The Quantum Wanderer

The girls arrive shortly after we do. We have our normal night, and retire for the day.

The next day, we wake up electric. The air feels different. The air around the girls is a little bit electric. Really electric, as if they were charged with static electricity. They decide to not do anything during the day. We are all excited with the day.

We go down the stairs. The maids are all frantic.  Rudolph comes over.

“Ladies, lord! Finally! We have to finalize the arrangements. Can we have a portal, please?”

Huginn flies very slowly, while talking to them.

“Sure, I will open a portal in the kitchen.”

And off they go. We go to the dining room. Charles and Lucille are already there. They raise a cup with juice, “cheers”.

I wave at them, and we sit down. Huginn and Muninn are on the table, at the place of their seats. The breakfast today is a simpler one, but people are more worried about the cake that is in the cooling chamber, as well as the drinks, some marinated steaks that were prepared and left soaking overnight.

We have a slow breakfast. After which, the girls go, with Huginn, to Aisha’s. A little later, Rudolph informs me that Edward and his family are at the door. I tell Rudolph to bring him in. He is in full armor, an adamantite one. It is really beautiful, the details on it are exquisite. It is a little dull if compared to the one I am going to wear, but it is still a grade above any other armor I have seen so far. Caius is wearing a mithril armor. Addrianna and Sophia are wearing ornate dresses, that have the same design. Addrianna’s is blue, though, while Sophia’s dress is green.

Addrianna is looking around.

“Where are the girls?”

“Oh, their preparations were made with Aisha. They portaled there.”

“Aisha?”

“Yes, Rajesh’s wife.”

I see that Edward throws an unhappy stare at Addrianna, and she notices it. But then he disguises it. She clears her throat.

“What a pity. I was wondering if I could help…”

I shrug.

“Don’t worry about it. I have to put the armor on, to get ready. I don’t know if I can entertain you.”

“Have you ever worn a breast plate before, friend?”

“I can’t say that I have, no. I ended up saving the armor I got from Brokkr for this moment, it is not really adequate for walking around.”

Edward scratches his chin.

“I think I can understand what you mean. Anyway, I can probably help you.”

Rudolph takes a step forward, and clears his throat.

“Excuse me, your highness, but lord Marcelo happens to have a personal valet.”

I turn to Rudolph. I never thought about this.

“Really? Who?”

“Lord! That was unnecessary!”

He turns around and starts going up the stairs, towards my room. He turns around.

“Please, lord. We have to fit you in the armor.”

I follow Rudolph. Muninn stays in the room, Sophia has Rebirth on her shoulder, she and Caius are talking to him. Sophia is inquiring about the whole thing. Even Muninn doesn’t know how to answer all the why questions she poses.

We get to my room. There are some padded long johns made of several layers of cotton., then a head to toe chain mail. The rings in this chain mail armor are a work of art. They are closed, and fit with one another perfectly. I have practiced the creation of mana crystals a lot by now. I fortify the chain mail with.

Then the pieces of armor. The chest and the back, united on the shoulders by a leather strap. The chest plate is not made of a single piece, it is made in layers, so it doesn’t hinder movements. There are some plates for the legs, for the outer part of the arms, and an open bracelet that is big enough to cover the whole forearm. Then the pair of glaives and boots.

 Everything designed with the motifs of dragons and crows. The high relief engravings feel almost alive.

Again I add the neutron crystals, this time to the pieces of armor. This delays us a little bit, but not much.

I put on the long johns easily. Then Rudolph holds the chain mail that is open in the back for me. I can see that the top of it has a clasp that contains a pair of very small gems. I enter the chain mail, and then place my arms through it. Rudolph goes to my back, and I can see that he is not quite understanding the design. Neither am I, actually. But I grab the two pieces of the clasp, and put them together.

It suck in a very small portion of my mana, and it fuses. Then I feel the back of the chain mail closing it self, as if it was getting close like a zipper. Once it closes all the way to the clasp, I feel that it tightens just a smidge around me. It feels like heavy snow clothing, but it doesn’t hinders my movements at all. This is actually a lot more comfortable than my leather armor.

