Rebirth of the Nephilim

Kerr’s suggestion to just do the rituals immediately did not live long. While Jadis’ Salacious Transposition ritual wasn’t one of her longer ones, it still would have taken two and a half hours to get through everyone, even with her ritual time reduction taking effect. They had a schedule to keep, and that long of a delay wasn’t going to work out.

Kerr’s second suggestion to do the rituals while flying was also shot down, since no one was particularly interested in putting on a show for the Hero and his whole company, much less Noll.

In the end, they quickly decided that they would just have to devote some time to completing the rituals during their planned stop in Glanum. The Leviathan would be flying overnight, not stopping at Fort Constance for this trip, since it would save them a whole night’s worth of travel time. The duty of flying the airship would be taken in shifts, and everyone would have to either sleep in their seats or lay out blankets on the floor. Fortunately, the seats were quite comfortable, and there were sort-of trundle beds in the cargo that could be used as needed.

Once all the of the last-minute preparations had been completed and the farewells to family and friends had been said, The Leviathan had lifted into the sky and departed on its long journey to the distant nation of Volto. With so many unique individuals on board, there was an exceptional variety of conversations started, even before the ship had fully cleared the branches of the great tree that stretched across the capital city. Jadis was able to keep track of a few of them, but even she couldn’t engage with all of them. Those that she did pay attention to, however, were certainly stimulating, though each one for very different reasons.

“But I heard you lost your whole damn arm during that fight with the silverscale lindwyrm and that you had to beat the beast to death with the bare knuckles of your offhand,” Halvor said as he leaned forward in his seat. “Are you telling me you didn’t?”

“Two fingers,” Noll replied with a snort while holding up the ring and pinky fingers of his right hand. “That’s all.”

“Du må tulle med meg,” the big barbarian shook his head. “And I suppose you didn’t have to drag yourself across the mountains for three days to get back to civilization and someone who could heal you?”

“One day of dragging,” Noll grunted. “I was walking by the second day.”

“It is unfortunate that so many exaggerations work their way into true accounts,” Severina said as she calmy sat next to Halvor and across from Noll. “You have accomplished many great deeds. Your battle against the silverscale lindwyrm is amazing on its own, and yet so many feel the need to embellish.”

“Stories grow every time they’re told around the fire,” Halvor nodded as he leaned back in his seat again. “Not that I meant any offense! It’s a great tale, missing arm or no!”

“I’m certain master Noll would never allow himself to be put in a position where he would receive such a grievous injury,” Sev continued, her expression calm and distant. “His skill exceeds such common mistakes.”

“Sometimes you do all the right things, and you still lose an arm,” Noll said in his gravelly tone. “That’s just life.”

Dys wasn’t directly involved in the conversation; she was sitting with Alex and Eir behind the old therion. While Demon and Elf were cooing over Hope’s sleeping form, Dys was staring at Severina, who was still putting on her façade of noble propriety. However, Jadis knew the Seraphim very well, and the barely noticeable pink creeping across her cheeks told her just how much the paladin was struggling with the fact that she had somehow been maneuvered into sitting across from her childhood idol. When Dys caught Severina’s eye, the blonde shifted her eyebrows in a way that was either a promise of a scolding, or a promise of fun times in the bedroom later. Possibly both.

Being the one in charge of seating was fun.

“Ja, but I don’t understand how it… works,” Ludger was saying. “I’m not judging, mind you. I just don’t understand how that many people even fit in one bed.”

“I imagine they have a large bed,” Lucia replied, her face utterly blank. “And I do not think you should spend so much time thinking about Jadis and her companions in bed.”

“I’m not thinking about them in bed!” Ludger hissed, keeping his voice low. “Don’t make it sound like a sex thing. I meant, I don’t see how a relationship can work with so many involved. I love my Elodie, but I don’t think I could handle having two or more of her. It sounds like too much to juggle.”

“Perhaps Jadis has excellent multitasking skills,” the white-furred therion replied, her eyes scanning the horizon beyond the window.

