"So, I suppose we should begin your intellectual lessons, yes?"

"That would... probably be for the best, yes. Not that I haven't enjoyed these past few hours," Hadrian said, laughing a little bit, mostly out of awkwardness. Despite the wonderful bed, the long and fulfilling night he'd had, and the deliciousness of the meal they'd just shared, he was still not quite used to the lack of clothing. He wasn't even sure if it was that abnormal, given his lack of memories, but it certainly felt that way. If it wasn't for the table they were sitting at preventing any chance of seeing below the waist, he probably would've been blushing every time he looked Valeera in the eye.

Of course, given how much of the tall elven women was still above the table, he was having a hard time keeping his eyes at head level anyway.

"I assure you, the pleasure has been both of ours," Valeera said with a smirk. "But that can wait, for a time at least. Now, what exactly would you like to start with? Personal matters, like myself? Perhaps the history of the Lord and what we know about you? Other than those you'll need to pick a specific topic and start there; unlike that Kitsune, I have no interest in trying to teach you everything we've ever learned at once. It'd take far more than the month we have for one thing, and for another I'm sure you're not as interested in each topic as the next. So I'll let you pick."

"I don't even know where to begin, but... tell me about yourself, would you? If we're going to be spending the next month together, I'd like to know a little bit more about you, personally, before we study the world."

"Very well, I think I can manage that much," she said dryly, putting down her cup. "Eyarra, could you possibly remove this for us?"

"I don't think Eyarra is-"

The doors opened before Hadrian could even properly object. Eyarra strolled in with a cart, her hips swaying and a bright smile on her face. Her eyes were nearly closed, though Hadrian could see them flitting back and forth over the room with interest.

"I do hope it was to satisfaction," Eyarra said with a swish of her tails. "Juuraa was injured in an experiment earlier this morning, so I assisted with the preparation of the tea."

"Was she the only one in the kitchen?" Hadrian asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, no, we have four others," Eyarra replied as she whisked all of the dishes and trays back onto a cart. "But with the castle servants, the Lord himself appearing, and twelve more guests, they're a bit out of practice preparing meals for this many people. I simply wished to keep things running smoothly."

In moments she'd gathered everything and then vanished out the door, no doubt taking all of them toward the kitchen. Hadrian wiped at his forehead in shock.

"She's very dedicated," Hadrian said toward Valeera.

"Of course. She's the keeper of the Lord's castle and grounds, the head keeper at that. Eyarra takes her position and the prestige that comes with it very seriously. Even with a baker's dozen new inhabitants, I'd be amazed if we see so much as a stain anywhere within these halls for more than an instant."

Hadrian shook his head and laughed. "What does she get paid in? Because it's certainly not enough."

"The way she works the job? No, it's probably not."

Hadrian looked out the window, staring out across the city, wondering how many people there were. "So, the Elven Ophanim? What exactly does that entail?"

"A lot of boring paperwork, really," she said with a smile. “More often than not it's all about research proposals and land management. I'm the head of the Agricultural Experimentation Committee in our land - that means I need to not only approve any new experiments but determine how to best divide up our lands. Given the size of the Elven lands, it's quite a sizable task, and since we produce most of the food for the other races as well, we cannot afford to poorly balance our experiments with nature and our simple farming for more than a season before it starts to affect everyone."

"I see. Well, that's impressive to say the least," Hadrian said, looking into Valeera's eyes. "But let's hear a little bit more about you. What do you do when none of that requires your attention?"

She looked up toward the sky, rubbing at her chin. "Well, aside from the matters of policy, I obviously enjoy agriculture, both in and out of my professional duties. The central government doesn't meet very often, but we're still required to be able to remain in the city at will. Unlike most of the others I simply choose to reside here permanently, so... when I'm not too busy I tend to my personal garden. I'm also a fan of the theater here, but I'm afraid to say it's been quite a while since I saw a thrilling showing."

"Any close friends in the city?" Hadrian asked, looking outside. "I assume all the members of the High Council must have those who look up to them, if nothing else."

"Oh, most certainly. Rafflesia City is one of the most understanding places in the entire continent; the population is about 500,000, and all but a thousand or so are mixed-race couples who choose to live here. If anyone is going to overlook a status or race, it's those who reside here."

Valeera took a long second to stand up and stretch before sitting back down. It gave Hadrian a moment to think about something that really should've probably bothered him a while ago.

"If I'm the only male, how exactly do you all reproduce?" Hadrian asked, leaning forward and resting his head on his interlaced fingers. "As far as I'm aware, that requires a man. Or have you all been alive since this world was created? You seem to be rather immortal."

Valeera laughed long and hard, a somewhat uncontrolled one compared to the others Hadrian had seen. Hadrian raised an eyebrow, but waited until she brought herself under control.

"Sorry, that was uncalled for," Valeera said as she dabbed at her eyes. "I just thought of your comment earlier, about how we wouldn't think to teach someone of your age a basic fact. I only just realized how right you are. We have always been able to reproduce; as immortal as we may seem, given enough time everyone eventually passes, though you are right in that it is rarely because of natural causes. There is a special ritual we can undergo, after which the two parties enjoy themselves as they would on any other day. It's almost one hundred percent effective, and it takes only a few minutes. Did you really have nothing like this where you were from?"

Hadrian shrugged. "I guess I don't remember, if we did. The only way I knew of was for a male to release inside of... wait, uh... you won't..."

Valeera stared into Hadrian's eyes mischievously. It seemed like she clearly understood what he was going to ask, but refused to budge until he finished his question. He managed to finally gasp it all out in one breath rather than stumbling over himself.

"...AreyouandEyarragoingtogetpregnant?"

Valeera smiled a little wider, but then she looked thoughtful. Her eyes trailed all the way to the ceiling, and then back down. After that she just locked eyes with Hadrian and gave a soft shrug.

