“Well. The Luvarians really liked to keep you close at hand to be honest. Repairing the forest from time to time in order to make sure you were close was well worth the price in their minds. I tended to agree with them. Really if they had a Zarena back in their time they'd probably want her living right next to the citadel. I understand you don't have that choice.”

“No. So what about building along the ocean front like we were talking before?” Mira's question was neither address towards Lestel or Maria. She would be quite happy if either one of them answered. Maria had seen enough of the happenings at the waterfront to have a good idea of how it would function.

Maria, “Well what about a few of them live around the trade areas? We've been talking about assigning faelom in order to protect them after all. The best guardian would be those that live there. I agree that the waterfront is another good idea especially with the road Zarena is making or. You know we're constantly talking about not invading the territory around our forest but what about buying it?”

Lestel, “You may not have to buy it depending on if you want to make use of some old laws. Maria if you don't mind go to the cabinet on the far ride of the room and bring me some of the bright green mortars. The Luvarians actually owned more land around the forest then the size of the forest revealed. Naturally the people they bought the land from died long ago and it may be hard to convince those who live there to accept you as the lands rightful owner. Well hard to convince them depending on the methods you use.”

Mira, “They didn't spread the forest to all the land they bought?”

Lestel, “Planned expansions that never came about.”

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

“How are you feeling Dan?” Joseph had avoided mentioning it to Maria but after the treatment he had felt a bit off. It wasn't surprising given the the changes his body had undergone but he knew she would worry. Now that he didn't have to worry about her hearing their conversation he wanted to see how Dan was doing.

It actually relieved Dan a bit when Joseph asked that question. He had a good idea of what he was asking about. “Well I've been sleeping less lately.”

To this Joseph gave a nod. “So have I. I know that Naidra said that if we were cut we would lose less blood but I didn't stop to think about what that would mean for minor injuries as well. I haven't been able to get myself to eat like I used to either. Maria made me my usual breakfast and I had to will down the last few bites.” It was strange. Eating less and needing less sleep was a good thing. However, to have such side affects and not be prepared for them had been somewhat off putting to Joseph. He was worried about what other changes they might have overlooked in the fine print.

“Well Naidra did say that these changes wouldn't harm us. She didn't say they wouldn't benefit us in ways we didn't expect.”

“Has Mina noticed the changes in you?”

“She noticed me waking up earlier then normal and my additional stamina during sex. I'm going to guess that Maria noticed such changes in you as well. The first time I noticed how much sooner I was waking up I tried to lay there and pretend to be asleep. Mina told me that I might as well give up on pretending to be asleep.”

“Yeah. Well I didn't even try to pretend. Maria was actually the one that asked me if I thought this reduced dependency on sleep was due to the alterations. Not that we had a lot done to us. We had our flesh and bone imbued with some mystic elements. It's not as if the design of our body has been changed we just have some new nutrients you might say. Nutrients that require decades if not longer to be removed from our systems unless it is done intentionally.” Joseph took in a deep breath as he looked at his own skin. The protectors had explained to them before hand what would happen. He had thought he would be fine with it but part of him felt strange to think they were tiny crystals hidden inside his flesh.

“Well you heard about this happening with other people. Someone undergoes an alchemical procedure to strengthen their body thinking that they'll be fine with it. Later though they feel a disconnect from their old life as the little details begin to be taking into account. This is just the adjustment period we're undergoing.” After a moment of silence Dan took in a deep breath. He wanted to change the subject for the time being. “Have you spoken to Maria about a new monetary system again?”

Joseph was actually surprised Dan would bring the subject up. Originally he seemed to agree with Maria that it was something that should be left to others. Likely he still thought as much but that wasn't what he wanted to know. “Well she hasn't mentioned it since I brought it up to you. I don't believe it's a conversation she wants to have again. I took some time to write up some ideas on the issue and I plan on bringing it up to the brothers whenever we next meet.”

“Do you plan on heading the development of a monetary system?”

“No! I'm pretty sure that would upset Maria.” A slight chuckle escaped Joseph as he imagined how Maria would respond if he told her he was taking time away from his current project to work on a currency system. He wasn't certain she would have anything to say about it but he wouldn't be surprise if he received a cold shoulder because of it. After having years to become used to sleeping on Maria it actually felt very strange and even a little wrong to Joseph whenever he was forced to sleep on a bed that wasn't self heating.

It was impossible for Dan to keep from laughing at the shock in Joseph's voice. He truly sounded like he was worried about upsetting Maria and on some level Dan believed he was. It wasn't true fear but he didn't like to upset his lady anymore then Dan wanted to upset Mina. “Well I'm glad you're keeping focused. I'm going to need you here with me if I'm going to finish this project on schedule.”

“Any chance the protectors put us through this treatment knowing we would need less sleep so we would have more time to devote to our work?”

“I doubt that. I like to imagine they believed it'd help us spend more time with our mates and children. You have one on the way as well after all and that would cut into our work schedule. Even with the extra hours kids can be quite a handful.” Dan was glad that Dremera was so well behaved at this point. At least she was well behaved when he was around according to Mina. Whenever she didn't have her daddy to focus her attention on she apparently became a bit rowdy.

Joseph was going to be a father. He had plenty of time to consider that and thought of it often. Dan's comment still brought his mind back to that fact and he took in a deep breath. Maria was already preparing for Ethan's arrival in many ways. She had made a very tough decision about her eating habits and had done a lot to prepare a room for him. It left Joseph feeling a little awkward at time as he doubted their son would be coming anytime soon. The fact that a faelom didn't have the same issues with carrying a child that a human did made the situation seem a little stranger as well. The only thing that told him Maria had to worry about their child was the way she had been moving at human speeds for several months now.”I don't know what I'm going to do once Ethan is born. Maria and I talk about it and play games but I'm still not sure.”

“Are you worried about if you're going to be a good dad or not?”

“That is one of the things I worry about. At least I don't have to worry about my son taking one of my hands off.”

Dan gave a chuckle and looked at his hand. “Yeah but I don't have to worry about my little girl falling and hurting herself. Well at least your son won't be as destructive as my daughter. How is Maria handling with the situation with the protectors?”

“I believe the time she's spent with them has helped her trust them. I doubt she'll have any issues with letting them baby set Ethan. I'm wondering about his upbringing as well. What his first learned language should be and the type of magic. I spoke to the protectors about it but they were reluctant to talk about such things.”

“Well you know they begin to become weary whenever it comes to what to educate someone on. Personally if I ever have a son I'm going to begin with general use of magic. I'm sure the Luvarians had children and had to raise them. Perhaps they even had some toys that could begin teaching a child how to use magic early on.”

“You mean like a toddlers magic ring?”

“Perhaps. Let's find out.”

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

It had been a long time since Alaina had last looked inside of this chest. It had been a long time since any protector had opened it up. The fact that the lock squeaked a little spoke of that. Still the contents inside were in fine condition and she pulled out a toddlers bracelet. “Here is a popular one.” Alaina placed the very tip of her finger within the bracelet and fed it just a little bit of energy. A small orb of light jumped from the toy and began to float around the room. “It's less dancing lights and more floating light but it can give some early practice in the most basic forms of channeling magic. Let's see what else do we have here. Oh it has been a while. Okay listen to this doll sing.” Each one of the toys had been designed to respond readily to the slightest push of mystic energy with something that would be rewarding to a young child and thus encourage frequent use. Alaina felt a slight buzz of memory as she listened to the song.

Joseph, “So any kid can use these?”

Alaina, “Unfortunately no.” Alaina placed the doll back within the chest though she didn't close it. “The toys are meant to encourage a child's mystic development but they have to have a certain level of talent to even begin using them. Not that you can't help a child along in their development.”

Joseph had been quite a bit older when he had began learning magic. His alchemy had began a bit sooner then that thanks to his mother having some basic knowledge and their local healer. Joseph had picked up what he could and that had helped him to begin his career. The idea of someone beginning their studies as a toddler or perhaps earlier was quite surprising. “How safe is this Alaina?”

“For a child to harm themselves at this early of an age they would have to be quite exceptional. Well they would be exceptional enough that we would notice and take extra steps to insure their safety. We have some clothing that restrict the use of magic for those children that are simply too gifted in magic for their age. Actually we've never had a child harm themselves here. The other protectors and I like to believe that we played a large part in that.” Alaina couldn't help but smile openly as she picked up a rattle and lightly shook it in her fingers. Her memory drifted back to a few of the rattles previous owners and what they grew up to become. “This rattle encourages wellness.”

Dan, “How so?”

“It helps smooth the operation of the body. The magic within it does that is. Milk is easier to digest and the body does a better job of handling sickness. Sleep is more restorative though that at times mean the child needed less sleep. We wouldn't wake the parents or the caregiver back in those days but would play with the child ourselves.”

So fearsome killing machine that took care of anything that disrupted the Luvarian's plans and loving care giver. Joseph felt like the differences between the faelom and the protectors were rapidly vanishing. He had to remind himself at times that the protectors were the prototype production model faelom. The only reason they hadn't gone into production was the difficulty in making more of them. “Alaina could you teach  Ethan how to use magic?”

“Oh!” Alaina bit down on her lower lip hard. Teaching someone the basics of channeling magic was hardly a complex subject. It was best done by someone who had a high level of magical mastery which she did but the actual lesson to the student was fairly simple. It was also very rarely dangerous. She wouldn't be teaching Ethan how to cast spells but only the very beginning. It would be enough to let him play with the toys. “Let's wait and see if Ethan needs my assistance. If he does need aid I'm certain that Julia or Nathan would be able to help him.”

Dan, “What about Mirin?”

“His magic is too aggressive for me to recommend him.”

