"Mother!" Thayna cried out, dropping John from her grip and running to Thelina's embrace. John snapped back to his senses as his head smacked into the carpet below, the pain in his head jerking holim awake. Looking around, he was certain he would have died if he landed in anything more solid, and cursed Thayna for her carelessness.

John clambered to his feet and let out a gasp when he saw the state of the room, charred beyond all recognition. The stove had burst, the pile of shoes were blackened to a crisp and almost everything had a singe mark freshly burnt into them. John didn't think it possible that Thayna's room could get any messier.

John turned to where the two mages were standing. Thayna was snuggling herself against her mother's side, and Thelina patted her daughter with her free hand. Thelina was a tall giantess, with Thayna only coming to her eye-level. She exuded a noble air about her, exemplified by her crisp red hair tied into a tight bun, a regal expression which shone through her every face, and a magnificent robe of sapphire and platinum which glittered with the flow of the robes. She denounced footwear, having only anklets of tarnished gold which held glistening studs of diamonds along their rim, but most striking of all was the cleavage window in the center of her chest which bore a large mage mark made up of runes and fiery silhouettes, resting somberly between her bosom.

"You have done well," Thelina said to Thayna, holding the chin of her daughter up to her face, "You have found the key to your mage mark, and proven to me that you are indeed a mage as your sisters are."

"Y-yes!" Thayna said happily, giddy like a little girl who had done well at a test in school, and was eager to show her mother the results.

Thelina loosened her embrace on Thayna and put her hand on Thayna's back. "So tell your mother," Thelina said in a smooth tone, "What happened that made your magic flow as frely as it does now?"

Thayna looked back to the floor and shouted, "John! He was the one who attended to me!" She pointed excitedly at the small, standing figure, and John shuffled his feet uneasily at having the attention of two gigantic women in the same room.

"I know why we couldn't find my trigger!" Thayna continued with unbridled elation, eager to boast to her mother, "Most people wouldn't find feet sexy, but John here must have a thing for them. While he was jerking off to my sole, bam!" Thayna slammed her fist into her palm for emphasis.

"Ah, yes," Thelina said with a disapproving but serene look, "You've always been born with such colorful qualities, but do mind your manners."

Thelina walked over to John and picked him up without so much as a warning, and held him within her vice-like grip. "May I?" Said Thelina. She wasn't talking to John.

"Oh, of course!" Thayna said, still gushing over her newfound power.

"I would like to protest-" John began, but was cut off mid sentence as Thelina shoved him into her cleavage window. The full richness of her breasts collided headfirst into John's face, burying him deep into the valley where each of her mountainous breasts met. John gasped as the weight of Thelina's twins assaulted him from either side, feeling his joints popping from the strain. She wore her robe far too tight for this to be the natural force between breasts; to have invalidated the softness of such a shapely bosom, there must have been a corset somewhere underneath. Still, John felt his cruel host push him further in with her fingers, shoving until John was face to face to Thelina's mage mark.

John wasn't sure what Thelina's trigger was, but he had gone through so much already that he was unsure of how to feel emotionally. Pain was the order of the day; did she share triggers with Tharsia, whose catalyst was best used now? Whatever it was, John felt his body being pulled by a malevolent force, tearing streaks of magical energy relentlessly from him like a demon possesed by rage. Its pull shot through John like a sickle through wheat, and John gagged as the forces both physical and magical began strangling him.

Thelina parted her breast aside with a hand and found John's ankle through the cleavage window. With a pull, she yanked him from his fleshy prison, dangling him upside down before her mighty chest. Thelina passed the writhing John back to Thayna, and dropped him carelessly into her hands.

"This one doesn't seem compatible with my mark," Thelina said as she stroked her chin pensively, "But I felt a great rift of magic locked away within him, to which you have a key."

Thelina walked out of the room, beckoning for Thayna to follow. She obeyed, John still in hand, and bounced happily after her mother. They made their way into a large room beginning with a red carpet leading up to a magnificent gold and velvet throne built to seat a giantess, with grand tapestries hanging down from the ceiling. The tapestries depicted Farum's flag which was made up of a four-point star held on its bottom point by a hand, captioned by a banner which read, "By the light of stars did we found our country." Farum was founded and named after Thelina's bloodline when they found a hidden human mining town far away from any charted lands. It was a clear night when they came to subjugate them, and they oversaw the return of the mining town to the mage's power.

