Bonded Summoner

Tanda’s tail swished back and forth as she found harmony with Fhesiah. Drawing the auril into the room, she infused it into the herbs within Fhesiah’s magical pill furnace.

Fhesiah sat on the cultivation mat next to Tanda, drawing in her heavenly energy and mana into her torch. The three special energies formed a delicate balance that Tanda couldn’t really understand, but just followed the directions of her clan mate.

More herbs flew inside the furnace as their medicinal energies were released and combined by Fhesiah’s direction and will, until eventually, a powerful aroma was released. The pill flew out of the furnace, and Tanda could smell the intense strength of what they concocted together.

“That one has to be the best one!” Tanda’s tail wagged even harder, as she smiled at Fhesiah. “You’re really amazing with that furnace! I couldn’t even keep track of everything happening in there, you had all these fluids and powders flying and mixing around inside!”

Fhesiah returned her smile, and hugged Tanda from the side with one arm. “Well, I certainly have you to thank for your help. I’m learning to control the energy on my own, but I wonder, can we ever really become Auril Heroes in truth? We don’t have the same connection to the world’s heart as you do.”

Tanda hummed, as she looked at her in question. “Do you have to, though? You can just control it through me! I’m happy to help.”

Fhesiah chuckled. “Yes, of course you are. I suppose you’re right, we just like being a little more self-sufficient–me especially. There’s only one of you, Tanda, but five of us needing the energy. You can’t be everywhere all at once, or help us all at the same time.”

Tanda frowned in thought. She stirred the auril around her, but then did her best to sense through their hearth connection to Bloodberri. The two girls were molding bone and infusing monster essence at the moment.

Confirming with them that it was okay, she tried to find harmony with them and push auril through [Energy Sharing]. It took her a moment to sync up with the two opposite girls, but eventually, she helped Blood infuse the bone with auril as she molded it into the shape of a hauberk.

The bone shifted more rapidly, the auril filling the marrow and empowering it to become even sturdier.

[Hehe, thanks, Tanda! You’re such a good girl!]

[Thanks for your help, sister. There is much work to be done.]

Tanda blushed at Berri and Blood’s praise, but was then able to help Fhesiah at the same time, infusing some herbs with her energies. “I can do it! See, no problem at all–I just need to practice some. Well, if the Heart of the World ever joins us, I bet we’ll all get better at it.”

“That should be fun! I stand corrected, you are really something.” Fhesiah grinned. “Say, when are you going to join Bloodberri and me at night with Jake? The more, the merrier.”

Tanda frowned. “But if you three are with Jake, that means Lia is all alone. I like to cuddle with her and keep her company, so she doesn’t feel left out.”

“Ah–you’re right. You’re so thoughtful, my dear sister. Well, you are more than welcome to join us if you change your mind. Once in a while would be fine, surely?”

Tanda nodded as Fhesiah hugged Tanda to her, and scratched the base of her ears, sending pleasant feelings. Fhesiah continued, “I suppose if it’s your night, you’d rather us spend time with Ophelia. Well, I admit I often focus on my Alchemy outside our nights, and I know Blood focuses on her progression then too, while Berri sleeps.”

“That’s fine, we’re busy because of the Highlands Conquest. For now, I like spending my nights with Lia when it’s not my time with Jake. I’m sure someday we’ll all mate together with him, and you’ll get your wish–to join us all in the fun, and see Jake so… fulfilled.”

Fhesiah hugged Tanda to her with a giggle, and she felt her mate’s mental embrace join them both.

[Thanks for watching out for my other mates, Tanda. Did you want to come help me now? I know you wanted to join me for some arrow enchanting.]

Tanda’s tail took off. “Oh! Yes, I wanted to help you with that, and see you do it!” She looked at Fhesiah, realizing that she was ditching her.

Fhesiah smiled. “I’d much rather you help our dear husband, sister. Besides, now that I have succeeded with this pill, I think I can do well enough on my own or with your remote help. Thanks for your assistance–it is much appreciated.”

They gave each other a warm hug, and then Tanda was warped to Jake instantly with his [Call Summon]. Her being twisted through the void as it was slightly turned into motes of light for a moment, before appearing in a near-instant next to him–right where he desired.

