Sachihiro

Having a man over at your house that is fucking your daughter is slightly awkward, or at least its awkward for me as the father. That's my daughter over there, that's my sweet innocent baby girl and here you are with the threat of your cock anywhere within her vicinity. I'm looking at this Michael Saya brought home and I'm trying to like him, I'm even exalting his noticeable good traits to myself in my head because she may mate this one.

Saya has never brought a man home, I'm not saying she still has her maidenhead. On the contrary, she was a child of 14 when I noticed she has become sexually active, she is a tribeswoman after all. Didi has a mate and a son so my kids having sex isn’t even the issue, but I don’t know... I guess Saya just looks too much like Mira for my own liking sometimes.

‘’So, what do you think of him?’’ Wes asks me before passing me the joint as we stand on the balcony of the north sitting room looking out over the wild Paradisum night life.

‘’I should be asking you that question. Didn’t you just travel across the face of Gaia with him for company?’’ I ask Wes studying the people in the sitting room socialising with my awareness .

‘’I’ve noticed you always have very interesting impressions of people, I don’t want to influence that,’’ Wes says, and he is right in that his opinion may sway mine since I personally don’t know what to make of the young man yet.

‘’Can you feel that power inside him?’’ I send even as I blow a white cloud of smoke smoothly from my mouth.

‘’It’s terrifying,’’ Wes affirms with his own sending even as he turns from the outstanding view leaning back on the rail to look back into the room at the seemingly mundane earthling talking as though a normal person with my children.

‘’Think Saya noticed?’’

‘’Probably what attracted her to the man in the first place,’’ I say with a snort. Then I frown getting serious as even Zillah responds that she doesn’t know what the thing I feel inside this Michael is. "What is he?’’ I ask Wes passing him the joint as I also turn to face the room Waving with a smile through the glass screen as I watch my family enjoy peace and prosperity.

‘’I have absolutely no idea what he is but he doesn’t seem to realise he isn’t human, nice bloek as well. A quick learner and very humble even though he holds himself proudly.’’ Wes says putting out the flame and disappearing the leftovers with a thought.

‘’These earthlings develop fast, whatever those pool portals are they are extremely potent transformational tools.’’

‘’You do know they’ve all dried up right? Left nothing but bare rock that cannot even be cracked at the base, you should have see-‘’

‘’Why is Saya still unarmoured Wes?’’ I interrupt getting to the crux of the matter.

His face becomes serious as he turns to look back into the night, his gaze far out into the distant clouds shrouded by darkness from most. ‘’There was an incident my friend, the daemon was too powerful and the person that tried to tame it was overcome.’’

‘’I told you I would wrangle Saya’s daemon myself Wes, I told you I’d travel to wherever necessary.’’

‘’Yes my friend but there are regulations to dealing with daemons even by the Conclave. No daemologist will leave an unquietened daemon for long in even the strongest circle, you know this!’’ He says with a strong hiss before visibly calming himself down again.

‘’It’s still giving you trouble?’’ I ask with a frown. That gauntlet he has in a pouch on his waist belt is woven of katari reinforced in meteoric spirit steel then bound with a very clever daemon.

He ignores my enquiry and tells me of another daemon rumoured to be within the mountains. ‘’The Hito are willing to pay 2 plat Tor for anyone that can be rid of the thing from its host.’’

I still don’t know how the Midnight family of witches hears about daemon possessions and such from almost anywhere in the world while I right next to the Hito villages in relative terms haven’t heard a thing. This explains why he brought his nephew along as well, the kid isn’t much of a warrior by very good with daemons, maybe Didi would be good with daemons if she learnt the skills.

‘’Ok, so what’s the plan with this new daemons?’’

‘’I know you don’t like leaving your family, and I think this is the perfect opportunity for Iki to finally try out and see if she has your skill.’’

‘’There is no way I’m letting Iki quieten a daemon without me present to closely watch everything.’’

‘’Which will in turn handicap her growth, you know this. Besides, Mira will be there with us and Ikigai will be fine without you, the girl is always fine without you. Your entire family would be fine without you now but you still stay here mothering everyone and everything obsessively.’’

