Julia, “It protects you from fire and heat in general. I wanted to start you with something that even if you went to an extreme there would be no immediate danger.”

For a moment Allen was silent as he looked at the glyph and placed his hand back upon it. It was strange only using one hand to activate them. “Do I have to touch the glyph to enjoy the protection?”

Julia, “No. Once it has been activated anyone touching the glyph enjoys the benefits for however long that it last which depends on both the caster and the environment. Of course. If you make the glyph too powerful it'll end up keeping you from taking in any heat from your environment which for us really isn't dangerous.” As she spoke Julia took a moment to look towards Allen's right hand again. Perhaps she should try using only one hand to activate glyphs more often. The protector seemed to consider it a good idea.

It was tempting to ask Julia to tell him about anything else the protector did. Nathan decided that would be a bad idea considering the fact that the protector could most likely hear them. If he made such a request she probably wouldn't become involved again. “I see what you're doing Julia. The glyph only responds to certain types of energy while rejecting other types. Eventually Allen is going to learn to separate the types.”

Allen, “What types are they?”

Julia, “It depends. You're currently channeling energy in its arcane form eventually you're going to learn to make the shift into nature based energies. In fact this time Allen I want you to think of the natural world while you're channeling the energy. I know that it's difficult to keep your focus but try to think of water, fire, wind and earth while you're directing the energy into the glyph.” As she spoke Julia was surprised whenever she felt the glyph awaken again. “Nice work Allen!”

Upon hearing Julia's praise Allen was made to grin. “Should I do it again?”

Julia, “Did you feel less resistance that time?” It was a bit disappointing whenever Allen shook his head no but Julia wasn't surprised. Just awakening the glyph twice so soon was very good.

Allen, “It felt the same.”

Julia, “Okay I want you to keep casting it like I told you while trying to keep the image of the forces of nature in your mind. If the field starts to become too strong I'll just destroy it.”

Nathan, “You two seem to have this under control. I suppose I'll be off.”

Julia, “Nathan before you leave. Could you find me some material on converting spiritual energies into life energies? I don't have any trouble containing life energy within my body or directing it from another source but producing it is not my strong point.”

Nathan, “Are you talking about direct healing or do you have something else in mind?”

Julia, “Physical augmentation and grow encouragement would be preferred.”

***********************************************************************************

It had been a while since she had been to one of these events. Zarena was a sleeper so while she was awoken to deal with threats that may have killed a sister she didn't go to the ceremony. As she made her way over to the bodies she had to take a moment to steady herself. Memories from whenever she was just a keeper were coming back as she looked at the corpses and began to lower herself to the ground. Part of her wished that Nathan was there with her. Holding onto him would have helped steady her as she brought her face close to the corpses and began to take in the scent. She had been waiting for the other sisters to thin out in numbers before going to take a look and now felt she was ready. The scents were the ones from the past but the smell of death was on each one of them.

Even while she was taking in the scent Maria had finally moved to stand with her mother. Flora had her arm on Maria's shoulder while Maria leaned against her mother. For the moment Maria was glad she was a bit smaller then her mother as it allowed Flora to cuddle her more easily. She had spoken to Flora already about how she was moving around the battlefield and hadn't noticed her sisters were in trouble. Given the attack the enemy had made against their ears it was understandable that she didn't hear them calling for help if they had but to have no seen them still hurt. “Mom do you believe that there is a way that we could have fought without damaging our ears.”

Flora, “There might have been. Perhaps you'll even be learning it soon. Have you spoken to Zarena about learning to fight from her?”

Maria, “Not yet. It was that type of waiting that caused our sisters death. I should go speak with her soon. Do you believe that I should wait until tomorrow?”

Flora, “I believe she could use something to take her mind off of the deaths now.” As she spoke Flora relaxed her hold on Maria. She was happy whenever her daughter stood up and then seemed to vanish as she sprinted towards Zarena.

Maria, “Hey Zarena is that ear still bothering you?” Maria had come to stand a short distance away from Zarena's lowered head and the bodies. Given a sisters hearing she had no doubt Zarena could hear her.

Zarena, “It is doing a little better.” As she spoke Zarena sat up and turned her attention towards Maria. Now that she had taken in the scent of the dead sisters part of her felt like it was chasing her. It would be nice to have someone to speak with.

Maria, “That's good. Does it mean tomorrow you could begin showing me how to move?”

Zarena, “Of course. It's good that you're ready to begin learning especially because I don't know how long I'm going to be around. Even after last nights meeting we should probably take care of this as quickly as possible. Now Maria I've been wanting to ask. Do you think and read as fast as you run?”

To this Maria gave a nod. “Yes I do. When I first woke up it felt like the entire world was moving in slow motion. It has taken some adjusting.”

Zarena, “You mean you can't slow your thought process down?”

Maria, “No. It darn near drove me insane a while back then again perhaps it did drive me insane and this is just how I've adjusted. When I think back to how I used to be before I slept the world seems to moved so much more quickly. I've had to adapt to how slow everyone else is moving but honestly it doesn't bother me now.”

Zarena, “Maria am I speaking to you slowly?”

Maria, “Do you want to hear what it sounds like whenever I speak at my natural speed and what's comfortable to my ears?” As the words left her mouth Maria didn't hold back and allowed her lunges, jaw, tongue and lips to move as quickly as felt natural. It was clear that Zarena hadn't caught onto what Maria was saying.

What sounded like words to Maria was almost a roar to Zarena if a very calm one. She couldn't even begin to guess what Maria had said. “I take it that was your natural speed?”

Instead of responding at her natural speed Maria once again slowed herself down. “Yes. Even I have some issues listening to myself talk but I believe that's due to how slowly the air transfers my voice. I don't know how to describe what happened to me after a few months of living like this. It was so frustrating and I never learned to slow down my thinking but my ability to wait for others to talk and merge their words together developed. You would think that during all of that I would have developed patience as well.”

For a moment Zarena was silent. “At least it should help you practice in that case. I'm not sure how to work on your evasion if you can't slow down.”

Maria, “It depends on how you want to do it. After all while I can move far more quickly then a brother can cast a spell if I allow him to finish then moving faster then the magic is difficult. When I was first learning they had a tracking sprite slowed down so I could run from it and the sprite chased me around.”

Zarena, “You mean you've already been practicing?”

Maria, “Moving at this speed almost meant learning that certain things don't respond like they normally would at slower speeds. Branches become brittle instead of binding and the traction the ground offers me suddenly decreases. I'm used to working my toes and claws into the earth to give me the resistance that I need to turn effectively.”

As she listened to Zarena and Maria Flora was glad their minds were off the dead for the moment. She couldn't have her daughter dealing with the sadness for too long after all. Now she had to turn her attention to other people as Flora walked over to Mina. “So when am I going to get that little girl of yours?”

While Mina had been considering her daughter amongst the death Flora's question surprised her. “What do you mean?”

Flora, “Well you're going to be training with the matrons once your daughter is born aren't you? You're going to need someone to take care of your girl and I've already had two worth the experience.”

Mina, “Thanks Flora. I've been trying to maintain my fighting skills despite not having a sister my size I can spar with safely. I really should have started fighting with the matrons earlier though I'm not sure if it would have helped with the most recent attack. It's probably time we started learning to use a simple ranged weapon like a sling. Even if our brothers are learning to fight as well there is no reason to only rely on them to kill enemies at a distance.”

Flora, “True. We're going to need some strong materials to make slings for us though. I wonder what kind of speeds Maria could get a stone up to if we can make something that won't break.”

Mina, “That's a frightening thought. She may be able to put enough power behind a projectile to take me down with that speeds of hers.”

Flora, “I doubt that. The stone isn't likely to survive hitting you.” As she spoke Flora looked away from Mina and towards Maria and Zarena. Zarena seemed to have noticed her awkward position at long last and had lowered her hand down to Maria.

Zarena, “Maria if you don't mind climb on. Crouching over the bodies like this doesn't seem appropriate.” It was clear that Maria liked using her speed. Nearly the moment Zarena had made the request she felt a set of feet in the center of her palm and a strange tingling running over the side and towards the center. It was likely due to the rapid impact of Maria's feet on her skin. With Maria securely in hand Zarena began to set up and had to ask. “Maria how durable are you? Could you kill yourself if you were to fall while running at top speed?”

Maria, “I can't move fast enough to kill myself with a simple impact and I do believe my body is more durable then normal but that's more of something I adapted to. I will say this. It hurts a great deal whenever I slam into something at full speed and if I found something sturdy enough and shaped right I'm sure I'd be seriously injured.”

To this Zarena gave a nod. In general the sisters were stronger then they were fast. So even being tackled at full speed didn't tend to hurt them. Maria's speed was an entirely different case. “Did your feet ever bother you?”

Maria, “In the beginning a great deal. I could travel where I wanted to go more quickly but I couldn't really travel further as my feet and legs would start hurting me too much. I've had a few years to adapt and my body has toughened up. Is this going to influence my lessons?”

Zarena, “It could.” As she spoke Zarena continued to look down at Maria. The sisters had grown so much since her time. When Zarena had first become a sleeper a guardian ranked sister wasn't anywhere near the size of her pinky finger. Now Maria looked like she could challenge it. To Zarena this was quite a site and she looked away from Maria for a moment towards the matrons before turning back to her and remember what she was going to say. “Typically our bodies are so durable compared to our speeds we don't have to hold back. With what I'm going to be teaching you there is a chance you'll injure yourself.”

Maria, “Thank goodness for rapid healing in that case.”

It was impossible for Zarena not to chuckle as she nodded her head. “That is true. We tend to recover quite rapidly. So does your healing work as fast as you can run.”

Maria, “Oh no! Absolutely not.”

It was impossible for Zarena to keep from chuckling at Maria's response. “Did something bad happen to you do to your speed?”

