Naidra couldn't help but smile as she approached Joseph. “Congratulations your progress has been quite remarkable. Perhaps if our last master had tried such methods he would still be with us today and been able to accomplish his goal.” As she spoke Naidra could practically feel Joseph radiating happiness. He was quite pleased with himself and the results of his project. It was well earned and made him seem all the more a Luvarian to her. Yet there was some hesitation in his movements. He was past being uncomfortable around her which likely meant he had a request that she might not approve of. She was proud to deal with that.

“Thanks Naidra. I can hardly believe it. We've cut Maria and Flora's food rations by nearly a third and they're both doing fine. You know we're going to be extending the lessons to other sisters soon right?” As he spoke Joseph was actually having trouble standing still. He could feel the excitement building within him as it had since the project had began showing serious results over three months. Now there was no arguing with the data they had gathered. The sisters could be taught to diminish their need for external energy sources by learning to better direct energy into their body. He had been fearful that all they'd been seeing was slight variations that wouldn't amount to anything. A recent examination of Maria and Flora though designating them both in ideal health had removed all fears.

“Yes I am aware. I'm also glad that you decided to hold these lessons within the citadel. I should inform you that we've also began examining your project and seeing how we might apply such methods to ourselves but there is complications.”

“Oh? That's great! But what are the complications?”

Rather then answering right away Naidra took a moment to set down bringing herself closer to eye level with Joseph. As she settled on the floor and leaned against the wall she took in a deep breath. “Well I'm sure you noticed that we don't grow like the sisters do. There are some design differences in our bodies. We're not quite as adaptive as they are but we're stronger then them in many areas. We're more hoping to make use of your technique rather then your exact glyph design.”

“We'll I'm glad to hear it. But Naidra there is something else I wanted to talk to you about. With this new method and the life bloom we're making serious steps towards ending the sister's hunger. We're taking bigger steps then have been taken in centuries I believe. I was thinking that it might be time to give everyone another chance. I remember you mentioned that they pushed you for knowledge that you couldn't risk giving them. With these new discoveries though that knowledge isn't as important anymore.”

Naidra had known it would only be so long before Joseph would want to bring others in on the secret. The protectors had talked about this for quite some time and came up with a solution. “We would prefer if instead of doing that you invited a few select faelom to meet with us. Rather then a mass reveal we would prefer a slow introduction to our siblings.”

For a moment Joseph felt his body go numb even as his face formed into a smile. He had actually been prepared for Naidra to say no and hoped that she would say give it more time. For her to suggest an alternative was exciting. “You mean I can tell Maria about you? I have to admit keeping her in the dark about where I've been going inside the citadel has been troubling me.”

“We could have never stopped you from telling anyone. We simply asked that you not tell anyone.” Joseph seemed to relax now even as Naidra smiled back at him. She was glad to see that he was becoming increasingly comfortable with his status.

Joseph actually felt a little foolish as Naidra reminded him of a simple fact. He kept forgetting his position as far as being  Luvarian. At times he felt this was best as it made him consider his actions more carefully. “Thats great! I just hope that Maria isn't too upset with me for not telling her sooner. I wonder what would be the best way to tell her.”

“I don't recommend telling her. Showing her would be far simpler. All you need to do is lead her into one of the restricted areas by telling her you have something you want to speak to her about. If need be I will be there or another protector if you wish us to be to serve as confirmation. If you intend to reveal that you can travel further within the citadel on your own then we may as well speak to her.” As she spoke Naidra was hiding her fear and excitement. It had been so long since they'd last spoken to one of the faelom that journeyed outside of the citadel. The protectors left the citadel at times but they were also quiet during such times. Someone that could move freely could be beneficial.

“I believe it might be best if you were there. I'm not worried about her becoming aggressive but she might become a bit excited. I know I'm excited to tell her. Well I'm excited to show her it seems. Are they any other sisters that you'd recommend?”

“Mina.”

“Huh? Because she's a keeper?”

“Because it would be easier to convince her to keep Dremera within the citadel and trust her to our care if we could actually speak to her. In the event you didn't notice we are rather fond of children. It's something of a requirement whenever you're part of an organization that specializes in the creation of new life. I do not recommend bringing here at the same time.”

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

As Zarena watched Nathan working she felt a little out of place. It wasn't that she hadn't been able to help him but the help she could offer was now at an end. The glyph was a scaled up version of the one Joseph had developed and the ink had been adjusted for the increased size of the glyph and the different material it would be carved into it. That hadn't been entirely sufficient though. Mystic focus points and power sources would have to be implanted within the glyph to make it functional. Currently Nathan was busy feeling the paths she'd cut into the stone with the special ink while channeling a bit of magic into it to help with its formation.  “This stinks.”

A slight chuckle escaped Nathan as he looked up at Zarena. Currently she was setting so that she blocked the sun light allowing him to work in the shade. “I would let you move me around but until the ink has set you run a risk of disturbing its properties.”

“I know. It still isn't pleasant. I admit I'm kind of worried this is going to turn into a big waste of resources. You have to admit that I use a good bit more energy then an average sister. What if even after I learned to direct more energy into my body it doesn't really make a difference? It seems like this is something you'd want to try out on the matrons before you experimented on a sleeper.”

“True there is a potential this won't have much of an affect. However, if it does work then you have the single greatest potential of providing the greatest results. Well you and every other sleeper.” As Nathan worked he was surprised by how draining this was proving. The modified ink required a bit of magic to form correctly. Whenever he was using it to write on paper that wasn't a problem. Filling the entire glyph Zarena had cut into the stone was proving to be more of a problem. He was trying not to show it but he could feel the drain and worried whether he would have the reserves to finish. He was confident that he would but he wasn't entirely certain the more he progressed though the more confident he became. “I do hope that this ink works and I don't have to prepare another type.”

“That's the danger of scale. The larger you make something the more likely some secondary attribute you never considered will prove to be a problem. I remember whenever we were first talking about producing the sleepers and the possibility that something would go horribly wrong with our bodies or our minds. Well our minds was the greater concern.” As she spoke Zarena could tell that Nathan was fatiguing. She could also tell that talking to him was helping. If she provided a distraction and kept his spirits up without being a hindrance it would help his performance.

“Zarena did you study magic theory?”

“Naturally! You can't protect a brother from his over eagerness, mistakes or idiocy if you don't have some idea of what he's doing. Idiocy is the really tricky one. It can do such a good job of disguising itself as common sense that you may not see it until it's right up on you. Then.” Zarena quickly smacked her hands together creating a very powerful impact that resounded throughout the area. Nathan didn't even flinch as she smiled down at him. “There is a huge mess to deal with. The fact that my sisters chose to restrict some of your studies led me to believe that they've been slacking in their study of mystic theory.”

Nathan was glad that he had traveled to the island Zarena had been working on. It would be a good location for the other sleepers to train and it meant they could speak relatively freely. He knew the sisters living with the orcs would be able to hear her but that was better then every sister in the village. She had a tendency to say things that would shame them. “I don't suppose that they have. So do you expect your previous experience to give you an advantage.”

“I don't believe so. Well it might. Maria explained what she did to me earlier whenever I was showing her different ways to work her tail.”

“Is that why you were balling half your tail up and throwing it around like a weight?”

“Yep! You don't actually have to move a great deal of mass to make adjustments to your velocity after all. I was showing her how she could manipulate her tail to turn even titer. She's really a quick study but I suspect that has more to do with the way her mind works then anything else. I really don't know if I could live in the world she does.”

The notion of living in a world that moved and thought so much slower then you had occurred to Nathan before. At times he imagined he would go mad in such a situation. Pleasure would seem to last longer but so would pain. As difficult as the other sisters felt suffering through their hunger was every hour was half a day or longer to Maria. He had thought at times this would have to fatigue her mind more quickly then normal. How long would have Maria lived with such a mutation if she hadn't found something she could always look forward to? “I really believe that Joseph came along at just the right time to help us whenever I consider everything we've been through.”

“Well he sure did great work! That said I'm sure I could have whipped you all into shape after you woke me up to. Sure I couldn't have come up with as many developments but there would be no way I could just leave you where you were.” A slight chuckle escaped Zarena as she pushed far more pride into her voice then she truly felt. “Joseph really did do amazing work. It's a shame you didn't find someone like him before all of this but then I wonder if you'd been prepared for such changes if you hadn't been humbled before hand.”

“Do you believe that the life bloom could have triggered the sisters to become more repressive?”

“Yes. Especially as they were of the mind set of we're so powerful that there is no reason for you to put yourself in danger. If we truly were so powerful I'd agree with them but they are some things we just can't do and well. It's much easier to protect something that's strong then something that's delicate. I'm glad that you're as accomplished with your magic as you are. It lets me leave you and not worry about your safety too much.”

“Too much? Oh come now I spend most of my time in the citadel now or amongst the other sisters. Why would you be worrying?”

“It's in my nature. So do you believe you have enough ink to finish the glyph?”

“Oh I hope so! I did the math to make sure I had enough and even prepared some extra but there is always that fear. I really wish some of the compounds weren't so restrictive.” Unfortunately for Nathan to make the needed ink he had to make use of gold as well as some precious stones. Given the amount of ink he'd needed it had been a bit restrictive. It didn't help that as they had been expanding so rapidly resources had began to be stretched. “I'm glad you gathered all of that stone for us whenever I think of the sisters having to dig it up in the forest that would have been a problem.”

“Nathan how are we doing on reserves? I know that the life bloom has been a wonderful food source but I remember sisters were being given special hunting assignments while the others focused on the construction.”

“Let me put it this way. Thank goodness we're almost done with the bulk of it and thank goodness everyone worked so hard. We were really depending on the fishing village for additional supplies but as that took longer to prepare then expected.”

