War of the Races Ch. 35

I fell away...

I came out of her a second before my wings caught the air.

I caught sight of Burza. My seed was dribbling out of her as she caught a thermal and rode it back up to her daughters. I twisted and turned just in time to skim the treetops, follow the land as the mountains rose around me, and found a thermal that I could use to ride up to thirty thousand feet.

Looking around, I found Arden. She was my next target...

----(!)----

"I have never seen such a display of strength, stamina, and agility," Sinaan said by way of introduction as he sauntered over to Glenna and Hlina.

"Yes," Glenna replied, "My husband is more than remarkable."

"He is our champion," Hlina added.

Sinaan nodded. Forelain joined him and signed. He nodded again before interpreting, "My lady, Matron Forelain, wants to know what he is."

"He is a lord," Hlina replied matter of factly.

"He is a druid," Glenna added and then fell silent.

"I have never heard of a druid with his--ability," Sinaan said, his tone musing, prompting for more information.

"He is the blessed champion of two goddesses," Glenna said, "That is all I will say about it for now. Our alliance is tenuous--convenient at best. We may share more once this current crisis is resolved."

"Crisis?" Sinaan asked skeptically, "Wouldn't it be more appropriate to call this an opportunity?"

"An opportunity for whom?" Hlina replied.

"For both of our peoples," Sinaan purred charmingly.

"An opportunity is when two peoples come to the table as equals," Glenna said shrewdly, "Without a sword to one of their throats."

Glenna and Hlina's breath caught when they saw Viridian and Burza collide and start falling towards the ground. As they closer Huxian and Bastet took notice, then the others saw. They were falling so fast. They were only a few thousand feet off the ground when Glenna, Hlina, Huxian, and all the others started screaming.

Sinaan stood in stunned silence.

Viridian and Burza broke away and Bastet fainted when Viridian disappeared behind the tree line. Glenna and Hlina took several steps in the direction they were sure Viridian's dead body must lay. They were starting to run when Viridian suddenly shot up into the sky again.

"I'm going to kill him!" Hlina gasped.

"I'll resurrect him and then I'm going to kill him again!" Glenna added.

"You'll have your work cut out for you today," Leandra growled, "Because I think we all want to kill him right now."

Glenna turned around and saw Bastet passed out while Leandra, Huxian, Coella, Orsa, and Tampa were all shaking. Shahad was the only one that seemed unperturbed.

Glenna stared at her until Shahad finally replied via pheromone sending, "My king has flown before. He will successfully mate with the harpy queen and her heirs."

Glenna had no reply for her. It was true though. Burza was a queen of sorts, and this--aerial display--was their mating custom. Still, he could be more careful!

----(!)----

The Sky Dance lasted half the morning. Our flight ranged from above our camp to Valeheim and then to the northeast to Sequoia's Grove. A village of centaurs watched our final mating plummets, and then Burza led me to their roost high in the boughs of Sequoia's tree.

"Welcome home, my Raptor King," Burza purred as she led me to her nest.

For the rest of the morning, I visited each of Burza's daughters in the more intimate settings of their private nests. By age, I learned their names. Arden. Saar. Bonaria. Rakia. Moe. Tufani. Arashi. Zeferina. Sora. Arn. Skye. Fei. Ciel. Arkell. Coro. Orel. Peta. Ari. Wayra.

The morning passed by in a flash and I knew I needed to return to camp soon before the others started to worry. I was pulling away from Wayra as she laid delicate kisses on my chest when Sequoia approached, walking on the thick limb of her tree with such ease that it might as well have been a paved pathway.

"Shoo, girl," Sequoia commanded as she closed in on me.

Wayra gave Sequoia a single squawking gasp and an angry glare before stepping out of her nest and leaping to another limb.

Sequoia watched me watch her leave before saying, "Don't worry, she'll go gossip with her sisters and recount their time with you."

"Okay," I replied as I turned to Sequoia.

