The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

“As for disappearing them.” The Man says looking at the King, “If they are nothing then we waste a potentially valuable resource since they can obviously return to Dest safely and we mighty be able to put people with them. If on the other hand they are spies, they will be well equipped. Imagine one or more of the Hearth Sons or Hearth Daughters pets actually prepared for a fight.”

“You come up with the most pleasant thoughts sometimes.” King Donalson grimaces.

“A miss is a good as a mile.” The woman laughed talking with the Ghost holding Camden pass.

“A mile?” Yen asks.

“Sorry, I guess you would say league now.”

“You are a very odd person, nothing like the other Legents.”

“I am not a Legent Yen of Emel, daughter of the romni.”

“Romni?” Yen asks.

“Yes. Your people were bred from a group called the Gypsy by outsiders, though they called themselves Romany.”

“You say it more than one way, why?”

“Because they did as well. You yourselves, the Emel, are a hybrid of Romany and Abbo and East Indians, it took centuries to make you.”

“I can see it you know, the pattern to the Magic the Hearth Son sees.” Yen replied deflecting, discussing how your family was bred like cattle is an uncomfortable thing.

“He and my daughter are doing well. They will soon have more pawns.”

“You mean more of us to use as weapons and leave leashed like dogs.”

“Collared, and each of you is worth a great gross of soldiers, they though are worth a greater gross even now, and will be worth even more later.”

“What happens when he finally gets mad and lets loose for real?” Yen asks obviously referring to the Hearth Son.

“A lot of people are going to die if Lisa can’t stem the tide of his hate and his rage once he realizes he has it.” The woman answered sadly.

“Do the Legents know you are alive?”

“You just accused me of being one, make up your mind.”

“Only to gauge your reaction.” Yen answered, “You are stronger than even Wilhelm, Only Simon or Arie might be able to stop you if you moved.”

“Calling Legents by name now?” She teased.

“They stop by to talk a surprising amount.”

“You keep it peaceful and quiet here, that is valuable.”

“Milady.” The doctor examining Muren interrupted, “I must protest keeping this a secret.”

“You have your orders doctor.” She replies coldly, “I tolerate these constant examinations only because there is cause for concern.”

“There is concern because you are behind Brenhar of Michelson and as large already even though she is progressing distressingly fast.”

“And I know why.”

“You do?”

“Yes. If word leaks my true condition it will cause many problems.”

“Celebrations you mean.”

“Problems doctor, nothing but problems.

“I feel like taking a sledge hammer to the Donalson King.” Legent Amina said in observation watching from a distance as the deviant trade product, the wipes from Dest, were purchased one by one for interrogation, hopefully without the traders realizing the government was buying them.

“I understand Mina, I really do.” Legent Kara agreed, “However you have to remember that this is the world we made. Were it not for the promiscuous world we forged that this trade is a byproduct of, our species would be gone.”

“I know, I just don’t have to like it. We battled for so long to stop this trade before the fall.”

“Then to have to use it is sickening. However we do have a bright spot.”

“I know, the queen bitch of the abyss managed to have a daughter somehow.” Legent Amina laughed, “And given what she has been doing I don’t see any need for a blood test.”

“No, definitely not. However there are two good things.”

“Two?”

“Yes. One, Brenhar is on proper schedule.”

“Excellent.”

“And Muren isn’t having a baby.”

“She’s not?”

“No, she having twins.”

“Checkmate.” Amina laughed with tears of joy forming, “He did it! He solved it! I told you the Amish would come in handy one day.”

UC:Fates—Facio Sexus : Partus Uno

Septus Finitus

“Hello?” Marc said warily, speaking up slightly as he entered the spare classroom in the southwestern corner tower of Centerversity campus. Normally this and the southeastern tower room are only used for star watching at night. Now, late afternoon, eighth bell, it appears empty as always when the sun is out.

“Are you Marc?” A female voice asks and he turns to see two girls previously hidden by the open door he had just closed. They were if he were honest with himself young women, the child was long gone from them, and oddly for their age, the teen is as well. They sit beside the big curved window facing the southerly view of the sky. They are eating a late lunch with a dozen or more books spread around the two tables where they are seated.

“Yes.” He answered puzzled, “I was told by my instructor to report here when I arrived at my normal class.”

“Thank you for arriving so promptly.” One said grinning.

“Due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control you have an assignment.” The other went on, neither interrupting their studies.

“Who are you?” He asks as some vague memory tugs at him.

“We are Sinda and Sandy, formerly of Thomson, now of Ericson.” One answers, pointing as they are named.

“You’re with the Hearth Son. You’re the one who died.” Marc said pointing at Sinda.

“Yes.” She answered smiling.

“I’m Thomson, not Ericson. What do you want with me?”

“You were chosen to look after one who is in an awkward position.”

“Who?”

“One of the daughters of Kimer.” The other answered, annoying him as they kept trading off answering randomly.

“Which one?” Marc asked quietly.

“Sara.”

“What happened?”

“That is none of your concern.” He was told bluntly, “However, you have been chosen to look after her for a few days. Other arrangements are being made for Barbara and Lauren.”

“What happened?”

“It is Wodensday. You will ensure she makes it to classes this week.” Sinda went on ignoring his question. “Then she is yours for the weekend. You must have her at the meeting hall beside the headmaster’s office Moonday at fourth bell.”

“What happened?” Marc insists. The girls can feel his anger at them for trying to order him around and ignoring his questions about his friend. He gathers his will, preparing to use his magic to express his frustration.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Sandy warns him, looking puzzled at his attitude.

“Then answer my question.” Marc insists as his shields solidify. “She is my friend, I want to know what happened to her.”

“Look Marc, you’re an eighth year, we get that.” Sandy says chuckling.

“We are only fifth years, however consider this.” Sinda laughs. “We are the property, and I use that word on purpose here in this context, of the Hearth Son. Do you honestly think we are defenseless?”

“Oh.” Marc huffs as his ego deflates. The bubble is burst when he thinks about the rumors that persist about Charles, emphasizing the fact that he was common born and is now a Hearth Holder. The rumors about what happened at the lake don’t help settle Marc’s mind either. The other rumors though, those just don’t bear thinking on.

“You will take her and go. We are waiting on word for someone to take the other two off our hands.”

“I’ll take them all. Sara is my friend and I know the other two as well. This way they go with someone who knows them and they can trust.” Marc pronounces angrily.

“Can you manage the three of them?” Sandy asks, “Classes and all?”

“I will.” Marc answered flatly, “I am not letting happen to them what happened to the bitches that attacked the Hearth Son and killed you Sinda. I mean no offense, but she is my friend and I will not allow that.”

“Whether you choose to believe or not, I understand.” Sinda smiles in answer and obvious relief at his words despite his tone, “However, your response was anticipated somewhat.”

“It was?”

“Yes. Sara and her cousins are humbled in an altered manner.”

“Altered? How so?”

“Though they are humbled and obedient, and you are free to use them as you wish, they are not allowed to talk about what happened to them; or why this is happening. This is actually for your protection. It is done so that you do not become involved in events beyond your station. Sara requested that she be sent with you. She spoke highly of you so the others accepted you as well, if you expressed willingness, so perhaps it really means your current station.”