“What about the brothers reserves of magic items?”

“Yeah we dipped a bit aggressively into those. Some of our suppliers visited us and we were able to negotiate for extra materials but they're limited in what they can bring. Preparing the chambers for the life bloom, experimenting on the remains of fallen sisters, the new construction effort, new projects based around the life bloom and well other projects we're running a bit lower then I'd like. Any chance that you've ran across any sunken ships while you were out swimming.”

Immediately Zarena raised up slightly and turned to look out towards the ocean. “Huh. That is an idea. I haven't been looking for any but the ocean is pretty big even compared to me. I wonder if there might be some kind of spell to help locate them.”

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

“I swear if you're going to tell me that I need to cut down on what I've been eating again we're going to have a problem. I've been enduring this with hopes that I'd be allowed to grow larger and diminish my hunger not reduce my eating habits.” Maria had a large grin on her face even as she set down. She was finally within and beyond acceptable eating habits of a guardian. Much to Maria's surprise Flora had continued to reduce how much she ate along with her despite being allowed more as a keeper. She insisted that it was to set a good example for the community but Maria couldn't help but believe it was to lend her support. Given her recent successes Maria was hoping to be a keeper herself very soon just like her mother and sister.

“No. Goodness no. I am proud of how much you've cut back though. I hope that I've told you that enough. It's kind of funny seeing the other sisters looking at you when you're dining. I'm not sure if you've noticed but they seem confused.”

Maria gave a small laugh before nodding her head. “You should see how they're looking at my mother! Mom even spends most of her time in the village so they can keep an eye on her to make sure she's not slipping meals. It has really added a lot of weight to your training method. I'm kind of surprised that you haven't had them begging you to teach them. I believe they assume that whatever you did to allow us to eat less while maintaining our size must be a horrible torture.”

“Where would they get an idea like that?” Joseph actually found himself frowning a bit. He knew that the glyph was rough on the sisters. However, Maria had proven that once you had began down the path it was possible to sustain it without the use of the glyph. At least that was what the data they had gathered suggested. Joseph was on the look out for any decline in her progress and constantly comparing it to Flora's who continued to make use of the glyph. He still worried that Maria's sustained success was due more to the way she thought and responded to the world then his teachings. What was only an hour to Flora was far longer in Maria's mind if not to her body.

“Oh I believe it's just a common assumption that people are making right now. Between the changes we've had to make to our social structure, the training with Kersara, the additional combat training and all the work everyone just seems to think that anything good for them is going to hurt. I suppose that it is true. I mean I can't say that I've enjoyed setting within that glyph but I've enjoyed the results.”

“Ha! Feel my revenge for all those times you jabbed me while running!” As Joseph called out he found himself grinning far more widely and putting far more energy into his words then he had meant. It did nothing to remove Maria's smile and she even began to laugh slightly.

“Hey I thought you already claimed revenge for that!”

“Well it's not like you only chased me down the path poking me in the rear once.”

“Ah! You're not going to try to repay me for every day are you? I might have to try remembering some of the times you've pushed me to do my best in retaliation.”

For a moment Joseph just smiled at Maria before taking in a deep breath. “I suppose I'd best not risk opening up any old wounds. Maria I have something important to tell you and well to show you. If you don't mind look at the arch we passed under about fifteen paces behind us and look very carefully. Just try to remain calm.”

The strange nature of Joseph's request flash through Maria's mind and immediately peeked her interest.  Turning towards the arch at first glance she didn't notice anything. Rather then question Joseph she stood up and began walking towards it inspecting it for anything that seemed out of place. It took her a moment to notice the markings she would have normally turned away from as they meant there was a barrier there. “You found one of the halls missing a barrier!” Immediately Maria felt her heart rate speed up and turned to face Joseph. He had found a weakness in the citadel. They could bring others past and explore it even further and hopefully unlock more secrets. “Joseph this is amazing!”

“Hold on a moment Maria.” Joseph actually felt rather awkward. He hadn't even considered Maria might think they'd found some kind of weak point in the citadel's defense. That was far from the case. “The barrier is still there we just walked through it is all.”

“Huh? You mean you found a way to go through the barriers!” Maria didn't really think about what she was doing. Her legs moved before her mind did as she walked over to Joseph and bent down nearly slamming her rump into the ground as she lowered herself to better look Joseph in the eyes. “You mean we can go through any portal?”

“No. Here let me explain. Maria it's not that I've found a weak point in the citadel. The citadel has recognized me as a low ranking Luvarian. An actual Luvarian. The citadel has allowed me to come this far and it has allowed you to come this far because well I asked it to.” There was a moment of silence in which Maria froze up. Given how quickly she thought he knew this meant she was processing quite a few thoughts. The expression on her face was a mixture of shock and a smile. “I've had quite a bit of help on some of my recent projects you see and that includes designing the glyph. I also want you to know that I wanted to tell you about this sooner but I was asked not to.”

“Asked by who?”

“That would be by me.” As she spoke Naidra approached Joseph and Maria. She had been near by for some time now. She had considered waiting for them right against the mystic barrier but had chosen to stand a bit out of site and keep her scent from being noticed. “My name is Naidra and I know you're Maria. I was the one who first informed Joseph that he had achieved the first level of a true Luvarian.”

A protector was in front of her and she was speaking to them. The thought slammed into Maria like running into one of Vera's punches. It took the breath right out of her and for a moment she could only look on. “This is amazing! Joseph you really are a Luvarian! The protectors can talk?”

“Yes he is and yes we can. Joseph has been asking for our blessing to bring others in on this secret for some time now. You were the first person he brought into it and we asked that you keep the secret for now as others are quietly brought to know the truth. It has been decided to begin a slow introduction to the community.”

“Wow!” Maria felt like her face was going to split in two as she smiled. The feeling of something moving against her reminded her to look down. During some moment she had picked Joseph up and pulled him into a hug against herself. He head was nestled nicely against her chest in her crouched position but he seemed to be having trouble speaking. “Joseph this is amazing! So have you been helping Joseph with his work?”

“As much as I am able without breaching certain boundaries.”

By now Maria had loosened her hold enough that Joseph could speak again. “They're willing to tell me if something will work or not and recommend learning materials and bits of knowledge to look into but they're not willing to teach.”

Maria could feel her heart pounding in her chest. The protectors had spoken to Joseph and now they were speaking to her. She knew that Naidra had to be hearing it. The difficulty she had finding Joseph in the citadel suddenly made sense. It didn't matter to her that he had kept this a secret. He had been asked to after all. Yet there was so many things this could mean. “Are you working on repairing our energy source Joseph?”

“No. Maria that is a type of magic that is well beyond me and outside of my field. I don't want to repair your energy source. I don't want to give you a new energy source anymore either. I want to make it so that you don't need to rely on such things. I want to find a way to either allow you to sustain the mystic part of your body on your own or to fix your body so that it doesn't demand that kind of energy. Naturally I'd prefer to find a way for you to sustain that magic.”

“It's that notion that allowed him to become a Luvarian. Maria I'm sure you're aware of the dangers we could pose to the outside world if we weren't bound to the forest or this citadel.”

“We? You mean you're also using Joseph's technique?” As she spoke Maria looked up towards Naidra.

“We're attempting to learn from it. You see Maria we are very similar to you and your sisters but they are differences. Unfortunately Joseph's original design will not work of us. Yet the concept and the basis of the knowledge has potential.”

“Joseph have you been helping them?”

“No. I didn't even know that they were working on something for themselves until recently.”

“Yes and we would prefer if you remained focused on your current projects.”

Maria, “Huh? Don't you want to be without hunger to?”

“Our original energy source remains we don't suffer from hunger. Where you desire an end to your hunger we simply desire greater power so that we may continue our function.”

“I see.” Maria was actually somewhat uneasy as she listened to Naidra's reason. While she had mentioned that her body was different Maria couldn't help but feel that her mind was different as well. There was more important things to consider though as she lifted Joseph into her arms and began to stand up.  “So Joseph what are your plans now?”

“Well naturally I'm going to continue trying to refine the glyph and training process now that I know it works. I also want to begin introducing sisters to the protectors again. Naidra agreed to that. We're thinking that Mina is going to come next though until the right time we want you to keep quiet.”

“Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about this but. So you haven't learned anything knew?”

“Ah well yeah I have. Naidra brought me some books that the brothers don't have free access to. It was what allowed me to design the glyph in the first place. I haven't been recognized as a Luvarian for long though and so I haven't been able to make many new discoveries.”

A slight chuckle escaped Maria after a moment of silence. “I'm sure that you will. So does that mean you get to work with Luvarian equipment whenever you want to now?”

“Yes I do.”

“He just doesn't get to use the good stuff.”  Naidra had a grin on her face whenever Maria and Joseph both looked at her. Their surprise was clear on their face. “You're a starting Luvarian. We're not going to let you near the truly dangerous materials just yet. Beings like Atria could remove an entire species from this forest in just a few days after all. Well she probably couldn't remove the faelom but then again I wouldn't want to test that theory.”

Immediately Joseph's curiosity was peeked. He knew that Naidra was bating him trying to make him question her and inspire him to move further as a Luvarian. He had to ask despite that knowledge. “Who and what is Atria.”

“A very sweet construct that was made to help manage the forest. While developing it there was no way that unwanted creatures would not move in and put the Luvarian's project in danger. So they created her to remove such dangerous and anything they decided was a mistake later. I'm sure you both heard how the forest blinds in with the citadel whenever the apprentices entered the shadow realm here.”