"I don't know. Anything's possible, I suppose. Normally it requires a ritual for us, but the Lord is an entirely different species compared to the average citizen. It's possible."

"You seem awfully unconcerned."

She rested her head on her hands and looked deep into Hadrian's eyes, her smile still present but being heavily outweighed by whatever it was bubbling up in her eyes.

"I wasn't planning on it, certainly... but if I'm blessed with the Lord's child I certainly won't hesitate to embrace it."

Hadrian rubbed at his eyes. "I wish I could return the degree of affection which you all seem to hold for me, just because of this position. Honestly, I feel like there's so much respect for a title I had no right to inherit."

"Lo, for though he shall not understand his greatness, the Lord holds within him the power of all. There exists no foe too great, no burden too heavy, no journey too long for the Lord. Support him and raise him to meet his tasks, and he shall return the favor to the entire world."

"That just seems... eerie," Hadrian said, laughing a little out of sheer nervousness.

"Prophecy often is; perhaps you would feel more comfortable if I put it like this: We all know what you are capable of, what your unique physiology and skills can accomplish, and we respect both the authority that has been gifted to you by right, and the power that we believe you to hold. In time, you will find yourself worthy of both of these things."

"You have a great deal of faith in me. Perhaps we could discuss more about the history of the Lord?"

"Perhaps. But, if it were not too much trouble, I would greatly prefer that this happen after we return from an afternoon break."

"Has it-" Hadrian looked outside the windows and noticed the sun had started to crest and fall toward the horizon. Between the meal and their conversation, it seemed like the afternoon really had come. How? Valeera certainly had a way of talking slowly, but he hadn't thought himself too enraptured by it to notice time passing. Something was strange about this place.

"Fret not. Time is often lost when in good company. As I said, I would appreciate a short break to recover. Last night's and this morning’s activities were some of the more vigorous I've had the pleasure of experiencing in the past few weeks, and I'm afraid they've still left me a bit exhausted. If you wouldn't mind, I would very much like to visit the Lord's Garden.

"Most of the castle, save for the area that we met in and some of the entrance hallways, have been sealed since its construction, but I've had a view of it on occasion. Another lesson on my species for you... elves are a very naturalistic people. We grow a very large portion of the kingdom's food, some eighty percent. We grow up in fields of bountiful harvests, we make our homes in the trees, we nurture and cultivate them until they grow to suit us. Our magical abilities are the only real limitation, and sometimes elves master the ability of cultivation without magical influence... or at least any real explicit magical abilities. We are at peace most when we are outdoors, preferably in an area we can be at one with nature. Soaking the rays up when laying naked in the grass, feeling the flowers around me reaching in..."

Valeera gave a long sigh, but for once it seemed like she was more at peace than aroused. Hadrian nodded, smiling openly at her.

“You want my permission, then?”

She nodded. “Your word is required for me to set foot in any room except for the most basic. Do you mind?”

“No, not at all. Please, go right ahead. You’re my guest – a little rest and relaxation is the least that I can offer you.”

“Mmm, thank you. Sorry for leaving like this, but I love getting to enjoy nature wherever I am, and if I stay here I’m afraid there won’t be much relaxing, no matter how tired I am.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry too much,” Hadrian laughed.

“Well then, I’ll be off. Do be careful, Lord, I wouldn’t want you missing me too much. I’m sure you’ll find something to occupy you until my return. If you do wander, I’ll send word when I have finished my time in the garden.”

Hadrian was uncertain as to which kind of lessons she had in mind. He’d find out later, he supposed. Until then, he was just going to have to find some other means of entertainment. A part of him wanted to visit the other council members, but given that he had no personal introduction to any of them, he wasn’t sure how awkward that might be.

Well, supposedly there was a lot more to this castle than just the Living Quarters. Maybe he could inspect the library, or the research facility. Hell, if the garden was nice enough to sit in for hours, perhaps he could lose himself in there for a while. Assuming Valeera didn’t require privacy for whatever it was she was doing in there. Depending on just how much space there was, he could probably almost lose himself in the caste itself.

So he left the bedroom behind, donning the robe at the door. “Unusual” or not, he didn’t want to be uncomfortable while he was out exploring the castle. His castle. Whatever. The crimson carpeting under his bare feet was soft, and as he moved he almost felt like he was gliding.

The halls were mostly quiet. Occasionally, he would catch a sound from a stairway or a closed door, but he never ran into one of the High Council or Eyarra’s sisters. Admittedly, he did get a strange sense that someone was following him…

Eventually he came to the four-way intersection that marked the end of the Living Quarters. Hadrian slowed down a little as he continued on, looking for any indication of the library.

Unfortunately, the doors he was approaching were unmarked. He was going to have to open them up, one by one. The first was a circular, empty room with a tiled floor and walls. There was a large glass window and a door that Hadrian guessed led to the next room.

Rather than going inside Hadrian simply proceeded to the next set of doors. One of many sets. There were… actually there were rather a lot of them, at least two dozen and a few stairways. In the next pair he found a full chemistry set, filling an entire room with various fluids and beakers. As he ventured forward he found a room entirely filled with glowing pink lines, a room that seemed to be entirely made out of slush, including the very soft floors and every piece of furniture inside.

It took Hadrian nearly six more doors and passing by one of the staircases before he came to something that really drew his attention (and, honestly, that he felt safe even touching). As he pulled open a dark mahogany door, he saw nothing but shelves. Dozens – no , hundreds of them, stretching as far as the eye could see. Literally, because there were so many that he couldn’t see to the back of the room. Somewhere in the distance he saw a few spiral staircases dotted around, far enough apart that he couldn’t explain it. The doors to the room had been no more than a dozen feet down the hall from the last, but – but this room was easily three hundred feet wide! Probably more!

