Alright, this is me taking a filler episode, or chapter of the light novel really, and having my way with it. I hope you all like it and remember, the more we all stay put and self-isolate, the less stress is put on the health workers combating this global pandemic. So please, be calm, be respectful, be careful, stay positive and remember, we love you all.
Romulus and Adrianna sat in the main library of the Titanius family compound. Romulus flipped the pages of the book they were reading together.
"Page." Adrianna said, letting Romulus know she'd finished reading, even though he was only half way through the page himself.
"Wait a sec Ari."
"You read too slow."
"You read too fast."
"Do not."
"Do so."
"Do not."
"Do so."
"Children, you had this argument not ten minutes ago. I'm going to have to ask that you two either stop with the inane bickering, or lock lips so I don't have to listen to it."
Both Adrianna and Romulus turned to glare at Circe as she grinned at the two. Ever since Romulus had told Adrianna about the bet nearly two weeks ago, everyone had been talking about it. Of course Circe, immediately after she'd met Adrianna, had insisted on getting in on the action, placing her own money on the counter and making a wager that neither Romulus nor Adrianna were sure about, though she'd been playfully encouraging them to kiss ever since. There wasn't a day, there actually wasn't an hour that went by without her egging them on to touch lips.
"Stop it Ms Circe. It's gross." Romulus complained, with Adrianna nodding in agreement.
"Nonsense." Circe argued. "There's nothing wrong with exploring your desires."
She leaned forwards, exposing more of her cleavage in her thin flowing white linen dress.
"And if the little lady Lorelei won't show you some proper love." She winked. "Just come to me when you're a little older and I'll just eat you right up, or maybe I'll let you eat me."
Romulus blushed. While he didn't fully understand what Circe was saying, he knew enough to be embarrassed.
"Oh, that's the ticket." Circe chuckled. "I just love that shade of red on you my precious little titan. I still maintain you'd make the cutest little puppy, or perhaps a very affectionate kitten."
"Lady Circe." Mephisto interrupted the sorceress as he entered, much to the two children's relief. "I would ask that you not proposition my ward."
He smirked slightly. "And please, do try to be more subtle. The bet entails as little intervention on our parts as possible."
Adrianna and Romulus' faces once again bloomed in red before they turned their glare to the old devil.
"Though I do wonder why you are having young Romulus flip the pages of your book for you Ms Lorelei."
Adrianna blushed and clutched another book closer to her chest. Ever since she'd unlocked her balance breaker two weeks ago, she'd refused to part with the tome. It was as if she was sure that if she ever so much as loosened her grip on it, it would disappear and never come back. Never mind that Mephisto and Azazel had assured her that even if she dismissed the book, she could learn to summon it back with more practice.
Though she'd also been using her balance breaker almost constantly since she'd awakened it. Every spell now passed through the tome as opposed to her normal methods of casting. She'd been following his and Tannin's advice;
'If you wanna get better at controlling it, you gotta make sure you use it.'
And so Adrianna had been doing nothing but practice. She wasn't yet at the same power as Vali in his Scale Mail, or him in his new energy form (which was still unnamed. He, Tannin, Mephisto, Adrianna, Asushunamir and Circe had been working on a name the last two weeks) but she was getting there.
"I don't wanna get rid of it lord Mephisto, what if I can't get it back, or if it changes a lot and I don't recognize it, or it gets weaker because I didn't keep it out."
"Ms Lorelei, all research on the Innovate Clear leads me to be all but certain that none of those things will happen."
"I don't care. I'm not letting go of the book."
Mephisto shook his head and chuckled but made not further move to argue.
"Be that as it may, I have a spot of good news for the two of you."
"Really Mr Mephisto?" Romulus asked.
"Yes Romulus, as it happens, it will be a full moon in roughly three days, and as your birthday was also only a little over a week ago, I felt it was a good time to arrange an event worthy of such a special occasion. The familiar zones that border the New Devil Government and the Extra Demon Territories will be filled with devils seeking familiars for themselves and for the pieces in their peerages. I believe that it is time for you and Ms Lorelei to obtain familiars of your own."
The two children turned to each other with wide eyes and wider smiles.
"That's awesome Mr Mephisto." Romulus cheered.
"Oh, I wonder what types of familiars are in the forests this time of year." Adrianna wondered before looking around the library. "I wonder if there's a book on what kinds of creatures we could find."
Mephisto waved his hand, and a small series of books flew off of the shelves and planted themselves in from of his two pupils.
"These are the books and spells you will need to study to bind your potential familiars to yourself, as well as a few guides about what creatures make their homes in what areas of the familiar zones. Fortunately, as you two are both Extra Demons, and inducted into the New Devil Government, you will not be limited to one side of the zones. The more rare and powerful familiars wander between the borders of the sections of the areas that belong to each faction. We'll likely be able to find you some of the more powerful familiars that way."
"Like what?"