She smiled up at me. Her leafy green hair seemed especially vibrant. Her golden sequoia seed eyes seemed to glint and shine. And her red and golden wood grain body seemed especially lustrous and healthy. She appeared thicker in the bottom, a little broader in the hips, and marginally thicker in her thighs. It was all cosmetic I knew, Sequoia didn't grow with pregnancy as alfari did. She carried my seed to her womb which was in the tree itself and the tree produced new seedlings within a cone very much like an egg. Once the seedlings matured the cone dropped to the ground and Sequoia would help them come into the world.

"So," Quebracho whispered with a voice that was something close to awe, "This is Sequoia. Oh, but she is beautiful!"

I could feel her eagerness all around me and I almost didn't hear what Sequoia said next.

"How goes your quest?" She asked in a voice laced with arousal.

"I was hoping to see you," I replied as I released my hybrid-eagle form and caressed her cheek. Now, she could look me straight in the eyes, "Could you contact the chieftain of the centaurs' village and have a scouting party sent toward the pass? I have a large number of refugees coming toward your grove."

"Of course," Sequoia whispered as she leaned in and kissed my neck before continuing, "But, what of the mission? The svartalf army?"

"We are as prepared as we can be," I answered, "I've--acquired--more wives. One is the Oracle of Gaia. Her name is Hlina."

Sequoia audibly sighed with relief, "Thank goodness, I was hoping you would find her in time."

I was surprised that she knew about Hlina. Grabbing her shoulders, I pushed back so that I could look at her as I asked, "So, you knew about Hlina?"

"Yes," She purred, but then quickly explained, "If I told you, I foresaw that you would not find her and save her in time. But, if I remained silent then there was a fifty-fifty chance that you would."

The explanation for her caution made sense to me, so I didn't press it.

"So you know who she is to me," I asked.

Sequoia looked at me for a minute as if she were searching my soul, and then she smiled as she answered, "I didn't, but now I do!"

I sighed. She read my mind.

She laughed and it was like music and bells singing out in a beautiful melody before she purred, "Don't be vexed, I am happy for you!"

"Thank you," I replied grudgingly.

I could feel Sequoia rummaging through my memories, and then, as if hitting a brick wall, I winced in pain as Sequoia came right up against Quebracho. In my mind, it was as if they had come together and were rubbing their bodies against each other. They pushed and pulled and intertwined, then as suddenly as it began it ended and Sequoia blinked at me in startlement. I think it was the first time I ever saw her visibly rattled.

"You--you've bonded with another elm'drya!" Sequoia gasped as she stepped back and looked me up and down.

Her eyes fell on the bracer on my left arm. Stepping forward again she placed her left hand on my waist and her right on the bracer.

"I want to meet her," Quebracho whispered just behind my ear.

"Okay," I replied mentally.

The leaves and limbs of the tree of the bracers seemed to shake and move, then vines shot up and up my forearm to my elbow. From there Quebracho created a replica of herself. Sequoia's golden seed-like eyes opened wide with surprise as Quebracho materialized in front of her.

Like Sequoia, Quebracho appeared as a highly polished wood carving of an incredibly beautiful Alfari woman. But, where Sequoia had deep green hair and her wood grain skin was a bloody red that covered her head and the trunk of her body while her arms and legs were golden, Quebracho had very dark green hair and her whole body was a dark burgundy-brown wood grain skin.

Hesitantly, Sequoia reached for Quebracho who responded by quickly taking her hands and pulling Sequoia in for a tight hug.

"Thank you!" Quebracho whispered fiercely, "Thank you so much!"

I gave Sequoia a reassuring smile when her wide eyes found mine amidst Quebracho's intense hug.

"I--don't understand," Sequoia said as she wrapped her arms around this new--sister--of sorts.

Quebracho was eager to explain, "What you see of me is but a shadow of who I once was. All that remains of me is my core now sealed within this bracer. But once, I was a breastplate once worn by Summerset Vale."

"I saw that breastplate," Sequoia gasped, "That was you?"

"Because of you," Quebracho purred, "I'm alive!"