It took Hadrian several steps inside before he was able to successfully shut his mouth. Every shelf was labeled. Some said things like “Agriculture”, or “Flora”, “Fauna”. Others seemed to take up multiple shelves – he saw a “History, Section 6”. Given the size of each shelf, he could only imagine how detailed they must have been.

Hadrian lost himself for a while, weaving in between the shelves. There was a form of organization, but it seemed somewhat loose, maybe even random. Here, they were arranged by title; there, by author. Some places seemed to only be grouped into their categories, then chaotically strewn around the shelves.

Past the halfway point Hadrian had lost track of the door. Not that he minded – he could literally lose himself for hours just by looking at all the titles; if he started actually reading, he might lose himself forever amongst the pages. Hadrian pulled around a bookcase labeled “History of the Elves, part 32”, and ran headfirst into something oddly soft.

“Ouch! Oh, my, I’m sorry! I didn’t hear anyone come in I- I’m sorry, I don’t recognize you, who are you?”

As Hadrian steadied himself on the bookshelf, he saw a particularly cute woman pulling herself up off the floor. She had short black hair in a pixie cut, and strangely odd eyes – her pupils were white, surrounded by blue irises, and then returned to white. She was wearing a full-length gray dress that clung tightly to her lithe form. The pointed ears led Hadrian to see her as one of the elves.

“Uh, I’m Hadrian. Are you…”

“The librarian, yes,” she finished for him. Suddenly she seemed very interested in the details of a book on the shelf. She pulled it free and began leafing through as if it required immediate attention.

“I didn’t mean to disturb your work, I was just inspecting the building, and I stumbled upon the library, so I started looking for… wh-“ Hadrian paused, seeing that she was barely reacting to his words. “I guess I’ll just keep looking. Sorry again.”

“W-wait,” she called out, her voice suddenly frantic. Her arm shot out and grabbed his wrist, then immediately retracted as she started to look rather sheepish.

“You’re… him, aren’t you?” She said quietly.

“Probably, there’s only one ‘him’ around here, right? What is…” Hadrian trailed off as the woman held out the book she’d been examining. On one of the pages was a picture that caused his jaw to drop slightly.

It was a sketching of him. A scarily accurate one – right down to the haircut he currently sported, short as it was. Meanwhile, the woman simply continued to shyly beam at him, touching her fingers together in an apparent mixture of joy and anxiety. Hadrian didn’t really know how to feel about any of this – all that he knew was that until a few moments ago he’d thought nothing could shock him.

“So… this has to be real, right?” Hadrian asked, staring intently at the paper. “I doubt you did this since I got here… and-“

“There’s more… Lord…” she murmured, pointing to several of the other books. “All of these contain sketches and even a few paintings of you. One or two even contain Eylans, magical portraits… would you like to see them?”

“No, that’s… that’s fine,” Hadrian said quietly. He had no desire to see them, and he was quite certain that doing so might only unnerve him even more. “I believe you.”

That was… wow. The realization seemed to hit Hadrian all at once; he stumbled back a little, almost tripping over his own legs. The librarian quickly dashed forward and caught him by the arm, then blushed profusely and immediately resumed her previous position, quickly returning the book she was holding to its shelf. He’d not really lost his balance as much as his legs had simply given out from the shock. If nothing else, that had made it real what was going on… the idea that everyone but him seemed to have some kind of clue as to who and what he was… that was a lot for a man to take in.

“Are you alright? Should I send for Alonna? Perhaps the castle doctor?” The librarian had gone back to looking at him without meeting his eyes as soon as she released his arm, but her voice conveyed just how worried she actually was, despite it being almost nothing.

“Does the Lord require assistance?”

Hadrian jumped at the voice, and as soon as he did a hand was on his shoulder to steady him. Not the librarian’s, either. Hadrian spun, moving away from the hand, and it didn’t follow. Behind him was an elven woman, who he recognized immediately – by the weapon across her back, rather than her face.

“Alonna?” Hadrian questioned quickly. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry, was I unclear before?” She said without hesitation. “I told you I would be following you from the meeting onward, did I not?”

“You… did, yes. But I didn’t see you following me, or hear you until just now.”

“Apologies Lord, there was not much time given for proper explanation as we swiftly ended that meeting. As your personal guard, it is my duty to be nearby at all times while you are within the castle, and to accompany you personally while you are in the city outside. If you choose to leave the city the guard will accompany you, of course. I remain out of sight unless called, however, as to avoid disturbing you. If you would prefer, I can stay by your side even within the castle.”

“No, it’s- I mean, if you- you just surprised me, that’s all,” Hadrian said, brushing himself off. “I appreciate the help, but I’m fine. Just taking all this in is all.”

“Very well. I’ll be back to my post then,” Alonna said, stepping around the bookshelf. Though there was utter silence as she moved, Hadrian suspected as soon as she was out of sight she was already gone. He halfway wondered where her ‘post’ was – and how she’d gotten to his side so fast.

“I’m very sorry… I didn’t mean to shock you with all this. I’d heard the Lord had come, but I was so into the book I didn’t hear you come in, and I didn’t recognize you because of how flustered I was and… oh, this is all just a dreadful first impression isn’t it?”

She had gone a little pale now, and Hadrian found himself missing the colorful blush. He thought about stepping forward to comfort her, but that would’ve only increased her unease. So he raised both hands in as calming a gesture as he could make, laughing a little to break the tension.

“Don’t worry, I’m pretty used to being shocked, and I’m kind of glad someone didn’t recognize me, even if it was only for a minute. Honestly, I’m… not really sure about this whole thing yet.”

“Well… I’m still very sorry. I should be taking more notice of this place, but only the High Council is allowed in here besides myself, and they meet so rarely I’m not used to visitors.”

“What do you do here all that time, then?” Hadrian asked, his shock evident.