Maria, “I had to learn not to itch at my enhanced speed.”

Zarena, “Ouch! I guess you opened yourself up pretty deep.” By now Zarena had settled into a comfortable position. Her rear was resting atop the back of her legs and she had Maria held just below the top of her breasts making it easy to look down at her. Maria had moved a bit from the center of her hand and was now in a relaxed pose resting against her thumb. “I may not have increased speed but I have a rough idea of what you went through whenever I hurt myself with these claws of mine.”

Maria, “Did you have those claws before you became a sleeper?”

Zarena, “No. If you're wondering about how I became a sleeper. In my time there wasn't a great many sisters who had been mutated. So we didn't have such requirements for becoming a matron and especially for not becoming a sleeper. In order to become a sleeper you simply had to be trusted, responsible and willing to make the sacrifice. There wasn't a great many of us despite the hardships those who remained awake had to endure. Every sleeper dreams of waking up to a world in which we won't have to sleep again.”

As Maria and Zarena spoke Flora had continued to speak with Mina who was doing better now. At least she didn't look like she was ready to collapse anymore. Fortunately they were on a subject that Flora knew a lot about. “It was a nightmare whenever I first had Maria. She loved to climb and claw. Now you might think that you've found a crib that's solid enough for a young sister but I assure you it won't be. She'll climb out of it or flat out destroy it far quicker then you expect.”

Mina, “So how did you keep Maria in it?”

Flora, “You need to change her crib from something to escape from into something to protect. We have very strong guarding instincts even at that age after all. The way I did this with Maria is I would move her crib whenever she would escape from it. Now this doesn't work with every young sister but some of them hate having their cribs moved. In time Maria would stay with her crib just to insure I didn't move it. I ended up being bitten a few times do to this.”

A slight giggle escaped Mina as she imagined a very young Maria biting her mother. “That's cute! As long as she doesn't bite a brother.”

Flora, “Which with Dan being around her you're going to have to worry about that. The other thing you need to do is give them something to hunt. If you can give them something to hunt and something to protect in their playroom then it is much easier to keep them there. I made the mistake of becoming that something to hunt with Maria and Mira so it was hard to keep them from following me. You're going to have to worry that Dan will become her something to hunt for.”

Mina, “How do I avoid that?”

Flora, “I wish I could tell you for certain but like I said I had trouble managing my girls hunting instincts. You might consider not letting Dan feed her so she doesn't associate finding him with obtaining food. The problem with that being I don't believe Dan would be too happy about that one”

For a moment Mina was silent. She didn't like to think about her daughter harming Dan but the idea that their child might pursue him was an issue. There were cases whenever a sister would pursue their father. Fortunately the mother rarely had trouble tracking her child down. At their age they didn't even know to cover their tracks and most assuredly didn't know how. “That would be so embarrassing. Well let's see how Dremera turns out before we start worrying too much.”

Flora, “Yes. Who knows she might be a little sweet heart.”

Mina, “I'm sure she will.”

Flora, “Those are the ones that become the most attached to their father and try to track him down.”

Mina, “Flora! Well if anything she's going to associate me with food given that she's going to be taking her first meals from here.” As she spoke Mina pushed up on the underside of her breast lifting them into the air and making them appear all the larger.

Flora, “You keep thinking that. Then one day Dan is going to give his little girl a special treat and he's the one she's going to be thinking of. That reminds me. You should be the one to introduce meat to your daughter for two reasons. It can easily influence which one of you she thinks as the food provider and it can be bad if she realizes she likes meat while brothers happen to be made of meat.”

Mina, “I've never heard of anyone having trouble with that.”

Flora, “We don't tend to talk about it among sisters that haven't been mothers as it's kind of embarrassing. Oh my little bundle of joy tried to eat her father's hand when she learned he was made of meat.”

Mina, “Flora. You're trying to scare me and I know it.”

A delighted chuckle escaped Flora as she gave a nod. “I'm just checking to make sure you're not going to believe everything someone tells you about your daughter. Now have you taken the time to prepare oh wait. I guess you would have lost any toys you would have prepared for her due to the fire.”

Mina, “Actually no. Dan helped make a few of them and he made them with a young sisters claws and teeth in mind. They actually survived the fire.” For a moment Mina went silent as the notion of how well her daughter's toys were made sunk in. It actually prompted a slight chuckle from her as she shook her head. “I think he made them like that just to comfort me.”

***********************************************************************************

Alexa, “Are you sure you should be here by yourself?” As she spoke Alexa proceeded over to Ridon who had been setting behind a tree just out of direct site.

Upon hearing Alexa's voice Ridon gave a slight jump. He had been there to see his lover's body. He hadn't been chosen as one of the brothers to examine them despite his ability in necromancy. It was most likely Julia's fault. Yet knowing that his time was limited he had only been able to spend a little time with the corpse before he had to get away. If he had waited longer he might have tried something desperate. “Why not? It's how I'm going to be from now on.”

For a moment Alexa said nothing. She was still dealing with her sisters deaths as well so she wasn't quite in the mental state to deal with an attitude. She knew that Ridon had lost his love recently but his words carried an accusing tone she didn't like. “That's not true Ridon. You still have your brothers and sisters. We're here for you and we're all feeling loss.”

Ridon, “Yet those same brothers who are here for me won't let me try to bring back the woman I love!” As he spoke Ridon finally stood up and turned to face Alexa. This didn't change how much he had to look up a great deal but it made him feel better to be standing. “They tell me the chances of success are too low and it could end up damaging a valuable resource. Well what the hell does that matter? If I have a chance of bringing her back why not take it!”

Ridon's words immediately struck Alexa as strange. What did he mean by try to bring his lady back? The fact that he was a necromancer asserted itself moments later and Alexa knew what he was talking about. Ridon had asked the brothers if he could try to bring her back as one of the undead. “Ridon you know that such forms of necromancy don't tend to work on constructs regardless of how they're formed. You know the Luvarians experimented with necromancy on the early sisters to see what kind of results they could yield and they were the ones that dismissed it.”

Ridon, “Just because they couldn't doesn't mean that we can't! We keep pursuing the Luvarians trying to catch up to what they once where but what about other paths? We've been studying the sister's for generations and I'm certain if I applied what we've learned with the right magics I could restore her.”

Alexa, “Ridon are you listening to yourself? Don't you believe that your fellow brothers love our sisters just as much as you? Don't you believe they considered the potential of using necromancy to revive the fallen?”

Ridon, “They don't have the will to try! They believe just because the Luvarians couldn't we can't.” As he spoke Ridon began to walk towards the laboratory aiming strait at the brothers who were currently waiting hidden behind their robes. He knew a few of them had to be the ones chosen to work on the corpses and a few had to be the ones who chose to refuse his request. “You're a bunch of cowards you know that! You'd rather continue moving at this snails pace then take a risk and perhaps regain some of what we've lost! You want to become the ancient Luvarians rather then become something greater! You.”

Stella, “That's enough Ridon.” As she spoke Stella looked strait at Ridon. She knew about his loss but this wasn't the way to handle it and it wasn't the place. To Stella he was behaving like a child who couldn't see the folly of his own actions. Before choosing to continue Stella began to walk towards Ridon hoping to handle this is a quieter more secluded area.

Ridon, “Shut up! You don't.”

Stella, “Do not finish that!” As Stella spoke her voice was a deadly whisper. The disturbed ground and tiny bits of  earth returning to it revealed how quickly she had pushed off the ground. Stella knew that if she had been just slightly off she would have snapped Ridon's head off most likely but she had to shut him up. “Ridon the way you are behaving is disrespectful towards us, your position, yourself and the fallen. We're all in pain. You must calm down.”

Having Stella suddenly clamp her hand over his mouth like that after becoming a blur of movement served to quiet Ridon. It was more fear then anything else as he suddenly felt like a small child once again looking up at his mother. How could she take their side in this matter? Didn't he have the right to try to bring back the woman he loved? At least she removed her hand from his mouth a few moments later and he had time to calm down. “That was wrong of me I know you're grieving at the loss of our sisters.”

Giving her head a nod Stella took a seated position by the tree Ridon had been setting next to. “Let's talk. Something seems to be really bothering you.”

While Ridon had argued his case with the brothers he hadn't argued it with the sisters. This thought surprised Ridon and he quickly took a seat next to Stella. He wasn't talking to the majority but he knew that they could hear them. Their ears were too good for them not to hear him. “I argued to try to bring back the dead sisters using necromancy. I know that they wouldn't be alive but if we use the knowledge that we've gained from past studies I believe that we can restore them.”

At least now Ridon's outburst made sense. Stella didn't know much about necromancy and she sure didn't know about the workings of the magic. She did however know how to analyze a situation  and test the person's knowledge. “What information makes you believe that you can restore the sisters as the undead? You said our past studies show you that it could be done but that's too vague. Another brother might claim that past studies based on failed attempts show that we don't have the needed abilities.”

Ridon, “It's because we're all spiritual beings. The brothers focused on reviving the body of the sister first. What I propose to do is use the body as a connection to the sister's spiritual being and draw that back to us. Not all undead rely on their original body after all and they're still self aware. Once that connection has been made it may be possible to restore the body.”

Stella, “So the brothers have never tried such a thing? It seems to me that would have been a quick way to restore a fallen sisters in the past.”

For a moment Ridon was silent. In the early days before they had settled on active mating they had indeed tried to restore their numbers when they were diminished. “They tried it in the past and this only works if the spiritual existence you're trying to recall is quite strong. These weren't old sisters that had been exhausted by their hunger over the years and I know Aphila was strong.”

Stella, “I see. So what you really want to do is try to bring back your lover. Ridon I don't know I haven't studied this but are you claiming that all the sisters they tried to revive with necromancy were older sisters who perhaps had become exhausted due to the constant struggle with their hunger.”