"Perhaps a frost wolf, they are quite active in the winter times in the northern reaches of the familiar zones. Or perhaps and Undine, they possess a strong physical offence and defence."
"Can we see what's in the books Lord Mephisto."
"Of course Ms Lorelei. I expect Circe to train you in the binding spells and to help you find the most suitable familiars for yourselves."
Circe nodded her head to the old devil in ascent.
"Of course. I don't want my precious little pets to lose the chance to get their own pets."
"I like this one."
"You just keep looking at the chimeric sections."
"But I want a chimera, or at least a manticore."
"I've been thinking of trying to contract a sphinx."
"Really? Aren't they supposed to be kind of know it alls?"
"Yeah, but imagine. I could have a familiar I could practice magic and study with."
Romulus smirked.
"And if you don't guess its riddles right it gets to eat you?"
Adrianna smacked his shoulder.
"Noooo. I won't let that happen. Besides, I already know the answer to the sphinx's riddle."
"It's 'man' right?"
"Yep."
"But what if the sphinx has a new riddle? Everyone knows the answer to the first one."
"Then I'll just have to figure it out."
"I guess."
"Found something you like."
Romulus and Adrianna turned around, seeing Circe standing behind them, the area behind her cleared so as to allow them to practice the familiar binding spells.
"I think so. Is it time to practice yet?"
"You bet little man. You and your little queen had better get yourselves over here so I can show you what you'll need to contract your familiars."
"Yes Ms Circe."
The two got up to follow Circe over to the magic circle she'd prepared. It was an example of the kind of spell that they'd need to perform to solidify their bond with their future familiars.
"Now, technically anyone could do this spell for you, but it's always better to bind your familiars with your own magic. One, it gets them used to you if you catch them young, which is recommended. Two, it helps to let the creatures know that you're strong enough to bind them and hold them down, lets them know who's boss. Understand?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Good. Now Ms Lorelei, as I'm sure you'll breeze through this quickly, why don't you go first?"
Circe was right, Adrianna's first attempt at the spell was near perfect. At least according to Circe herself. The only advice she gave to Romulus' queen was to practice and work out the final kinks. Romulus' attempts were much less successful. That was of course to be expected. He wasn't exactly gifted, or even proficient really, with non-defence oriented magic. Still, he had two days to figure it out, or at least get to a passable level, and so he spent the rest of the day practicing while Adrianna looked through the familiar catalogues for some of the more interesting creatures.
"It's a shame Vali couldn't join us for this."
She tried to make conversation as Romulus struggled again to perform the spell.
"Yeah, but Azazel did say he needed to deal with some things and that he needed to bring Vali with him."
"You know I hear Lord Mephisto talking with him before he and Vali left?"
"Really? What were they talking about."
"Some girl called Lavinia. She's supposed to be moving from the Grauzauberer headquarters to the Grigori faction's territories soon. And guess what?"
"What?"
"She has a Longinus sacred gear."
"Really?" He was excited now. The Longinus sacred gears were the only ones Romulus had ever seen and so far they'd all been really cool."
"Yeah. I hear that she can make ice. So I think it's probably the Absolute Demise."
"Awesome. Do you think Mephisto will introduce us to her?"
"Why? Do you want her to join us? She's supposed to be like fourteen."
"I guess she could. It'd be cool to have another Longinus user on our team, but I mean. She's a girl with a Longinus sacred gear. I thought you'd want to meet her or something."
Adrianna looked up from her book to her king, who hadn't stopped practicing and was now about two thirds through the spell without it breaking down.
"Maybe, but I don't really know anything about her. I just heard Mephisto and Azazel talk a bit about her before Tannin showed up and noticed me. Then they told me not to worry."
Her thoughtful look turned into a scowl.
"Tannin said that she'd try to steal you, whatever that means. Do you think it's like what the Phenexs did with Ravel?"
Romulus shrugged, and tried again.
"I don't know. I mean, if she tries to kidnap me then we'll just have to beat her up like we did with Riser. We beat him and his team, and they were like thirteen or fourteen. We can totally beat up some random girl, but I don't think Mephisto or Azazel would try to get me to marry her."
Adrianna sighed, rubbing her head a bit.
"Do you just want to fight everyone? Maybe Lord Mephisto shouldn't have introduced you and Vali to each other, then you'd be a bit more normal."
"Hey! I'm fine. Vali and I just like to fight so that we can get stronger, there's nothing wrong with that."
"You two just take it too far."
"Do not."
"Do so."
"Do not."
"Do not."
"Do so."
"See, told you."
"Ugh, you cheated!"
"Why is it that every time I come to check on you, I find you two bickering like a pair of horny teenagers about to jump each other's bones?"
The two spun around to find Circe leaning against the frame of the entrance to the study room.
"Ms Circe!" "Lady Circe!" The two broke apart, blushing and glaring at their teacher.