“Oh, I make myself useful! I swear! I just-“

“Woah, woah. Take it easy. I just wondered, since nobody ever comes here, how you keep yourself from getting bored.”

The servant breathed a visible sigh of relief. “W-well, I have to dust the entire library every week, so I normally spend an hour or two a day to work on that. Then I help with any research the High Council has asked of me, and afterwards I’m usually allowed to read the books myself, as a reward for being here.”

“I can see how that would occupy your time… so many topics…” Hadrian said, gazing up at the shelf. “I’m sorry, I don’t even know your name. Care to share?”

“Uh, I’m Liirie,” she said bashfully.

“Pretty name. Not to sound rude, but what is different about your eyes? I’ve seen many new things since I came here, but your eyes being white stands out among them.”

She opened the very things Hadrian was talking about to the point that he could see every detail. “W-well, I am a morph, Lord.” That threw Hadrian back a bit, but he adjusted surprisingly well. After all, they were supposed to blend in, right?

“Do all morphs have those eyes?” Hadrian stopped for a moment, then realized he hadn’t really been close enough to get a good look at the eyes of anyone. Still, the way those pupils stood out he would’ve thought he’d have noticed them.

“Yes, it’s one of the only foolproof ways to tell a morph. We’re quite adaptable, as you well know.”

Even as she spoke, the librarian shifted into a slightly different form. The transition took a few seconds, but only halfway through Hadrian realized that she was turning into Alonna. The white marking on her forehead, the subtle scars on her cheek, and even the very muscular physique the elf possessed were all attributes fairly unique to the elven bodyguard. But true to her words, those eyes remained the same – though the irises shifted to the very subtly different blue hues of Alonna.

“Is there any… taboo to looking like someone else? Someone you know, or someone who might see you?” Hadrian asked, oddly uncomfortable with the idea of Alonna watching him speak with another Alonna.

“Depends on the person. Short term most consider it nothing more than a party trick, or a conversational point as I’m using it here, and so have little issue with it.” Despite her words Liirie was already turning back to her previous form. “As for long-term, most consider it a compliment. Still, it’s always best to ask, if you plan on adapting someone’s form in front of them. Alonna has already given clearance to most of the morphs that work in the castle – though I’m uncertain of her personal feelings regarding the matter. I deeply suspect that she simply finds it strategic for there to be others who resemble her around the castle, in case someone should ever think of attacking it.”

Hadrian nodded, looking around but unable to find any sign of the woman. He wondered just how seriously she took her job.

“Can I ask why you chose the appearance you have now?” Hadrian voiced without thinking.

“Sure! It’s from one of my favorite books!” Liirie smiled brightly, hugging herself with joy. “It’s the story of an elf who wanders from the forests seeking adventure, but discovers a roving band of the Rift Creatures who are terrorizing a town, and has to rescue them. In the process she comes across a Kitsune whose parents were captured and enslaved by the creatures, they get discovered, and have to flee the Rift creatures to warn the Royal Guard with only each other to rely on.”

She seemed to have a lot more to say, but Hadrian would rather read the book than get the summary, so he nodded thankfully to end the story there. “That sounds interesting, actually… but I have something I had in mind when I came here; could you help me find the section on magic?”

“Err… which one, exactly? History of magic? Kitsune’s public knowledge section? Enchantments, Alchemy, Summoning, Runemages, Sealing, Evocation, Alteration, Transmutation, Enchanted Beasts-“

“Do you have a “for beginners” section, maybe?”

“Magical theory. It should be over here,” Liirie said, smiling. She appeared a bit nervous, though, as she started off into the maze of shelves. Hadrian wondered briefly if she didn’t entirely know the place herself – he hadn’t asked how long she’d worked there, he realized in hindsight. But to her credit it was only a minute or two later that he found himself staring at a row of books she’d pointed out.

“There are several about the basics of magic… do you have anything more specific you were looking for?”

“Maybe just something about the magic in this world, what it’s capable of, what it’s typically used for. Stuff like where it comes from, how people use it in the first place… You know, just a general overlook?”

“Oh, ah- you wanted beginner beginner, this is the wrong section for that.”

She moved again before Hadrian could question her, darting quickly through the shelves this time. Hadrian struggled to keep up, and was thankful the journey was only a few over this time. She reached up on the shelf and pulled free a book, quickly handing it to him.

“This should do,” Liirie said with a blush on her cheeks.

“Why the strange look? And why’s this in a different section,” Hadrian queried, more out of idle curiosity than anything.

“Uh… ah… um… this is the- uh, children’s section for magic.” The last part came out as nothing more than a whisper as Liirie tapped her index fingers together nervously.

“Oh… so that means-“

“I’m sorry Lord, it’s the only place with the information you need!” Liirie suddenly threw herself down on a knee, holding her hands up. Her hair started to pale too – was that a natural reaction?

“Woah, woah! Calm down! Stand up, stand up,” Hadrian said. Despite her fear, Liirie followed his words, regaining her feet and still hiding slightly behind her arms. “All I was going to say was that this is probably the section I should get most of my information from.”

“You… you aren’t mad that I insinuated you needed to read from this section?” Liirie asked quietly.

“No, why would I be?” Hadrian smiled warmly at her, and saw her tension ease slightly. “I already told the Council that I wanted to start slowly, learn from the beginning. This is probably the best place for me to start.”

“W-well I’m glad I didn’t offend you,” she said with a long sigh. “Will that be all Lord?”

“Yes, thank you. This should keep me occupied for quite a while. Is there a reading area?”

“Err…” Liirie pointed backwards into the maze of books, down one of the narrower pathways. “Directly that way. Most of the major aisles here lead either to the exit, eventually, or to one of the various reading areas. Usually both, one at each end. That one in particular leads to a more secluded area, with an open floor. Useful if you want to try anything you learn. Oh, and… clap when you sit down. You’ll see why.”

