Chương 1263: 1293 - Motherly Bonding

Storm Herald seemed quiet in the wake of the Great Black Dragon Clan Patriarch's departure. A weight had certainly lifted from within Leon, knowing that there wasn't much to fear from the man launching an assault on the ark to reclaim his daughter, even if he hadn't said so in so many words.

'Maybe now we can have a bit of peace?' he idly wondered as he escorted his mother through the trapezoidal halls of his Clan's ancient and most powerful ark. Behind him walked his wives and Paladins, notably including Anzu, whom Leon wanted to emphasize was part of his family. When they reached their destination—an intimate sitting room within his private chambers—his family entered, and no others. As his mother and wives found their seats, Leon hung back a bit with Anzu.

"The duel went well, then?" the griffin-in-human-form asked.

"As well as it could have," Leon responded.

"Beat Ryker. My grandfather… beating him was too optimistic, but I made a good go of it, if I do say so myself." Anzu smirked.

"I have no doubt about that, brother." Leon clapped the other man on the shoulder and all but dragged him over to the room's seats. He smiled when he noticed his mother quietly speaking with Elise and Cassandra, with Maia and Valeria quietly listening beside them, but the quiet chatter ceased as he and Anzu sat in armchairs next to the ladies' sofas.

"So," Leon said now that all eyes were turning to him, "relations with the Great Dragon Clans seem… positive."

"You're one of us," Serana said a little chidingly.

"How could they not be positive?" Leon's smile faltered as he explained, and not for the first time, "The Great Black Dragon did his best to reject me when I was younger. It was only after I manifested the Eye of Calamity that he attempted to acknowledge me on his terms. And it wasn't until much later that he accepted me under terms that were more favorable to me. I… assumed that the Great Dragon Clans would be similar and reject me out of hand."

Serana opened her mouth but spoke no words, her face instead morphing into a silently thoughtful expression.

"Nyra did, initially," Cassandra stated.

"Have you gotten any kind of apology from her, by the way?" Leon waved his hand dismissively.

"She's young, and so long as she doesn't make trouble, I can let bygones be bygones…"

"Generous," Serana said.

"As one should be with family." Leon cocked an eyebrow and gave her a significant look. Then, his eyes flitted to the rest of his family, and Serana's smile faltered. Filling that silence, Elise asked, "What are our plans now? The Games will go on for several more weeks, and then we return to Artorion—with all haste, I both presume and encourage. But what then?"

"Preparations for further conquest," Leon said matter-of-factly.

"We'll require quite a bit, especially since we have several billion people and the raw resources of more than a dozen planes to integrate into the Kingdom. The Great Strand of Rhea lies on our doorstep, in which lies Theron's planes, which must be protected after I accepted his fealty."

"And after that?" Elise pressed.

"Rhea is extremely large on its own, offering plenty of territory—""—and plenty of risk," Valeria offered.

"Yes," Elise agreed.

"But as far as such places go, it has few Lords within to protect it."

"I'm sure there are many post-Apotheosis mages in the Great Strand of Rhea," Leon said.

"Comparatively few of them are Lords in the Nexus, is all. Roughly half of all post-Apotheosis mages avoid the Nexus, as far as I'm aware."

"That much is true," Serana said.

"Khosrow's Law gave much order to the universe, but it can be restrictive. Many don't want to subordinate themselves, even if only in name, to some greater Lord when they can instead stay in the planes and rule as monarchs over a handful of planes. These people suffer from a terrible lack of ambition, but it leaves more for the rest of us."

"How strong is the Great Black Dragon Clan?" Cassandra asked.

"I mostly ask out of curiosity, and to know how strong we'll have to get to be considered 'strong'."

"More than one hundred thousand planes owe my father their fealty," Serana said.

"I'm being generous with that number, but not overly so. It includes demiplanes, uninhabited planes that are mined for resources, and various decentralized tributaries. Those populated planes that my Clan controls directly number perhaps two thousand."

"Do the other dragon Clans control similar territories?" Anzu asked as he stroked his milk-white face, his red eyes closing in thought.

"Some more, some fewer," Serana replied after a moment's hesitation.

"Our radiant brother Clan is the largest, if we include vassals and tributaries. Together, the Great Dragon Clans control more than a million planes of varying size."

"That's…" Leon whispered in amazement.

"Is that… normal? How strong in the universe are Lords, typically?"

"That I can't answer," Serana replied.