"Oh just get on with it you two, I have money riding on this." Circe groused at the two children. "I swear, this kind of thing wasn't nearly as complicated back in my day. Oh, saying that kind of thing makes me seem old doesn't it?"
She shook her head slightly.
"Either way, it's time for you two to retire. We'll be working on the familiar binding spells tomorrow and the day after that you should going with Mephisto to the Solstice Grand Familiar Season."
"What's that?" Asked Adrianna
"Ohh, has Mephisto not told you?" Circe looked around conspiratorially before gesturing for her students to come closer.
"You see you two, much like the human world, there is magic and power tied to certain events in nature. Eclipses, alignments, equinoxes, solstices comets and of course, the phases of the moon. Now, there are two prime events that happen in the devil's level of the underworld, specifically ones that effect rituals and ceremonies like the contracting of familiars. The summer solstice also coincides with an annual solar eclipse. At the same time the winter solstice occurs at the same time as a full moon. The innate magic present in such contradictory events is one of the reasons it is so common for devils to search for familiars at this time, as more powerful familiars are drawn by the natural magics in the world around them."
"But why?" Romulus asked. "How are those things opposite to each other."
"You see Romulus, the summer solstice is the longest day of the year, the time when the day lasts longer than any other. To have a solar eclipse, a time of darkness, during the longest day is an inherent contradiction. It is the same with the winter solstice. The shortest day, and longest night. And that night is illuminated by the full moon. The longest night, filled with light."
"Oh."
"Indeed little ones. Now, off to bed with the two of you. The next few days are going to be very important. The most powerful and varied of familiars awake during these times."
The teleportation circle faded away as Romulus and Adrianna got a good look at the familiar zones within the Extra Demon Territories. It was only passing four in the afternoon, but already the sun was dipping below the horizon and darkness was beginning to take root. The moon could be seen in the sky, already bright and colouring the world with a soft, silver light. Surrounding the recent arrivals were other groups. These others turned momentarily to them but after a few hushed whispers and some not so subtle pointing, returned to discussing amongst themselves.
Adrianna and Romulus watched the forest intently before turning back to their caretakers.
"When do we go in?" They asked, faced thick with excitement.
"Not for a bit you two." Mephisto gestured for the two to come closer. "The Solstice Grand Familiar Season is a rather chaotic time, everyone, from every faction of the underworld, wants to participate, but the zones and the familiar guild only have a limited number of trained guides and experts to see most through these areas and pick out appropriate familiars."
"We need a guide?"
"Of course Romulus, we can't just be wandering around aimlessly, otherwise we'd likely never find anything of any real value. Fortunately, I signed us up for this event months ago, just after we began your individual trainings. We should be allotted to a well trained guide."
"Cool, when do they show up?"
At that moment, a series of identical magic circles appeared in a vacant area no group seemed to have claimed. Several people emerged from the circles and formed up.
"Hello everyone." Speaking at the head of the new group was an older man. He was moderately tall, with a fit form that was shown off by a set of clothes that were form-fitting. He had close cropped hair and a beard, both of which were a dark grey. Behind him the others wore similar outfits, though they all looked younger than the man who stood at their head.
"My name is Redmond, and it is my honor to welcome all of you as extra demons to the Winter Solstice Grand Familiar Season."
There were a few disjoined claps and some cheering from the younger devils, which Romulus and Adrianna joined in on before they were calmed down by their chaperones.
"Now, as we have a large number of participants this year, not only in this area, but in several others, we will be assigning each group with a guide as opposed to each individual candidate. Additionally, we will allow each candidate a chaperone to ensure their safety and security. Thirdly, while multiple familiars can be contracted by a participant, we do have several groups waiting for their chances later on in the night, and so once a single, or a single group, of familiars are obtained, you will be transported back to the reception area and will need to wait for another slot to open up before returning for the event."
There were a few mutterings amongst the guests, but no arguments. No one wanted to cause trouble during one of the most premier familiar hunts of the year.
"Lastly, we would like to thank all of you, who's continued patronage and donations allow our organization to flourish, as well as train our new members. Now, when you hear your name, please step forward with your chosen chaperone and you will be assigned a guide."
The naming went on for a while, despite his importance in underworld politics, Romulus was again placed at the mercy of the alphabetical listing system that had for so long places him towards the ends of such lists, though not as far back as Vali. Adrianna, who had apparently been registered by their teacher as an entirely seperate group to him, had been one of the first to be called, and alongside Mephisto, who had volunteered to be her chaperone, was assigned to a rather young looking woman by the name of Hikari.
"Romulus Titanius."
Romulus all but dragged Tannin forward, though the dragon king grumbled. The leader, who had been scanning the crowd for the boy, smiled at his enthusiasm.
"Ah, good. Young man, this will be your guide."
Romulus was pointed to a younger man, who stepped forward and offered him a smile.