“She did?” Marc asks, surprised, puzzled and looking as well as feeling lost “They did?”

“Yes. Apparently she trusts you, and they trust her.”

“We’ve been friends for years.” He replies wearily, disturbed by something in her tone. “Why do you say ‘trust’ like that?”

“Because of things you know nothing about.” Sandy replied. “The way they are now humbled was done to ensure you are incapable of breaking the rules they have until Moonday. There is nothing to prevent you from releasing them after you reach your dorms, which is where your charge or charges will be sleeping, in your bed with you.”

“However,” Sinda picked up trading off, “to do so, to release them that is, is to accept responsibility for their well being and their actions as well. Humbled or not, they remain in your charge and must do as you say, or else. Do not think to release them and then ask, for they know better than to answer as themselves, for their and your sake alike.”

“Are they here?” He asked puzzled as worry for his friend became fright.

“No.”

“Then have them sent to my dorm. Actually, I think Barbara and Lauren share a dorm so how about we all just go there. I share my dorm with three other guys. Unless I shared the girls it could cause some hard feelings, especially with three of them there.”

“You will be contacted at dinner.”

“Then I take my leave.” Marc replied, unsure in his own mind whether he won, lost, or even if there had been a competition at all. He wasn’t sure that he had a clue what was really happening. It really felt like he was escaping and admitting that, even to himself, was scary.

“Mother Kilsin.” The man said in greeting as he joins a group eating lunch in the park atop Saelise. It is one of the neutral meeting grounds of the Kallows Collective, about halfway between Sharlo and Virenbor. That the Kallows is not as monolithic as they have led the world to believe is one of their best kept secrets.

“Ethan Elwyd Timmons.” Land Mother Kilsin replied in formal greeting without rising. “Our font, over flowing with wisdom and knowledge of ages lost, you return to us.”

“You are thrice kind.” He replied, smiling at her triple naming pun as he sat down at her table. The fun for him is that though he has given the Kallows no name for himself, they have chosen historical names for him focussed on the help he has given them. That they are in truth not far from his real name, though they have no clue that they are, is a clue he is careful not to give them.

“I may be kind, but I must ask what has upset your plans so.” She replied still smiling outwardly. “You have made several moves well ahead of schedule of late.”

“We have a new player.” He announced seating himself with a sigh.

“This Hearth Hold we have heard of?” Another woman asked.

“Yes. Specifically the Hearth Daughter.”

“It is smaller than my personal holdings, who cares about them?” Land Mother Kilsin asks laughing.

“She is a strategos.”

“She is what?” Mother Kilsin demands in quiet shock as he refers to the Hearth Daughter as a planner of the highest degree. He gave out compliments rarely, grudgingly, and those that got them knew they had indeed earned them. Yet his tone showed that this one was being given freely, something she has not heard of before, even in family records.

“You heard me.” He replied flatly. He reached for a water glass, ignoring the wine just poured. “Somehow she detected the humble bomb I had your guild make for me while the pieces were still leagues apart.”

“Impossible! To see both is to already have them detonating.”

“She also managed to get the Mothers Thomson and Michelson to an unforeseen place of safety with uncompromised guards.”

“She got lucky then?” Someone asked.

“She sent observers to Dest. Since by then I was wanting to learn more about her and her methods, I had them intercepted. She had sent a young man, a boy really, and two girls. I lost my man because they were all immune to humbling,” He went on, “and this was before the bomb.”

“This is not sounding good.” They replied ashen faced.

“She then had one of the girls fix a broken mirror and modify it so that I could not see what went through it. It was while I was dealing with that, that the bomb was located and intercepted. One of the girls was then gifted as a chambermaid to a spare prince of Dest, an unremarkable boy. He is the only son of the King’s younger brother. They returned to school at Centerversity for a few weeks. Then abruptly the prince and the girl went to Michelson along with the Heir Primus, the Consort and the Hearth Holders. Once there, they exposed some of the mind invasive functions of the Upper and Lower House meeting hall.”

“This is all her doing?” Mother Kilsin asked, aghast as the freely given compliment was explained, ‘Not justified.’ She thought to herself, ‘Explained.’

“Yes, and it keeps getting better. The Prince was then sent on his way with a thank you gift, yet another girl. This one was an apparent Techist girl reduced to a mere carnal toy as best I could find out. There was not a trace of magic in her, or real intelligence. His first gift was sent home a while later to wait for him.”

“Are you telling me she has to do with what happened in Dest?”

“Yes I am.” He replied taking a calming breath before continuing, “It turns out neither the carnal toy nor the chambermaid was what she appeared to be at all. The chambermaid, a known Magist, made it into the castle straight through the magic detectors we had setup in preparation for the coup.”

“I am sensing a pattern I won’t like.”

“Yes you are.” He told her bluntly, “The prince, Tagoni, was at Camden with the carnal toy. She was playing in the snow like a retard, then being warmed by the prince in his bed when we started our invasion. Fearing interference and witnesses, I moved to eliminate both observers.”

“They weren’t just observers though were they?”

“No.” He admitted without hesitation, “Though they both bear the name Yemel, I thought nothing of it since so many slaves took the name of the sons of Emel when the Blood Lords were reduced. It turns out the two powerless, magicless observers the Hearth Daughter had sent were more than I had planned on. They both went full blown, though inexperienced, Blood Queen.”

“The one at the palace went to talk with the king since he did have questions for his nephew’s chambermaid.” He went on grimly.

“This is sounding bad. How can you possibly be in a good mood with that kind of disaster?”

“She defended herself and since she was with him, she also defended him, though only as a byproduct of keeping herself alive.” He continued.

“That ended the coup in a hurry.” Mother Kilsin observed somberly.

“Yes.” He smiled, “It did. Then when Legent Wilhelm was pronouncing sentence on her for the usage of Blood Seed, King Dest interrupted. He adopted her into his house, daring the Legents to remove him for it. Surprisingly, even with that, she is actually the minor problem in this mess.”

“What of Camden then?” She asked getting worried.

“The one in the pass went full blown Blood Queen on her own, against orders. She used wide spread Blood Seed and sunlight to take over the minds of most of the first wave of troops through Camden, then parts of each wave after that. She is still there, a literal shadow of her formal self. She has a shadow guard in addition to the, I guess I should call them surviving troops, that are still hers.”

“I see. You now know that they are real and that their oral tradition holds enough information to enable this. The Blood Seed, and all it entails.”

“Yes,” He smiled in reply mischievously, “and there is more. You know of the aborted coup attempt in Michelson?”

“The one where the attackers dropped their weapons then vanished into the crowds?”

“Exactly. They did that on my orders.”

“Why?”

“Because Heir Primus Brenhar not only used Blood Seed...”

“What? Wait, how? She is not any relation to them is she?”

“I know she isn’t. Her clan is a different project completely. However, she did it anyway.”

“Incredible, that could mean us, our girls. We...they...could gain Blood Seed as well?”

“Yes, I’ll get there in a moment. She used Blood Seed while surrounded by a shield that displaced flowing water. Nothing could get through it.”

