Bonded Summoner

After Jake announced the victory, a time was spent cleaning up the wall. Meanwhile, Ophelia began her rapid flight West, to meet up with Timone for Jake’s [Reverse Summon].

Bloodberri spent some time on resurrections, but once again there were far too many for her to complete.

She still raised up many Clan heads, and quite a few new Elysian arrivals had fallen. The conquest progress as a result of clearing the Greater Rift and closing dozens of Rifts at once was over 75%.

At this level of Conquest Progress, resurrection timers would change significantly. When having fallen at the HQ and their body Looted, it would be around three days. This showed how Conquest Progress was really like a Conquest game.

Like most online games involving capturing points, the more one team got ahead, the larger the upset required to find victory. Like the Capture, Control and Conquer game, once a team got far enough ahead, it would be difficult or near impossible to turn the game around.

It would eventually require capturing all five points at once to win.

This was why defending Highlands was such a difficult struggle. The advantages won by Tartarus to spawn more Rifts as it got to thirty percent Conquest Progress were significant.

However, now that the Alliance brought the Conquest Progress to their side and thwarted its hidden plots, victory was nearly assured.

Once the next Greater Rift was closed, they would be able to activate the Raid. This was Tartarus’ final chance to turn the tables again, but also a chance for the Alliance to take more from the enemy.

A form of bet or gamble which would either win more potential for Alliance members, or allow Tartarus to win once again.

The potential won for the Alliance was on several levels. From individual’s Trials and powerful rewards that would serve the Adventurers or Guilds well into the next Tier, to increasing the entire world’s magical potential.

Jake wasn’t sure what would happen with the curse being lifted in addition to what they won, but he was sure Highlands would come out stronger than ever.

Once again, Jake was experiencing another victory party in Cascadia. They received word from Timone that the West had found victory in the first battle, but new challenges had appeared, and they still fought a defensive battle and looked to find rest.

Tomorrow, they would begin their push toward the Greater Rift.

It was not all good news. Just like Lakemere, the undead had hit hard and fast on the West Coast. However, they were aided heavily by betrayers. Various cities and villages were shattered, Morwen and Warrior Brotherhood taking to guerilla tactics to aid the people in their retreat.

The tactics had served a dual purpose. As much as they wanted to win a decisive battle, they also wanted to capture more betrayers.

They were outnumbered, and required reinforcements in the way of Timone. They bolstered their forces with the captured betrayers, even as they lost priestesses or undead servants to be respawned back at the HQ.

Many of the villages and cities were destroyed, and many beastkin were now homeless. An effort would need to go into building a new one.

Lakemere had been hit, and Vesuvius and Takoda had arrived just in time to prevent significant losses. The naga had surged in their surprise attack, and many had even bypassed the walls before a decent defense could be formed.

Many died, but eventually, Vesuvius and his people arrived and cleared up the remaining. That they left so quickly had kept the deaths down to a minimum, and once Jake killed the grasshopper Champion, the naga began to flee.

Jake’s family all sat together, each girl taking turns with sitting on Jake’s lap and sharing together in their warmth.

Nadessa held a beer in her hand, which went against Jake’s instincts, seeing what looked like a child holding a beer. Valtor and Amara sort-of sat-floated at the table, along with Rhia.

Brock’s Clan sat at the large table as well, along with the Cascadia Elders and more. The mood was festive, but the West was talked about.

Nadessa took a big pull of her drink. “Ah! That is good beer. We are already near victory! We Elysians can help on the West Coast to rebuild. With the spriggons and the Framework, the beastkin can build and live within the valleys, even. Taming the dinosaurs or keeping them from attacking the towns without hurting them is totally possible!”

Tanda was all smiles with her tail wagging, drinking from her beer mug too. “That’s amazing! Our world is really going to transform!”

Valtor chuckled, as he seemed to be enjoying consuming some life-filled plants. He used a fork to spear some leaves, and as he brought it near his flame of the unliving, it scattered into dust. Jake just smiled, as it seemed he was only doing it this way to have something in common with the living.

Valtor said, “As long as the balance of life and death isn’t harmed, the beastkin are truly a flexible people.”

Amara noted, “The many clans are gathering knowledge from across the multiverse. Hearthtribe’s focus on the many crafts and aid has led many to seek various professions. We are prepared to pursue many areas of research.”

Rhia patted Mindy’s shoulder. “Thanks for letting me ride you! That was a lot of fun!”

Mindy’s eyes were vacant, staring off into the distance. “Y-Yeah. L-Let you.”

“We really made a great team! I’m still growing, so I may need to find a new mount. You don’t mind, do you, Mindy?”

“M-Mount? N-No, I don’t mind.”

Aisling bounded up to the table with a flap of her wings, and greeted everyone before focusing on Tanda and Jake.

“Clan-daughter and son, that was truly an epic entrance. Clan Hart really saved the day again! Where’s Ophelia?”

Tanda sighed. “She’s heading West. She’s the fastest among us, so she is heading there first, so Jake can teleport out there.”

