Before when the Commonwealth was still in its infancy, Kanae would soar across the country with Arenade. Edina and Esta were occasional companions due to their own busy schedules. Mitty sometimes accompanied her, too, helping to chart what was once the uncharted No Man's Land. Those were her happiest memories. Their only worries were whether or not they had enough to eat at night, what monsters might jump out at them, and if it was going to rain.

Now, flying over the lush emerald pastures, Kanae was beginning to feel that part of their past returning. Warmer winds caressed her skin as summer in the Commonwealth approached. The war had lasted all of winter and was behind them now. Fresh cedar and pine trees made her nose wrinkle from nostalgia. Packs of herbivorous dire beasts emerged from hibernation to graze on sun-touched fields, and carnivorous dire beasts skulked from the shadows to hunt on them.

To Kanae's left, Arenade and Esta were riding on their own dreadmourns. To her right, Edina wouldn't ride on anything less than her undead dragon. Anyone who saw them must have thought they were a group of monsters. They would be half-right, given what she and her companions were riding on.

Titan craned his neck. Exhaustion showed in those beady black eyes. They had been flying for a day and a half now, stopping only once to eat and drink. Kanae spotted a river cutting through the forest below. This might be a good time to give the dreadmourns a break.

"Hey! Let's give our mounts a little rest!" Kanae shouted.

"You just want to fuck Titan again!" Arenade fired back with a knowing look.

"NO! M-Maybe… not now though! It'd be bad if any of the dreadmourns collapse from fatigue," she reasoned.

They eventually agreed and descended into the forest floor. Edina de-summoned her undead dragon. Meanwhile, Kanae, Esta, and Arenade brought their dreadmourns over to the river to let them hydrate and graze on the flora.

"I told you guys we should've left them back home. Dead things don't run on stamina or hunger. My dragon could've gotten us there in no time." Edina shrugged.

"I'm not bringing the dreadmourns just to ride and get ridden on. We're going to gift two of them to Lord Charron," Kanae explained.

"What? Why? Charron's like a stray dog. You give him one thing, he's going to keep coming back for more. Don't tell me you're trying to win him over." Arenade narrowed her wrathful eyes.

"The last thing I want to do is incur the Queen-Mother's fury, so no… In case you need reminding, we're allies! Artaggon and Radevic have been at each other's throats for years, too. Getting them into an alliance is going to be tough. I can use the gift dreadmourns as an excuse to broach the topic," she said.

The only other person who might know more about the relationship between both factions was Esta. She was currently hitching the three dreadmourns to a tree so they wouldn't think to run. As the Knight of Silver within the Order of Colors, her duty was to monitor and deal with demon threats. The same was true for Kanae as the Knight of Amethyst.

They were probably the most effective colored knights in decades. There was no better method of neutralizing a threat than making allies of them, and the Demon's Three Alliance had bridged a partnership never before seen.

"You guys start a fire. I'm going to go check on Esta," Kanae said.

On the way over to the lake, the sound of Edina and Arenade bickering revved up.

"I'll collect the wood, and you start the fire?" Edina suggested.

"Holy fire doesn't burn the way you think it does. I'm crowned a priest, not an elemental mage!" Arenade retorted.

"What in the three hells are you even good for if you can't even start a fire?!" the necromancer groaned.

Kanae just hoped to god they got a fire going by the time she returned…

"Ah, Master." Esta turned to Kanae with a smile. "I just finished hitching the dreadmourns. I have to say, it feels good to journey across the wilds without the threat of war again."

"You're telling me. It's not quite over yet though. I was wondering, what do you think the chances of Artaggon and Radevic becoming allies are?" Kanae asked.

Although the question didn't take Esta by surprise, she did fall quiet and into thought. The drakeling kneeled by the river to fill up her waterskin, then tossed the full pouch to Kanae.

"It's important to remember that," Esta began, "before you came along, demons were a very real threat to Radevic. You saw how far they had come south to attack a small town like Orturic. Past antagonisms will be hard to forgive. However, Ortesia's invasion did offer a once in a lifetime opportunity. We all know who the true threats are. My answer? Use that to your advantage as Queen of the Commonwealth."

As expected from Estaline von Cleisseldor. A well thought out answer. She was right, too. The Empire of Ortesia gave her the best chance to do so. Better not mess it up.

Kanae took a long swig of the waterskin before handing it back to Esta and thanked her loyal knight.

"Now if you will excuse me, I should secure the perimeter lest we risk a dire beast ambush." Esta flashed a smile and nod before heading off beyond the foliage.

Once the drakeling was gone, Kanae glanced left and right. Her stomach growled. She sidled up to Titan, whose massive cock was growing erect at her approach.

"Good boy." Kanae cooed and kneeled down at Titan's hind legs. "I just need a little snack. I'll make you feel really good in return."

