As Van left the town and stepped into the wider world, what normally would have taken his attention was clouded by the thoughts he was having from watching what happened in the general store with that vamp. Questions that he wanted some answers to.

“Umm, dad?” Van said, trying to get his father’s attention to ask his question and trying to hide how uncomfortable he was about it.

“Yes?” Alvaroz asked.

“About what that woman said… about making an appointment through the right channels… what was that about?” Van questioned.

“Ahh… that… well…” Alv looked a little uncomfortable at being asked such a thing. But steeled himself as he realized that it was something he should tell his son, now that he was an adult.

“As you know…” Alv began. “Women outnumber men by a large margin. So it makes sense that, because of that, coupling between one man and many women came about right? But even so, the demand for men is still high. In order to help with this problem, it was sometimes necessary for people like me, and technically you… who have a responsibility to their subjects… to help them get pregnant… should they be unable to find a male for themselves… through a petition to their local lord, they ask for assistance, if the local lord is a male, and cannot find another male to assist the women, the Lord himself will do the deed.”

“Thankfully, this practice has been used less and less over the years. Mostly due in part and in thanks to new medicines and magics that make getting pregnant easier or not getting pregnant as the case may be sometimes. Not to mention guilds such as the Lover’s guild that has cornered the industry in helping women not only get pregnant but also help them scratch that itch that women seem to have, freeing up men such as myself from having to do so. Though most consider the Lovers guild to be just another type of brothel.”

“So other people can do this… Job? For you?” Van asked, a little confused.

Alvaroz nodded. “As you know we have a few butlers working for us correct? Well, they help with the maids we have and are compensated well for their work. In Fact, a male, just by putting that they are willing to ‘put out' on their resume, might not only find that they got the job they are looking for but a higher salary and compensation for when they are too tired to work for doing… the other kind of work…”

This made Alv stop in thought as he came to realize something “You Van… are lucky… in that, you live in more modern times. Times such that you can hire other males to do what you don’t want to. Or for that matter, living in a time where women can take pills that help regulate their arousal. Women are people too, after all, not all of them want to be beholden to whatever genetics makes them like that. And not every woman is after getting a male into bed. As time moves on and new thoughts and ideologies take root, a male's role as just a simple stud has changed!” Alvaroz said slowly, getting more and more excited.

He then began a small rant about progressive thought and ideas and what the future may bring. Gender equality and equal rights and more. A future where men were seen as an equal and not a breeding machine.

Van listened with rapt attention, surprised by the zeal of his father. After a while, Alvaroz finally seemed to be winding down from his rant.

“And so you see, the whole petition thing to get the lord, such as myself, to get a bunch of women pregnant in these modern times is just silly. Its practice didn’t even originate in Alcray! It was for those humans that are susceptible to disease and dying early during childhood that started it! Thousands of years ago, when they didn’t have the technology or knowledge we have today! All so that the rate of deaths they had didn’t outnumber the living!” Alvaroz finished, a little out of breath with the passion he was speaking with, then turning a little red with embarrassment when he realized what he did and thankful that no one else was around to hear him.

Alv then gave a polite cough, looking left and right. “And umm… that's why you are so lucky to live in these modern times…” he said, a little lamely.

Van polity showed his support for what his father said by giving a small clap and applause. Which only made Alv blush a little more.

“That was very interesting,” Van said genuinely. Learning more about men's rights and roles in society than he had ever learned from his father before. “Note to self, when wanting to ask father a question. Phrases it in a manner that will get his progressive zeal fired up.”

“Thank you…” Alv said.

It was then that Van realized how far they come. “Where… are we going?” he asked, looking left and right.

Alv was only too happy to answer as it changed the subject. “We are going to a camping site deep into the woods. A few hours from here.”

“Isn’t that kinda long ways away?” Van asked.

Alv grinned. “Where else would you expect animals, plants, and beasts to reside? Right next to the town walls?” he then nodded ahead. “Up ahead in a campsite used by adventurers, hunters, and more. As a base of operations to go out deeper into the forest and bring back game and other valuables. It's also the place where we will train for the next few weeks as I teach you how to survive and what is valuable to take with you and what is not. As well as how to respect the forest and the creatures living in it. You don’t want to ruin the place for everyone else, or for that matter the animals and plants you may want to come back for.”

“Can a base inside the woods be safe?” Van asked, a little concerned.

“Well… it's not that deep…” Alv amended. “Not to mention, do you see those small pedestals that pop up every ten to fifteen minutes? Those help suppress and keep away powerful beasts that might harm us, they're called warding stones. The campsite has stronger ones. And just in case, we have the barriers stones we got from the general store, not to mention the campsite also has powerful barrier stones.” he said patting the bag slung across his shoulder.

Van had noticed the rocks along the way. But he thought they were just strangely shaped rocks. Taking a closer look at them, he realized that they were similar in design to the ones that were at that outpost they stayed at on their way to Thea’s home. Just smaller and extremely old and worn. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure they even worked anymore with the way they were. But a quick look using his mana sense gave him a surprising result. While indeed a little weaker than they probably were when they were first made. They still showed that they worked as intended, giving him some small amount of relief.

