“Well in either case we end up off target a bit. I remember my mentor told me once that the potion wants to achieve the same state you want it to. That just doesn't work here. If we let the potion go the path it wanted to who knows what we would end up with. This is just too complex.” Dan gave a slight sigh after a moment of consideration and covered up his eyes. “I'm not sure how to go about practicing such things though.”

Alaina, “Joseph should spend some time working with a mystic item for which envisioning the final objective is useless but still holding to guidelines while you need something that requires you to keep your eye on the end result. I know of a few things that will work.” Alaina continued to exercise with the faelom even as she called out to Joseph and Dan. It was easy for her to listen in on their conversation. “You should take some extra time for your break period if you're going to discuss such things though. Remember the point of break is to wrest your minds which you two do a terrible job of doing.”

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

“You're fortunate that your path brought you closer to the room then the wrest of us.”

Lestel gave Naidra a large grin. Currently she was holding a sleeping Ethan and gently rocking him. He had began to wake up and the protectors had responded. Currently they were speaking through their connected minds and Lestel had put up a weak barrier to block some of the sound from Maria's ears. She knew that if Maria was to suddenly not be able to hear Ethan's heart beat she'd be awake in an instant. “We all agreed upon the paths we would patrol.” Patrol paths weren't truly necessary to the protectors. They were more like a lottery that would decide who would handle what situation. If they didn't have such a mechanism in place they might all end up waiting near the young faelom or apprentices for a chance to care for them.

Naidra wasn't actually in the room with Lestel. She was currently disposing of Joseph, Dan and Ridon's failed attempts. Rather then simply destroying them though she was salvaging was useful components they were. This wasn't necessary. They had plenty to spare and could acquire more but with so little to do wasting wasn't in the protector's nature. “Yes we did. He is asleep again now you don't need to continue to observe him.” There was no need to mention neither Maria or Joseph would appreciate them ghosting into the room as they had. They could easily justify it though by saying they needed their sleep and Ethan needed tending to.

“I am just gathering some information. We need to be careful when it comes to his exposure to mystic energy at this early stage. We have been surprised in the past.”

“When they were far more Luvarians in the citadel. The amount of mystic energies moving throughout it just aren't the same as what they used to be.”

“That is true. Okay I'll leave and give all of you a chance to interact with him directly if he wakes up again.”

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

It felt strange being here. Kelah was currently setting alone a short distance from the faelom. She had set and ate with several of them at the ocean front but these were mostly faelom she had never met before. It left her feeling very alone being apart from her pack. Her attention was taken away from her food as Julia and Kiara walked over to her.

Kiara, “Hi Kelah. Would you mind if my sister and I joined you?”

“You're quite welcome to. I was feeling a bit isolated to be honest.”

Kelah didn't know it but in truth the faelom were being more open to her then they would have most females. They had heard about her from Kersara and she had been working with and living around the faelom for a while now. They just weren't certain if she wanted to be involved in their circles yet so they were setting close enough for her to hear their conversations but not invade her space. At least she would have been able to hear them if she was a faelom. That was one detail that they had likely forgotten. “My sister says that you've been a big help with her class.”

“I'm glad to assist. She's shown me quite a few things as well. I'm still not entirely comfortable with the body alterations though.”

Julia, “I believe that is partly my fault. I mean. Well not everyone wants to end up looking like me.” After a moment Julia gave a genuine but honest laugh. She was still human in overall form but no one would mistake her for a human if they got a good look at her. At least they wouldn't believe she had a human's body. “I can assure you the treatment we've been giving you are going to have no where nearly as drastic of affects.”

“That's reassuring. Still the treatments you're using were developed for humans and well I'm not.”

“Indeed. You've been being influenced by the natural alchemy of the forest soil and the planets within  for generations. If anything you should be even more resistant to negative side affects then we are.” Julia couldn't help but grin as Kelah seemed to be shocked into thought for a moment. It was true though. The orcs had been exposed to the magic that ran throughout the forest and adapted with it through the generations. The brothers on the other hand had been protected from such influences.

“You make a very good point. Now those solid white faelom that I see walking around the citadel. Those are called protectors right?”

“That's correct. Did you try to speak with one?”

“Sort of. I mean we didn't talk but we sort of communicated.” A sigh escaped Kelah as she rubbed her forehead. It still felt rather strange to her. While the protector hadn't said anything and she'd been told they wouldn't talk to anyone she was certain they were smart enough to understand and communicate with her. She knew they could communicate. “It was a little while after our training session. I swear Julia some of the things you're teaching would make the spirits I contract with very nervous. We always made deals with the spirits and would at times play one spirit of another but what you're teaching is nearly coercion in some cases. I worry it could make future dealings very difficult. Anyway, I was trying to mix up some of the mist like you showed me but I was having trouble. Then one of them walks over and places her finger right against the flame I was using to do the burning.”

It was hard for Julia to keep quiet. The protectors were still choosing who they let in on the secret. For them to be behaving so openly was a good sign though. She felt certain that they would let everyone know they can speak and quite well soon enough. “So something was wrong with the flame?”

“Yeah. She showed me that the flame was too intense. Instead of creating the mist I was just burning the ingredients. She didn't stop there though. She actually set down and watched me work. Um she had me add in some of my own blood.” Kelah knew that part wasn't something Julia was doing. The surprise on the woman's face was fairly clear. “When I breathed in the mist I could feel the influence of my blood contained within it. It felt like something was opening up within me.”

“That is interesting. So what happened after you felt these things opening up?”

“I'm not sure. I felt myself opening up and then the mist began to fade and I was really hungry so I came here.” A slight chuckle escaped Kelah. “I suppose I should be worried that there is a fragment of my memory missing. My father once told me that if you make a deal with a spirit and then suddenly you're missing some memory you've either been tricked, made a bad deal or you believed that it was worth the sacrifice. In many cases the best thing to do is just trust that whatever decision you made before you lost those memories was the right one then go and read your journal.”