I pull the hood to cover my head. I don’t plan on keeping it on, but having it up is going to help me getting the breast plate on.

I feel some improvement on my defenses. This chan mail improves several of my resistances. The hood improves resistance to mind magic. All of this is nice, but I can’t see a scenario where it would make much difference. Then I remember the fight with the kraken. Yes, it would have helped then.

Rudolph is holding the breast plate by the back plate. I bow and he puts it over my head. I hold the leather straps, and place the two plates closer to one another. They look like they are magnetized, they attract each other and bond together. I can sense a mana gem on the inside. I inject some mana in it, and the armor opens up.

I close it again, and check out my movements. It is absolutely amazing. It is akin to a group of scales, but at the same it doesn’t have a direction where a blade could slip in. I grab the arm protections. I bring them close to my arm, on the outside, and they attach themselves to the chain mail, again with the magnets. Once in position, they kind of meld into place with the enchanted adamantite underneath.

I do the same with the other parts.

I check the results on a mirror. I look like a king in this. It’s amazing. I close my eyes. The stats on the armor are also amazing. Gems on the inside provide additional protection, of all kinds. The power in the gems flow through micro mana canals throughout the armor.

The mobility is amazing. I would expect something like this to weight several dozen pounds, but no. It is about the weight of my leather armor. It is going to be really hard going back to using the leather one after today.

The temperature inside the armor is controlled. I am not feeling the heat I would expect after the layers of clothing and armor. Rudolph does the last touch, and places the cape. It is made in a way that it cascates over my shoulders.

After the hour spent getting dressed, Rudolph and I go downstairs. The armor makes no noise during movement.

When Edward and his family notice Rudolph and I coming down the stairs, we are already in front of Drakonia’s map. A silence settles on them, while they look at me in a weird way. I try to find what is wrong with my figure. Edward notices.

“It’s ok, my friend, it’s ok. It is actually too ok, if you can get my meaning. What you are wearing is a grade above anything I have ever seen before. And I have gone to war with Anthon. But this… I guess your girls are going to fall in love all over again…”

I look at the bracelets on my forearms.

“Yes, Brokkr’s work is… I don’t think I have words. It is going to be really hard to wear anything else after this. It is like a cool padded garment.”

I go down the stairs, and Edward and Caius take a close look at the armor.

“I can’t even see where the plates are joined. It looks like the armor was just forged around you. And the chain mail as well…”

“Yes, I don’t think even my katana can cut it.”

I remember that I am missing the katana, I open a portal to my safe, and pick it up. When I place it close to my belt, it just gets snapped to the armor. Edward keeps looking at it closely.

“I think you are the only one in the planet that manages to get Anthon envious, friend. Do you know how hard it is to give him a present? Yet some of your garbage might actually make the cut… I am really anxious to see what face he is going to make when he sees your armor in all its glory.”

I shrug. And it shows through the armor. I know that this is not supposed to happen on normal breast plate armors.

Charles comes down the stairs. He is dressing some fancy clothing, but generic ones. Not made for order with his measurements. He is not looking bad, though. He notices me, and stops midway. Then he continues coming down the stairs.

Once he is close, he starts looking at both mine and Edward’s armors. Edward giggles.

“Yes, his armor is better than mine. Way better.”

Addrianna giggles a little as well. Muninn flies over and lands on my shoulder. He moves his feet around it.

“Hey, this is nice. Father, did you know this armor has a place to put the my feet? It is a lot better than the previous one.”

It is getting close to noon. We go to the kitchen, Huginn portal is still open. It is twice the size needed for a person to pass. It makes sense, though, considering that the kitchen staff is transporting stuff through it.

The floor in the kitchen has a lot of sand on it. When I arrive in the kitchen, everyone maid in there turns around and gasps. This some of them kneel down in a reflex motion. When the rest see them kneeling down, they kneel down as well. I turn to them.

“It’s ok, everyone. You don’t have to kneel. Let’s just get on with this!”

This apparently broke the thrall. We all go through the portal. We are inside a rough construction built with earth magic. A very big kitchen. The oven is running, everyone is busy around. It is an extension of my kitchen. Roberta is here. She turns to see me, and gasps. Reflexively, she kneels down and we have a repeat of what happened in Ironhold.