“Those vines were Atria?” As Joseph spoke he tried to remember what he had been told about those vines. Nathan had mentioned feeling a remarkable amount of power just sleeping. It was likely those vines where what kept hostile spirits away from the citadel or consumed them whenever they did arrive.

“No. They're part of her.”

Maria, “Um Naidra. What am I suppose to do about this? I mean surely I was brought here for a reason.”

“Yes you were. You're here because he kept asking if he could tell you about us.” As she spoke Naidra pointed towards Joseph who suddenly looked very sheepish. “If you're actually interested in helping Joseph's advancements then be a remarkable specimen and see how far you can push his new developments.” Naidra continued to grin as Maria gave her a shocked look. It was as if someone had assumed they were a person of some import only to learn they were only allowed in due to the good will of another. That actually wasn't an uncommon happening back whenever the Luvarian's were a business.

“So I'm his assistant?”

“More like a component to his project.” A slight chuckle escaped Naidra as she placed a hand on Maria's shoulder. “You're loyal to the Luvarians and you're a powerful construct Maria. If they were more Luvarians around you'd be very important. Especially since you're also quite smart. There have been cases in which Luvarian constructs have progressed to Luvarians themselves. You're difficulty with magic makes that an issue of course but Joseph has started you on a path to fix that.”

Despite just meeting Naidra Maria actually felt herself beginning to grin as the shock faded. “If I become too powerful though I won't be able to fit within the citadel.”

“It wouldn't be the first time it has happened.”

“Seriously?”  It actually seemed strange. Maria knew that Zarena was far too large to fit within the citadel. Yet she had been allowed to grow that size after the fall of the Luvarians. Before the sisters had been kept to such a size that they could fit within certain areas of the citadel. At least that was what the histories told them and they had no reason to doubt them. The notion that other constructs had grown so large seemed surprising.

Naidra gave her head a quick nod. “Yes. Master Former Maxus grew tired of experiments that provided interesting results but creatures that couldn't be made use of. Rather then continue to dispose of them he devoted twenty years of his life developing a construct that could consume other constructs and in theory retain certain aspects of their being. The work was difficult and it is said that in the end he had to tie his own spirit to the construct and offer up part of is soul to produce a stable result. The construct could consume other lesser constructs and retain certain aspects of her being. Unfortunately this also produced a slow but unavoidable increase in mass. She eventually exceeded the size of the guild hall that she was birthed in and had to be moved to another location.”

Joseph, “She?”

“Yes. The construction in question had to be designed to contain life within her body so in most respects the construct was a she. This was also reflected whenever she wold try to humanize herself. If you're wondering no. Maxus's master work isn't housed here and to our knowledge may have been destroyed during the Luvarian in fighting. The unfortunate danger with such a soul binding is often if the host dies so does the other. Well that and a long list of other complications that make soul binding a bad idea.” As she finished Naidra gave a slight shrug. “Well if you don't mind follow me.”

Joseph was actually surprised whenever Naidra asked him to follow her. He had expected her to do little more then speak to Maria. “Do you have something in mind Naidra? I thought you just wanted me to introduce you to Maria for the time being.”

“Hardly. Maria. Now that you're here and as you're one of us I intend to see to your instruction. I've been watching your progress with Joseph's technique, that he should name by the way for the sake of documentation and future research, and I believe I know some exercises that will assist you in your betterment.”

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

“That psychotic bitch!” As Maria spoke she could feel her heart slamming against the inside of her ribcage. Since she had awoken from her sleep she had been the fastest sister she knew. Due to the speed at which she tended to think and her body moved she tended to always have a slight advantage. That advantage had absolutely vanished whenever she had began to train with Naidra. She couldn't watch her opponent anymore if she did she would get hit. She had to constantly keep moving and not the slow pace she normally used whenever fighting. This had required her to maintain her top speed at each moment. If it hadn't been for Zarena's tail techniques she would have had the day lights knocked out of her several times. Then of all things the floor had included Joseph's energy draining glyph. If she didn't keep pace with Naidra she got hit. If she let her energy be depleted too quickly she'd get hit even more. It was the first time Maria had felt truly physically strained in several years.

“Maria are you alright?” As Joseph looked at Maria he was surprised by the rate at which she was breathing. Her chest appeared to be positively vibrating to him and he could feel the constant rush of air as she inhaled and exhaled.

“Did you know she was going to do that? The speed with which she accelerated. I don't thinks he was any faster then me but the rate at which she reached those speeds were.” For a moment Maria went silent as she took in a few deep breathes of air. Her muscles felt they deserved the oxygen far more then her voice did. Given how she was feeling she imagined they were right.

“No. I was surprised whenever she wanted to spar with you to begin with. I'm just glad she didn't use any magic.”

“What!”

Joseph gave a slight jump as he noted the excitement on Maria's face. “Protectors are capable of using magic. I haven't seen them use it myself but they've been honest with me about everything else that I know of. They're actually capable of casting spells and well according to them as they're capable of casting spells you should be capable of casting spells as well. We've already proven that theory for the most part of course.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” A sigh escaped Maria as she managed to lean against the wall of her and Joseph's home. It had taken all the willpower she could manage to get them home first before speaking. She didn't want to insult the protectors in their own home. As she imagined what Naidra could do when she actually cast spells though it made her wonder if the protector could have moved even faster. “Hey Joseph I just had a funny thought. Have you ever asked them about Allen? I mean they helped him.”

“Apparently they're willing to show you the book or books that has the knowledge you need inside of it but they're not willing to teach. The way Naidra explained it to me is sort of like this. They have issues with the regular concerns as casting magic comes so naturally to them. It'd be like teaching someone how to create fire but not warning them in advance that your own flames will burn you. I've seen it before. A young mage will be holding a flame in one hand and think they can touch it with the other without realizing that the same magic that is sustaining the fire is protecting their hand. Except that the flames they can teach people to use are far more dangerous.”

“So our energy system?”

A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head. “They can't fix it. That system requires spells and components that they don't have. Naidra explained it to me earlier. The forest guild hall was the main guild hall for gathering and processing biological items. However, the energy source that was used to maintain the ancient sister was produced by another guild hall which they believe to be lost. They told me they would like to go search the area and see if there is anything to be reclaimed but they're even more tightly bound to the citadel then you are to the forest. Their actual hope is that once you and your sisters have grown strong enough you'll go investigate it.”

For a moment Maria was silent. The notion of leaving the forest was fastening but that wasn't her main thought. “Hold on a moment. You're working on your glyph, we have the life bloom and the brothers are working on refining it into a new energy system. On top of all that though they also want to restore the original energy system?”

Maria's statement actually surprised Joseph. There was hope that his glyphs would remove the sister's need for an external energy source. There was hope that the life bloom could provide enough power to end their hunger as well. Yet the protectors also sought a third source of power. “I never thought of that. Wow I wonder if they'd want to look into a fourth or fifth source of power as well.”

“Somehow I think you do now.”

Joseph froze up for a moment. He did want to free the sisters from their hunger. He hoped that the glyph and training that came with it would allow them to do so. Was it truly wise to just rely on that energy source and the life bloom though? “I would like to put a few safe guards in place. Plus they're probably those sisters that don't have the spiritual strength to meet their body's demands. I don't believe I'd just let them suffer either.”

A slight giggle escaped Maria as she crossed her arms and looked strait at Joseph. In her seated position they were far closer to eye level then normal. “I wonder what kind of justification you're going to come up with later.”

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

Mira felt like her jaw was going to hit the ground. It had been the first time in several weeks since she'd been close to a standing Maria and now she found her beliefs confirmed. Maria was slightly taller then she was. “Maria what's going on!”

It had been three weeks since she had began training with Naidra. Maria still hadn't made keeper but the training was showing results even more quickly then what Joseph's had. Though Naidra was always quick to remind her that all she was doing was providing a guardrail while she traveled the path Joseph had set her on. Every bruise and cut was apparently meant to be when she had bumped into the ledge. Maria felt that was just something  Naidra made up to make the bruises less painful but she kept quiet about it. Currently the two sisters were standing within the citadel. Mira had come bringing the brothers some supplies while Maria was there helping Joseph. “Hey sis. I can't say much is going on. I made it back from the waterfront earlier and I was helping Joseph out a bit.”

“You're taller then me though! Just three weeks ago I still had several centimeters on you.”

“True but I stopped reducing how much I eat.” A slight chuckle escaped Maria as she looked at her stunned sister. She still felt a rather powerful hunger but its teeth had been diminished thanks to the additional height even though Maria still felt she had a long way to go. “I am after all Joseph's primary test subject for his new methods.”

“Ah no fair! I've began to undergo the lessons as well.”

A soft snort escaped Maria as she looked at her sister. “Not fair? I'm the one who had to deal with all the bumps of being the first test subject. You're all benefiting because mother and I smoothed the way.”

“Well that's true.” A slight chuckle escaped Mira as she once again looked her sister over. The other sisters had grown so used to the changes in Maria due to Joseph's influence that no one worried about how much she was eating anymore. It helped that both Flora and Mira had made it clear that Maria had actually reduced her eating habits so she was now well within the limits of a guardian ranked status. “Did you hear what happened whenever Zarena began her training?”

“No. Why? What happened?”

“Mirin had a layer or two of  the skin from his hand burned off whenever they energy flow shifted. Apparently Zarena setting within the circle was drastic enough to cause some changes in the flow. He had to control it himself for a short while. They're working on fixing the issues. I'm not sure how much of it was Mirin though. Sora was apparently right there and the moment the energy was under control she was carrying him to the healers.”

“Ouch. I wonder if she's going to start making him wear more protective clothing or items whenever he's working in an area with that much energy.”

