Long ago, before humans even knew what Spirits were… Origin and Chronos built in secret even from Maxwell himself a contingency plan should the trial be completed and humanity wage war on Spirits. It was evident after seeing Lugher's bond with Elle, and how strong his friendships were with his allies, that it was not needed. So it was deactivated, and hidden in a dimension between this world and the next. There it lay dormant… but not incapable of being abused if it were somehow found.
In the human world, mana was regenerating at an astounding rate with Spyrite research reaching completion. After five long years, Milla was able to return to the human world without a time limit. In fact, many Spirits were able to manifest in the recovering world, including ones no one had ever seen before. There still remained tension between Rieze Maxia and Elympios, and Spirits were also still in that mix. Rieze Maxia assured Elympios that the Spirits meant no harm, as most simply wanted to play. Elympios people had a hard time believing this, having had no proper contact with Spirits in a very long time. So Jude Mathis decided to find a way of showing them besides examples that Spirits come in peace. Alvin joked that he could always marry Milla, the Lord of Spirits, as a "display of peace".
Jude of course got flustered and barked at Alvin, but Gaius got a thoughtful look. In fact, he even started to grin, which made Muzet giggle knowing exactly why he was grinning.
"No, that's actually a very good idea, Alvin. It's been done all the time amongst royalty to keep two kingdoms at peace, or to appease tensions between two opposing factions." Gaius reasoned.
"Yes. A wedding would be killing two birds with one stone." Muzet complimented.
"Would it?" Milla asked, and everyone shot a grin toward Jude making him flinch turning red.
"C-Come on guys…" Jude complained trying to hide his embarrassment.
"What? You don't want to marry me?" Milla asked.
"T-That's not it! It's just, sudden, you know…?" Jude reasoned in a panic.
"Jude. You've known Milla for years now. Why so nervous now of all times?" Gaius asked with a smile.
"Yeah, Jude, why so nervous?" Teepo teased.
"It's just… I wanted the right atmosphere to ask her… romantic, and not just brought up out of the blue…" Jude admitted slumping over, and Milla blushed with a smile.
"You humans and your romance. You could have proposed to me in the middle of the street and I'd still have said yes, Jude." Milla laughed.
"So it's settled. Jude's going to marry Milla…" Leia chuckled.
"Question is, should they get married in Elympios or Rieze Maxia? Both kingdoms have different marriage laws and customs." Alvin asked.
"Why not Marksburg? That's between the kingdoms, right? It'd technically be getting married in both Elympios and Rieze Maxia." Elise suggested.
"A fine idea." Rowen complimented.
"We'll need a representative of Elympios there too if we're to create peace, especially if I'm representing Rieze Maxia." Gaius stated.
"Why not Ludger? He holds a pretty high place in Elympian society as CEO of Spirius. I'm sure he'd love to get a break from his office, too." Leia suggested.
"Then we need to contact Elympios's government to get it arranged." Rowen nodded.
"Wonder how mom and dad are going to react… I'm getting married and it's apparently going to have a huge impact on the world." Jude laughed nervously.
"I've always been curious about human marriage rituals. Now I'll actually be participating in one as well. How exciting…" Milla pondered with a smile.
With a plan of attack, it was time to begin getting everything settled with Elympios. Ludger was more than happy to oblige the invitation on Elympios's behalf. It was getting the committee to agree to the terms of the marriage that was tricky. Of course, Rowen believes if Ludger weren't a heavy hand on their decisions it'd have been much more difficult to accomplish. Ludger was glad to see Rowen again after so long as well. Once things were finished there, it was on to preparing for the wedding.
A full three weeks after the planning, it was time at last. Everyone gathered at Marksburg where a grand stage had been set up just for the wedding. After much debate, they decided that it would be Rieze Maxian style. Jude and Milla were dressed in ceremonial robes beautifully decorated with flower patterns and a dragon on each. When the two wearers walk beside one another the two dragons appear to be grasping one another's paw while touching snouts showing unity and intimacy between the two. Milla left everyone speechless as she approached the altar. The ceremony began and Milla couldn't stop looking at Jude out of the corner of her eye, and saw he was looking back with a smile plastered on his face. After the usual long-winded speech... it was time…
"Jude Mathis, do you take this Spirit to be your lawfully wedded wife? To care for her in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" the priestess asked.
"I do." Jude replied staring into Milla's eyes.
"Milla Maxwell, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To care for him in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" the priestess asked.
"I do." Milla replied.
"If anyone objects to the unity between the bride and groom, speak now, or forever hold your peace. By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." the priestess spoke, and Milla about made Jude fall over when she leapt onto him to kiss him.
Bells went off as the two walked down the aisle and the guests applauded happily. They entered a coach and it took them away to a home in Rieze Maxia that Ludger had Spirius build weeks in advance, with Gaius's permission of course. Milla couldn't stop staring at the ring on her finger, and Jude couldn't stop looking at Milla. This day marked the beginning of their life together.
The home they arrived to had two floors not including the basement. It was already furnished and had plenty of supplies for power and water. It was a convenient jog from a nearby town as well, so shopping for groceries wouldn't be a problem. Milla liked the bed most of all. She'd never seen one so big before. Jude was just glad it had breathing room. In fact, the entire house seemed built ready to easily house a child or two. The thought of children with Milla brought a blushing grin to Jude's face as he thought about it. Then Milla grabbed him pulling him into the bedroom where she became lord of more than just Spirits.