Once we leave the kitchen, we are in a corridor. The door to the left is an exit, and there are some other doors along the corridor. We leave the construction, and hit the beach.

The sun is, as expected, only a couple of hours from setting here. But that is not what attracts my eyes. There is this huge construction on the sand. It is completely built of glass. The entrance is farther from the water. The part away from the water has a lot of sand in the glass, and it gets clearer and clearer until the part that is very close to the breaking water. Out of the back, made out this crystalline glass, there is a bridge with no guard rails, that leads to a church. The church is partially immersed in the ocean. All of this is pointing towards the place the sun will be when it sets.

The whole thing is a work of art. Color me impressed. I probably should give Troggar and whoever else helped with this some serious piece of kraken, they earned it.

Rajesh, Sidhu, Brokkr and Dávrin are by the entrance of the small castle, with their kids. I don’t see their wives, though.

When they see me, Rajesh and Sidhu kind of freeze. I start coming their way. Sidhu and his family kowtow. I get close, and pull up Sidhu’s shoulder.

“Sidhu, you are here as a friend, not as a vassal. You are my friend. Please, stand up.”

He stands up. Brokkr is taking a close look at the armor I am using, checking out the latches. He is grunting.

“Why did you spare mana? It’s not like you are going to miss it! Here, touch your left shoulder with your right hand, and inject mana there.”

I do as he says, and I can feel a little pressure around me before it settles. Now it feels like a second skin. He touches the places where the two pieces were united, and now he is satisfied.

“Better!”

“By the way, good afternoon, friends.” I say.

Dávrin and Brokkr are both wearing similarly lavish armors, made of enchanted adamantite. Rajesh and Sidhu are both wearing very beautiful armors as well, but they are less elaborate. They are still made of enchanted adamantite. Rajesh smiles and extends his hand.

“Good afternoon, friend! It is my pleasure to be here.”

“Same here!” Dávrin adds.

Edward approaches. I step to the side, to allow them to see him. Rajesh smiles, and extends his hand.

“Pleasure to meet you. I am Rajesh. This is Sidhu, lord Dávrin and master Brokkr.”

Edward reaches out and shakes the hand offered.

“I am Edward, this is my wife Addrianna, and my kids Caius and Sophia.”

Addrianna and Sophia offer a courtesy. Caius does a soft bow. Muninn jumps from my shoulder, and does a backward somersault. When he lands, he is in his normal form. I look at him.

“Let me guess, you practiced this.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, father.”

I giggle a little. The dragons start to arrive on the beach. They approach us, show their submission stance, and walk to the back. It is time to open the portal for the other guests.

The first portal I open is a big one, for Piotr. He comes out of it and does the submission stance towards me. When he gets a little farther, though, he brings his head up high. I can see that the elders are not happy with it, but no one creates any issue.

I close his portal. I open another one, this time for Leopold. He comes through with Aymon. He then stops and stands there, frozen in place. I close his portal, and open one for Andrew. He comes through. His reaction is a little different. He freezes a little bit, but then he shakes himself. He extends his hand.

“Congratulations to the groom!” I shake his hand. He pulls me close, so that he can whisper in my ear. “Lad, just to be sure… Your big guests are well fed, right?”

I laugh.

“Don’t worry. Today is a day of peace. No one is getting eaten today.”

I open the portal for Anthon, and he comes through with his family. Sophia shouts “Cesar! You came!” and runs over to hug him. He smiles. And then he looks around and freezes. He grabs on Sophia a little harder, and starts shaking.

“It’s ok, big brother Cesar. They are all friends.”

Muninn nodding his head from over 10 feet high does not bring the calm he expected. Sophia starts telling him that everything is ok, and he ends up relaxing a little bit. Brutus is still frozen, by Andrea’s side. She is also frozen.

Anthon come in our direction.

“I have to say, friend, way to keep any ego in check! Mine included!”

He stops to look around, he is inspecting things as a child. After some time he gestures to his family to get close. He extends his hand.

“Good afternoon… I am Anthon. This is my family, Andrea, Brutus and Cesar.”