“Thank you so much Liirie,” Hadrian said, giving a quick wave. With that he was off, walking briskly through the aisle and staring intently at the book’s cover. It was a simple, leather-bound tome, but within it were apparently the secrets of things I couldn’t even comprehend. Whether they would explain it well enough to change that remained to be seen.

The area she’d been referring to wasn’t hard to find. There were three chairs in a wide semi-circle, with a large open space before them. Hadrian picked the one in the middle and sat down, adjusting until he was suitably comfortable.

“Now what did she say about clapping?” Hadrian looked around the empty surroundings, feeling a bit self-conscious. If nothing happened, he’d be quite embarrassed – it was one thing to only suspect that he was being watched, but now he knew Alonna was close enough to keep an eye on him throughout the day.

Oh, Lord. Was he being watched when he was with Valeera?

Hadrian tried not to think too deeply about it and clapped his hands several times, hoping to be rewarded for his trust. To his great surprise the effect was immediate, easily visible, and incredibly simple. In the center of the open area, a massive flame sparked to life, while the light around him (he wasn’t entirely certain where it came from) dimmed away in the immediate area, creating a shadowed and moody ambience for his reading. He had to admit, it did create quite the atmosphere.

The room was hardly what interested him, though. Granted, he did find himself staring at the magical fire that had no source for a time, but it only made him more eager to delve into the book itself. And so he did, with great fervor.

________________________________________

Hadrian found quickly that magic was something that captured his interest from the first few pages. Though it was supposedly written for children, which may have helped, the topic was astoundingly entertaining. The book spent a little time mentioning the basics – how magic was a user’s essence manifesting itself in a physical (or at least metaphysical) form, and how the stronger someone became and the better they were at controlling it, the greater tasks they could accomplish.

Then the book – as if it needed to – tried to entice the reader with stories of great magic users from history. From what Hadrian was reading, the vast majority of them were Kitsune. One in particular caught his eye – it was Qiala. One of the three Kitsune on the High Council. According to this, almost thirty thousand years ago she had…

A lot of the words stopped making sense. They were foreign, and not easily decipherable based on context. Hadrian recognized Rifts from the High Council, though he had no idea what they were. Then there were the Forsaken, the Forlorn, the Forgotten… he knew those words, but they were all capitalized oddly and out of typical context. Plus, it mentioned “Omniplexia”, “Arcanostrom”, and “Vergent Pulse”.

He didn’t need to understand the words, though. There were helpful pictures below it – and they painted a story that had his eyes widening and his jaw dropping. There was a crystal-clear picture of Qiala, standing in an empty field against a shadowy army. They weren’t like any of the other races he had seen so far – perhaps they were a variant of the Ferals, but he doubted it. They were brandishing weapons, in mid-charge, and the only thing standing in their way was Qiala.

A blue crystal floated above her head. She had one hand outstretched toward it, and the other toward the approaching force. The next picture was obviously some time later… or was it? There was nothing. An empty battlefield, strewn with weapons and armor, but no sign of a single living being. Qiala stood there with no enemies to be seen, and no blue crystal. She was down on one knee, though, and her tails had fallen to the ground.

As best as Hadrian could tell, by the words that meant something to him, she’d defeated some kind of rising army… all with a single spell.

“But magic is not without cost, as Qiala learned that day,” the text continued, “draining energy from the user equal to its measure. Attempting a spell beyond one’s capabilities can be painful, cause unintended side effects, and fail all at the same time. Attempting something too far beyond one’s own abilities can even consume their life essence in the attempt. Many famous mages who let the power they controlled seduce them into overconfidence have lost their lives as a result.”

Hadrian continued reading, chills running down his spine. Was that what had happened to Qiala? He wondered if she’d known it was beyond her abilities, or if that was just how much energy it had taken. Perhaps he could ask her later; if it was in a book like this, he assumed that it was fairly public information.

Hadrian finally found something relevant to him, or at least he hoped. There weren’t many others like him – the closest were the elves, but according to a quote from the text, “all known species can use magic, except for the Morphs. It is suspected that their race’s natural transformative capabilities exist through minimal magical skills imbued into their beings, or perhaps in place of it.”

So… did that mean Hadrian could, too? Supposedly the Lord had some kind of amazing power – if this wasn’t it, then he was hard pressed to imagine what it was. But the book didn’t say anything about how to actually perform the basics, at least not yet, and-

“U-um, excuse me Lord, but…”

Hadrian sat up straight in the seat, the sudden voice scaring the hell out of him. He turned to see a similarly startled Liirie holding her hands up in defense. As he stood and turned, the fire disappeared, and the light in the area returned to normal. Her face was nervous, but there was something else there. She seemed flushed, and her skin was glistening as if she’d been sweating recently.

“I-I’m sorry, I was just coming to tell you that I’m going to be leaving for the day and closing off the main doors of the library!” She shouted, seemingly forgetting she was in a library.

“Oh, so I have to leave?” Hadrian said, closing the book immediately.

“N-no,” she quickly added, waving her arms in distress. “you’re allowed in here any time you want; it’s your Library after all! I just lock the doors to anyone wanting to come in, and I won’t be here if you need me.”

“Oh… well, if you could spare a few moments, could you help point me in the direction of a few more books like this? More geared toward learning magic than just learning about it, if you could.”

“Right, what were you hoping for? Alchemy? Pyromancy? Arcanomancy? I’m not personally familiar with any of them – I, we morphs can’t do magic, because-“

“I actually just read that part,” Hadrian said quickly to avoid further repetition. “And… I guess it’s not particularly important; pick the first five on the shelf, I’ll just go down the line.”

“Right. Shall I meet you at the front?”