Subsequently Milla discovered what pregnancy was. Jude thought she knew and was fully aware, so they both learned an important lesson that day. Jude was genuinely shocked when Milla began to laugh, reveling in the experience of it despite meaning she can't fight until the child is born. Jude gave a sigh and decided if Milla's going through with becoming a mom, he may as well get ready to become a dad too. So they told the others the news, and had a very positive response. Gaius and Alvin were already pitching names back and forth while Elise and Leia wondered about if it would be a boy or a girl. Rowen was curious to know what the product between a Spirit and a human would look like. Milla has the appearance of a human, but she is still a Spirit.
Time seemed to fly by as Milla's belly grew. Eventually they were able to get an ultrasound in Trigleph and found out that Milla was going to have a boy. Joy spread across the world of Spirits that seemed to translate into unprecedented mana growth in the human world. Muzet was sure to visit Milla and Jude often. Nothing could hide her excitement to be an aunt.
Sure enough, soon Milla went into labor and have birth. This was the birth of baby Maximillian Mathis. His hair was black like Jude's and had inherited the Milla Bang. There was an odd star-shaped birth mark on his sternum as well. He was labeled healthy after all the necessary checks, and three days later they could bring him home. Alvin and Gaius attempted building a crib for them, but in the end Rowen and Ludger had to take it apart and reassemble it. Milla spent almost every minute at the crib staring down at their newborn with a motherly smile. Jude had to teach her how to change him, though he had to do so while fighting the urge to laugh at Milla's panic when she couldn't figure out why he was crying.
As little Maximillian began to grow a little he showed a remarkably large learning curve. He figured out shapes near immediately with his toys. Of course, as a toddler he had his share of silly moments and accidents that'd require a bandage or two. He seemed to really like high places as well, often climbing Gaius like a mountain to sit on his shoulders. Gaius didn't mind it at all, thinking fondly of when his sister was a toddler.
Jude's work at Helioborg kept him away for most of the day, leaving Milla to look after Max with occasional help from Elise, Leia, or Muzet. Alvin, Rowen, and Gaius managed to stop by once in a while too. Milla actually liked being a stay-at-home mom. For once she didn't have to travel around the world swinging her sword shedding blood. She could relax, and spend time with her new family. Milla relished teaching him to walk and how to talk. Any time she could she'd get a photo of Jude with him, and liked taking family photos on family outings.
Max started picking up the habit of mimicking adults around him when he was three. Much to Jude and Milla's horror, he began to take a liking to examining monsters. Despite how outdoorsy he was, Max lacked in the athletic department so he could only really go chase slower monsters. Of course, that became a problem when he began attending school. His inability to perform in gym kept docking him points, so they took him to Helioborg to have him evaluated. The routine health checks said he was healthy as could be… until they took a look under his hood scanning his vital organs.
According to what they found, his mana lobe was showing almost twice the normal activity it should be at his age. This was producing excessive amounts of mana within his body, and it isn't currently capable of handling it causing his body to suffer from exhaustion. Jude and his staff immediately set to work developing a device to safely release excess mana from the body without causing pain or discomfort to the wearer. Four months later, they came up with the Mana Ring. It was designed to be small, stylish, and very efficient at stabilizing the mana levels in patients. The development of a prototype took a week, and so did every other prototype. The final product, that accomplished the desired specifications, was successfully made six months into the project.
Max slid the ring onto his left hand, and the small veins in the ring began to light up signifying that it was working. Two and a half days later, remarkable improvement was seen from Max. Jude had to personally write a letter to the school district explaining why he must keep the ring on, even when he's out of gym class, but it was worth it to see Max able to play at the same level as the other kids. Every now and then as Max began growing they'd had to make a bigger ring for him to wear. Max had grown so accustomed to the ring that he began to enjoy wearing rings and jewelry. After turning thirteen he got his ears pierced for the first time with purple star-shaped earrings, picked out by Elise who was more than happy to help him get the piercings in the first place.
All through high school Max took studying very seriously. He wanted to be an inventor. He studied for long hours every day, earning him the nickname "Bookworm" among his classmates. In fact, he'd practically given up social interaction in favor of learning everything he could to get ahead. His grades were so good that he was asked by a prestigious college in Trigleph to attend, even offering to waive the tuition costs for him. After a ton of urging from his parents, Elise, Alvin, and Rowen, he accepted their offer and would attend there after high school.
He proved to be even better there as well. His studies even led him to skipping two years. A company by the name of Daimon Tech offered him an internship for his remaining year, and a full-time position once he graduated. Even Gaius showed up to congratulate him on his successful education. Max was glad everyone was cheering him on, but still felt a little awkward when working with people almost three times his age at the company.
After graduation, much to Max's surprise, he was hired not as an assistant but as Head of Material Research. He could be in charge of examining potentially new metals and minerals and determining what uses they could have through experimentation. From there he could propose inventions utilizing the new materials. Max couldn't ask for a better job. He loved it, and the solid paycheck allowed him to move to Trigleph so he'd have an easier commute to work. His life seemed on the fast track to being fun and full of inventions.
End Chapter 01