Andrea is looking to the side, and the attitude is mimicked by Brutus. That bothers me a little, but the guests have their plus ones. Having an idiot or two among the guests is something that happens.

I open the portal for Akiko. She comes in wearing a very beautiful Japanese style kimono. Her hair is set up, she is looking like a character in an anime.

“Honored guest! My, how handsome.”

She takes a look around, and then freezes. I give her the time to recover. I am not looking from a perspective that I could check this, but it looks like the sand is taken with dragons. The two closest to us are Troggar and Piotr. Both exuding some pride.

I feel a soft tug on my cape, and turn around. It is Sophia.

“Uncle, can I pet the dragons?”

I look Edward, he nods and blinks. Addrianna is terrified. Frozen terrified. I give my hand to Sophia, and we get close to Piotr.

“Piotr, I want to introduce you a friend of mine. This is Sophia. Sophia, this is Piotr.”

She does a courtesy. Piotr lowers his head, so that it is very close to Sophia, and then inhales. The wind almost makes her fall down, but I hold her.

“What is he doing?” She asks.

“He is smelling you, so that he can remember you.”

“Can I touch him?”

“Why don’t you ask him?”

She turns to Piotr, and puts her hands around her mouth. She yells.

“Mr Piotr dragon, can I touch you?”

Piotr giggles.

“Sure, hatchling.”

She extends her arm and touches him on the nozzle. I look back at the others. The only people that are not frozen are Edward and Addrianna. That’s because Edward was holding Addrianna, that was phreaking out.

I look back at Sophia and Piotr. Sophia does a courtesy.

“Thank you, Piotr sir.”

Piotr giggles again, and Sophia comes back to her parents. I hadn’t noticed a maid on the entrance of the castle. She is looking at the whole scene, frozen as well. I call her name, and gesture her to get some water for Addrianna. That gets her out of the thrall, and she starts moving. Some minutes later she comes by with a tray and some glasses of cold water for everyone. Edward was calming Addrianna. The dwarves, Rajesh and Anthon were laughing. Brokkr couldn’t resist.

“You are brave, little one. You deserve the longest of beards when you grow up!” Brokkr comments.

Addrianna stares at him. He looks back.

“What? I can say with very little doubt that most of us would like to do that, we just don’t have the guts.”

Everyone but Andrea and Brutus are laughing. Those two are in their own little world. They moved closer to Addrianna, but they are not really in a talking distance.

Huginn comes out of the palace. She bows to me.

“Good afternoon, papa.”

She takes a look at me. She continues.

“You are really putting in the effort, papa. You are looking good. You should dress like this more often.”

“I have to agree, I should dress like this more often. This is just so comfortable.”

She jumps over us, and lands by Muninn’s side.

“Hello, hubby.”

She touches her head on him. Everyone is watching the whole thing, but Sophia is drinking every word. She looks at everyone, and focuses on Sophia for a moment. Then turns to everyone.

“Shall we get in?”

We enter the castle. The sun is lower, and this makes for a softer light inside it. The part right after the door feels like a common construction, with the color of sand. Taking a closer look, the glass was built with left in sand inside it. The walls are still smooth as glass.

Huginn starts her tour.

“We know we are only going to be here for some hours, but some amenities were built in. The hooks on the wall are supposed to hold anything you want to place there while attending the ceremony.”

We walk past the foyer, into a ballroom. It looks like it was built with fractals, it is absolutely spectacular. The sun is one hour away from setting, and it starts to paint everything with some red tones. Huginn continues her explanation.

“This is where the drinking and eating after the ceremony is going to happen. There you have some restrooms. There and there, up the stairs, there are some bedrooms. The mattresses use sand as filling. It is comfortable, but not for jumping or smashing into it, so be careful.”

We keep walking. We get to the end of the ballroom. There is an arch, and walk way after it, transparent but visible, that goes all the way to a church that is made of transparent glass. I look at the walls in the ballroom, and they are normal slick walls until some 6 feet in height. After that, it is looking like they are shaped like the outside of a golf ball, full of small holes in it. The holes have different sizes, thought. Some are 10 inches, some are a lot bigger, like 3 feet. I assume it is for acoustics or something.