“I thought they were generations away from tapping that power.” Land Mother Kilsin asked, starting to feel faint.

“They are. Yet Brenhar tapped the power of the Michelson Vale for the shield. Then she used it to detonate, yes I mean make explode, every single piece of Magic detecting equipment my people had.”

“That’s why you had the rest drop everything.”

“Precisely, since they didn’t and still don’t have magic detectors, she destroyed the only thing that couldn’t be explained. Trying to pursue our people without something strong to identify them would have started witch hunts. That would have done what I truly needed just as well as a successful coup. The bright spot though is that she used a vast, steady amount of that power, and didn’t burn up from it.”

“Are you saying she gained control of the Vale power from the same source as she acquired Blood Seed?”

“Yes.”

“Are you also saying you now know how to teach us to use and control Blood Seed?”

“Approximately. You know I don’t always tell you or anyone everything.” He said while thinking of Bren, the body double, having been the one to actually tap the power of the Vale. That disturbs him more than he is willing to admit, even to himself.

“Accepted, you dragged us up from the gutter. You are the only reason the Collective isn’t a random bunch of infighting factions holding ourselves back. Thanks to you, we stretch the full length of the eastern seaboard and half way to the nwarnls. We were nothing until you pulled us together. Now we are as large as Thomson, or maybe even Michelson itself.”

“I need volunteers, real volunteers. It will take more than one try. It may work in a few, or it may take a few dozen. However, when it fails it will be bad. They may wind up as carnal toys or burn themselves up practicing. True volunteers have a better chance of surviving, but it will take more than one try no matter what. The first few are to see how they fail. Make no mistake, they will likely die in mind, if not in body.”

“For the power of the Blood Seed I doubt you will have any problem finding enough volunteers.” Mother Kilson laughed.

“There is more though.” He laughed.

“More?”

“Yes. The volunteers will have to live with being collar bound.”

“Collar bound? Like the old punishment of convicts?”

“Yes. It is part of how the power is controlled.” He smiled dourly. “Only the minor house of Emel, the Yemel, remain with the blood to use that power safely on their own, and that took centuries to breed true. The Hearth Holders found a way to use collars like they were used before, and more. What binds Brenhar of Michelson is the Hearth Son’s invention. It speaks of a deep and abiding understanding of Magic. As much as it disturbs me to see it and to say this, they have no idea how many questions they answered using their pawns. They won those rounds by handing me a guide to ultimate victory.”

“I see.” Mother Kilson laughed. “You recreate the power of the Blood Lords by literally recreating the Blood Lords themselves, but without the true blood you must achieve with devices what they do by simply being born.”

“Yes. Now while it is granted that they, your girls that is, will be individually strong, they will also be weaker than the right blood is in its own right. That affinity to power is part of them, but I can make your girls a fifth to maybe a quarter as strong as the originals. A few may make a third.”

“That is still many times the power of even the Thomson Mothers, or the power the Michelsons have been able to use safely before now.”

“And that is how strong they shall each one be.”

“Yet Collar bound? Why?”

“It is complicated, but the result is that they shall have keepers who shall run their lives and give them their roles. The more real the collars are, the stronger the girls will be.”

“That will reduce your volunteers somewhat. Is there any chance of releasing the Blood Seed for males yet?”

“No. I still can’t explain why it doesn’t work for them.” He told them, unwilling to broach that particular subject with them, or anyone.

“A pity.”

“Yes. It is one of the inequalities of Magic.” He laughed for real, “Women shall remain stronger than men.”

“So the coup simply evaporated?” Land Mother Thomson asks in the vacation palace by the Lake in Ericson.

“Yes.” Land Mother Michelson answers sounding puzzled. “Less than a gross of hearts after Brenhar blew up the Magic detectors, we started finding presence wiped abandoned equipment. It was I do have to say, wiped very well indeed. There was no way for the Consort or the Heir Primus to determine who last held it. To look further would bring witch hunts that would actually make the situation worse. We are better off knowing we have traitors than that.”

“The conflict between us, our Familydoms, has been building for generations. If these events had happened on what looks like the proper time table.”

“We would all be in a war none could hope to win.” Land Mother Kelsini observed.

“I very much want to call the Hearth Daughter lazy for not preparing her tools better. However, that merely points out that we have all missed this happening at all.”

“Has anyone figured out why the Legents are ignoring the women of Yemel and Kimer, yet tracking the children?”

“You don’t know enough to answer that yet.” Legent Amina answers interrupting them as she enters.

“But now that the question has been asked.” Legent Kara continued next as enterd as well, “It is time it be answered.”

“Legents.” The Mothers said in greeting as they all rose.

“Mothers of Lands and Houses.” Legent Amina replied, motioning all to sit as she and Legent Kara sat as well. “The true answer to your question involves the very structure of Magic.”

“It involves to be exact.” Legent Kara continues. “What it means to be human. Humans changed in the April Fall. Until you reach age seven, whether or not you have Magic is undecided. Though many lean one way or the other, it can be either one depending on certain factors that we won’t go into.”

“However.” Legent Amina picked up. “What you need to know is that below seven there can be no Blood Seed. After age seven it becomes only potential. Faint bits can be touched after fourteen but to let it out before twenty one is to beg for death, though death listens less closely as you close in on that age.”

“From twenty one to twenty eight.” Legent Kara resumes. “Using it requires an external focus, a way to keep them from drawing too much power and burning themselves up. Then for three or four solstices after they turn twenty eight they can draw on it freely with much safety. They have that long to learn to use it on their own, or it will consume them. This is likely even with an external focus.”

“Mother Yemel.” Legent Amina asked turning to her. “How much do you really know of your past?”

“I know our foremothers were monsters.”

“Do you think it is mere chance that the two surviving branches of Emel, one knowing what it is and one not. That both happen to have three daughters in the correct age range? None younger and none less than a decade over age right here and right now.”

“What are you saying?”

“I am asking if you think it be coincidence.”

“Put that way, no.” Mother Yemel replied. “I know we have had more males than normal, but we have had imbalances happen before.”

“Every fourth generation?” Mother Kimer asked in an odd tone. “Such that every time the overage of males passes, another comes along?”

“I hadn’t paid attention, but that sounds about right.”

“Then the odds of two independent branches seeing the same point in the cycle at the same time in a crucial moment of history like this?”

“Don’t exist.”

“Are the Hearth Holders going to fight what is coming no matter what?” Mother Kimer asks.

“Yes.” Legent Kara replies.

“I agree.” Mother Yemel replies. “So we should prepare ourselves for such.”

“Prepare how?” Land Mother Michelson asks.

“I hereby pledge the daughters of Yemel, while they are of Blood Seed age, to the Hearth Hold Ericson. They are to be returned free when they reach full majority if they have not acquired Blood Seed, or with a Keeper if they have.”

“Agreed.” Mother Kimer replied. “And matched. Your daughters have cost Donalson a needed ally. I pray ours do as well on their journeys.”

“Marc of Thomson!” An angry woman yelled barging into Marc’s quarters.

“What?” He demanded angrily, looking up from his studies. Then he stopped cold in shock seeing who it was.

