Eostia: Harem Quest

by EostianScribe

The Gods have given mortals the power of The Gamer as a pass time. A hobby. A means to compete and relax. One goddess, however, sees it as a means of salvation; starting with one world. As such, she rolls the dice... (Harem, Citrus and Eventual Dark Content Warning)

49. Act II-Ch XXVI: The Spirit's Call

[ - Author's Note - ]

Hello once more, Merry Christmas to one and all as the holidays are-a-comin'! I believe this and one more chapter will finish the Ken section off, save the Interlude between this and the Rad section.

This chapter was delayed a bit; I was playing quite a bit of the new Pokemon games on top of Final Fantasy Fourteen so... Slower then usual... Yeah...

So, this chapter then...

This is going to be mostly a set-up chapter; getting everyone where they need to be for the real action in the next one. That said there's some hints to what will be coming in that chapter as well as a hint towards what's being planned down the line. People are already guessing what I have planned; just not how and when I shall pull the trigger on it. I will say... Eventually.

So then, let's get it on, shall we?

[ - Act II - Chapter XXVI: The Spirit's Call - ]

The Barony of U'ra's leadership is as tad odd in that it's rotates between a Matriarchy and a Patriarchy, in a fashion, although it's never classified as either. Ruled by House Duascoronas for over nine hundred years they believe that both men and women bring something unique to the table as leaders and that both are needed for a good and balanced rule. Traditionally the heir is the person born to House Duascoronas born to the opposite gender of the current ruler however in cases where someone with the correct gender isn't born then the one who weds the eldest child is crowned; provided that they join the House and provide children be it by impregnating or becoming pregnant.

While Eostia is a largely egalitarian nation U'ra is notably more so then most states which is odd considering the name comes from the Conquers of U'ra (Not Conquerors, Conquers. No, we don't know why it's just that) who was a unit of the Brazen Empire who maintained order for Verlangen until they turned their coats and joined the cause of Joanna of the White Cloth. It was considered a turning point in the rebellion and dragged many of the Emperor's men away from Arndale.

One of U'ra's best exports comes from it's quarries of lime, used in many mortars around the realm for the constructions of castles and homes alike. Additionally their farmers learned to grow a unique type of olive called the Northlands Olive as food and for producing oils for cooking. On the military end they employ a combination of heavy infantry for assault and defense, light cavalry and mounted archers for quick reactions and harassment as well as ranged units with a preference for crossbows coupled with archers with mages mixed in where they'll fit and are needed.

~Dominic James Pencraft, The Eostia Historia

[-]

Like most of the rest of Ken the bulk of U'ra was grassy fields and rich, fertile farmlands that were ideal for growing crops. However the southern border of the Barony is where the hills started to perk up, carrying into mid-Halous to the west and turning southeast into Armon We decided on more of a beeline, or the closest we could manage given the roads, to South Point which would take us though U'ra, the southeastern tip of Halous and then into the Duchy proper. Unlike most states we had two boosters to install; one in South Point's west and one in it's east. Why two there? Simple.

On the west lay Balanar; not a close friend of Eostia and in which more then a few of our spies likely were. With the voxlux those spies could check in much faster. Of course the boosters in Forestside and Classa covered most of the northeast of that kingdom but this one would reach out into Balanar's waters on the lake as well; their navy had to be accounted for too.

The eastern one, meanwhile, would do the same for the Rycall Republic on the east of South Point but used for different purposes; namely to speak quicker with the Republic's leadership. Rycall was an ally, after all, and hearing in from our ambassador over there would make things smoother. In addition the booster would cover more of the lake as well.

As a matter of fact, myself and Celestine were talking of ways we might be able to deploy boosters over the whole of the lake proper. It would take a lot to cover the lake, but the question was how to do it. Would the boosters work as well if underwater? Or the bottom of the lake? Could I maybe make levitating ones that hung up the air? The answer to these questions were 'I don't know', I never looked into it. If the latter then I'd need something other then the spell orbs I've been using, I know that...

Regardless U'ra was a bit of a curious place. The city, at least from the outside, is what you expected; whitewashed, fifty foot walls (Singular, in this case) but around it was a series of one foot tall, stone walls. They wouldn't stop people in a siege but they'd slow them right down. The castle outside bore a likewise setup; a double walled castle, a large, square keep and a moat, although only ten feet wide in this case, and a series of one foot walls outside of the moat.

The banner was... Unusual. It was pill shaped with a purple outline and a two-toned background; cyan and pink in equal parts going down at a diagonal from the upper left to lower right. The blue section bore a thick, blue male symbol at the end of the 'pill' with a sword at the side, both outlined in pink. On the other side was a female symbol at the other side in a deep pink trimmed with blue with a matching bow set to the side. In the center, over the line between the two background colors was a crown; or rather a pair of matching crowns, cut at a diagonal and pressed together; with the blue, pink trimmed crown pointed to the cyan end of the shield and the deep pink, blue outlined one pointed to the pink end. The shield was designed to be inverted as the ruling Duascoronas House swapped between a male and female ruler with the gender of the current, ruling lord on the top; male in this case.

Once we arrived at Castle U'ra the castle's guard captain greeted us at the entry and made sure to see us to our quarters. Baron Duascoronas wasn't present at current; he had left two days previous to the Federation of Rad to talk about trade agreements and speak to the the heads of various guilds and he had brought his family with him to make a trip of it. In the end we were here for a brief break so a meet and greet wasn't needed, just a bonus.

That said, given Eostia and it's odd states maybe not meeting the local lords of U'ra is a good thing? At the very least we missed more weirdness, I'm sure.

Either way we were planning to spend an extra day in Port Saint Carter; the planned location of the western booster in South Point. South Point was, after all, not just one of the largest trading states but the largest trading state with Port Saint Carter being one of the wealthiest trading cities in Eostia and rivaled only by Port Charlotte; the planned location of the eastern booster in South Point.

There wasn't overly much to deal with in U'ra at the moment which worked to my favor. No local lords to make nice to, no drama involving someone's father or revenge obsessed slavers. Nope, none of that. I spent the evening doing some light work and planning before calling back to the manor with the voxlux. Working remotely was a pain, but it was a necessity. As for the reports I had?

The blacksmith working on my secret project confirmed progress and promised results before I got back. That was exciting; if it panned out as I had hoped then I could go to my mid-scale project right away from my small-scale, flying toy wagon. Going large-scale with it would be a more daunting task, but I'd have time to stock up before then while I tested things out.

I had gotten Regina and Edmund together over the voxlux and between the three of us were talking about expanding The Creamy Dream beyond Argon and bring more money in for all of us (Which I could use) which would be great. I also took time to explain some of my ideas to Edmund focusing on making a games company and he was quite interested although he nixed the idea of Scrabble; literacy was higher in Eostia then most places but even so many in the lower classes couldn't read. I was forced to agree and shelved the idea for the time being.

That said most knew enough that something like Battleship was plausible; if we used picture based directions coupled with text; most people at least understood numbers.

I'd also ended up chatting with Alicia for awhile as she had heard about the situation with the Bloody Griffins and wanted to know more; turns out they were heading west and out of Eostia. She was content to let them leave without intercepting them; she had no idea how complicit the rest were in their bosses crimes, it wasn't worth the risk of her men and Garan had poked at Arafe a second time so she had other issues to tackle with her forces.

That was... worrying. If they were poking the border so soon after the last time then chances were an incursion was coming in the next few months if not sooner. That meant once I got home I would have to jump onto the project damn quick. On a plus side we talked about things that wasn't work or politics as well; whatever faults the woman had her honesty was always refreshing.

Either way I had a nice, long rest that night... And awoke to an odd feeling in my groin that I identified rather quick; a blowjob. Groaning in grogginess as much as pleasure I lifted the sheets to see...

That Aeris of all people had snuck into my room and had her lips around my cock, looking back up at me before slipping her mouth off with a soft 'pop'. "It was already stiff, so I helped myself." She said simply.

Hooooo boy... We've created a monster...

[-]

The Duchy of South Point is, possibly, one of the wealthiest and most important states of all of Eostia. It's influence and power is comparable to any of the Seven Kingdoms and has, on more then one case, been called the 'Eighth Kingdom of the Alliance'. Much of this is due to the Duchy's position; it's the most southern territory of the Seven Kingdom's Alliance in addition to the largest. More importantly it's on the western side of the Great Sererian Lake granting massive amounts of trade to nations across the lake and down the Snake Tongue's River in the west to reach deeper into the continent.

Being a major, if not the major, center of trade of Eostia has given South Point it's good fortunes, in spite of various tensions with the Kingdom of Balanar to it's west. Thankfully for the Duchy on it's east sits the allied Rycall Republic granting both further trade and assurances against assault. In spite of the tensions with their western neighbors in the Kingdom of the Red Bear, however, South Point's status as a Limited State makes it the lone point for slaves flowing from there to the Great Slave Chain of Eostia as well as into the Duchy of Anvil and Barony of Delconna as well as across the lake proper. At current it's the only lakeside Limited State with no lakeside Slave States.

Although the current ruling House of Silversail has no love of slavery's practice and ensures a stiff tax upon it's flow through the Duchy they have a treaty with Houses Hurguard of Elrus, Dirk of Armon, Stolzerlowe of Alcanth and Tiss of U'ra which states that they must allow the trade of chained flesh to pass through their realm. However it is worth noting House Dirk has since been replaced by House Whitelance while House Tiss has given way to House Duascoronas; both of whom have ended slavery. If Houses Hurgaurd were to abolish or be replaced by an abolitionist House the link of the Great Slave Chain that connects to South Point will break... And so will House Silversail's obligations, ending the treaty.

