A/N: I'm back! Almost didn't get this out though, what with the holidays. Guess who got sick and was bedridden for three days? Me! Plus, my whole family. Still, I'm on the mend and was able to get this out! I hope you like it!

For those interested, I'm hoping to get a chapter of A Digital Mother out before the end of the month, but we'll see.

Thank you so much for your comments and reviews. They really help and I love reading each and every one of them. Please keep them coming!

Hearthfire

Chapter 35

Freya

Freya fought the urge to bite the nail of her thumb as she gazed down at the city. She was… unsure of what to do. The balance of power in the city had shifted significantly, and nobody was quite sure where they stood. Hestia had revealed Torrhen's Level 10 status to the world and the city was reacting to it in the same way it always reacted to shocking but not world-ending news. Muted Chaos.

The normal citizens reacted with interest, but it was more along the lines of introducing a new celebrity. They sought information about who, where, how, and why and ate up any possible gossip but it didn't change their lives in any way. The average adventurer reacted similarly, although many dove headfirst into the dungeon because they were inspired both by Torrhen's mere existence and by the rapid advancement of young Bell.

The higher-level adventurers suddenly found themselves even further down the totem pole than they had been before. Much to their chagrin, they were pushed even further down when Freya's own Familia returned from their expedition after the War Game ended. Her dear children had completed what was probably their most successful expedition yet thanks to the potions bought from the Miach Familia. Yet another change influenced by Torrhen if her information was correct.
Her dear Ottar had, thanks to some potions, successfully defeated Balor alone, pushing him to Level 8. Meanwhile her vice-captain, a cat-person named Allen Fromel had, most unexpectedly, pushed himself to Level 7 during the same expedition. This meant that, where previously the reasonably numerous Level 5 adventurers were only third on the totem pole of power, they were now fifth! Nobody cared about them anymore. They were all focused on the Level 7, 8, and 10 adventurers. The Level 6's too, but only because they were curious about which one would hit 7 next. It was almost a return to the days of Zeus and Hera when adventurers at 7 were not uncommon and the best in the city were 8 or 9.

As for the Guild, they were scrambling. They just had so many things to juggle that the place was in chaos. There was the recent incident with Ishtar, which she supposed she should feel bad about but didn't. Then there was the War Game aftermath and Apollo's punishment. Freya had to admit she was impressed by Hestia's viciousness in that regard. Next there was the upended political and martial power structure, which still hadn't quite settled so the Guild was nervous about the near future. They couldn't be sure what anyone would do because none of the people the Guild was worried about had a clue on how to act next!

On top of all this, they were also dealing with the looming threat of Rakia's next invasion and Dian Cecht becoming more and more belligerent about his steadily disappearing clientele. If rumors were to be believed, the Miach Familia were even going to turn Apollo's old mansion into a competing hospital! Her own worries aside, Freya did love seeing drama unfold. She was also rather rooting for Miach, actually. His new potions WERE quite spectacular.

The next affected group was the underground. The criminals, kidnappers, murderers, and other ruffians of the city. In this regard, they'd actually gone shockingly silent. What few contacts she had in the underworld reported that there had been some initial discussion on trying to find out what made young Bell advance so fast, but Torrhen's existence had turned the Hestia Familia from a tempting target to one that should be avoided at all costs. Nobody wanted to piss off the first Level 10 in history.

Lastly were the gods. They, the uninvolved ones anyway, reacted with excitement and interest because this had never happened before, and they all loved it when interesting and unexpected things happened. The ones who were interested in advancing a political agenda or increasing the strength of their Familia were all vying for either an alliance with Hestia or, for the more ambitious or foolhardy, trying to find a way to seduce Torrhen away from Hestia. Unlikely, given his relationship with her captain. Even Freya didn't think she could pull that off without her charm. Maybe even with it! She had no evidence that Torrhen would be affected by her charms.

Torrhen was a demigod, and that was something she'd never really encountered before. Nor had she ever encountered any being from Nirn! Freya honestly had no clue if her charms worked on him, and she was very hesitant about trying it for something that serious. No, she needed to find a reason to meet him first, just to see how he was affected by her presence. Then she could decide if it was worth scheming against him or if she should just cut her losses. Already, she was the odd one out in the new power structure.

