“Mother!” Elonia hissed, before she too fell to the ground with a soft whimper as the pitiless gaze of Winter judged them both.

Then, as if by some trick of the fading light, it was just their mother, shaking her head with a sigh of disappointment. “May the pair of you never know the pain of your own children spearing your heart with the gazes you both now inflict upon me.”

She flashed Eric an oddly forlorn smile. “Very well, my beloved ‘Free Agent’ son. I bestow onto you the rights of Esteemed Guest for the duration of your stay. Be welcome within my kingdom spanning territories and worlds for so long as you wish.”

Eric blinked and frowned, quickly getting back on his feet, only momentarily thrown off by his passing dizziness, though still forced to wonder how a guy with 131 Finesse could so easily lose his balance, no matter how torn up the turf had become. But he was not so distracted by his own clumsiness as to fail to appreciate the significance of the boon he had been granted, a quick stolen glance Elonia’s way showing his sister beaming with heartfelt satisfaction.

“Thank you, Mother,” Eric quickly said, doing his best to ignore the pounding of his heart as he forced himself to say the words obligation, affection, and curiosity demanded he say. “I would be happy to join you and Elonia and whoever this… mysterious guest I haven’t seen since the day I was born, for dinner.”

His sister was positively beaming. “You see that, Eric? I told you you’d have nothing to worry about! Eat, drink, and be merry for as long as you like.”

Her teasing grin grew as their mother flashed the tiniest of smiles before turning around and heading back to their keep, though Eric found himself rubbing his throbbing temples, wondering how he could have possibly mistaken what was now a glorious faerie-tale palace of gold veined marble flashing prettily in the final rays of the setting sun, graced with countless ruby tinted windows and a dozen soaring minarets each capped in domed rooftops of gold, as anything so mundane as a simple fortress

His sister smirked, punching his shoulder. “And if Annika actually manages to catch your eye, which I know she’s had her heart set on doing, nothing will tie you down, save the look in her eyes when you leave her behind. You’re still free to do whatever badass things you wish, though I know she hopes you’ll stay longer than just a few days.”

His sister grinned impishly, impulsively clasping and squeezing his hand. “I won’t lie, I hope you do too. And not only because I want to know all your delicious secrets, and how the hell you managed to pull off such a magnificent win!” She shivered then, and Eric couldn’t help but feel the weight of fear, pain, and exhaustion beneath her smile, no matter how cheerful and lighthearted her demeanor. “It’s been a long year, and we have a hell of a lot to catch up on, don’t we?”

Eric couldn’t help but nod his agreement to that, leaning back against the grass as a warm summer breeze washed over them. He couldn’t help smiling and shaking his head in wonder as he and his sister gazed up at the heavens painted a brilliant fiery gold with a few streaks of baby blue and deepest purple thrown in, gorgeous light reflected in the clouds from a sun already below the horizon.

“You know, I can’t think of the last time I actually stopped just to gaze up at the heavens,” Eric confessed, surprised by the yawn escaping his lips, suddenly wanting nothing more than to curl up in the grass and doze away, with the warm breeze caressing his skin.

“I feel the same,” Elonia confessed with a rueful chuckle. “I’ve been living in a constant state of tension for months, wanting only a few hours of sweet oblivion, free of the risk of getting my brains blown out by snipers, or my base overrun by thousands of fucking orcs, howling about all the things they’d do to me, to us all...” She shuddered, haunted eyes squinting with a certain amount of mirth as she gazed upon the entirety of his forces Eric summoned forth from his serpentine ring.

All save for Slurpy, which Eric judged might be a bit too much, even for his sister’s much improved mood.

“And now here they all are, standing at parade rest, awaiting your every command.” Elonia’s throaty chuckle had a brittleness to it Eric could only hope that time would eventually heal. “Over fifteen thousand of those fuckers… and your own absolutely beautiful woolly mammoth sized mounts. Tuskers?” She snorted. “Somehow they look both as ferocious, and friendly, as a giant sized version of Pumba, grinning from tusk to tusk.”

