Hikaru flipped the page. It had been a couple of weeks since she had found out that she was pregnant, and honestly, she had barely spoken with Amy since she confronted her. She had also briefly been mad at the goddess for not allowing her to abort it, but now she was the opposite. In fact, the very concept was starting to scare her. This book she was reading was on fertility gods, and well, to put it lightly they hated abortion. It was no wonder the goddess had reacted the way she did when she tried to ask.
To sum what she had learned from the last couple of chapters in the book. Fertility gods saw every new life as their blessing to the world. The circumstances behind its conception did not matter to them. They saw aborting it as both a sin, and a personal insult. A grave insult to be exact, and they responded accordingly. She had read a few of the curses they were known to hand out, and she had to admit they were fairly creative and terrifying. The curse depended on the goddess in question. None of which she wanted to think about, so she pushed those curses out of mind and sent a prayer of thanks. She was glad that her goddess had stopped her from doing something stupid.
Sure being pregnant now was inconvenient, but she could deal with it. She even had time to consider what she would do with her child. Well, daughter, there was no chance of her having a son. Not unless something strange happened. She had been thinking about it a lot lately, and having had some time to think, she found herself leaning towards raising the girl herself. Hikaru had always wanted a child of her own, she just never pursued it before. Mainly because she did not feel she was ready or could support one. Now that she had one on the way, she was going to try.
She rubbed her stomach a bit while lost in thought. Her mind wandered from the page in front of her. As she daydreamed about her future daughter. In her mind she was watching a little toddler taking her first steps. An image that filled her with joy.
She shook off the dream. She did not have time to be lost in fantasies. Her goddess wanted her to study these books, and she wanted to get them finished. Her mind briefly flashed to Amy, and she pushed Amy out of her thoughts once again. She did not want to think about her. Well, she tried to as her mind still wanted to dwell on her. Hikaru still had trouble sorting out how she felt about Amy.
Amy had betrayed her, and yet she could not bring herself to hate her. She was still mad at her yes, but not because of the whole pregnancy thing. No, she was most angry about the fact that Amy stubbornly refused to apologize. Not one word of apology or even a hint that she regretted her actions. She was also still mad at herself for not seeing this coming. For not asking those questions, for letting Amy betray her trust like that. It was why she had such a hard time staying in the same room for any length of time. Maybe that had played a role in why she had locked herself in the local library.
She heard footsteps behind her, breaking her train of thought. She looked back to see a familiar figure approach. It was an older man who managed this library. He was also a priest in the local temple, and that was not surprising since the library was attached to the temple. “Sorry to intrude on your studies, Priestess. It is almost time for the midday meal.”
She gave him a look, and replied, “Thanks for the notice, but I keep telling you that I can hardly call myself a Priestess. I still have much to learn.”
He chuckled, “Maybe, but it is only a matter of time before you make full priestess. Besides, we both know that the only thing keeping you from being a full one is a technicality.”
She sighed and knew exactly what he was referring to. She had yet to earn her mark, which in the clans would mark her as a full priestess. Many here already treated her as if she was above the other apprentices. Even if her focus was healing, that still qualified her as a priestess in their minds. It had gotten out that she had spoken to her goddess, and well the clan priests and priestesses saw that as a sign of talent. The older priests and priestesses were nice and treated her well, often trying to help her with her studies. While the younger priests, priestesses, and apprentices had jealousy commonly showing among them. This was especially true of the young apprentices. They were often trying to make things hard for her. Still, it was nice in some ways since the temple treated her like nobility. Although that was the normal treatment for the clergy around here. Healers were just as highly respected, if not more so than the average Priest or Priestess. Even the apprentices were well treated and respected. Like lower class nobility.
“I guess. What is on the menu today?”
She noted his expression, and knew he did not like it, “Just stew with a side of bread, and no meat.”
She knew why, with all the monsters popping up out of the woodworks, the hunters were having a hard time bringing back any good hauls. While ranchers and farmers were having trouble bringing their goods to market. Meat did not last as long as vegetables, so they had more vegetables and fruit than meat to choose from. Vegetables just stored better so most farmers just transported their goods on carts. While ranchers tended to bring their livestock to market alive so that it could be prepared at the market or local butcher. That was part of the problem though, as it was much harder to protect a herd of livestock than a cart of veggies. Not to mention that the guards and battle priests were focusing on protecting the farmland. So there were not enough people to search the forests for monster nests and clear them out or protect all of the trade routes. So while production had not changed the price had skyrocketed especially for meat. All because of the monster problem. A fact no one was happy about because it used to be just a few short months ago that even commoners could afford a bit of meat every once in a while. Now it was getting hard to find, and expensive. Well outside of certain kinds of preserved meat. Honestly, she had worse before her summoning. At least here there were no processed foods, and meals had a little more variety even with the tough times when going with what is cheap. She gave him a smile, “Alright, not the worst. Just give me a moment to mark my spot and put some of these books away.”