“You have a journal?”

“No but my father does. I tried to keep one but my position never made that easy.” Kelah hadn't given it much thought but she was actually somewhat nervous about the missing memory.

“I see. Was the protector still there?”

“Yeah. She was setting across the room from me. She was watching but her mind seemed to be else where like she was listening to something or looking past me.”

Would a protector allow a guest to come to harm? Julia doubted she would but she looked towards her sister. “What do you think Kiara?”

“I have no idea. I believe your father is a wise man though Kelah. I wasn't even aware that spirits could take your memories.”

To this Kelah gave a nod. “Some of them can.”

Kiara “Well your our guest so I don't believe the protectors would let you come to harm. Then again if one of them is setting in the room with you it might be that she's making sure you don't hurt yourself. I've noticed that they only seem to stay around whenever we're doing something dangerous. Well that and they seem to have a certain fondness for children.” Kiara actually wanted to ask the protectors about what had happened to Kelah. She didn't want to be too comforting but she couldn't imagine them letting her come to harm.

“Do you believe that my lost memory might have been a side affect of using my own blood?”

Julia, “I'm not sure. I am tempted to try it though. So you just added your own blood to the mix?”

“Well that wasn't the only thing I did. I imbued the blood I used with more of the spiritual energy running through my body then normal.” Kelah had understood what the protector wanted whenever she'd guided her hand. The movement reminded her of rituals she'd performed at home that called for blood. Typically such rituals were used for forming very powerful contracts or for examining the person who supplied the blood in great detail.

Kiara, “With all the changes to your body do you believe it would work for your sis? You don't exactly have the same blood as a human anymore.”

For a moment Julia didn't say anything but tried to consider the changes to her blood. She wasn't entirely familiar with the method that Kelah had used. She was certain that the ritual was similar to alchemy in some ways. “I'm not really sure. It depends on what the blood is involved in but I'm not even sure how much my blood has changed. Isn't that a thought? I'm not even sure how my blood has changed alchemically. I suppose that it might be time for an examination.”

“Hey now you said that the changes would be beneficial!”

Julia gave her sister a wide smile. “That I was certain of. Well that I am certain of. I'm not sure the changes has stopped yet. Just because they're beneficial to me doesn't mean that the changes won't influence other things and some of them may be affected negatively. Just imagine what would happen if I had to pass for a completely natural human at this point.” As Julia spoke she held up both her hands showing how they were solid white and stuck her tongue out of her mouth. While it was red like a human tongue the vibrant red was most assuredly not natural.

“Hey you just like make up!”

“In my mouth?”

“Humans do strange things.”

After a moment of listening Kelah couldn't help but burst into laughter as she watched the two sisters. “So Julia how young were you whenever you became a sister to Kiara?”

“I was young enough that I don't remember the event. I was found in the forest at the very young age. Now before you ask I never knew my biological mother either. Any my faelom mother took me in nearly as soon as I was brought in. Some say that her maternal instincts were running on overdrive given that she already had a daughter but I believe she just knew I would need a friend amongst the faelom and a sister can be a great friend.”

Kiara, “That they can be.”

Kelah, “ So what made you decide to become a necromancer? I know that the humans of your village tend to be magic users but I don't see many necromancers. They aren't many corpses in the forest to use.”

“Manipulating corpses is the lowest form of necromancy and the tool of someone who doesn't truly understand its power.” A huge grin formed on Kiara's face as both women gave her a rather shocked look. Kiara knew that was what her sister would have been thinking in that moment but she had chosen to voice it for her.

After a moment of silence Julia spoke up. “I have a natural affinity to necromancy put simply. Plus we needed more of them. It's always a good idea to have a variety of mages available. I'm not sure how much of a necromancer I am anymore sense I began developing as a spirit hunter. Not that my knowledge has decreased by I've had to make adjustments.”

“Like?”

“I can't channel magic through my fingers anymore.”

Now Kelah set up strait feeling and looking rather surprised. “Seriously?”

“The changes to allow me to better resist attacks by a spirit and increase my endurance in general have made it much harder for me to direct such energies through my skin. Thanks to that it had to find different outlets. In this case it was my eyes and well my mouth. For several weeks I suffered intense head aches and my eyes were positively burning due to magic forming new paths through my brain and nervous system. This was actually intentional though.”

“It made you more resistant to spells meant to influence you through your eyes! You have so much energy flowing through them that it makes it difficult for anything to use them as a point of attack.” As Kelah spoke she made use of some of her own abilities. She had made deals with spirits of various birds of prey in order to develop her eyes. Now she could see the energy that was flowing from Julia's eyes and was rather surprised by the intensity of it. “Now is that part of the training to become a spirit hunter?”

“Well yes but not to the same extent that I went.”

“I know you mentioned that before the training began. You really went all out experimenting on yourself didn't you?”

“Believes me if I didn't know how to sustain my life using necromancy I wouldn't have done nearly as much as I had. Well according to some if it hadn't been for my training in necromancy I would have died. Do you remember whenever my body began to overheat?” As she spoke Julia glanced over at her sister.

“Yes! I thought you were going to cook inside of your own skin. You're lucky I didn't stuff your entire body in a barrel of ice and make you stay there until your temperature became tolerable again.” As she spoke some of the old fear entered back into Kiara and came out in her voice. “What about you though Kelah? I know that you're used to some changes to your body. I've heard about how the spirits influence you.”

To this Kelah gave a nod. “Yeah. I don't believe I've ever heard of any orc going as far as you have though Julia? I'll be honest. All this magecraft is coming across as rather forceful compared to the negotiations I'm used to.”

