. “I am. Why do you ask?”
“I wanted to make sure that, when I do defeat you, I don’t have to fight the others to see who the best mate for me would be.”
She laughed. “I like your self confidence.”
“And I will try very hard not to kill you, Arianrhod. But you are not going to be victorious this day.”
She surprised him with a sly smile. “I hope that you are right, Iain. I want you to be my mate, but I will fight to my utmost so that you can prove your worth.”
“April, make sure that Irena and Candace stick around. You might want to summon a medic too.” He looked around. “Theodora?” She appeared. “You’re officiating.”
“I am officiating.”
He looked at Arianrhod. “I think I understand what’s going on and you are to strike to kill.”
April sucked air in a hiss. “Iain?”
Arianrhod nodded. “I will.”
“April, we ran tests, remember? If Pandora couldn’t split my skull open with a steel sword, Arianrhod isn’t going to do it either.” He smiled at the Duelist. “It hurt like hell. I have no intention of letting Arianrhod do that to me too. What I’m trying to figure out is how to do this without killing her.”
“Hurt her a lot,” April said.
“You want her to join us.”
“I do. But I never wanted her to try to chop you into ribbons.”
Iain shrugged. “You should have realized it would come to this. Her tribe would force this, if nothing else. They have to know that I’m worthy of breeding their queen. Without this, she’s just breeding with a soft and pasty human and weakening the tribe. If she insisted on doing so, they might well abandon her and the clan. And nobody gets to yield in this fight. It’ll continue until someone is incapacitated.”
“You do understand,” Arianrhod said. “Good.”
“And hopefully you understand that if I have to choose between me and you, I choose me.”
“I intend to win this battle,” Arianrhod replied. “One of us will be disappointed.”
Theodora smiled. “April?”
“Yes?”
“You’re blocking the field. Get off.”
April gaped for a second before she turned and ran for the stands. Theodora waited until she was off the battlefield before looking between Arianrhod and Iain. “Are you ready?”
“I am,” Arianrhod said.
Iain chuckled. “I am not, but it doesn’t matter. I have to fight this battle and now is when I have to fight it.”
The red and blue circles appeared at the ends of the battlefield. Theodora motioned to them both. “Arianrhod, you are red. Iain, you are blue. Proceed to your circles.” As soon as they were in their respective circles, she spoke again. “At my mark, you have one minute to prepare your defenses. When that minute has expired, your match will begin immediately. Three, two, one, mark.” Timers appeared next to Theodora, Iain and Arianrhod and began counting backwards from sixty.
Arianrhod drew her swords as Iain turned into a five meter long dragon similar to the form that he had used when he’d faced Lefan. There were differences, though. The form he’d worn when he’d fought Lefan had been his age at the time and therefore juvenile. This form was his adult form in miniature, fully developed and honed with the exercising he’d been doing on his own, on the Danger Room in high gravity under Theodora’s tutelage and also with Caintigern. He furled his wings tightly on his back, went into a slight crouch and became completely still, his attention focused on Arianrhod.
The timer ran down to zero and Arianrhod jogged forward, swords at the ready. Iain watched her come without moving. When she was twenty meters from her target she went into a sprint and shifted her line of approach to come near enough to attack but still be able to evade to the right so as to avoid crashing into her victim, who was several times her mass.
It was a good plan, far better than Lefan’s threats to tear Iain limb from limb.
At ten meters, Iain’s wings snapped forward in a blur, striking with the leading edge of each wing. Arianrhod partially deflected the strike from his left wing, although the power behind the blow snapped one of her swords at the hilt and smashed the other out of line so the strike from his right wing was completely unimpeded. It took her just under her left arm, crushing her ribcage and driving her sideways in a spray of blood from her mouth as her ribs punctured both of her lungs.
Iain was fast enough to hit her again with his wings before she flew out of reach, this time with both wings. Because she was already starting to tumble, the strikes meant for her ribs again instead shattered her right shoulder, her left hip and femur. She hit the ground, rolled and lay still.
Iain waited a few seconds to see if she was conscious before coming out of his crouch and refolding his wings as he called over his shoulder. “Medic to the field!”