“I am Muren, Second Heir of Thomson.” She announced unnecessarily. Her pregnant belly on Thomson features having already identified her clearly. " And I have some questions for you.”

“What my lady?” He asked, scared. He had done nothing he knew of to rate her anger.

“What were your told about handling your charges?”

“My charges?”

“Yes. Sinda and Sandy gave you specific directives. Why have you not followed them?”

“They are of Ericson and Sara is my friend, she swore they would all behave so I sent them on their way. Friends don’t keep friends that way.”

“Mirror, The Mothers Thomson, Now!”

“One moment please.” It replied. It was oblivious to her tone but Marc wasn’t.

“Muren.” A tired looking Land Mother Thompson greets her in a couple of dozen hearts. “Thank you for mirroring. We have some problems. We lost two couriers, one headed for Centerversity, one for Dest. So beware, not all of our people have gotten word yet.”

“Oh.” Muren replied, looking frustrated. “I am with Marc, Sara’s friend. He not only has heard nothing, but thought little enough of Sinda and Sandy to have already released the Kimers, then returned to his own room, giving it no further thought.”

“Did it not occur to you young man to ask questions about why they were handed off to you already humbled?” Land Mother Thomson demanded. “Should not that have warranted at least a check in with home before altering anything?”

“No one told me anything. They wouldn’t talk about it even after I released them, so I told them to be quiet and go on about their business.” He replied, Sandy’s puzzlement now explained, and wondering what it meant for him.

“And the answer to my question?” Land Mother Thomson asked quietly.

“Umm.” Marc stammered. He was just now realizing that he might be in trouble, the real kind. The further you went up the authority tree, the quieter and politer anger got. His Land Mother had just asked him something very politely and very quietly, repeating herself in doing so.

“I didn’t want to get involved. I know Sara, whatever she’s accused of she didn’t do. She’s not like that. She just wants to study and learn.”

“Was not the request by Sara for you to handle and take care of her a clue?”

“I am sorry Land Mother, I did not think...”

“Obviously! Now, have you been paying any attention to anything beyond your books?”

“No.” He replied honestly.

“Then perhaps it is time for you to.”

“Yes ma’am.” He answered, hating the stammer in his normally steady voice.

“Better. Now pay attention because you are learning this ahead of some others. Muren, you pay attention as well. Things have changed even more. As of this moment you can assume the Hearth Holders Ericson speak for us. The same is being passed to the students of Michelson, Kelsini, Yasan and Dest. Unless the Hearth Holder’s orders are simply unforgivable or seem treasonous, just obey them. If you can’t, then mirror home immediately. Your Family or Clan mother will hear what you have to say and pass it on to us if need be.”

“I must ask Land Mother, why?”

“Because, while you have been ensconced in your books, your nose obviously embedded in their very spines, leaving you unable to see past the pages. Lady Ericson with Lord Ericson’s help has stopped the assassination of myself and the House Mother, as well as the Land and House Mothers of Michelson. They stopped a war and a coup in Dest. Then they helped the Heir Primus Brenhar stop another coup in Michelson.”

“I knew this Charles was involved with the bomb thing.”

“Lord Ericson.” She corrected gently.

“Lord Ericson, I am sorry.” Marc replied. He was startled by the patience shown in her voice and concerned by it even more.

“Did you also realize that Lucas Alson is now Consort Primus in Michelson?”

“I had heard. I have no idea what she sees in him though.”

“Muren.” Land Mother Thomson spoke sharply.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Ziggurat,” She said hesitantly, obviously a signal of some sort, “and try to educate the bookworm before something bad happens to anyone else.”

“Are you sure?” She asked surprised.

“Yes, we are not the only ones to have lost some couriers lately. It didn’t start until the mirrors were repaired by Lord Ericson. In fact that might make a good place to start.”

“I have this. I will coordinate with Prince Tagoni and Lady Nicole. She can cover the mirror problem since she has been involved in that already.”

“I will make sure the student leader families receive word. You get word to the student leaders themselves in school so we don’t have to send another courier to be intercepted.” Land Mother Thomson replied. She broke the connection leaving Muren and Marc alone.

“Shall we start over again Marc?” Muren asked with a smile.

“Yes my lady.” Marc answered with a gulp.

“Do you happen to do rentals?” One of the new guards, the originals having been rotated out a few days ago, watching them in Thumb, the capitol of Donalson, asks Neall. He is head of the guards currently assigned to Micah and Sien for this mission into Donalson. Neall was formerly the assistant head of the traitorous princess of Dest’s guard, now spy protector playing wipe trader.

“I can ask if you would like.” Neall replies, suppressing a shudder at the look on the man’s face.

“Surely you don’t need to do that.” The man smiles back. “We just want some fresh entertainment. You can even come along if you want. To be sure the merchandise is well taken care of, of course.”

“Please go tell who ever you are working for that we are not leaving this warehouse without a proper invitation as well as papers. We only came here for the wipe market because we want fast, easy money.”

“I’m not accusing you of being a spy.” The city guard replied with a straight face.

“Of course not.” Neall laughed.

“Then why are you still here?”

“Because it is safer here for now.”

“Safer here? What, you think the warehouse provides protection?” The guard asked surprised.

“No. I didn’t mean this warehouse. I meant in your kingdom.”

“In our kingdom?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Have you heard of the Hearth Hold Ericson?” Neall asked, hoping to guide the conversation the way he wanted.

“Of course.” The guard replied with a shudder.

“I heard some things I didn’t pass on.”

“What kind of things?”

“Rumors mostly. That they are hiring people, and searching for something, maybe someone.”

“Hiring and searching?”

“Yes, hiring troops of all sorts. Whatever it is, it’s not a proper military.” Neall replied. “Whatever is going on, they are talking to everyone in every trade caravan that passes through Michelson or Thomson either one. Word is, unofficially that is, that they have detained some people, not a lot, but those people are never seen again.”

“Why have none of you spoken of this before?”

“Because we don’t want to be in the middle of whatever is coming.”

“Coming?”

“Yes, coming.” Neall replied with a straight face.

“Then you actually came here to hide?” The guard asked as the intended idea formed.

“Yeah, for now at least. The Hearth Hold is consolidating power, a lot of power. We don’t want to be in the middle of that. We don’t want to get involved. That’s why we are going so far out of our way to behave here, that way we stay welcome.”

“The Hearth Hold is little more than lake front between the two largest Familydoms on the continent, and are abutted by two other very large Familydoms, they are nothing.”

“It doesn’t seem to be slowing them much.”

“We’ll talk later.”

“Sure.” Neall replied. He watched the guard walk away and hid his grin within.

“Finally.” Cinna says with Sien’s voice walking up behind Neall.

“I was getting worried.” He answered. “I don’t want them thinking we are in communication with anyone. As long as we stay isolated then all we have is the schedule we heard about. It should be fun once they figure out we know more than they do.”

“I’ll let Nicole know the next time she checks in.” Sien answers and then withdraws, leaving Cinna focused on Neall. She waits for him to say the word. It isn’t long in coming, and neither is he.