“I do have some experience dealing with spirits. We necromancers may deal with a certain type of spirit for the most part but we do have some experience. I admit that your comparison is rather fair. Compared to shamanism our methods are quite aggressive and rely heavily on our knowledge and research to avoid making mistakes. Even with that knowledge mistakes can happen. That's one reason I believe we have much to offer one another. I would like to approach magecraft with a shaman's respect and careful planning. After all. You do have to be very mindful of the deals you make.”

“That's kind of you to say. I admit that at times I would like a more direct path then bargaining with the spirits. Nightfang has always been rather strait forward if demanding. They are some other spirits that are difficult by their nature though. I can't describe how infuriating it is when a spirit requires you to catch them before it'll even negotiate with you. At least it used to be infuriating. After I advanced far enough in my dealings with Nightfang that changed.” Now Kelah's formed a wide grin revealing her altered teeth to anyone that looked.

“Did that change how many required that little trial of you?”

“No it just made them run faster but then again I became much faster as well and learned to truly enjoy myself. The only problem now is when the instincts begin pounding too hard I have to repress my kill instinct.”

Kiara, “I know what that's like! You just want to capture something and bring it to safety. However, it makes you chase it which triggers your hunting drive and suddenly your body is calling out for blood. Now you have to fight your own nature while trying to apprehend your prey which is still running from you. I have had serious head aches because of this and I don't just mean frustration. By the time I managed to capture them, resisted the urge to kill and brought them to safety my head would feel like it was going to split in two. If it didn't feel that way immediately it would begin to about two hours later.”

Julia, “Did you ever have that problem with me?”

“No but I swear. Whenever you asked me to catch you a pet bird. I never mentioned it when we were kids but I was positively raging about how you had to ask for one of the most illusive and difficult to catch birds in the forest.”

“I thought you never had trouble catching any animals in the forest.”

“I don't now after all the experience you got me.” Kiara couldn't help but laugh for a moment as the childhood memories were brought up. She could still remember the headache but she also remembered how happy the little animal had made her sister and that was what was more important.

Kiara, “What happened to your pet?”

“Julia, “Age eventually took my pet from me.”

“Did you try to raise it?”

“No. Like Kiara said for me I never really learned necromancy to make corpses walk. The type of undead I'm trained to create aren't those that rely upon a physical body.”

“So you make shadows?”

“That is one name for them yes.” 

Kelah had dealings with death spirits. They were everywhere in the forest and given her contract with Nightfang such contracts came naturally as well. Some of them could teach you to call upon the spirits of the dead to gain power. From what she'd learned while talking to Julia and what she'd seen for herself she couldn't help but imagine what a mage's more aggressive version of these techniques would be like. “I'm still a little uncomfortable with all of this. We depend on the spirits to help us survive in this forest after all. What was that look for Kiara?”

It took Kiara a moment to respond as she realized her mistake.  “Sorry about that but that isn't the type of talk we like to hear.” As she spoke Kiara waved her hand indicating the entire room. She had heard several of the other faelom tense up and knew a few of them were actually looking in their direction. “Kelah your people have done a lot to become allies in our eyes and it wasn't just fighting against the amalgam. So yeah. Saying that would be like if Julia indicated that some spirit of death had power over her.”

“You see it as a threat?”

“That is a big part of it. Well I'm sure you noticed it with Zarena as well.”

After a moment of silence Kelah gave her head a nod. “Kersara has been encouraging us to learn your methods of healing as well. Yet it seemed like your respect for the spirits had been restored. After all Julia you've began using a few of my techniques.”

Julia, “I agree with that to an extent. Kelah your methods are great for reasonable and cooperative spirits. They have quite a few benefits over ours. However, for unreasonable spirits or those that just want to be difficult you need a method to motivate compliance.”

For a moment Kelah was silent but then gave a slight chuckle. “Well I can see how that would be useful.”

“We want dealings with the spirits to be an option but not required. We would prefer to do the same for you. In some ways our situations are very similar we're just seeing things from different sides of the same coin. You rely on the spirits to meet your magical needs while we rely on magecraft both of them have limitations. When both are an option though things are bound to improve.”

“You want a new food source.”

“That's right! Then when one food source has done poorly during the growing season we have another.”

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

“What happened to this being easy?” Mirin didn't even try to hide the frustration in his voice. Currently he found himself outside the citadel setting with a surprisingly visible Sora. He had required a break from his work with the silk worms. Work that had been so promising in the beginning but had rapidly began to slow down.

“Hey now what are you talking about?”

“For a time it seemed like we were making a new discovery every few months. Now even though we've returned to the citadel things have slowed down so much.”

It was impossible for Sora not to laugh a bit as she listened to Mirin complain. “Mirin that's because the life bloom was new. Even for Joseph it was a new development with all sorts of potential. You've grabbed the low hanging fruit which was quick and easy. Now you have to climb the tree.”

“You can fall out of trees.”

“Then use a stick to knock them out of the tree.”

Mirin was barely able to keep from laughing but he wasn't able to stop himself from grinning. “Then the fruit might bop me in the head when it falls.”

“I'll bop you on the head if you don't quit putting a negative spin on my metaphor.” Sora was grinning herself. She knew Mirin was just trying to be difficult. He wanted to complain about how hard his work was and didn't want a positive spin put on it. That was the type of behavior that could easily earn him being smacked on the head.

“Oh you wouldn't hit me!”

“I've hit plenty of you in the past. Remember I can turn invisible I can get away with such things.”

For a moment Mirin went silent and just grinned as he continued to look into the forest. “The ocean front laboratory is going to take a while to finish building. How is everyone handling Fera's situation?”

“Well sense she was prevented from leaving it hasn't been brought up. We've all been trying to manage our travel and not leave too much damage where we walk. With so few of us at the twenty meter mark I don't believe it's a huge factor at the moment. The more serious talk is well the trade. What did you think of Durin?”

“I like him but I don't believe I'd like to live near him. I'm glad that he was brought here his perspective has been helpful.”

