Bonded Summoner

Jake sat with Tanda in his lap, his mate happy to help him with training. Breathing together, they found harmony in their hearths and connected to the world.

Clan Hart were all sitting in their Refuge, within their training room. A few days had passed since closing the Greater Rift, and they were moving up in all of their skills. Focusing on them, their goal was to squeeze out every bit of strength they could for the Dungeon Raid.

But they were also getting much needed rest and relaxation. They were currently training, but this activity was quite calming. For all but one of them.

Tanda frowned at Fhesiah. “I thought you would be good at this, weren’t cultivators all about breathing and sitting? After that, you just ask the energy nicely to move.”

Berri nodded. “Yeah! It’s easy. You just–”

Fhesiah sighed. “I don’t need to hear your advice again, it is not helpful. Blood, how did you get the hang of it?”

Blood chuckled. “I guess as a dragon, you are used to everything bending to your will? Maybe you would have better luck as a kitsune? I just pretend the energy is Berri, and coax the energy to do what I want with good feelings and compliments. When that doesn’t work, I use a threat, but with auril it doesn’t come to that.”

Fhesiah closed her eyes, and Jake was going to offer to find resonance with her to help, “I can try to–”

She smiled as she moved the energy around inside her a fair amount more rapidly, “Thanks, husband–but I got it. I just imagined the energy was yours. Remembering that the energy was from you in some way really helped me.”

Fhesiah had already been able to move around auril, but using her [Advanced Energy Control] skill, to impose the powerful will of a Tier 3 cultivator. This had its own limitations, so now she was learning to use it the proper way–like the beastkin themselves.

Now, Clan Hart was all learning to use Auril as if they were a beastkin. Their hearths all pulsed along with Tanda’s heartbeat, the auril spreading along their bodies as they allowed it.

The energy filled them with strength, and increased their body’s vitality. They had taken to eating more auril beast meat, and consuming Fhesiah’s crafted pills. They lacked an auril heart, but their hearths were acting similar to one, thanks to their connection to Tanda.

Their body was storing more of this auril–not at the level of a beastkin, but it was slowly improving them just the same.

Jake asked Fhesiah, “Doesn’t this energy harm your cultivation? I thought purity was an important aspect of making you one with the heavens.”

Fhesiah smiled. “Normally, this would be true. It’s beyond my understanding, but it seems this hearth the Framework helped me form is truly special. The auril energy of the ravenwolves is merely seeping into my spiritual temple, enhancing the mysterious scripts within on both sides. The dragon souls and auril are enhancing my dragon half, and now the auril and holy energy of Bastet is enhancing my kitsune. It’s forming and enhancing the delicate balance.”

Jake supposed that the ravenwolf auril had the life component for what seeped into the body, but also the deathly spiritual component. Her hearth was separating that out, and applying it to each of her bloodlines.

Ophelia was moving through martial forms, already having a decent hang of utilizing the energy. She had spent a bit more time with Tanda over the last few weeks before the Greater Rifts, and thus was quite ahead of them.

She was already nearing the fourth level, greater than most Clan Heads were when they first joined the Framework. Practicing her auril manifestation, her shield was becoming more solid and effective as she went along.

Jake was practicing with the auril energy, but also with his Hearth Control and Advanced Energy Control. Zhuge Liang had hinted that he could use harmony with the skill to direct the energy, and he was having decent results. His goal was to combine all the energies, similar to how he did when he branded Bree.

With that, it was nothing but a tiny spark or flame to make the brand and through his connection directly to her soul. It was not something that could with any proficiency reach outside his body, and it was not enough to truly harm an enemy. He hoped, as he mastered these capabilities, he could make a truly powerful flame.

Tanda actually blazed forward with her understanding and usage of Advanced Energy Control, thanks to this. Unfortunately, Qi did not seem to be something you could find harmony with on its own, without your body becoming one with the heavens like cultivators.