Once again Stella began to go a path that Ridon didn't like. He knew better then to lie in this situation. “No. I can at least draw Aphila back though! I have my connection to her to draw upon as well. We say that we're studying the bodies of the sisters in order to see what we can learn. Well eventually the studying has to stop and a theory needs to be tested. We've established that the sisters can be carefully fed necromantic energy similar to how they can be fed life energy.”

Now they were hitting the point where Stella wasn't certain what to say. “I'm sorry Ridon I don't know enough about necromancy to know what that would do. It does sound like you've thought this through. Did you speak to your brothers like this or where you just yelling like you were a short while ago?”

Stella's questions were at least helping Ridon think. He hadn't been the most rational whenever he had spoken with the brothers and probably didn't present his information as best he could. The fact that he couldn't remember everything he said made him worry that he had killed his own argument. “Thank you for talking to me Stella. Time is running out for me so I'm going to go see if I can win their ears one more time.”

Stella, “I hope you're able to make a good case for what you want to try Ridon. I'm not sure if I would want to exist as one of the undead but at least it would be an option.”

***********************************************************************************

It was impossible for Mina not to hear the conversation between Ridon and Stella but she had her own concerns as she continued to chat with Flora. They each had their own way of handling the situation after all. “Did you ever speak with a sister who had raised their daughter with the father? I know that the brothers tend to be active in their child's life but Dan is actually going to live in the same house.”

Flora, “That doesn't happen often but I have spoken with a few cases. Typically young sisters who are raised with the father in the home are more content to stay in the home. Let's see if I can think of someone who's raised their daughter with the father living in the same home.” As she spoke Flora closed her eyes. Pera's mother was out of the question after all Pera's father was a druid and didn't stay at the home for long at all. Terima's mother wasn't an option either. “Anida! You should go speak with Anida about raising a sister with the father living in the same house. Oh and why don't you speak with Irina as well?”

Mina, “That is a good idea. She raised Julia with Kiara so she has a good idea of what it's like to raise a young sister and a human in the same house hold. She even knows how to handle it when the human is very young and can't be relied upon to make the mature choice.”

To this Flora gave a quick nod. “Yeah I'm sure that you could get some useful information from the both of them.”

***********************************************************************************

 Phinila had to steady herself as Pera leaned against her. How she wished that she would have kept her daughter in the town so she wouldn't have seen those bodies so soon. The fact that Pera was smaller then the dead sisters didn't seem to be helping the situation. It was hard for her to think of what to say as Pera was being remarkably quiet. She was just leaning against her mother looking towards the bodies from time to time. She had a good idea of what Pera was thinking about. “Did you tell Allen that you're going to be leaving for a while?”

To this Pera shook her head. “No. I'll tell him tomorrow.”

Phinila, “I wonder what he's going to do without you around. Stella is liable to start packing him around like she did when he was a baby.” It was a relieve whenever Phinila heard her daughter chuckle a bit.

Pera, “That's going to make him so angry. Allen really wants Stella to start letting him do things on his own. He's worried that if he doesn't learn then he won't be able to function as a brother. I guess he's going to get what he wants with what you told me about combat lessons.”

Phinila, “Yes and whenever he starts to complain about how hard the lessons are or how his body is hurting him you tell him that he wanted this. We're going to be busy as well. Before long it'll be our turn to learn how to fight and we will be the ones with sore muscles and aching joints.”

Pera, “That should be fun. Mom Tomorrow I want to go find my father is that alright?”

Phinila, “Yes honey that is fine. If you can why don't you convince him to come home with you for a while? It would be nice to have him back here. Besides I'm sure the brothers would love to speak with him about using magic in combat.”

Pera, “Sure. It would be nice to have Dad living with us for a while. Mom if I learn to fight and Allen learns to fight do you believe I'll be able to keep him safe.”

Phinila, “Pera there is no such thing as entirely safe. You and he will be far safer though. Perhaps you can even train together. He can be the sneaky little long distance fighter trying to break you down bit by bit and you'd be the fearsome predator trying to rip him apart.”

Pera, “That would be fun.”

Phinila, “Just make sure you don't try practicing alone. You're going to need a healer on hand in case there is an accident.”

***********************************************************************************

Sisters had to be careful about what they ate. They couldn't be like humans and eat just because they were upset. At least they couldn't in most situations. As Dan worked to prepare Mina a late night dinner he was confident that it wouldn't hurt if she ate some this time. Given what she was dealing with at the ceremony he was certain that it was worth while. Unfortunately most of the food he knew how to cook well was rather spicy. Mina didn't tend to cook such foods so he had to learn to prepare them when he wanted them and didn't want to go to the dining hall. He knew a few good dishes however and had them set out covered in heavy dinnerware to keep them from losing heat.

Mina, “Well someone has been busy while I was away. I guess you're not one of the ones who were chosen to carry the body.” As she spoke Mina proceeded into her and Dan's current home. She had smelt the food long before she arrived so there would be no surprise. It was still nice to smell the food and to know that he had been thinking of her.

Dan, “Welcome back Mina, Are you ready to feed our little girl?” As he spoke Dan turned to face Mina then looked to the food. It was hard to keep from laughing as he tried to reconcile the amount of food Mina ate and her size.

Mina, “She does feel pretty hungry. She was good up until she smelt sweets but now she's quite certain that she's hungry.” As she spoke Mina proceeded over to the table and took her position on a low sweat. Rather then making the table taller for her and thus requiring Dan to use a special chair she had taken to setting closer and closer to the floor.

Dan, “That's good to hear I would hate for this to go to waste.”

Mina, “Dan were you there whenever Ridon spoke to the brothers about trying to use necromancy on the corpse of a sister?”

Dan, “I was not and I didn't even know he had such intentions. I heard him yelling at some of the other brothers a while back and cursing Julia's name but that's about it. I'm guessing that their refusal to let him try is what has him to upset. Why did he have a outburst at the ceremony?”

Mina, “Yes and quite a bad one. Stella shut him up before he could say anything too offensive and calmed the situation down. Which is kind of a funny thought whenever I consider Stella's typical behavior. What do you think? Could necromancy actually work on a sister?” While she had been speaking Dan had been removing the covers from the food. Mina had to keep from crying as she smelt the freshly prepared meats after so much kobold. “How did you get fresh pheasant?”

Dan, “Mina typically necromancy doesn't work very well on constructs but you're not a typical construct. You're far more alive then most constructs which actually makes you a far better candidate for necromancy. The issue here is that you were designed so that necromancy wouldn't work on you or would be very difficult. I suspect the original Luvarians didn't want to risk fallen sisters being turned against them and as they couldn't always recover your corpse they designed your bodies so that they would be difficult to turn.”

Mina, “What about bringing the sister back in a way that doesn't involve the body?” Even as she was speaking Mina had taken up a small plate of meat and vegetables. She was already working on the seasoned tubers carefully chewing each piece to get the most flavor out of it.

Dan, “Huh? Would you want to be brought back like that Mina?”

Mina was actually a bit alarmed when she noticed the tone of Dan's voice. “What do you mean?”

Dan, “Mina. The body doesn't always have to be used for a necromancer to create an undead. At times you could forge an undead servant by using an item that was closely bound to the person or by using a place. Now I'm not a necromancer so my knowledge is limited but this should negate your body's resistance to necromancy entirely.”

Mina, “So what's the problem?”

Dan, “These undead tend to be rather detached from who they were before if memory serves me. Back whenever I was working in human society I encountered an undead servant who had been bound to his family sword whenever his body couldn't be recovered. He was more puppet then anything else even with the bond between him and his sword. I don't know the details but he didn't even seem to have a will of his own. Of course that could be the necromancer's fault as well. I've been told that the amount of its original self an undead retains depends heavily on the necromancers ability. It is quite possible that whoever turned him focused more on his fighting ability then his personality.”

As she was enjoying a tiny slice of meat Mina found herself wondering. If she were killed would she want to be brought back as one of the undead even if it meant not having a body like she had before? Could she handle being reduced to occupying an unfeeling body? “Dan if I were to die would you want me brought back even if I didn't have a physical body you could touch?”

Dan, “So long as you wanted to return and put off moving on for a while longer I would. Naturally I would have to begin my studies in necromantic alchemy so that I could craft you a body and then refine it. It's something of an unsavory field of alchemy but there would be no way I could leave you in a spiritual state.”

Mina, “Why haven't we been doing that with the fallen sisters then even if we can't use their bodies? I'm pretty sure we have some rather skilled necromancers amongst our past brothers.”

Dan, “It isn't just the necromancer. The more powerful the being you're trying to restore the more difficult it is to do so. In general you sisters are extremely powerful beings. We've had some good necromancers but I'm not sure how many would be good enough. It's also an issue of how badly the spiritual being wants to be returned. You can't produce a sentient undead without having a willing spiritual being. The third important factor is to insure that you get the right spiritual beings. Demons and other things are notorious for making use of a necromancers efforts to gain a foot hold.”

No immediate response came from Mina as she considered Ridon's and his outburst. He was desperate enough that he could try something very reckless and he had the knowledge to do so. The brothers had promoted him to his current rank because they believed he was a rational person and could handle such knowledge. She wasn't certain if he was capable of doing so given his current situation. “Dan why don't you go speak with Ridon about that? I'll take you to meet him of course but this might be the conversation he needs.”

Dan, “Shouldn't he speak to Julia instead?”

Mina, “Well he's pretty angry with her but then again. Okay let's go speak with Juila and then I'll take you both to speak with Ridon. I'm sure that she'll be reasonable or at least explain to us why this can't be done if we go to speak with her.”