The throbbing slab of meat was hot to the touch. Kanae massaged it slowly, picking up speed after every stroke. Her thoughts wandered to what Queen-Mother had told her. Join the Cult of Lust and Depravity. Breed them an army of monsters. The enticing thought made her extremely yet. Soon, Titan's dick began to throb intensely. She opened her tail pussy and clamped it shut on the tip and first few inches of his shaft.

Hot dreadmourn cum flooded down the length of Kanae's tail. Since it was connected to her womb, she felt the gooey warmth filling her up to the brim. Hunger sated, strength returned, and stamina full like after a good night's rest, she stood up to pat Titan on the snout. He responded by licking her.

"Whew. Thanks, Titan. I feel like I can take on a dragon. In both senses of the meaning," Kanae said.

Titan went back to drinking his fill of the lake. By now, Edina and Arenade should have long started the fire. Upon returning, however, the bundle of firewood was just a bundle of… wood, unlit and colder than the mountains north of Highgreen. The two idiots were bashing their skulls over why the other couldn't start a fire.

"Are you guys serious? You're supposed to be seasoned adventurers!" Kanae slapped a hand to her face.

"Don't look at me!" Edina protested. "I gathered the kindling. Arenade was in charge of starting the fire!"

"Your undead fetched the kindling. You were just filing your nails while they worked. By the Supreme One's hairy ass, you could have been helping me!" Arenade shouted while rubbing two sticks together in a half-hearted attempt to start a fire.

"The undead are an extension of me. It's my mana and magic that creates them. Therefore, I technically worked!" the necromancer countered.

This wasn't going anywhere.

"Okay, leave it to me. I'll light the fire," Kanae said.

Arenade chucked the sticks over her shoulders and backed away from the kindling. Kanae pointed her Ring of Scorching Ray at it, and she fired a single bolt. The tranquil scene quickly turned to chaos. The impact sent burning kindling everywhere. A bush caught fire. The ground began to smolder. Several branches were beginning to burn.

"Oh, great work. 'Leave it to me," she says, before burning down the forest!" Arenade threw her hands in the air.

"Kanae, you set the forest on fire!" Edina cried in panic.

"I CAN SEE THAT! HELP ME PUT IT OUT!" Kanae yelled.

The three of them managed to put out the fires before it spread to an uncontrollable inferno. Their hands were scorched. A couple of Edina's undead grunts had been charred black. Esta returned to the group while they were lying on the ground, covered in sweat and soot.

"Let me guess: you tried to start a campfire and failed." Esta folded her arms and stared.

With the actual adventurer back, they eventually got a fire going. A drakeling's flame breath was extremely convenient. Next on the list of things to do was hunt and forage for something to eat.

The sad truth about being a succubus was that Kanae had two hungers to sate. Physical food and sexual energy. If she only needed to sex, the choice would have been easy. Their rations had run out quickly because they underestimated what the dreadmourns needed to eat. They were omnivorous, requiring a balanced diet of meat and vegetation.

Esta had spotted a pack of dire boars while securing the perimeter around their camp. Unfortunately, she accidentally spooked them. They had run off but likely didn't go far, seeing as their tracks in the dirt seemed to slow. Finally, in a meadow not too far from camp, they found the sounder of boars with their snouts to the ground foraging for mushrooms.

"We can definitely handle hunting, right? Right…?" Kanae asked the group.

"Y-Yeah…" Arenade and Edina muttered unconfidently.

"Hey, I got a better idea. Why don't we just let Esta handle this? We only really need one to feed us all and the dreadmourns!" Edina suggested.

Kanae sighed. Fortunately, Charm worked on creatures just as well as it did on humans. Since the boars were within sight and of lower level, she exerted her charm spell on two.

"I have them under my control, so we can't screw this up. Scare the others away and get them," Kanae said.

"Oh, well if these things are charmed, then I can even capture some stupid boars!" As soon as Arenade rose to her feet, an arrow plunged into her forehead. "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The anguished scream sent every uncharmed boar running.

Kanae, Edina, and Esta poked their heads out of the bush. They came faced with several high elves across the clearing, peering at them just the same.

"You missed!"

"I think you must have hit someone instead?"

"Wait… a minute…" Kanae yanked the arrow out of Arenade, causing the wound to shoot out a spout of blood, and recognized it as Ortesian make.

"Ortesians! Surrender yourselves!" Esta jumped out of cover with her greatsword drawn.

The high elves cursed under their breath and ducked away before Kanae could extend her charm spell to them.

"Crap, I was too slow! After them!" Kanae chased after them with Esta and Edina close behind.

Rage incarnate stampeded up behind them.

"GET BACK HERE!" Arenade boomed, speeding past the three like a rampaging bull. "A WOUND THIS DEEP IS GOING TO LEAVE A SCAR, AND I HAVE A WEDDING IN A MONTH!"

"She's catching up!" one of them cried.

"What's wrong with this bitch?!" The other put pedal to the metal, but Arenade's fury carried her up to the pair of high elves and tackled them to the ground.

Kanae, Esta, and Edina caught up, but they were completely out of breath.

"Sometimes… I feel like you're… angry for all the wrong… reasons…" Kanae panted.