“That's unfortunate, she's missing out on the party. I hope you’re making it up to her, clan-son!”

Jake nodded. “We’ll definitely work out a fun reward for her. We’re all in dire need of a vacation after all this.”

Aisling hummed. “You’re going to have to go for a sweet trip! Why, Timone, Dahlia and I like to go to this lagoon near Harmony Peaks. There’s this private waterfall, where–”

Tanda groaned as she blushed. “I don’t need to hear about that! J-Jake says we should be visiting Earth soon!”

Jake chuckled, realizing Aisling was describing the very same lagoon Tanda and him went to.

Aisling’s eyes narrowed. “Why’d you change the topic? Anyway, isn’t that the world Jake is from? He’s going to show you his hometown and stuff? That sounds kinda neat. Any other plans?”

Berri interjected, “We’re going to make lots of babies!”

Aisling’s wings and tail feathers nearly danced behind her, ruffling in excitement. “Oh! That’s great, I love having lots of little ones running around! I’m sure Tanda here will join you in that. What about you, Fhesiah?”

Fhesiah chuckled. “Hmm, I wonder? For a cultivator, children are seen a little different from a beastkin’s perspective. For someone with goals like mine, we usually wait for the Nascent Soul realm to have children–they are seen as detrimental to your personal momentum. But with the New Heavens of the Framework, perhaps I can experience being a mother sooner? I can’t wait to see what kind of child my dear husband and I will have!”

Tanda’s tail was wagging. “Ophelia is excited too! Our house is going to have such a diverse family. It will be so much fun!”

Jake was a little less worried about becoming a father, and the girl’s excitement about having children was infectious. With this war won, they would definitely be taking a break from deathly combat.

They would still progress themselves and work on strengthening their skills, but they would dial it down a notch.

They would slow down, but they would never stop. Jake would keep moving forward, but get rest and relaxation, so his family were ready for battle once more.

Blood smiled at Jake. “I’m eagerly awaiting children, too. Not just to both see and feel the joy Berri will have, but also to build our Dynasty. The Hart Clan will be powerful with you at the helm, and our children will be strong enough to shake the cosmos.”

Jake’s eyebrows rose in surprise. A Dynasty? He had come a long way from finishing school to become a computer programmer, and it had only been a few months. He supposed it was likely he would soon become a Baron, a Planetary Ruler of Highlands.

The music suddenly shifted, loud enough for Jake to notice. Cheers rose from the beastkin, their hearts beating in sync with the music.

Tanda gave Jake a pleading look. “Can you dance with me? I never got to do this dance with a mate before. The four seasons dance is about to begin.”

Jake wasn’t much for dancing, but he could sense how important this was for her. He gave her a smile, “I’d be happy to try it with you.”

In one section of the party, there was a drum circle with a few other instruments playing. The various races gathered in a dance, and it was interesting for Jake to see the fauns joining the same.

Their four-legged lower body stomped and danced to the beat, the creature not all that different from the goat and deer beastkin.

The dance reminded Jake of a line dance or Irish folk dance, set up for couples. The man would hold on to the girl’s hips as she swayed side to side, stomped and moved her feet, and did most of the movement.

The man would mostly stomp or tap their feet in place, as they spun and followed the girl around.

They fell in line and Jake did his best to follow the moves of the man in front of him, as he watched and felt Tanda dancing. Her hips swayed in rhythm with the beat, her body spinning as Jake followed her around the dance floor.

Tanda spun and twirled in her tribal outfit, her heart taking on the same beat of the music. Jake could feel her joy and excitement, of joining with her brethren for their dance. Dancing wasn’t just for fun, but there was a minor ritual aspect to it as well.

Through the song, they would connect to the world and each other. They would share their joy and pride, their trials and tribulations with the community. Tanda had mentioned that the avian beastkin in particular would sing and dance to share the news.

The avian beastkin would dance and sing songs of birth, mourning, courtship, clan-forming, purpose-finding, and more. Through this, they would share the happenings of the area and connect the beastkin people with their relatives all over the continent.

This dance was like that, but done by everyone. A sharing of the year, of the various happenings in their well-connected lives.

Finding resonance with her, Jake matched his breathing and connected to the world. When he did, Jake nearly stumbled. This was the first time Jake had found resonance out of combat, and near so many beastkin.

In addition to feeling the many heartbeats, he felt many of the emotions. He felt desires, intents, and the essence of the beastkin nearby through their songs. Their heartbeats sent waves echoing across his hearth, like raindrops on a still pond.

The stronger heartbeats, those of the Auril Heroes, he could really feel what kind of people they were.

The beat of the song was on already on the song of winter, a slow beat after the song of fall from the previous year completed. The many songs of the beastkin’s hearts were replaying the happenings of this timeframe.

The couple to their right were feeling the pride and joy of a child finding their calling or purpose, the two having an extra pep in their steps. A couple in front of them was celebrating the birth of a new child, their fourth, and their dance steps were full of passion and pride.