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At first Julia had felt something close to annoyance whenever Ridon and his desire to use necromancy to restore some aspect of his lady had been mentioned. Whenever Dan had mentioned trying to recover the spiritual being instead of the body though things had changed a bit. Julia was certain that the sisters met all the qualifications for such a spell and without the body one of the major complications was taken care of. Unfortunately that was a complication in itself. “Dan I'm not sure if you know this but the further apart a spiritual being and their body is the more difficult it is to restore that person. They might be restored with their memory but they'd be missing the personality and the body or they might be returned with their personality but be lacking their memories. One of the main reasons such methods aren't used to regain loved ones is some of the horror stories.”

Dan, “I know that it's a serious risk but there is a big difference between those horror stories and this situation. You and Ridon aren't novice necromancers desperately trying to restore someone they lost. You're not trying decades, years or months after the event. I know the more time that has past between the death and the attempt the more difficult the situation is. This is a recent death though involving an experienced necromancer with strong ties to the person who died and if you would aid Ridon it would include a veteran.”

At first Julia said nothing. Dan had a point. This was as idea of a situation as one could hope for short of having a workable body and an empowered focus. The fact that Ridon was trying to restore someone who he had a bond of love with would help considerably. “You have a point. None of this matters though if it isn't what she wants as well. Mina. As a sister you tend to disrupt the flow of mystic energies so you can't be too close. However, I want you close enough that you could dash to us in under thirty seconds should the need arise.”

Mina, “I take it you're worried that something may go wrong.”

Julia, “Creating powerful undead and working with powerful spiritual beings involve a certain level of risk. This could end up pushing the limits of my abilities and I can't be sure we will get what we want. Actually, Mina we're going to need to find another sister.”

For a moment Mina said nothing as she considered what Julia was talking about. Her thoughts immediately turned to her child. “I take it you mean a sister that isn't currently pregnant.”

Vera, “That's not a problem. I'm keeping an eye on Julia anyway so I should be able to serve as your guard.”

Even Mina was surprised whenever Vera revealed herself. She knew that Vera was sneaky but she didn't expect her to be watching. “Vera what do you mean you're keeping an eye on Julia?”

Vera, “Pretty soon Julia is going to have some knowledge that could put her life in danger. I'm here to insure that she and that knowledge remains safe. Anyway, are you ready to go Juila?”

Julia, “There are some things I want to retrieve from the laboratory. Actually, instead of me leaving the safety of the citadel hm. Actually I believe the only thing we need is Ridon and something that Aphila would have had a strong tie to. I think I know what room he is in so let's go retrieve him.” Even as she spoke Juila drew herself to a standing position and began to make her way towards the apprentice area of the citadel.

Dan followed behind Juila and Mina walked close behind him taking her time to take little steps to avoid overtaking them. As she was walking she could smell Ridon as well as several other brothers. It was strange to find so many scents in the citadel. She could hear them sleeping as well. There was some foot steps on the floor and some scratching of pins as well as some papers turning. It was strange to hear so much life in the citadel and it seemed to make it a warmer place. As they were heading towards Ridon's door though she was growing concerned as she could hear some sounds coming from the door beyond his and the one before it but none within it.

It wasn't just Mina that was growing concerned. Julia had long ago learned to feel the life energies of others. She had also learned to feel the influence that certain magics had on ones life energies. As she neared Ridon's door she was growing more and more certain. “He's not here is he?” As she spoke Juila took hold of Ridon's door knob and gave it a twist and a push. She wasn't too surprised to find that it didn't open. The doors could be locked after all. “Would one of you mind opening this door?”

First instinct for Mina was to grab and force the door open. The memory of where she was stopped her hand though. “I don't believe we should do that. Let's make sure first.” Before continuing Mina gave Ridon's door several knocks before calling out. “Ridon we need to speak with you about something important.” Mina's final words were slowed as a citadel protector stepped past her and took hold of the door. The knob turned in her hands and she heard a click before it opened up letting them see inside. No one was surprised to find the room missing its occupant.

For a moment Julia said nothing but looked at the protector. She didn't look like the one who had helped Allen earlier. “Thank you. I need to get into this room as well would you open it for me?” As she spoke Julia walked over to the door next to Ridon's. She was actually a little surprised whenever she noticed the expression on the protectors face change before she turned and began to walk away.

Dan, “I don't think she liked you asking her to open the other door.”

A slight chuckle escaped Julia even as she felt her heart pounding in her chest. “I guess she heard our conversation and decided we have good reason to want this door open.”

While they were speaking Vera proceeded to open Ridon's door and glance inside. “We were right he's not here. I'll go track him down. Mina if you don't mind stand here and help keep Julia safe. I doubt any sister would try anything with the protectors around but I'd prefer not to take such chances.”

Mina, “Sure. I'm kind of curious what you're talking about when you say Julia might be in danger because of a sister. Would you mind explaining it?”

Julia, “Sure. Let's go gather some supplies though.”

***********************************************************************************

It wasn't too surprising whenever Vera had realized that Ridon's scent was taking her back to the laboratory. As she looked into the preparation room though she was quite surprised. “What is going on here?”

Upon hearing Vera's voice Mirin actually gave a slight jump. Even as an adult being in the laboratory, at night surrounded by dead sisters was unsettling. Preparing one of them for transportation was even less so. “Vera? We're just preparing Aphila's body for transportation to the citadel. What are you doing here this late? I thought you were keeping an eye on Julia.”

Vera, “I came to fetch him.” As she spoke Vera indicated Ridon who seemed rather perplexed by the situation as well. “Wait give me some more details.”

Carter, “Ridon came to us shortly after we had brought the bodies in and this time spoke more rationally. He has some ideas on how we might be able to restore Aphila and asked us to preserve the body long enough for him to share it with the rest of the brothers and gain approval. Since then he's been helping us prepare them to be moved to the citadel for proper study.”

Vera, “I see. My turn in that case. Ridon we're currently working on a plan that may let you restore Aphila in a limited extent that doesn't require the use of her body. While you were working on a resolution to your problem did you ever consider negating the body and simply trying to make contact with the spiritual being?”

It had been such a relief to Ridon whenever they had agreed to hold off on running any experiments on Aphila's body until they could meet one more time that Ridon had been on quite an emotional high. To have Vera show up suddenly and start speaking of restoring her without the body made it even more shocking. “Wait. What do you mean we?”

Vera, “Dan and Mina brought the subject up to Julia and she's agreed to help. She wanted me to retrieve you assuming that you would be ready to begin the act of restoration immediately to diminish the chances of failure. It seems now that we have a complication.” As she spoke Vera looked towards the corpse. She had heard the conversation and new the issues with the body. “So tell me Ridon. Do you have more confidence in restoring Aphila's spiritual self with or without the body?”

There was no immediate response from Ridon. He had seen the data on exposing the tissue of a sister's body to a necromancers power. That had more to do with making the flesh move again then restoring the spiritual being that once used the body. They hadn't even animated a sister's body yet. These thoughts made Ridon's throat grow dry as he realized that he had a choice in this matter. “Can you take me to speak with Julia?”

***********************************************************************************

Julia, “Typically the body would give us an advantage whenever it comes to turning someone into one of the undead. The sister's bodies present a complication though as in all of those cases the species was well established as receptive to necromancy. The sisters don't have that benefit. As you know I don't believe we can restore a sister as one of the undead using her body but I am well aware of the connection that a spiritual being has to their body. For this reason I suggest that we either make use of some of her blood in the spell or some of her flesh.”

Ridon felt like a student again as he listened to Julia even though he knew the information already. “What will happen to Aphila in that case?”

Julia, “She won't have an established body once she has been restored but we will still have her corpse. Once the spirit has been secured we can prepare the body and allow her to regain control of it. I see this as the safest path that we can take. Naturally having additional mages to help in the casting of the spell would be beneficial.”

Mirin, “You can expect my support. I'll even draw some of the blood myself and shoulder any burden that comes from doing so.” As he spoke Mirin knew that using some of the sister's blood was very different from using the entire body. If he used some of her blood and they failed he would have wasted a valuable resource. His free time would evaporate and he would have to answer for his actions. Fortunately they wouldn't have to use all her blood for the spell but rather a small sample would be sufficient. Using an entire body without permission would be on an entirely different level from both of those. Mirin's life could become extremely devoted for weeks or months if his actions weren't later confirmed but it wouldn't take years.

Julia, “No. As the most capable necromancer here I believe my decision would carry extra weight with this. I'll take on some of the responsibility as well so long as only a small sample of blood is taken.”

Ridon, “Thank you both! I'll do my part as well.”

Dan, “Mirin, Julia how could they even punish you for using the blood? Your talents are too valuable to lock you away in a prison or put you to manual labor. Plus you really don't have anything that I consider free time to begin with.”

Julia, “You make me sound like a mindless golem. I have my recreational activities Dan that I would hate to sacrifice.”

***********************************************************************************

This was strange. As Zarena looked towards the citadel she had watched as two spiritual presences had entered it. Both of them were quite strong while one had the markings of being a sister's energy. The other she knew was a human but she couldn't tell if it was a mage or something else. Then a presence had left the citadel and proceeded on a rather strange path until she had stopped at the laboratory. Then several spiritual presences including the one that had left the citadel had went back to the citadel. It was enough for Zarena to gently brush her finger against Nathan's side who was currently sleeping upon her crotch just above her lower lips. “Nathan wake up?”

It didn't take long for Nathan to jump to attention. He didn't know what was going on but he knew Zarena was waking him up. “What is it?”

Zarena, “There is something strange going on at the citadel involving rather strong spiritual beings. I'm pretty sure that a few of them are our brothers and one of them was given of the energies of a mutated sister. Do you want to go take a look at see what is happening?”