Loki's children had obviously beaten her to the punch when she wasn't looking because they'd befriended Hestia's children before she'd noticed it. The two groups must have been quite persuasive for Loki and Hestia to put their enmity aside and agree to an alliance. It wasn't public knowledge yet, but she could see the evidence in how they interacted. Those new magic bags were the key to the Loki Familia recovering from the financial ruin their failed expedition had been, and now it seemed that Torrhen was selling more bags and enchanted gear to them at a discounted rate.

As for that enchanted gear, word of the new magic weapons and armor was slowly trickling out to the city now that most of the top members of the Loki Familia were wearing it alongside the fully decked out members of the Hestia Familia. The city was overjoyed at the idea of magic weapons that didn't break, and even the Elves who were offended by magic weapons before couldn't really make a reasonable argument for being offended about the new ones. The enchanting style wasn't created by a Crozzo and considering the new enchantments showed a dramatic drop in destructive power, there was no way they could be used to destroy the forests like the Crozzo ones had been during Rakia's invasion.

Those who were still offended by the very idea of a Crozzo would simply buy either from Torrhen if they were strong enough or from Tsubaki, the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia. They and young Welf Crozzo were the only ones in the city capable of creating the new enchantments. Though Tsubaki was clearly the least skilled, those elves who weren't strong or wealthy enough to afford Torrhen would probably go to her instead of Crozzo.

Backtracking a little, the obvious friendship between the Loki and Hestia Familia's left Freya as the odd one out. The reveal of Torrhen had shoehorned the Hestia Familia into a newly created position as the third most powerful Familia in the city. As for the other places, Freya honestly wasn't sure if she or Loki was technically the strongest in the city anymore. She had a Level 8, a 7, two 6's, and four 5's. Still, the gap between her and Loki was paper thin. Loki had three 7's, four 6's, and no 5's. Not exactly a clear difference in power like it had been before.

Officially, Hestia would be a distant third because her only high-class adventurers were Torrhen at 10 and Aisha Belka at 5. All her other members were either low- or middle-class adventurers so Torrhen being in her Familia was the only reason she could be counted as a member of the top three. Not to mention, Hestia was the poorest of the three. Not that she was actually poor by any means, it was just that her Familia's bank account was lesser than Freya's or Loki's.

Still, this meant that it was Loki and Hestia against Freya, which was a fight she knew she couldn't win. That meant she couldn't afford to pick a fight at all. She could only muse on what to do as she stood there, looking down at the city from Babel. Could she possibly find a way to make it a three-way alliance? Possible but she wanted to be the undisputed strongest again. That meant she needed to increase her military power. She still had all her considerable political and financial power, but she couldn't stand against Loki and Hestia in an all-out war. It would take a not inconsiderate amount of thought and planning before she was sure of what to do. For the moment, and likely to the relief of the Guild, Freya wouldn't rock the boat. No, she'd wait and see while she decided on her next move.

Ais

"Oryaaa!" Tiona hollered as she spun her Urga through the air. The dual blades of the newly enchanted sword carved a path through the horde of Mad Beetles their group had encountered. The party for this particular dive was made up of Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya. With the twins having nice, new enchanted clothes and weapons, they'd wanted to do a proper dungeon run. Seeing an opportunity to earn a little extra cash to pay for her own enchantments, Ais had joined them. Lefiya came too, mostly to act as a support but also to test out her advancing skills with Destruction magic.

They were currently on the 22nd floor of the Dungeon and on day two of a three-day dive. Most Dungeon dives for them lasted a few days because it took so long to traverse the Dungeon when you were actively trying to kill monsters. While Ais and her group didn't bother fighting anything on the upper floors that didn't get directly in their way, there was plenty of money to be made by taking out monsters on the middle floors and below, so it had taken them the better party of a day to reach the reconstructed Rivira on the 18th floor.