“Are you sure you can trust this Marc?” Charles asks Sara. They are sitting in the dorm she now shares with her cousins Barbara and Lauren.

“Yes.” She replies with a bit of a blush.

“He will have free rein over you.”

“He won’t hurt me.”

“He has, so far anyway, been a bit of an ass.”

“Only because he cares about us. He can’t believe we’re in trouble which is it what it looks like from the outside.”

“Do you want to explain it to him?”

“Not really, yet if I do not then he cannot understand.”

“Events are in motion,” Charles told her firmly, “I suggest you make it soon.”

“Yes sir.” She replied blushing.

“Can you feel the world around you now Lana?” The man asked quietly.

“Yes sir.” She answered looking around the stucco room located in the heart of Kallows territory.

“Now just as we practiced in the white and inner rooms in your mind, reach out. Take a small part of it, then make it into a shield around you.”

“Yes sir.” She replied trying to see the essence of the place around them as a shield instead of making it the normal way out of air.

“Good so far, now try to make that shield real.”

“I’m trying.” Lana answered quietly as a terrible pounding began in her head.

“Try harder.” He ordered and then quieted when he saw blood drip from her nose. The stucco on the walls pulled a hand span into the room. Lana smiled briefly.

“This hurts now.” Lana whimpered. The collar around her neck, glowing yellowish orange, prevented her from stopping, or even asking to stop.

“Patience, you’re close.” He told her. The floating stucco got smaller as it approached the center of the room, getting thicker while forming into a physical shield.

“The pain makes me want to rest.” Lana whined as her tears of pain became pink.

“Do you want to stop for now?” He asked, startled at the roundabout way she was using.

“Yes!”

“Then ask to rest.”

“I can’t.”

“Stop for now.” He ordered, startled by plea he heard in her voice.

“Thank you.” Lana replied. She collapsed just a little faster than her construct so they struck the floor as one.

“You know what went wrong with the others then?” Mother Kilsin asked over lunch.

“Yes, more or less that is.” He admitted

“You seem to know, yet it somehow troubles you as well. Why?”

“Because.” He answers and then pauses. “Because when you are as old as I am history has weight, a lot of weight.”

“History?”

“Yes Mother Kilsin, history.”

“You seem sad, mad and yet almost joyful.”

“Yes, all of those and none of them.”

“It is a thing not well suited to words.” She answered with a knowing smile.

“It seems there is a rumor.” He replied with a sad smile, thinking back on history.

“What? What kind of rumor?”

“Sorry, before your time.” He apologized and for a moment she saw something unimaginably old in his eyes, then it was gone. What she couldn’t see were his memories of a time from before the fall. That he thought of how many times he had watched a teen girl or young woman say those words, requesting to join the UCA, the Under Cover Arcade, as his nemesis’ creation called her own creation. How many times that moment of need had come with the realization that the future had narrowed. He had always preferred the unwilling himself. They were sweeter to him, always had been, but for today, onward.

“A lot before by the look of you.”

“Yes, yes it is.” He admitted looking down with a sigh of longing that seemed out of place.

“What is wrong?”

“I need you to do me a favor.” He said looking up at her again, though with a weary look this time.

“What kind?”

“I am going to give you a note. Have your youngest descendents, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great, whatever they are. One male and one female, take that note to the headmaster at Centerversity. They are to remain there until recalled.”

“Why?”

“Pawns put into place for later.” He answered, obviously lying, not even making an effort to hide it.

“Will they be safe?” She asked, fearing the worst for them.

“They will be the safest people of us all.”

“And then?”

“And then I need you to gather the candidates. I am going to try a different approach and for that I am going to need something very different than what I have used so far.”

“I am sure there are words for this feeling.” Sara admitted to Charles as she felt her hands moving to unbutton her shirt.

“And they are?” Charles asked watching intently.

“I do not have the slightest idea.” She replied as some part of her became aware that her decision a moment ago to play along was not her own. She was finding that if she concentrated she could tell when a thought changed, a choice altered, a desire was introduced, yet nothing she could do affected what was happening. External or not, it remained real to her.

“Keep trying.” He ordered.

“I remember deciding to fight putting your hands on my bare breasts.” She answered as her shirt parted. She shrugged it off to make room for removing her bra, “Yet I also remember thinking about how nice it feels when you fondle me and wanting you to. I don’t remember changing my mind, yet I must have since I am...”

“Can you fight now?”

“Fight what? I obviously decided to let you play with me after deciding not to.”

“When did you change your mind?” Charles asked as her bra slid away leaving her topless.

“I have no idea.” She replied picking his hands up pulling them to her.

“Think.” He ordered as his hands cupped her bare breasts, turning her slight gasp into a hiccup of surprise as her body decided it wanted more.

“I can’t.” She whispered in a voice both husky and sultry in equal measure that quivered in delight.

“Now take a deep breath as you close your eyes and think about what you smell.”

“Yes sir.” Sara replied as she obeyed, surprising herself as she stepped away from her body, leaving it to fulfill its desires on its own as she explored her new awareness of scent.

“And now you are going down on me.”

“And now I am going down on you.” She echoed in an unaware whisper as her body obeyed by undoing his belt and then his pants before stroking him erect.

“Do we have any word from Sien or Micah yet?” Lucas asks Tagoni at an informal dinner in Michelson. He and Nicole having stopped for the night, heading through on their way back to school.

“Not in several days.” Nicole replies sadly, “I had hoped to hear more before we had to head back, but nothing in a week.”

“I finally went to see Yen.” Tagoni interjected, changing the subject abruptly.

“How is she doing?” Brenhar asked.

“Surprisingly well. She actually laughed.”

“Looking back I can’t believe who, what, I was.” Brenhar said sadly.

“I can.” Nicole replied to no one in particular, “I can believe it. I remember it, and I remember living it, feeling trapped by my own expectations of myself. The worst part is now knowing that those expectations were based on completely misunderstanding what others really wanted.”

“The most frightening thing for me is how easy it all was.” Brenhar said sadly.

“How are your upper and lower houses taking Lucas acting as your regent during the coup?” Tagoni asked Brenhar.

“Well.” She laughed, “Very well indeed. In fact I think they preferred him acting to me acting. You have to understand something here Tagoni, I was a bitch. Not the playful fun kind; the mean, slutty, demanding, domineering kind that revels in making other people’s lives miserable.”

“Oh.” Tagoni replied reddening, “I had heard a few things of course.”

“Trust me, whatever leaked pales beside the reality.”

“Oh.”

“So for now I am a brood mare.”

“Ouch.”

“Until I have born enough heirs to make the houses happy, Lucas is my voice.”

“That doesn’t sound fun.”

“It isn’t. In fact, they insist I keep up my Chambermaid duties, even in school. I was informed earlier today that I will be returning to school on the same train as you. As little as they want me away, they want the child to live. If nothing else the Legents will intervene to help if something happens while I am at Centerversity and everyone knows it.”

“I will of course do whatever I can to help.” Nicole offered.

“No need, at least not a large one. The school has made, maid if you will, a slight concession to my condition. They are allowing me a single true servant, Brenna.”

“That’s bound to create some resentment.”