Mira gave a slight shrug in response to sister's question. “It's hard to say she's kind of hard to read. She might make him learn to control that much energy in the spirit of our brothers becoming more independent. Anyway, I should probably get this food to the kitchen. What does Joseph have you going to get him anyway?”

“Ah well really it isn't him wanting me to go get something. I'm going to get something for him. Joseph has helped me reach this size so I figured I'd fix him something nice to eat. They're a few items that I have at home that they don't have in the kitchen here.”

“Oh?”

“A few spices. Joseph actually treated them with alchemy to bring out a richer flavor. He did it for me so that I would feel like I was getting more out of what I was eating. It turned out that he really likes the taste to but he can't eat much of them. It'd been a while and I had a few fun ideas as to what to cook.”

“That sounds nice. Any chance I could join you?”

There was a moment of silence. Maria hated to turn down her younger sister but she also wanted to spend some alone time with Joseph. “Well you see it isn't just dinner. Joseph and I like to celebrate whenever I add on any significant increase in size. Just so that we'll both know what it was like to be together whenever I was smaller.” Maria returned Mira's grin as the two sisters looked at one another.

“Well then. I'll talk to you later then. Be careful not to hurt him. With that increase size comes even more strength.”

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

Vera didn't truly know what to think as she felt her strike connect solidly with something much smaller then her yet unmoving. She didn't dare strike again though as she noticed the vibrations that seemed to run throughout Julia's bodies as the woman took a step breathing deeply. Listening to Julia's heart rate she knew that she had felt that strike and that there had been some damage. Yet it wasn't the only punch that she had delivered to Julia. Most sisters would have been laying on the ground a bruised mess after taking the type of hits Julia had taken. “Julia are you alright? Your conditioning is making it hard to determine how injured you are.”

“I'm. I'm not in a life threatening situation and nothing was broken or crushed.” Despite the pain she was feeling Julia smiled at Vera. The sister had agreed to spar with her in order to test her new combat ability. Vera was one of the deadliest hand to hand fighters amongst the sisters her size but she was also one of the best controlled.

“I see. I don't really like that answer.” As she spoke Vera moved to support Julia and placed her hand over the woman's chest. Feeling and listening to her heart beat she found herself frustrated by the changes in Julia's body. Her heart simply didn't beat the same way a humans heart beat. Given the massive alchemical and mystic changes to her body this was to be expected but it was still frustrating. “I should have paid more attention to your base line condition before I began sparring with you and been more careful with your warm up.”

Julia was about to respond whenever Vera picked her up and began to give a close visual inspection. It would have been upsetting being handled like this if she hadn't seen Vera do the same to other sisters. Vera was superbly aware of her ability to kill another sister even if she lacked strength like Mina's. A well placed punch could be just as deadly as one that carried overwhelming strength. She knew that Vera was smelling her looking for any hint that she might be bleeding internally. Like she was looking for further discolorations in her skin other then the bruise. “Vera I'm a necromancer I can assure you that I'm fine.”

“That is very comforting but I don't like to take peoples words on such things.” After a few more moments Vera set Julia down. “I can't see any alarming damage but lets get some water and food in you now. I noticed while we were sparring you seem to be become dehydrated. I assume that the alterations to your skin has influenced the way your body removes heat. Exactly how is that working out anyway? I know that making your skin a better insulator has to influence your ability to cool yourself.”

Nodding her head Julia began to walk towards the medical supplies and food Vera had set aside. “I don't generate as much heat as I used to. Part of the transformation was learning to better utilize my own energies after all. This includes the heat my body generates naturally. Think of how a fire mage can drain heat from the environment and concentrate it into a single location.”

“I see. So your body makes better use of chemical energy then it used to.”

“It's also better at converting mystic energy into chemical energy. In an environment with sufficient mystic energies I wouldn't even need to eat. I assume this was for when the spirit hunters were traveling through the shadow realm and couldn't risk eating anything.” As she spoke Julia didn't want to tell Vera the cost of making her body so much more durable. The stronger something was the less likely it was to be damaged. In the same turn though the stronger something was the harder it was to repair when damaged. The bruises Vera had given her would take two or three times as long to heal as they once had or significantly more energy.

“I see. How goes the documentation of your training procedure?”

“Would you like to read through it?”

“Would I understand it?”

For a moment Julia went silent as she smiled up at Vera. “It wouldn't surprise me if you did. You've spent a lot of time protecting our brothers from themselves and other sisters. You seem to have a pretty good grasp of magical theory at the very least and when someone is about to do something foolish.” Vera had been one of the most cooperative sisters whenever it came to the changes in the society despite being one of the more protective. Likely she had seen the danger that the sisters posed to the brothers well being by making them soft long ago. 

“Shush. They get nervous around you if they think you know what they're talking about.” A slight giggle escaped Vera as she picked up a cup of water and offered it to Julia. In truth both women knew it wasn't an offer. Vera was prepared to hold Julia down and force the water into her if she had to. “I brought some salve in the event that I cut or bruised you too badly. I'm guessing you're resistant to that as well.”

“Yes for the moment. In theory I should be able to train my body to freely accept beneficial magics. Unfortunately from what I've read that's only a skill developed by some of the most advanced spirit hunters.” As Julia spoke she was fairly certain Vera was going to use it on her anyway. It wasn't as if she would fully resist the magic. Yet the influence wouldn't be as nearly as pronounced for her as it would be for another human. As she considered the chemical changes to her body though Julia wondered if she would be considered human anymore.

“Well resistance isn't immunity. Now don't worry Julia I treat everyone who I'm just learning to spar with like this. Well unless they happen to be an inconsiderate, frustrating annoyance who needs to set her tail down for a while. Now Dan assured me that this was some stout stuff.” As she spoke Vera had already retrieved a small glass container with a thick dark green gel inside of it. She had asked him for something strong but not extremely rare. It was suppose to be something they could afford to use fairly intensively.

“Aren't you worried it would have lost its potency?”

“No. It's a fresh batch and was made to last. Okay let's see. Well let's begin with your arms.”

Nodding her head Julia extended the arm that wasn't holding the cup first. As she felt Vera rubbing the gel against her skin she flinched. She could feel the magic radiating from the gel but it wasn't the soft cooling touch of healing most expected. This was a violent push into your being and body. The magic within the gel gripped flesh, forced blood to flow and remain within its bounds while pushing and pulling muscles and veins back into the proper position. “It's a bit on the aggressive side.”

“Yeah that's why he said they have plenty of it.”

“Huh. I thought Dan wasn't handling the alchemy shop anymore. His skills were considered too important for other projects.”

“He isn't. But he spends a lot of time in the citadel now and still has access to all the supplies.”

“I see.” Vera had to bite down on her lower lip as she felt the gel continuing to work. Had Dan truly made this? She knew the brothers could make some potent healing potions but this was a bit beyond that.

Alaina currently leaned against the far wall of the training room. Her white fur blinded nicely with the stone and her solid stance made her appear as little more then a shadow. A bit of magic moved throughout her claws as she worked to heal Julia through the gel. She would see to it that the gel contained within the citadel was augmented for healing purposes. Alaia gave her head a slight shake a moment later as she felt another protector already seeing to the tasks. Instead she would go to spend some time with Ridon as soon as she was done observing Julia's training.

While Vera looked Julia over she settled down next to her in part to provide something for Julia lean on. “So when are you going to beat down some of the sisters currently undergoing martial training in order to force them to accept you as a full sister?”

“You think I could?”

“Well I wouldn't put you up against my students but I believe you could handle any of their students.”

“Are your lessons not traveling down the line as well as you hoped they would?” By now the pain was becoming tolerable. It wasn't as if the pain had diminished. Julia could still feel the gel working. She had a few moments to adapt to it so she was able to think strait again. When a spell went wrong you didn't always have time to consider the pain so you learned to deal with it quickly and still think.

“Unfortunately I can teach my students to fight but I can't also teach them to teach. So my plan for each one of them to become a mentor to even more sisters has not progressed the way I'd like. It doesn't help that several of my students have become distracted. That's what I get I suppose for picking such promising sisters to begin with. I should have started with unrefined clay instead of working with gold.”

“They're trying hard aren't they? I thought that Mira's students were doing well.”

“They are just not as well as I would like. Anyway, whats your next plan in your development as a spirit hunter? Your body sure has come along way.”

“I need to redevelop my ability to actually use magic now. Thanks to the changes to my skin I can only effectively exert a mystic influence on the world through my voice and through my eyes. Unfortunately whenever I was learning necromancy I mostly used my fingers as the main point of focus. Now I can barely make a skeleton stand up with what I'm able to do through my fingers. On the plus side a fire spell that would have burned my skin to ashes doesn't even sting anymore. Then after that I need to begin working on slipping into and out of the shadow realm more effectively. If I'm going to hunt unwanted spirits that's a requirement.”

“Then can the selected brothers begin training as spirit hunters? It sounds like you'll have everything you need at that point. The ability to use magic, a toughened body and the ability to actually pursue your target would seem to cover all the bases for a hunt.”

“Yes. Then I can pass what I've learned on to others but that isn't the end of it. If we were talking about the original Luvarians such abilities would simply mean you're ready to begin hunting with the more experience spirit hunters. In other words I'll be one of the weakest spirit hunters they'd actually allow into the field. After that would come extensive lessons on the different types of spirits and how to exploit their weak points as well as making some spiritual contracts.”

“You mean make deals with them like the shamans?”

“Yes. The spirit hunters didn't just hunt spirits for the Luvarians. They hunted for and nourished other spirits they had contracts with. They even have records for some spirits living in the forest that they consider good ones to contract with. They make mention of a wolf named Night Fang but they also mention clearly that isn't his true spiritual name. They even have a description to insure that you don't get a lesser wolf spirit claiming to be him.”