He glanced at the book, and asked, “What are you reading anyway?”
She flushed slightly, “Um, a book on fertility gods.”
He chuckled, “Fascinating aren’t they?”
She nodded, “Makes me appreciate my goddess all the more.”
He smiled at her, “Some of them can be real asses, but may I ask in what way?”
She blushed and looked away. No way she was going to admit she was pregnant. She just wasn’t ready to share that, and it was a good thing she was not showing yet. Although she did have a slight bout of morning sickness this morning. The only person who even knew was Amy, and she wanted to keep it that way. Although, she knew Ruri seemed to suspect that something was going on. The little half-dwarf had been trying to get them to speak to each other for a while. Personally she had nothing to say to her. Not until she apologized that is.
Slipping in a bookmark, she closed her book. Taking a moment to tidy up the table, she found the priest was already gone by the time she was done. He had done what he had come here for, so she was not complaining. She slipped out of the room quietly and hurried on to the temple mess.
She was cleaning up her meal when she noticed a familiar mop of pink hair moving through a gap in the crowd. She sighed, it seemed she was not going to get a day without her bugging her. Not an encounter she was looking forward to, but she was not going to avoid her friend. Hikaru had no reason to be mad with Ruri and was only annoyed with her pushing her to speak with Amy.
By the time she was finished cleaning up, a certain half-dwarf had reached her and settled in next to her. “I thought I would find you here. So are you going to talk to her, or will you at least talk to me?”
She looked at her in surprise. Hikaru had not expected her to be so direct, and her surprise and confusion must have shown on her face though as Ruri spoke.
“Well, it is clear now that something is wrong between the two of you. Neither one of you will talk with the other, and you haven’t been talking to others either. So if you aren’t going to talk it out with her, maybe you can tell me what is wrong.”
A brief flash of the problem flitted through her mind, and she flushed. She was not sure she could ever admit what happened. It was rather embarrassing. Especially since she was rather private when it came to that kind of thing, and then there was the other problem. She was still keeping a secret from her friend. A fact made worse by the fact she did not have many of them. That thought made her slump her shoulders, as she briefly thought of herself as being pathetic.
Ruri watched Hikaru’s face and movements. She had not known Hikaru for long, but she was a very emotive girl. Which made it rather easy to read her. She suspected it would be much easier to get to the bottom of this problem from Hikaru’s side of the problem. This problem needed to be solved, rather urgently in fact. Given that having two members of their party refusing to speak with the other was a massive problem with their teamwork. And they had such a great relationship when she had first met them. Ruri really did want to know what had happened and fix it before they left town.
With a smile she hoped looked friendly to Hikaru, she proposed, “maybe you will feel more comfortable somewhere more private?”
Ruri watched another rush of emotions before Hikaru said, “It’s kind of hard to talk about, even in private. Besides it’s Amy that needs to apologize.”
Ruri affixed her with a look and pulled on her arm leading her out of the room. A more private locale already in mind, while she told her, “Are you sure about that? You seem to be feeling guilty about something.”
She turned red, her eyes widened and she exclaimed, “I’m not! Amy is the one that needs to apologize.”
Ruri sighed, and firmly told her, “Well she isn’t here. Besides, I very well can’t make a conclusion if I don’t know what is going on. Maybe you are right, but how can I know if you don’t tell me!? So stop acting like a little girl, and tell me what is wrong!”
Hikaru’s face dropped, and she started studying her feet. Hikaru just followed behind her quietly, and Ruri stopped pushing her. Giving her a little space, as she led her to that small out of the way room she had in mind.
It wasn’t far so they made it to the room quickly enough. Hikaru still seemed to be thinking. So Ruri sat her down on a crate and then sat down herself on an opposing one. Now that she had her here, she was not going to just let her go without learning what was wrong, but she could afford to be patient. She decided to just sit patiently and let Hikaru make her decision. After a while, that choice was rewarded as Hikaru began to speak.
Sounds like the rest of this conversation might decide whether I keep reading. Amy is an abuser and Hikaru is showing all the signs of someone being abused. Either this is a masterful bit of writing that is cognizant of that or something much darker.
Well just wait and see. Or check Patreon and find out now
@JCountry I can respect the hustle and if I wasn't tight on money would have already joined a while ago. However, I'm not giving any money just to find out if my fears are true because if they are, I wouldn't have wanted to give you money in the first place. The way your coaching it here does make it sound like things are resolved in a decent way but not only don't I have the money to do so but I also will not take that chance.