The force fields dropped and Candace and Irena teleported to where Arianrhod lay while April raced to Iain as he shifted back to his human form. She looked past him at the medical team working on Arianrhod and gave him a satisfied smile as Theodora appeared. “I couldn’t have done better.”
“I was making sure I don’t have other goblin women trying to see if they want me as a partner,” Iain said quietly. “Arianrhod was their best, so if I can take her apart,” he shrugged. “Let’s see how she’s doing.” He looked at Theodora. “Unless we need to clear the battlefield.”
“Duels are on hold until Arianrhod is evacuated,” Theodora said. She nodded towards the stands. “Even if I called the next pair of combatants, they wouldn’t come down. People want to see what happens now.”
Iain frowned and glanced at the stands. Before he’d come down the stands had been sparsely occupied. Challenge days were days off for the entire clan and, unless they had a duel or wanted to watch one, most people used it for fun things.
Now they were packed with members of the clan. He could even see a few unicorns standing off to the side and grazing as they watched. “What the hell?”
“I announce the interesting bouts via twee,” Theodora said. “Any bout with you is interesting, but most people watch your fights remotely. As soon as I announced this one, people showed up and the betting went crazy.”
Iain started to speak but stopped himself before the first word came out. He turned and quickly headed towards Candace, Irena and Arianarhod. April and Theodora followed.
Candace sat back on her heels as they approached. “You did her a lot of damage, but nothing is permanent. We’ve already healed most of it, but I want to keep her overnight for observation.” She waited a moment. “No comment about me being a voyeur?”
Iain shook his head. “That was something between you and your previous family, Candace, and I wouldn’t presume to believe I am entitled to treat you the way they did. I know you’re not a voyeur. You just don’t like letting go until you’re certain someone isn’t going to pop a clot you missed or something like that. Overnight observation is a good way to ensure things like that don’t happen. Is she awake?”
“Candace wants to keep her unconscious,” Irena said.
“Wake her up.” He smiled when Candace’s eyes narrowed. “I wouldn’t normally order this, but this time it’s important. You’re not a voyeur and I’m a sociopath, not a sadist.”
Candace looked at him for several seconds before nodding and touching Arianrhod on the forehead. “I still want to keep her overnight.”
Arianrhod’s eyes opened and she blinked several times before slowly looking around. “Am I worthy,” Iain asked curiously.
Her eyes snapped to his. “You defeated me. That means you are powerful, but I am not sure of your control. I could easily have been permanently crippled or died from my injuries.”
“I took the opportunity of this challenge to make a point to all of the goblins as well as others in the clan.” Iain said quietly. “Goblins are as tough as Sidhe and I knew that, between Candace and Theodora, unless I shattered your head, you wouldn’t die and would make a full recovery. So I let loose a little more that I normally would have.”
Arianrhod nodded slowly. “What was the message you wished delivered?”
“The fact that I am not the Grey by right of arms does not mean I am in any way weak. While I realize you had a specific and valid reason for your challenge, I took the opportunity of it to inform everyone else that it’s a bad idea to think I will be a victim during a serious challenge.”
Arianrhod pushed herself up on her elbows. “You were not this grim before the nuclear attack, but this is still a cunning use of my challenge. I only hope our children will inherit your cunning.”
“Does that mean I’m worthy of being your mate?”
“It does.” She gave him a hesitant smile. “I am only hopeful that you will find me worthy as well.”
Iain had long ago learned to look beyond the physicality of a woman to determine if she was someone he liked. After all, bare skin, fur, scales, hide or feathers did not have much to do with what kind of a person someone was. He hadn’t been inclined that way before his kidnapping and the different women he’d been involved with since it had only reinforced that tendency. But some of the events that had transpired had also removed any tendency on his part to make snap judgements about people. “I think we can move to the dating stage to see if we’re really compatible,” he nodded towards April, “if the ladies who are already part of my life agree.”
Arianrhod turned to April. “I would like to be put forward to join the harem. Will you speak for me?”
April folded her arms. “I will, but if you ever pull shit like this again I will make sure you pay for it for a very long time.”