Of course, the inn prices in the town were ridiculous so the group had camped in the woods outside town. They had taken the opportunity to explore the town though. Despite being freshly reconstructed, Rivira still had a fairly ramshackle look to it. Though, it was more organized and laid out better than it had been before the battle with the irregular Monster Rexes. Bors had done a really good job in getting the place back on its feet as soon as the Dungeon had been opened.

"Ha!" Lefiya let out a grunt of effort as she fired a bolt of lightning from her hand. She was stood at the back of the formation and the electric blast flew over their heads to hit a Gun Libellula that was gearing up for a shot. They were flying, dragonfly type monsters that liked to attack from a distance. Ais dashed forward, her sword skewering a Mad Beetle while Tione leapt over her head to drive her daggers into the head of another. With a flourish, Ais sliced the last of the horde in half before sheathing her sword.

"That was so easy!" Tiona exclaimed.

"We're Level 6 and on Floor 22." Tione deadpanned. "What were you expecting?"

"I meant easier than usual, and you know it!" Tiona shot back at her. The twins loved to bicker.

"I have to admit," Lefiya spoke up from where she was stooping to collect a magic stone. "I'm having a much easier time on these floors than I usually do. I know I just leveled up to 4, but this is still easier than I was expecting."

"Well, with Master Torrhen teaching you, it's no wonder you're doing better than expected." Tione replied, distracted from starting another fight with her sister.

Ais nodded in agreement. "He's an exceptional teacher for practically every discipline and adventurer can think of." She said, her voice slightly less deadpan than it used to be before she met Bell. "He's turned Lili from a supporter with almost no combat skills into a fairly exceptional ranger. For a Level 2."

"Not to mention all the magic stuff he's taught Lefiya and Riveria." Tiona added before turning to the elf. "Didn't you decide to start on a new school now that you've moved up to apprentice Destruction?"

Lefiya smiled. "I did. I'm still working on getting the casting right but soon enough, I'll be able to cast Oakflesh in combat. It's the first of what Master Torrhen calls the "Mage Armor" spells. Part of the Alteration school."

"Isn't that one of the schools Riveria is learning?" Ais asked, getting a nod out of the girl.

"She's already able to reliably cast Stoneflesh. The apprentice level Mage Armor spell. Lady Riveria has also started on Destruction and has caught up to me in skill with wards. Although, I'm thinking of focusing back on Restoration once I have the basics of Alteration down. It would be nice to know a few healing spells."

"Isn't it kind of counterintuitive to focus on everything at once?" Tione asked, quizzically. "Wouldn't it make more sense to master one type and then move on?"

"Hmm… to an extent." Lefiya replied as they continued on down the passage, having collected all the stones dropped by the pack they'd just decimated. "Master Torrhen says that you should have a good grounding in all the disciplines you might be interested in before specializing. Although, I don't really have much interest in Illusion or Conjuration so I might skip those and focus on mastering the three I've started with."

"Aw. You don't want to learn how to summon a ghost puppy?" Tiona whined, pitifully.

"Not really." Lefiya shook her head. "Master Torrhen says that the higher order Conjuration spells might cause a problem since its akin to controlling monsters. Apparently, you can even summon fully sentient ones that will try to trick you if you're not careful!"

"Sentient… monsters?" Ais asked, hesitantly. That was a very discomforting thought. Ais despised monsters, as a rule. Especially dragon-type monsters, considering her history with the One-Eyed Black Dragon.

Lefiya, oblivious to Ais' thoughts and traumas, continued on. "That's right. He calls them Dremora. Apparently, they're technically another race, but we would classify them as sentient monsters."

"That's kinda scary…" Tiona muttered. "Imagine a monster that can talk? Think? They'd be super challenging, regardless of level."

"Yeah, but if it's under your control, does it really matter?" Tione replied.

"I don't really think I'd want to control a sentient monster." Lefiya admitted. "It would be far too similar to enslaving another person for my comfort. If I do go for conjuration, I'll stick with the non-sentient ones."

"But… it's a monster?" Ais said, softly. "Not a person."

"I know, but still." Lefiya looked troubled. "If it's capable of speech, self-awareness, and independent thought, I don't want to control it!"