“The rooms and restrooms we have just passed were built in a way to provide privacy. Transparent glass would be in bad taste.”

 I am amazed at the lengths of preparation the girls went through. Everything is absolutely beautiful.

I hear some laughing behind me.

“So, is this what takes to flabberghast master Marcelo?”

Brokkr is laughing. I shrug.

“Now, boys, please proceed to the church. Sir Sidhu, do you need a room to get ready?”

“No, can I go to the altar?”

“Of course.”

Sidhu goes over the walk way. I see that once he reaches the church, he goes down some stairs, around five feet. The church is partially submersed. He stops at the entrance of the church. The group spreads out in the ballroom. Huginn goes into one of the rooms. She comes back with Aisha, Rutra, Dyrgia, Dalvina in tow.

Sophia sees Rutra with a crow on her shoulder, and tugs at her mother’s dress.

“Mama, she is also raising a crow! Can I go?CanIgo?CanIgo?”

Addrianna sighs, she looks at Aisha, and Aisha nods.

“Well, a lot less risky than a dragon! Go ahead.”

Andrea produces a purposedly loud sigh.

We split in groups. The children are in one, Cesar, Caius, Sophia, Rutra, Sitra, Viraj. They are around Huginn and Muninn. Another group is is formed by Andrea, Addrianna and Brutus. The third group is formed by us guys. Dyrgia, Aisha, Dalvina, Akiko, are in another one. I can notice that Addrianna is looking longingly towards the group of wives, while Andrea is fanning herself. Even though the temperature inside the castle is controlled.

Edward is mid-sentence describing Addrianna’s wedding dress when we hear the scream. “NOOOOOOO”. It was one of those anguish screams that you can hear in your heart.

Sophia has this big gash on her, she is in front of Rutra. In front of the girls, Brutus is standing, with his sword dripping blood. Sophia is falling back, and Rutra holds her. Rebirth and Shanti are attacking Brutus face viciously. He tries to protect his face with one arm, swinging his sword with the other. The crows are too close to be hurt by the sword, though.

The attack of the crows is vicious. It is a mess of beak and claws amidst the black feathers. Some blood is coming out of Brutus’ face.

“YOU LITTLE SHIT!” Huginn says, and kicks Brutus on the side. He bends in an uncomfortable position before shooting through the room, and hitting a wall some 30 feet away. His breast plate is a mix of broken and bent. The very thick glass wall cracks a little with a very loud boom.

Rebirth lands by Sophia and starts crying loudly towards Huginn. Shanti lands on Rutra’s shoulder, and leans against her head.

Sophia’s life is by a thread. Huginn lowers her head, touching Sophia very lightly. Huginn’s top feather shines, and Sophia’s wound start to close in a very rapid rate. At this point Addrianna is already taking over the position of holding Sophia, from Rutra.

“NONONONONO… WHY? WHY?”

At this point, Sophia turns her head to the side, and coughs out a gunk of blood and some matter. Huginn continues her healing process. Aisha is hugging Rutra. Once she is safe, Rutra starts crying.

The other kids are shocked. Anthon is frozen, and Edward and Rajesh start walking slowly towards Brutus. Andrea is now screaming at Huginn, while holding her son.

“YOU! HEAL HIM!”

Akiko approaches the other children, and hug them.

Muninn starts laughing, but the most sinister laughter I have seen in my life. It is malicious, it echoes in some primitive places, it raises primal fears. It is the dark under the bed, it is the creepy sound in the night. I get a little uncomfortable. He also starts walking slowly towards Brutus and Andrea.

“YOU HEARD ME, BEAST! COME HERE AND HEAL YOUR MESS! NOW!”

Muninn laughter is louder, and something clicks inside Andrea. She now faces Muninn. His face is distorted. She drops to the ground and soils herself. Aisha holds Edward and Rajesh’s shoulders. She is trembling, but she nods at them. Rajesh stops and takes his hand off his sword. Edward looks at Addrianna and Sophia. Addrianna is crying uncontrollably, looking at her daugher, but Sophia is already better. Her dress is ruined, and there is a scar. She stretches her hand up to her mothers face.

