Aidan
The Realms
Fifthday, 2nd week of the 8th month, Age of the Chosen 1
Late Morning
Mistvale Highlands

"So how long was I gone this time? And how'd you know where to find me?"

Brighid nuzzled his shoulder before responding, "It has been eight days and ten or so hours since you killed the Taig." Aidan stiffened, his mind reeling. Last time it was only about twelve hours! "We were waiting on Little Irontop because I knew that was where you made camp on your first night. Then, about an hour ago, Riama stood up and walked off a little way before looking over her shoulder at me, wanting me to follow her. She led me here. You said that only you could enter this canyon? I did not even know it was here before today."

Aidan looked back and forth between Brighid and Riama, his mouth twisting into a wry smile. "That's what the old man told me. It looks like he may have omitted some technicalities." He shook his head then and said, "More importantly, I have to apologize to you. I never expected to be gone so long. The wait must have been terrible, and it's all my fault. Soulfire Blast uses a little bit of my soul, and reviving Cai with Phoenix Pyre took a more significant fragment. It appears that the strength of my soul affects my death penalty and how long it takes for me to return."

Brighid pulled away from him and seized his head in her hands. "No, Aidan, you do not get to absolve me of my guilt only to take on more than your share. Yes, waiting for you to return was ... trying. But tell me: did you choose to make it harder on us? Did you intend to punish us with your absence?" She didn't wait to hear his response. "You did what you had to do. You showed everyone why I love you. Aidan, Anwn was able to scout the Taig before it died. It was level 52, my love. It could have fought the entire tribe outside the city and still won. We walked into the seat of its power, where it was at its absolute strongest. Even while it toyed with us, it maintained control over its Manikins and Dark Vines out in the valley." Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes once more. "Aidan, we lost over two hundred people in the battle. Two hundred friends that I have known my entire life, or have known me for theirs. You saved the rest." She hesitated, then pushed on. "I did not see it myself, but all the survivors say that a pillar of flame rose into the heavens from the center of Ceallach Macht. Two fiery wings spread from it, and every Manikin and Vine burned to white ash in an instant when they beat. Afterward ... you have seen the prompt? About the new Age?"

Aidan stared at her. How did his spell have such an over-the-top effect? Even with his Patron's guidance... then it hit him. "The price," he groaned. "My Patron said there was a heavy price and asked if I was willing to pay it. I thought they meant the pain, or maybe dying. That wasn't it, though; the price was revealing myself to the world." He closed his eyes, leaning his head back for a moment, then sighed and straightened. "It's fine. I told them I would pay any price to save you, and I meant it. How many people know the whole story?" He asked, switching to damage control mode.

"The whole story? Aidan, I do not even know everything. You said you talked to the Brighaid?"

He nodded. "After Divine Speech failed, I prayed. It was the only option I saw." Aidan bowed his head. "And, for once in my life, my prayer was answered. Everything stopped, and my vision faded, but I could see Them—one light in the darkness, a fire dancing before my eyes. They told me that all was not lost, but there was a price I must pay. Then I felt Their Power filling me, guiding me, telling me the words to say. After that, it was all pain and scraps of determination." Aidan shuddered. The memory wasn't as traumatic as his first death, but it was fresher and the pain an order of magnitude worse. Riama squeezed between him and Brighid and sent him <reassurance love togetherness>. Aidan smiled down at her and scratched her behind her ears before continuing, "What I meant, though, was how many people know about Cai's death?"

"Oh, only the team. I swore them all to secrecy after—" She stopped and shivered. "But everyone already believes that it was you. They may not know who you revived, but everything else fits."

Aidan groaned. "Well, fuck me sideways. Even with how little the tribes talk to each other, word will get out. If I didn't have a target painted on my back before, I do now." He sighed. "At least that explains why I got credit for killing twelve hundred Manikins and four thousand Dark Vines."

"Oh, it was not just you. Everyone in the team did."

"What?"

"You were still in the party, love, so the party shared in your kills. We all got a share of that million experience. I got a level out of it, and, well, have you checked Riama's status since you got back?"

He looked down at the black-furred feline face staring back up at him.

He closed the status screen, then opened it and checked again. Yep, still there. "Well, I guess there won't be any need to power level her, then. I'll deal with all that later, just like my own levels. Right now, as much as I love cuddling with you, I could use a nice long rest on some soft cushions."