There was an awkward silence while the group padded along the Floor and towards the stairs down to 23. Finally, Tiona broke the silence as they started to head down.

"No wonder you don't want to learn Conjuration. It sounds like a real headache." She looked sheepish.

Lefiya could only chuckle and nod. Soon enough, they were back in the fight as they entered the 23rd Floor and the awkwardness of their conversation was completely forgotten.

Welf

Tsubaki whistled in appreciation as she examined the Absorb Health battleaxe in her hands. She, along with Goddess Hephaestus were seated inside Welf's forge. They'd come by to chat, catch up, and find out how he was doing both in general and as an enchanter.

"I'm still training my senses to detect these things, but from what I can tell, that's a nasty enchantment." Tsubaki said, passing the axe off to Goddess Hepahestus. It was one of the prototypes he'd made for Ouka when the larger man was trying to decide what enchantment he wanted. In the end, he'd picked a fire enchantment but still, it was a perfectly serviceable axe. In fact, Welf was starting to build up quite the collection of enchanted weapons and armor that were ready to sell. He just needed to figure out how to get customers.

"Very well done, Welf." Goddess Hephaestus commented as she examined the blade too. She looked beautiful, sitting at a workbench just under the window with her vibrant red hair obscuring her eyepatch as she looked over his work. "You could get a pretty high price for this," she concluded as she passed the axe back to him.

"Thank you," he said, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck as he took the axe from her. Moving away, he placed the axe back on its weapon stand in the back of the forge. Most of his newer creations stayed there for a while before getting moved to the armory.

Sitting, he continued to speak. "I'd love to start selling them, but there just isn't enough word out about me yet. Everybody who's interested in enchantments is going to go after Torrhen. Not to mention, I don't have a space to sell my work! Clients from outside the Familia would have to come to me directly."

"That is a problem." Tsubaki mused. "I actually have a similar issue, myself. My weapons are too good for the lower ranked adventurers but my enchanting isn't good enough for the higher ranked ones so I can't really sell much."

"Why not agree to enchant the stuff made by lower-level blacksmiths for an even cut of the profits?" Welf asked. "You wouldn't make quite as much, but at least it would be marketable until your enchanting skill is higher."

"Hm. It's not the worst idea in the world." Tsubaki mused, unhappily. "Still, I'd rather just not sell anything till my enchanting can keep up better with my smithing."

"Welf?" Goddess Hephaestus spoke up. "Why not rent a storefront from me?" He turned to her, confused. "You could stock it with your sellable enchanted gear, and one of the clerks in my Familia could man the counter. It would have to be officially licensed by the Hestia Familia, but that would mean Torrhen could sell some stuff there too. You wouldn't be the first Familia with crafters to rent space from me."

"Huh…" Welf contemplated the offer. It really wasn't the worst idea in the world. Plus, since Torrhen was likely to only take commissions, he'd basically have an entire storefront to himself! He could just post some info for the higher ranked adventurers to seek out his master, rather than be disappointed by what he had to offer.

"I'd need to run it by Hestia and Torrhen, but it sounds like a good idea!" Welf beamed. "Thanks to my experiments, I already have a bunch of stuff that's ready to sell. Honestly, I'm starting to run out of room. I can't keep everything in here and I don't want to encroach on Torrhen's space in the armory."

"Why don't we speak to Hestia?" Goddess Hephaestus asked, standing. Soon enough, they were seated around a lounge table with Hestia and Torrhen giving their wholehearted approval.

"It'd be great exposure for us," Goddess Hestia said, happily. "Not to mention a considerable bonus for you in terms of income. You'll be able to afford better materials, rather than farming for them yourself."

"That's true." Torrhen nodded. "So far, you've been limited to what I've bought or that you've hunted for yourself. This is a good opportunity for you, Welf, and your work is more than good enough to sell." He preened a little at the praise.

"How, exactly, does the rental agreement work?" Hestia asked Goddess Hephaestus.