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

As Dremera was packed by her mother she continued to reach for her father. Unfortunately as she had grown larger and heavier it had become more difficult for Dan to pack her. To make matters worse the young sister didn't realize that she was becoming heavier so she was now fighting Mina trying to get her dad to pack her. As she felt her father take hold of her tail the young sister wrapped it around his arm and settled down. If he couldn't carry her then she could at least hold onto him. Her tail being abnormally long for her young age was proving to be beneficial as she settled down and looked towards Joseph who was now leading them. A soft hiss escaped her though she made no move to strike him. She felt no hostility towards him but hissing at him felt like the natural thing to do.

It was impossible for Mina not to giggle as she looked down at her daughter and heard the hiss. Dremera had been nice to Joseph sense their disagreement had been settled but she still hissed at him. At this point Mina simply believed Dremera liked hissing at him after becoming used to it. “I hope you grow out of that my little one. Hissing is not the way we show someone we don't mean them harm.” As she spoke Mina lightly rubbed behind the young girl's ear bringing a happy squeal from her.

Dan kept an eye on Mina's legs as they walked. It would have been easy for her to run off and leave them or in his case drag him along with Dremera's tail wrapped around his right arm. She was careful in her movements though. Instead of stepping and then stopping she moved her legs very slowly. By the time her foot actually came down he had managed to walk far enough that when she stepped forward he'd still be beside of her. She didn't seem to be thinking about this but he wondered if she was able to maintain this pace due to practice or if it was some kind of instinct. Little sisters learned to interact with their brothers at such a young age it was hard for him to be sure given that they were all constructs as well. “Are you sure she's not just telling Joseph to wait until they're alone?”

“Because us being in the room ever prevented her from attacking him?”

“Well we did stop her attacks.”

“You don't want to hurt Joseph anymore do you Dremera?” Mina gave a slight giggle whenever Dremera gave a happy squeal. She still liked it whenever people she liked spoke to her and tried to speak back. “See?”

Joseph, “Hey Mina when do young sisters tend to learn to speak? I mean Dremera has been developing so rapidly physically.”

“Really? I thought she was developing right on time for an infant sister.”

Joseph, “Sorry. I meant compared to a human.”

“I see. Well our bodies develop much more quickly then a humans but our vocal cords are a bit of a different story. You see we can actually learn words before we can speak them due to the positioning of our vocal cords. They'll shift whenever she's about a year old and well by then she'll probably be ready to say simple things.”

“A year? That's all the time they need to learn to talk?”

“No! That's the time they need for their vocal cords to shift.” A slight chuckle escaped Mina as she looked down at Dremera. “She already knows some basics of speech. Joseph, Joseph, Joseph.” As she repeated the word the third time Dremera seemed to understand what Mina was saying and pointed towards Joseph. “Good girl Dremera. Now Dremera.” Mina gave another light chuckle as Dremera immediately pointed to herself. “You're such a smart girl Dremera.”

As Joseph watched the display he was reminded of how stubborn Dremera was being when it came to attacking him. It wasn't that she didn't know not to attack. She chose to ignore her parents wishes until Dan had made it clear they're friends. “That is impressive. Anyway, this is about the right spot to show you what I wanted to.” Joseph had waited until they were past the barrier much as he did with Maria to mention their location. He wanted to make sure no one else could hear what was being said. Even if the citadel prevented sound from traveling far the barrier was another level of safety.

Dan, “What do you mean?”

“Just look at the markings behind you.”

Both Dan and Mina turned around. Mina felt her heart skip a beat before she turned back to Joseph. “We're past the barrier.”

“Yes and so you know. It isn't that the barrier is down. That was Maria's first guess to. They're working fine as well. A few months back I was approached by a protector who brought me here and revealed several things to me.” Joseph wasn't surprised to see both Dan and Mina looking rather shocked. Dremera was looking around and seemed to pick up that something strange was going on but she didn't seem to know what. It was surprising that she didn't see fit to use this as a reason to hiss at him.

Dan, “That's remarkable! Why did the protector approach you though? How did she even indicate to you that she wanted to show you something?”

“Dan they can talk and quite well. Actually rather then me explaining this I want to introduce you to one of them. Her name is Naidra and she's the one that told me all of this.”

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

Mina knew she'd seen the protector before. She'd noticed her keeping an eye on Dremera from time to time. The fact that Dremera was trying to go over to the protector confirmed this. Somehow the young girl had learned to trust her. Now Mina took a moment to clear her voice before speaking. “So you're saying that the citadel which you are in many ways part of decided that Joseph was a Luvarian?”

“That is correct. Once that recognition had been made we lost the capacity to keep him out of certain regions of the citadel. Rather then risk him happening upon this by accident and revealing it to others before they were ready we chose to confront him and ask him to keep the secret. We had no means of forcing him to follow such a request but it was our best bet. He's been quite cooperative about that though he has been pushing us to let others know about the secret.”

“I see. So you really have been keeping an eye on Dremera?”

“Yes and I must say. Your daughter is one of the most energetic balls of destruction that I've ever cared for.”

A slight chuckle escaped Mina as she looked down at Dremera who was looking up at her now. Dremera did tend to get around. “Does that mean I can set her down now?”

“Feel free.”

Nodding her head Mina bent at the knees and lowered her daughter to the ground. Dremera got the message and quickly adjusted so that her feet touched the floor. She didn't think to look at Joseph who was positively staring to see the young girl standing already. The fact that she was already tall as a very short adult woman was even more surprising. “You faelom grow very quickly.”

Naidra, “Yes they do.” Naidra kept an eye on Mina, Dan and Dremera as Mina stood back up. The young girl still seemed to be staying near her parents but was clearly looking around. She knew that this was a part of the citadel that she hadn't been before.

After a short bit of silence Dan had to speak up. “So Naidra if we're on talking terms does that mean we can ask you for more direct assistance? You mentioned that you tell Joseph when something wouldn't work and I believe you've brought others books.”

“Well I don't have to assist you in the same way I'm compelled to help Joseph but we will. Now before you even ask. If you wish to be recognized as Luvarians yourself you're going to have to move beyond just trying to duplicate what you've learned about. You're going to have to start creating. This does not guarantee you will become Luvarians but it is a step in the right direction. If during the act of creation you hit upon the right path we will let you know if you're recognized as a Luvarian. For now Joseph has asked us to grant the two of you access to every area he can permit.”

“Well thanks Joseph. Now does that mean I can ask for even more powerful books?”

“Yes. Just keep in mind due to the nature of Joseph's request and the fact that he made it every mistake you makes reflects back upon him. The same goes for your successes as well. In many ways you might say you're his students.”

Dan actually grinned a bit as he looked at Joseph. The two of them actually knew about the same amount of alchemy but Joseph had showed a proficiency in applying it that Dan lacked. “Oh sure just because he happened upon a new revolutionary paths of study he gets to be the teacher. You just wait Joseph.”

Naidra, “I look forward to you bringing greater power for the Luvarians.” By now Dremera had began to wonder around and Naidra reached out with her tail quickly running the tip of it against the young girl's legs. The immediate response was for her to leap forward in an attempt to take hold of Naidra's tail. Naidra easily pulled her tail outside of the girl's reach and gave her nose a quick brushing the moment her grip met with only air.

Mina, “I'm not an alchemist or mage though. Since you brought me here does that mean there is a reason for me to be here?”

“Well.” Naidra had to push her laughter off on the other protectors as Dremera was now eagerly trying to capture the tip of her tail. The sound of the young girls claws meeting with the stone floor rushed throughout the room. “One reason you're here is so that we can better work together to provide your daughter with the utmost care possible. Another reason is because Joseph wanted more people to know the secret. We'd also like to begin training you as well.”

Now it was Joseph's turned to be a surprised though less so this time. “Naidra do you intend to train every sister I bring to meet you?”

“It was one of our rolls before the separation. We don't plan to extend this to every sister but Mina and Maria both have the mental qualities and loyalty that we're looking for in students.”

Joseph, “I thought you said you never teach.”

A slight chuckle escaped Naidra as she rewarded Dremera for her persistence by allowing the young sister to finally capture her tail. Dremera wasted no time gripping the appendage with her hands and kicking at it with her legs. Much as with Mina's tail Dremera's claws just glided harmlessly over her fur and tail. “What we intend to teach Mina and Maria aren't mystic techniques. We intend to help them to develop. Now Mina I'm certain that you're aware of Joseph's success with his glyph. Now that you're no longer with child don't you believe that it's time to begin training with it as well?”

“I. Well yes I should begin. Especially if you're going to be taking care of Dremera while I'm training.”

“Well I assure you she'll be well taken care of. As I'll be the one seeing to your lessons though that task will be given to another protector.” As she spoke Naidra lifted her tail in the air with Dremera still holding tight using her legs to attack it. The fact that Dremera showed no issues maintaining her attack even whenever she was held upside down was more a result of her play with Mina then anything else. “Mina you've done a wonderful job of conditioning Dremera's body for such a young age.”

“Thank you but that isn't me. She has so much energy it's her that gives me an exercise most of the time.”

Joseph, “Hey Dan now that you're in on the secret they're also some books that I want to show you. I've been trying to refine my glyph to work more effectively or come up with some other means of improving upon the learning process and I could use your help.”

“Trying to keep me as a student are you!” Dan had a large grin on his face even as he accused Joseph of trying to hinder him. The notion of seeing areas of the citadel that had been locked off for hundreds of years had him quite excited.

“No! You should know that.”