I grin at that, ‘’I bet you think having so many wives and children isn’t a full-time job.’’

‘’I empathize, truly I do. But since you refuse to travel for anything except the strongest and most unique daemons we’ve lost four people trying to quieten them for the forgings. I still don’t understand how you and Mira do it but there is still a great demand for your specialities and the money is good.’’

Ever since I sold the thing perverted Albert had turned into I have been acknowledged as having a knack for overcoming summoned daemons and that’s a very dangerous and apparently rare ability. I had somehow quietened the circle bound Albert while the daemologists separated him into three parts and the daemon forging began, making one of the most exquisite sets of scale and plate armour I have ever seen.

A very beautiful curved ceremonial dagger was made from another part of him and a piece of jewellery from the last part of him as I spiritually held him down.

I went into that chamber worried they wouldn't be able to bind the thing but I needed the money. But the thing that had possessed disgusting Albert didn’t mind me at all, in fact, it studied me with an interest that made my skin crawl as it was spiritually dissected. It had no malice towards me, it was actually slightly thankful I gave it Albert so it could have full possession of his flesh, spirit and soul.

Even now, as I do with all my summons I can feel where the regenerating unwholesome armour is, I can feel were the cruel dagger that molests the spirit is, I can feel where the jewels of summoning are. I know that even thought they are now bonded to different people around the world I could take them for myself anything, summoning them to me like I would summon Honour. But I’ve told no one of this, and honestly, I want nothing to do with that unclean daemon, summoned creature thing. Nothing.

‘’Anyways I heard that someone else in your family Awakened recently, it’s all they talk about at Atrium. And Om being powerful enough to qualify for training in Celestia in only 6 to 7 years associated with you has a lot of people raising their eyebrows and paying attention to everything you do and eat as a family.’’ Wes warns.

‘’I know,’’ I say with a sigh, ‘’though Om’s master Acamar has more to do with his progress than I ever have.’’

''That's what you say, and it may even be so. A lot of people are Awakening younger and with broader more versatile abilities now that Zaraya’s training regiment has been made available to all. But many still believe that she has shared special knowledge with you guys to keep you ahead of the rest of us, and the talent in your family is a testament to that.’’

‘’What do you think Wes, do you think I know more about accumulating power than most?’’ I ask looking at him directly in the eye in challenge.

‘’Absolutely.’’ He says without even hesitating a little grin forming on his face. ''You do realise that Ikigai may be the youngest person to ever Awaken in the known history Gaia right?’’

I scowl at that but I look away first having heard it before. I taught Iki to cloak her power as quickly as possible but many other Awakened still noticed, and even now some can see past her meagre cloaking easily.

With the spreading of the regiment that Master Zaraya uses to help all her students Awaken throughout the Conclave no adult in my family isn’t a tier one Awakened at the very least. Saya is almost a complete Awakened Warrior, Didi I have no idea what she has become but she is eerily convincing when she wants to be and beasts fawn over her like begging lovers.

Eldritch is almost a complete warrior as well but there are surprises to some of the powers and abilities he has acquired. Isis is a tier 1 Awaked, Gaia, Ava, Shravanthi, Cicilia, my little brother Sigrur is a full warrior like da, Ingwe is on another level of Awakening that I am still enjoying immensely and last year Katya my slave Awakened to sex and spirit. So yea, I’m sure people are talking because even Thandeka is well on her way to becoming a power in her own right. Spirits, even my younger children and their cousins are on their own league of mundane, mostly training and playing with the more resilient beast younglings as even some of the fae young aren’t resilient enough to be playmates.

There is something happening to my entire family as we all contribute to the quick and efficient improvements of our entire household. The milk we drink every morning is directly from Ingwe’s breasts, the fruit we eat is from the orchard at Deep Keep planted by Vahe and Svensonsen with seeds I received from one of the Nine as a gift to her child.

The meat we eat is all from Awakened or magical beasts, the seasoning made by Isis personally from mana-rich herbs and shrubs cultivated from the dungeon. The water we drink is found only in Hilton and is vitalising and cleansing, the rune everyone in my household has branded in a hard to spot place on their body is practically a cheat that stabilizes spiritual energy and helps the spirit body stay strong even in this time where no new seers or spiritualists have been born or trained in almost 10 years.

