A Hero's Rebirth Ch. 06

As I went to dress, I noticed, with some concern, that a certain part of my anatomy was larger than I was accustomed to. My balls had been the same size for years, but now they were starting to look a bit bigger. My first thought was either swelling from overuse or maybe fucking cancer. I gave them a quick check, and while they were sensitive, (whose balls aren't?) they weren't sore and didn't have any lumps or anything off. They weren't that much bigger, they weren't two fucking golf balls between my legs or anything, but they were bigger.

I guess it made sense. I mean, with the amount of jizz I was putting out, in order to accommodate that, they'd almost have to get bigger. Right? I wondered what this would do to my fucking prostate gland. I knew older dudes sometimes had issues with enlarged prostates and the first sign was issues taking a piss, and I hadn't had any issues there, so I was hoping everything would work out.

By the time my inspection was done, Benavur and Laliera had already left the room. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I didn't even think to put on my bracers first. So it took me long enough to dress that by the time I got out to the dining area, I only caught the tail end of a conversation.

"...it was amazing! Then she took our master's manhood into her throat and when he released, his seed went straight into her belly until she could take no more! The final release filled her mouth, then covered her face and breasts... it seemed to truly please him!" Benavur was recounting.

Laliera seemed to not mind as the story of her morning blowjob was told, she just nibbled on some bread, a pleased look on her face.

"Truly? You were able to fit his entire length into your.... Oh, hello master!" Risavis pressed Laliera, cutting off quickly when she noticed me.

"Good morning to you too." I greeted all the she-elves of my house. Then noticing their awkward silence, I pressed, "What? Are you not allowed to talk about sex in front of me?"

Glances were exchanged.

"Does it not bother you?" Diamiutar asked, confused.

"I mean, I was there when it happened... I was the one doing it, or being done... Why would it bother me?" I answered. "Wait, is the reason you all haven't really talked about sex except when we were in bed because you thought I couldn't handle it or something?"

"Not that you couldn't handle it..." Lymarith corrected, "Perhaps more that you would find such talk... unseemly."

I groaned. Were elvish men such pansies that they treated talking about sex like most men on Earth treated talking about a woman's period? Fuck, that was dumb too. If you loved a woman, you should want to know what she was going through and how to help, not treat her like nature was some gross habit they continued to do because they didn't care if it was gross. Women didn't choose to have their period, and they didn't deserve to be treated like lepers because of it. Likewise, I WANTED to have sex with each and every one of these matrons. That they would think me unable or unwilling to talk about sex was bizarre to me.

"Absolutely not. Fuck, I'd be happy to talk to you all about it and answer any questions you have." I refuted.

"AFTER the Council." Diamiutar asserted.

"Right. Eat quickly, Master." Tavorwen declared.

I had to scarf down some food, and then we headed out Diamiutar, Tavowen, Amura, Laliera, and myself. We made our way through the city to the amphitheater of the Council. We were quickly ushered in and unlike last time, were not made to wait. The Floorkeeper led us straight into the center of the Council room.

"Your words have been heard. Are there any others... who would... " Audriul finished acknowledging a speaker, then trailed off as we walked in. "Sisters, we will suspend these discussions until a later time. Master Thomas, we received word that you had returned and the report Guardian Tavorwen provided had many details, but there were some things we wished to confirm with you."

"IS IT TRUE-" Oliphinar yelled, rising to her feet.

"SILENCE!" Audriul cut her off. "You are out of line. You have been censored once, and stand on the verge of expulsion from this body. You WILL act in line, or you will be expelled."

Oliphinar flushed with anger and humiliation.

"What our... indiscrete sister seeks to verify is valid." Another spoke.

"That matter will be resolved in its proper time." Audriul snapped. "Your personal opinions do not change the proper order of this meeting."

Her glare silenced the two objecting elders.

"First, I understand your mission was a success?" Audriul spoke, her attention returning to me.

"It was. The Wild Elves will join us in the fight against Kathra. I was able to help restore the balance of the plains and met the other demand the Wild Elves presented, and they agreed. Their emissaries should be arriving within the next few days." I explained.

"What was the other demand?" Audriul pressed.

"They asked that I take Laliera here as a matron, and her children will return to the plains," I replied.

Four Elders, including Oliphinar and the other who had spoken shot to their feet, their words unintelligible as they yelled over each other.