For now House Silversail leads the Duchy of South Point with their motto proudly spoken: On Sails of Silver we bring wealth and hope. With Hearts of Gold we make friends and partners. With Balls of Bronze we stride with courage and glee.

~Dominic James Pencraft, The Eostia Historia

[-]

Once past the hills in U'ra we found ourselves on a wide, well paved road that stretched out to it's destination; Port Saint Carter. As we rode through the southern end of Halous you could see that the towns were larger and had a higher of degree of wealth then average; South Point was a flourishing state and was currently home to the largest navy in Eostia.

Eostia wasn't a naval power however with Balanar next door the need for a strong, lake-based deterrent was needed. Additionally there were treaties in place to ensure there was no interference in the flow of trade and Balanar adhered to them... mostly. This was needed as Balanar and it's rival Justical were on either side of the Snake Tongue's River which led into the western part of Sererus from the Great Sererian Lake. More importantly was the great project taken on by the former Kingdom of Roxford, now Republic of Roxford; the ongoing construction of the Connection Canal which would link the Snake's Tongue with the Great Atlas River.

This would be huge for trade. For Eostia alone it meant a path for ships in her south being able to reach her northwest and from there the ocean in addition to the reverse being true. It also meant that both the south and northwest territories of Eostia would have new trading options open to them. For the most part there was an agreement between Eostia, Balanar, Roxford and Camafran that this canal would be a huge benefit to all involved and each nation was funding the canal to at least some degree and other nations along both rivers were invested in it's completion as well.

The only two nations who opposed it was Justical and Dominious as it was something their rivals would benefit from. That said Dominious was a little too preoccupied with a four-way civil war to do much about it and Justical was dealing with internal instability and unrest in the populous so they had no ability to intervene. Additionally it was up in the air if the Knight Kingdom was ready to pick another fight with the Red Bear; Balanar was in a rough position itself because of their last war but they still had teeth and King Xerander knew he didn't need to heavily guard his border with Eostia so he could afford to position the bulk of his forces in his south.

As for us here and now the story was well cared for roads and flat plains. We made very good time along the way and I even got in some good spars with a pair of Dawn Templars. I got another three thousand XP from it; putting me in spitting distance of another Level Up, always a welcome thing.

And yes, I had sex with both. And got more XP for it.

We bypassed Riverport City, South Point's capital, to reach Port Saint Carter quicker, although Celestine made sure to use the voxlux to give House Silversail greetings. As I recalled Port Saint Carter was mostly overseen by a house of minor lords, House Seoladair. Indeed, most states had around three to four minor lords assisting their local lord in their rule (Mungale only had two and Price has only one) but South Point had seven in total. Yes, seven. House Seoladair was one of the most important in the state and would likely take over if House Silversail ever fell.

We would arrive in the late morning and once in sight I could say that Port Saint Carter was like the other waterside cities I'd seen until now; horseshoe shaped, fifty foot tall city walls with the ends pushed into the water and a wall sectioning the harbor off from the rest of the city. Outside of it was a second, horseshoe shaped set of walls, these seventy feet tall with the ends attaching to the inner walls. Towers were spaced out along both walls, but also two, large keeps were placed between the horseshoe ends, about a third of the way in attached by bridges to the walls. The local castle was inside the walls near the harbor's wall with it's own, seventy foot walls around a ninety foot, square keep. As we reached the city gate we'd see the banner of House Silversail over it.

This shield was a bit... odd. The main body was a kite shield but with the side points stuck out wide and the tips were cut off vertically. Meanwhile over the bottom two sides was a trapezoid at about the middle of them; the ends parallel to the sides of the kite shield and all outlined with black; the kite section a dark blue and the trapezoid a sky blue. This broke the whole thing up into three sections. At the top and center was the image of a sailing ship, silhouetted in white and facing left. In the bottom was an anchor with a gray highlight to it. The middle, meanwhile, bore a sharp, dark blue 'V' with a white wing on each side of it in three sections each.

We rode into the city and paused at the Adventurer's Guild first. Celestine opted to stay inside the carriage as I worked; given the possible reaction from the people at the seemingly random appearance of the High Queen I could understand why she'd do that. Me and the gang went in, said hello, flew up to the roof and slapped the booster in place and secured it. Nothing stood out there today and it took less then ten minutes to be on our way.

[(1/2) Place Two Boosters in South Point]

We moved to Saint Carter Castle next and was waved into the gate. There was a banner over the keep's gate but while the city bore the banner of House Silversail, rulers of the Duchy of South Point, this one bore the banner of House Seoladair, the rulers of the city of Port Saint Carter and it's surrounding areas. Like House Silversail's the banner for House Seoladair was a nautical focused one. The bottom of it was a circle with a dark gold outline. Behind it blue outlines stretched up a fair bit from the sides before turning to meet one another in a horizontal line with rounded corners. The circular section bore a yellow background with a large, four pointed, blue star with a hold in the center outlined in dark gold with a fancy looking 'N', 'E', 'S' and 'W' in the same colors giving it a look of a compass. Between the points of the stars was a design with a Fleur de Lis in the center of it pointed to the corners with flat lengths moving horizontally and vertically from it. The top section, meanwhile, bore a sky blue background with 'Seoladair' in fancy, blue script and outlined in dark gold in the center and a set of yellow ship wheels to either side, if lowered and outlined in the same, dark golden color.

We were waved in and stopped before the keep. I idly noted that this is the first time that we didn't meet with the local lords and met with a minor lord instead. Huh. Anyway we disembarked from the carriages and approached, moving into the keep as the guards opened it for us (Well, more like opened it for Celestine, but whatever) and moved into the front hall. The room was like what most I'd seen before from other keeps; pillars supporting the upper floors, a staircase leading up to the second floor, side halls, so on and so forth with blue and yellow decorations around the room along with a few paintings. The emblem for House Seoladair was carved into the floor and colored in just in front of the stairs as well.

"Ah, our guests have arrived." A voice came, near the top of the stairs; coming down from the second floor was a set of four people. The first one, who spoke to us, was an older man who seemed to be in his forties and stood at about six-one. He bore a dark gray beard that was pulled into a point with the tip curled down and a mustache that stuck out to the sides and curled upwards and in. His hair matched in color and bore bangs framing his face down to the top of his cheeks and was pulled back into a ponytail that fell to the bottom of his neck. He wore a dark blue jacket with a double line of golden buttons and long tails that showed the yellow inside. The banner of House Seoladair was set over his left chest and bore a set of yellow epaulettes on each shoulder.

His pants were an even darker blue then his jacket and tucked into a set of yellow boots with black bottoms. A saber was set into a sheathe at his left hip with a second sheathe strapped to it for a parrying dagger. "My good High Queen, welcome to my home." He said once on our level, bowing a hint. "And same to you, all of my varied guests. I am Laik Sealadair, Lord of Port Saint Carter. I hope you enjoy your stay here."

(-)

Name: Laik Sealadair
Title: Lord of Port Saint Carter
Class: Rune Mage
Level: 27
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 31|
Status: Healthy, Relaxed, Calm

Known Traits
[?]
[Blast & Blade] 5% of your Str is added to magical damage. Add 5% of your Mag to physical damage

[Dual Strike] You are exceptional at using two weapons at the same time. +5% Dex and Agi while using two weapons at once.

Born from Lady Zelda Sealadair and Patterson Silverwind he was in the lines of succession from Port Saint Carter and South Point as a whole but once his brother-in-law became the Duke he was named heir of House Sealadair. He finds his station to fit him well; enough power at his fingers to benefit him and his but not the responsibility of managing a full territory.

(-)

"And I am his wife; Gwylan Sealadair." The next person said about herself. "It's a pleasure." She said with a bow matching her husband's. This woman was about five foot nine with chestnut hair that was about shoulder blade length and around a face with brown eyes and red painted lips. She wore a blue, sleeveless jacket with gold colored trim that was open to show off the cleavage. It bore gold colored epaulettes with red tassels and a gold rope connecting the end of the left one to the jacket on the same side. A pair of half capes draped over both arms which were covered with white cloth leading into brown leather, fingerless gloves that covered the forearms. She wore charcoal colored pants tucked into a set of blue boots with gold colored trim at the top and a pair of straps around the top of the shins. Finally at her left hip was a single saber; a naval type I think.

(-)

Name: Gwylan Silversail-Sealadair
Title: Lady of Port Saint Carter
Class: Samurai
Level: 25
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 32
Status: Healthy, Relaxed, Joyful
Romance Rating: 78
Corruption Rating: 12

Known Traits
[Sea Legs] You fight as well, if not better, on a ship then on land. +2% to Dex and Agi when on a ship.

[Full Speed Ahead] You have a natural feel for ships and how to steer them. All ships you're steering turns faster and take less damage when impacting something.
[?]

Found as a child by former Duke Alexander Silversail on a derelict, raided ship and one of the few survivors of the attack she was adopted into House Silversail as a ward and daughter. She would quickly join the South Point Navy and would rise up to the captain of the ETS-SP Righteous Indignation to hunt any and all pirates she could save those with Eostian Letters of Marque; although she offers no trust to them. It was her capacity as a naval captain that she was commentated by Laik Sealadair, fell in love and married him, taking a job at port to be by his side.