Joseph gave a chuckle. “What about the protectors though? If fine control is necessary then you have truly superb fine control.”

“We really don't like to play mentors after some past events.”

“I believe that you should. Especially after listening to you talk about children and watching how you handle the toys. I understand that you don't always think of human issues and that's a big thing whenever it comes to teaching magic. You need to begin somewhere though and what could be safer then teaching a newborn to enjoy some toys?”

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

Flora covered her right ear and closed her eyes trying to focus on her sense of hearing. She could hear the inner working of Maria's body and could tell things had changed. Yet she wasn't hearing what she wanted to hear the most. The sound of a second heart. A sigh escaped her as she set up and looked towards her daughter. “I would have never thought there would be too much of you between me and my grandson to hear his heartbeat. For a long time I was even worried that if you became pregnant you wouldn't be able to carry the child safely.”

“Mom I was not that scrawny!” Maria couldn't help the frustration in her voice. She didn't mind that she had been born with a high speed build. She enjoyed her speed after all. It was true though that many worried if a smaller sister would be able to carry a child safely or not. That fear was fading away though as the sisters grew in size. Now even though Maria still had a high speed build her scale made that irrelevant. She did still feel a bit on the slim side whenever compared to her medium build mother or sister and quite thin whenever compared to Mina.

“I know. But it's in my nature to worry about my grandchildren. At least I had better have grandchildren.” As she finished speaking Flora looked to Mira.

Mira, “Hey! It's only natural for the older sister to become pregnant first.”

“Well I suppose.” Flora gave her daughter a chuckle then placed a hand on Maria's stomach. “In truth I'm surprised you're already pregnant. If this keeps up people are going to begin thinking there is something about our family line. Wouldn't that be funny little one? You could have all sorts of faelom throwing themselves at you.”

Maria, “Well they're going to have to wait.” Maria placed her hands on her stomach as well as if to protect her child. The three women began to laugh a few moments later as they relaxed. “I haven't been able to get out much mom given that I pretty much have to walk everywhere. What has been happening?”

Flora, “Well I'm sure your sister has filled in you as far as talk about the growth issue has been going. I don't know what to think about the entire problem. We talked about it before whenever we talked about waking up the other sleepers. You remember talking about expanding the town. We even built the new dining hall and other locations deeper to accommodate future growth. Now all this talk about telling those that can grow beyond ten, fifteen or twenty meters tall they're going to have to leave the forest. That or be relocated to very specific regions of the forest.”

Maria, “Has anyone spoken to our brothers about it yet?”

Mira, “I haven't. I'm not sure what they could do though.”

Maria, “Yeah. So where do you stand on it mom?”

Flora, “Well we can't tolerate the destruction of our home that's true and if too many of us become too large that is a serious concern. I don't like it though. I believe the best thing we can do is purchase some land outside of the forest and set up some living area there. Naturally we'll need to provide a method for faelom to travel to and from the main village.” A sigh escaped Flora and she had to cover her eyes. She was so proud of Maria for remaining her current size for the sake of her son. Yet the thought of how her daughter was going to suffer through years of greater hunger then she had to hurt as well. She hoped that Dan and Joseph would succeed.

Maria, “I know we can't destroy our home. If we start making all sorts of roads through it then the balance is going to be thrown off as well. Telling other sisters that they're going to have to leave because they're too large is hard though. You really believe we should buy some land mom? Who would we even buy it from?”

“I have no idea honey. I mean. My first thought is we should go to whatever human organization controls the region and buy the land. That or buy it through a third party. After all we don't want to frighten them. I'm sure we could trade them some goods in exchange for it. I really don't like the idea of us just stepping out of the forest and saying we own this field or valley or mountain. Yet how do we really know we're buying the land from the right people? I bet the owners of the land around the forest changed somewhat due to that war Joseph left behind. Well it has been a few years since he came to us so perhaps that has all be resolved.”

“Hey mom. What should we do if they offer us the land but they don't want goods? What if they want us to help them fight in their war.” It would have been a lot like the Luvarians of old and Mira knew that. They were often providing constructs for war efforts or protection. There was no way that they were going to begin selling faelom to other nations. Mira couldn't even imagine them selling the distrusted. Yet even if the only worked for a given time period there was no doubt in Mira's mind that it would bring up stories of the Luvarians and how their growth might mean the return of the Luvarians of old. Mira had a strong fondness for the creators of her race but she didn't want a return to all of the old ways. Some of the old ways such as what Zarena brought was fine and welcome but not all of them.

For a moment Flora could feel her head starting to pound but then she crossed her arms and looked at her daughters. “Now why are you two asking me about this? You're both keepers as well.”

Maria, “But mom! Neither of us have the respect that you do. I believe some of the other faelom still have a grudge against me due to my connection to Joseph. I mean. I haven't heard anything but I catch the occasional word and wonder about the wrest of the sentence.”

There was some that were upset with Maria for being allowed to grow beyond her limits thanks to Joseph despite him being the one that provided for her. Her decision not to increase the amount she ate and retain her current size for the sake of her child had actually changed a lot of minds. They were still whispers but few were willing to speak near Flora about her daughters. “Now now. Both of you have very strong voices amongst your fellow keepers and faelom in general. You both have done a lot of good for the community and your works have been well noted. It's important to use those voices once you have them.”

Mira, “We know but come on mom. How do you believe we should go about buying land? I mean if they want us to help them fight in a war or take something do we do it?”

“In all honesty I would prefer if we didn't. We don't want to appear weak we want everyone to know we're strong but we don't want to seem like we're out to conquer. We need more space but we don't want them to be scared of what's going to happen the next time we need more space. Well we may need more space.” 

After a moment Maria gave a slight nod. She still wasn't certain how they should handle the situation though she was hoping to come up with a possible solution. Part of her had hoped that the answer would come from Flora. The fact that one hadn't told her that the situation was a bit uglier then she had believed it was. “Well maybe we should talk to the other faelom about this and see what they believe. I mean maybe more of them will decide to keep their hunger and remain at a smaller size then we expect. After all Joseph is working on a solution.”

After a moment of silence Flora gave a nod. “Yes. I just fear how some are going to respond whenever they're forced to consider such things. Despite all we've done to maintain our forest I believe some will feel it's better to have the forest adapt to us then for us to try to adapt to it. That is such a strange thought.” Flora took in a deep breath. Of course they all knew the dangers of adapting the forest to them. They could end up destroying their home or at least destroying something precious. They had forced population control on numerous beings over the centuries for the sake of protecting the forest and now they would have to do that to themselves though instead of numbers it would be size related.

Mira, “What are you thinking mom?”

“Oh. It just occurred to me that with our low birth rate this is the first time we've had to control the size of our population as it where. At least it's the first time we've had to control it like this. Before it's always been we must control our size to avoid consuming all our resources and being left with nothing. The fear of what would happen to us if we put too many demands on the forest kept us in check. A great many of us still remember that fear. With the life bloom and the glyph though I worry that fear will be removed and some won't be as willing to sacrifice to protect our home.”

“Then perhaps those should be the ones that are asked to leave.”  It actually surprised Mira when the words left her mouth. They were even colder then she expected them to be. The notion that there would be some faelom that would push aside their protective instincts and trample their forest underfoot for their own gain was upsetting to her though. After a moment of thought Mira gave her head a slight shake. “Let's not think the worst of our sisters just yet though.”

Flora smiled at her daughters and nodded. “I'm sure many of them simply haven't thought of this threat. Maria Mira and I will begin speaking with our sisters quietly. We don't want to cause an uproar after all and I don't want anyone mentioning that some are planning on trying to push those that wish to grow larger out. For now we'll simply speak of the need to find a new home for those who wish to exceed a certain size and perhaps new living practices for some of them as well. In the mean time Maria why don't you talk to the protectors and see what kind of living arrangements they would recommend?”

“Sure thing mom. I should mention that the protectors estimated that we could all grow to around twenty meters tall and still remain in the forest so long as we avoided certain regions and used certain travel practices. Actually they said we could grow a little larger then that but I believe we might want a bit of a buffer.”

“That is a bit larger then I would have expected. Thank you that information it should be useful during our talks.” As Flora spoke she couldn't help but think many of the faelom would have realized the truth of the matter. How their bodies represented a danger to their home as they grew larger. The big issue was how many of them chose to ignore the issue.

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

Maria didn't really know what to think when she realized how quiet it had been over the last few days. She had actually asked Flora and Mira several times if they had been talking to the other faelom. They kept telling her yes. Yet there was no huge uproar or protest. There was no call to arms or to put restrictions on their fellow faelom. She had to remind herself that the faelom who were in the most danger of outgrowing the forest were typically keepers or matrons. These were faelom who were considered the most mature and reasonable amongst their numbers. The fact that she was a keeper herself made Maria wonder about that at times. Still they had been trusted to put the community first before and it seemed like they were doing just that.

Now she was wondering what was going on. Naidra had told her another faelom was looking for her so she had left the restricted area of the citadel. “Hello Nora. What brings you here today?”

Nora gave Maria a large smile. It felt kind of strange to be standing so close to the same size as Maria. Sure they had both been guardians for a long time but Maria had been promoted to keeper some time ago. She also had assistance from Joseph. Yet Maria had chosen to stop growing for the sake of her child. It had impressed Nora more then she let on. Nora for her part had continued to train with the glyph and make use of being allowed to eat greater amounts of food. Thanks to that she was almost the same height as Maria despite being guardian ranked. “Hey Maria there is something I wanted to talk to you about. Could we go somewhere private?”

“How about we go to the library? It's nice and quiet in there and was designed so sound wouldn't travel well through its shelves.”

