The glathka hit my blood like a quart of espresso. Any lingering mists of sleep were gone. I felt ready to hit PT or run into battle.
“Glathka is used to wake up, and the vornier has been developed to enhance your energy all day long.” Heilantu explained, amused at seeing my reaction to the drinks.
“Wow… Seems to be working.” I mused, my leg starting to bounce with restless energy.
“So what is the plan for today?” Tavorwen wondered. “No battles to fight today.”
I glanced around the table. Most of the she-elves were finished with their touch of breakfast. Ki’Amura was staring at the empty plate, a bit of steam rising from her cup of glathka. She’d been sipping and if she was as disinterested as she seemed I’d be surprised. The others did nothing to hide their curiosity.
“I only have six months to prepare for the Respite to end. I wanted to see if I could learn something about bladework, and maybe visit Durithana and see about either making a new weapon or upgrading my current ones.” I told them.
Those who had seen my weapons at work were shocked. Ki’Amura and those who didn’t know what my weapons were capable of seemed only curious instead.
“Upgrade… What kinds of improvements could your weapons need?” Risavis marveled.
I chewed the last bit of the seared ham.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “But I have to improve them. My visit with X’Thallion yesterday made that clear.”
Glances were exchanged among the battle maidens and matrons.
“But… your weapons already do such damage. What more could you need?” Creadean noted. “Even that dragon in the forest fled in fear before it.”
That surprised all who hadn’t been present for that skirmish.
“A dragon!?” Lymarith gasped. “When did you face a dragon!?”
“In the forest, on our way to El’Muth’Ran.” I stated dismissively.
The battle oriented members of my house were somber, while those who hadn’t were still marveling that I had faced a dragon.
I didn’t feel like my encounter with the dragon was a real victory. I’d been able to pull a trick the dragon wasn’t familiar with, and it hadn’t been prepared. All it would have taken would have been the dragon knowing what it was up against and that could have gone very differently.
Combine that with the subtle suggestion from X’thallion that as I was I wouldn’t be enough, and it was clear I needed to improve my weapons and skills before this six month Respite was over.
“… Well, I don’t know about your weapons, but if you wanted to learn the way of the blade, Flendreir and Anbethir are accomplished dualists in their respective styles. Of the six major forms of swordsmanship, Flendreir has mastered four, and Anbethir utilizes two.” Tavorwen offered. “I’m sure your maidens would be happy to teach you what they know.”
“It would be my honor,” Flendreir agreed.
“If I may be of aid, I would be happy to assist in any way I may.” Anbethir concurred.
“I’d appreciate it,” I accepted. “I don’t know if I’ll be capable of fighting like you guys do, but it’s a good place to start.”
Flendreir seemed confused. “What do you mean, Master Thomas? You seem so capable, surely you’ll pick up the blade with ease.”
I sighed, holding my hands up. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but… Compared to any elf I’ve seen, my hands might as well be moving in slow motion. I might be strong, but I bet any of you could take me apart with a blade before I could make my first swing.”
“Surely, you jest.” Risavis laughed, “You are the hero of the elves. There is no way that…”
“I’m going to stop you there.” I interrupted. “I don’t know magic. I have a tiny bit of training in fighting with blades about the size of these table knives, but nothing worth taking onto a battlefield. Just because I have some skills that I’ve used well, doesn’t mean I know everything. I plan on trying to fill in my gaps, but in some places I’m pretty sure I’ll never be as good as any of you.”
There was a moment of quiet.
“I still intend to help you with your magical skills!” Narusil piped up.
“And I thank you for that.” I told her with a smile.
The fact that I had already cast my first spell, and aside from it being a bit poorly regulated, it had gone well.
“Speaking of which, where is the stone I cast that light spell on?” I asked.
“I still have it.” Creadean confirmed. “It still shines too brightly to be viewed directly.”
