MORGAN

I woke slowly; my head cradled in the roots of an ancient oak tree, its verdant branches shading me from the day’s light. It took a few minutes for me to identify the cause of the interruption of that blessed part of the day - nap time.

“Are you awake yet? You have company you lazy old bastard,” came the voice of Fen in my skull, I never did understand how he had a lowborn British accent considering I hadn’t even been on Earth for almost thirty years.

“Yeah, I’m up. Keep your fur on,” I said and thought back at Fen.

I stood and dusted my clothing off and continued, “If it’s another messenger with a party invitation I wish you would just bite them in the ass and chase them down the hill.”

“I know, which is why I did that to the one that came earlier. I think you will want to see this one though,” Fen replied.

“Why?” I asked.

Of course the smug bastard didn’t reply. He enjoys giving me a hard time way too much. Granted I do the same to him, but I never was one to wake up in a good mood. Of course thirty years without coffee could be to blame for that, but I’m pretty sure I was like that on Earth too.

One of the branches on the oak tree shifted and swatted the back of my head, and a feminine voice said, “You’ve been grumpy in the morning since you bonded me, no point in taking it out on Fenris.”

“Yes Alara, I know. I’m an old man though, I’m allowed to be a curmudgeon,” I replied.

The branch dipped and swatted me on my butt this time, like a mother spanking a child, and she said, “I’m over 700 years old Morgan; and unless wyrd wills it you will see at least another hundred years. You can’t be a grump that entire time.”

I lightly patted Alara’s trunk and said, “Watch me.”

I had to dodge another branch aiming for my backside but I spun around and gave her tree a smile. Alara was the reason I was still sane after my wife passed. She was a dryad, and like most lived in the moment. I was looking forward to when she recovered her strength enough to go on another walkabout.

I turned toward the path that wound its way up the forested mountain to my cabin. I could see the draft horse sized grey and red wolf that was Fenris, and walking alongside him was a woman with blonde hair tied back and wearing the blue and silver uniform of the Kingdom of Nilavs. She was taller than average, as evidenced by the fact that she walked with a hand on Fenris’s back.

I smiled as I guessed who it was, Fenris didn’t tolerate most people to touch him. This guess was confirmed as they reached the clearing my cabin was built in and I could see my daughter, Arya Cadfin.

“Hello little one,” I said as I opened my arms to catch her in a hug, which she quickly stepped into.

“Hi Papa, I missed you,” she said, her voice slightly muffled by the tunic I wore.

“Grandpa, grandpa, look Fenris let me ride him,” came a young voice from the big wolf.

A messy head of strawberry blonde hair popped up between the ears of the wolf, and the laughing green eyes of my grandson looked at me.

“Tell the pup that if he keeps kicking me in the ribs I’m going to use him as a chew toy,” Fenris said with a bit of mirth.

“I’m surprised he let you ride him, he doesn’t even let me do that,” I said as I stepped over and caught Magnus as he jumped from Fenris’s back into my arms.

“He’s lighter than you, Mr. I want bacon for every meal,” Fenris snarked back at me.

“So you don’t want any bacon?” I asked, causing Arya to laugh; she knew the banter when Fen and I were teasing each other.

“Hey don’t be hasty. There is nothing wrong with bacon,” he shot back with an offended canine look.

I laughed along with my daughter as I set Magnus down and looked him over. He had a few twigs in his hair that his mother started plucking out. He was growing into a fine young man, but hadn’t even reached the age his voice would start to break.

“Why don’t we head inside and I can get started on lunch,” I said, gesturing to the log cabin I lived in.

“You were napping in Alara’s shade again weren’t you dad?” Arya said with a glare that I was certain she had practiced on Magnus’s father.

“Maybe, why?” I answered.

“Because it’s closer to dinner time, I hope you don’t mind if we impose on you for the evening. There is something I need to discuss with you,” she said quietly enough that only I heard her.

Well and Fenris, “That sounds like a pile of bear shit coming our way,” he said, proving me right.

I had set Magnus to cutting vegetables for a salad while I grilled venison steaks when Arya broached the reason she had come.

“I was given a deep cover assignment,” she said.