Which brought him to his next question. “What are barrier stones? And what's the bag used for?” Van asked his father

Alv smiled at the questions. Happy to answer them on their way to the campsite. He was in a good mood because it's been so long since he got out and had some fresh air. Even Van seemed more than content to walk beside him and look at the beautiful scenery. It was strangely bright outside today, so they could see the beautiful landscape in all its majesty. To the point that when Van asked his question, he wasn’t even looking at his father, but instead at the endless sea of green, filled with strange and colorful flowers. There was even some bluegrass mixed in with the green ones. Giving an interesting sight.

“The barrier stones act somewhat similar to the pedestals, in that they are meant to protect those inside the barrier. Whenever you are deep inside a forest or for that matter, any dangerous place. Putting up these stones will not only help protect you but will warn you of anything trying to break through. These are extremely useful for newbie adventurers and the like, who have a hard time taking turns doing night watch or can’t sleep due to fear of being snuck up on during their sleep. Though they are expensive, their cost has slowly gone down over the years thanks in part to the industry boom a few decades ago.” Alv said.

“As for the bag… that should be self-explanatory. This bag can hold a lot more than what most would think. Being bigger on the inside than the outside. The reason for this should be obvious. Not everyone has a soul realm your size, after all, I would have brought my own... but I kinda misplaced it…” he said, a little embarrassed.

It was then that Van realized how true that must be. If even his father preferred some help in carrying things around using a bag. Then that just went to show how abnormally large his soul realm was… right? So if even his father, someone who he looked up to as a seasoned traveler, needed a bag to help carry his stuff. Then that must mean that many more people must need such bags as well… it was finally sinking in how different he must be compared to the norm.

The two then walked in silence, both contend to just watch the landscape move by as they progressed ever closer to the large woods in the distance. As they did so, Van couldn’t help but realize how big those woods were getting. He thought it was just them getting closer, but he couldn’t be more wrong. It seemed that by the time they reached the tree line, tree’s as big as great oaks and bigger were already making their presence known. And from what Van could see, they only got bigger from there the deeper you went.

They followed the path for about another two hours. The day getting late, and the shadows getting long until they reached the campsite.

It was a small site with a watchtower and a few log cabins surrounded by more stone pedestals that were a bit larger than the ones that followed the path here. There also seemed to be what Van could only surmise as processing centers for any resources taken from the forest. As well as a few other facilities dotted about. Strangely enough, Van presumed that there would be many people about, but only found a few.

“This is it! Here we are…” Alv said, spreading his arm to encompass the campsite. “Sites like these are used to help people like us. Adventurers and hunters will use this place to go deeper into the forest, hunt for the day, then sleep here. Afterward, they will travel back to the city to sell whatever goods that they processed. It wouldn’t make sense for them to travel all the way to the forest to hunt and try to run back to the city all within a day after all, right?”

“Anyway, we will be staying here for the night and then tomorrow morning we will go deeper in and see if we can’t find a safe place to stay where we can use these barriers stones. I’ll teach you how to use them, as well as what places you should and shouldn’t stay at. Which places to avoid, and how to live off the land. By the time we are done here. You will know everything I can cram into you about surviving in the wilderness in these few weeks. Are you excited?” Alv asked with a grin, looking towards his son with an expectant look in his eyes.

Van wasn’t so sure. At first he was excited. But now that he was here, he was a little nervous. As anyone would when being thrown out of their element. And being told that they were only staying the night and the next one will only have small rocks to protect them as they try to sleep instead of large pedestals, didn’t help calm his nerves. Still… he didn’t want to disappoint his father, nor did he want to turn back now after how far he has come to finally reach the point where he can explore the world around him. So he gave a somewhat adamant nod towards his father, hoping to convey his determination. “I’m ready…”

Alv smiled, hoping for an answer like that. “Good… let's get ourselves a cabin and rest for the night. We have a long day tomorrow and so much to prepare for.” with that he turned to look for a guard to talk to. After finding one they were pointed in the direction of an empty cabin they could use, as well as a key that they have to return come tomorrow morning.

As they were getting ready for bed, brought up the subject of the Annas residing in his soul realm.

“Van, I don’t mind you using your familiars. In fact, tomorrow morning, I want you to bring them out. But as for Anna, this is just for the two of us… this is to train you on how to survive without the help of others and using only your own powers. Considering that familiars are more an extension of a mage than a companion. Learning how best to utilize them in order to survive and fight will also be important. I will help you the first few weeks, but in the last few days, I'm going to give you a few tasks to do as I watch from afar.”

Then seeing the worried look on Van’s face he quickly added. “Don’t worry, I won't do anything that will be too dangerous. Maybe hunt down a weak beast or two and see if you can track down a few rare herbs, as well as quiz you on what you have learned. Is that fine with you?”

Van hesitated but nodded. Thinking it was only fair. Even he didn’t want to rely on everyone else for help. It honestly never occurred to him to use Anna, though he had to admit that it had been on his mind. As for his familiars, he also thought he wasn’t supposed to use them, but was surprised to be encouraged to use them instead.

“Don’t worry father, I can handle it… I will grow stronger.” Van said adamantly.

Alv gave a small nod back at that. Proud of his son’s determination. Wishing he was a better father and that he could have helped his son more. But ready to take these next few steps with him to see it through.

He turned off the lights, and both mentally prepared for what tomorrow might bring.

Varenes

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