@Akhier
Yeah, I don't blame you. Anyway, I feel it is a decent resolution. I have not finished, but Ruri intervenes, and I have a rough outline for her intervention. Next chapter is mostly her getting the story out of Hikaru, a little something extra. Then the chapter after that is where Ruri confronts Amy.
Yes, finally! I was looking forward to this being resolved. And seeing Amy get some slight comeuppance.
Yep, this line has a few chapters and will resolve a few things
@JCountry Also can't wait to see their cute daughters!
@Salinthrous That may be a little while time wise
Mentioning options in book- to add
@JCountry - previous comment
The books would have explained the cost. The process takes energy to do. Its not actually much of a cost. Just it drops the source and the target's mana to zero for a couple of days afterwards, nothing really major unless you happen to be an adventurer and use magic regularly
I REALLY think this information he "off-screen" read should be added to this chapter - Temples & what it invovles like in above Quoted comment, and some other ones
That way its actually in the story, rather than just extra info thats just in comments
It also REALLY help blunt the harsh info about Fertility Goddess and curses, as it show that there is a way out / options. Especially not just his case, but as others have adamently brought up (and me) about rape & all that.
With Hero, it'd just be he choose not to take this route.
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Be nice added also not all fertility goddess were bit*h's that curse here too; being kind, sympathetic & loving etc. What's more, you could say they actually talk to said person, guide them & even help sooth them etc. This and other gods doing same thing too be nice, and show gods care for their people
Well so much the Q&A b4 I've had with Gods not turning out be B&W with this issue. Seems like fertility gods f*cked u all. Sorry all raped girls like arlie's wagon train incident, u young daughters plus moms, & monster victims. Just put up with it! Or be forced to face horrible curses for your terrible crime of making a choice you heatens!
Well they don't have to keep them. The commonly accepted practice for unwanted children is to give them to the temple...
@JCountry - Sorry rant -
It's not the same thing. Maybe some can handle that, comparatively more likely in accidental , but in the of case that is just plain up being unrealistic by a very long mile. And then to tell them, especially when its right after the incident they go or able to seek help, & its only just a zygot, not even an embryo, that they're force to keep it or be cursed!!!
Just is plain cruelty, torture and stupidity on the parts of the gods! And having clearly no understanding of biology. Let alone proper RL legal time, justs s few weeks an embryo is not even devolped into anything, and even the start of smipliest of fetus isn't till 9 wks. How is emotionally ruining & harming a person, plus with potential injury &/or harm from themselves, others, complication pos preg/monster,. Then there's and where +how they are left in every aspect aftwards & baby/monster (if one or both live)
People still modern time miscarry alot, plus other probs, so if gods really wanted to interfere despite supposed rules (and seems they still alot) & crap, rather than use their power to curse someone (horribly) - why not PREVENT the conception, &/or being implanted womb in days later (or monster stuff), from happening!! Be way easier!!! That's not even including atleast allowing themselves the chance deal with it themselves if Gods can't be f*cked to do that & also have preventative blessings (both genders) at temples as possibility. Let them have easy find/make/apply with contraceptives (inc morning after) be it poitions, herbs &/or spells, even before then "seperate" case with ones of abortion.
BUT instead they LET it happen, something thats biological & not their DIVINE PWRs actuallyy doing f*ck all to make happen. So no, its not their gift to them or world. WORSE they should know better, especially Soleans a advance High Tech civ who has gone through these social evolutions plus originally from science with no "gods". Even pos TRUE dragons too as they've lived and seen this, plus all their experience. And Soleons are the ones who made this world, yet they have allowed the enforcement of tyranical god-laws on people's rights & as part limiting the societal growth & evolution of civiilation to progress forward- something women's rights is storng part of. This a people who got enjoy those benefits, but decided not to give it bio to people or atleast allow them to discover & use them
@Sektos I guess I can see that. Well, part of this is from the Solean moral code, but who said a few of them don't interfere and prevent it from happening? At least on occasion if not all the time.
@Sektos Soleans do not see Abortion as a right. They see it as murder
@JCountry Which not only is argueably incredibly stupid for an advance syfy (& later magic civilisation) which should know about biology. They got to where they are through similar social developement to humans they said they came from (different reality or what ever).
Seeing as murder is plainly incredibly idiotic, and doesnt stop them killing people or even entire races, and even if ridiculoously "murder" then taking into account cirsumstance like anu good legal system. SO instead we have a superpowered, entitled ppl who themselves dont have to worry about issue as they have ton of sex, judging and forcing their own views of far weaker people, including in horrible situations,
They makke it difficult , impossible ,or even ban if it does exist, to have some means to stop themselves getting pregnant, even for just the case of rape atleast, an not having that, then even trying to deal with it after. Feel free to have magic, change childs gender, even break nature for a nice thing as GxG child, but f*ck off if you believe have a right to your body! We downright curse the sh*t out of you heathen bit*h
You say they MAY help, but we've seen NONE of that or implication they try protect people at all from it. In fact our Goddes loaded the gun for it to happen with Amy & Hero!!! Why are then even case of it happening & entire species that live off it? Rather they reward some goblins, but knowling let a forced pregnacy happen. Same to all goblin, tentacle, monster or even ppl rape victims. This is the world the soleans made, oh sure ban our advance tech, but let ban NORMAL scientific developement also.
