WIEDERGEBURT Act VI: Chapter 36

Chloe came to my bedroom to get me and Siv, stating that lunch was ready. She escorted us through the large halls of the castle. The waiting room we eventually found ourselves in seemed unnecessarily large, especially since the table where I found Fray, Kari, Schnee, and Tora sitting at was not very big.

“It is nice of you two to join us.” Fray smiled as we entered. “Please, have a seat.”

“Siv, you can sit next to Momma,” Schnee said as she patted the spot beside her.

With a small nod, Siv dragged me to the table and sat down on Schnee’s right. I ended up sitting between Siv and Kari. Tora looked a bit putout by our seating arrangements, but there really wasn’t much I could do about that.

“Chloe, you sit too.” Fray gestured toward the empty seat on her left.

After hesitating for a moment, Chloe said, “Yes, ma’am.” and sat at the designated spot between Fray and Tora.

Once all of us were seated, several butlers dressed in black and white, loose flowing robes walked into the room carrying several trays in their arms. They set the trays on our table and even put plates, knives, and forks in front of everyone. None of them remained in the room. They left once all of the utensils and food had been set out.

“Let’s not stand on ceremony,” Schnee said with a smile. “Everyone, dig in.”

Perhaps I should have expected this from the Drakvar, but all the food consisted of meat. There was roasted boar, braised lamb, steak flanks, and various other types of meat dishes--and there was so much of it. What sat on this table could have fed a batallion. However, I knew the majority of this food would be going into the stomach of our two Drakvar residents.

For a moment, there were no sounds at the table aside from the clinking of tableware and the chewing of food. As I suspected, the ones who ate the most were Siv and Schnee, who inhaled everything on their plate, then went back for seconds, thirds, fourths, and even fifths. It was truly impressive to witness two petite women eating more than a full grown man could ever hope to.

Once everyone was fed, the servants came back and removed their plates, then served everyone tea. The scent of the tea was spicier than I was used to. Schnee called it a chai tea. While I took a tentative sip at first, I had to say it was pretty good.

“Now that we have been satiated, there is something I would like to tell you, Eryk, and also Kari and Siv.” Fray placed her hands in her lap and looked specutively at the four of us. “Eryk, do you know what the runes on your wives’ chests are?”

“No…” I slowly shook my head. “I know it somehow connects me to them. Thanks to those runes, I can feel that all my wives are still alive, and I can also use their elements to some degree. I also know they can use my elements. But that is all I know.”

“I thought as much.” Fray paused, and I somehow got the feeling she was carefully considering what to say. “My brother--Freyr--was rather fascinated by runes. They are much more versatile than what we can do with our own Spiritual Power. You can create runes that generate water, wind, fire, that can transport you across time, space, and dimensions… there are so many things runes can do that an individual person cannot.”

I nodded along. This was a conclusion I had come to a long time ago as well. Kari was proof of what runes could do. She had created a ring that had its own dimension located inside, which could be used to store a hundred cubic meters of items inside. And anyone could use her ring. It didn’t require someone who understood the Concept of Dimension to use. Kari hadn’t even known about high level concepts when she created the storage rings.

“Freyr believed that runes would be the key to defeat the Sekbeist Overlord,” Fray continued. “He put countless hours into the study of runes and was close to creating an array that would allow people to share power amongst each other. He called it a Power Sharing Array. However, he was never able to finish it before his time ran out--or so I believed.”

Having listened this far, I could already figure out what she was going to say. “You believe the runes on Kari’s and Siv’s chests are this array somehow?”

“Not quite,” Fray said as she corrected him. “The runes on Kari’s and Siv’s chest are but a small portion of the array. I believe that before he sacrificed his life to send you into the future, he wrote the Power Sharing Array inside of your Spiritual Pathways. If you’d like, imagine that you are soil.”

Tora snorted. “Did you just call him dirt?”

“Chloe?”

“Yes, My Lady.”

Whap!

“Ouch! The fuck was that for?!”

Tora rubbed the back of her head where Chloe had cuffed her hard enough to leave a welt. Chloe ignored the glare the other woman sent her. Meanwhile, Fray continued as if nothing had happened.

“As I was saying: Imagine that you are soil and the runes that have been etched into your Spiritual Pathways are the nutrients found inside of the soil. Kari and Siv and your other two wives are seeds. They were buried and nurtured in your soil, and eventually grew far stronger than they ever could in normal soil as a result.”

“I think I get what you are saying,” I said after a moment.

“So Eryk is like the ground upon which trees grow. The runes inside of him nurtured our Spiritual Power and helped us grow stronger,” Kari said.