“The others will just have to live with it. The fact that she is a near perfect body double is going to be interesting though.”

“That is of course one word.” Tagoni laughs. “There are of course others that come more readily to mind, to my mind at least that is.”

“How many are there?” The man asked Mother Kilsin of the Kallows as they looked out on the literal field of young women in the park to greet the rising sun, and him.

“Five hundred and ninety seven.”

“All volunteers?”

“Yes, all.”

“I hope it’s enough.” He admitted sadly.

“How will you begin sorting them?”

“The hard way.” He replied moving toward the crowd.

“Your attention please.” He said projecting his voice to be sure all could hear him as he approached, “You all know who I am, you know why I am here.”

“Yeah, yes.” And numerous other replies rose from the murmur.

“Just to be sure you understand, I am here to offer anyone willing to go through what it takes the chance to wield the Blood Seed, the chance to carry the power of the Blood Lords.”

“Yeah, bring it on, let’s do it.” And more shouts were carried on the wind in reply.

“However, you must understand some things.” He said as he concentrated and then rose from the ground to float two fathoms in the air. He wanted to be sure he really had their attention collectively and far more importantly, individually.

“I am offering five prizes for this.” He continued, “Three are as my primary subjects. Two are for plots of land. One of those is a small farm. The other is smaller, a half fathom by a full one, a grave, a permanent grave.”

“There is also a bonus, but someone must show they are worthy if they wish to collect that.”

“The farm is confirmed.” Mother Kilsin said looking up at the man like her girls were, “As is the plot.”

“Permanent burial?” Someone asked.

“Yes.” The man answered, “Permanent burial. A place for your loved ones to visit. Earn that, and you will not be consigned to the closing fire. You will not have to return to the nothingness. No rejoining the cycle if you do not choose, you can opt out of rebirth. You will be an eternal land owner.”

“Who do I have to kill?” A girl asks looking upward worshipfully.

“No one.” He answered smiling, “Yet.”

“Prince Tagoni of Dest.” A voice rings out in the cafeteria of the Magist side of Centerversity, silencing the normal din of lunch.

“Lady Nicole, intended of Tagoni.” A second voice rings out.

“Legents.” Nicole stammers while staring across the hall at the two women moving toward them. One stands just over two fingers shy of a fathom, the other just under two hands shy. One is blond, the other brunette. Both have high cheekbones and move lithely, with a certain sensuality that only grows as the exoticness of their faces is seen. Though both are intriguing, each in their own way, they just don’t quite fit normal for the current day and time. They are evidence that though time has marched on, the Legents have little respect for it. They are proof that although man has changed in the intervening years since the fall, the Legents are now as they were then. It shows in the exoticness of their looks which were once little more than plain.

“Legents?” Tagoni asks, also staring. The two women making Nicole go pale are strangers to him.

“Legents.” Nicole affirms quietly, “I don’t know them, but they are Legents. No one and nothing else feels like a Legent does. Once you know that feel you never forget it, and you never mistake it.”

“Oh.” He whispers, only now noticing that he can literally hear himself breathe because the room had gone so quiet in their wake.

“Legents I am...” A young man says moving to intercept them with his hand held out in greeting.

“Sit.” One of the women says waving her hand at him absently and he is knocked backward falling.

“Legents.” Nicole says formally as she rises to greet them.

“Your manners have improved,” The shorter woman says with a hint of a smile as she glanced sideways, “unlike some it seems.”

“I’ve been on better behavior lately.”

“As well you should.”

“Prince Tagoni.” The other woman says softly, “I am Legent Mary.”

“And I am Legent Alice.”

“We are here with something for the two of you.” Legent Mary continued as they traded off speaking.

“We came to present these to the two of you.” Legent Alice said as they each held out a ring.

“What?” Tagoni and Nicole whisper as one, staring. The rings are matte metallic blue with a small round section emblazoned with the UC logo. Around it is a bezel with most of the letters spelling Fates depressed into it. Only twice have they ever heard of this, the rings that the Hearth Holders wear, and the rings worn by Brenhar and Lucas. Where Brenhar’s and Lucas’s rings had raised A’s though, these have raised T’s.

“I think so, how about you?” Legent Mary asks Legent Alice without glancing over.

“Agreed.” Legent Alice replies and around them sprang up a shimmering curtain granting them some privacy.

“Do you Lady Nicole accept Prince Tagoni of Dest to have and to hold of your own free will?” Legent Mary asks.

“I am bound Legent, as such, I cannot swear to speak the truth, or that I am.” Nicole admits. “My keeper defines my world, and so his will is my own. In truth, he is my truth.”

“Can you trust her Prince Tagoni of Dest?” Legent Alice asks.

“Yes.”

“Would you free her if you could?”

“Yes.”

“Would you be free if you could Lady Nicole?”

“Yes.” She whispered in reply.

“What price will you pay? What would you give up?”

“Anything I could. Anything that will not hurt my family or my clan. I have caused them enough pain.”

“Will you give up fate? Will you give up destiny? What will you surrender to be free of your past? Of your future? What price will you pay to just be you?”

“If you were free, would you stay with Tagoni?” Legent Mary asks.

“Yes.” Nicole replies through sudden tears.

“What say you Prince Tagoni of Dest?” Legent Alice asks, “What price would you pay to free her?”

“Any price I could.” He replied, unable to understand what was happening, “I do not want a slave, I do not want a Chambermaid, I want a friend. I want as I have learned from Charles, a partner.”

“So be it?” Legent Alice asks looking at Legent Mary.

“So be it.” She laughs back smiling.

“Hold out your hands.” Legent Alice orders as she hands the ring she holds to Legent Mary. Legent Alice then picks up and then shatters a glass on the table.

“Good.” She says a moment later turning their hands palm up before making a quick slice across both.

“Gahh.” Tagoni yelps surprised. Nicole is silent as she is cut and pale with undisguised fear.

“Now,” Legent Alice continues as Legent Mary touches the rings to the pooling blood in their palms. Each ring is marked with Tagoni’s blood on one side and Nicole’s on the other. “I have a couple of very serious questions for the two of you.”

“Do you Nicole take Tagoni to have, to hold and to keep until death do you part?”

“Yes.” Nicole whispers. She is terrified by the simple and archaic delivery of the words, and even more by the feel of something ancient in the Legent’s intent as she speaks not to Lady Nicole, but to Nicole herself.

“Do you Tagoni take Nicole to have, to hold and to keep until death do you part?”

“Yes.” Tagoni whispers, captivated by the feel of the moment.

“Now.” Legent Alice says placing their hands together, blooded palms meeting, “Shake on it and ask yourselves if you mean that.”

“Yes.” Tagoni says looking Nicole in the eyes.

“Yes.” Nicole says looking back at Tagoni as intently as he is looking at her. She feels something gathering around them.

“Then tell each other that you do.” Legent Mary ordered as Legent Alice placed the still bloody rings on their fingers as they clasped hands.

“I do.” Nicole and Tagoni say together. The unusual words feel right and for just a moment, one lone heartbeat, they see themselves with the other’s eyes. Then the world is almost right again.

“What did you do?” Nicole asks desperately as she feels something about the world is not like it was for her. It is a familiar change, but still frightening.