Brighid giggled and kissed his neck, but disentangled herself from Aidan and his familiar. She pulled him to his feet, then helped him into the change of clothes that he'd had the foresight to pack away in his backpack. Once he dressed, Brighid pulled him into a tight hug and kissed him hard. An indeterminable time later, she pulled back and said, "I will be happy to bear you back home, but a few people are waiting for you outside the canyon. None of them would take 'No' for an answer; you will see in just a moment."

Aidan gave her a curious look, but she refused to go into more detail. With a shrug, he accepted her arm around his shoulders and leaned against her as she led him back into the Realms. As soon as they passed through the canyon entrance, five figures shimmered into view. He recognized three of them right away—Ysbail's oversized sword was hard to miss, and he'd seen Cai and Ceirios naked. The male centaur, by process of elimination, was therefore Llwyd. Standing apart from them was a ten-foot-tall granite statue of a nude male human with bat wings. A gargoyle? Why?

Before Aidan could ask, though, Cai and Llwyd kneeled down on their forelegs and bowed their heads to him. Speaking in harmony, they recited, "I pledge my sword to thy banner, my shield to thy defense, and my honor to thy glory. I swear to follow thy commands, advance thy causes, and never to work against thee or thine wishes for so long as thou dost hold faith with me."

Aidan closed his eyes and sagged against Brighid. To him, it was only an hour since the fight with the Taig and only a few minutes since he had to weave a web of words to keep the love of his life from self-destructing out of guilt. He hadn't had any time to process his own emotions and reactions to everything, yet here was more fuel for the fire. To everyone else, though, it had been more than a week since Ceallach Macht. Aidan reigned in his frustration and jangled nerves and opened his eyes again.

"Before I say yea or nay, tell me, both of you: why have you chosen to take this step? Nine days ago, I doubt either of you cared enough to piss on me if I were on fire. Why are you now promising me your loyalty and service?"

The supplicants shared a look, then Llwyd replied, "My Lord, because you need us. There are other reasons, good enough on their own, but in the end, you need us. You performed a very public miracle, and sooner or later, someone will come hunting for you because of it."

Cai added, "I owe you my life, my Lord, literally owe you my life. You sacrificed so that I might live. I know from talking with Brighid, Llwyd, and others this last week that you expected nothing in return. That alone would be worth an even more powerful Oath than what we just swore, but it also shows how much you need people to look out for you. Please, my Lord, accept our Oaths. You will need people you can trust explicitly, and the sooner you accept that and us, the better you will be for it."

Llwyd followed up with, "My Lord Aidan, I now believe with all my heart that you are a force of good who can change the whole world. Even if you are reluctant to accept for your own sake, please consider it for that reason. Let us help you make the world better."

Aidan had to admit, while he expected the life-debt argument, the rest came as a surprise. They both made good points, though, and with a mental sigh, he nodded and accepted the prompt. As when he had sworn to be Brighid's Companion, the words came to him unbidden. "Rise, Cai. Rise, Llwyd. I hear thine Oaths and accept; in return, I swear to hold faith with thee until the end of days." Both centaurs rose to their feet in a fluid, synchronized motion and moved to stand to either side of him and Brighid.

Ysbail stepped forward on their heels. "Do not worry, no pledge of allegiance here." She winked at him. "I like you well enough, and Heavens know you need all the help you can get, but I am a little too independent for all that. I was not even camped out here with the rest of this lot, I just happened to be in the area. Good luck, eh? Anyway, all I wanted to say is that you did well and that if you ever need something big killed, to give me a call. Maybe we can work on that whole you-dying part; even the actual phoenixes of old are long dead now. Keep that in mind." Despite the brashness of her words, she gave him a warm smile.

Ceirios stepped forward then, but Aidan held up his hand to forestall her speech and asked, "How are you doing? Mentally, I mean. You suffered more at the hands of that thing than any of us except maybe Brighid. I was able to ease some of that with the spell I used, but I already know it wasn't as effective as I'd hoped."