(-)

"And this is our son, Victor Seadalair." He said, gesturing to a lad who might have been around thirteen who gave a deeper bow. Oh goodie, another Victor... He stood some five foot three and bore short, cropped, dark brown hair and a set of brown eyes. He wore a blue jacket that reached down to his knees with a yellow trim and Sealadair emblem over his left chest, white pants tucked into black boots and a thick, brown belt around his waist. At his left hip was an odd weapon I was aware about; a navaja. In my old world it was a Spanish weapon that could be summarized as a giant, folding pocketknife... That couldn't fit in your pocket; this one was maybe twenty one inches long and likely bore a blade that was just an inch smaller. The outer casing of it was blue, matching the holster it was in, but I couldn't see it beyond that.

(-)

Name: Victor Sealadair
Title: The Spare of Port Saint Carter
Class: Rouge
Level: 2
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 45
Status: Healthy, Curious, Happy

Known Traits
[?]
[Young Charmer] You're the center of a fair bit of female attention; even if you don't know what to do with it.

Second child of Laik and Gwylan Sealadair he's been training in stealthier arts compared to his brother who is schooling in Halous in the ways of magic. Like many children of South Point's nobility he's being schooled on trade and economics. It's possible he'll become the heir as well; depending on his brother's choices.

(-)

Classic spare, huh? That's fair.

"And finally my sister-in-law; Elida Silversail." Standing some five foot eight was a very curvy woman that was in the right way 'thicc'. Thick hips, thick thighs and large tracts of lands that were around G to H-Cups. A very feminine face with bright, blue eyes framed with blonde bangs and a ponytail that reached down to her ankles. What she wore was clearly mana armor; a set of shoulder pauldrons that was a blue colored like water with steel colored trim and circular patterns carved into it and a green gem set into them. Matching bracers were on each forearm with black, fingerless gloves and armored boots that covered up to the knees with one green gem near each ankle and two at the knee. Over her groin was a shell shaped piece with straps going to a metal half belt with gems wrapped by metal with a white, half skirt behind her. She bore a head piece that was the same blue going over the head with two, steel wings on the sides with green gems at their bases. Attached to her back was a trident with a blue shaft and it's heavy, three pronged end and steel colored, spiked butt.

"The pleasure is mine, I assure you." Elida said with a nod and a smile.

(-)

Name: Elida Silversail
Title: Guardian of South Point
Class: Dragoon
Level: 33
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 36
Status: Healthy, At Ease, Joyful

Romance Rating: 81
Corruption Rating: 11

Known Traits
[Mighty Legs] Your legs are powerful giving you greater kicking strength, running speed, jumping height and so on +15% Str for all activities with your legs.
[The Best Defense] Half of the average of your armor's defense resistances is added to your weapon's damage bonus.

[?]
[Spearpoint] Your spear thrusts have a better chance to punch through armor. -3 Piercing Resistance to all targets when thrusting a polearm at them

Sister of the current Duke of South Point she acts as the Captain of the Rising Corsairs, a knightly order focused on the defense of South Point's coast, waters and borders. She's often based on the ETS-SP Blackjack, the flagship of South Point's fleet and wears House Silversail's custom mana armor, The Mermaid's Scale, which was made to cast Aqua Breath on the user and, with basic mana manipulation, allows the wearer to walk on water or propel themselves underwater.

(-)

"I understand you wish to say a couple of days?" Laik said as Celestine nodded to him, smiling as she walked forwards a step.

"Indeed. James Noxdecus, who made the voxlux, wishes to enjoy your fair city and it's see it's wares in the event he can find anything of use." She said, gesturing to me as I gave a bow to them.

"Well met." I said as I nodded. "And yes; I've had good luck in finding a few things I could use on my journey so far and hope to do the same here; if you can stand the imposition."

"It is no imposition at all, my lad!" Laik replied with a chuckled and reached up to stroke his mustache. "Indeed; I could use a conversation with a fellow mage! Let's get you all squared away and a cup of tea readied, shall we? Shall you join us, my good High Queen?"

[-]

Tea with Laik went rather well, all in all, and after lunch I left for the markets in town with Makoto and Riri joining me as bodyguards; as did four more members of the escort. I took them from our Mungale detachment as the Dawn Templars would have drawn too much attention for my liking. Miria and Cress took off together with Aeris opting to go off on her own; all with their own guards, of course.

We visited some nice little shops for various goods (I bought some extra coffee for myself, to start with), a shop of magical supplies (I bought some minor things including a couple bags of powered spell stone. Fun fact; you could add it to spell orb glass as it was being made to make it more potent) and a few others including a few armor and weapon shops.

Sadly I only ended up browsing those. While there were potential upgrades for my armor they were either well out of my price range or not enough of an upgrade over my leather gambeson/mage robe hybrid to be worth the price. That's life. Either way we kept browsing about; Makoto was surprised to see that various Eastern clothing was being sold at a local tailor and all but shoved me into an Eastern kimono (That she bought in the end, despite my own instance of offering the money for it) while she and Riri tried on a few different dresses or various styles. I ended up getting something for both of them as well; a more Eostian style for Makoto (Which was more or less a skimpy gown. Because Eostia) and Riri got that sort of Chinese style dress I could not remember the name of (Chong-something, I think...); double stilted, short and with a chest cutout.

Our browsing took us down past the harbor, stopping for a small bite to eat before passing the docks and, nearby, the drydocks. You could see a lot of ships in them; propped up or laid on the ground as people did repairs or maintenance. The bulk of the boats had flat bottoms as opposed to 'V' or 'U' shaped hulls. This was mostly because these boats were meant for traveling along the lake and various river; flat bottom boats could operate in shallower waters then the 'V' or 'U' shaped hulls. The downside to that was they were less stable in rough waters; limiting their travels to lakes and rivers.

The bulk of the ships in South Point, I would later learn, were called cogs and the ones here were divided into three types; small cogs (Also called plain or normal cogs) that were around fifty to eighty five feet long and were used for small cargo and ferries, cargo cogs (Also called large or wide cogs) that were seventy to a hundred feet long but half to twice as wide as the normal ones for larger cargo and, if the situation called for it, troop transport and war cogs (Also called combat, military or battle cogs) for combat ranging in various lengths. It was then I noticed one of the cogs in particular.

It was a cargo cog but one with placements for cannons; self defense I had to assume. It was about a hundred and ten feet long maybe and some sixty five odd feet wide. The bottom of the ship was flat but curved upwards to the sides. It was, however, quite damaged. The hull was intact but bore some holes and cracks in many of the boards along with burn marks over the waterline. The bowsprit (The wooden pole that stuck out of the front of the ship) was cracked at the two thirds mark. The masts for the sails were broken off, maybe even torn off with both of them broken below the deck line with damage to the deck around it and one of them having a spike of wood still sticking upwards and you could see blackened patches on what was left as well as along the deck with some patches nearly burned through the deck. The figurine at the front of the ship was broken off save what looked like a hint of a tail; likely a mermaid or fish, I couldn't tell which it was.

It was clear to anyone that this ship saw a major fight that involved mages with fire spells and the masts was a casualty of whatever happened; likely broken with wind spells finishing what the fire spells started. I moved to a railing looking over the ship as Makoto and Riri looked over one of the nearby stalls. The other guards maintained some distance from me but were clearly keeping an eye out, just in case. I hummed a bit as I looked it over and spotted something else; what could be generously called a 'For Sale' sign for some forty platinum. My knowledge of ships was limited but a ship of that size that was newly built would have been around one hundred twenty to one hundred fifty platinum; depending on various factors of course. Of course this one would take a lot of TLC to bring back to being seaworthy.

That said... I could see potential if adjusted correctly...

"What interests you about that wreck?" I heard, looking to my left as a man wandered over to me. He was tall, maybe six foot five, and was powerfully built with a bit of a gut to him. A thick, brown, bushy beard that fell half way down his chest with short but messy hair that matched, wizened brown eyes looking to me. He wore a thick, navy blue tunic that showed it's age and wear with small stains of what seemed to be a mix of glue and wood stain along with equally worn and stained black pants with thick, brown, leather pads over the knees tucked into brown boots. Observe told me his name was Carter Wright; a major foreman of the drydocks.

"Well for starters, good sir... What in the hell happened to this ship?" I asked, pointing to the ship as he walked to my side, crossing his arms as he looked down to it.

"Mmm, this one... Ship of a friend of mine, actually, The Buttercup." He said with a nod. "He shipped cargo to and fro the lake and it's nations. Damn good at to, him and his crew. And then he was stuck by a group of pirates who disliked slavery. As it turns out a rumor went around that he was carrying a cargo of flesh... Which he never did; save to smuggle freed slaves to Eostia or Rycall. Man was no fan of chaining people up but the fools bought the rumors at face value and wanted to wreck the ship aft to stern and blasted both of the masts off and only kept from sinking the ship to save the slaves... That weren't there. Needless to say no amount of guilt and shame brought back the lost crew... And the damned bastards fled rather then do anything to fix their mistake. Pah!"

"For the love of... There's a mistake and then there's a failure on a scale that can be called epic." I replied with, blinking at him with an aghast face. "They didn't bother to confirm the rumors first?"

"Not at all... Not at all..." He said with a long and deep huff. "The navy caught up with the ship and demanded their surrender which caused a mutiny on board that divided the captain and those who wanted to flee against those who wanted to take responsibility for what they did. The infighting allowed the navy to board and quell the fools. Those who rebelled were given leniency; I hear most were pressed into the navy as penance. The rest were killed or jailed." He said before looking to the ship with a sigh. "As for the pirate's ship it was handed over to my friend as repayment; not as good as a cargo hauler as the ole Buttercup but it's a good deal faster and better then no ship. He's talked of finding ways to increase the cargo capacity but he can't afford it yet. It's why he's trying to sell off the Buttercup... Not that anyone wants her."