“Sure.” As she began to follow Maria Nora once again compared their heights. She had to remind herself this was a keeper she was looking at. It concerned her. Keepers were suppose to be larger and stronger then other faelom to insure they could maintain order. What would happen though if the best and most even tempered amongst them chose to restrict their size? Leaving the greater power in the more ill tempered and less reasonable of their number didn't seem like a good idea to Nora. It was a concern that was weighing more and more heavily on her mind with each passing day. As they entered the library and found a few seats Nora was ready to let the flood gates open.

“Okay. What did you want to talk to me about.”

“It's. Well it's about the talk when it comes to restricting our sizes. Maria I've had a keeper come down on me in the past. It's only happened a few times but honestly I believe it was necessary. Now I'm worried about what would have happened if the keeper hadn't been able to restrain me so easily. I really could have hurt someone in that moment and I know I'm not the only sister this has happened to. The keepers weren't the largest among us just because of what they'd done but because we needed someone that could maintain order and keep their cool. Now with all these talks about size restrictions or having those faelom who grow too large leave the forest I'm worried.”

That was another complication. Those faelom trusted to maintain order were often the largest and strongest amongst their number. How was that going to work whenever the largest and strongest were expected to live on the outer edge of the forest? Maria could think of at least one answer. “Well then perhaps we should not have all of them leave the forest. A few of them could continue to live in the central village in order to maintain order. Though I imagine actually choosing what keepers would remain would be difficult.”

After a moment of silence Nora gave a nod. “Well it's not like having Zarena in the village was a bad thing. I guess she's a bit too big to stay for the long term but a few larger sisters should work. That still leaves us with a very small number of keepers in relationship to the number of guardians though. One keeper can only keep an eye on so much after all and well the larger the guardians are the more urgent breaking up any fights would become.” A sigh escaped Nora as she placed a hand on her forehead. “It's not just that though! Combat training has become mandatory for all of us now. Maria I don't know what we're going to do.”

Was this how her mother felt? Was this how most keepers felt? The keepers were suppose to be wise and capable of offering council not just enforce the rules. Maria sure didn't feel wise at the moment. She felt lost, confused and desperately trying to think of a solution. At least she was able to think faster then other faelom which meant the time between her brain locking up and an actual response was greatly reduced. “Nora the keepers are still going to be here even if we have to settle on the outer edges of the forest. I understand what you're saying about the need to maintain order but perhaps we're going to have to put more responsibility on all the sisters rather then expecting a few keepers to constantly maintain order.”

Nora was made to shiver for a moment. “That actually sounds scary Maria. I don't know what would have happened if a keeper hadn't been there to calm me down. Then knowing that I have an even more severe punishment waiting for me after the event is pretty frightening.”

“It's part of growing up and developing into a better person. It may not be as bad as your imagining though. I'm certain that my sister or mother have spoken to you by now.”

“Yeah. It was Mira that got me thinking about the size limit but I don't believe I'm one of those faelom Maria. Whenever I spoke to some of the keepers and how they feel about their hunger these days it just seems like mine is fading faster.”

“So you're not worried about outgrowing the village. You're worried about the loss of order that the keepers bring.”

“Terrified is more like it! Even if nearly all the keepers were to agree not to grow beyond what the forest can handle they wouldn't be large enough to maintain order like they used to.” Nora couldn't help but chuckle. Most guardians meant well and were well behaved most of the time but of course they were slip ups. In those cases they were often glad to have a keeper there to break things up before they wrecked someone's shop or worse yet harmed a brother that happened to be near by. Naturally damaging someone's shop had the very real risk of drawing other faelom into the fight.

Reaching out Maria placed a hand on Nora's shoulder. “We're a long way off from growing that large even now. I mean how many of the guardians have reached the size of last years keepers?”

“Well none.”

“How many are really close?”

“Well there is me and a few others but only a very small number.”

“That's right and Dan and Joseph are working on a method by which we may continue to improve and end our hunger without increasing our size. It is a problem but I don't believe it's quite as pressing as you imagine. We have time to talk, plan and find a solution. We can't ignore it but we shouldn't panic and stress ourselves out over it.” Even as she spoke Maria wanted to scream and go beg Joseph, her mother or the protectors for a solution. She knew that Mirin and Nathan were both working on improving the energy yield from the life bloom in their own ways. That was a good thing but it would accelerate other problems.

It felt better speaking to Maria. A notion that made Nora laugh a short while later. “You've come a long way Maria. I remember whenever you were just another guardian like I am. It's kind of strange thinking that you won't be growing anymore.”

“Well they are things that are more important to me then ending my hunger. I don't want Joseph to have to move away from the citadel and I've come to enjoy it here as well. Plus there is our son. You simply can't raise a human child in the wild.” As Maria spoke she placed her left hand over her stomach and glanced down at where she knew her child was. She could sense a presence there now and that brought a wide smile to her face. “I'm afraid it's a decision that many of us are going to have to make.”

“Yeah. Hey Maria if it does come down to a vote what way are you going to do?” Nora felt a little awkward whenever Maria gave a sharp exhale. It was fairly clear that was a question she didn't enjoy being asked. Yet that only made Nora want to know the answer even more. How would Maria respond whenever she had to make the hard choices involving others? She had already taken the hard path whenever it came to her son.

“That is not a pretty question Nora. I am for the preservation of our home. We have looked at the outside world and watched what happens when others change the world without understanding. The outside humans don't exercise any intentional population control and they are constantly spreading trying to consume new resources. We've had to drive them out of our forest several times simply due to their expansionist nature. I won't support any sisters who simply wants to grow and see the forest adapt to them as in that adaptation it may die.”

One thing immediately struck Nora. “You said change without understanding. Why?”

“Well our creators constantly reshaped the world to their liking. Our entire forest is their work after all and so are we. Change can be a good thing but I don't believe we have the knowledge to change the forest to accommodate us and keep it the wonderful garden that it is.” Maria was actually glad to see Nora smiling now. Apparently her words had done a lot to comfort her though Maria hoped that she hadn't given her the wrong idea about anything.

“Yeah. So does that mean you support buying some land?”

“Actually I freely support that idea. Even if our fears don't come to pass we could make use of new territory. Just think of the trading events we're trying to start. It would be so much easier if we actually had a town outside the forest for people to come to whenever they wanted and to feel safe. I'm really not troubled by the notion of some sisters living on the outside of the forest. What has me worried is giving them equal access to what we enjoy. This includes the ability to search for mates among the brothers and socialize with other sisters. We are a community and I don't want to see that sundered into those who live within the forest and those who lived outside of it.”

“So you believe it's alright for faelom to live outside the forest?”

“Well it's working out great with Kersara and the ocean front sisters. It's really working out well if some of the stories about the orcs I've heard are true. Have you been to the ocean front.”

“Yes! I have to say I have spent some time with the orcs and the males have a certain durability to them that is rather attractive. At least they're fun to spend some time with. I don't believe I could call one of them a mate though I prefer our brothers. They're just more.” For a moment Nora went silent as she tried to gather her thoughts. “Well they just tend to be more attentive. Plus I prefer their cleaner habits. When an orc comes back from fishing all day or gutting said fish the first thing on his or her mind doesn't tend to be cleaning up.”

“So they're a bit offensive to the nose?”

“That and the fur. I prefer our tidier brothers but I know a few who like the more wild orcs.”

Maria gave a soft chuckle. That was the story she'd heard several times already. Though in many cases they liked the orcs more then the supposedly delicate brothers. “Our brothers might end up being the ones that regret us spreading out if we keep finding other sources of mates.”

“I would say you're right about that! Perhaps they'll be the ones actively pursuing us more often.”

“Hm well I already have my life long mate. So you girls go ahead and enjoy that but Joseph is plenty for me.”

“You just wait until a bunch of handsome traders come into our village smelling of places we've never been to. “ Nora giggled whenever Maria gave a somewhat annoyed snort. “Yeah you and Joseph have made quite a nice couple. Thanks for the talk Maria. I'll be supporting any attempts we make to buy land outside of the forest though I admit I'm a bit confused. I mean do we just go to the nearest town and say. Hey we would like to buy this land. Where is the land merchant?”

“I have no idea. From the way Joseph talks we need to speak to the person that governs that land but then he said at times even the person who governs the land can't make that decision. The humans at times have these kings who own the land they then let other humans govern that land for them. So we would need to speak to the king if we actually wanted to buy the land but speaking to the king isn't easy normally.”

“Well we could just go ask Zarena to speak to the king.”

“I don't believe that would give the right impression. I mean can you imagine Zarena just pulling the roof off one of their castles and asking to speak with the king? Though from what Joseph said the king is normally easy to spot. You just need to look for the human with a large chunk of gold on his head. Well he said that was likely to be the king.”

“You mean a crown?”

“Yeah! I guess you remember it from some of the library books.”

“The Luvarians mention selling a few special crowns. One of them was suppose to protect the wearer of the crown from attacks made by anyone that looked upon them. The Luvarians were rather surprised whenever a blind man stabbed the king they sold it to.”

“I remember that book!”

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

Zarena couldn't help but clinch her tail lightly as she looked at the supposedly repaired and fixed ship. Daniel had arrived a few weeks back and began helping them to repair the ship. He had also told them a lot about the dangers of using wood that hadn't been properly aged for both the ship and the barrels. He had told them about a lot of things actually and seemed so knowledgeable that most had taken notes instead of questioning. Kelah had questioned him from time to time though she didn't seem suspicious rather it seemed she wanted to understand what he was doing better. It kind of surprised Zarena given that Kelah was more the lop your head off type of shaman then quiet listener to the wind. “It's about time you found some time away from your work.”

There was a large grin on his face as Nathan approached Zarena. He had arrived a short while ago while traveling with some sisters that had come to deliver some goods and retrieve some fish. He would ask for Zarena to take him back. “Yes it has been a grueling sixteen hours since I last saw you.”

