Chapter 38: 34: New arrangements decided

Author's note

Well, guess I'm officially on server time now. 2 in a row I release right near the turn of the clock on server time but well before the change of date at my local time.

Eirlathion's POV

A fey dragon, the most powerful of all the fey races. They were also often called faerie dragons. It seemed that they were born by a process extremely similar to that of faeries, except that instead of the souls of humans, it was the souls of dragons from which this powerful race was born.

This most noble race among the fey normally lived almost exclusively within the capital, several holding positions of power within the royal court. As such, when a member of this powerful race had descended upon their village, there was no need to question as to whether or not his claim of serving the queen was true.

Soon after the fey dragon Everon had introduced himself and his purpose, the elder began explaining their preparations. Everon had agreed to most of the elder’s ideas, however, he seemed to object to the idea of Eirlathion speeding the growth of new lakira trees.

“THIS IS NOT A DRYAD ARBOR, WE DO NOT HAVE THE LUXURY TO WASTE THE TALENTS OF A MAGE ON WHAT CAN BE JUST AS EASILY ACCOMPLISHED BY TEN OR SO NORMAL ELVES. LEAVE THAT TASK TO THE NON-COMBATANTS. HIS TIME WILL BE FAR BETTER SPENT SEEING TO THE FORTIFICATIONS AROUND THE VILLAGE.”

And so it was decided. There was no argument to be had with the decree of a being as powerful as a fey dragon, especially one claiming to act in the name of the queen. His argument also made perfect sense. If the enemy was already moving and they had no idea when an attack may come, they would have to prepare as quickly as possible and could not waste time. A dryad would have the power to move every tree and plant within their territory, but because the nymph in this village were all a farcry from having the power necessary to break through and begin the metamorphosis into dryads it meant it would fall to Eirlathion and the few he had trained to a rudimentary level of magic to fortify the village.

Actually, it was really only Eirlathion who had the power to move the vines and trees to the extent that was going to be necessary. There had been no one in all the time Eirlathion had spent here with the talent, potential, and drive to gain any level of true mastery of magic. Every one of them had stopped as soon as they went through the little bit of difficulty in cultivating their spirit, acutally advancing it enough to where it can support a 3rd tier spell.

Túeth shows some promise as an apprentice, she definitely has the mind for it, however she also has the unusual advantage of a spirit that is already advanced beyond that of a typical elf. Eventually she too will hit a wall. Eirlathion did not know where that wall would be for her, but her growing used to her easy progress at these lower levels will only harm her ability to progress once she gets to that point. In this way, humans are almost lucky to be born without a spirit that can support even a single apprentice level spell. Having to work for every inch of improvement they can get may even be part of why they tend to advance so much farther on the path of magecraft than other races.

At any rate, his former disciples in this village were nothing special in their spellcasting abilities. Maybe if they worked together it would take them twice the amount of time to form a single wall of vines as it would for him. Alone though, they would not be much help in terms of what needed to be done and his newest apprentice Túeth had not even learned the most basic of spells yet.

“THAT WILL BE OUR DIVISION OF LABOR. ALL MAGES IN THE VILLAGE SHALL ACT UNDER THE MASTER MAGUS, THE ELDER SHALL HAVE TO APPOINT A NEW REPRESENTATIVE TO COORDINATE THE NON-MAGES. YOU DO STILL PRACTICE TRAINING YOUR ELDERS IN MAGECRAFT, CORRECT?”

“Ah, yes.” Elder Calenor responded.

“THAT IS GOOD. ALSO, PLEASE ORDER ALL OF YOUR NYMPH TO STOP ENSPIRITING THEIR NUTS. THE MESSAGE WILL HAVE BEEN SPREAD TO THE CARRIVANS APPROACHING HERE THAT THEY SHOULD BRING THEIR OWN LAKIRA NUTS. I SHALL BE MAKING USE OF ANY FREE ROAMING SPIRITS IN THE AREA TO ENSPIRIT SOME OF THE LOCAL CONIFERS IN ORDER TO TURN THEM INTO ENTS.”

Enspiriting lower energy trees!? Forcibly creating ents!? Eirlathion had heard that fey dragons were powerful, but such an application of the green word was simply beyond anything he could have ever possibly hoped or imagined!

“THAT IS ALL. DIVISIONS OF WARRIORS AND CIVILIAN CARAVANS FROM NEARBY VILLAGES WILL BE COMING HERE. HER MAJESTY’S DECREE IS ALSO AN ORDER TO EVERY FEY CREATURE OF THE FOREST TO GATHER INTO ONE LIVING SPACE. THE CIVILIANS OF THIS VILLAGE MAY STAY FOR THE TIME BEING, BUT ONCE THE CAPITAL IS NEWLY ESTABLISHED AND THE... DIFFICULTIES INVOLVED HAVE BEEN DEALT WITH, THIS LOCATION WILL STRICTLY BECOME A FORWARD MILITARY BASE PROTECTING THE NEW LARGER CAPITAL WHICH ALL CIVILIANS WILL BE EXPECTED TO RELOCATE TO.”