"Normally, it's a monthly rental fee for the first year, just to make sure the renter can turn a profit." Goddess Hephaestus replied. "I don't exactly see Welf having a problem with that, but I can't exactly show your Familia and favoritism, so we'll stick with the standard contract. Pay for the workers I provide to operate the store will come out of the profits, but they'll man the counter, deal with customers, and keep things organized. Still, it'll be up to Welf to decide what's stocked, what's on display, and how much anything's worth. Considering how new and unique this is though, I'm happy to help you with figuring out the pricing."

"Thank you, Goddess Hephaestus." Welf said, happily bowing his head in appreciation.

Naaza

Naaza took a deep, steadying breath. She was sitting in an office inside what was once the manor of the Apollo Familia but was rapidly transforming into the home and hospital of the Miach Familia. Already, members of the Goibniu Familia were traipsing all over the manor. Ripping up floors, taking down walls, removing the truly hideous decorations and changing the environment to one with a healing atmosphere. The only things that weren't currently being changed were the living quarters on the top floor. It had been decided that, while the manor would be expanded outward, the top floor would be exclusively for the members of the Miach Familia.

It would house their bedrooms, lounge, library, Familia-only kitchen, offices, and Familia-only dining hall. The west wing of the second floor would house their alchemy and other such labs. This way, they could separate any potential explosions from any potential patients. As for the rest of the second floor, that was being converted into rooms for patients to be examined and treated in. Also, some bedrooms for overnight or long-term patients to stay in.

As for the first floor, most of it was being treated as a recreational area. It housed the interior garden, future rec rooms, the ballroom, and other such amenities that both patients and members of the Familia would be interested in. They were also putting in a reception desk right in the foyer, which was being converted into a proper large reception room. The last thing they were doing was converting a section of the first floor into a large storefront exclusively for selling potions.

The potion store would have a separate entrance both to the exterior and to the rest of the hospital, making it a closed off space. Those interested in only buying potions would enter through a newly constructed gate in the fence surrounding the property and enter directly into the store. This saved the main entrance as a place for future hospital patients. There was also a private entrance for members of the Familia.
It was easy to think that Naaza and Miach were being a little overambitious with their designs and hopes for the hospital, but that was only until one considered just how popular the Familia had become and how much more popular they would be once word spread of the healing spells Naaza and her comrades were well on their way to mastering. Naaza was good, but it was Shizune and Sei who'd really shined when it came to healing. Naaza was at the Apprentice level, but the other two girls had already hit Adept. So, they expected an influx of patients and orders that would put a serious strain on their already overtaxed labs. This was why Naaza had needed to take a steadying breath.

In just a few moments, Sei would be escorting the first of the applicants looking to join the Familia into Naaza's temporary office. They'd come up with a rather good plan for recruitment, if Naaza said so herself. First, they'd put up flyers at all the local inns and taverns, along with the Guild. Now, on the day of recruitment, they'd set up a desk at the front gate where Shizune was seated. She'd take down the information of each hopeful before passing them along to Nicholas just inside the foyer, who'd quiz them on what healing or alchemical knowledge they already possessed. Next, Sei would escort them to Naaza with a quick report by Nicholas on their skills. Lord Miach would sit with her but wouldn't say much. His only job was to ensure that the applicants weren't lying about their intentions.

Still, Naaza had little doubt surrounding the first applicant. They'd known about him in advance, thanks to Nicholas recommending him. The man was an old colleague of Nick's who'd fallen on hard times. A knock at the door drew her attention. A moment later, Sei opened the door. Behind her came an older man with dark skin and white hair. He was a Half-Dwarf wearing a red vest, cream shirt, a pink bowtie, and tan pants. The vest had an assortment of tools tucked into the various pockets.

Still, the first thing she noticed about him was that he wasn't walking. No, he was being pushed along in a wheelchair by a petite young redhead. She too was a Half-Dwarf, though far more slender and with paler skin than the older man. Perhaps a quarter-Dwarf? Wearing a pale green skirt and black leggings, the most striking things about the teenager were her vibrant green eyes and red hair. It was a good thing they'd insisted on installing wheelchair ramps next to the staircases.

"Welcome," Naaza shook both their hands and introduced herself and Lord Miach.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," the man said. "My name is Pietro. Pietro Polendina, and this is my daughter, Penny."