“What did he talk you into doing?” For Mirin to say that Durin had been helpful Sora knew that the dwarf hadn't just confirmed what they already thought. He had convinced them to do something.

“We're preparing some enchanted items for him to trade. The outside world apparently doesn't know how to value truly premium alchemical potions. He also felt sending them raw goods considering our knowledge would be a waste. So we're preparing some magic items for him to trade. We've also settled on a location.”

“Hey I thought that was our job!”

“It was but he made a very compelling argument. He pointed out the reason certain locations aren't any good for trade is they're too difficult to travel through. That means the land tends to be cheap as well and once we own it we can develop the land and make it easy to travel through.” When Sora went silent Mirin set his hand down on her leg and began to run it over her fur. “I don't believe you've ever spent so much time in a visible state. Did something change?”

“That is a good point. Except you're not going to be the ones developing the land.”

“I'd be glad to help.”

Sora gave her nose a slight twitch. There was no indication that Mirin was joking with her and she knew it without even listening to his response. He would be glad to help out with a construction project. He could honestly say it even if he knew that he wouldn't be allowed to. “We'll let you begin helping with such projects eventually. Look at everything that has changed.”

“Thanks but I'm not sure what I could do really.”

“You have magic.”

To this Mirin gave a nod and closed his eyes for a moment. He began to run through a mental checklist of all the ways that he knew how to use magic. “I can see some of my spells helping with a construction project. I'm having trouble thinking of anything that would help directly especially now.” After a moment Mirin opened his eyes but instead of looking at the forest he turned around so that he was looking up at Sora. “You are going to require specialized building material in the future. Depending on how large you grow you might even outgrow most forms of shelter.”

“I know. I've thought about what that would mean and what I'm going to do for entertainment as well if that did happen. I couldn't exactly fit inside the library anymore. I know that Nathan was working on a way to replicate Zarena's book for her. Did that project get put on hold?”

“No. Well sort of. The magic used isn't actually all that complex the problem is making sure it last.”

“I can see where that would be a problem with us.”

“Yeah that part he's had to put on hold. So are you imagining a collection of mystic books for you and the other larger faelom to read?”

“It would be nice.”

“Well once we have enough people freed up I'll help Nathan with his project. Sora I've been meaning to ask. Now about my question in regards to your visibility.”

A sigh escaped Sora and she gave her head a nod. “Mirin the larger I am the more difficult it is for me to stay hidden. I didn't realize it until later. I used to have a lot less volume so staying hidden was easy. Now that I'm this big though it's just. Well it's not so easy anymore.” As she spoke Sora looked down at her hands. Before she didn't really feel any kind of drain whenever she would conceal herself though recovery took longer. Now whenever she hid she could feel her energy being drained away. She just couldn't remain like that all the time anymore.

Mirin didn't say anything at first but then began to grin. “I feel stupid. Yeah. The larger someone is the harder it is for them to hide that makes sense. So are you doing alright? I admit whenever I saw you walking around I thought that you'd just decided not to stay hidden anymore.”

“Yeah. That's kind of what I want others to think. In truth being this visible makes me really uncomfortable.”

Mirin had noticed a change in Sora's voice. After being able to keep herself hidden whenever she wanted to the loss of that ability was influencing her. She was use to confronting people whenever she wanted to. Likely the fact that people could find her now and confront her whenever they wanted to was having an influence on her. “Yet you plan to continue growing.”

“Yeah but that's also why I don't mind leaving here quite as much.” After a moment of silence Sora gave a sigh. “Mirin I don't know what to do half the time now. It used to be that I would hear about something and have plenty of time to think about it. I never had to confront a problem before I had time to think or almost never. Now it's happening all the time. A sister will come up to me ask something and I'll talk with her but then an hour later I'll begin second guessing what I had said.”

“Are they still coming to you?”

“Yes.”

“I haven't heard anyone speaking ill of you. I believe your advice is still as good as it ever was Sora. I know it's hard for you to stay center stage for a long time. You've always been a little on the shy side after all. You're doing fine.”

“Thanks Mirin. You know I believe you're one of five people that know that.”

Mirin gave a slight chuckle. Most seemed to believe that Sora simply liked staying invisible so that she could watch everyone and make sure they were behaving as they should be. Few realized that the real reason she remained hidden was so she could deal with others on her terms. She hated being taken out of her comfort zone by an unexpected visit. “Think of this as a chance to learn more about yourself.”

“I had better as I don't believe anything is going to be changing for a while. Well except I'm going to continue to grow larger. Mirin you know if you'd asked me to I would have remained smaller.”

“I wouldn't do that. I want you to end your hunger as well after all and ten years or however long it takes Dan and Joseph to finish there project is quite a long wait. I am a little concerned though. I've noticed that a lot of the matrons have their hearts set on the ocean front rather then the market towns. Well really far more of the faelom are thinking of the ocean front for their new home rather then the market towns.”

“Can you blame them? They've been hearing good things about the orcs for months now at least. They know Zarena is living there and other sleepers will likely end up living there plus there is the ocean as a new food source. We don't need a lot of faelom living in the market towns do we?”

“That depends on how busy they end up being.”

“Well if you ask me an ocean front town with a port for trading is going to end up being a lot busier then somewhere on land.” Sora was actually surprise when he shook his head no. “Why don't you believe it will be?”

“Just think what is going to happen if we let people use our roads to travel through the forest. We've known for quite some time that having to travel around the forest has been a barrier to trade before. That has even caused outsiders to attack us from time to time.”

“That makes sense. Mirin where do you want to live? We're going to be staying together after all?”

“I don't believe we have any choice. The ocean front laboratory is going to be ready far sooner then any of the others. Are you glad that you're going to be living near Fera still?”

To this Sora gave a nod. “Actually I really am. She's the only person I'm used to being able to see me whenever she wants other then you. I'm going to hate our time apart.” While Mirin planned to come and live with her Sora also knew he would be remaining in the forest to finish his silk worm experiments. The citadel simply offered him too many advantages.