"Hmmm..." I said, tapping my chin. "I presume replacing the masts would be the worst of the costs?"

"Aye. It's not just removing what's left of it; it's about making and planting in new ones and the way the Buttercup was built makes undoing it and redoing a real pain." He said with a nod. "I know the hull looks like battered shit, Sir or M'Lord, but it's not as difficult a repair as anything else. The structure has been checked by myself personally; I can vouch it's in good shape and in need of little work. Really; replace the boards on the hull, water seal it once more and she's good to float. But you're looking at another thirty to fifty plats for the masts and sails; depending on what you wanna do with it and how large you want them." He said, hands moving to his hips. "I reckon, rough and dirty, she could be fully repaired for sixty to sixty five plat. Seventy at worst. After all you'll need to furnish the captain's quarters, crew's quarters, the kitchen and so forth. There's also choices on how you want to adjust or use the cargo space. Of course that all depends on how much you wanna splurge on the luxury."

"Hmm..." I let off as I cupped my chin in thought. I wasn't in a position yet to bring it out, but I could see the potential...

"Ha! You do look like the sort considering the purchase, aren't you?" He said with a grin. "Most folks are passing her by for others; I called her a wreck before and that does hold, but she really can be fixed back up for a bit cheaper in the end then a fresh cog of her size and with a little extra coin invested can match a cog-of-the-line. Ah, my name's Carter Wright by the by, Chief Foreman here and the second man from the top in the First Sands Drydocks." He said, extending a hand to me as he finally introduced himself

"James Noxdecus, Heir to the Barony of Mungale." I replied, taking his hand and giving him a shake as he blinked at me.

"Ah, so you are a lord... Thought that was a house emblem on your suit... But ain't Mungale all the way up in northern Ur?" Carter said as he looked to me in surprise, letting my hand go. "You planning some sort of southern enterprise that needs a ship? I mean I'd imagine Cauldona or Ironside would be more of an option for you; I mean they are a lot closer to you, yes? Or are you hoping to sail her up that canal they're making in Roxford; a flat bottomed ship won't handle the ocean waves as well as others, you know?"

"Yes, but I'm looking at the possibility of a... potential project of mine that I'm working on... And a flat bottom would be a benefit." I told him, grinning a bit to him. "I apologize; I don't want to tilt my hand overmuch until I'm in the right position to start work. I have a... lot to do before I need a ship; preferably one that's in need to repair as I'll need to adjust certain things once the time comes. That all said, would you mind doing me a favor?" I asked him, reaching to a pouch at my side. After a moment I found two gold coins and palmed them. I then held them up to his surprise before holding them out. "Whether this ship is sold or it's still here by February I'd like to be informed of it. All going to plan I should have use for it then."

"A-aye..." He said, taking the coins and inspecting them. "Heir of Mungale, House Noxdecus... Right... I'll be sure to mention what likewise ships we have in February if she does sell before you're ready to do... Whatever you happen to be doing." He said as I nodded to him.

"I thank you, Mister Wright. Aside from the business I came for this has made the stay in your fair city worthwhile, even if nothing does come from it." I told him with an honest smile.

I still had a lot of work to do before then, but once there...

I was getting excited now...

[-]

We were getting set to leave Port Saint Carter to head to the east of South Point after a couple of days in town. Really, at first it seemed like just another day of preparing to head back out on the road. Wake up, have breakfast, get the carriages loaded, make sure everyone's ready that the horses were set, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera... Just the usual.

And then life decided to throw a curve ball in our direction. Again.

The first sign that life's next curve ball was coming was when the guards on the walls started calling out and starting to run to the southeast of the walls. I blinked and shared a look with Celestine as Laik started to move in that direction across the grass of the courtyard as I followed behind him with Celestine and the rest moving with me. Laik was the first to call up. "What's going on up there!?"

"There's something heading this way!" One of the guards called back, looking over to us. "I'm... Not sure what it even is. Some sort of... Golden, glowing bird!"

"A... bird?" I let off giving Celestine a look of confusion. "Ideas?" I asked. As the oldest person here by far I hoped she had an idea.

"I'm not quite sure. I've heard of such things; phoenixes and fenghuangs among them, but without a look I can't tell for sure." She replied as she gave me a look.

"It's here!" A guard let off as it came into view and hovered over the walls for a moment. I looked up and... Well...

It looked like a normal bird of prey; an eagle or hawk maybe. It wasn't large by any means; normal size for such a bird I'd say. The most notable thing about it was that it bore two, long feather starting at it's temples and reaching upwards and curving down to the start of it's tail feathers. However what stood out was it's coloration; it was golden in hue and glowed softly with an aura. It looked down to us and quickly fixed it's gaze to my left. Looking over I saw Makoto and Miria... With my sister having a look of both wonder and recognition then confusion. "It's a Dinn'ur'kur... A spirit eagle!" She let off as the flying beast slowly lowered down to her.

Okay, this is a Catalan thing then; I didn't know the language well (At all, to be honest) but I knew enough to know what sounded Catalan-ish. "Is this a problem?" I asked her as she shook her head; eyes never leaving the glowing bird for a moment. She then, to my surprise, reached out with her left arm as the bird lowered further. As it closed in and I could see it better I noticed it was slightly transparent in a rather ghostly way.

"No... It's a selector of those who could enter the Ungla'pul; the Trial of the Hunters." She said as the bird landed on her arm, it's feet gripping her forearm softly. Given how her arm lowered softly it had weight but was clearly rather light as it looked her in her eyes. "It chooses a hunter and their tribe of the Savannah to compete... And... it's chosen me." She said as the bird started to fade away, turning into sparkles of light that started to condense in her palm. It wasn't long until she was holding a golden circle like a compass with an image of the spirit eagle on it glowing softly. She moved her hand to the side but the eagle kept pointing the same direction; to the east.

She moved her other hand to cup the thing as Ur'Akara moved closer to her mistress as I hummed for a moment. "I take it it's a big deal then?" I asked as Ur'Akara nodded and answered for me.

"It's a competition that happens once every ten years." She began. "The winner gains a huge amount of prestige among the tribes and it's said the Spirits of the Savannah shall favor the victors with good hunts and protection throughout the decade." My knowledge of the Catalan religion was limited but the Spirits were the 'gods' they followed and prayed to for good fortunes with each tribe dedicating themselves to one spirit or another in particular. There were dozens if not more of these Spirits and each had it's own domain; the Spirits of the Hunt, the Fight and Fertility being the most popular but there was also the Spirits of Foraging, Trade, Craft, Sex, Travel, Wonder, Discovery, Herding and more. "Only five tribes are selected to partake and it is a massive honor to join it... However..."

"However we're a few Catalans short of a tribe..." Cress pipped up and stole the words from my mouth as the Catalan maid nodded.

"Non-Catalans are allowed to partake in the Ungla'pul but... Yes, this is an... unusual situation." Ur'Akara said as she rubbed the back of her head. "Normally the Dinn'ur'kur chooses a warrior or hunter of a tribe and he or she selects four others to join them in the Ungla'pul along with two others to act as healers, translators, traders or other support roles. Five Dinn'ur'kur arise each decade and points the chosen to the Dinn'ur'khan who chooses the grounds of the Ungla'pul."

"And it's pointing to the east, then?" Makoto said as she looked to it and them back to me. "James-sama, what shall we do about this?"

"I'm not sure really." I said with a hum. "We're under no obligation to go and join this Unglla'pul." I let off (And mispronounced it slightly, I noted) as I looked back to her. "However we're already going to the east anyway. As long as we're not going into Rycall then we've no reason not to go and at least see what's up. However, assuming Celestine doesn't object, the choice of if we go or not isn't mine to make; it's Miria's."

"Agreed." Celestine said with a nod, turning to my sister. "While we cannot enter the Republic's territory I see no reason we can not pursue this contest if we're riding in that direction anyway. This event is part of your heritage; the choice is yours."

Miria nodded to her before looking at the odd, eagle compass in her hand (Called a Dinn'ah'klah which meant Spirit Arrow, although Spirit Compass seemed to fit better if you asked me) and ran her thumb alongside of it. She nodded for a moment and looked over to me. "I... I want to go. I don't know why it's come to me of all people but I want to see this through." She said as she nearly bore into me with her mismatched eyes. I could guess why she wanted to do this, honestly.

She grew up in the Mir tribe and knew it's traditions and culture before she was ejected from them and left to fend for herself before my parents found her and took her in. While she took to Eostian culture like a fish took to water, for the most part, I knew her archery, tracking and hunting skills were leftovers from her upbringing. The abandonment left her with, I had to imagine, a love/hate relationship with her heritage and Catalan culture overall. And if I was in her shoes I would assume a win in this contest would be a hell of a 'fuck you' to her old tribe in general and old family in particular. "Any objections?" I asked with a glance about to everyone. I received none from anyone. "Then let's do this."

[-]

We stayed on the roads as much as we could afford to do so; with this road in particular stretching from Port Saint Carter in the west towards Port Charlotte in the east and well paved and maintained. This allowed us to stay in a town as we were on route. Mid-afternoon on the next day the compass finally pointed us fully off the road, turning northwards for about three miles to a clearing.