"Salutations!" The redhead chirped, happily. She moved to take a seat in an empty chair after pushing her father into a spot just in front of Naaza's desk.

"Nicholas has told me a lot about you," Naaza started, shifting some papers on her desk. "Is it true your research is on crafting prosthetic limbs?" This was, obviously, of great interest to her. The only person currently known to be able to create near-lifelike prosthetics was Dian Cecht. Who, thankfully, Naaza and Miach were no longer indebted to. They'd owed a crushing debt to him for creating Naaza's new arm, and he'd been vicious in chasing every payment.

"It is, indeed!" Pietro smiled, genially. "I've spent my entire life researching it! Why, with the right equipment, I believe I could start making them right now. Then again, getting access to the equipment and materials has been a problem since word of my research made it to Dian Cecht so I haven't been able to do any tests with real people. I'm afraid he doesn't take kindly to others muscling in on his territory."

Indeed, he did not. Once word spread of their plans to build a hospital, Dian Cecht had started making even more noise. First, he'd tried to claim that he was the only person with the right to own a hospital in the city, but the Guild had shut that down fast. Then, he'd tried to claim that Lord Miach still owed him money, but Naaza had been meticulous about getting receipts for every single payment made towards their debt, and a written acknowledgement that their debt was fulfilled the very second it was paid. She doubted they'd heard the last of him, especially once word got out that they'd recruited a man who could create prosthetics.

"I can't exactly promise you won't have to deal with Dian Cecht here." She said, apologetically. "I'm afraid he's not exactly fond of us, either. Still, I think we can guarantee you access to the equipment and research materials you need, provided you're willing to provide our patients and members with your services."

"I would be delighted!" Pietro smiled at her.

"I have no doubt of the answer, but I still have to ask." She continued. "Do you plan in any way to sell the secrets of this Familia, its healing or alchemical secrets, to any other body?"

"Certainly not!" A surreptitious glance at Lord Miach let her see him smile and nod.

"In that case," the god stood to shake Pietro's hand, "welcome to the Familia. What of you, young Penny?" He addressed the redhead. "Do you wish to join us as well? I have no issue with you staying here with your father if you do not, but you would be welcome."

"Hmm." The teenager mused. "Daddy's work is interesting, but will we be going into the Dungeon much?"

Pietro chuckled. "I'm afraid my daughter is far more interested in the… combative side of adventuring. She's been dreaming of challenging the Dungeon since she was a toddler."

"Hehe." Penny giggled before saluting. "I'm combat ready!"

"Well," Naaza held in a laugh at the excitable girl's antics. "I'm afraid we don't go into the Dungeon much. Those who are interested in collecting their own ingredients can, but it's not a requirement. Still, if you're really interested in being a combat adventurer, we can give you a reference to join the Hestia Familia. They're an allied Familia who'll be holding a recruitment drive in the not-too-distant future. They won't be accepting anybody else till then, but we could put in a good word for you."

"That's the Familia with Mr. Rabbit Foot and the Level 10, right?" Penny asked, excitedly bouncing up and down. Naaza chuckled and nodded her head, causing the girl to bounce some more.

"You're free to stay here with us and your father until they start recruitment." She added. "In the meantime, I'll show you to a lounge we've reserved for the people we accept into the Familia. I'm afraid you'll have to fend for yourselves for a bit, since all our members are occupied."

With that, Naaza showed the father and daughter pair to the lounge and then sent Sei to fetch the next applicant from Nicholas. She was in for a long day. While not exactly lined up out the door, there were quite a few applicants being interviewed. Unfortunately, the very next applicant was almost certainly a spy for Dian Cecht.

A fairly skilled healer according to his information, Lord Miach signaled that the man, a human named Kabuto, was almost certainly being deceitful. Even without that, he gave Naaza a creepy feeling, so they sent him packing.

In the end, they only found 7 applicants they were certain could be trusted. First was obviously Pietro, who was Level 3. Next, was an inexperienced young man named Hanatarou Yamada who had been trained under his village healer before making his way to Orario. They would be his first Familia, so he was obviously Level 1. The next ones were a group of two and three.