She pounced him as he arrived, which he expected, wrapping his arms around her as their lips met in a kiss. Her tail blurred behind her as she peppered him with kisses and their bodies molded together in a warm hug, their feelings of happiness and warmth mixing into a single pervading feeling of love.

“Well, it’s good to see you too, my mate.”

An arrow of powerful auril wood, with a bone arrowhead, appeared in his hand. The arrow was large, and resembled a ballista bolt more than it did an arrow. “I was hoping to make these for you. Right now, the mass-produced arrows just can’t hold enough auril for your best attacks, right?”

Tanda nodded. “That’s right. I can hardly benefit from my Technique with the bow because the amount of auril I can shove inside each arrow is limited. I have been firing more rapidly to compensate, but it goes against my manifestation. It’s much better to have one big attack than a dozen small ones.”

She pointed to the large arrowhead. “What bone is that?”

He smiled. “It’s the undead dragon’s vertebrae. I want to give you a few dozen of these, so as long as they are retrieved, you should be able to use them as you please. I bet if you had these, the Apophis Champion would have been easy.”

“That looks amazing! Yes, that will help a lot. Let’s do it.”

Tanda’s tail buzzed, as he motioned for her to sit in his lap. Already, he had mostly moved on from using the odd enchanting machine. Now that he mastered using the flames of his hearth, inscribing and etching the runes were done simultaneously as he invested his hearth’s fires into the item.

Jake floated his hearth flames into the air, waiting for Tanda’s assistance. Finding harmony with him and his breaths, she stirred the auril within the room and herself into the air, coalescing it with Jake’s hearth flames.

The multicolored flames of their family took on a more golden hue as they were empowered, and Jake began inscribing the runes with his eyes closed–his Arcane Eye trained on the object, monitoring it.

His spiraling inscription added a few detailed Celtic knots and loops as the etching of his flames traveled along the shaft of the arrow. When he reached the broad arrow head, he weaved the threads from the knots into their word for auril, along with that of the raven and wolf, power, life and death.

Tanda marveled at the intricate pattern he etched onto the arrow and head, and so quickly. “Wow! That looks really special. Where’d you learn to do that?”

“I’m just copying Cernunnos and the Heart of the World. I figured there’d have to be a reason why they did it, so I copied it. Let’s give it a shot.”

Their breaths and hearts matching already, they quickly pushed the auril into the air and into the arrow. Normally, the spiral would fill up rapidly and the arrowhead would be unable to store much.

However, it was like trying to fill a large bucket with a small spigot. They pushed more and more auril into it, until the arrow was filled, taking them several seconds. When she let go of the auril, it lingered for quite some time, the knotting patterns keeping the auril from drifting away.

She summoned her bow from her storage bracelet, and filled it with auril of its own. Tanda willed it to increase its draw strength, finding the vines twist and tighten for the modified arrow.

Drawing the string and arrow back, she found she had to use her auril-enhanced strength to pull it back to the proper distance.

She aimed her attack at a target Jake had in his workshop for testing–a thick and large metal plate. Manifesting her will by pushing her spirit with the song of her heart, the auril within the arrow’s head took on the deathly quality of the hunt.

An outline formed around the arrow, and a ghostlike aura of the projectile grew in size. She released it at the target, the weapon piercing deeply into it. Then, a large, deathly manifestation of a wolf chomped deeply into the metal plate.

Jake whistled as he looked at the damage. “Pretty good! I can burn a lot deeper with my scorching ray, but considering you can do that nearly all day long–that’s powerful. Then, that’s without cyclic resonance or your technique. Try it with avenging flames next?”

She stirred her mana, auril, and her own vitality and life force to bloom into a powerful flame. Her body was engulfed with the flames of vengeance, as she infused the arrow with her now flaming auril once more.

It filled the arrow even more rapidly than before, an aura of flaming death wafting off it. She fired it at the plate next to the previous target, and it pierced even deeper before exploding.

The plate remained on fire, and it melted for a moment before dispersing. “That’s great. I can see the deathly energies spread, but there was nothing to really decay and kill there–the armor plates unliving. I think it would have been more devastating against a living target.”