Eric smiled and nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. Though we might have originally met in tense circumstances, all of us obeying the laws of the jungle which is all about survival of the fittest, we’ve gotten along famously since then. I think they really like smelling freshly turned earth and feeling the warm breeze of an entirely new planet caress their skin.” He winked. “They even eat, if I let them. I halfway think they think of themselves as very much amid the living.” He frowned thoughtfully. “And considering what I sort of did… maybe that’s an actual path I could take that would bring them back in truth.”

His sisters large emerald eyes peered into his own. “Eric, what did you do?”

He sighed, gazing up at the heavens. “The good news is that your dreams of a magical academy at Solaris are very much a go, the entire territory so infused with magic that it’s like a waking dream. Miraculous and wonderful, it’s truly been an inspiration to me, helping me to awaken a similar spark of magic in pretty much every territory I’ve… visited since then.”

He swallowed and lowered his head, surprised to feel a sudden flush creeping across his cheeks, and with his own twin sister at that. “And the headmaster herself, well, she’s blessed with a beautiful husband and child.”

Elonia smiled. “I know. She’s centuries old and has many children, and misses them all. Most especially her youngest, who has yet to reach adulthood and...” she gazed at Eric for long moments, goosebumps caressing her flesh, despite the warmth of the breeze.

“Eric, I...” She swallowed, shaking her head. “I had a very very odd dream, the other day. In that dream, her husband, her youngest...”

“Yiovri.”

Elonia nodded. “Yiovri. Anyway, they… well, they were the victims of the very same goblin consortium, the Bloodtear Syndicate, that’s working so damn hard to take us out.”

She gazed for long moments at he brother, who refused to take his eyes off the heavenly display above them. “What did you do?”

Eric turned to his sister with his gentlest smile firmly in place. “Whatever you do, don’t make her family leave Solaris. Not for any reason, not ever.”

Elonia began to tremble. “Eric? What the fuck did you do?”

Eric shrugged. “Who said I did anything more than what any of us do? We live the dream that is our lives as best we can.” He gently patted his sisters trembling hand, a claw squeezing his wrist as hard as she could. So fragile compared to his own strength, he did his best not to hurt her by accident. “It’s just that, well, some dreams are more fragile than others, you know?”

Elonia swallowed, slowly stepping back, bowing her head with odd deference. “I will make it clear to all concerned parties that my headmaster’s family is entirely off limits, and is not to be disturbed or relocated, under any circumstances.” She swallowed, biting her lip. “Eric, is there anything else I should know about my territories?” She flushed prettily then, flashing him a sardonic smile. “Or the territories that are now Blue Corp? For all that I received several communiques informing us that the Sylvan Alliance had VIP status and that could travel freely through all the nearby blues.”

Eric sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I guess this is kind of one of those important conversations we really shouldn’t be putting off. Well, Greystone is filled with a number of survivors, and they could really use a gentle, helping hand. Certainly no arrogant assholes giving them a hard time. I think Blue’s willing to play ball, though I’m deliberately avoiding my e-mail, so I can continue ignoring the flood of messages that a certain class of bureaucrats think I’m actually stupid enough to let myself get entangled with.”

Elonia’s eyes twinkled. “I know what you mean. I’ve gotten some unexpected… correspondence as well. But since I’m a Contender with my own territory and am making use of no neutral territories or chartered cities, administrative sycophants sucking our enemy’s crotch is something I take great pleasure in deleting.” Her gaze then became one of concern. “When you say survivors...”

Eric winced and nodded. “Yeah. That. Greystone Valley was as much an R&R stop as a supply center for the bastards that were holding siege here.”

Elonia gave a sympathetic nod. “We recovered dozens of girls and boys from the remains of our enemies’ camp. I made it damn clear that we’ll do what we can to help them recover. All of them were clearly traumatized beyond belief, and most of them are even more messed up on chems than I am. Not that I blame them. My doctor’s now tapering them off all the shit they were on, which is a damn necessity since almost all the girls are pregnant, and he made it clear that we’re going to need to hire all the therapists desperate for a job in post-apocalyptic Freetown that we can.”