I hung my head. I had been a cop on Earth, undercover work was no joke. “Can you tell me?” I asked.

She shook her head, “Just that the crown is expecting it to take a few years to pull off. Brigette knows how protective you are of your family.”

Crown Princess Brigette Saphira te Nilavs, aside from being the heir to the kingdom my mountain bordered, was a capable operator in her own right. She had taken it upon herself to train an elite cadre of black operations types that served the royal family. She also was very good at picking the right person for a job. Arya, who had learned honor from me, had little choice but to do her duty.

“You need me to look after Magnus while you’re on mission,” I said.

She nodded, “Since his father died in the last surge I have been the only one that can keep up with him. I’m pretty sure if I left it to one of the maids he would end up sneaking out and causing more mischief.”

I quirked an eyebrow, “More mischief?”

“He snuck into Vara’s room and left a live spark-toad in her privy,” she said.

I couldn’t hold back a bark of laughter, “Seems I recall you doing something of the sort when you were his age.”

“Dad,” she half whined, “I was eight, and it was a smoker turtle. How was I supposed to know it would climb into the tub, they are supposed to be fire aspected beasts.”

“What was his punishment?” I asked.

“Brigette made him scrub out the privy for a month,” she answered with a sly grin.

Considering Vara was Brigette’s daughter she had let him off lightly for what could be considered a threat to the royal line. It was one of the reasons I respected the royal family of Nilavs. It did make me curious how he had managed to pull it off though, sneaking into the privy of the royal family couldn’t have been easy.

“Don’t you start Papa. I don’t need you encouraging him, he gets into enough trouble as it is,” Arya said with the same womanly glare she had given me earlier.

I patted her on the top of her head, dodging the only partially playful smack she sent towards my ribs, as I said, “Of course I’ll look after him. He’s eleven, this mountain will be a playground for him.”

“Thanks,” she said, and handed me a pendant with a sigil etched on it; one that pulsed in a regular rhythm, “Take this though. Brigette had it made for your peace of mind.”

I held the gem up and let my aether flow into my eyes. It was just as much of a rush as when I first learned how to do it upon arriving here. My vision shifted, the pattern of the sigils expanding to energy flows I could read as easily as any book. The pendant was linked to Arya’s life energy. So long as her heart beat it would pulse in time with it. She could also use it to send out a request for aid by charging a glyph on her body. If the glyph were removed it would also send out the emergency signal. The signal could then be used like a compass aimed at her location. It was an elegant piece of binding work if I was being honest.

“I see she hasn’t lost her touch at spell binding,” I said.

“No she hasn’t, which brings up the other matter she wanted me to mention,” she said with a sheepish foot shuffle.

I groaned and motioned for her to go ahead.

“She wants you to stop having Fenris chase away the messengers. She managed to get the approval and cooperation for the academy and wants your input,” she said.

“I thought it would be years before she could get that going,” I said, a little baffled.

“The Kingdom of Nilavs, the Calburn Empire, and the Azure Islands have all agreed. She is also in talks with the Mordanian Free Cities and they seem receptive. If all goes well, then by the time I get back it will be in operation,” she said with a cheshire cat grin.

“An academy focused on Aether Binding, who would have thought those conversations when she was a kid would have this much effect,” I mused.

“Which is why you need to accept the messengers. She knows you can’t get far from the mountain with Alara dormant from the last excursion, otherwise she would have asked you to visit,” Arya said.

I nodded and replied, “And it would be a hassle and a half for the Crown Princess to travel out of the kingdom just to visit one grumpy old hermit.”

“She threatened to do just that if another messenger came back missing their trousers, along with the seamstress that had to repair them,” she said with a smile.

“Maybe it would give her an excuse, but fine I’ll talk to Fen and make sure he doesn’t chase them off, but if I receive another invitation to some Baron’s ball the messenger isn’t going to make it back,” I replied with a bit of a huff.

She hugged me, and I could feel the tears soaking through my tunic, “Thanks Papa, I knew I could count on you.”

I patted her back with one hand and turned the steaks with the other. There wasn’t anything more to say, she was in a dangerous business. She was my daughter though, and I would always do right by her.