"ENOUGH!" Audriul snapped. Her voice was carried by magic with enough force that I had to catch myself and the screaming elders were knocked back into their seats. "This is an assembly with order and dignity. If you cannot conduct yourself in a manner befitting an Elder of the High Elves, then leave this assembly and do not return."

Audriul was steaming mad. Her voice had a dangerous edge to it and her eyes allowed no debate as she glared down the offending elders.

"There will be a time, AFTER Master Thomas finishes his report, for REASONABLE discussion. Any further outbreaks and the Floorkeeper WILL remove you. Am I clear?"

Silence confirmed her words were understood.

"Master Thomas, and... he said your name is Laliera?... forgive these unseemly outbreaks. I pray you do not judge all our people by the actions of a few. Master Thomas, please. Was there anything else of note during the course of your time in the plains?" Audriul continued.

"Well, upon the completion of my bonding to Laliera, the goddesses, Noriva and Elglathar, appeared. They blessed our union and bestowed upon me two boons." I continued.

A murmur ran through the room, but despite clearly wanting to rise and shout again, the four remained seated. The others were harder to read. I knew that there had been some serious issues some of the elders had needed to work through prior to my departure to the plains. I had hoped that I'd at least gotten the majority of them to a place where they could accept what had happened and see the good in it. These were almost immortal, two-thousand-year-old elders. Hopefully, more wisdom came with age than stubbornness and grumpiness.

"You said the emissaries from the plains would arrive shortly," Audriul noted. "Do you know how many emissaries?"

"There should be three emissaries coming," I replied.

"Very well. Laliera, welcome to the realm of the High Elves. As a matron of Master Thomas, you are welcome here. Is there anything you wish to add?" Audriul asked.

Laliera was overwhelmed, and intimidated. "No, Great One."

"Very well. I now open the floor for REASONABLE discussion." Audriul declared, with an edge to her voice.

Staves and arms were raised, competing for the floor.

Audriul looked around, and weighing her options, she called on Oliphinar.

"MASTER Thomas..." Oliphinar began hatred and vitriol in her voice. "How is it that after we took you in, provided you with THIRTEEN matrons, and have bent to your every whim, you turn around and take this mud-skinned, common whore-"

"Oliphinar, you are out of-" Audriul tried to cut her off, but Oliphinar screamed to finish her statement.

"AS A DIRECT AFFRONT TO OUR DIGNITY!!!" Oliphinar finished and sat without waiting for a response.

"Stand... The fuck... back up." I snapped.

I was seeing red. All the elders, including Audriul, turned to me in shock.

"You have the gall... to stand there... and slander my matron... then think you can just sit down and nothing will touch you?" I growled.

The detached, logical part of my brain noticed flickering shadows around me. It didn't make sense. The light in the amphitheater was low and steady. Those looked like the shadows of a flame.

Oliphinar recoiled in her seat, her face draining of all color. She looked to each side as the elders around her threw dignity to the wind and scrambled away from the terrified elder.

"S-s-s-speaker!" Oliphinar called in desperation to Audriul.

"Now you try to hide behind the skirts of another? What? Not DIGNIFIED enough to stand and claim your words and stand for what you said?" I snapped.

"Master Thomas, please, allow me to handle this." Audriul quietly requested.

"All in favor of stripping Oliphinar 'Peacewalker' from the assembly and stripping her of her status as an Elder, please declare so now." Audriul declared.

Almost every hand was immediately raised, as Oliphinar frantically looked for any sign of support.

"You can't... He'll kill me!" Oliphinar gasped.

"Oliphinar, a former elder of the Council, you are hereby expelled from this body. Depart, or you shall be thrown, once more, from Master Thomas's presence." Audriul coldly informed her.

Despite her age, she rose and scrambled, leaping from tier to tier of the amphitheater until she crested the top of the formation and fled into an opening. She turned immediately, seemingly fleeing down a hall.

"Floorkeeper, please see that Oliphinar fully departs and does not attempt to return," Audriul instructed.

The Floorkeeper hurried out one of the side exits to the lower level of the amphitheater.

I began to calm, somewhat, the red haze faded from my vision and my rage made me pant.

Audriul turned to Laliera, "Please, honored Laliera, accept our apologies for the baseless slander our former colleague has leveled at you. I assure you, the majority of our people do not hold such views of you, or your people."