Ceirios lowered her eyes and stared at the ground for a moment, then squared her shoulders and met his gaze. "Thank you for your concern, Lord Aidan. I will not say I am well, exactly, but I will be well thanks to you. I can remember what happened, what was done to me, but it feels like someone else's memories. That is not healthy, but it should be much worse than it is. Before you say anything—I can see the look on your face—I do not blame you for what happened. You did the best you could with what we had. If you had delayed even five minutes, we would have lost Fionn, Ailis, and all the other warriors and mages instead of half of them. The only one who bears any blame for what happened is the Taig, and you are the one who destroyed it for good. I will not pledge my fealty to you quite yet, but I will be there in the future if you need me." She dipped in a quick bow, then stepped back.

Aidan turned his attention to the gargoyle and arched an eyebrow. The statue-like individual inclined his head and spoke with a deep voice. The sound had an odd resonant quality, like echoes in a cathedral. "Greetings, Chosen Aidan. Know that I am called Sarpedon of the Sapphire Sky Horde. I have come, along with those of my brothers and sisters who yet remain awake, to make a request of you." Aidan blinked. Make a request of him? What could he have to offer to immortal, indestructible giants? Sarpedon's lips twitched at Aidan's look of confusion. "I give you my apologies; it has been long indeed since I last talked with one not of the Sapphire Sky. I have forgotten much of how it is outside our enclave. Perhaps it would be best if I were to give you some brief background. My people—by which I mean gargoyles in general, not only the Sapphire Sky—are dying. Not from any disease or malady, but because we do not have the ability to reproduce on our own." Now I'm even more confused. Sarpedon grimaced and shook his head. "It is a very long story, millennia old, and I do not think this is the time nor the place to tell it all. I will try to be brief. Our race does not reproduce as most others do. We are not a natural race, you see; we were created by mages as a kind of advanced golem. However, when those ancient folk realized what they had made, they worked with us to give us the ability to reproduce so that we would not be dependent on others." He shook his head. "In essence, two gargoyles and an Animamancer intertwine a portion of their souls inside a specially-made receptacle. The mage then fuses those fragments together into a new, unique soul. Ah, I see that now you begin to comprehend what we wish of you."

The granite man held up his hands and said, "We know that you are young and yet to come into your full power. We are a patient people, Chosen Aidan, both as a race and a culture. All we want from you is your willingness to work with us once you are able to do so. We do not require results, only effort, and only once that effort could be gainfully employed. In return, we offer you guidance and wisdom. There is much that has been forgotten in the Wildlands that we still remember. In particular, there is one thing I could show you this very day that could advance your cause more than anything else we know of." He paused a moment, then added almost as an afterthought, "Do not fear retaliation should you turn us down. As I said, we are a patient people. In time, another will come who has the qualities we seek, and ultimately, one will accept our offer. If that one is not you, we will return to our lands and await the next."

Aidan shook his head, feeling exhaustion stealing swiftness from his thoughts. "Forgive me, Sarpedon. I do not mean to be rude, but from my perspective, I died an hour ago in an excruciating manner. I need time to gather my thoughts and consider your offer. It is generous, but I do not wish to rush into new obligations. Would you mind if I sleep on it and give you an answer tomorrow?"

The huge living statue managed to look abashed and even sheepish. "Of course, Chosen. I apologize for not waiting for you to recover. I became over-eager and pressed when I should have remained patient. Please, by all means, consider as long as you need to. I will wait for you at the top of the tall hill outside of the Starchaser village." He unfurled wings that looked like they weighed a ton each, then leaped into the sky with a downbeat that sent dirt flying and forced Aidan and the centaurs to cover their eyes.

Aidan watched the gargoyle fly away, then leaned back into Brighid's embrace and asked the other centaurs, "Are any of you going to have a problem with me riding Brighid back home? She can carry me in her arms if so, but it'll be slower and less comfortable for both of us."

Cai, Llwyd, and Ceirios all shook their heads. Ysbail laughed and said, "I would give you a ride myself, but I suspect Brighid would punch me for it."

"Yes," Aidan's Soulmate said through clenched teeth, "she would."

Ysbail laughed again and waved her off. "Relax, Red. I am not trying to steal your man. I prefer a stallion who can cover me completely and tug at my tits while he's plowing my pussy! I bet that tail of his has some fun uses, but I will leave you to explore that."

Brighid blushed scarlet, but Aidan was too tired to be embarrassed. Once he settled on her back, Aidan wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned against her back. "Canter, please, flame of my heart? I don't think I can handle a gallop just yet." Brighid took one of his hands from her waist and kissed it in response, then placed it over her heart and set off at a gentle pace.

Zurai

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