“Let's not talk about that and hope that the transportation system is finished in time.”

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

Dremera's tail flicked back and forth happily while she held Ethan against herself. Currently she was setting down and leaned back with Ethan laying on top of her. At first Ethan had seemed uncertain of what was going on but he had relaxed soon enough and now was just laying there quietly. For her part Dremera was looking around the room while continuing to grin. She had licked Ethan on top of the head once but her mommy had prevented her from doing it a second time. She wasn't certain why but she was glad that she could hold him.

Joseph had been astounded by what Stella had told him. Pera had been allowed to hold Allen at a very early age. Apparently Stella had kept both of them within arms reach and watched them the entire time but she had allowed the young faelom to hold her son. She had told them that Ethan would cry the moment he was the least bit uncomfortable. So long as they kept a close eye on the two of them they should be fine. Stella had also recommended having a healer on hand. Apparently she had a very powerful healing potion on her at the time though that was something she didn't want spread around. “Well at least she likes my son more then.” Joseph went silent as Dremera looked at him and gave a slight hiss. “me.”

Maria had to lock her jaw tight to keep from bursting into laughter. Dremera seemed fine around Joseph these days but from time to time she would still hiss at him. It was cute. A soft grunt reached her ears and Maria noticed Ethan's brow beginning to crinkle up for a moment. She heard his heart rate speeding up and then she noticed Dremera relax and a moment later so did Ethan. “That is adorable. I'm amazed by how still she is.”

Mina, “Well she has someone to protect.”

“That is true. So what else did Stella say?”

“Well she said that Dremera would likely tire of holding Allen after half an hour or so. Apparently that was pretty much Pera's maximum at the time as well. He's too young to play with her still and a faelom as young as her can't stay still for long without having something to play with or destroy. Hey Mina how is Dremera doing with her puzzle?”

“She finally managed to get the ring out.”

“Without breaking it?”

“Yes. You should have heard her hiss whenever she came back and the room had been cleaned up. She found that the ring had been placed back inside the puzzle and through such a fit.” Mina smiled as she reached down and patted her daughter on the head. Dremera didn't respond much but continued to hold Allen. “I don't believe I was ever allowed to hold a brother as young as Ethan whenever I was the same age as Dremera.”

Maria, “Would that be surprising?”

“No. I believe she may be becoming a little board.”

Joseph, “Just let her hold Ethan for a while. Stella also said if we take Ethan away from her early that will just rekindle her desire to hold onto him. She needs to learn that this early on Ethan isn't going to be doing much more then sleeping. He seems to like the bells the protectors put on his crib and that's about it.”

Mina, “He can reach them?”

Maria, “No. He just seemed to like looking at them.”

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

“Mirin I need to speak with you.” Lestel had been waiting for Mirin to finish with his work for the time being. As he had began to clean up his work area and finish writing down his results she'd moved to speak with him and began to help put things away. If he would have left them alone she would have handled them for him but many of the apprentices liked to handle their own clean up.

“What is it?” Mirin was used to Sora coming out of nowhere to pick him up. Having a protector appear out of nowhere to speak to him was hardly a shocking event to him.

“We would appreciate it if you were to call a meeting of all the apprentices and faelom. We've been talking amongst ourselves and believe that it's time that we revealed ourselves to the community as a whole.”

This was something Mirin had been waiting for. The number of faelom and apprentices that knew their secret had been increasing after all. It was only a matter of time before enough knew to avoid any problems. Apparently they believed that point had been reached. “I see. Well I'm glad you believe the time has finally come. When would you like to have this meeting?”

“The morning three days from now would be preferred. We don't actually have a preference for the time. We even considered leaving the citadel and simply introducing ourselves to various faelom but resolved that would cause more of a stir then having them gather here. The three days is simply so the information has time to reach every faelom.”

To this Mirin gave a nod. “So you don't want to talk about whether or not this is the right time?”

“We've already discussed that amongst ourselves. We don't believe there will be a time in which you're more prepared. Even now we risk hostility caused by our request to maintain our secret.”

“That is true.” They were part of a society in which the faelom were used to the apprentices keeping certain secrets from them and the reverse was true as well. This was quite a large secret though and he knew there would be some hurt feelings because they were left out. Hopefully most would be happy with the discovery. “Is there any place in particular that you want to speak with them?”

“Simply pick a location that is close to the citadel. I'm certain they'll be quite shocked to see us outside.” As she spoke Lestel was having to push her excitement off on the other protectors in order to retain a calm composure. They had finally agreed to return to the faelom society openly. The apprentices still had a long ways to go but she was certain things were going to become even better. They were rapidly approaching the maximum social expansion for the time being but they weren't there yet.

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“I'm afraid I can't say what size you're going to be after Azon's final work is finished.” Naidra was currently setting in front of Zarena. She had come to visit her. Fortunately Nathan was with them as well so Zarena could speak somewhat freely and not worry about alerting anyone. They would simply suspect she was talking to Nathan.”In part that will be decided by you and how long you choose to undergo the procedure. I believe I should mention though. For some your increased size may become a true adaptation.”

Nathan, “I had wondered about that. So if a faelom's body does remain at a certain size even after its done undergoing its transformation then would you say that is that faelom's true size?”

“Yes and well some faelom may grow do to this. I often listen to Maria talking about wanting to maintain her current size so that she can remain within the citadel yet she intends to freely make use of Azon's work. She may not get the end result she expects. Zarena you might not get the end result you expect either.”

For a moment Zarena said nothing but then took in a deep breath. “Well surely I'm going to end up smaller then this.”

“It is extremely likely. It's likely enough that I believe you're safe in drawing comfort from such thoughts. Nathan do you have something on your mind?”

“A few things yes. One thing I've been thinking about is well your visit.”