Over the next few minutes, she told her story. Of her loneliness and Summerset's request. Of her instant attraction to him and of her gamble to go with him. Of Summerset's failure to cleanse another elm'drya and her subsequent imprisonment for a hundred years within a breastplate.

"You poor thing," Sequoia said finally as she caressed Quebracho's cheek, "But, I am happy to know he has you there with him--at least."

"He has many companions," Quebracho reassured, "And, like you, we all love him."

Finally, Sequoia turned to me and held out her hands in the direction of my bracer. I held out my arm and she slowly ran her fingers over it, touching the gems that represented each wife, concubine, and mate. Her fingers brushed over Silvain's sapphire medallion, Huxian's emerald tear, and Bastet's citrine claw. She traced the roots of the tree made up of wood from Quebracho and Sequoia. She paused at the trunk of the great tree.

"I--want to be with you too," Sequoia whispered.

Quebracho smiled empathetically and placed her hand on Sequoia's, "You can."

Sequoia looked at her then back at her tree and the new cones forming at the tips of new growth.

Quebracho's smirk broadened to a grin, "Don't worry, you will not endanger yourself, your tree, or your seedlings."

Sequoia took a deep breath and released a deep reassured sigh before asking, "How?"

"When I made my breastplate for Summerset," Quebracho explained as she rested her hand over Sequoia's, "I used my core and my womb and sacrificed everything else. For you to put your essences into the piece of wood you gave Viridian before all you need to do is give him a tiny sliver of your core. Then, your consciousness will inhabit this bracer just like I do, and you will always be with Viridian like I am."

"I see," Sequoia mumbled as she weighed her decision. Finally, she nodded and stepped back to leave, "I will be right back, do not leave."

Quebracho stood there for several long minutes before she finally looked up at me and smiled, "It's always so good to see you in the real world like this, my love. But, I am going to leave this moment to you and Sequoia. All she needs to do is touch the sliver of her core to the tree on the bracer and the magic Seline instilled in it will do the rest."

Quebracho leaned in and we kissed, long and tenderly until she let her conjured body dissolve and float away. When Sequoia returned she held something cupped very tenderly in her hands. She stopped in front of me and looked up so that our eyes met.

"I am giving you a piece of my heart, and womb," She whispered, "Just as Quebracho has. That way, should something ever happen to me, you will always have a remnant of me with you always. Hold out your arm."

I did as she asked and once I brought my arm up Sequoia moved her hands over the bracer and the ornate tree decorating it. Then, she parted her palms just a little which allows a deep red bloody sap, or ichor, to dibble onto the bracer. Magic flared to life and the tree seemed to rustle and tremble my arm as it absorbed the bloody sap. It continued until all the ichor collected in her palms was gone and what remained were two slivers of bloody redwood.

"This is my heart," Sequoia whispered as she to the first sliver and touched it to the tree on my bracer, "I give you my heart freely. Please don't break it."

"I promise," I said.

Next, she took the second splinter and touched it to the miniature tree as she said, "I give a sliver of my womb so that I will always be a part of you in body and soul. What Quebracho can do, now, so will I."

She paused after the tree absorbed her slivers and then she continued, "I will always be with you and in your dreams. Where she was able to reproduce for you, I am able to as well, but I would much rather you come home and pollinate me in person."

"I will," I promised.

She smiled at me then and caressed my cheek.

"Good," She whispered, "Then go and save us all, and then return to me on wings of love."

"I will," I promised a third time.

She was still standing there when I leaped from Wayra's nest. As soon as I took wing and Burza and her daughter saw me, they joined me and we all flew back toward the Dragon's Spine Mountains.

----(!)----

The afternoon sun was still high in the western sky by the time we returned, and Glenna and Hlina were not happy.

"Do you have any idea how badly you scared me?" Glenna hissed.

"Us?" Hlina added in nearly a shriek I hadn't heard since I was a child in my first life.

"I'm sorry," I apologized then made the mistake of trying to explain, "It was an aerial mating ritual, and the air currents carried us a long way by the time we were done."