"This is Lucas, he will be bringing you through the forest tonight. Have a good night"
Romulus and Tannin walked with Lucas to the side as Redmond called out the last few names. As they waited, the sun finally completed its descent, plunging the land into true night. That didn't mean that it was darker however. The moonlight was near as bright as the sun, and with the devils' natural ability to see in the dark, the forest was bathed in a radiant silver glow. The night didn't just bring a change in light, it also brought out a vast array of sounds. Bugs chirped in the undergrowth, foliage rustled in the distance and the sounds of so countless different beasts filled the air. It truly was an incredible time to be out in the familiar forests.
"Right, now that we're all done here please listen up." Redmond called out. "Now, only half of the familiar zones reside in our Extra Demon Territories, the rest belong to the New Satan Faction, and as such, your guides will be responsible not only for ensuring your safety, but also making sure that you do not cross over into their section of the familiar zones. Please make sure to follow all of your guide's instructions, for both your own safety and theirs. Anyone found to be breaking any of the established rules, or ignoring their guide's instructions and placing others in danger, will be removed from the familiar zones and potentially banned for the duration of the night."
The assembled groups muttered to each other but again nodded their assent.
"Very well, then on behalf of the familiar guild, we now begin the Winter Solstice Grand Familiar Season!"
"So, is there any form of familiar you're particularly partial to, we can see if there are any within our know zones." Lucas regarded the pair of Tannin and Romulus.
Romulus thought for a moment, turning away from where he and Adrianna had been gesturing to each other from their seperate places. She and Mephisto had also turned to their own guide, who was smiling and making her own gestures while she, Mephisto and Adrianna talked.
"I want to find some chimeric creatures." He told his guide excited at the prospect of gaining a familiar.
"Alright..." Lucas looked a little nervous while glancing at Tannin. "Young man, you do know that most chimeric creatures don't make for good familiars, most don't choose to make their homes in the underworld."
"What?" Romulus asked. "But I read a guide. It said that there can be manticores, chimeras, baku, even sphinxes and lamassu."
"Yessss." Lucas affirmed slowly. "But most of them reside in the human world, they sometimes make visits down into the underworld, but they are very hard to tame, and can fall under the category of evil-familiars. Perhaps if this is your first familiar you might want something more manageable."
Romulus looked down, dejected, but nodded in acceptance.
"Can we at least go to the places they go to, I wanna see if we can find see some."
Lucas looked at Tannin for confirmation and the former dragon king nodded. Lucas smiled down at Romulus and patted him on the shoulder.
"Of course. I'll just teleport us there."
By the time the teleportation was complete Romulus found himself and Tannin standing in the middle of a dense section of forest. The trees were huge, easily as wide as Tannin was tall, and considering the dragon king's reduced form was over two meters tall that said something. The canopy was so thick and so high up that they were plunged into near total darkness the moment the teleport circle's glow faded. Romulus took a few seconds to let his eyes adjust to the darkness before he tapped into his chakra. His third eye manifested in the centre of his forehead, allowing him to see the world through the energy of chakra.
The area, dark even for devils, was lit up in colour as the power of nature radiated off of everything he saw.
"These are the dark red woods." Lucas said, keeping his voice quiet. "Some of the more powerful creatures live in this area, like the chimeric creatures and dragons. I've heard from Guild-master Redmond that even Tiamat can be found in these parts from time to time."
Tannin barked out a laugh, which made Lucas jump slightly.
"Ha, so this is where Tiamat had been living. I wonder if we'll run into her, I haven't had the chance to face her since we fought nearly a thousand years ago."
Lucas looked in awe at Tannin.
"You've fought Lady Tiamat, you must be very brave Lord Dragon."
Tannin looked down at the guide.
"Do you not know who I am?"
Lucas shook his head.
"Hahaha." Tannin laughed. "Well, I haven't had to introduce myself in centuries. I am Tannin, the Blaze Meteor Dragon, the bane of ancient Phoenicia and Canaan, who's flames are second only to the Red Dragon Ddraig. The last time we met, I might have lost to that Babylonian woman Tiamat, but if we meet again, I'll be sure to pay her back."
"Is that so?" An irritated female voice spoke from behind them.
All three males froze. Tannin esspecially began to sweat bullets are together they turned around.
Leaning on one of the massive trees, was a dragon. She was tall, a little taller than Tannin though Romulus had a feeling she was concealing her true size. Her scales were an iridescent blue colour that shone and sparkled even in the near absent light. In fact, her scales seemed to be giving off their own light, which bathed the surrounding woods in a cold, eerie blue glow. Her eyes were also a dark blue, like lapis lazulis. She was a western dragon from what Romulus could tell, her wings were tucked neatly into her sides, preventing her from bumping or damaging them against the woods, though he suspected that it would be the trees that would be damaged more than her should any accidents occur.
"It's been a long time Tannin. How've you and that little patch of land been doing the last few centuries."
"Ahh, Tiamat." Tannin laughed nervously. "Well, very well. We had a small infestation of parasites a few years ago, but nothing too serious. If you'd like, you could always visit. I know how much you like the dragon apples fresh."