“Still?” Narusil gasped. “By Talnir…”
“Okay, but Flendreir… Anbethir… Do you think you could start this morning, or should I go visit with Durithana first?” I asked.
“Well…” Flendreir floundered, looking at Anbethir, “… I think it would be beneficial if I had some time. I’ll want to collect a few blades in your size to see what styles you favor.”
“That would be good.” Anbethir agreed.
I looked down at the handgun at my waist. I couldn’t help but wonder if the weapon was worth the effort by the smiths to craft it. My rifles had performed well, but I hadn’t even touched my handgun. Now that I’d had a god tell me my rifles weren’t good enough, was it even worth carrying? I decided that even if it wasn’t the greatest tool in my arsenal, I’d rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it.
“Alright. I’ll head over and see Durithana first.” I acknowledged, gathering the last of my eggs with the elven equivalent of a fork, which had shorter tines and a longer handle. “Does anyone need anything before I head out?”
“I will accompany you.” Tavorwen asserted, “Nauveir, Zanantha, will you join us as well?”
The indicated battle maidens nodded in acceptance.
“… um…”
A quiet voice rose from the corner by Lymarith.
“… May I come as well?” Ki’Amura asked quietly.
I turned to the she-elf that seemed to be struggling with a mess of emotion. “Of course. You are welcome.”
She lowered her eyes and shrank in her chair.
I tried to let her hide from the attention she had drawn to herself, by carrying on and drawing attention back to myself.
“Flendreir, Anbethir, how long do you anticipate it taking to pull together what you wanted before you show me some swords.” I redirected.
“It will probably only take me an hour to prepare.” Anbethir assessed.
“I may take longer…” Flendreir conceded. “It will likely take me all morning.”
“Good, that’ll give me plenty of time to talk with Durithana.” I accepted.
It likely wouldn’t take me all that long, but I didn’t want to push the members of my house too hard. Unlike with my squad where I knew their capabilities, strengths and weaknesses, I had only been with the members of my house for a number of days. Thinking about it, I’d only met Tavorwen a week ago in the Temple.
That made me pause.
One week.
In one week, I had gone from leading a SpecOps team in the Middle East on Earth to the Master of a house of elves, with one pregnant and the others hoping for the same. I had six… wives, though they claimed the title of matrons instead, with eight more already lined up like hopeful contestants on The Bachelor, and countless others hoping as well.
I was used to being valued for my ability to coordinate and utilize my rifle to cut through problems and accomplish the mission, but for at least half of my matrons and maidens, they almost didn’t care about the rifle, but my other firearm was their entire goal. Shooting my shot with them had a totally different meaning. Glancing at them, I could easily remember the visual Driveal had shown me. Each of my matrons, aside from Narusil, still had my spunk held in their reproductive tracks, hoping that the time would come for their eggs to get fertilized and they’d join Narusil in carrying my kids.
Fuck.
Never thought I’d be a dad. Every girl I’d ever nutted in, either I had a rubber on or they were on the pill to make sure it didn’t happen. If a girl back on earth had ever told me I’d gotten her pregnant, she’d have been pissed that the condom failed or the pill didn’t work. Most of them probably would have thought about getting an abortion instead of carrying to term.
The very idea of an abortion would probably make the elves think of my homeworld as savage and horrifying. Not sure if it would change how they treated me, but I didn’t think I wanted to chance it.
The walk to the tree-workshop of my smith was uneventful.
Once again, the streets were devoid of Masters or Matrons. Maidens walked about with various tasks on their mind, though I noticed that there was a slow and intentional air to their walk. Not quite a lazy, laid-back attitude, but a lack of urgency and haste. I realized that as nearly ageless beings the need to hurry about for everything didn’t really make sense, unless something like war forced haste.
We walked into Durithana’s tree, the ring of a hammer on metal filled the workshop.
“Be with you in a moment.” Durithana called.
I looked over the contents of the table. It looked like Durithana was making new magazines for my weapons.