The meditation rooms, the underwater obstacle course, the sparing, the puzzles and teachings, the blood tempering rituals Shea has us perform every year, the advice ma gives as to who should focus on what. Everything we all know about anything we have been making work for this family as much as we can, and it’s been working.

My entire family is in the best physical condition they can currently be in given their various interests, their mental health is mostly healthy, their spirit bodies and energies, their minds are ever stimulated by something. Everyone, even the genius Nikita spends some hours with the family, even though we fight we have developed the loyalty to each other I had hoped for.

Even as Wes and I speak my divided mind is constantly working on the project I’ve been working on with Isis and Cicilia. For years now we have been working on a combination of runes to tattoo on everyone. Runes that will keep them safe from spiritual influence and act as buffs for our abilities and focus. I’ve been receiving help from the other side as I do whilst Isis and Cicilia together with Crysta when she visits have been putting their heads together designing the marking sequence. I even dared ask the sidhe Miran for advice as he is the only one of the nine with visible rune markings.

‘’I don’t know anything everyone else in the Conclave knows. Besides, do you really think the higher-ups would let Master Zaraya keep vital knowledge from her time on Omega to herself and a chosen few, with what we are sure to face any one of these years? I’m just blessed to have my family exposed to so many influences that broaden them much faster than we ever did when growing up.’’

There is silence for a while as he seems to think about that, Kuyoki sends that I should get some sleep. I hadn’t been home in almost a hundred hours and as soon as I got back they gave me the kids to manage. I haven’t slept in more than two hundred hours but again as an Awakened, I need less rest than most but it’s good to sleep, especially with the way I’ve been abusing my mind.

‘’Tell me about this daemon you are here for,’’ I say changing the subject as I feel Iki walk into the complex through the back way at the basement of the apartment complex. She is filthy with grime and is hurt but Isis is already on her way down there with Shea still away at the infirmary.

‘’It's some type of rock daemon, ideal for armour and it’s young but all daemons have potential to grow when nurtured and fed what they need.’’

"What will this one need?’’

‘’I hear this one may be a glutton or a rage, not sure but it’s one of the vices for whoever wears anything made from it.’’

‘’Iki can’t handle anymore rage, the girl is soft-hearted but her Rage is already too dangerous as it is and she has no control yet,’’ I say trying to think if I can even afford another set of daemon armour.

‘’You could always give this set to Saya and find another for Iki, she’s young still and whatever she does I’m sure her line of work isn’t as dangerous as her big sister’s,’’ Wes says and I giggle at that.

I look at him with a grin, I don’t know how it happened but Ikigai the quiet slender girl I had with Kuyoki conceived on the day I Awakened is the deadliest of all my children. No one outside the family knows that because she has chosen the path of a dungeon diver, she has yet to fight another person for anyone to witness and survive the encounter.

‘’Iki needs armour,’’ I say but I’m already trying to think who else is crazy enough to get themselves killed quickly in the coming struggle because of sheer stubbornness and refusal to quit. ‘’But maybe the set made from this daemon will go to Erebus if it’s a rage,’’ I say thinking about it.

Erebus is Gaia’s first son and not even an awakened yet, but that kid is very stubborn and very protective. Whatever curse the grandmother placed on Gaia was it certainly passed down to his children. As Gaia is never far from Cicilia unless I’m around or she is at home, Erebus is never far from Lysandra and threatened even me once as I disciplined her for misbehaving.

‘’Yea, I think Erebus will need a set of armour soon.’’

‘’What about you?’’

‘’Me?’’ I’m surprised by the question and I look up at his face from my slouching position.

‘’Aren’t you planning on surviving the coming struggle?’’

I don’t answer that, I don’t answer that at all. I do think it’s time I get everyone in my family blooded and practised at killing other people. With no overt wars on Sandaria, I think it’s time I visited the mountains to commence with the feud I promised the Mountain Orc Barbarians. I feel bad for them, but for my loved ones to survive someone else’s have to die.