Tiamat tilted her head, and the irritated aura she was producing faded.
"I do like your dragon apples, you did our kind a great service in joining the devils to gain that land."
The aura fully faded, and Tiamat smiled, though it was more intimidating than comforting on the face of a dragon.
"So you old reptile, what're you doing here? You're not the kind to go looking for a familiar."
Tannin gestured down to Romulus and pushed him forward slightly.
"Nah, nothing for me, just looking to pick out a good familiar for my pupil here."
Tiamat eyed Romulus with inquisitive eyes before leaning down to get a better look.
"A pupil, I heard you'd taken on the children of Barren and Mizuchi, but I didn't think you'd bring either of them here."
"No no no." Tannin laughed. "Neither of them. Really, those two and their factions need to learn to bury the hatchet. No, this is my pupil; Romulus Titanius."
Tiamat's eyes widened slightly at the name, and Romulus shrank back as she moved closer.
"The Titanius boy? Yes, I'd heard he was taken in under Mephisto." She shifted her eyes up to Tannin. "I never thought I'd see you take on a student who wasn't a dragon. You've barely begun teaching your own hatchlings."
"Kid needs it more. I'll train Bova and the others in due time."
Tiamat nodded.
"Right, last of his clan and all that. He'll need the training to fight off all the spouses lining up for his hand."
The two dragons shared a laugh, ignoring the familiar guide Lucas and leaving Romulus staring at the two large creatures.
"So, why are you here Tiamat."
"I like looking over the dark red woods during the solstice familiar festivals. I always wonder whether there'll be anyone brave or dumb enough to come through here."
"Well, looks like you've got your answer."
"That I did, though I wonder, did you come here to contract a familiar..." Her aura flared, and suddenly both Romulus and Lucas collapsed to their knees and choked on air as Tiamat's power flooded the area. "Or did you come for me?"
Tannin held his hands up in a placating manner, but Romulus could see that he was shaking slightly.
"No no, nothing like that Tiamat. Romulus here just wanted to see if there were any chimeric creatures he could contract. Kid's obsessed with them."
"Oh, well then why didn't you say so, there's a wonderful assortment of potential familiars tonight." The power stopped abruptly as Tiamat's voice took on a sunny quality. "I'll take you myself, it'll be a good chance for us to catch up Tannin."
"Um, Lady Tiamat."
The two dragons looked down at Lucas who was bowing to the Chaos Karma Dragon.
"I mean no disrespect, but I am meant to guide young Romulus and Lord Tannin through the forest tonight, Guild-master Redmond had assigned me-"
"Little Red? That old fart might be the only one besides me who knows these woods but this place is mine. Run along little guide, tell your master I've taken over this hatchling's tour of my lands."
Lucas shook slightly and frowned, but didn't argue. A teleportation circle appeared underneath him and in a flash he was gone. Romulus looked at the place where his guide had been a moment before.
"Will he be ok?" He asked. "He won't get in trouble for leaving us right?"
Tiamat and Tannin looked between each other for a moment before they burst into laughter.
"No kid." Tannin said as he chuckled. "If Tiamat wants him gone, it's best that he go. Nothing in these woods was gonna hurt us with me around, and now that we've got Tiamat here too, being with us is probably the safest place in the entire familiar zones right now."
"The old drake's right. Though I think I heard that Sirzechs and Serafall are accompanying their sisters in the Pillar Familiar Festival tonight" Tiamat guffawed. "Now, let's see about getting you a good familiar little titan. Don't want you having a bad experience with little old me now do we?"
Romulus shook his head.
"Come on then."
The three wandered around the woods for a while, and all throughout Tiamat would chat with Tannin and occasionally speak to Romulus.
"So kid, what kind of familiar are you looking for?"
"I really wanted to get a chimera or something like one."
"Oh? And why's that?"
"Well, I just really like them. I wanted one as a pet when I was younger, but my mom and dad wouldn't let me get one, and neither will Mr Mephisto."
"With good reason, the chimera is considered an evil-familiar, it's poison can end up killing its master even when they have a good relationship."
There was a sudden burst of light in the distance, followed by another, and another, until it seemed as if the there was a blue fire burning a little ways off.
"Oh." Tiamat observed. "Looks like a fight's broken out, probably some of the creatures are getting territorial again. Let's go see what we find."
The three moved forward carefully, not out of fear really but more so as not to disturb whatever was causing the light-show. Peeking around several towering red wood trees the three found themselves witness to an interesting sight.
There were two massive creatures facing off against each other. On one side, a creature with the body of a horse made a territorial show. Despite it's generally equine body, its back was covered in scales and its head was that of a lion, with teeth that were stained red with blood surrounding its head was a massive mane similar to the kind that lions possessed. Its skin was a patchwork color of black and white, making it appear almost like a zebra. It's body was covered in wounds and was bleeding heavily, most of its injuries looking like stab wounds. Trying to get a better look, Romulus could see that hiding behind the large creature's back legs were two smaller ones of the same type, those these two were coloured pure white and pure black.