“I’ll, uh, I’ll come with you,” Hadrian said quickly, keeping close to her when she nodded and turned around. Truthfully, he wasn’t entirely certain how it was he could find his way out. Not that he wanted to admit that – probably didn’t look good for the Lord to be asking for so much assistance.

“Let’s see, these are organized in an odd way… but you did say the first five,” she murmured, plucking books off the shelf. Hadrian looked at her quizzically.

“Did you forget how you organized these?”

Liirie sighed, pushing at one of her temples in the first sign of annoyance Hadrian had yet seen out of her. “The person who had this job before me preferred to organize them to her own tastes… judging by this, it was by personal preference rather than alphabetically, by difficulty, chronologically, or any other typical system that one would use. I replaced her a while back when it was discovered she had a tendency for such unusual methods. I’ve been straightening out her work for months, but it would seem that this was a section I overlooked. Not surprising, as it’s not a section the typical visitor is interested in, but still… I apologize. If you’d like to change your request I can find you some different tomes.”

“That will be fine, what were the first five?” Hadrian asked, somewhat excited.

“Arcanomancy, Biomancy, Conjuration, Enchanting, and Summoning,” Liirie said, tapping each book in turn. “Arcanomancy is an excellent selection, as it’s a… well, fundamental school. Though it’s no less powerful than any other school to a dedicated user, it teaches many basic lessons that, even if not necessary to use another school, will greatly increase one’s effectiveness. Conjuration and Summoning however are two schools which require more finesse. They’re very complex, and a misstep in those can cause a great deal of problems… the more advanced the spell, the more precision necessary.”

“Well… it’s primarily a learning experience, not an experimental one. I’ll take these, and likely be back for more in a few days,” Hadrian said, nodding with a big smile. “Thank you so much for your assistance.”

“You’re welcome,” Liirie said, smiling bashfully. “I promise I’ll have this section in better order for your return.”

“I appreciate the work you do here,” Hadrian said, honestly. Keeping this library must have been a truly monumental task. The dusting alone could take long enough that you’d have to start over nearly the moment you finished…

“That means a great deal to me. So, did you really not know this was the library?” She asked.

“Yes, I’m still very new to this place. I’ve been trying to familiarize myself with the place, but it’s a truly massive task.”

“Indeed. If you’d like I can show you around this wing,” Liirie said with a bright grin.

“That would be great… but I don’t want to disturb your work,” Hadrian said, putting a hand to his chin. “I think I can get Alonna to do it. She seems to be following me around anyway, so it’s not like I’d be bothering her.”

“I said I was closing down, remember?” She lightly touched her hand upon his arm, gliding her hand over his robe. “I’m absolutely free. And if you’ll let me, a tour is a fantastic way to pass the afternoon.”

“Uh, certainly,” Hadrian said, smiling. He offered his arm and Liirie immediately took it, wrapping her own around it as she (thankfully) took the lead and pulled him toward the entrance. In only a few minutes they were there, and he happily swung the door open for her, ready to enter a hallway. Much simpler to navigate.

“Just a moment,” Liirie said, reaching behind her. Hadrian’s eyebrows knitted in confusion until he realized that she was undoing her dress in the back. The sound of a zipper confirmed it, as her tight, slick dress suddenly started to grow much, much looser.

It peeled away from her skin an inch at a time, until it covered almost nothing. The tops of her breasts came into view as she pulled her arms forward, not noticing his stares, or the heat he felt rising to his face. As she slipped her arms free of the sleeves, the rest fell into place. Her chest was as thin as she was, though as a morph he wasn’t sure how much weight that really carried. Her nipples too were small, pink blemishes on the smooth pale skin of her breasts. She slid the dress down until it was at her waist, at which point Hadrian finally spoke up.

“Ah, excuse me, why are you- uh, why are you taking that off?” Hadrian asked. So far, everyone had gone naked the majority of the time, with only Eyarra and her wearing clothing, yet he still found it odd that she would begin stripping like that.

“This? It’s just my work uniform, I wear it to prevent myself getting the books or any furniture dirty with- bodily…” Liirie paused as she was rolling it over her hips, looking up for the first time and seeing Hadrian’s face. He looked away bashfully, certain he’d been a picture of lust. He turned his eyes back toward her, though, and found Liirie similarly blushing.

“L-lord, have I… have I offended you?” Despite her words, she didn’t seem to have the same nervousness or fear she’d had earlier. If anything, though, her cheeks were even more crimson than his.

“N-no, it’s fine, I need to… get used to this sort of thing,” he said, turning back. She went right back to removing her clothing, and he watched as every inch of fabric was pulled downward. Between the slight protrusions of her hip bones, a short, well-trimmed pubic strip ran down to her slit, almost seeming to point the way toward the moistened mound.

“Liirie, are you… are you turned on?” Hadrian asked, only somewhat hesitantly. Honestly, he was glad he wasn’t the only one – he’d started holding the robe a little bit more awkwardly to conceal his growing erection.

“I… well, I typically study when I’m using my time to browse the contents of the library, but not everything here is… educational,” she said, bending over to pull the rest of her dress up. Hadrian watched her breasts sway as she lifted her knees one by one and pulled it off, and couldn’t tear his eyes away from her ass when she swayed over to a hook by the door and hung up the dress there. He swallowed nervously, but had the presence of mind to speak up when Liirie was about to lock the door.

“What about Alonna,” he said, his voice coming out more hoarsely than he had anticipated.

“She’s got her own ways around the castle. The kind only the Lord and his personal guard are privy to. Don’t worry about her, she’s around here somewhere,” Liirie said with a smile.

“Well, perhaps I should give her a break. It must be tedious to follow me around and have nothing to do but watch out for me…” Hadrian said quietly.

“Will you leave so soon? I suppose you wish to return to your quarters,” Liirie said, and Hadrian could clearly hear the very thinly veiled disappointment.