“Maybe,” the big man frowned in thought. “How do your people handle it?”

“My people?”

“Ja, your people,” Ludger said, an earnest expression on his face as he looked at Lucia. “I know Therions are the ones who do those harem things, ja?”

Lucia stared at the blonde man with one eyebrow raised for several long seconds.

“Ludger. My family has lived in the southeast corner of the empire for almost nine hundred years. I have never even been to the Verdant Sea. I do not know anyone who has been or is currently a part of a harem, other than the people on this airship right now. A therion from the Verdant Sea is no more ‘my people’ than a human from Tiaga would be ‘your people’. Do you understand?”

The Bulwark stared at The Paladin, brow furrowed, as he digested the explanation.

“Ja, I believe I understand,” he eventually said with great care. After a few more silent seconds, he continued. “But your family came from the northeast, so maybe you had ancestors who were in harems?”

Closing her eyes in obvious pain, Lucia let out a long sigh.

“Why don’t you simply ask Kerr your questions? She is actually from the Verdant Sea, I believe.”

“I can’t do that,” Ludger said as he looked anxiously towards where Kerr, Maeve, and Amarantha were in deep conversation near the back of the ship. “That woman disturbs me. She acts like she has taken too many of Amarantha’s ‘special’ potions. Ah, gods, our food is going to be spiked with something that makes us all turn blue again or something, isn’t it?”

Lucia stared at the trio of troublemakers.

“Possibly.”

While Syd was interested in the conversation, she wasn’t actually a part of it since she was sitting with Thea, Sorcha, and Bridget across the aisle. Rather than butt in and offer some answers to Ludger’s questions, she just sat and listened to his earnest attempt to understand a social convention his upbringing clearly hadn’t prepared him for. It was clear that his confusion was innocent, so Jadis didn’t mind. She wouldn’t have really cared if he had disapproved for some reason, either. Thus far, Jadis hadn’t run into anyone who had thought of the relationship she and her lovers had as anything more than an oddity, which was much better than the more disagreeable scenarios she could think of. She had to wonder if that was just because of the shared religious beliefs of Oros as influenced by Lyssandria, or if the empire was just particularly cosmopolitan and therefore accepting of different ways of life. She supposed Volto would be a good test to determine which of her theories were correct.

One conversation that Jadis was even more interested in was one that she was purposefully keeping herself away from. While many of her lovers and the Hero’s party had stood on the balcony flanking either side of the airship at the start of the flight, everyone had quietly gone back inside on her subtle insistence. All but two of their number.

“They make for a cute couple, don’t they?” Bridget said, her eyes glancing out the window to where Wilhelm and Jocelyn were standing side by side.

“They are,” Thea agreed, her voice quiet but her smile sincere.

“I still say neither will make a move on this trip,” Sorcha insisted as she kept her eyes on the bone wand she was carefully carving. “Even if Kerr cheats and spikes their drinks with whatever that crazy cat is cooking up.”

“I told Kerr she isn’t allowed to do that,” Syd said as she stretched her legs out. She was very glad that several of the seats had been made with her size and weight in mind. “But I can’t control what Amarantha does. I can’t really control what Kerr does either, for that matter.”

“You’re only saying that because you took her side of the bet,” Sorcha narrowed her eyes.

“Probably,” Syd admitted.

The last conversation that Jadis was paying particular attention to was one she had some active involvement in, though Aila had taken the clear lead. Her redheaded lover was happy to let Jadis take charge most of the time, but when it came to anything involving skills and levels, Aila claimed domain. Jadis had no trouble at all ceding the mage that authority. She was better at analyzing such things, after all.

“Do you have any other questions about the passive skills available to you?” Aila asked, journal in one hand and pen in the other.

The mage was sitting in the pilot’s seat of the Leviathan, which was comfortably sized for her height. The cockpit was spacious, having been crafted with Jadis in mind since she could also pull pilot duty when needed, and there several extra chairs in the room of various sizes. The door, which was usually left open, had been shut to give the three of them privacy.