Perhaps because of Farum's vast deposits of rare minerals, the town was able to grow into a city, and then a capital, with enough trade and resources to sustain itself. Independence was unheard of in the world, but that just proved how powerful the Farum family was. As a result, many humans began gathering with the promise that they need only serve one family instead of an entire country of mages. Life was easier here, having only four mages in the current lineage to bow to, and the growth of the nation exploded. It worked well for the Farums, as they needn't ever worry about running out of magic again.

But as with society, dissent was inevitable. Some wished to be freed completely from their mistress's grasp, others crying foul for having to offer their own sons and daughters as tribute. Law was an issue in Farum, with dissenters forming towns in unpopulated areas of Farum, where they were free from rule but still protected by Farum's border. Tharsia was head executor of justice, and weeded out the deserters regularly.

Some places, you were treated like cattle, John thought to himself. At least in Farum you could live like a human should.

"Stand before me," Thelina commanded Thayna, seating herself upon the throne. She rested her staff in her lap and supported her chin in her hand atop the armrest, a disinterested look on her face.

Thayna came just below to the small flight of steps before the throne, the proper, respectful distance one should be before a regent. John saw that Thayna had a much more serious expression on her face, her fingers tightening nervously around John unconsciously.

"The day has come where you must perform your duties as a mage," Thelina said in a solemn tone, "Before, I moved between realms myself in order to form any kind of dialogue with our neighbours. The task of rulership and diplomacy rested on my shoulders alone. Now that you have found your place as a mage, you are ready to take over my role, and will become an envoy for Farum to the other nations."

Thayna's mouth was agape, unable to believe what she just heard, "I'm going to leave Farum?"

"For a few years," Thelina remarked emotionlessly, "There are many places I wish you to visit."

"...But I only just got to show you my powers..." John heard Thayna whisper.

"Your journey will serve as time to hone your magic, as well," Thelina continued, "You've trained on nothing but increasing your mage mark's potency, but you've not a lick of an idea what your magic is like. A mage's spells require years of practice in order to perfect, and your magic's true form will reveal itself to you over time, just as it did for your sisters."

"...Just as I've finally impressed you," Thayna continued to mumble.

"You will take that human in your hands with you," Thelina continued, heedless to her daughter's growing disbelief, "He has more than enough magic to feed you throughout the journey, and it is fortuitous that you found one who works so well with your mark. It is taxing and expensive to maintain a retinue of servants outside our borders."

When she saw that Thayna was barely even listening, she called to her sharply, "Thayna."

Thayna snapped to attention, throwing her arms tightly to her sides, unintentionally jerking John sideways.

With a razor-like glare, Thelina told her daughter, "Don't disappoint me again."

John just wanted to go home. Granted, home was a place he found difficult to pinpoint when he became a travelling merchant, having left his folks a while ago, and any establishment with a bed and bread ready for him when he payed for a night's stay became his 'home'.

He was watching Thayna pack. It was pitiful seeing her pack with such dejection on her face; John didn't dare utter a word, though, in case she would take it out on him. Thayna would look over to him on occasion, but she would always turn back to her packing and sigh. The mood in the room was heavy.

They were in the ivory terrace's dressing room, and Thayna was busy picking out her clothes to bring. It occurred to John that she wasn't going to pack for him, so he braved conversation to speak with her.

"Hey," John called out to Thayna, "Uh..." John still didn't know what to call her, so he just went with what came to his mind, "Lady Thayna, might I have a moment?"

Thayna sighed and went over to John. "What?" She asked curtly.

"Mayhap that you've not packed me clothes of my own," John said, "I was wondering if-"

"Oh, enough with the formalities!" Thayna cried out hotly, "That tone of yours annoys me to no end, and you will rue the day you speak to me like that again!"

Thayna heaved another sigh at the frightened form of John shirking away before her. She put on as reassuring a tone as she could muster, and said, "Just call me Thayna."

"R-right," John said shakily, "Miss Thayna-"

Thayna drilled holes through John with her glare.

"Er, Thayna," John corrected himself, "If we're to be going on a trip, might I pack my own things?"

"No," Thayna said as she crossed her arms, "If you're coming with me, then I'm responsible for you whether you like it or not. I'm packing everything we'll need by myself."

Thayna pulled a small, white set of human robes from her bag and shoved it into John's face. It was a simple looking smock with the emblem of Farum sewn in its center. "Servants wear this uniform if they are attending to us," Thayna said matter-of-factly, "Your clothes are already accounted for."

Seriously? John thought to himself.

