The Jade Emperor is an immortal from centuries or possibly millennia before the disjunction that rules over the empire that shares his title. He teaches and guides his people to follow The Way, also known as the Celestial Order. All have a place in this ideology determined by the tides of the primordial forces, though some gain the ability to adjust these flows slightly through enlightenment.

Kylana

If it were not for the similarities in their scent I would never believe the female walking beside me is the mother of my daughter’s mate. How a male of such innate strength came from her loins baffles me though I can see the intelligence she has even with the limited vocabulary we share.

“. . . means a lot to me that you'✓€ looked after my $0π. I just f33£ . . .” she says not for the first time, trying to start a conversation with more depth than we can in my limited grasp of the strange terran tongue.

“Wait a bit” I say not wanting to have to decipher her speech and turn to the pair of elves and ask “you wouldn’t happen to have a translation spell?”

The two look at each other before the shyer of two answers, “yes, but it’ll only be good for a few hours. . .”

“Please cast it for me.”

The elven girl nods as she pulls out the silver necklace that is a focus to her god, or is it goddess? I never did learn the names of the Lords of the Elvenhan. I instinctively move away as the elven girl approaches with the silver brandished.

“She will cast magic to make talk easier” I say while turning back the Adrian’s mother.

The woman looks uncomfortable but nods. Her hesitance on the subject of magic is odd, she is a part of the Ravnos family. Maybe it’s because it’s different than the one she knows from her husband and son.

The girl casts the short spell that will temporarily allow Katherine to understand most languages and others to understand her.

“Can you understand me?” I ask.

“Yes, but how can I understand your language. Shouldn’t an effect like this translate what I say and hear?” she answers slowly at first.

“It works by causing a small telepathic connection, broadcasting the base ideas of the words you use while gleaning the meaning of those you hear. It won’t work on things that are overly complex or you lack exposure to” the elven girl answers.

“And that is safe?” she asks.

“As long as it is cast properly, and you haven’t upset the gods.”

“You’re a priestess?”

“Of Rúloaña. . . do you have a problem with that?”

I watch as Kathrine frowns for an instant before covering it up. She doesn’t like the gods? Odd, Adrian and her husband have no issues with them. Is it because she married into the Ravnos family?

“Sorry, it’s just the religion I follow is very much against false idols and following other gods. I’m uncomfortable with it but I’ll try not to hold it against you.”

“You follow the same faith as the small human don’t you?” I ask not trying to disguise my dislike of the girl.

“Yes and no. The same god but different sects.”

“Different sects? You mean orders?”

“No sects. Different interpretations of the same set of scriptures.”

“Which does you god say is the right one?”

“He doesn’t, at least not in the same way I suspect yours do. And as much as I would enjoy a theological debate there are more important things to our immediate needs.”

“Does your mate and son follow your god?”

There is some genuine sadness in her voice as she answers, “Randy does in his own way but Adrian does not.”

“Your mate does not seem like it.”

“His understanding of religion is very strange but I think that’s since he has seen how the sects have changed over a few centuries.”

“How? Humans don’t live that long?” the elven princess asks.

Rather than answer she clenches her fists with enough force to hurt herself and takes a breath to calm herself before once more apologizing as she says, “sorry, it’s just . . .”

She never finishes as Alana cuts her off with a hug. “It’s okay you don’t have to share it. I know your pain kin of the pack.”

“How could you. . .”

“All of the pups I’ve born for my mate are stillborn, every year at least one more name for a child I will never see reach adulthood” she whispers low enough the elven girl will not hear.

“Lysan, I thank you for the help but we’ll be talking about pack issues” I lie as I finally see the little signs Alana shows when we touch on the topic of her pups.

The girl nods and walks back to her sister as they talk with Adrian’s pet fox.

At the same time Kathrine returns Alana’s embrace though neither cry. I wait and give her a bit to calm down, thinking of the possibilities that would allow a human to live several lifetimes, cost her her children and wouldn’t cause her to hate him. . .

Reincarnative Necromancy like Soul Jar or draining life force in some variation of Youth Transference? Perhaps that is why Adrian didn’t like talking of his extended family after beginning to remember them.

It takes several minutes, but eventually the time for comfort passes and she has composed herself once more. All of us agree to drop the topic as she changes the subject to one I am more than happy to go into at length. I might even get to finally embarrass my daughter’s mate.

“So, how did our children meet?” she asks, my grin growing.

“Analais found him unconscious in the woods around our village. When he brought him to me I saw little in him but he was marked by another werewolf of the pack's scent.

I couldn’t understand why, he didn’t seem overly strong and has pitiful magical power. . .”

She looks at me like I’m not making any sense and I grin.

“In fact I think Alana can best explain the state he was found in since he stayed at her den rather than my own.”

“I can do better than that” my den sister says with a grin before whispering the words to a small illusion, an image of the much smaller, weaker and less impressive version of the boy appears in between her and the mother of my daughter’s mate.

“How? He wouldn’t have looked like that but a few weeks ago.”

“Oh, he didn’t tell you of it then. Well it didn’t last long, as soon as he woke up he was running around learning anything he could. That’s when I noticed he was different.

That he had a gift for understanding arcane theory. So I did a Blood Evaluation on him.”

“And you expect me to know or ask what that is?”