“I felt the need to come and see the two of you without being asked. This wasn't a decision made by the protectors as a whole but something I felt I should do. We are individuals after all. I look forward to being able to visit either of you without having to hide my presence.” Naidra hadn't said it but part of her felt like she was setting down and speaking with friends. As if Nathan and Zarena were closer to fellow protectors then apprentices and faelom. She felt similar with others but Nathan and Zarena received help from her memories and past versions of herself.

Zarena, “It's understandable to want to see others before things change even if they are changing for the better. I hope that you don't mind answering so many questions about me.”

“Believe me. It's easier to answer questions about others then ourselves. Talking about yourself can end up revealing a weak point.”

Naidra's response actually surprised Nathan to a fair extent. She had seemed quite open with them before but he hadn't asked her about anything that might leave the protectors vulnerable. “Naidra if I wanted to know what area of the citadel housed your power source would you tell me?”

“You want to test the limits of what I'm willing to tell about myself. Our power source is held in the secure areas of the citadel and that's all the information you're going to get about its location.” Naidra gave Nathan a large grin even as he nodded his head. The notion of telling someone exactly where their energy source was housed was actually very unpleasant to her. It would mean someone could try planning a strike against the citadel and they would have at least some idea of what areas to aim for. The fact that their primary power source was housed in the citadel wasn't a secret to anyone though so she could speak of it freely.

“Well that leaves plenty of room for guess work. I'm going to guess the hardest section of the citadel to reach.”

“Not quite.”

“Seriously?”

“I have told you before. They are things housed within the citadel that are far more dangerous then even us. Perhaps the day will come that you will reach them.”

Zarena, “I remember you mentioning that. Now are they becoming less dangerous with time or more dangerous?”

“They're either staying as dangerous or becoming less dangerous. If they were becoming more dangerous we would have to destroy them. If we were able. Now why don't we get back to the pleasant questions? I don't want the two of you pushing my security limits too far.”

It was tempting to continue asking more questions about the citadel. Nathan didn't actually want the information or expect it he just wanted to continue pushing Naidra for a bit longer. If she wanted them to stop for the moment he would though. If he didn't Zarena was liable to give him a flick. “That if is a bit frightening. I have been wondering. Zarena has been asleep for a very long time and she's only developed two mutations. What makes you so sure she's going to develop more?”

“Azon's work smooths the process considerably. Even if a faelom slumbered for thirty years and didn't develop a mutation his work would insure she did. Though the mutation would be in accordance with her nature. I also want to mention Zarena only has two mutations that you know of.”

Zarena, “What?”

“Zarena when was the last time someone tried to use magic to influence your mind?”

“I don't believe anyone ever has.”

“You're probably right about that. However, that doesn't mean your body hasn't changed to make you even more resistant to such influences. Some faelom have adaptations that simply express themselves in such a way that they can't be seen.”

For a moment Zarena said nothing. “So I might have been altered in ways that I don't know and won't notice until a threat makes the changes very clear. So how many of the faelom had slept without developing a mutation?”

“Fewer then you may believe. A lot of them have mutations that just aren't impressive. If a faelom was to develop a mutation that made her a tenth stronger then she would be otherwise would it be noticed? No. When you speak of adaptations you think of Mina, Maria, Fera, Sora and so on. You don't think of the little subtle changes that can be surpassed by effort. Kersara for example I can assure you doesn't have a mutation. In terms of her body she is a standard faelom. She's just pushed herself very hard. I fully expect her first adaptation to be very impressive.”

Nathan, “What would you say if she only developed a minor change?”

“Joseph and Dan did something wrong and they should retry the procedure.”

Now Nathan gave a slight chuckle. “So Kersara has a lot of potential?”

“You don't push yourself like she did without a very strong spirit to motivate the body or without being pushed by someone or something else.”

To this Nathan nodded his head. “So are you really saying that Zarena has a third mutation? I'd really like you to tell us if she does.”

For a moment Naidra said nothing but looked up at Zarena. She looked like she was desperate to know as well. “Yes. Zarena you are actually even more resistant to mystic energies then most faelom. You are more resistant to harmful mystic energies then most faelom that is. With your eyes, your claws, your teeth and your resistance you were clearly meant to be a predator to spirits. As a mystic being yourselves this isn't surprising. It also means you're very well equipped for combating golems, dragons and a other creatures as well. If the Luvarians were still active well you would have been a wonderful help during the infernal invasion.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Nathan, “Did that help her whenever she faced off against the Amalgam?”

“Yes but not as much as you might suspect. Zarena with your combat experience you had the Amalgam outmatched even without your increased endurance. You would have came out worse for the experience if your body hadn't already adapted to resist mystic influences but you would have won.”

Zarena, “Well that's good to know. So how much more resistant to magic am I?”

“That really differs a lot from faelom to faelom. Let's just say that you're significantly more resistant then you would be otherwise.”

To this Zarena gave a nod. “Of course. Everyone would just think my durability was due to my massive size. I can understand why it would go unnoticed. So what's the least impressive adaptation you've noticed.” Zarena was actually quite surprised whenever Naidra gave a sharp chuckle before clamping her hand down over her mouth. “What?”

“Oh! Well okay. There was one faelom's whose body actually became weaker after she was forced to sleep so that she wouldn't require as much energy. I know conserving energy can be beneficial but the reduction in her performance was a steep price to pay.”

Nathan, “That can happen! I thought all adaptations were beneficial.”

“This was a very strange event. I'm not certain how but while the faelom was sleeping she became spiritually weaker. It happened while her body was going through its alterations and that was the end result. She didn't even notice the change when she woke up after all. Every faelom is weak after sleeping like that. Well except for a few. Had she tried to push herself after waking up she would have noticed her weakness but she was never particularly driven after sleeping.” After a moment Naidra gave a slight shrug.

Zarena, “So she never noticed the change?”

“No. She only did task that were relatively easy to perform. She was never particularly ambitions at all really. It was actually indifference that got her into trouble to begin with.”