@Sektos Apparently the pos potential, if even developes at all, of a few cells, trumps a persons life & health, & the denial of multiple futures where they actually have happy, healthy, wanted & loved children. These are now impossible, because Gods & advance Syfy race are absolute pricks, no ifs or buts
@Sektos I think you need to step back a moment. The Soleans are not blind to your argument, but they have moved past it. To them, every life begins at the moment of conception, and they believe every life should be given a chance to flourish. From their point of view, abortion is punishing the child when it is innocent of the crimes that led to its conception. Now while they do not allow abortion, which you locked onto with a passion, you ignore a possibility mentioned. They can and do allow mothers to give up a child before birth, and transfer them to the womb of another one who is more willing to have said child. That isn't even the only solution they have. Another that is more questionable, involves mind magic to help the mother move past these emotions.
Point being they are so advanced that abortion is completely unnecessary from their perspective. There are no reasons for them to abort a child. They also offer this to the less advanced through their temples. Hikaru does not even have to keep the child, but as alluded to her mentality does not allow her to take these options. Also in her case the child while a surprise was not entirely unwanted. Earlier then she had planned, and not the way she wanted it. In addition, while the goddess allowed this to happen. She had her reasons and had hoped for a slightly different outcome to happen.
@Sektos
Apparently the pos potential, if even developes at all, of a few cells, trumps a persons life & health
Even absent what JCountry already outlined(the temple can transfer the pregnancy to someone else who wants the child), there also is the matter that they're in a setting with magical healing.
So long as a healer is present at the time of delivery, there is no reason why any mother should be at risk of death as a result of child birth in that setting. The healer would simply cast a spell and repair the damage.
@notaid - Honestly outside comment on latest chapter about Arlie & Twins needing relationship revised through cutting line etc. I want to drop talking about this because its going nowhere, & all these points should have been made & stated in the story itself, & earlier.
Here i mostly making ephasis on their personal life & mental health also. Rape is not just having a child & complications with pregnancy & birth. Whats more even today complications can kill a mother or child, & wether they can get or find a healer, or one strong enough is another matter. This is made worse it's a monster. Outside mind f*ckery to help deal with trauma, something Arlie states & obviously not always on hand (or powerful enough) to deal with trauma or being able to go through pregnancy. Also there's the mental health after this & trauma that can continue for rest of life. And thats not counting how other peopl could treat them.
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As for Soleans moving past it, well of course they have, they dont need to deal with it as species as they can choose when they are fertile or not., have tach & spells to help, and many supporting mates & bond-mate to help care for them & children- something mortals can't or may not have for reasons, or even lose because of events eg, social stigmatisation for a number of reasons for one.
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Temples & moving baby (WAY complicated really with where etc) should have been clearly stated in story & far earlier. Plain & simple. What's more have this also explained better to Hero, but he was only told could do if found will person, nothing about temples.
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This also makes for them contraceptives unneccesary , but that is not the case for other species, so even outside after preg, being able to have contraceptives available & allowedin story & not hard to get; speels, potions etc, would help solve this issues immensely and there is NO reason not to have them at all.
Even have gods give blessing to not have pregnancy, just as they give them to ensure or improve it for people as in story, would help too. And again easier & more ethical for Godss than allowing unwanted ones (esp. here rape) & horribly cursing them, would be to do this.
The NO. ONE way to prevent abortion is contraceptives (no, just saying not to have s*x doesnt).
If anything the gods should push for & be all for this. Not only to resolve this issue, but also help to emmancipate women to be able to do more & help break societal restrictions+predjudice.
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Im finished with talking about this here, because it gets nowhere & unfortunately is continuing to making me not like this story more (along with MC issues) thats putting it on the fence for me now
@Sektos
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_womb
We can already do artificial wombs with a 14 week old lamb fetus as of 2017, and its gestation is very comparable to humans(why it was chosen as a test). It's technically complicated, but not impossible. An actual transplant between people, rather than from a person to an artificial womb(which has evidently been done for up to 13 days already) is fantasy at present and would be rife with potential complications with current tech.
But the thing here is you've hit a suspension of disbelief issue for yourself for whatever reason. Some things could use clarification and expansion on in the text. But the whole "it's a magical setting" should be providing cover for most of the technical details you're getting hung up on here. Just wave your hand and go "they've resolved the problems on those things with a 'magic ritual'" and move on.