Fray nodded. “Yes, and the connection goes both ways. You are not the only one who grows stronger. So does Eryk. The Shared Power Rune Array allows you to quite literally share your powers amongst each other. Everyone who has slept with Eryk and drank his blood will become a part of this rune array, allowing all of you to use each other’s powers at will. Freyr placed his last hope on you, Eryk, his only son and greatest legacy.”

Everything Fray was telling us was a little overwhelming, to be honest. At the same time, it made more sense than any half-brained theory I had ever come up with.

I had always wanted to know what these runes were. In my past life, these runes had appeared briefly on Kari, but they hadn’t stuck around because she hadn’t ingested my blood. In my current life, Kari, Fay, Siv, and Lin all had the runes firmly etched onto their chests, we could use each other’s elements, and I could sense them to some extent. I sensed Siv and Lin more easily because they had also marked me.

“That sounds like a more advanced version of our marriage marks,” Schnee said as she sipped her tea.

“Marriage marks?” I perked up. “You mean this mark I have on my collar bone?”

I peeled my shirt back to reveal the mark to everyone. Schnee smiled and nodded.

“When we take a fancy to someone, Drakvar men and women can choose to mark them. Those who receive this mark can feel each other’s presence through it. However, all it really does is allow people to sense where the other person is and maybe feel their emotions to a certain extent. It certainly does not allow us to share power amongst each other.”

“I believe Freyr got the idea from the Drakvar’s marriage marks,” Fray admitted with a delicate shrug. She then turned back to me. “When we get back home, I would like to explore these runes more. It may be possible to replicate them. Barring that, I believe I know of a way to help you and your wives become far stronger than you are now.”

“Are you talking about closed door meditation?” I asked.

“That is correct,” Fray said.

“I’m guessing there is something special about this closed door meditation,” Kari said as she sat with her hands poised neatly on her lap. “Is it different from what I did when I reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism?”

“Kind of.” I scrunched up my nose for a moment. “There are meditation chambers located inside the Hall of Heroes in Ásgarðr. These chambers not only block out all distractions, but they can be used to increase your understanding of a specific concept.”

It was thanks to the meditation chambers that I was able to master the Concepts of Life and Death within a month. Thinking back, it might benefit us if we did that, but I couldn’t see how it would be beneficial specifically for the rune array.

Fray looked at me like she could see through me. “We will discuss that later. Right now, I don’t have enough information to even know if my theory is correct. I’m not my brother. I have no intention what he planned on doing with those runes or how they are supposed to work.”

I didn’t particularly like the sound of that, like she was firing Spiritual Techniques in the dark, but I understood we were all in uncharted territory here. Even Kari could not figure out these runes, and she was one of the most proficient rune masters I knew. Even Immig had long been surpassed by her.

It looked like we really would have to wait until we traveled back to Ásgarðr before figuring out how these runes worked.

***

The rest of that day was spent relaxing with my wives. We explored the gardens located in the castle, ate dinner with the others, bathed each other, and cuddled underneath the blanket after a night of sex. We all knew that our relaxation would end the next day.

And we were right.

Schnee had ordered all of her soldiers and advisers to the castle. I didn’t know what she had planned, but I could tell that whatever she was planning was big. Our group was also asked to join her and Fray.

The room we used for this meeting was larger than most and featured several long tables that made me think it was a mess hall. At the moment, it was not being used that way. It was instead being used as a meeting to discuss our next course of action. I stood with Kari, Siv, Chloe, and Tora behind Fray and Schnee.

We had been joined by Schnee’s best warriors.

They were called the Eight Heralds. Right now there were only seven. Commander Vitra was a member of this group.

I found myself looking at them out of the corner of my eye, studying the differences in the coloration of their scales. There were four women and three men. The men had red, yellow, and white scales respectively. The woman had black, blue, green, and prismatic scales.

It was the woman with prismatic scales who caught my attention the most. Prismatic was not a color, but the way her scales seemed to shift was like I was looking at her through a prism. Sometimes her scales were red, other times blue, and still other times yellow. They shifted through the entire spectrum of the rainbow, making me wonder what kind of power she had. Scales were, from what I’d seen, a representation of a Drakvar’s element or the concept they had the highest affinity toward.

“I’m sure many of you are aware of what happened less than half a month ago,” Schnee began, and the crowd quickly quieted down. “The Warp Gate leading to Ásgarðr shut and we have not been able to open it. We believe someone is blocking access from the other side. I don’t believe I have to tell you how bad that is for us.”

While Vindenket had plenty of land for growing crops and raising livestock, they relied on Ásgarðr for many other essentials necessary to help them fight against the Sekbeist. It was only thanks to the connection between the Warp Gates that their realm had survived as long as it had.