The group of three was a collection of Half-Elf sisters named Shinobu, Kanae, and Kanao Kocho. They were mostly interested in alchemy and potion making although, at Level 2 and 3 respectively, Shinobu and Kanae were fairly experienced fighters who would likely make occasional runs through the Dungeon. Kanao, the youngest, was not much of a fighter yet and more focused on learning alchemy than anything else.

The last was a group of two. The elder was a rather accomplished Level 2 doctor named Angela Zeigler. A beautiful, blonde elf. The other was her young protégé, a Level 1, blue-haired Cat-Person named Wendy. Who, herself, was carrying around her pet kitten. A white cat she called Carla.

All in all, Naaza thought recruitment had gone very well indeed! Once the renovations were finished, they could open up the hospital and eventually knock Dian Cecht off his pedestal! Now, if only they could agree on a name for the hospital…

A/N: Recruitment for Miach! What do you think? Acceptable? Remember, these are REFERENCES only! Not the actual characters. They will primarily serve as background characters for scenes involving the Miach Familia. I may have them recruit a few generic people off screen to serve as nurses and whatnot. Not sure yet.

Welf gets a store! I'll show that opening soon enough. It won't be a prominent thing, just a way to get his lower-level enchantments out to the public. Torrhen will mostly be by commission.

What did you all think of the scene with Ais and her party? I likely won't be giving Lefiya any conjuration spells, but I do believe I'll be having Haruhime learn them. I'm leaning towards having her turn into an Archmage. Y'know. Mastering all the magic schools.

About Freya. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how to handle Freya at this point. Should I have her be a full villain or try and have her slowly change into an ally of some kind? I honestly don't know how I want to handle her.

About the Omakes. Reception to the idea seemed kind of mixed so I think I'll include one at some point and see how everybody reacts before I do any more.

Characters Referenced!

Kabuto from Naruto (He was the spy. Very unlikely to show up again.)

Pietro and Penny Polendina from RWBY

Angela Zeigler aka Mercy from Overwatch

Hanatarou Yamada from Bleach

Wendy Marvel from Fairy Tale (No, Carla can't talk!)

Shinobu, Kanae, and Kanao Kocho from Demon Slayer

Answers to Questions

On FFN

Christalm: If I had the time to write a spinoff to Hearthfire, I might do as you suggested but I think the idea works better if its more canon adjacent than tied to Hearthfire.

Monkey D Conan: Thanks for the suggestions!

Frostwolf3227: I think he probably has most of them tucked away if they aren't Aedric or Daedric. He did use the Longhammer already in a spar with Gareth.

Brickhammer99: Thank you for the offer! I'm good for now, but if I decide I need a Beta, I'll reach out! Also, Welf and Lili would be cute, but I'm set on a Welf x Hephaestus pairing. I see what you mean about her and Finn though. Something to consider. As for Torrhen, he does have bard experience, I just haven't had a moment to mention it. Maybe soon? I'll try and figure it out.

xXOriginullXx: I'm leaning towards Torrhen x Riveria.

Kyo: They would just be added scenes at the end of a proper chapter. Not entire chapters set in the past.

Enderborn8: He is the Dragonborn. His Alias will be Dragonborn. Boring, maybe, but that is what's most appropriate.

On Ao3

Pheonix_Warehouse_Productions_2: I think the Hogwarts Legacy stuff might suite Haruhime or Cassandra better than Lili, but thanks for the suggestion!

Helios117: Yes! As part of Ais' training. Still working on when I'll have that happen. He won't be summoning Durnehviir in front of the whole city though. Just a select group.

MagnustheRed: I always love suggestions!

YogSoggoth: Try! You never know! I didn't think I could write, but I think I've been doing pretty well. You're welcome to take the idea and run with it.

CyberGoblin: Thank you for reminding me about Finn's spell! Any suggestions?

RexTonitrus_X7: I meant that more along the lines of his standoffish demeanor looking like he's scaring people away. He's not trying to, it just happens.

Iskander Mandoraekon: I promise Miach will live!