Nathan, “Normally I would say at this hour of the night? Given that they're running about at this hour of the night I believe that's even a better reason to go look at what they're doing.” As he spoke Nathan set up and waited for Zarena's fingers to take hold of him. Instead of feeling them grasping his side though her hand came to wrest beside him. It was nice that she was letting him make it his choice to climb into her hand but part of him didn't want to move even as he climbed onto her hand.

Zarena, “Do you believe I should try to be stealthy whenever I go towards the citadel? The citadel is built well enough that I can approach it and not disturb those inside provided they don't look out a window.”

Nathan, “Yeah try to move quietly. It's late and we don't want to wake everyone up especially considering the work that is to begin in the morning.”

***********************************************************************************

Audela, “Lestel are you certain that you want to let them use that?” As she spoke Audela looked towards her fellow protector and noted the small amulet she was holding. The amulet was enchanted and housed within it the blood of one of the most accomplished necromancers the Luvarians had ever considered one of their own. It was a very powerful necromantic artifact and as such carried certain risk.

Lestel, “The apprentices are going to be trying to further their knowledge with necromancy. It is acceptable to grant them an item to aid them in such matters provided it is done within the citadel and not removed from it. I will insure that they do not leave with the amulet.” It was up to the protectors and the citadel itself to decide how the apprentices were to be helped without the master Luvarians around. After listening to their conversation the citadel had agreed they should be helped but not given specifics. So Lestel had tried to settle on the right item to aid them.

Audela, “I believe they are more likely to harm themselves with the item you wish to let them use then to improve their results. You know that amulet carries part of master Idron's personality in it and he tended to be rather aggressive with his necromancy.”

For a moment Lestel considered what Audela had said. It was true. “You make a good point. Do you believe they could handle his stitching needle?” As she spoke Lestel was already considered it. Some undead required you to stitch together parts of other beings to make. This could be done with needle and thread and was the stating point. As the necromancer learned to meld flesh however the needle abandoned the thread. Items used long enough and by a powerful enough being took on a magical nature of their own.

Audela, “I.” Audela went silent as she felt a presence flow over her body. All protectors had a connection to the citadel and to one another. The citadel felt their inquiry and shared its thoughts on the matter. “It seems that we believe they can safely use the needle while still giving them sufficient aid for their learning. Lestel may I be the one to take the needle to them?” Even as she spoke Audela could feel Lestel's alarm. As annoying as the apprentices had been after so long they missed the interaction some.

Lestel, “As I was the one that helped the young apprentice you may help these. The elder apprentices tend to be the most annoying anyway.”

***********************************************************************************

It had been decided that Nathan would move to the citadel and his things had been moved. Until she was made to sleep again though he intended to spend his nights with Zarena. As he walked into the citadel the fact that she couldn't enter with him made him a bit unhappy but at least she would be outside. Now he just needed to figure out where the active people were at as he wondered through the halls. The citadel had been designed well and sound actually carried poorly from room to room. Fortunately there was the guidance orb in the entrance and it was willing to guide him to where the others were.

Carter couldn't help but yawn despite having agreed to help. He had been woken up by Julia while Vera was away and she had explained that time of was of the essence while they needed the aid of magic users. Now he knew what they were doing and had no objections to it. This would also serve as a safety net. The more that agreed to their current plan the easier it would be to justify it and the more serious their efforts would be taken as. He only wished that he hadn't been one of the ones to carry the body into the citadel as this meant he had very little sleep. Fortunately he would wake up fully whenever they began casting their spells.

Vera could hear someone approaching as could Mina and the two sisters looked to one another. The sound was clearly the foot steps of a brother. The air flow in the citadel and the magic meant their noses wouldn't tell them who it was unfortunately. They both turned towards the doorway and it was Vera who spoke first. “Evening Nathan. Did you come to see what was happening?”

Upon entering the room Nathan was surprised by what he saw. Two sisters, seven mages and one alchemist were in the room. Dan was currently busy preparing an alchemical circle on the floor which he recognized as a necromantic symbol. “Zarena saw something strange going on and asked if I wanted to go take a look. I have to admit I am curious as to what's happening and why so late at night.”

Mirin, “Well then you're just the person to help we could use another mage.” As he spoke Mirin placed a hand behind Nathan's back and began to push him further into the room. “Now as for what's happening. Ridon wants to perform a spell to draw Aphila's spirit back to us and bind that spirit to her favorite necklace using some blood from her body, necromancy and the bond they both share. We're going to be supply additional power to help the spell succeed.”

There was no immediate response from Nathan and that was intentional. He knew that Mirin had just given him a lot of information and he was going to take the time needed to process it instead of being roped into some scheme. “Okay the use of materials are your choice and right except the blood that should have been consulted. Blood is hardly difficult to find from a sister though and we could easily ask for some from any other sister to replace it. You're using the citadel as it was meant to be used so Zarena would be happy about that and everyone else has been scolded too much to argue with her. You have a strong connection to the dead. Okay everything seems to be in place.”

Mirin, “Huh. I hadn't even considered that about the blood we took from the corpse. So does that mean you're going to support our efforts?”

Nathan, “I'm already here but do you have any external power other then what the mages are going to be supplying and what about protection?”

Vera, “I'm going to be remaining close by to rush to your aid if something goes wrong with the spell. Mina is going to be staying further back in the event that I'm not enough to deal with whatever should arise. Beyond that there are the protectors who we can assume would come to our aid. Um hello.”

Everyone was silent as Audela walked into the room and turned her eyes towards Nathan and then Julia. It was easy to see which one was the most advanced necromancer amongst the group. It was amusing to be looked at once again with such shock and Audela had to fight back a smile. She could remember whenever new apprentices would first see her kind. They always looked on as if frozen in place. Most apprentices were well enough trained to feel the mystic energies inside of her body and knew this was a powerful being. She kept her pace slow in order to enjoy this experience as she walked over to Julia and held out the tiny sliver of metal.

No one was sure what was going to happen. As the protector approached her Julia couldn't help but wonder if something had happened. Was she inspecting their work like the other did with Allen? Whenever the protector held out the needle Julia nearly stumbled as she felt the energy that radiated from the tiny bit of metal. She was still uncertain of what was happening so Julia held out her hand just underneath the protectors. When she felt the metal meet with her skin she knew what to say. “Thank you for your assistance. This should help us a great deal.”

Instead of no response Audela gave a slight nod to Julia to acknowledge her words. It was nice to hear thank you from an apprentice after such a long time. Now she needed to be on her way though so that she turned and began walking towards the exit. The entire time Audela was listening to the hushed words of the apprentices. Now she could risk a smile since they couldn't see her face. Audela had once been for going silent on the apprentices and next generation Faelom. Now she wasn't certain if she would have done so but taken a more moderate approach of hurting them whenever they became a frustration.

Nathan, “I see. Well then. We could still benefit from an external power supply of some kind. I wonder. We were talking about blood a little while ago why don't we use some of it to power the ritual?”

No one said anything for a while and when they did it was Julia who found her voice first. “Who's blood do you have in mind?”

Nathan, “I was thinking I would ask Zarena for some of hers. I just need something to transport it in.” As he spoke Nathan began to look around the room. It didn't take him long to resolve that nothing was there for him to use. “I'll be back in just a few don't start the spell without me.”

***********************************************************************************

Zarena really didn't like cutting herself. Due to the nature of her claws she didn't just do physical damage but spiritual damage to herself as well. This impeded healing considerably. Fortunately Nathan was just asking for a little bit of her blood and had even found a bandage. She believed the bandage was actually some kind of protective covering but it would due to wrap her finger. As she inserted her claw into her skin she felt an extra sting and had to resist yelping due to the nature of the cut. At least this meant she wouldn't have to fight with her finger to get the blood to flow. “So what is that normally used for?”

Nathan, “I believe it was used to contain experimental slimes.” As he spoke Nathan was careful to gather Zarena's blood. He could feel the energy radiating from her blood as it filled the container and knew that they would have to be careful with this. Great power was found in blood if one knew how to tap into it. Zarena's blood was far more powerful then any he had encountered before though and she could easily provide a great amount. “So what do you think of our plan?”

Zarena, “It seems like the safest way to go. It's a good thing that you retained some necromancers in your society but Nathan. Well you know more about necromancy then I do.”

Nathan, “What's on your mind?” Nathan watched as Zarena withdrew her finger and began to wrap it. In most cases a sister would have healed from such an injury almost instantly. In Zarena's case due to her claws he imagined she would need an hour or two in order to fully recover. It wasn't a big deal but he doubted she wanted to hold her finger that entire time.

Zarena, “In order to produce a sentient undead you require a willing spiritual being. You have no way of insuring that the spiritual being you're trying to recall is going to be the one that's willing to respond. Just make sure you don't accidentally end up summoning a demon. I know Ridon would be crushed if anything other then his lady responded but well that would be even worse.”

Nathan, “Yeah. I'll be working extra hard to insure that there is no infernal influence. I wish that you could get inside to provide some extra protection.”

Zarena, “Yeah I don't believe I'd fit.” As she spoke Zarena was made to giggle and she diverted her eyes from Nathan to the citadel itself. The structure looked to be even smaller then her but Zarena knew that wasn't the truth. The entrance and the towers were just the tiniest fraction of the citadel while the bulk of the complex remained beneath the ground. “That is unless you want to move your spell casting to my living accommodations.”

Nathan, “It's tempting for safety reasons. If it wasn't for the protectors I would push for it but with the protectors I believe we benefit more from using a chamber meant for spell casting. Before I go though. Zarena did the protectors every bring the old brothers mystic items without request?”

Zarena, “Sure. At times even on request but more often then not they wouldn't bring the item we asked for but something else. I remember once my brother was allowed to use a focusing crystal of remarkable power for an elemental spell. When he asked for it again three weeks later they brought him a far weaker chunk of enchanted amber.”