“That explains why Lady Fray is still here,” one of the Eight Heralds said. He was a broad-shouldered man with red scales and massive wings folded against his back. His tail seemed oddly short. Likewise, the horns on his head were not very big either. I believed his name was Ddrage.

“Indeed.” Schnee nodded. “The Warp Gates closed before Sister Fray could return, though I consider this good fortune. Had she been on the other side, we may have never been able to enact the plan we’ve come up with. As it is, this plan will largely hinge upon our cooperation with her and those with her to succeed.”

I looked over the crowd of people sitting at the long tables and listening in. There weren’t just Drakvar present. Several Guddomelig were also there. They were the members of the Valkyries who had come with us to deliver supplies and not been able to return. I counted about one hundred of them in total.

“So this plan is something Lady Fray came up with?” Tora mumbled to herself, eyes shining like the twin moons at night. “Fucking exciting.”

I’d almost forgotten how much that woman idolized Fray. It seemed the idea of working alongside her idol was making her excited. I just hoped she didn’t say something that would get her into trouble, or speak too loudly.

“The plan calls for us to gather our army and march on Drachen Heimat--the old capital of our people. There is a Warp Gate there that leads to Gudeverdenen. Our army will engage the Sekbeist using hit and run tactics. Our job is not to win. What we want to do is draw the army out of the city and lure it into a trap, where we will crush them with a large-scale death array created by Kari and powered by Eryk.”

When our names were announced, Kari and I stepped forward so everyone would know our faces. Kari was already a relatively well-known figure, apparently. Quite a few people cheered when they saw her, though only the people who’d been present at Lindwurm when I came to help even recognized me.

I fortunately could not hear what anyone said because they were too far away.

We stepped back and Schnee continued talking.

“Sister Fray and I will be leading this charge,” Schnee said.

“WHAT?!”

I almost jumped when the shouted reverberated around the entire room and caused the tables and even the ground to rumble. It seemed as if every person in the room had screamed.

“Lady Schnee, there is no way we can let you do that,” the prismatic Drakvar said. “You are needed to rule our people! Imagine what would happen if you led the assault on our old capital and were killed, or worse, captured. Please reconsider.”

“I absolutely will not reconsider.” Schnee glared at the woman, whose name I had forgotten. It was a bit odd seeing such a petite woman glare at another petite woman. I felt like I was staring at two little girls glaring at each other, even though I knew they were fully grown adults. “I have just as much right and the desire to fight as the rest of you. And I would make much better bait than you would. If you have a problem with my decision, you may challenge my decision by invoking your right of combat. Well? Do I have any takers?”

No one said anything. The room was so silent it felt like I was standing in a grave.

Because I was curious, I leaned into Siv and whispered in her ear. “What is going on? Is your mom that frightening?”

Siv nodded and whispered back. “Drakvar is a monarchy, but the right to rule is not gained through bloodlines. It’s gained from ability. The strongest of the Drakvar is the ruler of the realm. Momma is the undisputed most powerful Drakvar currently. I heard some people even say she was more powerful than grandmother.”

By “grandmother,” I knew she was referring to Tiamat, the previous ruler of Drakvar and the Great Overlord of the Eighth Plain. I found it hard to believe anyone could be more powerful than her. The Great Overlords gained their titles because they were the most powerful of their race… or so I assumed.

When no one stepped forward to challenge her, Schnee huffed like a child and crossed her arms. It was adorable. This little lady reminded me of her daughter, only feistier.

“As I was saying, the plan will be to have Sister Fray and myself lead the army in an assault on Drachen Heimat, retreat when the army leaves to engage, and trap them within a death array,” Schnee continued. “The only problem we will have to worry about are the Sekbeist Lords. Commander Ouroboros?”

The white-scaled member of the Eight Heralds stepped forward, his lanky frame shifting. He didn’t look like much. His hair was stringy and parted around his curled horns. It looked like he walked with a permanent slouch. I was vaguely reminded of Dante and his lackadaisical nature, but this person before me seemed even lazier than him. Even his eyes were droopy.

“There are four Sekbeist Lords holed up in Drachen Hiemat: Urag, Ogrul, Garekk, and Vlog. Their leader is Vlog. He is a very powerful Sekbeist Lord who has mastered the Concepts of Life, Time, and Negation. The other three have only mastered two concepts, but that still makes them a very powerful threat. The Concept of Negation is not something we can afford to underestimate.”