"Look," John said as persuasively as he could, "I'm a merchant, I could talk to the people in town so they could help us. I just need my things to be able to do that well."

"And I'm a mage!" Thayna lashed out angrily, "If the humans in town don't do what I want, I'll grill them myself!"

Again, Thayna sighed when she saw John's face of abject horror, rubbing her face with her hand at her sudden outburst. It was unbecoming of her to lose her temper like that, she knew, and making John even more afraid of her wasn't helping things.

"Look, sorry," Thayna said, seating herself down beside the table she had put John on, "A lot's happened today, and I know you were forced into coming with me. We'll get your things when I'm done packing, I'll take you there myself."

"Really?" John said, brightening up.

"Don't make me repeat myself," Thayna growled, returning to pack her luggage.

John sat there for a moment, just watching Thayna fold her dresses absently. She had changed his view of mages being evil, tyrannical beings whose only interest was to oppress humanity. Some of them were like her.

"You're not as bad as you look," John said, earning him a flying smock to the face.

Riding a giantess was quite the experience. It was as if John was flying, his head high up between the city buildings, zooming past the crowds of men below. He was seated on Thayna's left shoulder, just high enough to be above the roofs of Farum's two-, maybe three-storey buildings. It was as if he were an eagle gliding through the streets, sharing the same perspective as those predatory birds, and the people scrambling away from Thayna's path looked nothing more than prey he could swoop down on at any time, helpless to run from him.

"Take a left!" John shouted to Thayna, and the world jerked leftward as Thayna rounded the corner.

They were heading to John's parent's house. With his carriage and Matilda gone, what remained of John's possessions was what he left there when he started travelling three years ago. He hoped that they didn't go about cleaning out his room while he was gone, he didn't want to end this trip with nothing to show for it.

"There it is!" John exclaimed, pointing and shouting ahead. The rush of traveling so high and quickly made his every sentence become his loudest. This fact was not lost on Thayna, whose ear had been enduring his shouts ever since they started, and she finally found an excuse to put John down.

"Walk the rest of the way yourself," Thayna told John, plucking him from her shoulder and placing him down to the cobbled streets.

"Huh, but it's just a little ways more!" John cried out.

"I wouldn't want to scare your folks," Thayna said with a 'hmph' as she turned to walk away, "I'll be waiting at the plaza we came from on our way here in the meantime."

John breathed a sigh of disappointment. Riding with Thayna was the best experience he's ever had in his life. For it to come to an end so suddenly was a letdown, but John supposed that he should be thankful to even be able to be carried by a giantess like that. It wasn't an experience many could claim to have.

Now on to business. John followed the street down to a quiet district of craftsmen and shops, the very front of which stood a quaint looking bakery. A sign hung outside, introducing the shop with the words "BAKER'S BAKERY: An esteemed bakery since 1631 and a lofty bread shop from which baked goods of the highest caliber are made within our earthen ovens, ensuring only the crispest of crusts would-".

The words went on. John's father had a nasty habit of writing down whatever sounded marketable on the shop's sign until not a trace of the menu remained. Today, the words almost reached the bottom of the sign, leaving only enough space to fit a single item, which he used to write in succinctly: "Bread - $$$".

John sighed, forcing his legs to take him inside. It was good to see that his father hasn't changed at all, but John had ran off on his own for three years with nothing to show for it. He prayed that his parents were busy elsewhere, and that he could just slip in and leave a note as he grabbed his stuff.

The bell to the door jingled as John eased his way in, and he cursed when he heard a voice call out from behind the counter, "Welcome, come in!"

John weaved his way past the shelves and came to a stop just before the counter. There, his father was facing away, wiping his hands clean of dough as he prepared to receive his customer. John walked cautiously forward, bracing himself for whatever reaction his father would give upon seeing him. "Hey dad," John said meekly.

John's father turned around, his face was, at first, that of surprise, and then elation as he rushed from the counter to embrace his son.

"John!" His father exclaimed, "By the oven's fire, boy, where have you been?"

"It's a long story," John said with a forced grin, "But I kind of need some stuff from my room. Are my bag and clothes still inside?"

"That they are," John's father said, and then with some worry, "Where are you going in such a hurry, boy? We've barely seen each other in a while, and your mother is in the plaza buying fruit for my-"

" Did you say the plaza?" John said, suddenly very concerned.

"Aye," his father replied, his tone growing more anxious, "John, just what has happened to you?"