For a moment Zarena said nothing but there was one thing that struck her as very strange. “Naidra I don't believe I've ever seen a faelom I would call indifferent.”

“She was a strange one to begin with. I admit we wondered how she even survived her birth. Our best guess was that she just barely met the energy requirements and her mother provided her a stable enough environment while she was within the womb for her to survive. We talked a little bit about what the Luvarians would have done if they had been around to see her. I suspect they would have let her be but considered her a failure.”

Nathan, “They wouldn't try to fix her?”

“This isn't the type of thing that's easy to fix. It can be impossible. She came into the world like a faelom that was nearing the end of her life span.”

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“That's a good boy Ethan. Are you ready to burp for daddy?” As he spoke Joseph placed Ethan across his shoulder and began to lightly pat him on his back. The infant had just finished a bottle of Maria's milk. Milk that she wouldn't allow Joseph to add anything to. He hadn't put up a very good argument as to why she should either. Joseph at the time wasn't certain it would be in Ethan's best interest to add anything to the milk so his suggestion had been more of a reluctant request. “Maria what are you doing?”

“You really don't believe a few drops of this in Ethan's milk would hurt him?” Currently Maria was looking at the potion Joseph had prepared. She would have normally been all for something that would give their son a better chance at life and maintain his health. Then Joseph had started talking about the possible issues and she'd become scared. He had then tried to explain why it wouldn't harm Ethan but he had sounded so uncertain. It felt like he wanted her to say no so that he could toss the idea aside and move on. The more she thought about it though the less certain she was becoming.

“I don't know Maria. I remember reading about how alchemy could influence a still developing body in remarkable ways. At times the alterations aren't good though and my knowledge on such subjects is still very incomplete. Even with everything that I've learned while here I still can't be certain the results would be beneficial. I asked the protectors earlier if they have an augmentation packet. You know like if a king wanted to give his son or daughter the best start on life possible and they said the Luvarians did. Then she told me that I shouldn't use it. It was strange.”

For a moment Maria was silent. That didn't seem like the type of behavior she'd seen from the protectors. “Why did she say it shouldn't be used?”

“When I asked she said it was meant for a wealthy person who had more then one child to spare. The success rate wasn't one hundred percent and at times the child died.  Then she insisted that I should just let Ethan play with his mystic toys and let his body develop for a few years. Apparently the child needs to reach three or five years old before they can guarantee safe treatment.”

Maria didn't even think to ask about the failure rate. Even if only one in ten of the children had died the risk would be too great. She wasn't even prepared to tolerate a one in a thousand chance that Ethan would be killed. “That's really surprising. I mean the Luvarians were making new life forms all the time.”

Naidra, “Well that's because a child's body is so dynamic. Just living here Ethan is going to be exposed to mystic energies other then his own. His body is going to respond to those energies. Now when you ask us to make intentional changes to his being as well you can end up having a lot of different things going on at the same time and that simply isn't tolerable for a body as delicate as his.” Naidra gave Joseph and Maria a large grin as she walked into the room. They had become used to her visits. She had heard them talking through the citadel and been chosen to go speak with them. “We're also a little concerned that you're still thinking about using such potions.”

Joseph, “What do you mean?”

“Such potions once in a while. Such as to help Ethan fight off a sickness would be beneficial. However, regular exposure isn't a good idea. I'm just going to say. Don't let him drink the formula unless he's sick.”

After a moment of silence Joseph gave a nod. “You're that certain of it?”

“Yes I am.”

After a moment of silence Joseph perked up a bit. “Wait a minute. You said that Ethan would be exposed to mystic energies living here. Are you saying there is enough in the environment to influence him?”

“Yes. Joseph if you want to remove Ethan from the citadel and from any exposure to your work for a few years then I would recommend giving him such potions. There is plenty of ambient energy in the citadel itself though. So much that you don't want to risk adding more to what Ethan is already being exposed to.”

Maria, “Hold on Naidra. Shouldn't we be able to feel the influence of the magic?”

“Joseph how strong is the potion you planned on giving Ethan?”

For a moment Joseph didn't respond then realization set in. “I see. So the influence is very subtle but combined with another very subtle influence and it could be harmful to an infant.”

“Yes. When exposed to too much magic they have been some very unfortunate events. Included in this is one case where the rib cage formed more quickly then it should have and destroyed the infants heart. Fortunately the infant was saved but it is dangerous.”

Maria, “How was the infant saved?”

“One of the Luvarians conducting the projects was a very powerful necromancer. She extracted the child's spirit and took care of the spirit until a new body could be prepared from its untainted flesh. This wasn't a one time event though and some of them didn't survive.”

Maria, “And you're sure there is no chance of that happening to Ethan?”

“As long as you don't try to introduce mystic energy into his system constantly. Just let him soak up what the citadel produces naturally and play with his toys. Oh! Which reminds me this entire conversation was very distracting. We're working on a new toy for him. What color would you prefer?”

Maria, “Color for what?”

“A toy animal to cuddle with.”

Joseph felt like his brain had stopped working for a moment. “Is this toy magical in anyway?”

“Well it does make the holder feel safe and relaxed.”

Maria, “So it's not magical?”

“Yes it is. That's its magic affect. It draws its power from its holder though so we're not introducing foreign energies into Ethan. We decided that he should have one to cuddle with after we watched him cuddling with Dremera. Calling it a stuffed animal isn't actually right. It's more like a stuffed faelom. Now what color would you prefer?”

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

This felt very strange. Azera didn't know what to think as she stood in front of the citadel with a large gathering of faelom. What made the situation truly strange wasn't how much they had grown but the fact that none of them were giving her any hostile looks. She hadn't even heard any harsh comments. A few of them had glanced in her direction and while their glances weren't warm they weren't hostile either. They weren't sure what to think of her presence. Even this felt warm compared to how she had been looked at before. Part of her wanted to talk over to Nora and try speaking with her for a moment but she couldn't convince her legs to cooperate. For the moment it was nice just to be have her presence tolerated instead of being watched like she was an enemy.