“I do. Sure I'd be glad to take a look at whatever books helped you with that design and see what I can do. Personally I think we need to start teaching them to cast some low level spells once they learn to resist the glyph's influence. Perhaps they could learn to store energy by not allowing their bodies to use it then use that store energy to cast a spell.”

Naidra didn't know which one was making her smile more. The site of Dreamera hanging upside down from her tail looking back at her defiantly or Joseph and Dan's conversation. It was so nice to hear a Luvarian and an apprentice freely talking to one another again. If they were fortunate it would be two Luvarians speaking to one another again before long. Even if their rank would still be quite low it was a wonderful concept.

Mina could still feel her adrenaline pumping as she moved to stand next to the setting Naidra. “So you really have been helping to keep an eye on Dremera?”

“It was one of our primary responsibilities a long time ago. The faelom needed to be able to perform their  rolls but they also needed to know their children were safe. In order to avoid a conflict we were tasked with safe guarding them. It was always a pleasure. Some of the children were more difficult to handle then others but those problems could be managed.”

“Yet my Dremera really is one of the most destructive?”

“I wouldn't put her in the top ten but I would put her in the top ten percent.” Naidra looked away from Dremera who she was now lightly moving across the floor forcing the child to hold on tighter. “You have gotten her off to a fine start in life and I'm certain she'll make for a powerful keeper in her own time. If you still adhere to such titles. I do recommend some more discipline though so that she may channel that energy.”

“I don't know. I believe she's already very good at channeling her energy. She just channels it into aggression or affection. I'm not sure if there is an in between.”

“You make a fair point.” Reaching out Naidra gently took hold of Dremera and removed her from her tail. Instead of offering her to Mina though she gently held the sister against herself with one hand and used the other to tease her ears and nose prompting Dremera to try to swat her hand which always moved away half a second too soon for the young sister to achieve. It was just close enough to provoke her to try harder but not close enough to allow her success. “I was very happy whenever you decided to return to the citadel. Without any young faelom or true Luvarians to tend to there has been a large gap in our purpose.”

“I see but then why didn't you speak? We were not worthy?”

“Worthy? I wouldn't say you were worthy or weren't. There was a time when we spoke and the faelom and apprentices of that time tried to force answers from us. Whenever they began trying to use force we had to make a choice on how to handle the situation. Our solution was to simply go silent and spend most of our time in the regions of the citadel they couldn't reach. In time they came to believe they'd activated some security feature that prevented us from talking. That became the belief that we were unable to talk. In truth we were fighting a very intense desire to kill several of them.”

“Even with your instinct to protect?”

“Killing them we believed would serve to protect the whole but we couldn't be certain of it. Now Mina as you live within the citadel it would be very easy for us to begin training you. I believe that we should start with early morning exercises that will enliven you throughout the wrest of the day. We'll provide you with additional help taking care of Dremera while you recover. It will likely take a few days for you to adapt to our training methods. Fortunately for you I've already began my own adjustment period by training Maria.”

“Is that why she's grown so much over the last month!”

“It is in part.”

For a moment Mina said nothing but looked towards Joseph and Dan. They were already talking about theories and what this could mean for alchemy and the sister's bodies. Typically their bodies drained the magic from a potion before its real affect could begin. They seemed to believe there could be some hope if the potion wasn't made to empower directly but rather to better something. She chose to push aside the notion of killing a brother Naidra had mentioned so casually. She could already smell these weren't quite the same as the sisters even if they were closely related. “So you want to do the same for me?”

“Well that and I like to train any sister who has managed to reforge her body while she slumbers. Your mutation restricts you though. It hinders your skill as there is so few who can survive your strength. I look forward to providing you someone who can endure your strength so that you may sharpen your skill. I am after all even stronger then you are.”

“Truly?”

“Yes but I can be weaker to. We have more control of how we direct the energies going through our body. If I was to devote all the energy I could to speed I would become weaker in some ways.” Naidra had to move her head to the side as Dremera seemed to forget her hand and take a swipe at her nose. “So you go after the person the hand is attached to if you can't get the hand. That's good thinking but I do fear you haven't properly grasped the difference between play, training and actual combat.”

“I think she's grasped the difference between a sister and a brother and that's something of the problem.” As she spoke Mina extended her hand to Dremera and allowed the young girl to attack it. Clearly her daughter had plenty of energy or perhaps she detected that she wasn't the center of attention at the moment and was now fighting to regain it. Mina knew that she had spoiled her daughter with the amount of attention she lavished on her as well as the other sisters. After a war in which they had lost sisters though Dremera was the best distraction anyone could hope for.

“You make a good point. Okay little one let's see what you truly desire.” As she spoke Naidra placed Dremera on the ground. She wasn't surprised whenever the young girl proceeded to look around for a moment before latching onto her leg quite tightly and attempting to bite her. “Mina I'm afraid that you've conditioned your daughter to believe that ever sister can play with her the same way you do. I assure you if she was to bite a standard faelom in the way she's biting me now there would be blood and perhaps even tissue loss. Yet I have also seen Flora handle her while visiting you. Dremera do you simply understand that your mother and I are different or do you believe Flora is different?”

“Flora has that I'm going to spank you if you misbehave again look. I think that's why she behaves with her.”

Both Naidra and Mina were made to chuckle. The fact that the moment Dremera released her hold on Naidra she dashed over to Dan on all fours was quite cute. Especially when the young sister wrapped her tail around her father's right leg while hiding behind him looking back at both Naidra and Mina. Dan didn't even seem to notice it whenever he began to rub his daughter on the head. Her rapid visits had become so common to him that his body responded on instinct. “I wonder if that behavior is going to progress into adulthood.”

Mina, “Hey you said you raised lots of sisters. Shouldn't you know these things.”

“Yes I have and when you raise as many sisters as I have you learn that they are all quite unique. They are some baselines of course. We all share a similar genetic programming but the way the spirit can influence that programming differs a great deal. I believe your daughter wants to be chased.”

Looking to Dremera Mina noticed the way the young girl was looking back at her from around her father's legs. She had a large grin across her face and the tip of her tail was flicking about. Clearly she intended to use Dan as a barrier. That or perhaps Dremera was trying to make her nervous by saying I'm with daddy and you're not in her own way. It was enough to make Mina chuckle and lowered herself to her hands and feet. “Okay young lady I'm coming for you.”

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

Markus was glad that Mirara was near by. None of the distrusted were looking at him but he could practically feel their dislike. The fact that one of the benefits of being forced into the system was that they were allowed to put on a little extra height didn't help matters. They were still no where near guardian rank or even the same size as a guardian before the bloom had been provided. This meant that Mirara made them look positively tiny. Currently the distrusted were busy tending to the their gardens. The room had been chosen due to its massive sky light and how easily it'd be to convert the counters into planters. At times he expected one of the distrusted to try to break through the skylight and escape. “Very well done Azera.”

There was no immediate response from Azera as Markus commented on her work. Her face didn't move in the least and she knew not to say anything rude with Mirara near by. Yet part of her felt a slight bit of pride at having her work acknowledged. She didn't like to think of that. After years of being ignored or pushed away by the keepers though it was rare she'd heard a positive comment about her work. Even the other distrusted tended to be to focused on their anger in order to comment on the accomplishments of another. As she felt Mirara's presence though Azera chose to speak up. “Thank you.”

For a moment Markus just looked on. It was rather disappointing that she didn't have more to say. Azera's responsibility was a large crop of tomatoes that were doing quite nicely. Even if the environment was controlled it was clear that she was putting extra work into researching and providing her crop what it would need to grow. Other distrusted seemed to be of the belief that tending their gardens was somehow submitting to the brothers and thus did the absolute minimum that Mirara would allow. He had a feeling that if they didn't improve their work habits she would simple raise the bottom line to force them to. The feeling of Mirara gently brushing him aside caught his attention as she lowered herself to be closer to eye level with Azera.

“You've been very careful in the tending of your soil and to make sure you give your tomatoes the right amount of water and at the right time. I've noticed a few of your fellows just dumping water onto their plants. Do you think you could lend them a hand? I'm sure they'd benefit from what you know.” Mirara knew this wasn't truly the case. The reason most of the distrusted simply dumped their water near or on top of their plants was they didn't want to know the proper way to water them or simply didn't care. Some of them might even try to ruin Azera's plants due to her success or because she seemed to be conforming. Mirara had every intention of keeping a close eye out for such behavior. Should the others move against Azera she had already resolved to move her to a more accommodating part of the laboratory turned re-education center.

Azera took in a deep breath. She knew the others were looking at her without looking. She had heard comments from the others about the garden. The garden was their food supply though. If they didn't take care of it they'd be even hungrier then normal. She didn't want to bind to the will of others but she didn't want to starve either. There was another problem though. Given the size comparison and how warm her tone was Mirara had a powerful influence over Azera and it wasn't all bad. She felt reassured.  “There is nothing special to it.”

“There is if the others aren't doing it.”

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

The feeling of her fist striking something solid, very solid indeed, was something that Mina had almost forgotten. There was pain in her hand as she looked to Naidra who didn't seem to be the least bit shaken by the impact. Pain rushed through Mina's body as she felt Naidra slam her fist solidly into her stomach. The force of the impact pushed the air from within her lunges and sent her staggering backwards. “It's been so long since you had to worry about your opponents power that you've forgotten how to roll with the punch. You could have drastically reduced the force of that impact if you had.”

For a moment Mina said nothing but gave her head a slight shake. Normally she'd just stand still and let a sister hit her until it became clear she had no chance. She was going to have to unlearn such behavior. “So how should I go about learning to dodge?”