Eirlathion’s eyes narrowed at such a blatant decree, while Elder Calanor seemed to be startled and rather unhappy. The two of them had managed to keep in their emotions for the most part though. A mostly quiet murmur was currently spreading through the entire gathered crowd.

“Wh... what are you saying!?” A voice erupted from somewhere in the gathered crowd of people, someone who’s outrage at being ordered to leave their home had obviously overcome the fear and respect for the highest and most powerful ranked race among the fey.

“PLEASE BEGIN ACTING IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHAT HAS BEEN DECREED HERE. CIVILIAN FAMILIES ARE TO MOVE IN THREE TO A HOUSE IN ORDER TO MAKE ROOM FOR NEW ARRIVALS. MEANWHILE, PLEASE ALSO BE MAKING PREPARATIONS TO EVACUATE ALONG WITH THE CARAVANS WHEN THEY ARRIVE. ALL MAGES AND COMBATANTS, IN THE MEANTIME, BEGIN ACTING TO TRANSFORM THIS LOCATION INTO A MILITARY OUTPOST!”

With these words, Everon let out a loud roar and beat down his wings hard enough that the entire crowd was buffeted with the wind that was kicked up. Eirlathion moved to step in front of the elder. His apprentice had grown rather feeble due to his age, having not advanced anywhere near as far as he had in his path of magecraft. With a few more wing beats, the queen’s suddenly appointed commander of this village had taken off toward the outskirts of the village, likely to begin making good on the task of enspiriting trees he had mentioned.

Eirlathion let out a sigh as soon as the fey dragon Everon was out of sight. “I suppose I had best inform Túeth she will have to be watching the girls on a more regular basis now.” He said, more to himself than anyone else. “I will have her live with me from now on,” he added to Calanor, who had now been effectively ordered to step down from his position as elder. “Can I ask you to deal with your business and then meet me with Ceren and Jedon later?”

“Of course, master.” Calanor responded in a sympathetic tone.

“Take your time in talking to them. This sudden change will be very upsetting to a lot of people. No matter what the queen’s envoy says, you are still the leader in all of their hearts, and they will need your strength in order to prevent any kind of civil unrest from developing after all that has been said by the dragons today.”

“Yes, of course master.” The elderly man says with a bow of his head and a worried crease to his eyebrows. It was extremely slight, but Eirlathion’s words just now could be seen as rude to the monarchy. His concern was understandable, but Eirlathion did not think it would attract any problems. This Everon, while he did not seem to be very sympathetic to the distress his words caused to the people, he did seem to be a wise enough leader not to make a big deal over some small slight. He had simply ignored the outburst from the crowd earlier after all.

“We will meet next to your house, old friend.” Eirlathion gave Calanor a gentle pat on the shoulder. Calanor may be 300 years younger than Eirlathion, and his apprentice, but he was also a friend and the oldest living associate Eirlathion had aside from his master. He had known the man since he was born here in this village, and so to him Calanor was Eirlathion’s oldest and most treasured friend.

You are reading story Second Life as the Sister of a Goddess at novel35.com

The old man, still the elder of this village until he finished re-arranging the leadership of the village and divided it between the military and civilian populations, silently turned to face the distressed and uncertain faces of the gathered members of the village. Meanwhile, Eirlathion turned to begin his trip back home.

-

Túeth’s POV

Túeth stared uncomfortably at the two human children. They, in turn, seemed to have very perplexed expressions on their faces for her as well. It was a look that said they really did not know what to make of her being in this room for so long. She did not know what had possessed her to come in here herself.

The master had asked her to watch the children while he was gone to discuss the queen’s message with the elder and the rest of the villagers. When she heard that, an icy feeling of dread had taken over her. She felt she had to be here, just in case something awful happened. That way, she could... the master had said for her to watch the children, if something DID happen then she could be close.

“No...” she muttered under her breath. What was she afraid was going to happen? It was the middle of the day right now, she knew nothing was probably going to happen right now. However, no matter how much she tried to tell herself her fears were unjustified, something inside her just refused to believe it.

She stepped closer to the two girls sleeping on the bed. The humans stood nearby as well, almost like guards trying to ward her off. As soon as she had entered the room she was told rather forcefully by one of them to not wake them up, and they had been casting concerned glances between her and the girls ever since.

The longer Túeth was subjected to the concerned looks of these human children, the more it shook her spirit. The concern on their faces almost seemed to look like an accusation. It was like they knew better than even the master or any other person in this village the true extent of Túeth’s sin. These humans who were standing guard over the girls, trying to prevent the hateful mother who had wished death upon her own children from dirtying them with her filthy hands!