A number of things stood out as we arrived at the place of this 'Ungla'pul'; the first was another golden if smaller spirit bird (This one was more like a dove; called a Dinn'ur'khan) hovering overhead of everyone some twenty feet off the ground. The next thing of note was there was five sets of tents set up; two or three to each set and set up in a star pattern with four sets at the end of the limbs, one in the center and one 'limb' unoccupied. According to Miria and Ur'Akara this was normal; the five tribes were to camp on the grounds of the contest in a star pattern with a tribe called the 'Cent' in the center as they acted as referees for the whole thing.

Each set of tents were a bit different; at one of the camp's limbs was a standard, tent setup used by Eostia and other nations but the rest were tee-pees made of leather hide with various patterns stitched or painted onto them in both conical shape or like tall pyramids with flat sides... And the other main thing to note; a lot of Catalans were looking towards us with surprise and curiosity as we arrived. Upon our arrival we disembarked; myself first, followed by Celestine and then Miria who looked over to the collection of peoples in... various outfits that ranged from 'Stereotypical Native American' to 'Hyborian Barbarian, Tailored by Conan' with hints of other bits I couldn't make out off hand. Miria moved to take point as I flanked her as she paused to glare at one man in particular who seemed surprised for a long moment before glaring back.

The Catalan man in question bore dark, pink hair and stood around six foot even. He was older, maybe mid-thirties to mid-forties and looked fit with what's I'd call a runner's build; lithe but strong looking limbs. His dark pink hair that was short of being a shade of red if I was to be honest and it was pulled back behind his head in a single braid that fell to his shoulders. His face bore red lines on it; two on each cheek and three moving down from the forehead. Matching, golden eyes narrowed as his ears twitched on his head in annoyance (I'd seen likewise motions from Miria's ears before) and his tail swaying behind him. He wore a set of leather pants that seemed to be made of deerskin and a matching vest with a cotton shirt under it. A set of matching, stitched, deerskin shoes were on each foot and a band around his head.

He and Miria were still locking eyes as the rest of the bunch approached us as I wondered what was going on... And then... "Old man." Miria spat out.

"Daughter. You live." He replied as he crossed his arms.

"No thanks to you. And less to the old woman."

Ohhh... Here we go again...

(-)

Name: Mir'Mokria
Title: Warrior of the Mir
Class: Warlord
Level: 24
Alignment: Neutral
Reputation: 16
Status: Healthy, Annoyed, Calm

Known Traits
[Gotta Go Fast] You are used to giving chase or being chased. Your running speed is increased by 15%.

[?]
[Can't Stop Won't Stop] You've trained your body to keep going and going. Increase your Con and End by 5% and your Sta by 10%

Considered the finest warrior of his tribe and a great hunter his best kill was of a bull elephant, slain single handed. He has borne four children with his wife but was convinced by his mate his eldest was cursed and cast her out of the tribe because of her mismatched eyes. He is one of the most likely of the Mir to become the next Zon'ka; the chieftain.

(-)

Yeeeeeep... Well... This is going to be rather awkward to say the least.

"Hmm... Do you know this girl with the Dinn'ah'klah?" Said another man who walked closer to us, moving next to Mir'Mokria; this man was an older one with gray hair and ears but hints of faint black. He stood maybe five nine but was hunched slightly as I moved closer, a crooked, wooden staff with a poorly shaped (Or even just unshaped; yes most spell stones were shaped. You could do it with a spell. Long story) spell stone in it.

"She is an exile, once of our tribe." Mir'Mokria huffed at her, not even turning his head as he spoke to the elderly Catalan man. "She is merely a Frak'ka'gul." He spat out with more then a little disdain in his voice as I heard a soft, angered hiss from Miria. I would later learn that Frak'ka'gul meant tribeless although the translation was closer to 'Without a People' and wasn't usually used in... polite conversation. It wasn't quite at the level of the 'N-Word', but it was still rather bad.

"I am Miria, Daughter adopted into the noble Eostian House of Noxdecus, lords of the Barony of Mungale." Miria replied, her eyes never leaving her birth father's as his did likewise with her. I was kind of proud at how she kept her voice calm, even and without letting too much anger into her tone; if I was in her shoes I'd have trouble with it too.

"A 'House', however noble, is not a tribe." He spat back out as her eyes narrowed. I could see his fists clench at his sides. I could only imagine what was going through his head; the daughter you abandoned shows up on the opposite end of one of the biggest contests of your people? That has to be a shock to the system.

"It's close enough to count." The older man let off (And with more then a little flippancy) as Mir'Mokria looked to him in shock with widened eyes, finally unlocking his gaze from my sister (Adopted or not she's my sister. Jackass).

"Cent'Aka! Surely you jest! She is a Frak'ka'gul!" The man barked out and restating her status.

(-)

Name: Cent'Aka
Title: Elder of the Cent
Class: Sorcerer
Level: 41
Alignment: Neutral
Reputation: 22
Status: Healthy - Aged, Calm, Focused

Known Traits
[?]

[With Age Comes Wisdom] Your long life grants you insight into many things. +15 Mnc
[Speaker of the Realm's Spirits] Your communion with the many spirits of the realm gives you an insight to the world around you and a hint of their power. +2% to Mag

Elder and Chieftain of the Cent it is his duty to oversee his tribe and it's position as the only, truly settled tribe of the Savannah. The Cent is a neutral tribe and acts as an arbiter between other tribes and Cent'Aka had been acting as such for over forty summers now. As such he is regarded as the wisest man of his people and all of the tribes and many outside of his tribe, and people, seek him out for his wisdom.

(-)

"What is a tribe but a people brought together to drive towards an ends? What is a House but a people brought together to drive towards an ends?" The elder said with a simple shrug. "Even so; the spirits choose her and her people; be they of the Savannah or no. As overseer of the Ungla'pul I must follow the spirit's choice and will. If she's the one leading the last tribe, even if that tribe is called a House, then that is that. There are no further arguments that can be made." Mir'Mokria snarled but gave no further objection as Cent'Aka looked to Miria. "So, this House you were adopted into; who leads it?" Miria gave me a glance and I nodded.

"I am James Noxdecus, heir of my House and of the Barony of Mungale." I say as I introduced myself and spoke formerly. "My father leads our House, but in absence I can and will act in his place."

"Cent'Aka, Zon'ka or Chieftain of the Cent Tribe, arbiters of the Savannah." He said with a nod. "Are your hunters and support gathered for this contest?"

Miria, of course, briefed us on the Ungla'pul as we rode over here. It was a hunting contest that was competed by five tribes (Well, four tribes and us in this case) where the spirits selected an animal (Called the Dinn'ji'singh or Spirit Prey) and teleports it away from the location of the contest. The location is within a radius of three Xeks'sin (An Xeks'sin, pronounced as secs-sin, was about one point two miles, so a radius of three Xeks'sin was just over three and a half miles overall) from the camp. The animal in question would hide within that range and will not exit it; even to escape the hunters. The first to find and kill the Spirit Prey is the winner.

The rules were simple; each tribe could bring five hunters and assign two as support. The tribes could not engage each other in combat before the contest started and for the first hour after it began. After that everything was on the table; attacking other tribes (Including killing, but those brought as support was immune to this), working with other tribes, sabotaging other tribes and so on. Unlike the target the tribes can leave the area of the Ungla'pul to maneuver, climb something to get a better view and so on.

One could not, however, enlist others outside of the Ungla'pul to assist with the hunt, fight other tribes (Although if, say, bandits happened to wander into the area and attacked one or more of the tribes that wasn't held against anyone), claim a false kill of the target, attack another tribe's support or attack the Cent. We had to also choose our people before hand.

Miria was, of course, the first to be picked followed by myself with Aeris as the third pick Between myself and Aeris we had a collection of magical knowledge and skill that could prove useful and that the Catalan tribes likely had no or little access to that could back Miria's own hunting skills. Riri was the fourth; she was quiet, stealthy and an excellent scout and tracker in her own right. The issue we had was who was in the fifth slot?

Ur'Akara opted out; the Ur tribe was the largest tribe of the Savannah and was the most common member of Ungla'pul and she was not going to compete against her own tribe and possibly even family. Celestine opted to join a support position, which we gladly accepted, but she wasn't going to hunt with us. The Dawn Templars opted to stay with Celestine as well, taking all of them off the table.

That left the Mungale escort (Plus the one Erogus guy), Makoto and Cress. The girls, at large, were leveling rather well now and were all at level nineteen save Ur'Akara who was at fourteen, but catching up. Cress, likewise, had grown in levels as well and had reached level sixteen. For us the choices were obviously between Makoto and Cress which, to be honest, was the hard choice.

Makoto was the better close range fighter and if we encountered another tribe she would be a valuable asset in warding them off but she had limited hunting experience and little for ranged attacks if she couldn't close in.

Cress was an okay close range fighter and great archer and I knew his father took him out hunting, man's man that he was; although I noted he was experienced and an able hunter at it but not exceptional at it in the same way Miria was. Additionally he had supportive abilities that Makoto didn't. Of course he wasn't as strong as Makoto, as able in close range and there was a chance of misbalancing us towards a ranged focus too much.

In short if we brought Makoto that meant we had two people fighting at long range (Aeris and Miria), two at short range (Riri and Makoto) and one at both (Myself).

If we brought Cress then that was one at close range (Just Riri), three at long range (Cress, Aeris and Miria) and one at both (Myself).