“Is something on your mind?”

It felt like Azera's heart had jumped into her throat. As she turned around to look at Nora she felt like she was a child again. The faelom outside of the laboratory had been allowed to grow so much. “I was just thinking about talking a bit.”

Nora had known Azera before she had became one of the distrusted. Like most faelom she had cut relationships with her whenever the issues had began to show themselves. She was glad to see that her friend was returning to them. In some ways it felt like Azera had been dead and then returned to life. “If you want to talk I could stop by the laboratory later but I don't believe this is the place for catching up.”

“Yeah that would be nice.” It surprised Azera a bit when Nora mentioned coming by and visiting. “What are we doing here anyway?”

“I have no idea. I was told there was something important going to be revealed today. I'm hoping that we finally have enough spare energy to revive another sleeper or perhaps they've improved the fruit even more.”

There wasn't time for Azera to respond. She didn't know what to think whenever she saw three protectors walking into the center of the crowd. It was rare she saw the protectors though there were more and more stories about them. Seeing them outside of the citadel was shocking on an entirely different level. The fact that they had been gathered to do something vanished from Azera's mind. She didn't know what to think.

Naidra, “Greetings my fellow faelom. I am Naidra of the protector class faelom. I am pleased to be able to speak to you at long last and openly say welcome to the citadel. After our long silence I realize this must be extremely shocking. I am here to tell you that after current events the decision to restore dialogue has been made and we hope that you'll come to us with any questions now and in the future. I realize that some of you will be leaving the living area for new settlements as your size has increased. We will be taking steps to insure that your connection to the citadel isn't lost yet again. Now before we begin the actual questions I wish to tell you. We have always been able to speak, we chose silence after past events became violent and it is your progress and actions that have caused us to renew dialogue.”

A low rumble rolled through all the faelom and apprentices that had gathered. Naidra could hear their conversations though none of them moved to ask any questions. The protectors had resolved not to mention they had began speaking with other faelom and apprentices already. That would cause undo stress. She could see some of those that knew of the secret working to keep the others calm.

Mirin, “So what is this actually going to mean for us? You said we could ask you questions but what questions?” Mirin chose to speak as if he didn't already know the truth of the protectors. He didn't want the others to have time to begin speculating until they had more information.

Lestel, “The knowledge we can provide is limited. We can offer training in physical matters but we are not qualified to instruct others in the use of magic. We can also direct you to certain sources of information within the citadel but we can not grant you access to materials you don't already have access to.”

When Lestel had began speaking Stella's jaw had nearly hit the ground. She could still remember Allen telling her about when the protector had brought him the book very clearly.  “Where you guiding Allen whenever you gave him that book?”

Lestel, “Yes. We saw that your son was interested in advancing his knowledge of magic but you were resistant to the studies due to his young age. So we showed him a path that would likely remove that resistance. He has progressed down it nicely.”

Stella couldn't help but smile as surprising as the news was. The notion that even the protectors thought Allen was doing a good job was quite nice. “Thanks but you also said there was knowledge we don't have access to. How are we suppose to gain access to that?”

“There are several ways but the one I'll inform you of is make use of the knowledge found in the apprentices library. There is more then enough knowledge there for you to learn and if applied an apprentice may advance to a true luvarian. For my fellow faelom. I'm afraid that is a bit more difficult. I would recommend continuing to advance yourself but also seek to learn why your bodies respond as they do.”

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“That was interesting but I wish that it had ended sooner.” Currently Joseph was laying on top of Maria's legs while Ethan wrested in his arms. His own legs were positively aching at the moment. He had been there for the protectors big reveal and all the questions. It was the questions that were the real issue. The faelom had questioned them for several hours and in order to keep up appearances Joseph had remained among them. Maria had been given a reason to leave thanks to Ethan becoming frustrated with the environment. She had taken Dremera with her who seemed like she was becoming equally annoyed.

Maria's response was to run her fingers through Joseph's hair. “You know the questions didn't end there and probably won't end for a while. The protectors managed to get the most common questions out of the way at least.”

“How many do they have in the main hall speaking with the other faelom?”

“The last time I looked there were nineteen protectors speaking with the faelom and apprentices. A lot of them seemed to be referring the questions to the library after establishing how to use the statue. I'm just glad that no one has tried being forceful with the protectors.”

“What about the ones that were asked to leave?”

“Well when I say forceful I mean that Naidra hasn't had to knock anyone on their tail.” A soft giggle escaped Maria as Ethan seemed to try to take hold of her finger with his little hand. She quickly placed her finger against him. If he wanted to brush his little hand against her fur she was happy to let him. “You didn't like all the noise or the hot did you Ethan?”

“He did not. I guess the protectors wont have as much free time for a few days at least.”

“I'm sure they've left enough time in their schedule to continue helping you, Dan and Ridon with your studies. That and I have a feeling they still plan on visiting Ethan and Dremera very often. They don't need to sleep after all or eat or fatigue.”

A slight chuckle escaped Joseph as he looked at Ethan. “You hear that Ethan? The ladies just can't seem to keep their hands off you can they?” As he spoke Joseph looked to Maria's hand which was currently resting against Ethan.

“Hey I'm his mother I can pet on him all I want!” Maria couldn't help but smile as she looked down at the two main men in her life. Using her tail she brought it up and lightly tickled Joseph's feet while using her right index finger to tickle Ethans. Her face became an open smile as she noticed that Joseph and Ethan's face scrunched up the same way when they were being tickled.

End Book 8

I hope you've enjoyed reading unyielding hunger. This will be the end of the story as far as one of the major stories I'm working on. This means no more weekly updates. An epilogue might be possible but that like all short stories depends on when the mood hits.