However, Fhesiah thought it might be possible to find harmony with attuned Qi. Tanda in particular may be able to utilize Death Qi in this fashion, her soul being already attuned for it. How she would use that was well beyond them at the moment.

Her hearth ivy vines had really grown through her body in these past few weeks. Following the bones of her limbs, they wrapped around her rib cage, arms, and legs.

Jake examined Tanda with his Arcane Eye, finding the various energies of his family flowing through her body. Watching the pulses of auril running through her body, he could certainly tell what was within her vines remained stable.

Using the mana through these paths, she had a much easier time of using it without being disrupted by her heart.

It made things easier for her, but she still had to learn to use mana and runes from scratch. This was a process that took weeks and months, but they hadn’t had a whole lot of time to practice without it being disrupted until now.

Jake and the rest would need to find their own way to get around the difficulty. For most of them, they easily expelled mana through their body in any direction before forming them into runes or spell forms.

The magical focus within their mythical weapons made it easy to just will the mana all into that one area, and it would take the path of least resistance to accomplish their intentions. Tanda’s vines were similar in this, that she could send the mana down them easily.

Mana and the other energies were stored within the flowers of the vines, allowing her to have a little more at her beck and call. It wasn’t as much as a core, but more flowers appeared to be sprouting, which would increase her capacity.

Continuing his harmony with Tanda in his lap, he helped her through the various runes, and a few rune words. Tanda easily followed his will to the letter, creating runes in sequence. It was like she was an extension of himself, an extra magical limb on his body.

Jake smiled as he scratched her ears. “You’re getting good at that. You’ll be casting spells on your own in no time.”

Tanda blushed, but then gave a smile of pride. “I…just did as you had me do. It’s easy to follow your lead, like in a dance but with our magic. If we find harmony in battle, I can be an extension of your will.”

Jake gave a sidelong glance to Berri, as she played with the auril energy with her sister, swinging her bat while Blood manipulated their tail. Maybe he should try this with Berri, too? Then, she could learn her spells much more easily, or like a dance, accomplish the task as he directed or led her.

The girls would each benefit more if they could learn them on their own, but perhaps forcing her along that path was like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole?

He had thought long about this, and what Fhesiah had previously said was true. Each of the girls progressing along with their spells and runes would benefit them all. As they learned spells using their unique mana, it would unlock or uncover more spells for them to form.

Jake could experiment with the holy mana or demonic runes, but he had a lot on his plate. He would try both approaches with Berri in the hopes of enabling more spells more rapidly with the whimsical girl.

It would probably help him as he learned to find resonance with each of his wives, anyway.

Of course, Jake hadn’t forgotten about his potential [Fusion Summons]. He still had one for each of his hearth-bonded wives to trigger, but he would rather not force it.

The Garuda seemed like a lucky draw, the reach of his summon heightened by a series of special circumstances. The great battle taking place, the excessive energies in the area he was able to shove into the summon enhanced by the Mana Font and Fhesiah’s arrays, were all factors.

Then, the resonance he found with Ophelia was a special happening that he couldn’t reproduce easily. It wasn’t only Jake that found resonance, but all the girls had added their special desire to protect the Heart of the world, to stop the evil dragon’s attack.

His gut told him that the best time to summon would definitely be in the heat of battle, their need great. That, or he may be better off waiting for the second Tier, when he would be able to supply more energy for the summoning.

As much as he’d love to train and prepare with each of his potential Fusion Summons, a higher-quality summon was better than one he may be able to draw from the safety of his Refuge.

With Tanda’s help, one by one he found harmony and resonance with each of the girls, them each spending time in his lap–aside from Bloodberri where he sat in their tail’s embrace instead. Practicing auril, runic magic, and even dancing together, they enjoyed this special state.

As Fhesiah sat in his lap as a kitsune, she gave a relaxed sigh. “I’ve been missing this. It’s been rush rush rush, all over the continent. Beyond some simple busywork and tasks, we haven’t had much rest.”