“It's been that long! Wow that's even longer then I thought.” Despite her best efforts Zarena couldn't keep some of her amusement from sinking into her final words as she placed her right hand in front of Nathan. He didn't hesitate to climb onto the tip of her finger but he did stop to remove his shoes. It wasn't necessary but she appreciated the routine. At least she had less sand to remove from her fur afterwords thanks to that. “What brings you here anyway? You've been quite focused on your dryad enhanced life bloom.”

“We're taking a day for her to relax a bit and explore her environment. I left a few of the brothers to insure she remains stable but as far as we can tell she's doing great. She's doing spectacular when compared to the first week after she joined with the life bloom. So how has work on the ship been going?”

“I have no idea. A lot of what Daniel has said sure sounds right. Then again. When we were first began working on the ship we thought what we were doing sounded right then to. I'm hopeful that things are going to work out.” Zarena didn't brother lifting Nathan to her shoulder but rather stopped whenever he was just over her cleavage. With him she preferred to keep him nestled between her breasts rather then riding on her shoulder. He seemed to enjoy it more as well. She didn't even need to tip her hand for him to begin making his way to the edge. “We actually plan on launching the ship again today. We haven't loaded it with anything we just want to see if it sinks or floats under its own weight.”

Zarena had lightly parted her breasts using her left hand. Typically she didn't nestle him too deep between her breasts. She wanted him to be able to look around. Yet she needed to make sure that he wouldn't simply slip free. He was rather confident that he could save himself with a few spells if he did fall but neither of them wanted to take that chance. “Is that why you're staying close by?”

“Yes. I was worried it might offend Daniel but he seemed glad for me to be staying close. He's doing his best but I think he's a bit worried about sailing in a ship built my inexperienced ship makers. Well at least as far as ocean going boats are concerned. Once we're certain the ship isn't going to sink they plan on taking it out for a bit. I'll be following behind. Then if that goes well we'll provision the ship and it'll be taken out for a bit longer.”

To this Nathan gave a nod. “May I go sailing on it?”

“No.” Zarena actually leaned forward a bit and hunched her shoulders together taking on a more stern expression. Nathan's ability to appreciate it was limited as he remained within her cleavage but it did result in her breast pressing inward on him making her grip on him even more secure. She was actually having to fight back a smile and could tell from Nathan's heart rate that he didn't really believe she was serious. That wasn't going to stop her from trying though. Given that she was going to be watching the ship she had no real issue with his desire to go sailing. It wasn't something a brother got to do regularly for the time being or even at all for the last few thousand years so she couldn't blame him for being curious.

“Don't be that way. I know a few spells that could get me home safely if the ship were to sink.” Nathan actually had to resist snuggling deeper in Zarena's cleavage. He and the other brothers had been working themselves quite hard over the last few days to assist in the dryads union with the life bloom. There had been long hours of continues spell casting to help the union take place and he was more then ready to just relax for a while. Sleeping in Zarena's cleavage seemed just as appealing as going on a ship ride even though he had never been on one before. He was certain the ship wouldn't give him the same comforts that Zarena offered.

“Oh and what if some horrible monster from beneath the ocean floor sneaks up on the ship? You remember what we were told about the water kobolds. How long do you think it would take such a group of kobolds to swarm a ship?” It was rather hard for Zarena to think of a real threat. Nathan wasn't exactly a slacker whenever it came to magic. Such a large group of kobolds would also be hard pressed to sneak up on anything before they could flee especially with her in the water with them. She remembered the sisters talking about large creatures that remained at a distance supporting the kobolds but they had been drawn together by the Amalgam.

“I would have to flee very quickly in that case. That or I'd just zap them all with lightning. You know I am very good at using lightning spells.”

“I've heard the orcs talking about it. They say you were almost on par with their chief shaman.”

“Almost! Well I guess they'd like to think better of their leader.” Nathan gave a slight snort as he mocked indignation. It wasn't exactly a contest. They were working together and he had no desire to be in a who can throw the most powerful lightning bolt contest.

Zarena gave a slight giggle. “You mages always get so upset whenever someone says they have a bigger spell then you.”

“We do not. We get upset whenever someone lies about us.” Nathan gave a open laugh after a few moments. “I've really missed spending time with you.”

“At least you've had something to do! I'm either searching the ocean for sunken ships or other material to build onto my home with. I've actually began work on expansions for other sleepers. It's not going quite how I expected it to.”

“Taking longer then expected?”

“No. The orcs have been dealing with the local earth spirits and I've been helping them with their tributes. Plus I've been applying what I learned from working on my home and it's just going faster. We've established where I should build my home and we're actually thinking of making a massive ring around the harbor. That way it will be protected from storms, have plenty of room for growth and have a ring of sleepers living around it. I believe that would protect it from most things.”

“I'll say!” Nathan couldn't help but laugh. “You know that could make others quite nervous. They sell into the port to see a group of mountain sized beast women looking them over. It sounds like a good idea. If I'm not mistaken though the ocean gets deeper the further you go out. Isn't that going to pose something of a problem?”

“It is something of an issue but there is lots of material to use in the ocean. I've been cutting most of the stone I'm using from the same region these days. The earth spirits are happy about the arrangement apparently. They mentioned that such a ring would allow the spirits of earth to claim dominion over the water spirits contained within provided the physical ring can withstand the furry of the ocean all around it.” If the ring wasn't maintained Zarena was certain that it would eventually be reclaimed by the ocean.  It seemed the earth spirits could benefit from it though while it lasted and she was making sure to make the ring thick and strong. It would need to be in order to support her fellow sleepers.

“I see you've began working on your islands plant life as well. I hadn't even heard about that.”

“I asked some of the orcs and brothers to help me. The plants have to be resistant to being crushed, they have to be able to survive on rocky hard ground and well they need to be able to handle ocean water. I'm afraid that there wasn't many options.” As she spoke Zarena looked towards the island she'd made for herself. It had the smallest amount of green beginning to appear on it. “I'm afraid the plants aren't very pretty close or far away but well they're better then nothing but rocks.”

“Maybe I could.”

“Don't even think about helping. Your current project is what will help awaken my fellow sleepers after all.” For a moment Zarena went silent and rubbed the back of her neck suddenly feeling somewhat stiff. “That and my own training with the glyph. How have I been doing anyway? Has my demand on the system gone down any?”

“It has been steadily going down. Well okay there are occasional spikes. These typically come about whenever you go out to the ocean and then return. It's more due to the system having to stretch to continue feeding you and then the sudden change whenever you return.”

“That's not causing trouble is it?”

“The goods you bring back and the work you're doing here is well worth it.”

“That means yes.” For a moment Zarena said nothing but gently ran the tip of her index finger along Nathan's head. She was tempted to shove him deeper into her cleavage so she wouldn't be able to see him and keep him there for a while. That type of fun would have to wait until they could have some private time. She would need Nathan to still the air around her island and fog the light around it so they could have some fun without putting on too much of a show. That or she would take him further up the beach away from everyone as she usually did.

“It's well worth it believe me. The repair crew rarely mentions anything and that's typically just chatter. I believe my and Mirin's efforts are causing them more trouble then anything else.”

“How goes his special insects? The ones he's been feeding the life bloom?”

Nathan gave a large grin. “Well you know working with life tends to present new complications. He's started using other forms of magic in order to control the experiment better and for safety reasons. They have their first batch of refined silk. What surprised me is he nearly has the conductor that he wanted. An organic conductor of mystic energy that can handle far more of a load them the current material. At least it can in regards to the life bloom. He tried to use other forms of magic and in those area it's less spectacular.”

“Well that isn't surprising. He's making it to work with one form of mystic energy after all. Okay you can sail on the ship once it's ready to go.” Zarena couldn't help but laugh as Nathan threw his arms up in the air.

“Yay! I'm going to be one of the first brothers to go sailing in generations.”

“That depends on when they have the ship ready. Daniel said there was a lot that needed working on.”

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

It felt strange to be this far from the citadel. Maria had been staying inside but for this meeting they had gathered outside so that the matrons could be there. There was one sister in particular that Maria hadn't spoken to in a very long time. “Hey Zarena! It's nice that you were able to make it.”

Zarena's smile widened as she looked down at the young mother to be. She could see a considerable shift in Maria's mystic energies and knew in part they were do to her son. This prompted Zarena to be more careful then normal. If she was to pick up Maria like she would another sister then her child would end up being killed by the sudden acceleration. That wasn't something that Zarena could stand happening. “Hello Maria. It has been a while since I traveled here. I saw how you all have been keeping the path I made pretty well worn. Who's idea was it to put the guide stones on it?”

“I have no idea. They're working well aren't they?”

To this Zarena gave a nod. The mystic stones served to help keep the animals and plants of the forest on their natural path rather then taking an unnatural one. Their power wasn't absolute and some maintenance had to be done but it seemed to have solved their problem. Unfortunately the more roads they made the more difficult it would be and the more maintenance they would take. Having at least one major path to and from the waterfront seemed like a good idea though. “Yes they appear to be. So how long until Ethan joins us?”

“I have a few more months. Well.” Maria froze up for a moment as she remembered not every sister knew about the protectors. Their numbers were growing but not every one of them knew yet and indeed the majority still didn't. “According to our best guess. Honestly it makes me a little nervous being away from the citadel. Human children are so delicate whenever they're born I would really like to have a healer near by just in case.”

“Are we ready to begin?”