“I accepted some of your ways when you joined my family,” Iain carefully unfolded April’s arms and took her hand. “I accepted some of Kasumi’s ways when she joined us and I accepted some of Ygerna’s ways when she did too. If Arianrhod joins the family she will get the same consideration.”
April gave him a rueful smile. “I need to keep you from touching me when I’m angry.”
“Do you enjoy being angry that much?”
She shook her head and leaned sideways against him. “I do not and you know it.”
“Good, because I like you better when you’re not angry.” He squeezed her hand and let it go. “I love you.”
“And I love you, Iain.” She turned to Arianrhod. “I will talk to the others for you.”
“Thank you.”
Iain reached down to Arianrhod. “Come on, we need to get off the field before Theodora invents a new reason to give out demerits for dawdling.”
“She doesn’t need to be getting up,” Candace said, only to break off when Arianrhod took Iain’s hand used it to pull herself to her feet. “I shouldn’t be surprised,” she muttered.
“Of course not,” Irena grinned at her. “You’re a Grey too. We’re tough. You just have to learn how to motivate us to do what you want us to do. Watch.” She stood, reached down, grabbed Candace’s hand and jerked her to her feet. “Arianrhod?” The goblin looked in her direction. “You will come to medical before bedtime or you will not be cleared to return to duty.” She smiled brightly. “I’m tired of having goblins ignore me and Candace and I’ve spoken to Ninhursag. If you do not get cleared, it doesn’t matter whether you train or not. She has agreed that until we return someone to duty, their scores during the time they are not cleared will not be recorded. Instead, they will receive an unexcused absence for each event.”
Arianrhod’s eyes narrowed. “Clear me now.”
“Then come with us,” Candace said.
“I will meet you in medical in ten minutes. I must give my adjutant orders to take my tribe to training, where I will join them.”
Irena nodded. “Ten minutes. Don’t be late.” She vanished, followed an instant later by Candace.
“Are they always this insolent,” Arianrhod asked Iain.
Iain raised an eyebrow. “They have the thankless job of making sure the entire clan is healthy. Often they have to accomplish their goals in spite of the competitive nature of the people they’re trying to help. Don’t be one of those. Neither Candace nor Irena want you to stay injured or ill. If nothing else, it depletes our strength and increases the chances that they or I will be injured in a fight. Remember that.”
Arianrhod looked thoughtful. “And they are as prideful as I am and with good reason. I will offer my apology to them when I go to medical.” She bobbed her head. “Clan Leader. Beta.” Then she was gone, running for the stands where her executive officer waited with the rest of her clan.
“If you don’t mind,” Theodora said, “I would like to continue the challenges. I hope to finish before dinner, but that will only happen if I can keep the bouts moving.”
“Get off my field, aye,” Iain said. He grabbed April’s hand and headed for the stands as, behind them, Theodora laughed.
Iain Grey
Harem
Ninhursag Grey - Elfqueen & maharani
April Grey - Duelist & beta
Dominique Grey - Blessed Archmage
Pandora - Fiendish Archangel
Zareen - Nightmare
Sofia - Ria
Vanessa – Evangelion
Lucifer – Megami Sama
Ganieda – Snugglebunny Splice
Heather - Elfqueen
Marguerite – Unicorn
Scheherazade – Dread Wolf
Irena – Sanctuary Goth
Lynn – Dire Wolf
Rosemary – Mistoffeles
Dianthus – Elfqueen
Outer Clan
Golden Cloud – equine unicorn
Arianrhod -Fey Goblin Female
Satellite Clan
74 male Goblins
89 female Goblins
Queendom / Outer Clan
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 Children
Vanessa
Myrna (Age 4)
Saoirse
April
Dorothy: Duelist (Age 3)
Meara: Duelist
Regan: Duelist
Lucifer
Olivia: Megami Sama (Age 6)
Seraphina: Megami Sama
Miram: Angel (Age 5)
Zareen:
Caltha: Nightmare (Age 0)
Kim: Nightmare
Xanthe: Nightmare
Epona: Nightmare
Philippa: Nightmare
Nott: Nightmare
Nyx: Nightmare
Sofia
Anna: Ria
Esmerelda: Ria
Monica Chambers
James: Jamie Harris kid (Age 2)