Nathan, “That is interesting. One of them brought us a needle that had been heavily imbued with necromantic energies without us asking. Part of me is a little concerned. As a brother you get use to the ideas that the sisters can hear and smell everything you're doing. The citadel takes it to an entirely different level with the protectors. I get the feeling they can hear, smell and see everything we're doing.”

Zarena, “Think of how they must feel! It must be down right unpleasant whenever one of you go potty.”

There was no need for Nathan to look to know Zarena was grinning. It was actually rather embarrassing whenever such things were mentioned but he couldn't give in that easily. “Then perhaps you should give us some privacy once in a while. Thanks for the help Zarena I should get back to the others before they start the spell without me.”

**********************************************************************************

Ridon was going to have to be careful. As he looked towards the blood they'd used to reinforce the alchemical symbol he could feel the power radiating from it. It was safe to say that with the addition of Zarena's blood the power they had to devote to the ritual had more then doubled. If he was to lose control of that power they could all end up in very bad condition. To complicate the situation he had only been the central focus of such spells a few times. Often it was him backing up Julia not the other way around. He couldn't worry about that now as he stood at the top of the five points surrounding the glyph. Julia was to his side and Mirin had taken another. Two others stood with them while Nathan and two more brothers remained outside the circle.

Nathan wasn't going to be helping to cast the ritual and neither would the two that stood with him. They're objective was to maintain control of the energies. If the five casters began to lose control they would take over but they were not to add anything to the spell only to take away if the situation called for it. He wasn't worried that such a thing would be needed as he looked at Ridon, the needle, Aphila's blood and her necklace. He could remember seeing Aphila wearing it from time to time. Only whenever she was in town though and had no fear of it being damaged. It had been a gift from Ridon and she had taken good care of it.

Julia, “Are you prepared Ridon? You've used all the magics you're going to be using here before. You're just combining them in a slightly more complex form then you've done before.”

Ridon, “Yeah. I'm ready. Is everyone prepared to begin casting?” Even as he asked the question Ridon was fearful of the answer. Whenever he heard three yeses that fear built even more. He was prepared to draw Aphila's spiritual self back to them and he couldn't help but worry about the final results. Despite his fear he knew that he couldn't back out and began to build up the energies needed. He immediately felt a surge of energy from the four other mages and his fear was engulfed in the feeling of the magic running throughout his body.

For the moment Julia didn't try to add a great deal to the spell. Rather she focused on directing the energies into Ridon without overwhelming him. She had worked with him before and knew how best to direct energy into the spell so that he could maintain control. Now they would need to send out a pulse meant to draw the spiritual being they wanted to them.

As he cast the spell Ridon found himself drawing on the energies around them more aggressively. The needle was providing him even more support then he believed it would allowing him to control the energy more readily. The first pulse sent a tingle through his body. When no response came immediately he responded by sending out a second one each pulse partly shaped by the his own love for Aphila, her necklace and her blood. Feeling more confident after the second pulse Ridon made the third even more powerful then the first two in hopes of getting a response. He knew this could be one of if not the most time consuming parts of the spell. Finding the correct spiritual being could take time. The weaker the pulses you used the longer it would take fortunately with the support of the others and the blood from Zarena providing extra power he could produce very strong pulse while the needle and others support helped to control it.

With each pulse Julia added the same amount of power. While Ridon was trying to increase the power to locating Aphia's spiritual self she was remaining observant for the wrong response. Other spiritual beings including infernals could detect these and would manipulate them. There hadn't been anything to cause her alarm yet as she served to filter the waves but she wasn't going to take the risk of bringing the wrong being into their world just because she didn't feel anything initially. Each time the pulse became more powerful the likelihood of it drawing the wrong spiritual being increased as well. She had to put more power into deterring these beings with each pulse.

Mirin currently worked to help Ridon and Julia choosing to divide his efforts rather then focus on any one goal. He could feel the energy waves radiating out from them and could feel them becoming more precise. They hadn't found what they were looking for but he was confident that they were coming closer with each pulse even without increasing its power. Even if they did find the spiritual being they sought though there were complications. Either she could respond to the energy and be drawn to them making things easier or she wouldn't respond to the energy at all. The second would put more of the burden on them whenever it came to drawing it back and binding the spiritual being.

While they mages worked Vera kept a close eye from a safe distance. She could feel the energy radiating from the magic even from here and knew they were putting a lot of power into this spell. She had to watch carefully. If they accidentally brought something they didn't intend through she would be expected to be there to deal with the situation. At least her and the protectors. As Vera considered this thought she looked around and noted that currently three of the protectors had come into the room and were watching the progress of the spell. It was quite likely that their eyes could see more of the happenings then her own and they would know when something had gone wrong long before her. At the same time she didn't know how they would respond if something went wrong and thus couldn't rely on them to be in time to save her family. 

Ridon had stopped trying to keep track of the pulses that they had sent out and only considered the reserves of energy they had left. As they had plenty he felt confident in continuing. The others felt strong as well. The fact that they had been sending out pulses for over an hour to locate their target didn't even occur to him. He did feel excitement however whenever he felt a very solid response to his pulse and had to force himself to retain control. The needle in his hand had grown warmer since they began and now felt slightly hotter then body temperature. Focusing on the solid hit he had found moments before Ridon directed more energy into it and practically felt the needle pulse. The glyph beneath his feet soon followed as did the other four mages helping to cast the spell. Ridon could feel himself drawn to this existence and felt the blood and necklace practically sing in response. He was confident they had found Aphila. Now to established a solid connection.

It was clear to Vera that the spell had changed. The glyphs beneath the mages seemed to shift and she could swear she saw the blood beginning to flow around them even as its volume diminished. Despite all her time with the brothers Vera didn't watch spell castings too often. She was rather surprised whenever she noticed a fog seeming to radiate from the glyph and move up towards the ceiling Those brothers who had remained out of the actual casting to help maintain control suddenly became very aware and each moved to take up a position around the original five. They hadn't began casting yet so she was confident that the spell hadn't gone wrong but she was curious what was going on.

As they channeled the spell Ridon could feel the magic reaching out towards Aphila. The spiritual existence didn't seem to be responding to the spell which meant it would be up to them to draw it back. That meant this part was the easy part as he felt the magic establishing a connection between itself and the spirit. He had to be careful now. He needed to channel the energy so that a connection between the spiritual being and the spell could be made. He then had to make it strong enough to draw that being back while making sure it was secure enough that nothing came along for the ride. He was grateful for the others help and the needle which practically seemed to be singing in his hands now.

This was when she had to be the most aware. If something was going to try to latch onto the spell and either drain it or use it as a guideline to reach them it was now. That wasn't the only thing Julia had to worry about though. While she could feel much of what Ridon was feeling she also knew how tricky infernal beings and even other spirits could be. It truly seemed like they had found Aphila but even now they couldn't be certain that it was Aphila. She was actually relieved whenever she felt Ridon beginning to draw the spiritual existence towards them and realized he was doing it right.

Ridon couldn't just risk trying to draw the spiritual existence to them. Instead he found himself directing the magic through the blood, the necklace and his own memories of Aphila as a filter. If this wasn't Aphila then drawing it through these should serve to force it to reveal its true nature or at the very least weaken it considerably. With the help of the others he had been able to rapidly build up the spell's strength but now he needed to draw it to them and that would still require time. Ridon couldn't see the show that was going on right above their heads.

Vera knew to keep her distance despite wanting a closer look. The crimson fog that had developed from the blood now reached up in long tendrils around them. This merged together above their heads and formed a sort of slow moving vortex. Vera didn't know if this was intentional but Ridon and two of the brothers had began to chant quite rapidly while Mirin and Julia were the only ones who still remained silent. Vera knew enough about magic to realize that this chanting was done in order to help them better control the magic and retain their focus. Mirin and Julia didn't need to do this in order to maintain control so they chose not to.

Aphila was close now. Ridon could swear that he could feel Aphila's hands on her shoulder and her breath in his hair as the spell continued to build in power. There was so much strength in Zarena's blood that he had no fear of running out of power for the spell. Had it not been for the needle he most likely would have lost control of the power at this point and possibly been consumed by it or the others would have had to take control. It had all come together and now he could feel the magic steadily pulling on Aphila. Once he had drawn her spirit to them he would only need to bind her to the necklace and then they would be able to move from there. Having some of her blood on hand would make the binding all the easier.

The spell had gone extremely well though Ridon's methods had been far from efficient. If it hadn't been for the others Julia was confident that he would have failed due to running out of energy long before the spell was finished. With Zarena's blood backing them though that wasn't a concern. As she felt the magic drawing on the spiritual being though she was becoming concerned. It wasn't responding the way that such an existence should have whenever dealing with such a spell. It wasn't like they were being rejected but something was clearly off in that moment.

She was close Ridon knew that. Yet as he tried to draw the being to them she didn't seem to be moving in the least. Was Aphila's spiritual self rejecting them? The thought made Ridon's heart shake despite the power of the magic running through him. The spell didn't carry with it the feeling of rejection though. It was as if whatever they had found didn't even acknowledge their efforts and yet it was so very close to them. Ridon's initial desire was to increase the power of the spell to try to draw it to them by force. He knew better then that though even in his fear. Instead he continued to gently pull on the source hoping that it would respond to the magic and come to them.

This was very strange. Julia could practically feel the spirit as if it was standing next to her. With such a close connection the next step would have been to begin the binding. Despite that there was no way that they could begin to bind the spirit. It wasn't rejecting or fighting them but remained entirely unresponsive to their efforts. What would cause a spirit to behave in such a way whenever it was so close? If it had been an infernal being or a trick Julia was confident that it would have went along with the spell. Unless it feared detection and was waiting for an opening of some type. This thought immediately put Julia on guard and she began to stretch out her magic to better examine what they had found.