Every sister went silent and began to look around looking to see if anyone was missing. Everyone wouldn't be arriving but they needed a large showing. Today nothing important was to be decided officially but it was going to be an important conversation. After a while of looking around Flora stood up and made her way to the center of the gathering. “We have been working on ending our hunger for centuries now and well over a thousand years. In the last decade we have made very large steps towards that goal and now it seems inevitable. Through the work of our brothers and our own work now our hunger will be resolved. With that comes a level of power and responsibility that we haven't known. We have no masters to guide us this time and we have some simple truths to face. Some of our hunger is going to end before the hunger of other faelom. Some of us are going to grow much larger then others if we all end our hunger. Some of us are going to be too large for the forest to endure.

For this reason we must begin making plans to handle our growth. Some ideas have been suggested. Now if you would all turn your attention to my daughters.” Flora gave Maria and Mira a very large grin as the two almost jumped out of their seats. They apparently didn't plan for their mother to suddenly shift the attention towards them it seemed. She expected that and she was glad to see they realized there was no going back as they began to walk towards the center. It was Mira who found her voice first.

“We have spoken with many of you in regards to this issue about what can be done and what resources we can make use of. We have considered limiting the size a faelom may grow to and requiring them to wait until other means of developing them other then simply growing larger can be found. This notion has not been well received. We have also considered the notion of all faelom that grow beyond a certain point being required to live on the ocean front or on the outer edges of the forest. This isn't a popular solution either. Unfortunately there is no popular solution to our current problem. Every solution that we have managed to come up with has had issues.”

Mira might not be able to think at super speeds but Maria was impressed by the way her sister spoke. It gave her more time to think and compose her thoughts. “Rather then opening up the floor for open debate we have come up with a plan. Even though there are no popular plans this is simply a problem that must be resolved. We have determined thanks to records in the citadel that a faelom of roughly twenty meters tall could live within the central and eastern parts of the forest without doing significant damage so long as she is mindful of her actions. For this reason this is the size we have determined would be appropriate to live within the village. Any faelom who chooses to remain at such a size should be welcomed to remain here.

Other faelom should be given a choice. They can live on the ocean front. Which I want to remind you all is rapidly developing with our relationship with the orcs and has a road leading into the village allowing for visitations. After all that's how Zarena made it here.” Maria went silent for a moment while everyone looked to Zarena and she waved at the crowd. It was a good chance to illustrate a point. The road could be made use of. “The second option would be to live on the forest edge on land we intend to purchase from the humans. Yes I said purchase. We do not wish to appear as an invading army. We intend to take advantage of this situation doing two things. Those faelom who settle on the edge of the forest would serve as the developers of the trade communities we hope to form. Naturally we also need a means of moving goods into the forest. We know that a path will be formed. What we don't know is if that path will require one to travel to the ocean front and to the ocean front road to reach here or if we'll form two additional paths leading to the main village.”

Zarena was rather happy with the way Maria and Mira had spoken. There was something she considered important though that she wanted to point out. “These additional paths wouldn't have to be large enough to accommodate a sleeper would they?”

What was Zarena getting at? A sleeper could make the journey extremely quickly so while to some faelom traveling to the ocean front and then to the road could be a long journey it wouldn't be for a sleeper or a faelom of roughly the same size. “I do not believe they should be. Once a faelom reaches a certain size the journey becomes extremely easy. Rather I would say that these additional paths should only be made large enough for sisters who would require several hours to make the journey to the waterfront at least.” Maria wasn't certain of exactly how large a faelom would have to be to make a journey so easily. She was certain that the roads wouldn't have to support a faelom even half of Zarena's size.

Now there was a slow down. There was some light talking among the sisters as Mira and Maria left the center of the crowd. It was actually Stella who moved towards the center after a few minutes of conversation in order to speak up. “What else might we do to ease the burden of those faelom who have to live on the edge of the forest or in the ocean front? We need to consider what these faelom are going to be losing by being relocated. One of the most noteworthy things I can think of is access to the citadel or even the library. This may not benefit me a great deal directly but I fully intend for my son to continue his studies and if it can't be at the citadel then he'll need some place.”

Nora felt rather awkward as she took to the center of the sisters. She could easily talk amongst those faelom near her but she wanted to speak with the group and openly. “In that case we should consider building a new laboratory and a new library at each one of the external locations. I believe the ocean front would be the prime location for such early development as we could also gain knowledge from the orcs as our first joint village. Yet can we ask our brothers to abandon the resources and advantages of the citadel in order to work in such a location?”

When Nora left the center the conversations resumed. Several where actually surprised whenever Julia moved to speak. She didn't have to worry about growing or changing like them but she had changed herself a lot and she had a level of understanding of magic the faelom just didn't share. “The citadel does have many advantages that is true. It has advantages for those who have knowledge enough to use them. Many brothers would have been as successful in the laboratory however as they are currently within the citadel. I don't wish to insult any of my fellow mages but the simple truth is that only one in three of them are truly making use of what the citadel has to offer. There projects simply do not require the type of tools the citadel tends to offer.”

Unlike Maria, Mira, Flora and Nora Julia wasn't allowed to simply leave the floor. As Stella called out. “How is that Julia?”

Julia gave Stella a smile. “Whenever your project requires an oven that can achieve one thousand degree Celsius at most there is no point in having one that can achieve five thousand. Whenever you only need a precision of five joules of energy you don't need an instrument that can detect one thousandth of a joule. That is the reality of most of our brothers projects. They simply don't have the knowledge to perform experiments refined enough to need such tools. Well one third of us have been but the other two thirds have not.”

Kiara, “Okay a bit off the subject but are you one of those third sister?”

Julia shot her sister a large smile. “Yes I am. Though in my case I'm more making use of the knowledge and the equipment I need to make these changes to a body.” As she spoke Julia gave her right wrist a few sharp thumps with her left hand producing a rather satisfying sound. The speed with which she impacted her arm was clearly enough to appease the faelom as they knew there was a fair bit of force in those impacts. The speed with which Julia moved actually reminded most of the faelom of themselves making it even easier to accept her as one of their own.

When Julia left the floor Maria heard the conversations begin again. They weren't truly hoping to have a vote at this moment. They just wanted to get things being talked about openly. When a shadow fail over her though she was a bit surprised to see Zarena leaning over and placing her finger in the center of the crowd. It actually brought a great deal of laughs. Everyone knew that Zarena couldn't really take the floor so when she spoke it was considered given to her by default. “So how goes plans to buy this land anyway? Have we decided on what we're actually going to use to purchase it?”

When Zarena gave up the floor she noticed no one was stepping forward. Apparently the exact item hadn't been resolved yet. They all knew humans liked gold and silver but they had more use for those metals and even need then the humans did. It was Flora who moved towards the floor once again. “We must be careful in what we offer. Depending on what we trade we will be granting one group of people a great advantage over those around them. We could end up starting another war.”

Stella, “Flora couldn't that happen regardless of what we trade though? Even a surplus in food would allow the humans to dedicate less of their people to farming and more of them to war.”

After a moment of silence Flora gave a nod. Stella actually had a good point and it was one that she really couldn't argue against. “That is true.” A sigh escaped Flora as she covered her face for a moment. Yet another complication. Whenever they traded with some humans and not others they ran the risk of upsetting the balance of power just like the Luvarians of old. Unfortunately they couldn't simply choose who to buy the land from. They had to buy the land from its current owners if they were going to do this right. At least if they were going to do it as close to right as they possibly could. Flora could actually feel her head starting to pound as she considered the situation.

Once Flora had set down Mira stood up and moved towards the floor once again. A few other faelom had stood up but they quickly set back down. She imagined they were just as nervous to speak on such matters as she was. In truth she would have gladly allowed them to go first and hope they covered the issue for her. “We have two ways of doing this. We can research the humans that live around the forest and decide who we want to trade with then make a deal. Otherwise we can find what land we considered most favorable, which we have already done, and buy the land from the humans that own it. In one case we try to select who we buy from and in the second case we try to pick what we buy. For the sake of our future development I believe it would be best if we chose what we choose to buy.”

There was a large number of mixed response as Mira set down. The ethics of trading with humans that might abuse the benefits versus trading with someone that might not have anything worth purchasing. Would they be like the Luvarians of old and simply go after the best merchandise even if it upset the balance of power of the surrounding communities and possibly caused conflict. Would they hurt their own development because others could not be trusted to deal fairly with one another. Was it necessary and how many faelom would choose to grow compared to those that chose to hold onto their hunger and wait for a new solution. There was other issues to deal with though and Maria stood up.

“I hate to add to the debate however there is one more issue I must mention. Our own order. We have relied on keepers being larger, stronger and wiser then lower ranked faelom to keep order for a very long time and manage many of our systems. With the size restrictions that size advantage will no longer exist. A single keeper won't be able to easily break up two brawling guardians anymore especially without harming anyone. Without that advantage how do we intend to maintain order whenever tempers flare?”

Stella took in a deep breath. Several sisters seemed to do the same as the simple truth of what Maria said sunk in. It was Stella who spoke her mind though. “That is a very unpleasant thought. Our frame work has been working for so long but just. Blast it.” How were they going to fix this? Keepers were carefully selected and observed carefully. If one was found abusing her power the punishment was quite strict. She would be forced to regress back to guardian status in many cases. What happened whenever that wasn't the case anymore? What happened when a keeper couldn't break up a fight by just taking hold of both of the guardians and pulling them apart. “It will be most of the keepers that are forced to leave the village as well won't it?”

Maria gave a slight nod. She couldn't tell her that the protectors had told her that was most likely the case. It was easy to justify though. “It has been noticed that for the keepers their hunger has been declining far more slowly then the guardians in most cases. If our belief that the keepers are the strongest willed among us holds true then many keepers who choose to let themselves grow until their hunger ends will be leaving the village.” Maria went silent and she could already hear the conversations starting she needed to speak up again. “I want to remind you all that we're not here to vote on anything today we just came to talk.”