“What the?” Tagioni asks shaking his head, “What is that buzzing?”

“We wish you the best.” Legent Mary says with a sad smile as the shield around them dissolves, exposing them to the collective stares of the crowd once more.

“Fate may be written in stone.” Legent Alice says gravely as they head away, “But stone can be carved. New fates can be written, we can all be more, we can all be other than we started. Nothing is forever.”

“Chaos.” Nicole whispers as she realizes she no longer feels the room echo magic around her, but the crooning Tagoni across the table obviously does now. The background awareness of Tagoni’s position relative to her, present even when Charles took her powers, is gone now as well.

“Nicole!” Sien shouts, sitting up in bed panicked. She is waking from a vaguely remembered nightmare during an afternoon nap.

“What?” Micah asks running in, startled by her yell.

“Nothing.” Sien answers fearfully, “Just a bad dream is all.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She answers trying to hide the panic she feels as the bindings and weaving held together by Nicole’s magic begin fraying.

“If you’re sure?”

“I am.” Sien replies, burying fear deeply as she reaches out toward Nicole and gets nothing in response, not even an echo.

“Now.” The man says to the remaining women facing him. After a full summer day of competition combined with training as they went, he has managed to narrow the field from over five hundred, to less than three hundred, and dark is encroaching.

“Ethan.” Mother Kilsin interrupts.

“Yes.”

“It is nearly time for dinner and the girls have had no break since you began this morning.”

“And?”

“They are not you, not even me, and I would be needing a break by now,”

“True.” He says relenting, “Break time girls. Go eat, give some thought to what you have seen today.”

“Yes sir.” Is echoed by dozens of exhausted girls. Though they have been raised to power, they are learning as much each bell fighting against the man as instructed, as they have each season or more in school. They have had no time to process or integrate what they have seen demonstrated or learned.

“Have you made any real progress with them?” Mother Kilsin asks a while later when they are seated in a nearby pagoda.

“Yes and no.” He admits. “It is harder than I had hoped. Some are still holding back, others are pushing too hard, forcing it. They need more balance and there is no time to do this right.”

“No time?”

“The Hearth Hold’s power is growing. If I don’t get your girls ready in time, the Hearth Holders are going to overturn the work of millennia.”

“Millennia?”

“Yes, millennia.”

“Not centuries?” She asked thinking of the Sync wars.

“No Mother Kilsin, Millennia. The Legents and I have been at this far longer than you realize.”

“How long?” She asks, disturbed by the implications.

“I won’t give you an exact answer, but I will give an idea.”

“Alright.”

“When I was a child we tracked the stars by polar grid not by lyran azimuth.”

“And?”

“Well, polar grids have to have a base.”

“A north star? Like Vague?”

“Correct.”

“Polar then, polissa?” She asked naming a star near to vague in the northern sky.

“We called it Polaris in my time, but yes.”

“How long then?”

“Go to your oldest books and lookup lyra vega.” He replied smiling as he spelled out the names for her to write down.

“I am no star watcher, but for the stars themselves to have moved.”

“Do not ask that question of a mirror, any mirror.” He warned, “To do so is to bring the Legents, all of them, every one.”

“Why?”

“Because that question is one of the ends.” He answered looking as old as the hills for a moment.

“One of the ends?”

“Yes, there are a small collection of questions and actions that summon them to praise, though far more often, to cleanse. The question itself indicates awareness of things they have kept secret, and want kept secret for now. They will want to know where that question came from, and they will not stop until they have an answer, a complete answer.”

“I will send Calinda to you tonight. She will be good for you.” She says in reply, shuddering internally at the thought of Legents in a mood to cleanse.

“Just tell her not to speak.” He replies looking at the stars. “I don’t need any more words right now.”

“What happened exactly?” Charles asks Tagoni in his and Lisa’s dorm.

“They changed me.” Tagoni replied glancing at Nicole.

“No, step by step, start at the beginning, walk me through it.”

“We were eating lunch in the hall.” Nicole replies for the still flustered Tagoni. Then goes on to tell Charles and Lisa what happened in the meeting with the two Legents that ended with Tagoni having Magic and Nicole not having it anymore.

“So they blended your blood and gave you Fate rings. Then when you acknowledged your bond out loud, Nicole lost her powers and Tagoni gained them.”

“Not mine, his own.” Nicole replied, “I know what a Magist feels and what he describes is not my powers. They were not transferred. Mine were taken and he was given his own.

“What affect will this have on Cinna, Micah and Sien?” Lisa asks. She easily accepts that the Legents know more than she does about magic so she is not disturbed by the apparent impossibility of it.

“No idea.” Charles answers looking lost.

“How do you keep from doing magic all the time?” Tagoni asks. “Every time I think about grabbing something it just starts happening.”

“You learn to relax.” Charles answers. “Vigilance like you have as a Techist is exhausting for us.”

“He has however proven quite adept at using it to increase his endurance in bed.” Nicole says flatly. “In fact, he is already better at that than I ever was. I woke late again this morning, still exhausted.”

“I said I was sorry.” Tagoni replied turning red.

“As I said already, I understand. Yet you also need to understand, I couldn’t stop. I kept responding because my mind was overpowered. I had no choice at all. I am now in the exact same position my victims were in and let me tell you, despite how wonderful it feels, it is no fun.”

“I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“He’s right Nicole, and no one had any reason to suspect he would be able to do that to you that easily or quickly.” Lisa answered trying to give perspective.

“It is likely because he has had access to your arousal and desire from the blood bonding.” Charles surmised.

“So he is used to projecting his desires.”

“And you are used to receiving them.”

“Becoming them you mean.” Nicole laughed, “I also finally understand why there are so few Magist Techist couples, or mixed families.”

“Are you sure about this Mother Kilsin?” The Man asks looking at the original five hundred girls and women, as well as an additional five hundred drawn from somewhere else.

“Yes.” She answered smiling, “You know groups and time. I do not dispute your knowledge of years, yet I know individual people so I can see what it is in my people you need, and who has it.”

“Hello again.” He says turning to speak to the now larger group, “Those of you who were here before have by now filled in those who were not on what I am after. Since there are so many more of you now I can’t do what I did before so I need you to break yourselves into groups to attack me rather than doing so in succession.”

“Makes as much sense as any of this.” Mother Kilsin laughed.

“You there.” He said pointing to a group of a dozen congregating. “Come, attack me while the rest get themselves sorted out.”

“Ok Tagoni, now with your eyes closed, see a shield between us. Envision it just as I showed you.” Charles tells him.

“Are you sure?” A tired looking Tagoni asks.

“Yes, and you wouldn’t be nearly as tired if you would give Nicole some rest as well.”

“I didn’t mean to umm.”

“You need to understand Tagoni, she is a Techist now. She has no, none, not one bit, of defense against induced anything you cause.” Charles told him flatly while still trying to sound patient. “Unlike before where it was much the same, she is no longer forced to like it. She can hate what she feels while still being controlled by it. Just her body is your playground now, not her mind.”

“I asked if she wanted to stop.”