"It's a long story," John repeated, "I promise I'll tell you later."

Hastily, John ran upstairs to where his room was. Third door on the left from the stairwell; it was just as he remembered. His bed was made and his shelf was neatly arranged, a simple room for one. He found his bag and began rummaging through his closet for clothes, jamming whatever he thought he needed as quickly as possible. He eyed the copy of his merchant license framed on a wall and tore it down. Who knows if that might still be useful.

"John?" His father called to him through the door.

"Look, I said I'll tell you later!" John shouted back, storming up to the door. He was going to shoo his dad away, but when he opened the door, he saw him standing in the corridor, holding up a bundle of fresh, fragrant bread in his arms.

"I don't know where you're going next," John's father said, passing him the bundle, "But it's been so long since we've seen each other. The least I could do is see you on your way."

John stared speechlessly at his father's gift. It smelled like all of John's favourite breads: focaccia, rye, even some pastries. His father still remembered them after all these years. It felt like so long ago since he was loved, years of loneliness washed away in an instant with a simple gesture. A teary pearl rolled down his eye, and John held his dad in an awkward one-handed embrace.

"I'll miss you, dad," John said with a choking voice. His father didn't reply, but simply patted him in the back. They held each other for a long, tender moment before John felt him letting go.

"Go, son," he said with a warm, fatherly smile, "I know you'll do me proud."

With that, John left the bakery and crossed the street back toward the plaza. The bundle of bread swayed merrily from his bag as he bounded up the cobbled pavement. He never thought he'd be so happy to see anyone again, and the excessive joy he felt gave length to his strides.

At the plaza, there was a general commotion happening at the center, where Thayna was seen standing above the midst of a throng of people. For whatever reason, she was shouting an unending stream of obscenities down at them.

What did she get herself into now? John thought to himself. He wanted to make himself scarce, but knew that the quickest way to get Thayna to leave was to return to her. John sighed and braced himself for whatever was to come.

"Look you pest," Thayna said angrily, "You're not helping anybody here by doing this. Just go home!"

"We will not cede to your tyranny!" A man bellowed back, "We are not tools for you to use

as you please!"

There was an unanimous cheer of agreement from the crowd, and their fierce advance on Thayna made even one as big as she retreat back a step.

John pushed his way through as best he could, but try as he might, the crowd only grew thicker the further he got. Unable to proceed, John waved his hands wildly into the air, hoping to catch Thayna's attention. He shouted to her helplessly, but was ultimately drowned out by the people around him. Thayna remained unreachable.

"Enough!" Thayna yelled, silencing the crowd with a furious bellow, "Stand back, or it's my fire you'll be tasting next!"

The crowd looked at each other for a wordless moment, then burst out laughing all at once. Thayna's reputation as a mage preceded her, and nobody was willing to take her seriously when it came to magic.

Fine, Thayna thought, Have it your way.

With a flick of her finger, Thayna produced a flame in her palm. It quickly grew larger and larger, and without Thayna limiting the flow of magic to fuel it, it erupted into an ectoplasm of fiery tendrils, shooting out wherever it pleased without warning. Thayna raised it above her head as it began to grow too big, letting out a sinister growl, "You asked for it."

Not having anticipated that this could have happened, the crowd below began fleeing wildly, pushing and shoving each other out of the way. In an instant, the plaza cleared, leaving only a few abandoned stalls on the ground, and John.

"Oh," Thayna blinked when she spotted her attendant all by his lonesome beneath her, "That was quick."

"What are you thinking?!" John shouted at Thayna, "Using your magic in town!" She gave a nervous side glance, wondering the same thing. What was she thinking?

"I didn't start it!" Thayna argued back, hand still awkwardly held skyward as she spoke, "The man was preaching the so-called 'evils' and 'tyranny' my family had wrought upon Farum, so I had to put a stop to his lies!"

Says the mage holding a giant fireball threateningly above the townsfolk, John thought to himself. He threw her an incriminating look, cocking an eyebrow at the inferno above.

"I-... this isn't what it looks like!" Thayna cried out, layering on the excuses, "I just lost my temper, that's all!"

"Right," John said with snark.

"Ooh," Thayna huffed in frustration, "Why am I even explaining things to you? If you're done, we're leaving!"

Thayna plucked John from the ground, putting him back on her shoulder and storming off. John looked back to the plaza one last time, searching to see if his mother was anywhere in sight, but anybody who had been there before had already left. John took some consolation that she wasn't, at least, caught up in this mess.