“It’s ok, mama.”

Addrianna lifts her head, and scream with full lungs towards Edward.

“TAKE THAT BITCH AND HER MAD DOG PIECE OF SHIT OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!”

Anthon and I get close to the commotion. Andrea is now mumbling and crying. The men are circling her.

“Heal my son! It’s not his fault! The idiotic demon lover should not have jumped in front of him!”

Looking closer, the crows did a number on him. His face is cut in several places, and the kid is missing an eye. He is unconscious. Anthon turns to me. His face is distorted.

“Please, open a portal to my dungeon. I will deal with this after the wedding.”

Andrea throws him a pained look. She didn’t expect this level of reaction from him. I open the portal, and Anthon brings both of them to his dungeon.

Dalvina approaches me.

“Excuse me, master Marcelo, can you pls open a quick portal so that I can get something in my room?”

I open a portal to the dinning room in the palace, I hope it is close enough to her quarters.

A couple of minutes later, Anthon comes out of his portal, and Dalvina comes out of hers. She is carrying a holding bag.

She gets close to Addrianna and Sophia.

“You can’t stay with that ripped dress, it is not proper. Come with me.”

The three of them go into one of the rooms close to the foyer. After some minutes, Sophia comes out running. She is wearing an armor.

“Look, papa, look what I am wearing!”

Addrianna and Dalvina come after her. Edward mouths a thank you to Dalvina. Then we hear another scream, this time a male one.

“NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”

I take a look, and Sidhu has his hand on the crack on the wall. We all look at him. He looks at us.

“It’s cracked!”

Muninn is the first to start laughing. This time, a heartfelt laughter and we end up joining him. The sun touches the horizon. Huginn clears her throat.

“We have a wedding to get on with.”

Sidhu stands up and we all follow him towards the church. I still haven’t seen the girls. I hope they get surprised by my appearance as well.

The church is made of transparent glass, the benches are made of wood and some leather stuffing. The floor and walls are transparent, and the church itself is some 3 feet under the water. That means that we can see the sea underneath us. The sunset light coming through it makes it spetacular.

The wedding ritual for Sidhu’s church is different than then one for Nergal’s. The brides are going to be presented to me, by both parents. I don’t know what is going to happen in the case of the dragonesses.

Huginn is the last one to enter the church. She extends her wings forward and then opens them. Thousands of small portals open all around us. Out of them come birds, all sorts of birds. Smaller birds, bigger birds, green, yellow, red. The most varied amount of breaks, feathers, shapes and formats.

They land in different spots in the wall, in the holes that are similar to the ones I had observed in the ballroom.

Huginn closes her eyes and lower her wings. The birds all start singing at the same time. It reminds me of some songs I had heard from Earth, song by Gregorian choirs. I am kind of worried about how late this wedding is going to get. Every time there is something happening that makes us all freeze. The music being sang is from Earth, from my memories. It is a set that is adequate to the miriads of birds.

After some time, Lucille comes over to Huginn and nods. Huginn closes her eyes for a couple of seconds, and the birds switch to the bridal march. This is a very interesting interpretation of the music.

The girls come out. Their dresses have similar styles, but have different colors. The dresses’ colors follow the hair color of each girl, including Cecilia’s. They are absolutely beautiful. They look at me, and they blush as well. Ruby passes her tongue around her mouth, Cecilia bites her lower lip. Opal and straighten up, and Aquamarine look at the floor.

They start marching slowly towards the altar. The group forms a square. On the front, Opal and Ruby. The second row is formed by Cecilia and her two parents, one on each side. The third row is Shandon and Aquamarine.

They are each holding a flower arrangement. The whole scene is magical. And it would be magical even on a place with no mana.

I can feel Sidhu’s awkwardness, while talking about life long contracts, blessed by The Great Adventurer. He has this sermon about love, honor and support. It is really nice. I can’t stop looking at the girls, though. They are all smiling. Happy smiling. Even the dragonesses, they are behaving like human brides right now.

Then the part of the vows come up. Shandon is the first one.