“No I expect you to smile and grin as I tell you how great your son is.”

She grins, and as I am about to continue my daughter rudely interrupts asking, “did you know Adrian knows a Spirit of the Moon?”

“A what?” Kathrine asks.

“Of course, I knew he had a connection to one.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?

“If a Spirit of the Moon wants to follow him around it isn’t our place to question it.”

“Care to explain?” Kathrine asks.

“Spirits of the Moon are incorporeal embodiments of the moon.”

“So, you worship them?”

“No, just because we are heavily influenced by the moon does not mean we’ll worship anything connected to it. They are respected and considered friends of the pack along with any who hold one’s favor.”

“That doesn’t. . .”

“They are not divine, and what you imply is an insult to our actual gods.”

“Sorry, I just keep putting . . .”

“Worry not. You are a friend of the pack. You will be given time to learn” Alana interrupts.

“So do you want to keep hearing about . . .” I start before my daughter interrupts.

“You’re not telling embarrassing stories again are you?”

“She’s you mother, of course there’s embarrassing stories. I’ll be sharing some about my son soon enough” Kathrine answers with a smile.

My daughter pauses for a moment and asks “what kind of embarrassing stories?”

“Oh, there’s too many to count. I’ll probably start with something on crying over toys or maybe things he said when he was five.”

“Those are always good. Kythia would go on and on about how she would be the best alpha and then all the pack will be big and stro. . .”

“Mother!” my daughter shouts as Kathrine smiles with a chuckle.

Bryan

Following along with the rest of the group, I am doing my absolute best not to have to deal with the conflict that wolf me instigated. . .

[I have a name.]

You never gave it to me so don’t complain evil fuzzball.

[Evil? I’m you how can I be evil? You certainly didn’t mind watc. . .]

Shut up. I shouldn’t have . . .

[Too bad. I’m here and I won’t be going anywhere.]

I cringe slightly as Abagail says something I don’t catch into my ear. Probably a request to tell the “cat demon” to go away.

[Just fifteen more days. . .]

Till what?

“Abagail, I’m not getting involved in you fight with her” I say though I was not paying attention to whatever it was that they have been going on about.

“You’re my boyfriend and she’s being mean to me” Abagail says as the cat sticks her tongue out at her.

“Wolf me invited her. Do you want to explain why she isn’t here when he shows up in two weeks?”

[Sure, just throw me under the bus. I’ll remember that.]

You did it first. A perfectly working stable balance was working before you decided to go and torture her.

[Fair point, though in just fifteen days I don’t think you’ll be complaining.]

Why? What are you going to do?

“You should never have . . .”

“Abagail, we’re not going into that. It can’t be changed and honestly even with the troubles he’s caused I’d be dead without him.”

[Damn straight you would be. But as for what I’m going to do. . .]

“You can’t honestly believe that. We should find a way to. . .”

“No, Abagail. Please just listen. . .”

[I’m not the one that is going to do anything. It’ll be her inner beast that will sort everything out.]

That is a terrible idea. How could that possibly work.

[What did you go through when I came into existence?]

I was in a mental realm and had to . . .

[And if you didn’t have to fight off the shadows what would have happened?]

Abagail looks at me for a moment before pausing, “alright I’ll listen but. . .”

“You need to let go of your anger and hate for the ‘monsters’ we’re travelling with.”

“But they’re evil and. . .”

“Name one truly evil thing they’ve done.”

I would have had to talk with you?

[Exactly, and what do you think her inner beast will force her to come to terms with?]

And when she tries to kill it for being an evil monster?

[She’d lose.]

I wouldn’t bet on that solving all the problems.

“They’ve driven you into becoming a monster. Creating an evil you that possessed your body and . . .”

I sigh, “other than that?”

“What more do I need to say than that?”

This is your fault.

[You’re the one with minor sadistic tendencies I inherited. I just don’t have a prob. . .]

Stop, no. You did it thus it is your fault feeling like doing something and actually doing it are not the same. And how is tormenting a girl with the threat of death for hours minor?

[Because I never intended to do more than minor damage that would ultimately be for the best.]

How is that minor?

“Abagail, that was an all-around accident.”

[No, it wasn’t.]

She just looks at me before saying “Bryan I don’t think there’s anything you can say that would convince me I’m wrong.”

[Tell her to talk to Adrian’s mother. She’s religious and not going bonkers.]

How could that possibly work.

[The woman has a dragon for a son and a super mage as a husband.]

That is a good point. . .

[In fact, you should do everything I suggest. . .]

“Abagail, at least talk to someone about. . .”

“Who? One of the creatures? The monster Adrian has turned himself into? Tomas is dead and you won’t listen who could I possibly talk to?”

“What about . . .”

“Adrian’s parents? They can’t even. . .”

[Maybe you were right. She might be too far gone. . .]

“Stop ignoring me. I want to play with the other you. He's more fun” my 'pet' cat says.

“Later, I . . .”

“Don’t start talking to that. . .” Abagail starts as I mentally groan.

[We should ask how he got his two to behave how he wants.]

Yes, we. . . damnit stop nudging me towards. . .

[I inherited the desire from you. Now go and do it, or watch the catfight. I want to see it when . . .]

No, we aren’t going to let it get that far.

[I don’t think that’s our choice.]