"These Nexus Lords we speak of hardly concern us—save Kamran, who made an enemy of himself centuries ago." The mood in the room shifted, and Valeria especially seemed keen on looking anywhere but in Serana's direction. Eager to move on from this painful awkwardness, Leon said, "Yes, the Great Strand of Rhea will be next. I don't know how much of it we'll take—the Thunderbird Clan of old held about a third of it, though I'm unsure how many planes that meant in total.

I want to establish our presence there, secure vitally-needed resources, but ultimately, pass through Rhea and into the Great Strand of Atreus. It is there that the core of the ancient Thunderbird Clan lies."

"Atreus…" Serana whispered.

"A Great Strand so chaotic and unruly that even I know of its reputation."

"Sounds like ripe pickings for conquest," Leon said with a challenging smile.

"Or a quick trip down an Aesii," Serana retorted.

"What is in that Great Strand that has you so excited?"

"As I said, the core of the ancient Thunderbird Clan's territory. Kypros, the plane of unmatched material wealth—I'm eager to see if that proves true in this day and age. Tiryns, a fortress plane so famously well-defended that I was told—by Nestor, so this is hardly an unbiased source—that Tiryns set the standard for what a fortress-plane ought to be. And Minos, the official capital of the Clan, and birthplace of the Thunderbird.

No resurgent Thunderbird Clan is complete without bringing Minos back under our banner." Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"These plans…" Serana whispered.

"They are quite ambitious …" [Nothing less is to be expected,] Maia declared. [My mate will rebuild his Clan, and our daughters will help to rule it.]"Yes, daughters …" Serana said as she gave Leon an odd look.

"Is something wrong?" Leon asked, even though he knew there was, at least in his own mind, regarding that topic.

"It's strange," Serana said immediately, which she followed up with a prolonged second or two of silence.

"I only just reunited with you… when for so long I didn't even know if you were alive. I never saw you grow up, and…" Her voice broke, and she needed a moment to collect herself—a moment everyone was willing to give.

"I…" she hesitantly continued.

"It's hard to reconcile this with the image I had of you in my head for so long, that of a baby, or a young boy. That you are a grown man speaking of having children, and that I have known you for so little of our lives… It's hard to bear…"

"I understand," Leon said.

"It's a surreal experience for me, too. I told you that the first time I ever saw your face was when Fain delivered your comm slate, didn't I?"

"Yes," she said.

"And Fain never told me that he delivered it! I won't punish him too hard the next time I see him, as he did as I ordered him, but I'll certainly have to give him a good smack on the wrist, at least."

"Dragons have a strange sense of familial loyalty," Valeria said quietly.

"Some competition is good for us," Serana argued.

"A little strife to make sure we always strive for better. I would kill and die for Fain, make no mistake about that. I would do the same for my father and for Ryker, too. That is the way of dragons. I love them all dearly, as much as that can be painful to say sometimes… most times… And they would do the same for me, if only because they know that if they abandoned my family again, I would string them up by their toes and light them on fire." Leon chuckled softly, amused by the mental image that conjured.

"I was surprised by my father today," Serana admitted as she leaned back.

"He said nothing to any of you," she continued as she looked not only at all of Leon's wives but also at Anzu. Returning her golden gaze to Leon, she said, "And he came unencumbered. A dragon has little need for grand entourages, but he could have come with more than just my cousin as an escort. Just Ryker and himself… He wasn't planning on anything beneath his dignity from the moment he left War Cry."

"Not looking to forgive him so quickly, are you?" Leon asked half-playfully.

"No," she said.

"But I won't let that get in the way of a good evaluation." Her voice quieted, and her expression turned downward once more. Then, remembering something, she erased her dour expression and asked, "How long have you been trying for children?" Leon flinched, the movement not lost on his mother. As hard as it was to speak aloud, he decided to be honest with he since she ought to know such things.

"Two centuries, or about that long."

"Not much time, then," Serana observed. After seeing the looks of shock on the others' faces, she explained, "A dragon needs time for seed to take root, and that's even with taking the rituals into account."

"What rituals?" Elise asked, grinning and looking very interested. Leon noted his other wives, even Valeria in her own subdued way, paying much more attention.

"Imbibing a series of teas is the most common ritual," Serana explained.

"One to calm the mind, another to calm the body, and a third to calm the soul. All drunk in sequence over the course of three hours. By the end, you'd be relaxed and pliable as rime jelly. A fourth tea is then imbibed, though no more than a mouthful. This tea enflames desires and increases virility in both men and women. A simple ritual for most, but for those with Inherited Bloodlines, it can be a necessity."

"We've tried such methods before," Elise said dejectedly. Leon cringed, but admitted, "I've said this before, too, I think. Those who bear two bloodlines are rare for a reason."

"You are my miracle, Leon," Serana said lovingly.

