Chương 999: 1029 - The Lion's Pride

Leon led Mari out of the Elder Hall and onto the spacious porch. He'd hardly been back for more than a few minutes, but he could already feel the city starting to light up with excitement and movement. He decided to give everyone at least a few minutes to get ready, so he stood out in front of the Elder Hall with Mari, gazing out on Stormhollow.

The city was no Ilion, certainly, with its almost unbroken urban landscape all down the Scamander River, and many forests of golden towers; nor was it like Evergold, which was almost more forest than city. Still, Stormhollow was grand in its own way, with many estates and palaces from wealthy merchants and Tribal holdings.

The unique architecture of all Ten Tribes was represented here, from the large communal housing of the Hawks to the wider open spaces of the Lions, giving Stormhollow a unique feel among all the cities that Leon had ever lived in—even including Occulara.

Of course, all of the city's grandiosity paled in comparison to the splendor of the palace that had been built for him not too far away, and he could see that it had only grown even more magnificent in the time he'd been gone as murals, frescoes, and reliefs were added to the wings that hadn't yet been completed when he'd moved in.

As he stared down at the palace, he could see the Tempest Knights already assembling an honor guard in the front courtyard, while most of the various bureaucrats and Tribal elders and Chiefs in the city were hurriedly gathering there, as well. At the same time, the guard detail for Elder Hall had assembled a group of twenty guards around him and Mari, though they were keeping a respectful distance.

"So," Leon said in Aeternan common, "what's your first impression of my city?" Mari responded in the same language.

"It is… finest city I have ever seen." Leon grinned.

"I'm happy you think so."

"I never saw city… I have never… seen a city that was not affected by devils," she continued, still struggling with the language though her pronunciation was already improving. Leon nodded in thought. He was a bit ashamed to admit it, but the fact that Mari was still a young woman, possibly twenty years old at the most, had slipped his mind a bit.

Arkhnavi was already in an advanced state of decay when she was born, thanks to Planerend, so this was likely her first time just breathing in untainted air, seeing an untainted city, and absorbing untainted power from her environment.

'Untainted by a Primal Devil, at any rate,' Leon revised.

"So many people…" Mari whispered in awe. However, her demeanor fell slightly as something appeared to cross her mind. She frowned lightly before turning to Leon and asking in azurian, "Where will I stay? I… uh… I don't wanna… It looks easy to get lost down there, Lele…"

"You can stay in my palace for as long as you wish," Leon stated in Aeternan common.

"There're hundreds of rooms available that are meant for visiting dignitaries and other guests, let alone the attached barracks for the Tempest Knights. I'll have some rooms set aside for you that you can stay in as long as you like. We can also discuss compensation later so that you can find a place of your own, if you wish."

"Thanks you," Mari replied in Aeternan common. Leon smiled and nodded before turning his eyes back toward his palace. He'd given everyone enough time and he figured it was time to head over.

"Want to see something cool?" Leon asked Mari.

"Always," she responded with an expectant grin. Leon returned the smile and took a few steps away. Once there was enough room between them, he activated his transformation enchantment, turning into his silver Thunderbird form in a moment right in front of Mari, who shrieked in surprise and almost fell back in her haste to give Leon even more room.

"What the fuck?!" she shrieked, switching once more back to azurian.

"You're an Ascended Beast?" [No,] Leon replied mentally, noting that she twitched a bit as his magic connected with her. [Or… well, I suppose it would be a matter of academic debate, wouldn't it? I'm a human who can transform into a beast, whereas Ascended Beasts can transform into humans. I was born and raised as a human with an Inherited Bloodline, though, and only gained the power to transform more than twenty years after my birth.]"Ah…

I see," Mari stated as she slowly grew more relaxed, though not quite to the degree that she'd been only a few seconds before.

"Learnin' somethin' new every fuckin' day, I guess," she whispered.

"Didn't think this was even possible." [It wouldn't be without the unwilling aid of a Primal God, but that's a story I can tell another time. For now, are you good to fly?]"Another time, huh? Just gonna brush that off, Lele? Now I'm curious. But I'll stow my curiosity and say that yes, I am ready for flight. Or I will be in a moment."

With a wave of her hand, Mari conjured her Ulta suit, still curled up in the same pose that Leon and Mari had stowed it in back when they were still fixing the ark to escape Arkhnavi. With swift feet, Mari bounded over and jumped in. In but a moment, the Ulta suit was hovering above the ground, and Mari's voice from within said in Aeternan common, "Ready now!" Leon nodded again, then with a single wingbeat, took flight. Mari, followed by the score of guards watching them, followed him into the sky.

Leon didn't set that quick a pace, but even then, his palace was close enough that they were on their final approach in only a few minutes. As had become almost a tradition for him, Leon circled the forecourt ten times before coming in for a landing. Mari and the guards followed him during his laps before landing just behind him.

The whole time he was circling, more than a thousand people below who'd assembled in the forecourt shouted, stamped their feet, applauded, and did all they could to welcome their King back to Stormhollow. Leon, though he was happy to be back home, spared a moment as he transformed back into his human form to take a good look at the massive column of porphyry still standing in the center of the forecourt.