Elonia flashed a bitter smile. “Not just for the girls either. It’s for all of us who managed to survive this long.” Her gaze lit with a certain fire. “The orcs in Greystone... Did you take care of them?”

Eric flashed a fierce smile, saying all that needed to be said. “Let’s just say that the end result was better than the sum of its parts.”

He then went on to speak of happier things, savoring the look in his sister’s eyes when he told her about the garden of mystic peaches he hoped to grow in Picksonville, and everything he hoped to do in Ashland territory, serving as the lynchpin between two worlds.

“Eric! A dozen wealthy dungeons in a single territory free of all death traps, pitfalls, and limitations? All of them with the potential for unlimited advancement, unlimited dungeon levels?” His sister’s emerald green eyes twinkled with wonder. “Do you know what that could turn into?”

Eric smiled and nodded. “An adventuring city that will rival Freetown before the year is out. And best of all, sis, each level of these dungeon delves is the size of Ashland itself! So there should be plenty of room for people to level up slowly and safely, before advancing at whatever pace suits them, for as many levels as they dare.”

He couldn’t quite hold back his own excited grin. “If my hunch is right, Elonia, it won’t stop at white tier level 100 either. Why should it? All twelve of them are multidimensional gates spanning worlds! Why the hell wouldn’t that include a hundred Bronze tier dungeons as well? Think about it, Elonia. A hundred levels of Bronze Tier dungeons with the Promise of Adventure and Adventurer’s Paradise tied to every single level. Tell that isn’t the stuff of dreams!”

Elonia gazed at Eric for long stupefied moments, slowly shaking her head. “Eric, you do know why most adventurers around here cap out around 30, right?”

Eric frowned, considering that he had two Primal Adventurer level-ups he had yet to actualize, a tiny blinking pressure in the back of his Interface easily ignored. “Well, I know that officially you can’t bring commanders or specialists above level 30. But I’m guessing part of it has to do with the opportunities to advance here at home?”

His sister nodded. “Most of the dungeons in the lower mana tiers that myself and other Contenders are trying to clear and take over first only have dungeons with beasties that might max out at level 20. The one endless dungeon near Freetown is just a portal that links to an overlapping realm where the critters are all between levels 10 and 15, without any boss or higher tier levels, and the drops are almost non existent.”

Eric winced. “That’s bad.”

Elonia nodded. “The good thing about a low tier dungeon is that it means that Delvers are more likely to survive, especially if they stick together in bands and have any experience at battlefield tactics or just working together, since there’s a very low monster level cap. The bad news is that it takes more and more low level kills to boost your own level.”

Eric flashed a wry smile. “I know the feeling firsthand, since all the 20th level berserkers and Spearmen I killed today didn’t do shit for my experience pools. They gave a few of my skills a sweet boost, I’m not going to lie. But it was only the fact that we actually managed to eliminate the last of the Blackfang alliance, that and taking on those level 50 bad boys, that locked in two more levels in both my profession and my main class.” Eric chuckled ruefully, scratching his scalp like crazy. “Now I feel like I’d better advance before this itch drives me crazy.”

Elonia smiled and nodded. “I’ll take you to the meditation chamber in just a bit, bro. But if what you’re saying means what I think it does… that you have not one but a dozen endless delves that have multiple levels, the ability to map them, and fair rewards for effort?” She shook her head with awe. “Player levels can finally crest above level 32, and there’s no telling just how far the best of the best will be able to ascend!”

Eric winked. “And that’s not even considering my Tier 2 ascension pod, which will allow the adventuring population to skyrocket, since you don’t have to risk death, just to see if you have what it takes to become a Classer.”

He couldn’t help chuckling at his sister’s flummoxed expression. “Even better, All classes you have an affinity for will be shown, not just the handful shown by goblin affiliated Tier 1 pods, which means that whatever elite choices those fuckers were hiding from us will be hidden no more. Even better, since you don’t even have to commit, you can see what your options are, train up whatever skills you can, maybe even saturating your Core if you’re a really smart and dedicated Conscript, and then see how those options improve. Hell, we might even compile a book, Earth’s first how-to survive and prosper with the System manual, in the months to come.”