“I wish to return indeed. Perhaps, instead of a tour of this wing, I could give you a tour of mine?”

The boldness struck Hadrian as out of character from what little he’d known of himself in this world, but he was able to say it without pausing, at least. Truthfully, the easygoing nature of the women of this world had him at a great deal of ease, and that was slowly loosening him up toward this kind of thing.

“I don’t recall there being a great deal of furniture in the Lord’s quarters,” Liirie murmured, coming closer to Hadrian. She brushed her right hand up along his shoulder, while her left snaked its way inside of the opening and wrapped around his smooth chest. “How ever will you manage to make a true tour out of it?”

“I can… I can show you a great many things,” Hadrian said, his confidence faltering in the face of her sudden change in demeanor.

“Well then, let’s not delay,” she said quickly, moving down the hallway ahead of him. Her hips had a certain sway to them that spoke volumes about her new confidence, and made Hadrian wonder what had caused the sudden shift. Was she… was she just pretending to be shy? Or was this kind of thing so mundane in this world that even the shyest could find confidence in it?

There was a lot of time to find answers, but only a short time before Liirie would wonder why he wasn’t following. Hadrian quickly sped to catch up to her.

“So, tell me Lord, what form would you prefer? I assure you, I can fulfill almost any fantasies you might have. Surely this world has given you some inspiration?”

Hadrian scratched the back of his head. “Why don’t you just take on your natural form? You know, let me see the real you?”

Liirie gasped and put her hand to her mouth. “I’m sorry Lord, I can’t do that. Do you know of our species?”

“Not much, just that you transform. Oh, and I read in that book that your species doesn’t have magical power…” Hadrian trailed off, wondering if that was a sore subject.

“That’s right! Ours is a natural talent. Personally, I like this so much more, after all…” her voice trailed off too. Liirie shook her head like she was freeing herself of a chain of thought, then smiled at him. “We don’t have natural forms. When we’re born, we’re a small, white cube, actually. We usually transform into the first thing we see.”

“Oh.” Hadrian didn’t really have a reply to that, so he stared ahead for a few seconds. “Is this form your favorite?”

“Well…” she thought about that for a few moments, scratching her jaw. “I suppose it is, for now. Most morphs change it up every few centuries.”

“Right…” Hadrian had forgotten about the age factor; he hadn’t even asked her about hers. “I guess you can’t stick to one form forever.”

“Nope, that’d get boring,” she said, giggling.

They were at the double doors already. Hadrian had a moment of hesitation, wondering if Valeera had returned yet. What would she think of him bringing Liirie back?

He’d find out one way or the other. Liirie didn’t seem to have the same qualms, and was standing only semi-patiently in front of the door, smiling at him and very clearly eager to go inside.

“Right, after you,” Hadrian said with a nervous smile, opening the door. Liirie trotted inside, each step deliberately swaying her ass in front of him. Hadrian did his best to keep his eyes away from it and looking around the room. To a mixture of emotions, he saw Valeera sitting upon the bed, propped up against a pillow and scratching away at a notepad.

“Oh, you’ve returned, Lord,” she said immediately, a pleased look crossing her face. Her eyes flickered to Liirie, and her look changed, but to one of surprised amusement rather than the envy Hadrian might’ve been expecting. “And you’ve brought our Librarian?”

“Y-yes, excellent to see you as always, Lady Valeera,” Liirie said with a curt bow. Apparently, she was still as nervous as ever. Nice to see that she hadn’t totally changed.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were back, Valeera,” Hadrian said sheepishly.

“It’s quite alright, I only returned recently. I’m glad you explored. Considering you brought Liirie to your chambers, I can only assume you found a way to entertain yourself during my absence.”

Despite her wording, it was clearly not a question. Liirie wrapped a hand around Hadrian’s chest, gently attempting to slide the robe off of him, but Hadrian didn’t aid her, and the process was greatly slowed.

“I… well, as I said, I didn’t realize you’d be here. I didn’t intend to bother you-“

“Bother me?” Valeera chuckled. “My, why would you be bothering me? I may be exhausted, but I can’t deny that our recent trysts have been running through my mind over the past few hours. That is, of course, if you wouldn’t mind a viewer…”

“Not at all,” Hadrian said, rather amazed. He’d remembered, of course, that the elven woman had a fondness for voyeurism, but it hadn’t occurred to him that she might want to indulge it. “That is, of course, if Liirie has no problems with it.”

“I… to have Lady Valeera watching me?” The morph blushed, and Hadrian took that as his cue. He gave some slack to his arms, and the robe fell away into Liirie’s grasp, who hastily threw it up onto the protruding hook beside the door. “I would be honored.”

“Well, there’s plenty of room,” Valeera said with a sly grin, sliding farther along the bed. Quite true, really – he could’ve brought everyone he’d met thus far into the room, and they still could’ve all fit on the massive bed at once. He didn’t have much more time to contemplate that, because in the next moment Liirie was pulling him along, nearly dragging him to the bed.

Hadrian had already had that happen once, though. This time, he wanted to at least try to take initiative. He dug his left heel into the carpet and twisted, sending Liirie bouncing onto the bed. She didn’t seem to mind; as soon as she hit the sheets, the shock left her face, replaced by an enticing smile. She held her arms up high and spread open her legs.

“Come on then, don’t keep her waiting,” Valeera teased. Hadrian could see that she’d already spread her own legs, and one finger slid along the quickly moistening line of her slit. Her cheeks had become rapidly flushed, and though her movements were subtle, the look of excitement on her face was anything but.

“Yes, please Lord, show me what one can do with a… non-artificial tool,” Liirie said, massaging the inside of her thighs enticingly. Hadrian leaned over her, hovering just inches away from her flawless pale skin.