On the other side, there was another quadruped. This one looked significantly more like a traditional horse, though its flesh was coloured a near ice blue with darker lightning bold patterns running along its side. Its mane and tail were thicker than normal horses, and glowed and electric blue that blended well with the softer hue of their skin and hide. Its head was surrounded by a thick, near white mane similar to a lion's but it went all the way down to the base of its neck, and its eyes glowed red as they stared down the other creature. The creature's head was also topped with a dangerous looking horn, which dripped red and was probably the reason for the wounds on the first creature. That was not to say that the unicorn like creature had gotten away without injury. It too was covered in wounds, though these ones looked to be bite marks. Entire sections of flesh had been torn away, including a piece from one of its legs, which even Romulus could see was shaking violently as it tried to hold the creature's massive weight.
"A qilin and a kirin? In the same area? No wonder there's a battle going on, those two species are both incredibly territorial." Tiamat said as the two reared up at each other. The qilin roared in defiance and dug its hooves onto the dirt, while the kirin let our a neighing sound and pawed the earth itself. There was also a smaller neighing coming from the bushed behind the large monster, and Romulus finally saw another pair of smaller kirin watching from the distance.
"So what do we do?" Tannin asked, moving to intervene.
"Not much we can do." Tiamat stopped him. "The qilin probably came into the territory looking for food, the kirin can't let it stay here. Not enough for the both of them and their foals."
"Can't you move the qilin?" Romulus asked.
"Wouldn't matter." Tiamat said solemnly. "Those two are on their last legs, if they don't kill each other, they'll probably die of their injuries unless we can get a familiar healer here."
"I can stop them." Romulus said, getting to his feet. "I can make a shield, make them stop fighting. If I could contract them then my magic could heal them."
Tiamat and Tannin exchanged looks.
"Could it work?" Tannin asked, glancing between the two possible familiars and their displays of intimidation.
"It could." Tiamat replied. "Familiar contract spells allow the creatures to drain power to heal injuries and other ailments, but does he have the energy? Those are both fully grown monsters, and they're both heavily wounded. They'll take a lot of energy."
"From what I felt, he'll have enough, not that that'll stop him from trying."
Tiamat nodded her head.
"He is already gone."
Tannin turned to where his pupil had been standing, only to find him racing towards the showboating monsters. He groaned in annoyance and rose to follow.
"That kid's too reckless sometimes, gonna get himself killed someday."
Tiamat laughed.
"Well, better make sure they don't kill him."
Romulus ran towards the Qilin and Kirin. Both of them were massive. The Kirin's back was taller than Tannin, probably as tall as two-and-a-half meters, while it's head rose up another meter or two above that. The Qilin was just as tall, though it also had a longer tail. Seeing the approaching figure both were momentarily distracted from each other and turned to survey the possible new threat.
Romulus noticed that the two had turned to him, and remembered some of what he'd read in the familiar manuals.
'Some familiars will chose their masters outright, based on whatever criteria they have. Others can be picked, and then forced into servitude, though this is usually only for the more prideful species who require a show of strength to prove worth.'
Romulus reached out with his magic. Chimeric creatures were often some of the more prideful ones, so the book's advice should apply to them. The shield spells locked in place, and Romulus made sure that both he and his spells radiated his magic.
'it helps to let the creatures know that you're strong enough to bind them and hold them down, lets them know who's boss.'
He remembered Ms Circe telling him that only a couple of days ago, and he took the lesson to heart. The two familiars candidates looked shocked at the walls of magic that had surrounded them. The Kirin bashed against the walls, causing them to shake, and stabbed at them with its horn, but Romulus' defences didn't budge. The Qilin roared and snarled at his power, bitting with its teeth and stomping with its hooves to try and break free, but nothing worked.
Finally, the Kirin's horn glowed white and unleashed a blast of lightning at the walls of its cage. They arched around, trying to find a weak spot, but none were found. Panting heavily in exhaustion, the Kirin finally collapsed.
Likewise. The Qilin had been roaring, using its power to blast away at the walls of its own prison. the walls didn't move and with a final roar, it fell alongside its opponent.
Romulus didn't lower his shields, he wasn't sure if they might have been faking. A piteous sound was heard and he saw the two young Qilin nudging at his shields to get to what he was sure was their mother. Another sound echoed from the other side as two young Kirin emerged from the bushes, they galloped over to their parent, trying to get past the shield to be with them. Romulus could see the wounds taking their tolls on the two adults. Blood was flowing from all over their bodies and their breathing was becoming more and more laboured.
"Good job kid."
Romulus started to see Tannin and Tiamat behind him.
"Quickly now boy." Tiamat said, approaching. "Best get them all. Now, if you want the parents alive I suggest you begin."