Nora, “So when do you believe we should have a vote?”

Maria, “We have time to give ourselves time to think. They are solutions to this problem we just need to find them. One solution that I will mention is we could consider doing like the humans. Certain faelom that are chosen to maintain order in the village could be intrusted with weapons. I know none of us like using weapons! Our bodies are often seen as the only weapons we need and to admit that we need another is difficult. However, we won't be fighting humans, kobolds, orcs or even ogres. We would be fighting other faelom and I'm sure we can all agree that a confrontation with another faelom requires special consideration.”

Stella, “That's true and it's not as if the weapons would have to be suitable for human use. They could be designed for faelom to be used against other faelom or.” For a moment Stella went silent then felt a flash of inspiration. “Make use of our senses. Like those crystals that were used during the escape if they could be focused in a narrow area so only those faelom fighting could hear it. I bet that would break up a fight very quickly. Another option would be some kind of powder to attack our noses. The humans can make those already so it isn't like we would be giving them any new weapons.”

Several faelom took a moment to look to one another. Maria was actually surprised. The notion of using sound as a weapon seemed like an extremely good idea. It also served as a good reminder as to why Stella had been made a keeper. When Maria had considered making a weapon for the faelom to use against one another she had been thinking in terms of making something new. Stella on the other hand was thinking of using weapons the humans already had but making them more effective. “Do you believe they could be powerful enough to stop two fully enraged sisters from fighting?”

“I have no idea. I've had to break up a few fights before and some of us are very hard to calm down. We also want a good deal of stopping power. Still even a staff that could endure our strength would be a fairly effective weapon in our hands. Between the extra reach and leverage the weapon would offer it could offer a serious advantage. Well if we can find a material strong enough to make such a staff out of. We're going to need something that can be used to club a twenty meter tall faelom into submission fairly quickly.” Stella took in a deep breath and tried to think of a material that could be used for such a task. After a few moments she had her response. “I can't think of anything.”

Silence was broken by laughter and then the air was filled by quiet conversations. It felt like a lot of tension had left the area but the faelom were prepared to talk about it.”Well I'm certain that we all have much to talk about. I vote we put the issue off until our next official meeting and give every faelom a chance to consider her options. Those agreed?” Maria was actually relieved when the vast majority of faelom raised their hands. As she looked behind herself one thing surprised her. “Do you have something you want to add Zarena or does anyone else?”

Zarena, “No. I'm good. I'm just thinking a bit.”

“I see. Your hand wasn't raised so I wasn't certain.”

A slight chuckle came from Zarena as she looked around. “Well so many voted to end the meeting that I didn't believe I needed to raise my hand.” When the vote was overwhelming Zarena tended to keep her opinions to herself unless she disagreed. If ninety percent of the faelom had resolved to take a certain path though and she agreed she didn't see any reason to expend the energy to raise her hand.

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

It felt rather strange for Mirin to see Sora like this. It wasn't seeing her that was strange though she did like to spend a lot of time hidden. He found himself rather surprised by how much she had grown. Sora was typically the smallest of the matrons in order to help her fit into tight areas. Now she had chosen to abandon that. He wondered how much of an issue that would be in the future if someone could track her from her foot prints. Granted that was a very weak way of tracking someone. He didn't like the idea of fighting someone when he couldn't see their arms. “Could we make a weapon that could endure being used to strike another matron?”

“Well not just a matron. It would need to be usable by one twenty meter tall faelom as an effective weapon against another faelom of equal size.” Sora had hoped that Mirin's response would be yes but she realized he was asking him for a lot. The faelom weren't just big. Their strength and endurance surpassed what their size indicated. An obvious solution was mythril but she knew they didn't have anywhere near enough mythril to make such weapons.

Mirin had just finished his work with the silk worms for the day. The results were promising but the work had been boring and repetitive observation. It had left his head feeling a bit numb. “Would you mind picking me up first? I'm not used to you just walking up to me when we talk.”

“Hey you're making me sound like I'm grabby.”

“You are! The only difference is that you're normally invisible whenever you do it.”

A slight chuckle escaped Sora before she reached down and placed a hand behind Mirin. One nice thing about her increased size was that it made picking him up easier. She felt a little down when she imagined what would happen when she grew beyond the twenty meter limit. Sure the rules weren't in place yet but she was already close to the theorized threshold. It was something she and the other matrons had spoken a lot about especially those as massive as Fera. “Is that better?”

“Not really. I think it was the surprise of suddenly.” Mirin gave a slight yelp as he felt himself suddenly accelerate upwards. The feeling of Sora's hands leaving him and his momentum carrying him upward was new but there was hardly time to shout.

Sora had tossed Mirin a good three meters above her head. This coupled with her height would be enough to injure him but she wasn't going to wait for that to happen. As he came back down she lightly grasped his body and bent at her knees slowing his rate of fall but not bringing him to a complete stop until her arms were level with her chest and she'd taken on a squat position. “How is that for a wake up?” Sora couldn't help but laugh as Mirin gave her a startled look.

“Well I'm awake now!” Mirin joined in Sora's laughter after a moment. It was his fault for mentioning the usual surprise. His laughter calmed down as she stood back up and held him closer to level with her head. “Okay. Well at least you're not asking me for a weapon that any faelom could use. I don't believe I could develop something for the sleepers to make use of with only twenty years.”

“Hey. We need this new weapon a lot sooner then that.”

“I got the impression but why?”

“Well it has to do with the keepers and how we're going to handle our growing problem. Have you and the other brothers talked about what would happen when we grew too large to live in the forest?” Sora was fairly certain Mirin hadn't. The question seemed to catch him by surprise. He went silent for a moment and seemed to focus his attention on her.

“We haven't given that much thought beyond the sleepers.”

“Well it's a serious problem. It isn't official yet but it seems that only faelom of a certain size range are going to be able to live in the heart of the forest.” A sigh escaped Sora. “With size restrictions though the old system where the keepers were larger and stronger then just about anyone else just isn't going to work anymore. So where their bodies were once their primary weapons they're going to need a new one. It needs to be something that would let them end a fight quickly but would make for a poor choice of a weapon for anyone other then a faelom. A staff that could be used by one of us effectively seemed like a good choice. We also talked a little bit about weapons that use our hearing and sense of smell against us.”

After a moment of silence Mirin gave a nod. He could see where Sora was coming from. “I see. But how is that going to work Sora. How would we pick what faelom get to carry a weapon? Being a keeper is more about just being bigger and stronger then other faelom. Well you know all of this.”

“Yeah. I know but well let's tackle one problem at a time. There needs to be some peacekeepers in the village for when the keepers can no longer be here. It may not be that they are the wisest among us. We may have to look more into those that are the best at upholding the rules.” Sora gave a long sigh as she considered this. Whatever faelom ended up serving as peacekeepers may not have the same authority that keepers once held. It could be a strict enforce the rules policy and let others handle the judgment aspect of a situation. “Mirin as far as the main village is concerned this might be the end of the keepers and matrons. I believe I'm a little sad.”

No matrons and no keepers. The thought was unusual to Mirin. They would still exist on the outer edge of the forest and perhaps that was good. It meant they would be showing their best face to the world. Yet when it came to those living inside of the forest it was strange. “Sora I'll look into the development of a weapon that would work for twenty meter tall faelom. Let's talk about those things later though. What are we going to do?”

Now Sora wished she was invisible. She had chosen to let Mirin see her as she believed it was important but now she bit down on her lower lip. “I want to continue growing Mirin. I want this hunger to end after so long even if it means I won't be able to stay in the forest. I'm sure that I could take you to and from the citadel. I don't want to be apart from you either.” As she spoke Sora lifted Mirin to her face and gave him a kiss on the side of the head. He leaned into it eagerly.

“I don't want to go a day without you either. There is a big size gap between not being able to remain in the village though and being able to travel to and from it quickly Sora. I believe it's time that we apprentices began to take our travel needs into our own hands again. I'm going to speak with some of the other brothers and see if we can begin working on a means of transportation. I'll also have a word with our host and see what they believe.”

“That does sound like a good idea. But only until I'm large enough to easily carry you to and from the citadel.” As she spoke Sora pointed her left index finger at Mirin and gave him a stern look. She didn't mind him traveling to the citadel using something else while she was still growing into the proper size. She wasn't about to tolerate such behavior once she could take care of him.

“Really?”

“Yes really!”

It was impossible for Mirin to keep from laughing even as Sora's facial expression softened a bit. “I really wonder how much time you spent watching me but didn't let me see.”

“You're going to have to just keep wondering that.”

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

“So you're consolidating all your projects?”

To this Dan gave a nod even as he focused his attention on Dremera. Currently she was staring right back at him. Between them there was a delicate ball. They were both trying to claim it but there was a trick to it. If Dremera used her claws to grab it or even moved it too quickly it would break. It could endure fast movement but not exceptionally fast. For this to work one of the competitors had to be distracted. Dremera actually had a pretty good win ratio against Dan and her mother but every game she took very seriously. “Project quickened alterations is one of the primary ones as is the reformation of the spirit hunters and the augmentation of the life bloom and the system using it. Other projects are being put on hold to work on new issues that are popping up.”

“What's being put on hold?”

“Anything that has to do with long term food storage for one thing. The techniques we've already developed are sufficient for that. There are several research projects into the properties of different plants and animals that are being put on hold as well.”

“Ah! They must be upset about that.” Mina knew that some projects were more important then others. That said she trusted her brothers not to waste resources. If they were researching a plant or animal they must have believed something useful would come of it. One didn't find out how to make the most powerful healing potion or strength increasing potion by mixing the same things constantly. Plus the forest was constantly developing new plants for them to come up with. “Hey Dan I haven't heard much talk about the tainted region of the forest. How goes the changes to it?”