“Practice naturally.” How hard should she strike Mina? Naidra wasn't entirely sure. If she held back and only made the punches hurt it would be enough to motivate Mina to dodge. She didn't just want to teach Mina to dodge though. She needed to work on blocking and striking as well. One couldn't always rely on dodging after all especially while fighting within a confined space. The two currently stood within the same glyph she'd used to train Maria earlier. “Mina as this is your first session we're just going to have some light sparring. You've seen the influence your punches have on me so you should have no trouble attacking me freely.”

Before Mina could respond a sharp hiss shot throughout the room and both Naidra and Mina turned to see Dremera looking intently. Joseph was no where in the room though. Rather she was focused on Naidra. “Don't worry little one what I'm doing is quite good for your mother.”

“Hold on a moment Naidra maybe this will work for us to.” As she spoke Mina walked over to Naidra and placed her arm around the protector in a gesture of friendship. Dremera immediately set up and gave her mother a confused look. “It's okay honey mommy needs this. You just play with daddy while we exercise.” As she spoke Mina was a bit surprised. She expected another keeper to be taking care of Dremera while they trained. Instead the young girl was setting beside Dan who was currently looking through some book Naidra had provided him. “Dremera has never seen me hurt.”

It was tempting to hit Mina while her guard was down but that wasn't the lesson of the day. Besides she didn't want to set Dremera off. Part of her was still debating with the other protectors whether or not Dremera should truly be watching this. Naidra didn't believe she should. The child was a bit young to see her mother being hit. Others argued that if done right it could be shown to be a form of play which later would make training the young girl easier. The debate was actually taking more of Naidra's focus then Mina was.

“Naidra would it be okay to let Dremera move around within one of these glyphs until she desired to leave?”

“No.”

“Thanks good to know. I was afraid to let Dremera within the circle because I worried how the energy drain might influence her body. Her organs might not form properly or bones might not be as strong as they should be. Even if there might have been benefits it didn't seem worth the risk.” As she was speaking Mina had taken on a fighting stance. She wasn't certain when Naidra would try to attack yet she felt excited. It had been so long since she'd last fought someone she didn't have to worry about accidentally killing. Even matrons had some degree of risk whenever sparring with her.

“Let's resume we can talk during our match.” Naidra was glad that Mina chose to take the invitation and attack. Rather then dodging completely she deflected the attack with her right arm and used her left to punch Mina. She held back to avoid staggering Mina but put enough power into the strike to hurt. She needed Mina to feel a need to dodge and her body to know why. “Those are indeed valid concerns. We also need more experimenting on the adult population before we try such procedures on the younger. So far Maria and Flora have only shown positive benefits but it wouldn't be the first time something entirely beneficial turned out to have side affects.”

Naidra's words shocked Mina though not enough for her to hold still. Rather then just defending she tried to strike her again this time managing to put even more force into the strike. Naidra dodged but whenever she went to counter attack Mina was able to do so as well. Her legs seemed to be remembering the lessons from before she slept. “So we're just test subjects?”

“We are all test subjects. We make the best decisions that we can based on the information we have available. However, until someone has undergone the procedure to completion there is always the danger of the unknown. Would you rather trust in the information Joseph has available and his expertise or would you rather wait until the end of your days as Maria travels down that path?”

“I'd rather be the first one down that dangerous path to be honest.”

“Yes. You seek to be a shield to your allies and a provider. Your body has reflected this desire in your strength. It allows you to be a wall.” As she was speaking Naidra managed to land two more quick hits on Mina. She was speeding up but even after her body had remembered all the skills it could there would still be much for her to learn.

“Ouch.” Mina flinched a bit though she didn't back down as Naidra managed to land a rather painful punch on her right breasts. It was perhaps the first time she'd ever regretted how well endowed she was. “So you're saying that the mutations of our bodies really do reflect who we are to an extent?”

“Well yes. Though some of you don't seem to want to admit this truth. Maria is naturally a striker. She seeks to destroy a threat before it can reach her allies. She wants to charge off ahead. Yet she also seeks to return to her place of comfort as quickly as possible. Her speed is very good for departing, destroying the threat and then returning in a very short time.”

“So what about someone who heals rapidly or Fera's eyes.”

“A deep fear of being injured and not being able to recover from it even with your typically high healing abilities. Your Fera is a natural predator to the extent that nearly everything is prey in her eyes and she must remind herself of the truth.”  

Dremera was currently very focused on the match between Naidra and her mother. As she saw her mother finally land a punch on Naidra the young girl let out a delighted yelp and practically leaped in place. Fortunately for Dan she was setting near him and not actually on him. An infuriated hiss escaped the young girl whenever Mina was struck in return and seemed to get far worse for it. She was glad whenever the fight stopped immediately though she didn't notice her father and mother looking at one another. It was Dan who spoke up. “Mina I believe this is a bit much for Dremera right now. We're going to head to another room.”

“That sounds goods. Naidra there wouldn't be any problems if Dremera looked around with Dan would there?”

“No. One of us will be close to keep an eye on the both of you but we should not need to interfere.” Naidra chose to hold off on the sparring while Dan gathered his daughter up and began to guide her towards one of the exits. He would be able to look around some of the true Luvarians work areas but there wouldn't be any work to be seen at the moment. All of those projects had been cleaned up long ago though the equipment was still there and maintained. “Mina you're doing very well for someone who's currently having their energy slowly drained away and fighting.”

“You believe so? I swear my legs will barely move. It's making dodging very difficult.”

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

“Hey Nathan you don't believe you're descended from my family do you?”

Nathan almost jumped up from his position on Zarena's thigh and quickly glanced back towards her face. “What?”

“I was just reading the book my brother left me. I'm pretty far in now and he's telling me about a sister he's romantically involved with. I'm kind of surprised and glad. Well I haven't read far enough to see if they actually had any children but you're a naturally born brother aren't you?”

Zarena was very old. Though she'd been asleep during that time she hadn't been the only child of her family. The thought made Nathan feel a bit awkward as he imagined how many brothers or sisters might actually be related to her through her brother even though she'd never had children. “I guess it's possible but not very likely. I never actually took the time to trace my family history that far back.”

A slight giggle escaped Zarena as she heard the concern in Nathan's voice. “Relax! I know we're not close relatives. If we were I'd be able to smell it on you. I'm pretty sure that you come from the same blood line as Briana. You smell heavily of her blood.”

A sigh escaped Nathan before he gave a slight chuckle. “I forgot how aware that nose of yours is. Still it seems unlikely that your brother wouldn't have had some children to carry the line on. Is there anyone that strikes you as a strong possibility?”

“Well a sisters build tends to be something of a family trait. So far though I haven't been able to find anyone that really strikes me as my family's blood. Sure I can smell some relation in a few of them but not like what I get from some of the others. That doesn't mean they're not there of course it just means the bloodline has changed a lot since my time.” As she spoke Zarena couldn't help but chuckle at how concerned Nathan was he might have descended from her brother. It was the type of thing he should have been concerned with before rather then after she brought up the fact.

“So are you saying you think you might be related to Maria?”

“I kind of doubt that one. I know there had to be a sister with a smaller frame in her blood line but whenever I looked at Mira, Flora and consider her scent I am very doubtful that she comes from my line. I'm sure that Flora has the potential to have a lighter framed daughter in her but it had to be the father that brought those aspects of her out. That or perhaps it was Maria herself who's responsible for her light frame.”

“So you think that the spirit influences the body even while she's in the womb?”

Zarena didn't hesitate to nod her head. “Yes. Now it seems that we can influence our bodies the most whenever we're reducing our size. While we're developing or growing our ability to influence our body seems greatly reduced if we have such abilities at all. I can't point to any absolute proof that we influence the growth of our bodies though. It is just a theory whenever we tried to determine why despite being constructs on some level we differ as much as we do from one another. We aren't like humans after all a good bit more of our design is wrapped up in our mother then our father whenever compared to a human.” As she spoke Zarena placed her book down and set up so that she could better see Nathan. He seemed to be thinking what she'd said over.

“Well part of your being is magic and part of that magic is drawn from your spirit itself.”

“Yes. Now what do you think of this. One reason I believe we can reshape our bodies while we're being reduced in size is because we already have all the energy that we need. This frees up the spiritual self to put more energy into reshaping the flesh. While we're growing though or maintaining our current size all that energy has to go to just keeping us alive.”

“That's an interesting theory but doesn't that mean you should have even more adaptations?”

“I don't believe so. After all. How much energy does it take to actually sustain these claws and eyes of mine? Perhaps I've made all the changes to my body that I can.”

“That or perhaps you've made all the changes you can using whatever method you've been using while you sleep. What if learning to shape magic not only taught you how to cast spells but also resulted in you learning how to reshape yourself without sleeping?”

“Now that would be nice. I think one of the first adaptations I'd want to work on is how to adjust my size. This body is great for being a weapon but it is just awful for more delicate work. I want to be able to set with the others in the dining hall. I want to be able to go in your room and see what I need to get rid of.”

“Hey. Hey. What do you mean by get rid of?” Nathan actually chuckled as he looked up at Zarena. He was certain she was kidding. She hardly struck him as the intrusive type. Yet there was always that risk.

“There is no need to get defensive. I just remember from my days at a smaller scale some brothers had a tendency to hold onto clutter they needed help getting rid of.” 

This had happened to other brothers. They would become a sisters mate and then she'd start telling them how certain things in their home stunk. At times they were able to clean these things but other times they weren't and often had to get rid of them. It was understandable. The sisters had a very well developed sense of smell. At times it could be very frustrating though. He remembered brothers complaining about having to get up their favorite mortar or something else they'd grown very fond of. Cloth tended to be in danger of being removed depending on how well it'd been taken care of and how often it had been used. The biggest issue was of course what the sisters considered dangerous. Nathan's mind was drawn back to Zarena whenever he heard her giggling. “Now what?”