We consulted with Miria and Ur'Akara for what we'd likely be fighting and from what I learned the tribes leaned towards archery on a heavy level backed with throwing axes, javelins and hunting darts (You know the old school, heavy, pointed lawn darts? That, but sharper and the deaths were not accidents) at range and further backed by spears, throwing axes used in pairs, knives of all kinds and clubs in melee. Armor was limited if used at all (I was possibly going to be the most heavily armored person in the contest; even if you discounted my fancy new circlet) and magic was limited to a few shamans at best; what magically learned people the Catalan tribes had were concentrated mostly in the Cent; aka the referees. We debated on what we now knew and Miria decided on the final call of who was number five; Cress.

The ultimate reason Miria chose him over Makoto were his supportive abilities and the fact that if we fought the other tribes (A strong possibility, given the rules of the contest) it would likely be a mostly ranged fight and Makoto would be useless unless she could cross the distance. By contrast Cress could fight at range and handle himself up close if need be. I didn't argue the logic of the choice, even though I felt with the right support from myself and Aeris using our magic Makoto could have been a much harder hitter then him but it was Miria's contest and I wasn't going to argue once the choice was made. For this contest Makoto would accept the other support role. While I was expected to be the leader as the Heir of Mungale sometimes being a leader was knowing when to let someone else take charge and it was Miria who had to take charge here.

"We are." Miria said, speaking up for us.

"Then come by the fire. It is time for all five tribes to introduce themselves and declare who they are." He said as he turned to the center of the camp. We followed and I noticed that set in the center of the Cent's camp area was a fire with the tents around it with a respectable distance. Not odd. What was off was that the fire pit was dug around a large stone, making a ring of fire about it; logs and sticks burning inside of it. Cent'Aka tapped his staff twice to the ground, Dual Casting two spells, one being a Leviattion spell to hover over to the stone before landing and standing on it. I imagined the other was a fire resistance or heat resistance spell. I could see the other tribes moving around to one of five sides of the stone with Miria guiding us to the last side; I guess word already got around.

One of the tribes was made up of all men, another made up of all women. The other two (One being the Mir) was more mixed. "Hunters of the Tribe, step forth. Supporters of the Tribes a step back!" Cent'Aka let off as I, Miria, Cress, Riri and Aeris stepped in and Celestine and Makoto stepped back. I noted that the only two women of the Mir stepped back while the other mixed gender tribe had one man and one woman step back. "Although in an unorthodox manner and form the last tribe has arrived; a Catalan who joined the House of Noxdecus in this realm. As such they will be the Tribe Nox for this Ungla'pul. Now, leaders of the tribes hunters, step forth one by one and speak your oath." He turned to Mir'Mokria and his tribe first, the man stepping forth.

"I am Mir'Mokria of the Mir." He began, arms crossed as he spoke proudly. "We of the Mir are speakers of the stars and the songs. Our hunters are the finest you shall find and our fangs sharper then any other. We are ready for the hunt and to claim the prize."

Cent'Aka turned to another tribe as another Catalan stepped forth. A six foot six man; low to mid-twenties maybe. He was built for power but not to the point of being bulky with very visible muscles over his entire frame and a strong jaw with small scars nicking and crossing over his body although there wasn't one that stuck out. Gray eyes looked over to us for a moment, red hair on his head that was tied back in a ponytail with ties at the back of the head, near the end and one between those two points. He wore a triple segmented, brown leather loincloth over tight, black briefs, sandals with thick soles, a metal bracer over his left forearm that looked like it was made of iron (Not steel, iron), a thinner one over his right arm and an 'X' shaped harness around his chest that held an odd weapon to his back; I didn't know the name but it was a handle attached to two planks that held sharpened, obsidian shards between them. An Aztec like sword, I think. "I am Kull'Karna of the mighty Kull." He said, smacking a fist to his chest twice over. "We Kull are the warriors of the assa'gul and the slayers of mighty foes! We are the strongest of tribes in the ways of war and taming. As your women lament under us we shall celebrate our victory!"

Charming fellow...

(-)

Name: Kull'Karna
Title: Hero of the Kull
Class: Warlord
Level: 23
Alignment: Hostile
Reputation: 23
Status: Healthy, Cocky, Excited

Known Traits
[?]
[On Your Knees!] You've learned to tame women; the hard way. All Corruption Values you generate are doubled.

[Wildhood] You can survive in the wild with ease; building fires, setting traps for food, foraging for berries and more. -15% hunger and thirst in the wild
[?]

Son of a moderate hunter of the Kull his father was still considered a great and honorable man as he fought a one on three battle against another tribe hunters in defense of his family; slaying two before falling himself. He seeks to honor his father by becoming the strongest warrior of the Kull and all of the tribes of the Savannah and by laying claim to a woman he would consider worthy of him.

(-)

Oh, that first trait makes him extra charming...

The next tribe was the all female one and their leader stepped forth, looking about before smiling with confidence. "I am Nym'Cli'ta of the Nym. The Nym are dancers and lovers in addition to fighters; we are as able at the hunt of beast and prey as we are in the hunt of men and sex. We shall step around all obstacles to our victory!" The woman was maybe five foot six and bore a lithe body with small B or large A Cups on her chest and brown marks on her face, one on each cheek and one on the forehead over each eye, slashing to her face's center. Her head bore short, brown hair and ears with blonde color bangs which highlighted green eyes while her tail was brown with a blonde tip. Her breasts were covered by a brown halter top with a metal gorget around her neck that held up a designed, metal plate between her breasts and five strips of brown cloth that ended in three colors; a lighter brown, light gray and dark brown.

Bands were around each bicep; brown cloth with thick, short tassels and a metal ring at the top with small, rounded plates attached to it and a pair of black gloves. On her lower half was a set of black short shorts under a brown, cloth wrap that skirted behind her and bore a very short loincloth over the front. A leather wrap with a few beads at the front helped hold it up and under that was another one with hanging metal plates and green plates while under the cloth was a series of hanging, metal plates that held long, white feathers that pointed down. Finally on her feet was a set of black boots with metal plats over the shins.

(-)

Name: Nym'Cli'ta
Title: Lady of the Nym
Class: Sniper
Level: 22
Alignment: Neutral
Reputation: 32
Status: Healthy, Curious, Excited

Romance Rating: 82
Corruption Rating: 21

Known Traits
[?]
[Wildhood] You can survive in the wild with ease; building fires, setting traps for food, foraging for berries and more. -15% hunger and thirst in the wild
[Eye For Men] You can tell what a man is packing, as long as you have a good enough glance at his groin.
[?]

One of the Nym's most notable hunters and in contention for the next Zon'ka of her women-only tribe she enjoys three things above all else; drinks, well cooked meat and men. One of the most notable crack-shots of her tribe she once slew a water buffalo from a hundred yards with a single arrow through the eye. She is seeking a worthy male who's seed she can claim.

(-)

The last leader of the Catalan tribes stepped forth; a five eight man built for speed and agility. He had a bald head with a black leather strap around it with a steel plate on the front with some black fur spilling out from under the plate. His blue eyes looked us over a hawkish nose. His face bore black stripes; two on each cheek and five going down the forehead with the lines becoming longer as it moved to the center. He wore a black vest with thick black fur spilling out of the back of the neck and top of the sleeve holes. His arms were covered with leather forearm bracers with steel plates on the back of them with more black fur spilling from under the metal with his boots being likewise; black leather and black fur spilling out from under steel shin guards. His pants were black leather and tucked into the boots with a pair of steel plates over the thighs and, you guessed it, fur sticking out of them. "I am Ur'Sharka, Zon'ka of the Ur. We Ur have been the largest and strongest of the Savannah's tribes, we of the grass and the shade. We have won before at the Ungla'pul and we shall win yet again."

(-)

Name: Ur'Sharka
Title: Zon'ka of the Ur
Class: Assassin
Level: 24
Alignment: Neutral
Reputation: 31
Status: Healthy, Nervous, Excited

Known Traits
[?]

[Silent But Violent] If attacking from stealth double your crit chance
[Walks With Nature] You are able to silently walk through woods and forests without being noticed much easier. -15% chance to be spotted in forested areas.

After the death of his father, Ur'Karka, to illness he rose to his place. Young and eager to prove himself he worries he lacks respect from his tribe and wants to prove himself in hunts, contests and combat. He is known for his quickness, his stealth and his quick strikes.

(-)

Finally it was Miria's time to step forth. "I am Miria Noxdecus of House Noxdecus, the Nox for this Ungla'pul. We are a house of spells and honor to give guidance and protection to those under our rule. We have come to win; no more and no less." I had to say I liked that little introduction; honest and curt.

I looked over our opponents and their respective tribes. Mir'Mokria glared at Miria but then looked over the rest of us with a less angry and more appraising look, sizing us up. He didn't seem to find us lacking, from what I could tell. Nym'Cli'ta was also looking to us mostly along with her tribe... And mostly at Cress as two of her people giggled as they looked to him. Ur'Sharka seemed to prefer sizing up his fellow Catalans but he didn't seem to dismiss us either; he gave us a long look over, myself in particular. Nothing of what they did spoke of dismissal or the like. Then I looked to Kull'Karna and his tribe mates...

And he was looking right at Miria with what I could only call hungry eyes. He didn't ignore the rest of us but his focus was on her and her alone; his eyes moving to draw their way up her legs, over her hips and abs, pausing on her breasts before focusing on her face. He seemed to narrow his eyes at her, not in an unpleased or angry way but in a more amused fashion as he gave a grin. His tribe mates looked everyone over but mostly the women. I had a bad feeling about these guys...