Dan hadn't been following the alterations to the forest closely. His work with Joseph and Ridon had taken priority. He had heard some things though. “They began work on that a few weeks back. Well by work I mean altering the landscape and introducing the plants. They finished the purge a while ago. From what I'm told the orcs were invaluable in developing the reformation plan. They're also eager to see what comes out of the region though they did require certain rights to it for their help. We don't get to keep all the interesting new plants for ourselves.” Dan quickly reached out with his right hand to take hold of the orb. He was actually rather surprised whenever he found Dremera's hand there. They couldn't tug on the orb and she knew that. After locking eyes with the young girl both of them released their hold on it and brought their hands back to a starting position.

With Dremera around and so many things changing Mina wasn't certain what to do with herself at times. She was helping Dan and the others with their projects but that didn't take up much of her time. Most of her time was spent with Dremera which was fine. She did feel a little out of place without the usual burden on her shoulders. It was strange to go so long without diffusing a conflict of some type. Mina very rarely had to break up fights. The majority of the faelom behaved just a little better then they usually did when she was around. “Dan if the keepers aren't going to be maintain the peace anymore what am I going to do?”

Dan gave a slight chuckle. “Darn it!” In the moment of laughter Dan had seen Dremera's hand move for the crystal. Before he could stop her though she had grasped it and began moving it. He could swear that he had felt his fingertips brush against the edges as it moved beyond his grasp and his daughter set up victorious. “Mina I don't believe you have to worry about that. If you want to live as a peacekeeper I'm sure you could do that.”

“But Dan I don't believe on increasing my size anymore.”

“True but you were over a meter smaller whenever you fought a matron to a stand still.”

Mina went silent for a moment as she tried to remember that fight. She was pregnant and trying to establish her territory. “That is so embarrassing. Maria hasn't shown any territorial behavior at all and Flora behaved better then me.”

“Stella and Phinila didn't.” As he spoke Dan stood up and made his way over to a small container for Dremera's reward. The jar wasn't locked but he counted the candies within so he would know if one was stolen. He could then ask the protectors who had taken a candy. He had nearly been floored one day whenever they told him Naidra had taken one.  

Mina gave a slight chuckle as she looked at her daughter. “Am I distracting daddy? Don't gloat too much young lady or I might play you.”

“Oh I wouldn't threaten that. She's winning one out of three against you I believe she'd take the risk.”

Mina didn't say anything but looked at her daughter. Dremera was very careful when she placed the orb back on the ground and took the candy from her father. It wasn't likely that Dan had noticed but Dremera had far less of an interest in the candy then he suspected. She only seemed to really want it whenever her father was the one offering her the candy. In most cases Dremera tended to favor meat more then she did sweats. She hoped that her daughter would adjust well to when it was time to begin eating the life bloom. “Well she has been receiving a lot more practice then I have. So you believe that they're doing well reforming the forest?”

After his defeat it was tempting to make Dremera work a little bit more for her candy. Dan wasn't going to tease his daughter like that though. She had earned her reward and he placed it in her eager hands. “Well everything I've heard. And everything I've heard isn't much indicators things are going well. Would you like to go there and have a look for yourself.”

“It has been a while since I've gone far from the citadel and I'm sure I can trust Dremera and the protectors to keep you safe while I'm away.” For a moment Mina went silent and took in a deep breath. “I really want to go hunting as well. I don't know how Maria is managing to repress her hunting instincts.”

“Well then go hunting honey. I'm sure Dremera will love to see what you bring back.”

“Do you believe you're going to need me tomorrow?”

“I always need you but I can endure for a day.” As Dan spoke he made it a point to put extra emotion into his voice. He knew better then to fell a faelom that he didn't need her. That was especially true whenever that faelom was your mate.

Mina couldn't help but giggle but she did like Dan's answer. “You charmer.”

“Charm? But all I do is speak the truth.”

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

“How are you doing?” As Lanora spoke she settled down next to Fear who took in a deep breath. Fera had been silent during the meeting but she had been very involved emotionally. Whenever they talked about how large the faelom would be allowed to grow in the village and remain there they seemed not to consider that the matron's size differences. Fera was one of the largest matrons and she was already far too big to stay.

“I'm just enjoying the last few days at my home I'm going to get.”

“Fera it isn't like you won't be able to return.”

“I know but. There is a difference between visiting and living at a place you know?” Fera took in another deep breath. She was the predator. The one that had been forced to slumber because her prey drive had driven her to some rather poor choices. She had learned to control her desire to hunt but it had never left her. Even now she didn't risk fighting near the other faelom to prevent any mistakes. How was that going to work whenever she was no longer in the forest and surrounded by even weaker prey?

“Have you decided where you're going to go?”

“I'm going to go live at the ocean front village I believe. I hope having Zarena around and the other sleepers once they're awake will be enough to keep me in check.  It's hard to feel like a top predator when they're around plus. I want to see how these eyes of mine work at fishing.” Fera had pretty much resolved that living in one of the trade towns wasn't an option. She could handle provocation from other faelom and her brothers but she didn't know how she would behave whenever those provoking her weren't part of the community. “What about you?”

Now it was Lanora's turn to take a moment to huff. “I have no idea. I'm actually leaning a bit more towards the trade village though. I'd get to meet new people and take in some human culture. Well depending on how things go.”

“You're not worried that they'll be too annoying?”

“No! Well yes.” Lanora gave a slight chuckle before standing back up and looking down at the still setting Fera. “Instead of just setting around how about we walk around some? We can look at how things are and think about how they've changed. Maybe we should even fuss about how much work we put into the new dining hall only for us to end up outgrowing it so quickly.”

“I know!” Fera put even more energy into her voice then she expected to whenever she stood up. “We gather so much stone, we have the brothers treat it with alchemy and then boom we have all these advancements at once and suddenly we're outgrowing it. At least those faelom who remain will get to enjoy it but blast it. What are we going to do once we leave here? Are we going to prepare a new dining hall?”

“Don't you believe we're going to be too big for that?” As she spoke Lanora had started to walk with Fera following close behind. Part of her was going to miss their home as well but already that home had changed so much she wasn't certain if it was the same anymore.

“We might be. But I liked sharing my kills with the other faelom. I liked listening to everyone talk around me. I didn't listen in on them but just the fact that we had so many sisters and brothers around us talking. It was nice.” Fera gave a slight sigh. This was the first time she regretted training with the glyph. Even the pain she had experience whenever she first began her training didn't compare with this.

“You really liked feeding others didn't you Fera?”

To this Fera gave a nod. “I loved it. I know many choose to focus on my more predatory nature. Which I admit is one of my dominant traits. I'm not some loan predator though. I just loved it when the younger faelom like Tera or Pera would dive into a fresh kill I brought back. It just made me so happy to see them enjoying themselves that I wanted to bring back more and then more still. I guess I liked helping to feed my family.” Fera slowed down a bit and took a moment to look around. Without so many of the claimed the streets were a good bit emptier then they had been. The fact that the roads were even wider then they had been before and many of the brothers were at the citadel influenced this as well. “Lanora killing is what I'm best at. What am I going to do whenever that isn't needed anymore?”

“I don't believe you have to worry about that! We're going to be reopening communications with the outside world. Well we already have. I'm certain they'll be plenty of people that want to start a fight with us. Then if that doesn't work I hear they're some very big creatures in the ocean. You said it yourself you were thinking about trying fishing. Last I checked you had no trouble using those eyes of yours to see under the water.”

“That's true. What do I do if I find something larger then me though?”

“Has that ever stopped us from killing something we wanted to make dead?”

A delighted chuckle escaped Fera as she extended her claws. “No. It has not. I guess it would be a good chance to show that we're not just big. What about you though Lanora?”

Lanora's mutation was rapid healing even by faelom standards. This included rapid recovery of her stamina. This meant she could run longer and harder then other faelom for extended time periods. It also meant that doing enough damage to bring her down was more difficult. “I guess that's one reason I want to work in the trade communities. I believe I'm better suited to defense then offense.”

“I don't know about that! An attacker that hardly ever needs to stop and wrest. That's pretty frightening.  Even if they did manage to injure you they would be hard pressed to build up a strong enough offense to bring you down before you recovered.”

“I swear I believe I have one of the most masochist mutations of us!” Lanora couldn't help but giggle as she considered how her mutation let her endure punishment and recover from it but not shrug it off.

“That's not true. You don't like pain so you recover from the things that cause you pain quickly. That's how I see it or do you like pain?”

“I do not!”

Fera couldn't help but laugh and soon Lanora joined her. Both of them knew that every faelom in the area could hear what they were saying but there was nothing new about that. It was just part of living in a society where everyone had exception healing. At least every female did. “If you do end up living in the trading villages will you come and visit me on the waterfront?”

“I'm certain that I will. After all I'm very good at traveling long distances and not fatiguing. I wonder how big we're going to end up being once it's all over.”

“I have no idea.”

“Have you made any plans for if you end up the same size as a sleeper?”

“No but from what I've heard and spoken to the brothers about that's very unlikely. It isn't like all the sleepers came from the same generation after all. They were carefully chosen over several generations and I don't think it was just due to their devotion to the society.”

Before Lanora could speak she came to a stop and took a moment to look around at the buildings. They had built them larger then the old ones and while the faelom had been growing they hadn't grown quite as much as the new structures. “Standing here it's hard to feel like we've grown. It feels like we've become smaller instead.”

“Well that depends on if you compare yourself to the buildings or not. I tend to think of things in terms of how the ground feels beneath my feet.”

“Seriously?”