The ride back became much more awkward now that a massive, glowing ball of fire followed them overhead, and John was unable to feel the same rush he did when he first rode on Thayna. The ride only became increasingly embarrassing the further they walked, leaving a long trail of people behind them, all of them staring nervously at fireball.

"Can't you do anything about that?" John whined, pointing up to the inferno.

"I don't know!" Thayna shouted in annoyance, "If I did, I would have done it by now!"

"Well, at least try to do something!" John rebuked.

"FINE!" Thayna yelled. She remembered that her sisters taught her to call out her spells with just her feelings alone, and with closed eyes, she tried to think very hard about undoing the fireball. When nothing happened for a while, Thayna muttered a choice string of words she thought might have helped with her concentrate on extinguishing the blaze.

"Close, turn off, go out, cease burning... " Thayna muttered under her breath, but whatever she tried, the fire wouldn't put itself out.

"You're terrible at this," John remarked.

"SHUT," Thayna shouted through grit teeth, clenching both her fists in rage, "UP!"

Thayna's voice rang far through the city. As if in response to that, the fireball wobbled and began collapsing in on itself, before blinking out of existence with a pop.

"Huh?" Thayna said in confusion, putting down and inspecting her now freed hand. It was then a sudden flash of inspiration struck her, "Huh! So I just need to be annoyed at you enough to dismiss my spells!"

"Hey!" John denied, "I'm not annoying!"

"You're the most annoying, incorrigible, insufferable human pest I've ever met, John," Thayna said with a completely straight face, "But I suppose I have you to thank for tempering my spells."

"Uh," John said, "Thanks?"

"We'll try again when we get back," Thayna said as she started off again back to the ivory terrace with a small spring in her step, "I'm sure if we practice enough, I'll get the hang of it."

"So you want me to criticize and yell at you non-stop as you cast your spells?" John said candidly.

Thayna thought about it for a second and said, "...I suppose we should moderate ourselves. I'm not sure I'd be able to hold back if I hear another offensive word from your mouth again."

The rest of the way back was spent in utter silence.

It was the day to leave. Tharsia and Thalana stood waiting just outside the city, and a small crowd of people gathered a respectful distance away, curious of the proceedings. Thayna walked toward them, with John on her shoulder and a bag on her back. She was dressed in brown leathers and grey covers, lined with fiery red markings and held together with a large belt. She had her hair tied back into a messy, curly ponytail, and her feet were clad in thick hewn sandals; overall, she looked the part of traveler.

"Journey in the direction of the morning sun," Tharsia said as Thayna approached, "And you'll reach Farum's border in two days at a good pace. Ask the villages for food and rest in the towns you encounter, and don't hesitate to corral them to your service. Be wary of the country of Mordrell when you enter; their mages number in the hundreds, so do not misconduct yourself there."

"I'll miss you, too," Thayna said with a derisive roll of her eyes.

"You'll be gone for a long while," Thalana said, coming up to her sister and placing a kiss on her cheek, "But remember, no matter how far we are apart, we are still family. Think of us when you have the chance."

As Thalana stepped back, Thayna looked around, but couldn't find her mother anywhere. It seemed as if she didn't think her important enough to come see her off one last time.

"Well..." Thayna said sadly, "I guess this is goodbye."

"Hmph," Tharsia said gruffly, "You're only leaving for a few years, there is no reason to be hung over it. Come back to us as a full-fledged mage, and show the world what it means to be a Tha Fire Sister."

"You might find a scryer mage in Mordrell," Thalana added, "So we may be in touch sooner than you think."

"Thanks, sis," Thayna said with a weak smile, "I'll do my best."

With a final pat on the back from both her sisters, Thayna took her first step on her journey. She turned back one last time, waving back and shouting, "Farewell, my sisters!"

Tharsia and Thalana began spinning their hands between each other, conjuring a bright yellow orb which shot into the sky and exploded into a shower of sparks, falling in beautiful sparkles which quickly dimmed out. The spectacle drew an impressed 'ooh' from the crowd behind them, and Thayna laughed merrily at her sister's farewell gift.

"Let's be on our way, then," Thayna said to John, certain that she had left all her regrets behind.

"Yeah," John replied , "Let's go."

Together, they walked toward the morning sun, leaving Farum for the country of Mordrell. Unbeknownst to them, their journey would take to places far more perilous than they would have first imagined, and that together, they held a great power that would change the world forever. Their adventure had just begun.