The beautiful purple stone was to be his Clan's totem, and in the time he'd been gone, work had begun on carving it. The Thunderbird would be at the top, as was proper, while an image representing him would be on the bottom, in the most important place. Others that were important to his lineage would also be added, including his father, grandfather, and Demetrios, the son of Jason Keraunos who was the progenitor of House Raime. Notably, Jason Keraunos himself was not going to be added to the totem.

Leon was rather critical of the man's decision to invade Aeterna and didn't feel like honoring him on the Clan totem. His attention, however, was snatched away from the column when he noticed a certain beautiful blond hurtling toward him like a speeding ark supercarrier. Given her power, Leon was barely able to open his arms and take a single step back to brace himself before she flung herself at him.

Cassandra crashed into him with such force that Leon was forced to take several steps back, spinning her all the while to bleed off her excess momentum. Leon was momentarily concerned about her doing so in public, but the watching crowd only cheered more loudly at the sight, so he relaxed and let himself enjoy having one of his wives in his arms again after many weeks' absence. For her part, Cassandra held him just as tightly as he held her, and though she didn't say anything, Leon could feel her shaking.

So, he wrapped his arms around her tight waist and held her as close as he could as he started walking toward the grand stairs leading up to the front of his palace where the rest of his family was waiting. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Though he tried not to make too many assumptions, he noted that Cassandra, Elise, Maia, and Valeria were all just as fit and trim as they'd been before he left.

He'd been gone less than three months, of course, and he was at least aware that it took time for any potential pregnancies to start to show, but he at least noted that Cassandra didn't have any objections to having his arms tightly wrapped around her waist. At the same time, none of his other ladies were quite so vigorous in their greeting, as they were waiting closer to the palace, so a small ember of hope ignited in his heart, despite his best attempts to temper his expectations.

As he walked, he reluctantly released Cassandra to walk at his side, hand-in-hand, though she gave him quite a cute pout when they finally parted. Just behind him, Mari followed, though she remained in her Ulta suit, drawing quite a few inquisitive looks from their onlookers. The guards that had accompanied them from Elder Hall, meanwhile, returned to their post after completing their tenth circling of the forecourt.

The first people that Leon ran into in front of the palace stairs were the Tempest Knights, led by Alcander and Alix. Led by their commanders, the entire force that was present kneeled before him, while Alcander and Alix each flashed him welcoming smiles, which he returned in full.

"Everything been going well, I trust?" he asked.

"Hells yeah!" Alix immediately chirped. Alcander, meanwhile grinned enthusiastically and added, "I look forward to giving you our updates, Leon, for I've always loved sharing good news!"

"I'm looking forward to it, too, my friend," Leon stated as he passed them and the rest of the kneeling knights. The knights rose as he passed and added their shouting and roaring to the rest of the crowd's. Just behind the Tempest Knights were Leon's three highest ministers, followed by the more important people in their branches of the bureaucracy. Led by Iron-Striker, followed by the Jaguar, and then ending with Ipatameni.

"Welcome home, Your Majesty," Iron-Striker stated.

"The Kingdom has sorely missed you."

"As have we all," the Jaguar added.

"And it balms all of our aged hearts to see you return hale and hearty," Ipatameni said.

"As it balms mine to see that everything seems in tip-top condition," Leon answered.

"I will speak with you three soon, and if what I can already sense is anything to go by, I'm sure I'll be pleased with how the Kingdom has been in my absence."

"As is your will, King Leon," Iron-Striker accepted.

"Your Majesty must be tired, so we'll make sure the Kingdom remains silent while you rest." Leon nodded to him gratefully. Then, the three ministers bowed, allowing Leon to pass them. Following them, Leon saw and briefly spoke with dozens of other higher ministers who had been filling out the ranks of his bureaucracy, nearly all of whom were Tribal elders.

However, he was pleased to find that there were about a dozen of the new praetor judges he'd appointed before he'd left for Arkhnavi there to greet him, too, none of whom had bloodlines. He fought through all of the greetings as best as he could, making sure to have at least one exchange with everyone in his path before continuing. However, as important as these people were, he wanted to be home, and to him, that meant finding his friends and family and disappearing into the depths of his palace with all haste.

Fortunately, the people between him and the rest of his people weren't endless, and he soon found himself standing at the top of the stairs surrounded by the people he'd most missed. Marcus and his squire Lucianus, the son of the Paladin Roland. Marcus was as strong as ever, and it seemed that Lucianus was getting stronger too, to Leon's delight. Anna was there with Eirene, both looking not only quite happy to see Leon back but also happy with each other.

Helen was also at Anna's side, looking—and smelling —like she'd just gotten done experimenting with some truly terrible concoctions in her alchemy lab. Gaius stood nearby, a soft, dignified smile playing at his lips. Red was far more aloof, sitting on the edge of the roof overlooking the forecourt in her human form. Leon didn't mind her not coming down to greet him, deciding that her simply being there was enough.