She put her bow away, and hugged Jake with her tail wagging. “Thank you so much, my mate. Now I will feel like I can really help out! I felt weak at the second greater rift, compared to the rest of my clan mates.”

Warm reassurance enveloped her, a confidence in her that she could feel down to her bones. Jake shook his head. “You helped plenty. We’re a team, and you more than pull your weight in it. You help me move through states, and aid in casting spells. Then, your cyclic resonance is an important finisher for us to have against the strongest enemies. This month before the Raid, you will catch up in numerous other ways, I’m sure of it.”

Despite already hugging, she pounced Jake again, taking him down to the ground. They both laughed as she gave him her love, kissing and hugging as they enjoyed a small break.

Jake chuckled. “Let’s get back to it–we have a lot of those to enchant. Then, I need to share that etching with Amara, so she can help Mindy and the rest take to it. It’ll be a lot more time-consuming for them to etch them, but it’ll be needed for the other auril heroes.”

They went back to enchanting their arrows, and while it was less useful for their weapons, it was still a valuable tool for them to be aware of. Next, she would help Ophelia in their crafting headquarters at Life’s Haven.

***

Tanda hummed a song, as her tail swished behind her. Ophelia and Tanda alternated their hammer blows, infusing the metal with auril and mana alike.

Vesuvius and Jarrix hammered on another, the two using their powers as auril heroes to infuse their metals as well. Their size had increased even further as they leveled, and she could see their efforts bearing fruit even in their crafting.

Ophelia was focused on her mana structure reinforcement. Tanda knew there was a similar skill for auril, but the effect was only marginally better when Jake would be the one enchanting it. Since Lia had pushed the skill near mastery for their Tier, it was simply better to keep using it.

Vesuvius bellowed his flames into the metal, reheating it as Jarrix shielded himself with auril. The lava monitor was well suited for smithing, for a beastkin. The forge within Hearthtribe’s Headquarters had plenty of magical flames to use, to provide a consistent heat to their metals.

Ophelia was working hard on making the final weaponry for the numerous auril heroes. Many prospective smiths watched on, hoping to understand or take advantage of what Ophelia and Tanda were doing.

Some eternum smiths were present, hammering on weapons and armors as well. As Tanda understood it, many of them might be preparing the bodies for their future children.

Rhia floated near Ophelia and Tanda. “Wow, so this is how babies are made!”

Ophelia stumbled, before she chuckled and shook her head and narrowed her eyes on Rhia. “You’ve been spending too much time around Berri. I know you’re not so naive.”

Rhia chuckled. “Ah, I’ve been found out, huh? It’s fun to act like I’m like a child. I can get away with so much fun stuff, and people don’t even get mad.”

Tanda giggled. “I’m sure it’s fun for a while, but isn’t that kind of lonely? People will think less of you since you act like a child, and can’t meet them on the same level in a conversation. Berri always has Blood, and us to talk to. What about you?”

Rhia’s fiery eyes became big within her armor. “Y-You’re right. I’ll…be careful.”

Ophelia asked, “Did you want to learn more about smithing? Your people seem to like crafting.”

“I…maybe. I wanted to help Berri, but it appears I don’t work well with… the auril or living stuff. It couldn’t hurt to learn smithing! I’ve read a few books already, it’s just…well, I hadn’t found what I like best yet.”

Tanda smiled. “I bet your people would be good at enchanting! Your arcane mana seems quite special.”

Rhia nodded. “We are! But it has been a challenge to research. Thanks to Hearthtribe, mother and others can finally spend sufficient time and materials on it. Our people weren’t provided many resources, so we focused on increasing our knowledge through book learning and similar. Now, they can experiment a lot more.”

Ophelia smiled. “That’s great news! Well, you never know what else you might be good at. If you don’t like smithing or enchanting, Jake made all sorts of neat gadgets before, which helped him in the Trial. You could tinker with stuff like that to ensure you and your party always have an advantage in the dungeons.”

“I’ll try the smithing for now. How can I help out here?”

Rhia watched Tanda and Ophelia a bit, before joining the reptile beastkin as an assistant. The girl seemed to have an insatiable curiosity, that would aid her in improving her capabilities, in whatever she chose.