He nodded and turned away from the two dragons to the unconscious beasts. Concentrating he formed the familiar binding spells underneath them, and soon they spun as cords of energy fed from the circles to the pair of dying creatures.
As the cords attached, the wounds on both of the parents' bodies began to fade. The flesh knitted itself up, blood ceased to flow, cuts stitched themselves into scars, which faded away and left behind pristine flesh. The Qilin and Kirin's eyes opened and they got back to their feet, now regarding Romulus with curious, if not respectful looks.
The cords of magic finally dried up, and Romulus panted heavily as all six beasts were illuminated in a vibrant purple light.
"My name is Romulus Titanius. I, who have bested you, and now hold you by my will, bid you to respond to my summon and accept my contract. You shall become my familiars and respond to my will, you shall follow me as your leader, and I will grant you the protection of my pack. What say you, my familiars?"
The creatures looked down at him, while the foals watched their parents. Finally, the Qilin and Kirin bowed their heads to him, a feeling of acknowledgement and acceptance passing through the spell. Seeing their parents bow to him. The foals hastily did so as well. The purple light reached a new brightness and the group of six were engulfed in the magic circle before they disappeared.
"Well, that went well all things considered."
Romulus turned around to see Tannin and Tiamat watching him. sweating furiously, Romulus collapsed onto the ground, panting and gasping.
"Told you the kid had enough power to get 'em all. Didn't even pass out."
"I'll admit you were right Tannin. You've got yourself a fine student there."
"Of course, I trained him after all."
The former and current dragon kings walked up to Romulus, who was gazing up a the canopy and trying to take deep breaths.
"Well kid." Tannin chuckled. "You got yourself some familiars, and some pretty good ones too."
Tiamat nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, Qilin are a rare sight around here, and typically don't contact with those outside the Daoist pantheons. I'm sure the Jade Emperor will be quite interested."
"Can you imagine if the old fart found out he had a Qilin and a Kirin. Ha! He'd probably have to beg the Old Man Wukong to look into it."
The two shared a laugh as Romulus sat up.
"Was it bad that I took them both?" He worried. "Will Mr Wukong be angry or something?"
Tiamat waved off Romulus' concern.
"No, no." Tiamat shook her head. "I'll just have a little chat with Yu-Long and this whole thing shouldn't be anything more than a little hiccup. Now, off with you two. I heard that you have to wait in line if you finish contracting a familiar. I wouldn't want you two to be seen as a couple of rule breakers, now would I?"
Tannin laughed.
"Right, we'll head out, but Tiamat, you can still drop by the Dragon Apple Woods. It might get those eastern and western factions calmed down if you visited."
"I might, I might. Now get going." Tannin summoned a teleportation circle around them, whisking both teacher and pupil away in a flash of light.
Tiamat watched the place for a moment before she looked at the place where the Qilin and Kirin had fought.
"That one's got a good heart, just need to get his head on right and not take so many stupid risks."
She chuckled, shaking her head.
"Oh well, it all turned out ok in the end, so I guess I can't be too mad."
Romulus and Tannin appeared in a flash of light in the same clearing they had first arrived in. He didn't know if Adrianna had come back yet, but then again his time finding a familiar had been rather quick, so he wasn't sure if she should be back.
"Should Ari and Mr Mephisto be back yet?" He decided to ask Tannin.
The dragon king laughed.
"Nah kid. What happened with us doesn't normally happen. finding a familiar normally takes way longer, and finding one that will meet the little witch's standards will probably take all night. Best we just get comfortable and wait for them to get back."
"Lord Tannin, Lord Romulus."
The two turned around to find a young man standing in front of them.
"Guild-master Redmond has requested your presence. I will bring you to him if you are ready."
"Ah, well I guess the boss needs to make sure nothing too bad happened after we got rid of his guide. Come on kid, let's get this straightened out."
Together the two walked with their escort. Before long they were in front of a rather plain looking door. The escort knocked lightly before announcing them.
"Guild-master? I have Lord Tannin and the Young Lord Romulus for you."
"Let them in." Came an even voice from the other side.
The door was opened and Romulus and Tannin entered into the spacious office. Guild-master Redmond nodded to them as they came in and gestured for them to sit in a pair of fine looking chairs in front of his desk. Taking their seats the two waited for the older looking man to speak.
"I understand your guide came back without either of you." He said neutrally.
"That's right." Tannin confirmed. "We had a better guide approach us and they sent young Lucas back here."
Redmond let out a tired sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Damn that woman." He grumbled. "Has no idea the kind of organisational disaster and liability that she opened us up to. If something had happened-"
"Nothing bad did happened though." Romulus interrupted. "It was all ok."
Redmond glared at the boy, sending him cowering in his seat.
"Quiet boy. You and your guardian are lucky I'm not permanently banning you from this place. When Lucas was dismissed by Tiamat you should have returned with him. You might be the last of your family, and that might get you special treatment everywhere else in the world, but not here. Here you're just another child who broke the rules and I now have to deal with."