“We will split up into groups of four to deal with them,” Schnee said. “Lady Fray has graciously offered to fight against Vlog for us. I will be fighting against Urag. Commander Prisma and Commander Ddrage will join forces and defeat Garekk. Commander Ouroboros and Commander Fafnir will attack Ogrul. While we are fighting against them, Commanders Krak, Yamata, and Yuelong will be in charge of our armies. Once we split off from the main force and engage the Sekbeist Lords, it will be your charge to lead the enemy army to the array. Does anyone have any questions?”

Contrary to my expectations, there were a few questions, but they were fairly standard field questions regarding matters like battle formations, marching order, and the like. According to Schnee, battle formations would be decided on by the field commanders. ONce she had answered everyone to their satisfaction, the questions tapered off and Schnee called an end to the meeting.

***

It was much later at night, and I found myself being embraced by my two naked wives. He scent of sex hung in the air.

I was resting with my back against the headboard, absently stroking Kari’s and Siv’s hair as I thought about everything that was going to happen, about our upcoming mission. More than that, I thought about what might be happening on Ásgarðr. There was definitely more to the Warp Gate closing a simple malfunction or the Warp Gate running out of power. The timing was too convenient.

My first suspect was Tyr. I was certain he had something to do with this, though it wasn’t like I had any proof. It was just a hunch.

A knock suddenly sounded at the door, loud enough to wake Kari, who blinked several times before groaning.

“Eryk… tell whoever is at the door to leave us alone please.”

I snorted as I slid out from underneath Kari and Siv. Missing my warmth, the two woman scooted closer to each other and began snuggling. It was an awfully cute and heartwarming scene. Too bad I couldn’t enjoy. The knocking had become more insistent.

“Eryk? You fucking awake?” a voice came from the other side.

“I am. Hang on a second, Tora,” I called as I sought out my pants. I couldn’t find them at first… but then I saw the ripped fabric that became of my pants and remembered Siv had torn them apart. With a grimace, I found a clean pair of pants, used the water element to wash my body so it wouldn’t reek of sex, opened the door, and stepped outside.

Tora was standing on the hallway, wearing nothing but a nightgown that was almost sheer enough to see through. I couldn’t. However, the fabric was light enough that I could see her nipples poking through the fabric. They looked… bigger than the average woman’s.

“Did you need something?” I asked, leaning against the door.

Tora didn’t say anything at first, busy as she was staring at my bare chest. She snapped out of it for a moment, then wrinkled her nose. “The fuck is that smell?”

“Probably me,” I admitted, though I didn’t tell her what she was smelling was the result of having a lot of sex. She didn’t need to know that. “So, did you need something? Is there anything I can help you with?”

“I…” Tora paused, tried again, and then stopped once more. She did this several times before growling. “Fuck it. Eryk, do you fucking trust me?”

Her question startled me. I was tempted to ask where this question came from, but that was just a reflex. I knew where it was coming from.

“Are you asking this because of your father?” I had my answer when Tora looked away. Tugging on my bangs, I fortunately did not need to think about my answer. “I do trust you.”

“Why?” asked Tora. She sounded suspicious. “You know my dad is likely the reason the fucking Warp Gates closed. Why the fuck are you willing to trust me knowing that?”

“You are not your father. I’ve decided to trust you. It was a conscious choice I made knowing it might be incorrect.” I stared into Tora’s eyes with a calm gaze, which forced her to look away. “Does that bother you?”

“Of course the fuck not. It makes me happy,” Tora muttered, clutching her arm as a vulnerable expression crossed her features. “I just… I’m not sure I would trust myself if I was in your shoes.”

I smiled. “Then it is a good thing you are not me. Was there anything else?” Tora shook her head. “Then you had better head back to your room and get some sleep. I know we don’t really need it… but I still say it’s better to rest now while we can.”

“Right. Night, Eryk.”

“Good night.”

I watched Tora walk off, waited until she disappeared down the hallway, and then closed my eyes as I leaned my head back.

My decision to trust Tora was not based purely on me thinking she was a trustworthy person. Even now, I could not get Sigfrid’s dying words out of my head, could not help but remember how she’d confessed her love to me after I impaled her through the chest. There’s been a few times when I would dream of that moment and wake up in a cold sweat.

I still often wondered what would have happened if I’d accepted her instead of rejected her. In some ways, choosing to trust Tora when doing so might not prove smart was like my way of taking that “what if” route I didn’t take last time.

Opening the door to my room again, I walked inside, shut the door, and crawled back into bed. Kari and Siv sensed my presence the moment I laid down. They quickly snuggled up to me. Once more within the warm embrace of my wives, I felt my eyes shutting against their will.

One thought occured to me before I fell asleep, and it was that I hoped placing my trust in Tora wouldn’t come back to bite me in the ass.