Laliera's voice piped up, from surprisingly far behind me, making me turn. "I understand, honored speaker. Were I to be honest, many of my sisters on the plains share similar distaste to you who live in this great forest."

Laliera, Diamiutar, Tavorwen, and Amura were backed up against the wall of the floor of the amphitheater. They were looking at me like I was a live grenade and they were hoping they were outside the blast radius.

"Fuck, what happened?" I breathed quietly.

They joined me again in the center of the amphitheater. Tavorwen looked at me with a mixture of amusement and concern.

"If you plan on bursting into flames once more, please warn us." She prodded.

"Burst into... Damn." I muttered.

Seems the boon of elemental control was more volatile than I had understood. I wondered what I had looked like, standing there, flaming, as I stared down the bitch who had dared to slander my matron.

Fuck, I probably looked like the cover of a fucking comic book. I wasn't trying to be a fucking comic book character, but fuck, it just sort of was happening. I kinda hated it. I hadn't liked comics when I'd been on Earth, and barely watched any of the superhero movies, because when you saw the harsh realities of life and knew how real war actually was, the pretty little bits that Hollywood threw together just didn't hold up.

It took a few minutes for everyone to settle down now that Oliphinar had been expelled. Once they had all settled, they all seemed to immediately pretend that nothing had happened. Staves, hands, and such were raised casually, and the elders sat, waiting to be acknowledged.

"Are there any questions for Master Thomas?" Audriul began again. "Elder Leathra, you are acknowledged."

The elder matron that rose seemed far more detached from all that had gone on. Maybe it was because she had sat opposite where Oliphinar had, but she didn't seem to have twitched through all the commotion.

"Master Thomas, you stated that you received two boons." She began, "What were those boons?"

I went to answer, but Laliera stepped forward. "Perhaps I can answer. In discussion with my... fellow matrons... it has been realized that Master Thomas's translation magic is not perfect."

Audriul nodded. "Thank you for your assistance."

Laliera swallowed, "When Noriva and Elglathar appeared, they offered one boon each. Elglathar offered Master Thomas a boon of endurance or stamina. Then Noriva offered a boon of magic. She stated that the elements would obey his will."

"Were those the words of the goddesses?" Leathra asked. "A 'boon of endurance' and a 'boon of magic'?"

"Yes. It was a boon of endurance. Not a boon of 'endurance', or a boon of 'endurance' or a boon of 'stamina'. And a boon of magic, not a boon of 'magic' or a boon of 'magic' or a boon of 'magic'." Laliera assured her.

I sighed to myself. I needed to find time to learn the elven language. Fuck was it frustrating, hearing Laliera speak, and seeing her mouth move for different words, but hearing the same word each time. I knew I was missing a lot of information that was just... lost in translation.

Leathra nodded and sat.

"Your words have been heard." Audriul moved on. "Eomniva, you are acknowledged."

"Master Thomas..." The Elder Priestess rose, choosing her words carefully. "You have been given many matrons from the daughters of the High Elves. Your unions with our daughters were blessed by X'Thallion himself. While Noriva and Elglathar, of course, endorsed your union to their daughter... What led you to believe that X'Thallion endorsed this action?"

I blinked. "Are you suggesting that X'Thallion only claims the High Elves as his daughters?"

Eomniva shook her head. "Of course not, but... each bloodline has been given certain gifts, and as the bloodline that summoned you, and received his blessing to bond with you... what leads you to believe that you had permission, from X'Thallion, to bond with daughters outside the bloodline you were already bound to?"

"Um, How much were you told about my bonding after my first congress of maidens?" I countered.

"I was told that X'Thallion appeared and blessed your union," Eomniva answered.

"Gledril, would you relate to what actually happened?" I asked.

The Elder Matron who had performed that bonding stood. "Well... X'Thallion did appear and he did bless the union, but I think what Master Thomas is speaking to is the fact that... He was not alone. All members of the Enlightened Hosts appeared, save for Ya'av, or Yavoria as she was known, and Govarinta, formerly known as Golera. Abarith bestowed her blessing in addition to X'Thallion, and Mythrin extolled his value as a master. But all the Gods and Goddesses were there in support."