"Good. Good." Cent'Aka said, tapping his staff to the rock. "Tomorrow at the time of the hunt you will be charged with hunting your prey. For today you may relax, make merry, drink and do as you please. However you will not attack each other, sabotage one another or cause illness or poison. The Dinn, the spirits will be watching." He warned. "Until then you are dismissed." He said, tapping his staff before moving to levitate off his stone once more, landing on the ground and starting to walk to the largest of the Cent's tents.

"As odd a situation as this is, I have to admit I'm a bit excited." I said as Miria looked over to me, turning to face me. "That said, we have to be careful. This is going to be no-hold barred once it starts up."

"Yeah. It's a big deal back on the Savannah." She said, giving a smirk. "And if I can win I bet it'll stick in the old witch's craw good and solid." As much as she and her birth father were sharing glares I was aware that he exile was kicked off by her birth mother. She didn't like her birth father but she really didn't like her birth mother and likely wouldn't piss on her if she were on fire. Seeing her father caused a stare down. Seeing her mother... Well, I might have had to physically restrain her...

"I can understand this will be a big deal..." Cress began as he looked to her, Miria turning as he spoke. "But I have to ask; what do we do if we need to fight?" He said as Miria tilted her head to urge him to explain further. "I just... This is just a tournament; I don't think we should risk killing our opponents over a contest, as important as it might be." More important to them and Miria then anyone else and it was important to us because it was important to her.

"That's fair." Miria said with a nod. "And unless we're under threat of death or maiming ourselves I agree we shouldn't, but we have to remember the feelings might not be mutual."

"We do have Celestine to rely on for healing." I pointed out. "She can't leave camp, but that's still something and I can patch people up as well as need be."

"There's also-"

"Can we help you?" Makoto cut Miria's words off, looking off as Kull'Karna approached us, standing over us thanks to his raw height. Once more he was staring intently at Miria and I had to resist the urge to step between the two; I knew nothing was going to happen right now but the way he looked at her unnerved me. Cress, from what I could see, felt likewise and did move closer to her, but stayed behind her and to her side. Miria didn't back down or shrink away a fraction of an inch; merely turning to face him fully.

Kull'Karna didn't say anything for a long, long moment as he looked her over and wasn't subtle about it. Miria just gave an annoyed look as she tapped her foot, knuckles set to her hips before he deigned to finally use his words to speak. "Miria, was it? Was the name meant to speak of your eyes or is it to speak of your place in another land?" He spoke; his voice was firm and with a hint of husk to it. It was as if he was trying to radiate animal magnetism.

"Mir and eia are the origins of my name." She said as... I didn't know what she meant as she just replied simply and evenly as I was left blinking.

"On the plains many of our words used for naming has double or even triple meanings." It was Ur'Akara who had wandered back over to us who began to explain to those of us not in the know, her face turned to me but her eyes were aimed to watch Kull'Karna. "Like how the word duck can mean a water fowl or an action, or miss can mean a title for a woman or to not hit something. Mir can mean 'star' or refer to the songs some animals sing in the evenings and nights. Ria would be 'point' or 'guide' in one meaning and 'sisters' or 'reflection' in another."

"Eia can mean a few things too." Miria began with her eyes still on Kull'Karna still, not glaring but not showing weakness either. "Such as 'to seek', 'to be sought', 'to speak' or 'to be lost', depending on how you look at it." I hummed and noted that depending on how you wanted to look at it 'Miria' could mean 'seeking star', 'speaking star' or 'lost star'.

"A star to be sought then." Kull'Karna said with a chuckle and smirk. "Yes, I can see why you would be sought." He said with a leer to her cleavage as Miria finally frowned at him and showed her emotions more clearly. "The elder's interpretation of my akate then did not lie to me, then..."

"I beg your pardon?" Miria let off as the Kull tribesman smiled wider before turning.

"That's all I need say. I am sure I will see you later." He said as he started to walk to his own camp as I blinked and looked to Ur'Akara for clarification as I turned to her.

"Akate?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

"It comes from two words." She began, looking up at me, fully turning to face me now. "Aka for 'vision' or 'to prepare' and Te for 'distant image', 'goal'... and 'prize'." She said with a frown. "It suggests a vision or the like was given to him by the spirits... But that's usually akadil, with dil meaning 'future', 'ahead of you' or 'given reward'.

Oh, I did not like that. Not one bit.

Cress moved over to me and leaned up to whisper at my ear. "Maybe lethal force is acceptable for some of our opponents."

"Let's wait and see on that but... You might be right." I replied to him, whispering as well as Miria sighed.

"I can hear you guys." She said, turning to face us both, hands back on her hips, foot tapping once more as an ear flicked.

"I don't like how he was looking at you like that... But what he said is putting me on edge." Cress said, taking the words from me once more. "As well as how he said it. I'm worried, is all."

"I can handle myself, you know?" She sniped back as I stepped in before an argument started up.

"That may be, Miria-" I said, holding up a palm to try and signal her to calm down. "-but we're here as a team. We're meant to be looking out for each other. We're worried he has plans on you; if the reverse were true for us would you feel any different?"

"Ughhh... Yeah, I'd be worried too..." She said sighing and slumping her shoulders... Then blinking and looking to Cress... No, behind him. "Like how I'm worried right now..." I blinked and turned to look as Cress looked behind him...

And saw Nym'Cli'ta and two of her flunkies had came over, knelt behind Cress and were looking directly as his ass. "Helllllo there you adorable boy you..." Nym'Cli'ta let off as she stood and leaned as Cress turned in about towards him until she was almost nose to nose with him, making him squawk and back up. Miria moved quickly; putting herself between the tribe's women and Cress. "Oh, your mate?" She let off.

"My friend." She barked back, arms crossed. "What business do you have with us?"

"Murrrrrrrrr, what else?" One of the other Nym girls let off; she bore chin length brown hair, brown eyes, stood at some five foot five, had a smaller size B-Cup chest held in with a brown, sports bra like top with darker brown leather starps connecting to a leather gorget, a thick, brown belt holding up a set of leather briefs, dark brown with a normal brown 'V' on the front of it, dark brown, leather bracers with white line patterns and a brown diamond pattern on them, a single leather strap around the left thigh, dark brown sandals, and a headband that was half dark brown and half white in triangular patterns; white on top. Observe told me she was Nym'Jinha, a juggler class member of the Nym. "What we want is his seed."

"I... I beg your pardon!?" Cress let off in a bit of a squawk, gawking at them as the three spread out; Nym'Cli'ta in the middle with Nym'Jinha and the other woman to her flanks, looking to Cress behind Miria.

"Look at him... He looks so cute and adorable!" Nym'Jinha let off with a grin. "A boy with such feminine features will give us the cutest babies!"

"Indeed... Oh, don't worry... We won't do anything today." Nym'Cli'ta said with a smirk. "We just want to stake a claim on your mate. Or friend, whatever." She said, adding the last bit before Miria could reply, turning and walking off as the other Nym women followed, Nym'Jinha pausing to blow him a kiss.

"What is with these people!?" Cress let off as I sighed and pinched my nose softly.

He was really taking the words from my mouth recently.

[-]

Catalan Camp, South Point
Main Tent of the Nym

"Such a cute one, ne?" Nym'Cli'ta let off, giggling as she licked her lips. "He looks like a cute girl, but did you see that bulge?"

"Oh yeah..." Nym'Jinha let off with her own giggle. Two of their number was outside of their tee-pee and moving about the camp, moving mostly to engage the outsiders (And maybe seduce a guard or two) and attempting to fish for some knowledge of the Nox, or Noxdecus as they seemed to be called. That left Nym'Cli'ta, Nym'Jinha and one other, Nym'Raka, in the tent to discuss things, seated around a small, controlled fire in a pit surrounded by stones and with a stand that could hold a pot over it.

Nym'Raka stood some six foot one, making her the tallest woman the Nym brought with them and their strongest in terms of physical strength. She bore short, white hair that fell to her neck, some of it kept from her face with an off-black head band that showed off cyan eyes and brown strips on her face, two on each cheek and two on each side of the forehead. Her ears and tail was both white with darker, gray tips. A leather collar was about her neck with brown cloth hanging from under it slightly, a sports bra like, brown top with a lighter, tan cover over the D-Cup breasts. Fingerless, brown gloves covered her arms to the bicep with a diamond pattern over the forehead with tan, blue and red colors. Her waist bore a light brown, leather belt from which a tan skirt hung off it, segmented in front of each thigh. Her boots were dark brown with the same, diamond style tan, blue and red colors as her gloves bore. "You don't see bulges that big on your normal boy, no. So... Are we adding him to our hunt?" She asked with a wide grin.

"The assa'enn do have two very virile looking men for us, and the girly one would make for us some beautiful children, Raka." Nym'Cli'ta said, licking her lips and rubbing her thumb over her chin. "And getting his seed in me is something I'd love." She said as she grinned wider. "The question then is; do we claim him by seduction or by force?"

One thing to note was that Catalans and Humans could interbreed but couldn't produce hybrid offspring of any sort; either a human child or a Catalan child was birthed as a result of a successful mating depending on which side was which gender. If the Catalan was female then the child would be a Catalan one hundred percent of the time; at the very least a human child from such a combination had never been heard of before. Meanwhile a male Catalan laying with a human female produced a human child a quarter of the time and a Catalan the rest of the time. That meant for Catalan women such as them males of both their own race and humans were viable to produce a Catalan child.

"Does it matter? As long as we get that sweet, virile seed in our wombs!" Nym'Jinha let off with a snort, setting her elbow onto a knee and leaning her chin onto her fist.

"It does Jin." Nym'Cli'ta replied, giving her a look. "We don't know enough of these assa'enn to know what they can do and their introduction mentioned magic. That elf girl must be a magician of some sort, I'm sure of it."