“No, I understand their details,” Meli replied as her fingers obsessively braided and unbraided her willow fronds. “May I have some time to think?”

“Take as much time as you need,” Aila smiled at the Dryad. “It’s a lot of information to process all at once. If you do think of any questions, just ask.”

“Also, just to be clear,” Jay chimed in from where she sat on the other side of the Dryad, “I don’t want you to think that you have to perform Salacious Transposition. If there are any rituals that you don’t want to participate in, just tell us and it’s fine. These rituals are optional. You can say no, if you want to. Don’t feel pressured to join us just because we’re in a relationship now.”

Meli paused her quickly moving fingers and looked up at Jay, a smile spreading across her face.

“I know. I want to join you.”

“Alright,” Jay grinned back before leaning close and giving Meli a kiss on the cheek. “I want you to join too.”

The Dryad’s smile faded slightly as she turned to look at Aila, orange eyes running across the redhead’s face.

“You do not mind that I join?”

Aila straightened, her brows going up slightly as she regarded the other woman. After a moment, she set her book down on the console that was next to the Leviathan’s control panel.

“I can assure you with complete confidence that Jadis would never enter into any sort of relationship, physical or otherwise, with any other woman that she had not already discussed with and received approval from myself and the rest of her… wives.”

Aila hesitated slightly at the last word, her eyes flickering to Jay, who only gave her a loving smile.

“You are welcome among us, Meli. Don’t ever doubt it.”

“…Thank you,” the Dryad replied, her voice barely above a whisper. “I am—I thank you. Truly.”

Aila looked like she was going to offer a hug to Meli, but then seeing how the Dryad was braiding her hair even faster, changed her mind. Turning to adjust the airship’s angle slightly via the control console, she cleared her throat.

“Like I said. Take your time and think about which of our passives you want to copy. There’s no rush.”

“Maybe a slight rush,” Jay cut in as she showed no hesitation to wrap her arms around the Dryad from behind, giving her the hug that Aila had been too embarrassed to try. “If we can, we’ll want to perform all of these rituals when we get to Glanum.”

“Will we have that much time?” Meli asked as she relaxed back against Jay’s armored chest. “Will we not simply fly on to Volto after you battle the disagreeable Valbjorn?”

“No, we’ll stay the night in Volto,” Jay replied as she removed one gauntlet so she could fiddle with Meli’s hair fronds. “We have a little more business there than just Odilia.”

“Is the business regarding Kerr’s family?”

Jay’s fingers paused their play as Aila turned to look at the Dryad again.

“Did someone tell you that?” the mage asked, a small frown on her freckled face.

“No,” Meli shook her head. “I overheard Sorcha and Sabina talking in the house of plants.”

“Greenhouse,” Jay murmured a distracted correction.

“You haven’t spoken to Kerr about what you may have overheard, have you?” Aila questioned her further.

“No. I could tell that the subject was… sensitive.”

Jay let out a sigh that mirrored Aila’s own exhalation. Sharing a look, the two performed the closest thing to mental communication they had. By silent agreement, Jay spoke next.

“Please don’t tell Kerr about whatever you heard,” she said as she resumed stroking Meli’s leaves and petals. “Kerr is dealing with some… family problems, and we’re trying to get them sorted. That means that, in this case, we’re going to have to do something that Kerr isn’t going to particularly like.”

 Meli quietly contemplated Jay’s words for a long while. Jadis wasn’t sure how much time passed, but when the Dryad next spoke, the sun had shifted several finger lengths across the sky.

“I will keep my silence,” Meli finally announced, causing both Aila and Jay to jump a little. “I understand you are doing something you feel is best for a person you love.”

“Yes, we are,” Jay agreed as Aila nodded her head.

“I will still give you this warning,” the Dryad continued after a breath. “My grove also did what they thought was best for me, because they loved me. And I left them because of their actions. I hope that the same does not happen with Kerr.”

Jadis fervently hoped so, too.