“When it is a Magist feeling horny and projecting it onto a Techist, that is never a fair question. Why do you think Magists have so many rituals and rules about sex? Of course she wants it, wants you. You are wanting her badly and that makes her body want you just as badly. She literally aches for sex because you do as long as you project it like that. It is like when you are drunk and know better, but it is too much fun at the moment for you to bring yourself to stop no matter how much you know better.”

“So she couldn’t say no?” Tagoni asks as he finally begins to understand what he has been doing to her every night.

“She may hate herself for wanting it, but she wants it if you make her want it.” Charles answered calming. “Yes we punished her like that, and Yen, but that was a Magist who is used to the separation between mind and body. Techists don’t have that separation. Keep it up and she will begin to feel like her body is betraying her and come to hate herself.”

“Oh. So get it under control, or risk losing her.”

“Precisely.” Charles replied, “You are used to keeping everything under control by keeping it a mental thing only. Now you have to choose another method because that is part of how magic works, the choice to envision. The mental discipline we keep talking about is to keep it all in check. Unless you learn that separation and stop seeing your impulses so clearly, your first instincts will continue to be acted on as you have them. It is, in part, the focus that helped you before that betrays you now.”

“So loosen up, quit getting hung up on what I shouldn’t have and go with the flow.”

“More or less. I imagine it would be like fencing with a broadsword.”

“Don’t start anything you don’t intend to finish.” Tagoni laughed, thinking of the times he actually tried to stop a broad sword swing. “It’s actually something we have to learn. That way we learn to think before we act. In most sword play to think is to act. That exercise is used to force us to see the multiple outcomes without getting hung up on any particular one so that we remain aware that there is more than one. It also prevents target fixation which is, I think, what you are really talking about.”

“Same thing here.” Charles replied smiling. “Never envision as opposed to consider a thing unless you intend to act on it. The very act of envisioning it, of feeling it in advance, is calling it into being.”

“Got it, think about it all I want. Just don’t see myself in it or picture it clearly unless I intend to carry through. How about we call it an early day?” Tagoni asked, glad he is finally beginning to understand magic. “And I get Nicole a nice dinner somewhere as an apology for the last couple of nights.” He still dreads trying to explain to his uncle, King Dest, what happened.

“Next.” The Man says looking at the group of five in front of him. They are all in the eighteen to twenty one range and all strawberry blond with freckles. They strongly remind him of days in the park back in Ireland in his youth.

“Ques.” They shout as one; all attacking with not quite the same attack in near perfect sync. Against a normal opponent it would have been perfect. Five angles, each requiring a different solution meaning five different shields at the same time. Against anyone they could expect to face it would have been overkill. He tries to push back hard enough to hurt them without killing. Behind them is the next group that wants to try and behind them yet another. Behind them though is a face he has been seeing for days. Someone who is content to let the competition go on without worrying that she might lose her place. That meant someone worth looking closer at, but first, the chaff.

“Sien.” Micah says waking her during false dawn.

“Yes.” She answers waking quickly. She knows what is coming.

“I feel funny, my head is fuzzy and I have all sorts of weird stuff running around in it. What happened? What is happening?”

“We are in Donalson and you are waking up early.”

“Waking up?”

“Micah, can you trust me?” Sien pleads.

“My head, it hurts and is so full of thoughts that don’t feel right.”

“Micah, please, can you trust me, just for a while, not long, just for a while?”

“Why? What happened?”

“We are in Donalson on assignment for the Hearth Holders.”

“I remember them.” Micah says as he remembers Lisa and Charles talking to him but the words are muddy and refuse to focus even though the images are clear.

“Micah, please, I need to put everything back for a while.”

“But the way you’ve been treated.” He gasped remembering coming up behind her and playing with her breasts after sticking his hands up her shirt. Of pushing her up on a fence so she balanced hung in the air and taking her as she hung. Of a crying Sien with her arms bound straight out and legs spread on a bed with him over her and in her thrusting as hard as he could. Of Cinna going down on him, sucking him off while he kissed and played with Sien’s bare breasts.

“It’s ok Micah, we have bigger problems than my treatment.”

“Bigger problems?” He asked horrified as he remembered the feel of Sien bound hand and foot with legs spread. The thrill he experienced as he took her hair and forced her pace as she sucked on him rocking in her bonds then swallowing.

“Nicole’s magic had you bound as part of our cover. It’s almost gone now.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, but I can’t reach her.” Sien admits, wiping away a tear. “I can’t find my cousin. Her magic is fading Micah, and if I don’t replace it with my own we will blow our cover.”

“They messed with my memories didn’t they?” Micah asked as the world began to focus in his more distant memories.

“Yes, and if I don’t fix this you will sound like someone from Dest and blow all our covers.”

“Did I volunteer? Did you?”

“Yes, we both did, even knowing how I would be treated and that you would be doing it.”

“Can I trust you? How can you trust me?”

“Yes.” Sien answers looking him straight in the eye, “You can trust me Micah.”

“Ok.” Micah says relying on an instinct to trust her. Permission given, Sien kisses for contact then begins rebinding Micah’s memories with the controls linked to her instead of Nicole. All the while she crying inside, fearing that her cousin lay either dying or dead since her magic is fading and there is no answer when Sien reaches out for Nicole. Then the fake Micah orders her hands straight out as he begins playing with his toy that has no choice for now.

“This is getting old.” The Man thinks to himself as the latest group of seven tries to overpower his shields, reusing the same trick that has failed numerous times so far. The thousand this trial began with are down to a hundred, ninety three now as the current group falls.

“Quesco.” The next woman shouts as she lunges.

“Igni.” A partner shouts attacking from another direction.

“Duomo.” A third whispers from between them, forcing him to create three separate types of shields at the same time, with far better coordination than before. It means there is another player out there helping the others compete.

“Finally” He thinks to himself as he looks for then finds a now familiar face.

“Igni.” The third one shouts as the first and second crumple. She forces him shift defense yet again. Her shields shift type as her attack shifts. This buys her a moment’s reprieve before he squishes her shields.

“Excellent.” He congratulates the fallen girl as he walks up to her.

“Ughh,” She whispers groggily while wincing. “Thanks.”

“Stay still.” He orders noticing the extent of her injuries before she does. “You took some real damage and I don’t want it made any worse.”

“Did better than I thought I would.” She whispered.

“That you did, better than I thought you would as well.” He told her. “Nice tactic changing attack and shield type both. You got hurt because I had to use a lot of the wrong type of force to get through it. Congratulations, I mean it, congratulations on that. That is the best anyone has done so far.”

“Thanks.” She grunted uncomfortably.

“Who told to do that, or even how to use different type of shield and attack?”

“A friend.”

“The short brunette with really dark hair?”

“Yeah.” She admitted startled.

“Don’t worry. You are not in trouble and neither is she.” He laughed, “In fact it could be said that you just bought the farm.”

“I have no money though.”

“Linguistic drift, I keep forgetting it.” He admonished himself. “What I meant was you just earned the farm. Unless of course you would rather have the grave.”

“A place for my children in life, or a place for them to visit after my life, a tough choice.” She answered as she was placed on a stretcher to be taken to the healers.