Another was regaling the tale of a successful hunt just before the bite of winter, of holing up with their Clan proudly, plenty of wood to stoke their fire and keep them warm.

Jake felt the happenings of the community like solos within a symphony, as Tanda danced her body around him.

The beat of the song changed, transitioning to spring. The pace picked up slightly, showing the joy and excitement the season brought. The number of couples celebrating being with child at that point was staggering.

Continuing their dance, Jake hadn’t much to share until his life changed. Tanda shared her own happenings from that time, her many clan-cousins and sisters finding mates and more.

Still, he felt like he was coming to know each and every beastkin within the dance; becoming a part of the community in truth. He was moved as he became a part of their song.

Tanda took great joy in Jake sharing this with her, and he began flickering his hearth in his own beat to join the song. He did his best to convey his tale, as Fhesiah and Ophelia joined his life. As they approached summer, many songs shifted to that of mourning, of their many clans affected by the terrible war.

But among all the mourning, were many tales of pride and triumph. The beastkin had persevered, and many were saved. Jake could feel the gratitude in their hearts, and many sung the songs of salvation from Jake’s own arrival on Highlands.

Tanda’s own song was a rollercoaster of emotions, of her losing various family members and friends. Her eventually meeting Jake and finding triumph and love, and much of her family returning from the grave.

Some were lost forever, but they would be forever remembered by their friends and family in their own songs. And now, even the surrounding beastkin.

Various Elysians had joined the dance, even if they couldn’t hear it or share in it precisely the same way. The powerful dryads and treants seemed to be able to commune with nature, and join it on a different level. The treants swayed back and forth, their dryad wives hanging off of their boughs and vines, singing.

When the song came to an end, Jake was filled with emotion, and Tanda was filled with pride as the many beastkin greeted those near them.

“That was amazing, Jake! I hadn’t gotten to dance since I became an Auril Hero. I could really feel the people’s songs so well! It looks like you were able to feel it too, that’s even better than I hoped!”

Tanda nearly bowled Jake over with a big hug, her body wrapping around him. He put his hands around her hips, and her lips met his. She was filled with happiness and excitement, her tender lips trying to transfer the way she felt to him.

Her wings fluttered, and her tail wagged, as she beamed in happiness.

She gave a contented sigh as her feet touched the ground once more. “Too bad we don’t have that much time. Let’s say hi to our dance friends.”

As Jake looked at the many beastkin around him, he felt familiarity. He felt like he was truly a part of them. They looked on at him fondly, and many of them introduced themselves to Jake.

He could feel their pride and respect for him being their Elder or Chief, and Jake had never felt so welcome anywhere in his entire life. Aside from with his wives, of course.

But being welcomed to a community was different. Jake hadn’t met most of these people, but he had impacted their lives in profound ways. He knew songs like the ones he heard tonight were being sung all over Highlands, their gratitude and respect for him echoing across the world.contemporary romance

Jake had enjoyed dancing a lot more than he thought he would. He decided to enjoy it for a little more, with each of his girls. He went to the drum circle and asked them to play a different beat, and to get some more instruments.

It wasn’t hard to get them to play appropriate music for a waltz, the beastkin having quite a wide array of tastes.

Jake and Fhesiah then led the beastkin through a waltz, which they took to quite easily.

Looking into Fhesiah’s golden eyes, he saw her look of pride and love as they danced the waltz. “We’ve come a long way, husband. Now you have the adoration of thousands, the respect of millions.”

“And you have hundreds of worshipers.”

She chuckled. “One day you’ll be on my level, I’m sure. Many of them have already filtered to the true Divine, so there are few devout followers of Fhesiah the Dragon Goddess left. Even Davonius is understanding that I am not a true Divine yet. Still, I am the one who freed them.”

“He was a big help with that battle. Things were pretty close even with his help with the ambush.”

“True. I’ll have to find some way to reward my follower. Some Epic equipment crafted by us should be quite the prize.”

They continued dancing for a while, until it was Bloodberri’s turn. Blood said, “There’s not too much time left, I’m sure Ophelia will call us any minute.”

Fhesiah smiled. “Sorry about hogging our dear husband. I’ll make it up to you.”

Berri gave her a look that said, you’d better, causing Jake to chuckle. “Alright. Let’s dance, Bloodberri.”

Once again, Jake had the musicians shift to a song that was easy to sway to. Berri and Blood both enjoyed dancing by swaying their upper and lower bodies, twirling and spinning to the beat.

Berri had fun dancing for a time, until Jake heard the communication from Ophelia he was expecting. [I’m getting close. It may be best to prepare the spell now.]

“Thanks for the hard work. We’ll make it up to you.”

[It’s alright. I got to enjoy the dance along with you, despite being so far away. The harmony of the beastkin is truly special–so let’s protect it. Just a little left, and I’ll be able to enjoy as many dances as we like for a time.]

Jake chuckled. For a time because they would eventually be off to fight a new fight, a new battle. But Hestia would let them get some rest. Just a little bit more and this battle would be won.

done.co