"There you go," I confirmed. "And... it wasn't only the fact that I wasn't presented by X'Thallion to my High Elven matrons, but by the patron gods of ALL the elves to my ELVEN matrons. But after Amura was... given to me... to start the Respite, I was drawn back to the temple, where I met with X'Thallion alone. Then I returned to the temple, just Amura and me, to help her begin to adjust to her new life, where we met with the thirteen members of the host, except for X'Thallion."

These revelations made quite a stir, but I wasn't done yet.

"During these visits, X'Thallion made it clear to me that I was here to help all the elves, not just the High Elves, but all of his children. The rest of the Host were of the same opinion." I informed the Elder. "And the gathering even said that if together, Amura and I could not free her kin from Ya'av's clutches, she would be tasked with restoring her lineage... and I don't see any way that happens unless I take her as a matron. And if Noriva was okay with me taking Amura as a matron, and none of the others objected, I don't see how I could reasonably think that I was in any way restricted to the daughters of the Wood Elves as matrons."

Eomniva sat, and I could see that when the elders once again raised hands and staves to request the chance to speak, far fewer were raised.

I turned and smiled at my entourage and noticed Amura, staring wide-eyed at me in shock, the blood drained from her face making it a lighter blue. For a second I wondered why then it hit me.

She hadn't made the connection. She had heard Noriva say she would have to restore the lineage, but she hadn't realized what that meant and what it entailed. For a woman just told she'd have to bear my children, and a lot of them, unless her kin forsook the path that their Goddess had put them on, she was showing remarkably little emotion. And from everything I'd seen and heard, the shadow elves abandoning Ya'av was very unlikely.

"Your words have been heard," Audriul repeated. "Weilkeir, you are acknowledged."

The elder who wore a caster's robes stood. "Since at this point, it is hard to contest the validity of your decision, and the correctness of it is in little doubt... My query would turn to the future. What is the step you would have us take next?"

It was a good question. The Wild Elves had been the easiest to reach, so it had made sense to go and visit them first.

"I think the Mountain Elves will be the next easiest to reach, so they're probably the next logical choice," I noted.

"I would caution that perhaps that is not the best choice." Weilkeir disagreed. "Not only are their mountains treacherous, but... I fear that if you were to visit them before making peace with the Cloud Elves, their mood may sour and it may make it far more difficult to win them to our side."

"Uh... why's that?" I retorted, feeling out of my depth.

"I do not know how much you know of the history between the Cloud Elves and the Mountain Elves, but long ago, they lived together in the mountains, sharing their home." Weilkeir began. "No one knows what caused them to turn on one another, but the Mountain Elves drove the Cloud Elves from their mountains. It was then that Evenshtara taught them how to bind and build with them, and their cloud city was born."

I nodded. That matched pretty well with what I had been told.

"However, it did not take long for the Mountain Elves to regret this course of action, and they have long sought forgiveness from the Cloud Elves. The Cloud Elves claim to have forgiven the Mountain Elves, even blotting the cause of the conflict from their records. The Mountain Elves are often still plagued by a sense of guilt about the history between the two lineages. Even when the Cloud Elves used magic to try to purge memories of the conflict from the memories of the Mountain Elves, it did not remove their feelings of guilt. Those two actions however are why no one knows why the conflict took place." Weilkeir continued. "But given their feelings of responsibility for the wellbeing of the Cloud Elves, I highly doubt they will be open to any outreach before the Cloud Elves have declared their allegiance to us."

I nodded. That made sense.

"I can agree with your logic. So you'd want me to go to the Cloud Elves next?" I verified.

"Yes. The Mountain Elves will be difficult to sway without the Cloud Elves on our side, and frankly, we will need to make serious preparations to be able to go to the Sea Elves." Weilkeir explained.

"Okay, but... won't it take a lot of work to go to the Cloud Elf city? Or is there a simple spell that could carry us up to the clouds?" I wondered.

"Well... it will take effort indeed to prepare to reach the clouds," Weilkeir confessed. "But a simple ring can compensate for the thin air, that high in the atmosphere, and a single vessel could carry you to the clouds. It will take far more to allow you to breathe underwater, move underwater, and not be at risk and vulnerable underwater. Bows, swords, and many such weapons are far less functional underwater, and many spells are difficult if not impossible to cast underwater. Where such techniques are still completely usable when in the air."