***

Blood and Berri weaved their auril through the auril beast hide leather, altering its shape. They created several slots to line the hauberk, allowing themselves or others to insert plates within.

Holding it up, Berri smiled. “That’s so easy! Cutting the hide and shaping it in advance would be far too much work. Molding the leather like clay is neat.”

They slotted several plates of bone inside the leather chest piece. Using their [Bone Working] skill, they twisted and merged the bones once inside, as it allowed for smaller holes. Once the bones were sealed inside, they moved onto the next step.

Blood floated over their extracted essence. They had purchased many verdalisk corpses, and used their [Essence Extraction] skill on them. Once done with the corpse, it would become a desiccated husk. And they would be left with what looked like a jar of slime.

A verdalisk was like an odd plant crocodile. It was strong and hardy, but had regeneration properties. When the essence was infused into the auril leather, holes cut into the leather would be filled quickly by woven vines and plants, enhanced by the user's own auril.

It would also make the leather sturdier. As they infused the slime-like essence into the hauberk, the color shifted almost to a bark-like hue and texture.

Their work done, they moved onto the next.

Darris stood over to the side, working with some essence. He rumbled, “The essence is so challenging to work with. It feels so…foreign, and strange.”

Roxo was also merging the bone within his own hauberk with a frown. “Something about the essence calls to me. I find it essence infusion works better if I lean into that feeling.”

Blood smiled. “That’s right. Perhaps it’s your dragon’s blood, or something much more primal within you. You both feel a connection to Echidna, yes? That same connection is from your very essence.”

Darris blanched as he looked at the slime-like concoction in front of him. “You mean, like the essence we extracted? We can do this to…beastkin corpses?”

Blood chuckled. “It would be a lot of work for not a lot of essence. It is there within you, but it is small compared to most monsters. As mentioned, I do believe your dragon’s blood has a bit more of it than the rest of the beastkin. You should be proud of your heritage, and accept this. Roxo is right, lean into the feeling, and you shall do better with it.”

The reptile beastkin were certainly attracted to working with the bones and auril beast hides. Blood noted that essence extraction and infusion could work with both auril and mana. It was only that they were more skilled with their mana that using it was better.

Blood noticed that the largest number of the mammalian and avian beastkin favored working with the auril woods. In a peculiar way, the Elysians also seemed attracted to this. This thought seemed to excite Berri.

Rookard was helping Drysander and Bria with shaving the wood and shaping and hardening them. While Drysander didn’t have access to auril, his power over nature magic allowed him to manipulate it slightly.

Both Bria and Drysander worked on hardening the cores of the hafts, while maintaining the outside’s pliability. Against large attackers and bosses, it was likely they would need the stronger core or the haft would snap when they needed it. Even still, the pliability was necessary to be a shock absorber, to soften the impacts on the user’s hands.

Rookard took a completed haft, and added one of Ophelia’s completed halberd-heads to the tip. Running some of his blue auril through the haft, he created a large axe head out of his will.

He gave a vicious smile, as he looked over it. “Excellent. Our claws grow ever sharper. This just needs Chief Jake’s enchantment, and it will be ready.” He handed it over to Bria.

Bria looked it over. “Falcor might get jealous, but I need a weapon for when he’s not around. Our party is five now without him.”

Drysander chuckled, as he looked over his heavy maul. “I’m sure one will be home with child often enough. The Eternum can fight on his own, too. They sure are a unique people.”

Blood looked over her lord husband’s many crafters, each pushing themselves to advance their knowledge and their outcomes. Thousands would participate in the final battle, so the amount of crafted weapons and armor necessary was staggering.

Thankfully, Hearthtribe all focused on one craft or another, and were making steady progress. Then, the additional crafters sent by Kedrin and Trinity helped produce more on top of that, and all brought their unique insights and knowledge from across the Sector.

Even the orcs and troll tribes had joined, though many were focused on animal husbandry. Taking care of the auril beasts and training them was definitely a full-time job, beyond their own fighting and training.

The world of Highlands was preparing in countless ways for the final battle, and Blood was happy to see how well it was going. These efforts would serve them well even going into the next Tier, after all.