Anzu, his clothes, hands, and even a bit of his face splotched with bright paint, looked happier than anyone Leon wasn't romantically attached to, and when Leon released his grip on Cassandra's hand, it was only to pull his brother into a tight hug, completely disregarding the possibility of staining his clothes with paint as unimportant. Notable for his absence was Anshu, and Leon quietly vowed to ask about him later. However, for the moment, his attention was seized and held by four others.

By the time he'd released Anzu, Cassandra had rejoined Maia, Valeria, and Elise, and all four ladies were staring at him with varying expressions. As was the river nymph's wont, Maia's was the most straightforward: she stared at him hungrily, heat in her eyes and love pouring through their connection. Leon could guess what she wanted—and he wouldn't be shy in admitting that he wanted it, too.

Valeria was more reserved, though Leon had known her long enough to recognize the yearning in her gaze, the way her eyes wandered over his form, quietly inspecting him for any sign of damage. Cassandra, having gotten her initial embrace out of the way, was more relaxed, though she still watched Leon with a contented smile on her face as she idly played the end of the long braid that most of her hair had been pulled into. Elise's expression was the most complex, being a mix of joy and unease.

There was a hesitance in her expression, as if she was afraid of something now that he'd returned. Leon had to once more fight his urge to make assumptions, but he could practically feel the ember of hope in his chest die. As he smiled at her, Elise's hesitance vanished, and she took a few steps forward, took his face into her hands, and pressed her lips against his. The crowd thundered its approval, and Leon and Elise lingered like that for a long moment, simply reveling in having each other back.

Once they parted, Elise whispered, "Welcome back, my love."

"How could I stay away?" Leon whispered back.

"The thought of getting home and seeing you— all of you—again kept me going. But we can talk about that later." [Yes!] Maia insisted as she practically pulled Elise and Leon apart so that she could take Elise's place. [Later!] Leon and Maia gave the crowd a repeat performance of passion, to similar results, and when they parted, Leon gave Valeria a questioning smile. She subtly shook her head, and he was both disappointed and relieved.

They'd get their passionate reunion, but that was for them alone and wasn't going to be shared with the Kingdom.

"I see you've brought company, husband," Elise said as she turned her emerald eyes to Mari, who was standing about as awkwardly as she could in her Ulta suit behind Leon at the top of the stairs.

"Ah! Yes!" Leon responded.

"Everyone, we can do more personal introductions later, so we can make this brief. This is Mari'Kha, an exceptionally talented magical engineer I met on Arkhnavi. I offered her a chance to come and join this Kingdom, and she accepted. For now, she'll be staying here with us, so be sure to give her a warm welcome."

"I'll speak with the seneschal to arrange proper quarters and storage options for that… golem?" Gaius said.

"Ulta suit," Mari replied.

"Yes, that," Gaius said with an apologetic grin.

"Speaking of golems," Leon said as he glanced around the forecourt, noting a few more absences.

"Nestor and the giants. Where are they?"

"They moved north to be closer to the Ravens' mountains," Elise explained.

"It's made getting them thunder wood amber more of a pain, but it's still sped up the process for getting the giants into their new bodies considerably. At this point, we've almost gotten a couple hundred of the giants out of Rakos and into new bodies."

"Already?" Leon said, amazed.

"They're certainly working fast."

"Nestor has been complaining about needing to get them working on other things," Valeria stated.

"He's impatient and wants to focus on other research."

"I'll go knock a bit of sense and caution into him later," Leon said.

"Until then, how about we all head inside? No need to have everyone out here burning up in the sun all day."

"Before we do that," Elise said, "I need to warn you that we have some guests inside from the mainland. Dignitaries from the Empires."

"That's not surprising," Leon said.

"I half-expected the Lord Protector and Grand Druid to be here."

"They sent full ambassadorial delegations," Elise responded, "but they're not the ones I wanted to warn you about." Leon cocked an eyebrow in interest.

"Oh? Who, then?"

"The Sunlit Empire sent an ambassador seeking your permission to set up an embassy," Elise stated, "and the Sentinels have also sent an ambassador, though they haven't quite so far as to say that they want an embassy, just yet."

"The Keeper sent someone here?" Leon whispered, almost amazed at that turn of events.

"I was rather expecting him to find some excuse to continue being surly and hostile. This is fantastic!" [Yes, yes, fantastic,] Maia interjected. [Sex now, other stuff later!] She grabbed Leon's arm and began steering him toward the doors.

"Just got home and already putting me to work, are you?" Leon teased as the rest of his family fell in behind him, while with a jerk of his head, Leon ordered Gaius to follow through on seeing to Mari.

"You consider laying with us to be work now?!" Cassandra responded in faux outrage. Leon shrugged noncommittally, then said, "I'll show you my real thoughts on the matter soon, Princess."

"Promises, promises," Cassandra replied. Though he made something of a show out of complaining, Leon didn't once try and fight Maia leading him to their private residential wing of the palace, and in fact, was enthusiastic enough to almost lead her instead. He supposed he should've seen this coming, though; a simple glance to his ladies was all he needed to see that as tired and happy to be home as he was, he wasn't going to get any rest anytime soon…