Romulus shrunk further back, trying to escape the man's hard glare. Redmond turned his glare to Tannin, and to the man's credit, he didn't back down when Tannin returned the glare with his own.
"Now, since Lucas isn't here to identify and catalogue your familiar, I need you to summon up a miniaturised image of them for our filing and tracking system. At least then we can get some useful data from this debacle."
Romulus looked at his guardian for confirmation. Tannin just shrugged, then gestured for him to do as Redmond told him. Concentrating, Romulus produced a small magic circle which displayed his newly contracted Qilin and Kirin. Upon seeing it Redmond's eyes widened slightly, but they narrowed again almost immediately and he made several noted about the creatures.
"Western Chinese Qilin... female...two foals... both female... approximate size and weight... will need to measure and weigh them for accurate catalogue...registered to Romulus Titanius."
He mumbled a few more things before pulling out another paper and starting again.
"Japanese Kirin... also female... also two foals... male and female... measurements at a later date... registered... Romulus Titanius..."
As he finished the second form he held both of them out to Romulus.
"Please sign these. They are forms recognising that the familiars guild has overseen your successful contract of six familiars, under two different mythical species. We would also like to request that we be allowed to perform measurements on your newly contracted familiars to ascertain their exact proportions."
He held out another paper, which Tannin took this time.
"This is a form stating that we as the familiar guild are not responsible for any injuries sustained during the time after your assigned guide left. This also denies you the ability to claim any form of expense from the guild to cover medical procedures dealing with injuries that might have been received from the time Lucas left to the time you returned. Sign at the bottom please."
Tannin quickly signed, grumbling all the while.
"Is Mr Lucas in trouble?" Romulus asked quietly.
Redmond looked at the boy and after a moment his hard face softened a bit.
"No my boy. We would never have asked him to stay with you if a Dragon King demanded he leave. We just need these to prevent any wrongful accusations of misconduct. We don't want someone launching a lawsuit and coming out owning the familiar zones now do we?"
Romulus shook his head, eyes wide.
"He'll get a little talking to, and then he'll be put right back to work as usual, don't you worry. In fact, he should be out with another group as we speak. Honestly if this wasn't such a nightmare of paperwork we'd thank you. One more group expedition completed faster than it really should have."
"Here." Tannin held out the now signed paper.
"Thank you." Redmond said, taking it back.
"Oh, here. I finished too." Romulus held out his own papers, which Redmond shifted through for a moment before nodding in satisfaction.
"Good, good. Everything is in order." He winked at Romulus. "By the way kid. Congrats. I don't think I've seen a High Kirin in fifteen years. I think I'll come to inspect and register it personally."
Romulus beamed.
"Sure."
"Well." Tannin got out of his seat. "I think it's time we get out of here kid. We've got to wait for Mephisto and Adrianna."
And so Romulus has his familiars. I was actually going to write both Romulus and Adrianna's familiars in the same chapter but as the chapter neared ten thousand words and I didn't see an end in sight I decided to split up the chapter.
If you guys can guess. There's a few of Pokemon references in here. Cudos if you can spot them all but if you can't, here they are.
The familiar zones = The safari zone. This is a place that is specifically designated as an area for the preservation and capture of familiars/pokemon
Guild-master Redmond = Red. One of the greatest trainers of familiars, I was thinking of naming the guild-master Cynthia in reference to Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, and given that she is one of the toughest, if not the toughest, champion you face. However seeing as you as the player beat her I chose not to.
Lucas and Hikari = the protagonists of the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. They are the names of the male and female characters if you chose not to play them in the English and Japanese versions respectively.
A few more in the next chapter but these were the main ones.
Now for the designs of the Qilin and Kirin. The Qilin I will post a link in my profile to the design I used (which I don't own). The mother qilin is pretty much the same but with black and white stripes instead of solid black or white. Meanwhile, the Kirin was easy. They are the same size and design as the large Kirin from monster hunter world.
Originally I was having trouble on deciding what to give him. I knew he was going to get a chimeric creature but exactly what type I didn't know. Then as I was thinking between the manticore and the chimera I remembered the Qilin and the Kirin from Chinese and Japanese mythology. I wanted to add a little bit from that and so we ended up with those two in the running alongside the manticore and chimera. I actually wrote the entire bit from Tiamat onwards off the top of my head. I just wrote what came to me and I eventually decided on a confrontation that would let Romulus gain a whole set of familiars without appearing too op as to capture two incredibly powerful mythical beasts. He just beat them as they were at death's door and then tamed them. Now he has their acknowledgement of his strength and their gratitude for saving them, and he didn't even have to do much.
Adrianna's familiar will be different. Now I'm pretty sure none of you will guess what she gets. Those of you who do... I think you might have psychic powers but that's just me. Anyway. Hope this was a fun chapter to read.