Jake nodded, as he scratched her fox ears, her tails swishing behind her and rubbing both around and up against Jake’s back. “There is still much to do, but we can finally relax a little. While we will still work hard, few lives are truly on the line while we rest now. From now on, the task is only to help ourselves and others obtain a little more potential.”

The Dungeon Raid would certainly be a difficult battle, but Jake had quite a bit of confidence, now that additional Champions couldn’t show up. The Bosses suddenly increasing difficulty to make up for the Hart family’s presence could no longer happen.

Without that, the Death Knight would have been a near-casual battle for them. That was not to imply that the Dungeon Raid wasn’t a higher difficulty than reclaiming a HQ, but all information pointed to that it wasn’t by overly much.

Now, their allies had increased significantly both in number and competency, their impact on the Nature’s Crossroads battle showing how much capable allies mattered. When it was time for the Raid to happen, this would have changed even further for their side.

Fhesiah smiled. “We have much to craft for our new brethren, our soon-to-be citizens. Then, we still have to level up daily. That is still the best way for us to progress.”

Her love and affection, along with a healthy dosage of lust, slammed into Jake at that proclamation. Of course, continuing with the void body tempering was the best way for them to advance.

He showered her in his own affection, the two trading kisses and hugs as they practiced and took steady breaks. She even swapped to a dragoness, practicing their demonic rune formations.

Jake thought they were close to having several more powerful Tier 2 spells, outside of just her draconic flames. The flames were just easier for them to luck out on, as even for Fhesiah, they were her specialty. Even Jake and Ophelia had a large focus on them, making their progression probably more than three times faster than the claw and kitsune-focused spells to match her daos.

The harmony and resonance exercise would be enhanced by them each spending time with him doing the void body tempering. Each day, he would cycle through each of the girls or pairs, or at least, that was his plan.

He was sitting in Bloodberri’s tail, enjoying their embrace. Their hearths flickered together, as they practiced forming several runic spells, and moving the various energies around their bodies. He put his previous thoughts to work right away, trying to guide along Berri to cast runic spells.

Berri was filled with pride. “That was easy! It’s so much better when we can shooom, and zooom together! We’re really becoming one!”

Blood chuckled. “You are right. I wonder what it’ll be like when we do our fusion, in the next Tier? Will we become one in truth?”

Jake smiled. “That will really be something, but only temporarily, I hope. I like having my own body.”

Berri tapped her lips as she thought. “We want you to have your own body too. We can’t make babies like that! Or can we? I guess as long as we can, it’s fine.”

Jake should have known that was the important part, to her. After all, she already shared her body with her twin, what was one more person to share with?

Berri nodded at his thought. “That’s right! As long as it’s you or one of our new sisters, it’s fine. I won’t share with Bill. I’d rather he just died.”

Blood sighed. “Your hatred for something without a mind of its own is amazing, sister. While you’re right that I’d be okay with sharing our body with him, I’d much rather hold Milord in our arms, or embrace him, rather than sharing our body with yet another.”

Berri snorted. “Whatever. I can hug him anyway. Like this!”

Jake wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but he was surprised when over their bond, it felt like Berri’s soul enveloped his own, and he felt a loving embrace. His body was not touched beyond where he was sitting wrapped within her tail, but he felt her hugging and kissing him all over his body.

He tried to return the feeling to both Blood and Berri, and he thought he only barely managed. Berri was somehow beyond his understanding.

“Mmm, that felt wonderful, milord. Don’t mind her–she’s always like that. I know you’ll master it quickly.”

He spent some more time with his snake lovers before they moved on to training with Fhesiah. Ophelia joined him on his lap next, the two finding resonance in their hearts and hearth flickering. Their harmony and resonance was getting closer and closer to the peak.

Soon, they would practice the void body tempering technique together. Her soul would be tempered, together along with Tanda’s and Jake’s.