She looked up to the sleeping identical looking infants on the bed. It was so strange how they slept hand-in-hand like that, both so serenely flat on their backs. That was not how she knew any other infant in the world to sleep. Could it have something to do with the fact that they are twins? Twins were not a phenomenon ever seen among elves before, but she had heard something about how human twins shared a particularly strong connection that went beyond a normal sibling relationship.

“Túeth?” She heard her master’s voice coming from downstairs, and with just that one sound of his voice calling her name she felt the tension seem to vanish from her body. She had not even realized how worried she was about everything until the moment she had heard his voice. She immediately turned to run down the stairs.

“Master!” She let out a breath and even almost felt weak in the knees at seeing him return safely as she whispered in her own mind to the part of herself that was worried that it was ok now, attempting to use those words to pump strength back into her limbs.

She saw the master’s eyes flick a knowing look up the stairs and he gave her a satisfied looking smile. She could tell what was probably on his mind. She wanted to tell him he was wrong, but felt this was not the time for that. Besides, what would it say about her to deny such a thing? She could feel her heart starting to tighten again, but she would gladly take this difficulty over the dread she hadn’t even realized the depth of until just seconds ago when he had arrived back home.

“An envoy of the queen arrived.” Her master said, giving her an intense look. “He will be taking over the leadership of the village, and there will be some hunters and soldiers from other villages arriving here soon... We... we are going to have to move in multiple families together in order to make room for them. It has already been decided that you will be staying here from now on.”

“What!?” She responded, breathless and stunned. Just like that, she had been told that her house was no longer hers. Well, it had been given to her by the good graces of the people in this village who had accepted her anyway, so she really had no right to complain. This did not change the way she felt about this though. It was like a large part of the security and stability in her life had just been pulled out from under her. In fact, it literally felt as though she was falling as the sense of loss overtook her.

“I will also be very busy for a while.” He added. “I’m sorry to spring this on you all of a sudden. I will be getting a few supplies from my lab and then I have to set straight back out. I will help you to figure out where you will be sleeping after I get back.”

Túeth’s mind refused to work. She stood on the spot, stunned. As the master walked past, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “It will be alright.” He said in a gentle voice before turning and walking up the stairs at a gentle pace.

Túeth continued to stand there. It did not take the master long to get his things in order, but it was long enough to cause him to have a concerned look on his face when he got back down and saw that she had not moved. He matched eyes with her with a troubled expression. “I will be out a while this time.” He finally said, “I am going to be having a meeting in order to plan how to remodel the defenses of the village. I will likely be quite tired when I get back... I should return before nightfall.”

She felt her heart lurch when he mentioned returning before nightfall. He had put a strange emphasis on that phrase, and she knew he had included it just for her to hear. As usual, it was as though her master could see straight through her and know what was weighing on her heart. She looked up and stared intently into his eyes and saw a weak almost apologetic smile on his face as he turned away from her and left out the door that had opened for him as he approached.

So, that was it then... everyone in the village now was out making their preparations for war. A war against... THEM... Túeth stood there for several more minutes. She heard screams. She ran the image of her master walking out the door just now, over and over again as the phantom screams kept playing in her head. She looked at the space on the wall where the door was before. She had a phantom image in her memory of the light that had come through the door, and the form of her master’s body silhouetted against that light.

She couldn’t stop shaking. Her master walking out the door had woken something up. An unspeakable dread. She clutched her arms around her body and began to breath harder and harder, but then there was something else that came over her as she felt her entire chest give a spasm. Upon feeling this, she turned and placed her hand on the back wall and desperately fed her mana into the wood.

“Nymph! Open the back wall! Quick!” She said in a voice that was weak, but the urgency of her tone was impossible to miss. The wall in the place Túeth was touching opened up, creating a back door to the house in a place different from where it usually was. She ran quickly from the house and then bent over one of the mighty roots running into the ground.

Túeth doubled over in her posture, and then promptly began to vomit up the non-existent contents of her stomach. She had just about stopped eating since being exposed to the high levels of spirit energy let off by the human children the master kept for the girls, but despite that her stomach still found a way to heave up the bile, mucus, and acids from her stomach even without solid food attached to it. In this moment, she was glad just that the majority of the villagers had gone to the central clearing and were not wandering about where they could see her as she continued to vomit up what sparse liquids her stomach could force up until she was left with nothing but dry heaves.

This series is supported through Subscribe Star. Since Subscribe Star is not supported on this site, you will have to copy-paste the link below into your address bar. Please consider supporting the author if you enjoy this series.

https://www.subscribestar.com/jemini-s-stories

You can find story with these keywords: Second Life as the Sister of a Goddess, Read Second Life as the Sister of a Goddess, Second Life as the Sister of a Goddess novel, Second Life as the Sister of a Goddess book, Second Life as the Sister of a Goddess story, Second Life as the Sister of a Goddess full, Second Life as the Sister of a Goddess Latest Chapter