“How worried you are. You know I'm from the generation that believed you should be more independent. What has you so worried though? Now you've got me concerned that there is something that you need to get rid of but you're not willing to.”

Nathan's response was to groan as he set his book down. “Nothing comes to mind. So Zarena do you feel ready to spend some time within the glyph?”

“Well it is only with regular practice that I'm going to improve. It looks like we have some company coming though?” As she spoke Zarena looked out over the water. It was fairly clear that it was Maria coming to visit them. The speed at which she tore through the water tended to make her approach rather clear. The fact that with her additional size had came longer stronger legs added even more to this.

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

Dan and Joseph currently found themselves gathered with the brothers though unlike before they were both now setting with the ranked eight brothers. They were just one section behind Mirin and Nathan while no brother occupied the tenth place. Such a spot was reserved only for their leader. Dan had mentioned to Joseph that he could be that person if he revealed himself as a true Luvarian but that only made him dislike the idea of revealing such things even more. Being given such a spot because of his status within the citadel didn't set well with him. He had been promoted to his current position three weeks after his success with Maria, Flora, Mina and now Mira had become blatantly obvious. He was a bit nervous whenever he considered how the higher ranked brothers were often expected to not just share their thoughts on issues but to actively lead. Fortunately Nathan was currently taking the leadership position at the moment.

“It has been a while since we've gathered like this. Well actually this is the first time in my life span we've gathered like this. Within the walls of the citadel and accompanied by our sisters.” As he spoke Nathan glanced over towards Flora, Mina And Vera. Mira and Maria were both occupied and several other keepers had simply been too busy. Markus had declined to come and so had Mirara despite the importance of their work. “Who would have expected after being forced to awaken a sleeper to handle a threat born from our own forest we'd be even stronger after the event? With this strength has come alot of changes though and more to come. Now it's time to make some choices. Flora if I'm not mistaken work on the market and living areas has been finished correct?”

“Yes. At least so long as no more ground shifts forcing us to make further modifications.” Throughout the rebuilding process the sisters had been forced to learn that even strong ground would shift if the structure was heavy enough. It had caused repeated delays and served as good reason to keep brothers and even weaker sisters away from certain work areas. Flora had actually been forced to act as a support whenever one of the buildings had nearly collapsed.

Mirn took a moment to stand up as he looked towards Flora. “Is this a major issue? I thought we had some people down there helping to make sure the ground was stable.”

“A few brothers were yes. The buildings just turned out to be even heavier then expected. I don't believe we've built structures like these since the library was built. If it hadn't been for Zarena's help we would have ended up causing some real damage to the forest in search of the stone I imagine. Well depending on how much stone we were table to take from the infected lands. How goes the clean up in that region anyway? With the orcs and brothers handling so much of it I've been a bit out of the loop.”

Nathan, “It has been a head ache. We have burned the region to ash and then tried to burn it again just to be certain. The orcs have slowly churned the earth calling upon the spirits to do so and tried to purge those spirits that the Amalgam touched. The orcs and brothers working with them have been working long and hard to reduce the region to its base state so life can retake it. Despite that growth in that area has been very slow. One of the major issues is our own though. Do we allow the forest to take the region as it sees fit or do we try to make into how we believe it should be.”

Mina, “Well the orcs are helping What do they think should be done?” As Mina spoke her mind was still focused on her daughter. Naidra was currently watching her. Being able to talk to the protector did  a lot to help Mina relax but she still didn't like being apart from her daughter. In some ways she was beginning to better understand why Stella hated to leave Allen alone so much.

“They want to offer the region to natural spirits that have favored their tribe in the past and help them claim dominion their. I have to say they've made some compelling arguments for it. Unfortunately the changes in that region have had a ripple affect throughout the entire forest. I doubt we can stop that from happening at this point. Fortunately with our new food sources we've been able to cut back on the demands we put on the forest so the two influences seem to be canceling one another out for now.”

Dan, “Any changes we make to that region though even now is going to send more ripples throughout the forest though. We need to make sure those waves are constructive ones.”

Mirin, “That is true. So what do you think?”

For a moment Dan went silent as he considered the situation. He felt a little strange whenever he found himself looking past the brothers and to a protector that was observing the meeting. He felt even stranger whenever she recognized that he was looking at her and gave her shoulders a slight shrug. He was hoping for a yes or no but it didn't seem like she was going to get the answer he wanted. “Julia what are your thoughts on the matter?”

“Doing a favor to certain spirits would likely benefit us and could benefit the entire forest. Unfortunately they're some risk to it as well. In my studies I read how the spirit hunters had dealings with the predatory wolf spirit Night Fang. We could make a deal with Night Fang but if we strengthen him other spirits of predation will be weakened and lose ground to him. This could result in the numbers of those predators in the forest falling as the number of wolves increases. Even if the wolves fill in the gaps for those missing predators we might lose a resource due to their absence.”

Nathan, “So the question is. Can we help one spirit without harming another and in doing so harm the forest as well?”

Julia gave her head a slight nod. “Asking Night Fang not to expand his influence isn't natural for a spirit either. So the question is. Do we want the spirit of the wolves in this forest growing more powerful then he already is? If not. Then what spirits do we want growing more powerful? Given that the Amalgam consumed some of the spirits of the forest we  know that there has been a shift in its shadow.” Julia expected that she'd be asked for her thoughts on allowing Night Fang to grow more powerful. It was a question that she didn't want to answer. Her study of the forest spirits was far from complete and she didn't want to make judgments on them yet.

“I see. Then what would you recommend.” Nathan felt a little awkward as he noticed Julia chuckling in response to his question. The way she shook her head and the half smile on her face told him a lot. “I believe you didn't want to be asked that question.”

“Not in the least. We do need to decide on what's going to be done with that region though.”

Dan, “It seems to me that the best thing we can do is let the forest retake the region naturally. The shift in the forest has already happened that was the Amalgam's doing. If we allow the forest to recover on its own though it should have the smallest impact. If we intervene we have a greater chance of creating further reaching changes. That is if we want to try to maintain the forest as it already is. I'd personally like to see us take steps to make it a little less hostile.”

Julia, “Any suggestions?”

“I was thinking. Why don't we relocate some dryads that are willing to relocate to that region? We then could speak to the orcs about encouraging the development of certain more beneficial spirits. The Luvarans organized this forest so that it would be suitable for gathering resources. They didn't want to risk anything being pushed out of the forest so they designed it very carefully but in doing that they tried to make it stagnant. The fact that they failed and new plants and animals have developed here actually seems to suggest their skill with creation exceeded their skill with control. How about we try to set the region up so that the forces of the forest have an area to really create?”

Nathan, “That does sound interesting but it could end up creating something that destroys the wrest of the forest.”

“That's why we need dryads and other balancing forces in the region to keep that from happening. Sure anything that's truly successful will then spread and change the forest but change with purpose can be a good thing.”

Mirin, “That's true. I believe we've seen that for ourselves especially considering how desperately we tried to hold onto the past techniques and what that cost us.”

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

“Okay you're going to need to read this. It details theories and methods for the creation of a mystic vortex and concentration points in a natural environment. Your decision to ask the dryads to help control the system was well thought out but you're going to have to make sure they fit within the system and have an idea of what they're doing. Plus you're going to have to make sure they like the idea of being part of such a system. Now allowing the natural magic that runs throughout the forest to reshape the plants and animals that live there but still guide it is very tricky. These books should help with that.” 

Dan took in a deep breath as he looked at the books before him. “So how many of these books are not available to apprentices?”

“They all are available to apprentices.” Naidra couldn't help but chuckle as she noted the surprised look on Dan's face. “You had a great deal of knowledge available to you for a long time. These aren't the type of books one would look for while trying to replicate the sister's original energy system or maintain the forest. I'm not the least bit surprised how few of you have read even one of these books and even less surprised that you never thought to combine them using such methods.”

“I wonder. What do you suppose these techniques could do if applied to a plant that isn't natural?”

“That is up to you to research and determine.”

Dan gave his head a nod remembering what Joseph had told him about the protectors. They would prevent him from doing something foolish but they wouldn't stop him from trying something that won't work. They will provide him with the books that he needs but they won't tell him exactly what information to look for. They'd point you in the right direction but wouldn't tell you what path to take or even if you should take one of the paths or just charge into the trees. “Well what do you think of our plants for the devastated region?”

“The forest was designed to meet the requirements of the Luvarians. Those requirements have changed. In its time this forest didn't just sustain this guild hall. It provided nearly all the valuable biological materials for every major guild hall and most of the smaller ones as well. Those guild halls are no longer being factored in which has caused the value of certain materials to shift.”

“I see. So you're saying that the forest needs to be changed to meet the new demands of the Luvarians?”

“I am saying no such thing. I am of the opinion that some changes to the forest would be acceptable. Yet maintaining the forest as the Luvarian's had intended has served the community well for a very long time. Not in that order.” As she spoke Naidra took the book Dan was holding and began to stack them on top of one another. “Read from top to bottom in order to make sure you get the full understanding of what you seek. It would be wise to write down the question you most want to answer and then examine the chapters to see which ones truly apply to what you want to know.”

“Huh? I thought you said you didn't teach.”

“I don't. I'm keeping you from reading the books incorrectly. It isn't as if everything contained within each of these books relates to your efforts.”

How far could he push this? If Naidra was willing to tell him what books to read would she be willing to tell him what pages he should read? It seemed worth finding out at least. “Naidra if you don't mind could you make copies of the pages that are actually relevant to my studies?”

“I could if you want me to copy every book here.”

“Huh? But you just said that not everything in these books relates to what I want to know.”