Glenna and Hlina just stared at me with expressive expressions that said it all. They were furious and they didn't care what the excuses were. With a resigned sigh I lamented, "I am sorry that I frightened you--all of you..."

Glenna and Hlina glared at me for several more seconds as they looked at each other then Hlina replied, "You had better apologize to the others too. You scared us all."

I nodded in agreement and spent the rest of the evening consoling Bastet and Leandra, and then the others. It seemed like Orsa and Tampa were perfectly willing to share time with me during their weeks as my brides with everyone. As it turned out Huxian and Coella were the most prickly and demanding. The evening ended with me laying between Glenna and Hlina with Glenna's fleece-lined cloak draped over us.

----(!)----

"How should we proceed?" Sinaan asked as he stared up at his very pregnant wife.

Forelain sat in their tent, her belly overshadowing her feminine form, as she straddled across Sinaan's hips. He was her husband now. A young man little more than a child. Eighteen years old physically, and yet, for some reason, she could sense that he was an old soul.

Ra'Shaal and Fjallindae lay to each side of Sinaan. Each of them kissed his shoulder or his chest allowing Forelain access to his mouth if she so desired a kiss. Each of his hands was buried between their thighs, satisfying them manually until it was their turn while he was deep inside her. As Sinaan's wife, she hated to share him--with his aunts. Biologically, that's what they were even if they were now adopted into her house as her daughters. Still, her house was too broken. There were too few males. She would have to share him with more than just Ra'Shaal and Fjallindae if she planned to rebuild her House within her lifetime.

"We proceed cautiously," She signed, "We do not know the full extent of Lord Viridian's power. We got a foregleam of the Oracles' powers and I am certain they were holding back."

"Those three together may be as powerful as our army," Ra'Shaal purred as she moved in to kiss Sinaan's jaw.

"More powerful," Fjallindae added, "Just that young lord's presence on the field of battle will incapacitate the majority of our priestesses."

"Yes," Forelain agreed, "Even I feel it. Most of the young will fight among themself rather than against him, in hopes of gaining his approval and breeding rights."

"Is that truly how you all feel about him," Sinaan asked, his tone betraying how disturbed and challenged he felt.

"The further away he is the easier it is to resist," Fjallindae murmured, "But when he is nearby. My thoughts are a haze. My whole body feels like it is burning up, and all my thoughts are of incomparable joy I will receive from breeding with him."

"For any unseasoned priestesses," Forelain finished, "Viridian Vale will either incapacitate them or overwhelm them. They will fight just to breed with him--they will fight against each other--they may even against our own men to protect him if need be."

Sinaan let out a long low whistle before saying, "Then he is even more formidable than I imagined. Maybe we should bring Sulabha back?"

"No," Forelain signed in very sharp, very determined gestures, "She would only be fuel thrown onto an already very incendiary problem. Besides, if only half of what the Oracles of Seline and Gaia are correct, then we are fighting without Arachne's favor. If we have angered our goddess, then surely we do not want to anger two more by assaulting their favored disciples."

"So then," Sinaan asked in a musing tone and a grunt and Forelain ground herself on him aggressively, "How do we proceed?"

"I believe you should make first contact," Forelain signed, "Aalyn Abendroth will be relieved to have you returned to her, then you must tell her what has happened to House Faline, and that we are not her enemies. Then, tell her that we are in the company of Oracles of two goddesses and explain that they have come to parlay."

Sinaan nodded along. Everything Forelain had said made sense. The only reservation he had was of how Lord Viridian Vale would take having to put his safety in Sinaan's hands.

"The plan is sound," Sinaan agreed as he looked up and locked gazes with Forelain's reflective red eyes. He knew his own eyes appeared pink in the infrared spectrum. Not something he was overjoyed about, but the ladies loved it, "I will approach Viridian in the morning with the plan."

Forelain nodded her agreement, and then she really got down to the business of bringing herself pleasure. Sinaan's pleasure was just a happy byproduct.