"I did not go through any rituals to have you. I did not expect you, but you came to me anyway. Whatever you need, I'll strive to procure. If you want a thousand children, I'll find a way to make that happen."

"I'm not so greedy as to want that many," Leon said.

"Besides, I think my ladies here might object to being used like broodmares if I decided I wanted that many."

"I don't want that many," Cassandra definitively said.

"Neither do I," Elise agreed.

"Three or four sounds about right for me."

"One is daunting enough," Valeria added.

"I don't know if I could handle even two…"

"I'll take as many as you fill me with," Maia stated, her tone utterly neutral and almost dismissive, as if the fact hardly even needed to be said. For a moment, there was only silence. And then Leon started to laugh, and the tension broke. The entire room started laughing, only calming down when Leon lightly punched Anzu on the shoulder and asked, "And how about you, huh? Feel like starting an eleventh Tribe?"

"W-What?" Anzu sputtered.

"I'm not—no, I don't want that yet!"

"Anzu!" Cassandra cried out.

"The man who's eyed up quite a few comely lasses in his time! A man who has spent more than a few nights away from the palace! Suddenly afraid of such commitment?! Astonishing!" Leon narrowed his eyes out of both curiosity and faux anger.

"How many nights have you spent 'outside the palace'?" Anzu's face flushed scarlet, and he became suddenly interested in the stone floor, his mouth sealing itself in a transparent attempt to end the conversation. With a laugh, Leon threw his arm around Anzu's shoulders.

"Lighten up, brother! If a girl catches your eye, nothing wrong with pursuing, so long as you don't continue if she expresses disinterest! And if you find any you like enough to keep around, don't forget to invite them back to the palace! I would be most interested in meeting any girls beautiful enough to catch your eye!"

"We can talk about anything else now!" Anzu cried out.

"Please?" To his dismay, Leon's wives wanted to continue their teasing for a while longer, and given her amused expression, Leon was rather surprised that Serana didn't participate. Still, she'd been more relaxed and accepting around his family than she'd been recently, and he was happy for any victories he could get.

His hope for a happy and well-functioning family was in less danger than he'd thought, it seemed, and he was determined to put in as much work as was necessary to ensure that they continued in this direction until they reached that point. It would take more time, but he was certain they'd get there soon…

Even from Storm Herald, docked so far above the surface of Belicenion and a reasonable distance away from most of the event sites, Leon could almost feel the excitement among the millions of spectators as their competitors clashed and competed against each other. There was always some event going on, and almost always many at the same time; there was never a truly dull moment on the plane so long as the Games continued.

At that cadence, even with the sheer number of events open to competitors, the Games were starting to draw to a close. Leon's competitors had performed admirably, but few were advancing to their respective final brackets. Adamantios had reached the semi-finals in the sixth-tier gladiator fights, while Leon's Silver chariot team made it to the quarterfinals before being disqualified. As of that moment, Adamantios was his only competitor remaining to finish out his events, with the rest now retired to Storm Herald.

The remaining gladiator fights would take place in a week, giving their fighters plenty of time to rest and prepare. For Leon's part, he was thinking of how to reward the admirable, if not quite winning, performance of the rest of his people. Obviously, the events themselves offered rewards at various levels, but it would be unseemly for a King not to offer his own rewards on top of that, even if his people didn't manage to clinch the win.

'Ambrosia's the easy choice,' he thought,'but is there anything more suitable? Better horses from the Booming Brown Bears for the chariot teams? Personally forged gear for the gladiators?' He was starting to settle on some options when he was informed that Miuna had arrived. He hardly even realized the small smile that sprouted on his lips when he heard that news; Miuna had been busy these past few weeks dealing with all of her official business as an Ocean Princess and hadn't had much time to visit.

A shame, in his opinion, as he considered her a friend and would have welcomed her company in the boring hours and days spent cooped up in Storm Herald. Even Archelaus and Gwarim had visited multiple times every week. He found himself rather eagerly making his way to his family's chambers, where Miuna was sure to be taken. As a trusted friend, she was, of course, shown in without having to be greeted by him at the door.

"Leon!" she exclaimed as he entered the sitting room she'd been shown to, her attendants remaining in the hall outside, while the same rude friends she'd introduced on Khosrow's Fane were also present. Miuna herself was warm and smiling, but Leon sensed the tension in the room; Elise and Cassandra, as well as a handful of their handmaidens and several female Tempest Knights they were close to, were in the room.

The reason was obvious: they didn't like Miuna's friends, and having Tempest Knights there was a statement all on its own. As Leon walked in, he wondered just what kind of trouble Miuna had brought to his door…