The vortex that had formed above the group had become quite stable at this point and Vera hoped that was a good sign. She wanted to speak with Mirin and find out what was happening but feared her moving close to the spell would disrupt the magic. So she settled in and continued to watch. The three that had stood ready to help control the spell were still watching carefully but none of them had began to cast yet which she took as a good sign. One thing that did concern her was the way the needle in Ridon's hand had began to respond to the magic. It now stood on its tip suspended by the threads of magic but it was beginning to shake violently.

It had been her intentions to support Ridon and that was it. In these settings it was often the best thing to do. With the lack of response though it was clear to Julia that something wasn't right and she began to chant. As the first words left her lips she was surprised by the power that came out and knew immediately that the voice hadn't been hers. She didn't notice the needle leave Ridon's hands and begin to float between hers as she reached out to the spiritual being. If the spell was going to have any chance of succeeding she had to find out what this was.

Even Lestel was surprised by the sudden happenings. Julia didn't recognize the voice but she did immediately. She wasn't frightened but she still looked towards Audela. Fortunately it was easy for them to speak so that the apprentices and Faelom without refined ears couldn't hear them. “You were right about not letting them use the amulet. It seems that the elements of master Idron's nature that were taken into the needle are a bit much for them.”

Audela, “Well. I don't believe that this is going to hurt their chances of success or harm them permanently. The female apprentice is holding herself together quite nicely despite the needles influence. I didn't expect the spell to amplify the impact the needle would have on them but that's one of the risk with such spells.”

This wasn't an infernal being Julia was certain of that. It wasn't some spirit of the natural world pretending to be something else either. There was something very strange about the spiritual existence in that it didn't respond to the magic despite seeming so close. Given the power they had put into the spell Julia was certain that it should have either been rejected or accepted. What could cause a spirit to behave in such a way?

There had been a moment when Ridon had feared what would happen when Julia took control of the spell. He wasn't certain it was her doing though whenever he looked to the needle. He could swear that the sliver of metal had a will of its own in that moment and it seemed to have chosen Julia. The fact that the state of their spell hadn't changed except to increase in power was comforting at least and he remained there to aid them in the casting. He only wished that he could speak with Julia but feared that would disrupt the magic. Relieve turned into horror as he felt the power of the spell shifting.

This was hard to believe and indeed seemed impossible. It hadn't even been a day since Julia had seen Aphila's corpse and that had been dead for several days. The realization of what was going on had finally sunken in and she had to release the spell. They didn't have the power that would be needed to influence the spirit they had been found but the energy had to be managed just the same. She knew this would require an explanation and looked towards the others. “Aphila is beyond this spells reach.”

It felt like Ridon had been kicked in the stomach. Without thinking he felt himself slumping forward thoughts of controlling the magic having left his mind. He felt a sudden surge of energy rush through his body and suddenly remembered the roll he had to play. It was too late however as Nathan had already stepped in to support them in dissipating the magic.

Mirin, “Julia what are you talking about?”

Julia, “Nathan the only time a spiritual existence responds to magic like this is whenever it isn't dead. Something happened to Aphila after her body stopped functioning because while I can't say what condition she is in I can say she isn't dead.”

Ridon, “What do you mean! We've already seen the corpse!” As Ridon called out he could hardly believe what he was hearing. The notion that Aphila wasn't dead seemed insane he had seen her corpse. “Wait. You said that she wasn't dead but that doesn't mean she's alive does it?”

Julia, “No. The fact that she isn't dead doesn't mean she is alive either. Think of the enemy that we were facing it was a spiritual amalgam that had included spirits of death in its make up. There were kobold shaman throughout the battlefield.  Something about the magic of that battle could have done something to her. There are other possibilities as well. Some necromancers seeking a powerful spiritual being for their creation don't have exact targets in mind but a set of criteria. She could have been drawn to such a spell.”

At first Ridon said nothing. Part of him wanted to scream at her. Julia had been against this attempt in the beginning after all and she had suddenly taken control of the spell. The more rational side of his mind knew that the failure wasn't due to her actions though. The spiritual being he had found just wasn't responding to the spell. “Can you tell us anything?”

Julia, “Yes but it only makes the situation more confusing. I'm sure you felt it as well Ridon. Whatever spiritual being you found and I do believe it was Aphila she is very close right now.” Even as she was speaking Juila was still focused on the spell they had built up. Given the power behind it she couldn't just release the energy but had to direct its flow away from them. The others had realized this as well and continued to support her even as the power was fading.

At first Ridon didn't say anything. He agreed with Julia that Aphila had been very close. He also knew that she wasn't responding the way she should have. Either in a negative way or in a positive she hadn't done what his studies had taught him to expect. “Julia do you believe that you could find her? If she is undead then she's bound to something and it should be possible to track her.”

Even while she was working on releasing the energy Julia had been thinking on much the same plan as Ridon. It was possible to track Aphila if she was indeed still in their world but she wanted to gain more information. It actually surprised Julia whenever she felt a rush of inspiration and the needle seemed to grow hotter. She didn't know if it had been her idea but she knew what she had to do. “Stop releasing the energy! We're going to saturate the spiritual being we found with what remains and then look for a response.” A collective what hit Julia moments later as every brother seemed shocked by her decision.

Mirin, “Julia what are you thinking?”

Julia, “This energy will engulf the spiritual being that we found saturating it and making it far easier for us to detect. Don't worry about harming her if anything this will aid whatever we found so at the very least it shouldn't consider this an attack. If it is indeed Aphila this will not only aid us in finding her but should help her hold out until we can. Now follow my lead.”

Audela, “That is not the apprentice talking.”

At first Lestel said nothing. Idron had been quite an aggressive necromancer. So Julia's sudden resolution on how to handle the situation was well within the confines of his personality. “I didn't expect so much of his personality to be inside that needle. I am very glad that we did not let them use the amulet considering the situation.” Even as she was speaking Lestel could see the spell shifting as Julia repurposed the power. “I hope all of this doesn't damage those memories she was trying to piece together from the dead.”

***********************************************************************************

It had been a strange night. As Zarena picked up another handful of debris she was glad to have the sisters off doing other things. Her massive size made it difficult for Zarena to help with several activities and meant the other sisters were hindrances when she could help. With them away working on other projects she didn't have to worry about stepping on anyone or waiting for anyone to move. With no one around she also had time to think and consider what had happened last night. Nathan had told her the story and she regretted she didn't have a better idea of how Aphila looked. With her eyes she could have searched for the young sister's spiritual self.

The thought that Nathan had made use of the sister's corpse without permission and might have to give an explanation didn't bother Zarena. She had been around long enough to get a grasp on the political landscape and had recognized many of the names mentioned in the process. There was simply too much political weight backing them for her to worry about them being punished. You simply didn't punish two of your highest ranked brothers, four of your most capable mages, one of your best alchemist, a keeper and a special missions sisters as well as several other mages over such things. She did lament that it all meant Nathan was busy in the morning. She would have liked to have him setting on her shoulder while she was working or else where. This thought brought Zarena's eyes down to her chest as she imagined keeping Nathan tucked between her breast while she worked.

Flora, “Good morning Zarena!” As she called out to the sleeper Flora still kept a safe distance from her. There was no point in risking being stepped on for no reason.

Zarena, “Good morning Flora. What brings you here?”

Flora, “I'm just bringing you your breakfast.” As she spoke Flora indicated a large crate she had brought with her. Inside of it was a large amount of the life bloom which had been picked for Zarena. “After the battle with the Amalgam we figured that it was time you had a little something.”

Zarena, “Fresh fruit? I'm used to only getting that whenever I first wake up.” As she spoke Zarena knew it was fruit because she could smell the sweetness from the crate. Her eyes helped her recognize what it was immediately due to the energy coming from it. “Are you sure about this?”

Flora, “You've really sped up our work so you've earned it.” Flora continued to wait near the crate even as Zarena began to walk towards her. As she looked around it was clear to see where Zarena had stepped as her feet sunk deeply into the earth. “Zarena if you don't mind would you flatten out the entire market area for us? It looks like you're well on your way to doing it anyway but I see a few uneven spots/”

Zarena, “I'm sure that I can.” As she spoke Zarena took hold of the crate easily grasping it between her pointer finger and thumb. The crate was just big enough to contain a guardian rank sister which meant it looked absolutely tiny in Zarena's fingers. “Flora this might sound odd but would you mind if I held onto the crate and waited to eat?”

Flora, “That is your choice. Do you have something in mind?”

Zarena, “I believe I'll have Nathan feed me later.” A slight giggle escaped Zarena as she noted the expression on Flora's face. It wasn't one of shock but one of understanding.

Flora, “Now if you're going to do that then you really need something that you can spread over his body properly.”

Zarena, “Mm that could be nice. I'd rather just suck on him if I'm going to have him in my mouth though. He's sweet enough without anything else.”

Flora, “Ah. I'm sure he'd love to hear you say that. That or be very afraid. A big girl like you could swallow him if she wasn't careful.”

Zarena, “I know and it makes me nervous to. I don't really like the idea of choking myself to induce vomiting and I'm sure he wouldn't like the experience either. There wouldn't be much of a choice in the matter if I did make such a mistake. So what do you all want me to do once I'm done here?”

For a moment Flora said nothing but took a look around. It was truly amazing how quickly Zarena had been working. “I'm not sure if there is much for you to do. You should probably take some private time and we'll let you know if something comes up.”

***********************************************************************************


Mirin, “We really need to resume our work on understanding how our sister's bodies absorb mystic energy. To those ends we should resume work on studying their skin, nervous system and I would like to resume the study on their brain tissue. Based on previous studies I believe that the organ primarily used for taking in and processing these energies is actually housed in the brain of a sister while the nervous system is an intricate part of that.”