To this Fera gave a nod. “It's not just that though. I remember whenever I was a kid I placed my claw against a tusker rib. I told my mother. Mommy my index claw could nearly cut through a tuskers rib in one swipe! I was so proud of that.” Fera gave a quiet laugh even as her lips spread into a wider smile. “Then my mommy said let me try. From that point on whenever she would talk to me she would always relate things to tusker ribs or basilisk scales. Fera do you know how many deer leaps you covered sprinting? Measurements stopped being constants to me. Distance wasn't a matter of some number but how far away from my prey it was. I know things in terms of numbers don't get me wrong but that's not how I think.”

Fera's mother had been very predatory just like her daughter. Lanora could remember that. She also remembered Fera's father was one of the few brothers that went hunting. Often he would plan on the hunting path and he and his mate would work together to catch very illusive prey. “So your internal units of measurement constantly change?”

“Yes. They're based on how large and fit I am as compared to how fit my prey is. Some years the distances change a lot. I never really judged myself against the buildings whenever I walked through town but how the dirt and grass felt beneath my feet.”

For a moment Lanora said nothing but shifted her feet against the ground. She couldn't imagine doing like that though she had to admit that the grass felt different. Fera let her instincts rule over more of her life then most faelom did. “So how does that relate to your mates?”

Now Fera gave Lanora a rather toothy grin. “That relates to how much I want to let him have control. If he's doing such a good job that I can't imagine him doing anything better then I just want to let him do as he wants. If I felt the need to intervene or control his actions well. The more controlling I'm being the worse he's actually doing.”

“Oh ho! Now how many of your mates know that?”

A sharp chuckle escaped Fera. “Well it differs from time to time. Everyone has an off day once in a while. Sure there have been a few cases where I had no interest in the person after the first time. I've had a few mates that thought it would be best to just go with what I wanted. Typically they're claimed that had been promoted through the ranks to regain their freedom.”

“So that isn't typically a problem for our brothers?”

“Not typically.”

“What ones has it been a problem for?”

Fera gave a sharp snort. “That's not the type of thing that you talk about with others.”

“Oh come on! Perhaps I can tell you how they've improved.”

“No. Now stop being a gossip.” Fera gave a slight snort before Lanora backed off a bit. She enjoyed speaking with her sisters but she didn't like it whenever they insisted on knowing the business of other people. Fera didn't want to cause any unfair speculation about the performance of those brothers she'd slept with either. She also didn't want to risk offending their mates. Faelom tended to take it personally whenever another faelom said their mate performed poorly whenever it came to sex. Even faelom that were simply close friends of the brother in question could take offense.

“Ah! Well alright. When are you going to start preparing to move to the ocean front village?”

“I was thinking of starting tonight. We haven't passed a vote yet but we all know that it's going to succeed. The only other choice would be several of the smaller faelom leave the village to clear up enough space for others to stay in it. Are we going to ask five or ten guardians to leave the village so that one keeper or matron can stay? I don't believe that's fair.” Fera actually believed that such a decision could be passed if the matrons and keepers argued remaining close to the village is a privilege that should reserved to the most deserving of faelom. She wasn't going to try that though.

“True but you know I don't believe this is going to be permanent. We all know about the project Dan is working on. Hey Fera would you be willing to change your size for a new adaptation? Now you don't know what it's going to be.”

For a moment Fera went quiet. She actually found her mind grinding to a halt. Mutations were always advantageous though some were more so then others. Some mutations could get in the way of certain activities but being the same size as a hill could get in the way as well. Being the same size of a mountain could be a real problem. She also liked her size on some level especially whenever it came to hunting. “Wow. That is a really hard one to answer. I know our adaptations have always been a good thing but is it worth losing my size over? It would be nice to be able to return to the village and even walk inside of the citadel.”

“So what would it be?” Lanora was actually quite eager to hear Fera's answer. She had been thinking of the issue quite a bit herself. Hopefully Fera could offer some new insight that would help her make up her own mind.

“Well at times to catch your prey you have to take a bit of a risk. I would do it. How about you?”

“I'm not sure either. If I had a mate or a child to raise I believe the choice would be easy. At the moment. I suspect I would undergo the treatment as well. Actually I think I'll wait and see how it worked out for you and some of the other faelom then make my decision.” It didn't surprise Lanora whenever she received a light jab from Fera. It stung but she knew Fera could have done far worse. Especially given how Fera could see the most vulnerable locations on the bodies of others.

“You sneak.”

“At times it helps to stand back and let someone else lead the charge. That way they're the one to run through the stink weed.”

“That attitude will never put you at the head of the pack.”

“Maybe but a wise hunter makes sure she knows her prey before attacking.”

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

Maria set a good twenty meters away from Joseph, Dan and Ridon with a wide grin on her face. Naidra was standing next to her. The three men weren't reading now but had prepared three rather complex glyphs. They were each identical as far as she could tell. Each glyph had a flask at the center of it which was clearly responding to the magic being channeled through the glyph. “Come on Joseph you can do it. Dan Ridon you two as well.” Maria couldn't help but grin. After spending so much time setting in the center of a glyph while Joseph observed it was fun to see him having to really work on something. “Hey Naidra what are they doing exactly?”

“They're working on the practical application of their studies. You know the only way to really make sure you know something is to practice it. They've studied enough that they believed it was time to see if they can actually apply the knowledge.”

“What did you think?”

“We protectors don't have that issue to the same extent that you and the apprentices do. So our judgment on such things are pretty poor to be honest. Even if none of us have ever done exactly what we're doing it's quite likely that one of us has done something similar. With our connected minds there is a much smaller learning curve. They haven't broken anything yet but they seem to be pretty well stressed by their current tasks so I believe they were right about it being a good time to stop and work on their practical skills.”

Maria gave a nod and looked towards the three men again. She could see Dan's flask turning a very dark blue. “So what are they working on exactly?”

“Maria you've been helping them to prepare their research material. Well. Instead of me just saying figure it out why don't you give a few guesses? I'll help you out if you're having serous trouble.”

Maria gave a slight snort. “You know some times I wonder if you're as wise as you act or if you only get to act that way because you know everything that happens within the citadel and a good deal of what happens outside of it. It's easy to act like a story is obvious if you've already read the book.” Maria was actually a bit surprised whenever she heard Naidra laughing. She had expected some smart comment in return.

“That is actually very possible.” Naidra had no intention of telling Maria whether or not they were simply good at examining a situation and coming up with possible scenarios, had seen similar events before or simply had seen things happening. It was more fun to let her think about such things and try to reach her own conclusion. In truth all three were possible and all three influenced one another. They saw what Joseph, Dan and Ridon were planning, they had seen similar experiments in the past and all of that data could be used to develop the most likely scenarios.

After a moment of silence Maria took in a deep breath. Making alterations to the body was dangerous. The more powerful or drastic the alterations the more likely something could go wrong. Maria had read in books were a mage would try to form blades from their hands only to cut their own arteries as the weapons formed. The three men had been reading a lot of necromancy but instead of studying ways to raise someone as one of the undead they had been studying ways to sustain life even when the usual life cycle had been disturbed. It was very similar to the treatment Joseph and Dan had received. “They're working on a potion that would delay someone's death!”

“That is pretty close Maria. But if that was all there is to it do you believe they'd have to work this hard?”

“It depends on how good of a safety net it was and how long lasting. After all. It's easier to sustain someone's life whenever their lunges have been filled with fluid then when their head has been cut off. In one the equipment needed to maintain the life cycle is still intact and an obstruction needs to be purged. In the other the equipment has been badly damaged.” Maria couldn't help but smile at Naidra. Her response indicated that she was on the right path but her comment had some faults in it. Maria couldn't resist pointing them out.

“That is true.”

“So they're trying to develop a potion that would prevent someone from dieing. No. I don't believe that's right. Julia once told me that one of the most difficult things about necromancy is that it involves the person's spirit. Even if you're not trying to create a sentient undead residual energy from the spirit can influence the body. To make really powerful undead you either need lots of energy or you need to make the best use of that energy. It's even better if you have both.  So a potion that influences anything would require a lot of power and that's just not how Joseph works.”

Naidra couldn't help but chuckle.  It wasn't the best way to figure out the situation. It was valid though. Maria knew Joseph as well as anyone if not better then anyone else. “Why don't you ask them?”

“I don't want to risk distracting them.” Before continuing Maria raised her voice so the men could hear them. “It looks like you're doing really well. Just be careful not to hurt yourselves.” Even if she didn't want to question them Maria was going to call out encouragement. “Okay the potion is what they're working on. The glyph is controlling the constants to the spell and they're working on adapting to the variables. If they're focusing that hard it means that there is a lot to take into consideration and it's taking a lot of energy. The glyph is a necromancy spell.”

“That's right! Maria I'm sure you know that the alterations to a faelom's body typically takes place slowly over years or decades. If they're going to speed the process up to months they have to have some safe guards in place to insure that you survive or in other words insure that your body doesn't just melt due to all the rapid changes. You can only work on so many walls or structural supports at any given time unless you put temporary supports in place.”

“So what's the flask for?”

“That's just there to test if they've done the spell right. Um they're not.” Naidra gave a small smile. This was their first attempt after all and while the three men understood what they're doing on an intellectual level that didn't mean they were ready to put it into practice.

“How good are they doing?”

“Well they're getting results but not the type of results they want. They're each working on a rather advanced potion that uses mystic energies to heavily augment the body. Dan is putting too much energy into his casting. The result will be unstable. Anyone drinking it would benefit from it physically but their dominant emotions at the time would be pushed to a fever level.”

For a moment Maria said nothing but then looked to Dan. “Dan you need to calm down a bit! Think of when you're playing with Dremera and how easy it'd be to exhaust yourself if you tried to keep up with her.”