“I’ll show you what I can do with more than just that,” Hadrian said boldly, hooking his arms underneath her thighs. Judging by the perfection of her skin, it seemed like the benefits of her morphing ability included never needing to shave. Despite the late hour, he felt not even a trace of hair along her creamy skin.

“Well, I can’t wait to be thoroughly surpri-IIISED!” Her voice raised substantially as Hadrian leaned in and planted a firm kiss at the top of her slit. Though he’d hardly touched her yet, her skin was wet against his lips, and her clit was already exposed. Hadrian nuzzled in and gently lapped at her mound, being gentle enough not to give her too much stimulation at once. It didn’t seem to matter – regardless of how gently he attended to her, Liirie’s quickly accelerating breathing and constant moans were a clear sign that she was far too sensitive for any real teasing. It was like every nerve in her body was on fire.

Hadrian wouldn’t have said anything even if he could; there was too much to enjoy about this. Even if Liirie’s overly sensitive pussy wasn’t giving him a rousing amount of encouragement, the idea of Valeera being right there, watching everything, made him simultaneously nervous and thrilled. He abandoned the idea of going slowly and spread Liirie’s moist lips with his tongue, diving deeper and tasting her sweet juices as he ran his tongue across her clit.

Liirie opened her mouth in a silent scream, clutching the bedsheets so hard that Hadrian thought he heard them rip. He could feel her smooth walls contracting underneath him, and her hips began to thrust with abandon, grinding her pleasure nub even harder into his face. Hadrian could taste her nectar as she reached a quick but, apparently, very fulfilling release, and did his best to keep it off of the bed.

Liirie panted heavily as she struggled up off of the sheets, glaring lustily into Hadrian’s eyes.

“Thank you, milord… but I think there’s a way for us both to feel good, now.”

Liirie lowered her arms under Hadrian’s, lifting him slowly up by the armpits. She didn’t have much strength, but Hadrian didn’t hesitate to come with her, not resisting in the slightest. He settled his arms in beside her, avoiding putting his full weight around her body, while trying to position himself for the best degree of movement.

“Ah, easy… just put it in, Lord, I’ll take care of the rest,” Liirie said with a smirk, running her fingers along Hadrian’s cheek. Everywhere she touched it felt like soft feathers were brushing against his skin, sending chills and shivers across his entire body. Hadrian nodded and aligned himself at her entrance, feeling Liirie’s taut body tense with anticipation. Shivers ran down her spine as she sat still, her eyes pleading for him to make the push.

Hadrian wrapped his arms around Liirie, running his hands along her silken skin, anchoring both of them to the bed, and slowly moved his hips forward. There was almost no resistance as he pushed in, feeling Liirie’s lips almost seem to stretch out around him. Her snatch welcomed him, and before long Hadrian had bottomed out, feeling her soaked body clutching feverishly around him.

“And now…” she said quietly, “…allow me.”

Hadrian felt Liirie’s walls begin to stroke him, but her body did not move. His eyes widened and he did his best to pull back and look down without moving out of her. Liirie’s eyes lit up as the motion continued, growing steadily stronger and more insistent, as if her pussy was actually milking his cock for semen.

“I, uh… I guess you probably didn’t know this about morphs either… we can control more than just our appearances,” she said quietly. A bright rosy tint started to creep across her cheeks as she looked down, apparently focusing on her efforts. The tightness her cunt was doubled, and the speed slowly began to ramp up.

Hadrian opened his mouth, but nothing besides a soft moan came out as Liirie began to exult with a litany of satisfied groans, clearly feeling just as much pleasure from the experience as he was. Seeing that, Hadrian stopped holding himself back and laid down upon Liirie, letting her adaptable pussy handle all the work while he played with her nipples, eliciting quiet squeaks from her and causing her pussy to twitch as she momentarily lost focus every time he got too aggressive.

They continued on like that for quite some time, and eventually Valeera’s moans added in to the chorus. Hadrian fought to keep his weight off of her as the pleasure started to overpower his basic motor control, eventually settling for pushing Liirie up further onto the bed and fully laying himself on it as she stroked wildly, her face a mask of ecstasy as her pulses became spastic, randomly tensing and releasing Hadrian’s member in ways that had him twitching and ready to burst.

“Liirie, I’m gonna cum!”

“Cum on me! Come on my tits!”

The bold request was unusually firm for the woman, but Hadrian didn’t concern himself with that. He gave a few final thrusts, sending them both as close to the edge as he could, before he pulled out and quickly straddled her, stroking himself rapidly while her hands went to work on her clit.

Hadrian’s orgasm hit him hard, crashing over his excited mind with the full weight that such unusual stimulation could build. He came in jets, surprising even himself with the volume after Valeera’s ministrations earlier, several bursts of white covering Liirie’s tits. The moment that it hit her skin she started to moan and buck, nearly knocking Hadrian over with her uncontrollable spasms. A moment later she let out a piercing scream and her whole body locked up, leaving Hadrian to ride out his own orgasm in stillness.

As soon as the last pulses of his cock died down, Hadrian fell to the side, careful to extricate his leg from Liirie’s side as he did so. Valeera must have had a fairly quiet orgasm, because even though Hadrian had heard nothing she was only idly toying with herself now, her lithe body coated in a thin layer of sweat that nearly matched her smile in terms of satisfied gleams.

“Excellent work, Liirie. Have you been practicing?”

“How often do you get to practice that?” Hadrian asked, laughing.

“Well, as often as I have someone to practice with,” Liirie teased, her shyness still not fully present as she basked in her afterglow.

“How many of your partners have a tool that can actually feel it to make it worth practicing, though?” Hadrian’s curiosity was suddenly growing.

Valeera answered with a smile that simultaneously sent shivers down Hadrian’s spine and his cock.

“Oh, Lord… we have so very many things to teach you."