“The first we met, my lord, you were my liberator. And you became more, so much more. I learned about things that I couldn’t even describe. I want to be, for you, as great as you are to me. And I promise to spend the rest of my life trying.”

The next one is Opal.

“The first we met, you saved me because my daughter pleaded with you. You have show to me feelings and sensations that my language has no words to describe. I want to be yours not because you won me in a duel, but because I am gifting myself, heart mind and soul, to you.”

The next one is Ruby.

“I want my fun to be your fun!”

The next one is Aquamarine. She raises her head. She is beet red in her blue dress.

“I finally got to understand what love is. I love you.”

And finally Cecilia.

“I have loved you for a long time, my villain. When you gave me that speech, I didn’t jump you because you won me over. I jumped you because I couldn’t resist anymore. You are everything I want, and I want all of this for the longest time. You got the damsel, my villain, and now she is your responsibility forever!”

I am smiling. I can’t even describe this. Friends around, my girls saying those things. I clear my throat.

“You are all the most beautiful women I have ever laid my eyes on, and I was lucky enough to fall in love with each of you. There is a saying in the land I come from that states that love is all giving, but my love is completely selfish. I want you close to me because I need you, just like I need air. Just like a mage needs mana. Life without you in it would be colorless. It would be surviving, not living. I love you. I need you. I want you for the rest of my life.”

The girls are smiling, their eyes are shining. There are a couple of tears on Cecilia’s, Shandon’s and Opal’s eyes. I can’t see Aquamarine’s face, she is looking down. After about one minute of silence, Sidhu, in his most formal voice, recites the last part.

“Vows of eternal promises were recited, in front of friends and the Great Adventurer. Those are not to be lightly taken. I declare you husband and wives. You may kiss the brides.”

I give a passionate kiss on all my girls. I start with Cecilia. Then I kiss Shandon. Then Opal. Then Aquamarine. When I get close to Ruby, my red jumps me, and we seal the wedding with a kiss. After we end it, she stays grabbed like a sloth to a tree. Cecilia whispers in her ear.

“We are going to have a lot more time for that later.”

Ruby gets down slowly.

We turn around. Opal gives a step forward.

“For the human guests, there is a buffet that is getting prepared in the ballroom. For the other guests, we are a going to provide some meat that you can cook to perfection.”

The families there stand up, and clap, indicating the end of the ceremony. The birds fly towards the ballroom, followed by Huginn and Muninn. The guests follow them, and then us. The girls are ecstatic.

I leave them there, and go to the front of the palace, on the outside.  Some 50 feet from the entrance there is a bowl of glass on the beach. I hadn’t really paid attention, I hadn’t noticed it. I place some mana on my voice, so that it can be heard by all.

“I am going to provide you all with meat enough for a good meal. If you run out before everyone is served, I will just provide more. No need to fight for it. I am delegating to Troggar and Piotr the task of organizing this.”

I open a portal and bring out a huge slab of kraken tentacle. Really huge, 80.000 lbs huge. I place it on the bow. I nod to Piotr and and Troggar and come back to the party in the ballroom.

Even though everyone is a lot calmer, the emotions are still all messed up. The party is a lot more silent than it should be. There are some good points, with Addrianna mingling with the other wives over how much of an asshole Andrea was.

The kids are playing around. I am pretty sure that I heard Sophia saying to Caius and Cesar that they were going to be her consorts. Addrianna hears that, and sighs.

Anthon gets closer to the other guys, including Edward and Rajesh, very slowly. His eyes are down.

“I… am sorry. There is nothing I can offer other than I couldn’t foresee what happened. I can assure you that it will be dealt with.”

Anthon then comes over to me.

“I am sorry. I have to leave early. Besides being partly to blame for the issues, I have to start sorting out what to do.”

I open a portal to Anthon’s palace, and he jumps through. The birds start singing some dancing songs from Earth. They even do the percussion. Their job is flawless.

People taste some of the offerings in the buffet, but there is a lot of food left. I tell Roberta to just take it outside and offer it to Piotr and the dragons. They will not refuse kraken meat ever.

I open the portals, and the guests start to leave. We are the last ones to leave. I am too emotionally tired to do anything tonight, we just cuddle.