"The other male also had a kin'tuu (Spell Stone) in his weapon; he might know some as well." Nym'Raka added as she crossed her arms as she mused. "If we can bring those two down fast then we only have two others to deal with before getting him alone. Of course we have to be fast; we also still have to hunt the ji'singh as well."

"We'll wait for the others before we make a choice..." Nym'Cli'ta said with a nod. "But if we can arrive at the right plan... It's worth the risk, I would say."

"Perfect!" Nym'Raka said as she pumped her arm. "The next generation of Nym will be as cute as they are strong!"

The three would continue to talk, none hearing the near silent footsteps leaving the back of their tent...

[-]

Catalan Camp, South Point
Main Tent of the Kull

Kull'Karna chuckled softly as he waited in the Kull's section of the camp, seated cross legged before the fire in the tent. He had a vision before the Dinn'ur'kur came to him in the Kull's camp. What he saw was two stars in the sky; one gold and one blue that teased him. A Dinn'ur'kur in the air was flying towards those stars and he followed both until he was led to a grove and there he found a pink panther with the two stars reflected in it's eyes awaiting him in a shallow pool of water. As he set foot into the pool the water started to come alight and turned to fire before the vision ended...

He was sure it was an akate, a vision of what was to come and that morning he sought out the Kull's elder. The elder nodded and began to interpret what his vision said.

To the elder and his wisdom the colored stars were a sign of his 'panther' and would likely be seen in the eyes of who the great cat represented. The water it was in was a sign that this great cat could be tamed and tamed by him but the water turning into fire as he stepped in it was a sign of risk; his very life would be on the line if he pursued this panther.

When he saw this 'Miria' he knew he found the great feline in his vision and that alone told him she was worth taming as a mate of the Kull. Everything from the length and tone of her legs to the width of her hips to the size of her bosom and the lines of her face spoke of health, fertility and femininity... A true prize to claim with a kuul'gra'nym at his hands. And one he had readied to claim; his vision and elder's interpretation and advice had him planning before they had even arrived in this 'Eostia', after all.

Soon the flap of his tent was pushed open as his fellow tribesmen walked in; the other four warriors moving to sit with him around the fire as a deer slow cooked on a spit over it, all cross legged. One of his supporters, an older man and a tribal elder, paused to cast a spell around the tent to avoid eavesdropping. The last supporter of theirs, a younger male, sat next to him and behind him slightly, seating himself on his knees. Soon the elder moved to his other side and knelt in the same manner.

"So, what have we learned of the aka'singh of my vision?" Kull'Karna asked as he looked to one of his warriors; dressed in the same manner as him but with a rounded, iron mask over his face with cut outs for the eyes and mouth, his wild, black hair spilling behind him.

"I watched the assa'enn for awhile." He began as he looked to their leader. "The singh and the vaan'nysm are both archers by the looks of it." A small snicker came around the group from what he said. Vaan'nysm was a term for a feminine male; and a rude one that suggested that he was only good for pleasure with a not unsubtle suggestion of infertility. "The other male bears a thin sword but I think he can use magic, as can the pointed eared woman. The last one isn't a child; she's a halfling and I don't know what she does but her steps are awful light, even for her size."

"Hmm... So, they are not weak." Kull'Karna let off with a soft huff. "Or at least assuming so would be foolish."

"You must then ask yourself if the prize is worth the risk." The elder said; the only one of them fully covered in their clothing, a set black robes with square white and red trim on the edges in his case. "After all; we have enough of a task to win the Ungla'pul alone." He said as their leader huffed with a nod. "Another consideration is getting your prize back to the Savannah. We have no means save to charter a ship and we would needs one that asks... few questions."

"We have a few contacts; we can do that." Kull'Karna said with a nod.

"There is something that might help with that..." One of his men said. He was built wide with a larger gut but not due to being overweight; indeed his limbs were also thick and showcased his power and strength, doubly so in his core. His endurance and power were well known, although he wasn't as fast as most others on the Savannah. That said; he had his own tricks to mitigate his lack of speed. "I was listening in on the Nym. That vaan'nysm of the assa'enn got their interest, and they were talking about having their fun with him."

"Hmmm..." Their leader let off, stroking his chin with a thumb.

"That opens up two options." The youngest of them said next to Kull'Karna. "We can work with the Nym to accomplish both of our wants at once or follow them and let the Nym take the brunt of the assault in our place and then strike when both are weakened."

"Hmm... Not an honorable strategy." The elder said as he hummed softly.

"Pfffft!" Kull'Karna let off, waving his hand dismissively. "Assa'enn and the Nym aren't deserving of honorable treatment." He said, pounding his hand to his chest twice. "I have a prize to claim..."

[-]

Needless to say that after the odd encounters we had after that 'We are X' thing we did earlier I had concerns. I had little idea of who we were dealing with and only Ur'Akara had answers for me (Well, not the only one but the only one I could trust to be honest) so I pulled her aside into my tent once we had our camp set up; complete with a spell to avoid us from being overheard. "Okay; who are the Nym and who are the Kull, exactly?" I asked her, seated on a wooden, folding chair with her doing the same on another chair across from me. She sighed and hung her head before looking up to me once more.

"Okay, remember how I said words and names could often have two or more meanings?" She asked as I nodded. "Okay. The Nym has a few things to note; first is they're aware of the term 'nymph' and the... sexual meanings from it." I nodded and looked to her. "Nym on it's own can mean 'female' or 'flower', specifically a beautiful flower. Then you have nymi which can mean 'to pollinate' or 'to drain'. In short they are a female only tribe that sees themselves as great seducers... But they're not unwilling to engage in more... forceful seduction."

"Rape." I said bluntly as she nodded.

"By Eostian standards, yes." She said simply. "By Catalan standards... Well... How do I put this... The term 'rape' doesn't have a match in the Catalan language." She said as I blinked.

"What?" I let off flatly as she sighed.

"Okay... On the Savannah if I were, to say, knock you down and have my way with you in such a manner I'm not 'raping' you, I'm 'claiming' you and your seed. It's seen as a... prize, or reward for the victory of beating you." She said as I looked at her with a dead on, stunned look and felt my jaw dropping. Ooooh boy... "The same would apply in reverse if you were to defeat me in such a manner but with a subdued women it's a bit... different as the Nym does this to claim the seed of men they think will give them good children. But if you're a male and you want a child from the target you kinda have to take her with you and attempt a marriage to make her give birth for you... By force, if needs be..." I groaned and pinched my nose as I tried to not scream out at that. "If she escapes you're not supposed to give chase but otherwise traditions vary between tribes. Some will release them after their... forceful seduction and either the woman will accept a position as a wife and return to him or just flee. Others have a set time limit; if she's not won over by the time the sun is up then it's a failure. Some other will be less... How do I put this... Beaten into place." I couldn't help but wince at that. Yeah... I was getting more and more worried now... "Of course others do attempt to genuinely woo and impress the woman."

"I suppose this is where we get into the Kull, huh?" I said as she nodded.

"Like the Nym the Kull is aware of the common word 'cull' and include it's meaning to their name." Ur'Akara began to explain to me. "Then you have the term kuul which can mean 'the victor', 'to celebrate victory' or 'to conquer' or even 'conquest'. There's also kulsm; 'might' or 'masculine' depending on the context."

"So... A tribe focused on violence, conquest and a focus on men then?" I asked as she nodded.

"Indeed. There's also Kulsim; which means a preference for men. Usually in a carnal matter, but also in non-carnal matters; such as who gets to lead or hunt." She added as I sighed. "However the Kull is also fond of a practice called kuul'gra'nym." Based on what I knew of two of those words I had a bad feeling about that... "As you can guess it would translate as 'conquest of the female' but the 'gra' being inserted is a big deal and adds a bit of detail on the how."

"Sexually?"

"More then just that." She answered right away with another sigh. "The 'gra' can mean 'moan' or 'cry', both with contexts of pleasure but it can also mean 'oath' or 'pledge'. You remember what I said about 'forceful seduction'?" She asked as I nodded. "The Kull have their own means of doing it; I don't know the full details save they will bind the female and have twelve hours to complete their seduction and must release the female if they fail to make her express a vow to them on the name of the spirits... And the Kull, from what I hear, are shockingly good at claiming women this way. And as you might have guessed a vow in the name of the spirits is like vowing in the name of Larentia... But the tribes believe the spirits will punish such a broken vow with interest. If forced to make the vow... It's done. Your life is in service to your Kull mate, to the letter of your vow."

On one hand I didn't see Miria being forced into making a vow she wasn't interested in... But on the other hand who knows what these guys had up their sleeve... "So... The Nym likely want to rape Cress and maybe myself as well but likely aren't planning to harm us otherwise; beyond what they need to do that? Meanwhile the Kull are more interested in doing the same to Miria save dragging her away, kicking and screaming if need be?"

"More or less."

"... I am running through the that Kull bastard on sight when the contest starts."

"You'd be doing much of the Savannah a favor, really."

[-]

Whew. That was some work. Over seventeen thousand words; my average is going larger and larger... Ah well.

Miria's little section is here and yes I plan to give her a flashback or three in the next chapter... But that's next chapter. And yes, Celestine is sitting on the sidelines for this one because if she joined in the hunt the effect of anyone attacking them would be 'curb stomp'.

With gentleness and grace, of course.

So yeah. As always let me know what you thought and give me praise! Or give me criticism, that works too. Until next time!

~~Eostian Scribe