Jake asked, “Are you worried about the dual cultivation with Tanda present?”

Ophelia smiled, and shook her head. “It feels a bit weird, but us girls are close. We do see ourselves as your sister-wives, doing our best to help each other and get along. I trust Tanda a lot, both in battle and with my feelings. I trust Fhesiah, Blood and Berri too, but I can’t help but feel glad it’s her, first. We’re closer.”

“Do threesomes in your romance books not really happen at all?”

She blushed. “Um… I may have read a few where Jacob had both Lady Valkyrie and her handmaiden, a few times. There were also a few that Fhesiah tried to get me to read, and well, they were a little over the top, but…”

“Just let me know if you’re not comfortable. We can certainly set things up where you two don’t need to touch, and I’m sure Fhesiah could set things up in such a way that it’s like you’re in your own space.”

“It’s fine. Tanda and I often sleep together when you’re with Fhesiah and Bloodberri, though it’s just cuddling. It’s just…something I’m not used to, yet.”

Jake nodded. He certainly couldn’t imagine getting it on with his girls in the same room with his brother or best friend, or something like this. It was difficult to draw a true parallel in his mind because there was no way he’d ever share any of his girls, but he guessed the weirdness was mostly in the unknown or awkwardness. She would get over it quickly in the heat of the moment, no doubt.

Still, he certainly didn’t want to force her if she didn’t want to, even if it would strengthen them. Fhesiah could craft a truly special environment where even if they were inches away, they could be separated.

He could feel Ophelia’s concerns over their bond, but they were small. The concerns about the difficulty of practicing the odd technique was actually greater than the idea that Tanda was going to be there, for her.

When Tanda made to rejoin Jake for training, Ophelia began to stand up, but Tanda stopped her with a fluffy paw and a wagging tail. “Let’s do it together! I bet it’ll be more fun that way!”

Ophelia’s eyes narrowed, but she smiled as she shifted to the right side of Jake’s lap. “If that was Fhesiah offering, I’d think there were some ulterior motives. I can tell you want to ease my worries. Thanks, Tanda.”

Tanda giggled, as she arranged herself on Jake’s left side of his lap. Jake was then wrapped in feathers and slender yet powerful arms, the two girls crowding him in their embrace. They once again matched their hearths flickering together, finding resonance.

Using their [Energy Sharing], they even practiced moving their mana or auril between one another. Following Jake’s lead, Tanda managed to add her runes to their group spells. Despite not being aided by the Framework, her runes still coalesced along with theirs.

Jake could tell some power was lost, the Framework not aiding in the power of the spell. They bypassed the need for [Advanced Runic Magic], and so there was a sort of cost for not following the rules.

Still, Jake could see Tanda’s skill advancing rapidly, as she submitted to his will and formed the runes with mana as if she were an extension of Jake’s own body.

Ophelia marveled at Tanda. “Let me try that too? That looks fun.”

As if Tanda and Ophelia were his own magical arms, he began casting spells with both of them.

Tanda giggled, as she and Ophelia stood up. “Let’s try it the other way? But I’ll move the auril around you as you move.”

Jake chuckled. “Alright. Turnabout is fair play, after all.”

He submitted to their will, moving the energy around as if doing their bidding for a time–like he was their puppet. All in all, he felt that it was a very helpful practice. He got to feel exactly how Tanda moved it, and even stood up and moved at her behest, and danced with the two girls.

Ophelia’s usage of the energy was different too, and it was like he could find a happy medium between the two, or see steps to take to improve. It wasn’t as easy as he could just reproduce them instantly, but he knew he would move quickly through the skill levels of Auril Manipulation.

He said, “This was fun. It’s good to have a little more time to unwind, even if while training.”

Ophelia smiled, as she cleaned herself and changed into a new set of clothes. “That’s right! I’m excited about what’s next. It’s time for a crafting frenzy!”

Tanda smiled. “I can’t wait to help! Let’s go!”