"Wrong reasons? In a wedding attended by thousands, I can't look anything less than perfect! What do you have to say for yourselves?" Arenade lifted both high elven men up by their necks.

"Screw you… succubus thrall…" The more gaunt of the pair growled.

"The only thralls here are about to be you two. Are there more of you?" Kanae asked, placing a charm on them.

"Yes," the other answered dejectedly. "We used to be a platoon of twenty. But we were scattered when dire beasts attacked in the night. It's only the two of us now. We have no idea where everyone else has gone."

"I can't imagine how many more of the empire's forces are sprinkled throughout the Commonwealth." Esta frowned.

There were thousands, and these were only two. Gretchen Redbaron had her hands full as an inquisitor, and it would take decades to root most of them out.

Kanae ordered them to go northeast to turn themselves in at Talahurah. If they perished along the way, oh well. As they walked off, Arenade cast healing magic on herself. The wound closed up but left behind a faint scar just like she suspected it would.

"Damn it. I should have just stayed in Ehmvier." Arenade sighed.

"You're the one who wanted to see Charron." Kanae shot her a side-eyed look.

Thankfully, the charmed boars were still around when they returned to the clearing. They roasted one to completion on top of the fire, and lightly charred the second for the dreadmourns to feast on. The once extinct beasts were surprisingly enthusiastic about fresh meat with blood oozing from every bite, a far cry from their lazy munching of dried jerky.

Tired from a long day of putting out fires, hunting boars, and chasing down runaway Ortesian soldiers, the party decided to turn in for the night and continue the journey in the morning.

Esta was sleeping upright against a tree, holding her greatsword to be ready at a moment's notice. Edina's undead minions patrolled the perimeter and threshold of where the fire's light reached. By Kanae's side, Arenade had cocooned herself up in a bedroll and looked like a caterpillar. A poultice band of mashed herbs wrapped around her forehead to cover the wound. As for Kanae, she stared up at the blanket of stars that twinkled back down at her.

Come morning, the party recommenced their journey to Highgreen. It took another few days of traveling, listening to Arenade complain about dry skin, and Edina wanting to raise unique monsters into undeath before they finally reached the dark elven city. Much of the snow from the mountains had receded, a sign of the changing seasons.

The ground leading up to the city was matted down, evidenced that a battle had taken place here. However, the grass that was growing back again suggested it happened a while ago. The Ortesian forces had hit Highgreen, too, but the city wall was absolutely pristine. Untouched even.

No welcoming party came out to receive Kanae and her party this time. They didn't send a letter. It was business as usual for the dark elven settlement. Citizens meandered about their business. Those that recognized Kanae stopped to offer their greetings, then went on their way. If she didn't know any better, it was as if the war never even touched Highgreen.

"Alright. Where's Charron?" Arenade asked, pounding a fist into her palm.

"I don't like where this is going," Kanae said.

But as Queen of the Commonwealth, it would be rude not to find the Demon Lord of Artaggon and make herself known. From what she remembered, Lord Charron made his residence over at the university of Moonlit Avenue.

Kanae brought them to the manor where Charron was staying. It was guarded by none other than Lady Dahlia, the hellhound demon lieutenant of Artaggon's forces.

"Now isn't this a sight. Fancy seeing you here so soon after the war's end. Don't you have a city to rebuild?" Lady asked.

"Isn't that what subjects are for? We're here to meet with Lord Charron. Is he in?" Kanae glanced up at the botanical manor.

Lady had them wait outside while she entered the greenhouse to fetch the demon lord. All the while, Arenade was trembling. She was looking down. Her fists were clenched, one of which had balled up the wedding invitation letter for Charron. Kanae realized this must be quite the emotional reunion for them as siblings.

"Ah, Demon Queen Kanae!" Charron emerged from the botanical garden dressed in an apron and straw hat. He was holding a spade in one hand and a pail of fertilizer in the other. "Congratulations are in order for our victory over… hm?" He squinted at Arenade and his eyes widened with recognition. "I know my sight does not betray me! If it isn't my dearest—"

"CHARRON! YOU'RE INVITED TO MY WEDDING!" Arenade, with her fist clenching the invitation, conjured a golden gauntlet from Holy Armament and slugged her brother in the face.

The Demon Lord of Artaggon flew back inside the greenhouse and crashed into a raised garden bed. Lady spun around on them, her mouth agape and claws out, trying to gauge whether they were about to fight or not. Similarly, Kanae, Edina, and Esta's jaws had dropped to the ground.

"Why is it that both of your reactions to meeting Lord Charron are to hit him?!" Lady snarled defensively.

"Stand down, Lady…" Charron squealed in agony from underneath a mound of fertilizer. "I probably deserved that at some point… What… What was that about a wedding?"

"I'll tell you while I'm clobbering the demon out of you, Charron!" Arenade exclaimed with blood in her eyes.

"Calm down, you idiot! You're going to plunge us into another war!" Kanae held Arenade back with the help of Edina and Esta frantically pulling against her.