Carter, “I don't agree Mirin. I believe the organs used for the absorption of energy and converting it into a form useful to a sister's body is housed in her digestive system. It has been established that it's the blood of a sister that carries such energies throughout the body of a sister just the same as with humans, as with elfs, as with orcs even the same with kobolds. Housing such an organ in the brain would make it difficult for the altered energies to be transferred into the blood.”

Mirin, “Not if the nervous system is also involved. Typically a human nervous system would be fried trying to transfer such energies however the sisters nervous system is far better suited to such tasks.”

Nathan, “We could devote body one entirely to the study of such a process and allow for all variables to be tested.”

Dan, “Do you believe it's worth devoting an entire body to such studies? I personally do.”

Nathan, “I do as well. Do we have any objections to devoting body one to the study of how our sister's absorb, alter and transfer mystic energies throughout their body?” As he spoke Nathan stood up and began to look around for anyone else standing or raising their hands. It wasn't surprising to see a few people but most seemed to remain seated. “It looks like body one is going to be devoted to the study our energy intake, transference and conversion.”

Ridon, “What type of energy though or is that to be left up to those conducting the studies?”

Nathan, “Well based on what we know already I believe it would be best to stick to using energies that are the most likely to get positive results. We can understand how the body responds differently to different types of energy when we know more. For that reason I believe we should either use pure life energy such as those used in healing wounds or augmenting living things or energies drawn directly from nature such as what the druids use.”

Julia, “Healing and arcane energies strike me as better. For a natural being mystic energy derived from nature would be better but the sisters are artificial beings. If you'll turn to page thirteen of report J Y twelve you'll find that his studies suggest that the sister's body easily process arcane energies when applied at low intensities.”

Nathan, “Okay then we'll go with healing energies and arcane energies used as the discretion of the studying team. If this works we should gain new insight on how to more effectively direct energies into the sisters lowering their need for other food sources. Joseph I believe that this would help you considerably with your own line of study later so how would you like to be the alchemist on this team?”

Mirin, “Hold on. Let's reserve assigning brothers to studies until we've settled on all the studies we're going to conduct.”

It had been Joseph's intent to respond but Mirin had beaten him to it. He did agree with Nathan but Mirin had made a good point as well. It left Joseph feeling uncertain as to what he wanted to do but he was going to keep the first study in mind. For the moment it looked like his studies in regards to the sisters was going to have to be conducted on his own time. “I don't have anything against  studying how the sisters take in mystic energy from their environment however I was thinking I'd like to work on tissue growth. If we could figure out how to encourage samples of the sisters tissue to grow and develop then we could perform far more consistent studies without having to harm our sisters. After all even if they heal rapidly and are willing to give us tissue samples I know they don't enjoy it and some samples just aren't reasonable to request.”

Nathan, “That is true. Wow we are so far from being able to develop a sister's body on our own. We can't even cause a smooth muscle sample to resume its growth with healing magic. I believe that it's a subject worth studying.”

Mirin, “Good call Joseph. It sounds like a worthwhile study to me as well. How many resources do we want to devote to it? I believe it will help if the team conducting the tissue development studies can freely take what they need. It would probably be best to test a wide variety of tissue as well in order to determine what tissue is the most likely to meet with success first.”

Nathan, “True. I would normally oppose devoting an entire body to every project but we have never had this many to work with either while our numbers haven't really increased. I believe it's safe to devote body three to this study given the heavy damage that it suffered.”

***********************************************************************************

Stella, “Allen what are you doing?” As she spoke Stella was a bit surprised. She could practically feel the magic in the air as she checked in on her son. He was currently setting over a piece of paper clearly focused on it.

Upon hearing his mom's voice Allen gave a slight jump. He wasn't hiding anything but he had been so focused on his efforts that he hadn't noticed her. Before speaking he quickly turned to face her. “I'm working on learning how to use this fire protection glyph. Mom could you come closer for a moment?”

There was no need for Allen to ask Stella to come closer as she walked further into her son's room and bent down bringing herself closer to him. “Did you ask your teacher if this was safe?”

Allen, “No but Julia told me that it was as long as this piece of paper didn't light up.” As he spoke Allen held up a small slip of paper for his mother to see. “She said the markings on this paper respond to magic and would begin to glow if the magic in the air began to reach dangerous levels.”

Stella, “What did she tell you to do if that happened?”

Allen, “She said to immediately leave the room and have you go set in it for a while.”

For a moment Stella said nothing. She could feel the magic in the air that was true but it was hardly a frightening amount. It felt as if one of the brothers had cast a strong healing spells or something similar to her. “And have you managed to light the paper up yet?”

To this Allen quickly shook his head. “No. I tried directing magic directly into it to make it light up but I couldn't do it like Julia could. I made one of the markings glow for a moment though!”

Stella, “Really! That's wonderful Allen.” As she spoke Stella was both proud of her son and curious what was the purpose of this activity. She knew that he would benefit from practicing using such glyphs and she was proud to see him working on his own. “You seem to be quite good at working the fire glyph as well.”

Allen, “Thanks but that's not what I'm suppose to be learning. I've been working on learning to channel different types of mystic energy into the glyph by imaging nature whenever I'm using the glyph. I can't wait to tell Julia that I can feel the resistance in the glyph” Even as he spoke Allen looked down at the glyph. He had been practicing hard and had even managed to learn to feel the glyph pushing back against him in less then a day.

Stella, “Would you mind showing me how you do it?”

Allen, “I'd love to but I can't. You drain too much mystic energy for me to make the glyph work mommy.” As he spoke Allen was a bit surprised whenever his mother looked slightly hurt.

Stella, “What? You mean you can't show your own mother how good you are at awakening that glyph but you'll show Julia?”

Allen, “It's not that mom! I'm not strong enough to awaken the magic with you in the room yet. I bet I'll be able to soon.”

Stella, “I'm sure you will but you know you need to eat to grow stronger. Come on lunch is ready.”

Allen, “Okay. Mommy do you know when Pera will be getting back?”

Stella, “I don't know honey. If you want I may be able to take some time away from work to take you and track her down.” As she spole Stella slipped a hand underneath Allen's rear and proceeded to lift him into her arms.

Allen, “No. I know she wants to speak with her dad really bad.”

***********************************************************************************

Desmon hadn't been surprised whenever Pera had come searching for him. Given what had happened he expected his daughter would want to talk. He had kept close for that reason but chosen not to remain in the village. He doubted that being surrounded would help Pera open up. Out in the forest it would be easier for her even as she set quietly clearly trying to arrange her thoughts.

Pera, “Dad have you had many friends die?”

Desmon, “I've had several die. Some close friends, some so distant that I'm not even sure if we were friends. Fortunately I've only had a few that I would call close die.” Even as he spoke he knew this was different for Pera. Sisters not only had friendship but had an extremely powerful biological desire to protect certain things.

Pera, “Did you ever feel guilty?”

Desmon, “I did once. A group of us had become aware of a mage that was twisting the natural spirits of the region for their own benefit. They were trying to make some kind of construct. We worked together to confront the mage and ended up killing him but during the fight we lost a few of our own as well. Their deaths were very hard for me to accept and I was left wondering if there is something that I could have done. It was only one mage and we thought that with the five of us it would be an easy kill.”

Pera, “What did you do?”

Desmon, “I realized that I had fought to the best of my ability. The idea that we were going to kill this mage without any risk to ourselves was arrogant even if it was only one mage. Whenever you engage in a battle you have to be prepared for the fact that someone might die. Perhaps if we had realized that none of us would have as we would have fought and prepared differently. The best you can do is learn from what you did wrong and work to insure that you won't make the same mistake again.”

For a moment Pera went silent. She could see what her father was saying. It wasn't making her feel any less ashamed though. “What about the guilt?”

Desmon, “In my case that faded during the pain of training. You can't change the past so if you feel guilty about it you should work to make sure that it doesn't happen again. That doesn't mean that it won't happen again but you can still do your best to insure it doesn't. Those old lessons came in very handy whenever I was in the spirit realm fighting alongside of your brothers.” As he spoke Desmon stood up and walked over to set down next to Pera placing his arm around her when he did. It was a bit of a strange moment as Pera was nearly the size of her mother whenever Desmon had first met her.

The feeling of her father holding her was nice even if he was smaller then Pera remembered. It was nice to make her smile a little. “I just feel like that I should apologize to someone. That I should tell them how.”

Desmon, “No Pera. In this case you have nothing to apologize for. You weren't even meant to be fighting that day. You need to get it out of your head that you did something wrong. That said. I don't believe telling you all of this is going to be enough to get you over these feelings. You not only have the guilt that any good person may feel in your situation you have your instinctual desires as well. Fortunately I know a thing or two about instincts.”

Despite the situation Pera was made to chuckle. As a druid that was quite true about her father. “You have a point. So back to your training idea?”

Desmon, “Of course. It's a lot harder to feel guilty whenever your covered in bruises and cuts. At least that's my experience. Typically it's enough to get ones mind to stop thinking about what you should have done or could have done and start thinking about how much pain your in.”

Pera, “Gee dad that sounds so much better!” It was nice to feel herself smiling again now that Pera had something to do. The fact that she wasn't being entirely sarcastic made the situation somewhat strange.

Desmon, “I'm glad to hear it! Now you've put on a bit of mass since the last time we did this but.”

Pera, “No!”

Desmon, “What? You don't think your father can give you a work out?”

Pera, “Absolutely not. I cam spar with Terima or some other sister to get my cuts and bruises. You can get your bruises and burns helping my brothers learn to fight.” As she spoke Pera wrapped both her arms around her father and pulled him against herself. This was done both to hug him and insure that he couldn't get away.