His sister’s eyes were now practically bulging. “Eric, do you know what this means?”

“Pure awesomeness?” he said with a grin.

“It means you’ve actually given us hope! Not just our… I mean my faction, but humanity as a whole!” Elonia shook her head with a rueful grin. “Let me guess. You gave away all rights to control both delves and the Tier 2 pods, so you could continue to walk whatever odd path is allowing you to look like Tarzan and, fuck, the way you fought? Move like a dozen ‘roided Tarzans all at once.”

Eric winked. “Yeah, the territory and the dozen endless Delves are firmly part of Blue Corp now. But I still have property rights over those.”

Elonia blinked. “Come again?”

Eric’s grin widened. “Somehow, maybe because they too could appreciate the fantastic potential of those portals, they allowed me to define my wealthy tier dungeons as ‘mining resources’ and any adventurers that would make use of them as sub contractors.”

Elonia’s shook her head in disbelief. “So, what, all the thousands of adventurers your delves might eventually attract will all be working for you?”

Eric snorted. “More like I’m asking for a 20% cut of whatever wealth, treasure, or resources they bring out. Which is me not at all being an asshole. 20% is galactic standard for so many things it’s ridiculous. Even Blue Corp thinks its a stand-up, totally fair cut. And I’m not even getting a full 20%, since Blue corp will take 20% of my 20% for dealing with the headache of taking in, repackaging, selling, and processing whatever goodies delvers bring out of the portals, with another 20% cut going to the eventual ruler of Earth. That golden fifth is the tax share Blue Corp territories generate for all rulers of all worlds they’ve settled on, in return for otherwise being allowed to function autonomously.”

Eric gazed fondly off in the distance as the nighttime breeze rustled his hair. “So… basically I’ll be getting a 12% cut of all the action, and if you actually manage to pull off a world-wide win, I guess you’ll be getting 4% gross of whatever adventurers are pulling out yourself, and 20% of Ashland’s profits as a whole. And that’s pure profit, with no administrative worries from any Blue territory.”

Elonia shook her head. “Jeezus, Eric. It might not seem like much now, early days with hardly any development at all, but if you’re right, if those dozen delves truly are limitless… the wealth you’ll be raking in one day, when Ashland turns to a city like New York with millions servicing the needs of the elite thousands, or tens of thousands, constantly delving, and with you getting the standard 20% Blue Corp profit cut for literally everything else going down in your territory…”

Elonia flashed him a brilliant grin. “I don’t know if I even have the words to describe just how much money you’ll soon be raking in.”

She gazed at her smiling brother for long moments. “You do realize you could stop right here, right now, right? Let Blue develop Ashland. Because believe me, they will, and you won’t even have to lift a finger. You’ll still be one of the most powerful people in North America, at least in terms of skyrocketing wealth, as Ashland develops in the decades and centuries to come. Now the only thing you have to worry about is checks and balances so that the very adventurers profiting off your delves don’t get so powerful that they’re one day a threat to you.”

Eric winked. “That’s the best part. As ‘employees,’ all adventurers wanting to dip their toes in my waters have to take a very simple oath. Can you guess what it is?”

“Don’t be dicks?”

Eric nodded. “Actually, that’s pretty close. It’s no assaulting or killing anyone in Ashland or anyone you encounter while delving. Because with a world full of assholes just looking for an excuse wipe humanity from the board, the one group we shouldn’t have to worry about stabbing us in the back is each other. Not that I’m going to go screaming ‘oath breaker’ at people who get in barroom scuffles, because how anti-gamer would that be? And sparring session and non lethal duels are also par for the course, though those should probably be supervised.”

He scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Hell, maybe we’ll even set up some sort of arena for non-lethal contests, and sell tickets. Ha, wouldn’t that be something? But sure as shit, no one’s allowed to bully or terrify lower level adventurers, or the normies who, let’s be honest, will probably serve as the backbone of whatever Ashland becomes. Not that I give a shit about people using mean words, but physical threats of violence because the poor girl just trying to make a living and feed her 3 kids didn’t give you a free extra scoop of magically delicious ice cream? That’s a definite no-no.”

Elonia slowly nodded. “That’s smart. A reasonable oath not even the paranoid fuckers most of us are becoming can argue with too much, because what adventurer would risk himself getting killed by the very people who only rose to power because he gave them the tools to do so? That’s really just codifying basic fucking don’t-stab-me-in-the-back gratitude.”

“Pretty much exactly that. But the most important part of that oath as far as I’m concerned, the part that holds true even if you just want to use the delves for a single day or a century, is no fucking with our family, whether we’re still in Ashland or ever meet anywhere else in the world. That means no one who takes the oath will ever be allowed to point a sniper rifle at our backs, or otherwise work to cause us or our future families harm, directly or indirectly, to the extent that they’re aware of, anyway. And that’s with the understanding that I’m not holding grudges or sniping anyone who makes use of my territory either. Even if we were once sworn foes, if you took the oath to leave me and mine alone, I’ll return the favor.” He then flashed an evil smile. “Of course, Blue Corp has a red list of assholes they agreed to never allow permission to access Ashland resources under any circumstances, but that’s a whole separate thing.”

Elonia positively beamed at those words. “Eric, that’s absolutely brilliant! Not only does that open the door for the most hardcore of mercenary factions to make use of your… I mean, Blue Corp’s territory, and bring in a shit ton of profit in the form of dungeon hauls, it also means that they will never be taking contracts out on you or aligning with any faction that wants to take out the Sylvan Alliance, since we’re family, and hunting my faction is definitely hurting me.”

Eric winked. “Funny how that all works out. And since the oath leaves even the darkest companies free to do whatever the hell they like, so long as they’re outside of Ashland when they do it, why wouldn’t they grind in what might one day be the sweetest delving territory on Earth, bar none? All they have to do is keep one family off their kill list.”

His sister chuckled at that. “Which means that not only will the most ruthless badasses have us marked as light blue, the Sylvan Alliance will soon have easy access to a shit-ton of quality hires. Because why wouldn’t they want the sister of the guy who forged that miraculous territory from desperation and dream to be in charge of Earth in a few years or decades? Who else would be more sympathetic to the Delvers of Ashland, after all? Now that’s a gambit even our mother would approve of. Well done, brother mine.”

Elonia pulled out a flask of water from what was clearly a storage belt, drank deep, and passed it to him. “Good, isn’t it? Still chilled, with lemon wedges, the way we always took it on set. Now it’s just about getting the word out to the right people. Because I’ll bet even the most elite guilds are just itching to advance themselves, assuming they don’t actually think that leveling ends in the thirties.”

She frowned thoughtfully. “As far as our shadier acquaintances go, I doubt even the more hardcore mercs will object to making Ashland a second home, since you’re not telling them how to behave outside of Ashland territory. If anything, they’d all probably love having access to at least one safe zone where they can actually relax, keep their families safe, and never have to worry about rivals or competitors shooting them in the back.”

Eric nodded, drinking deep and nodding his thanks. “You got it, sis. Everyone’s welcome. Everyone who’s human, anyway, no matter what shit they had to get through to get this far. So long as they don’t stab me or you in the back, and they don’t shit in the communal backyard.”

His sister snorted and punched his shoulder. “Human and Elven. Don’t forget your own heritage, bro. And fuck, that actually hurt my fist! Just how tough are you?”

Eric laughed at that. “Careful, sis. My Physical Resistance is now 44. And this tastes just like it did on set. Do you guys actually have access to Spiriva?”

Elonia blinked, just staring at Eric for long moments. “Do you have any idea just how absurdly tough that is? Any idea at all?”

Eric laughed. “Not really, but if I’m lucky, I won’t need to worry about it, except when I’m on the offensive. And if everything works out like I hope, it will soon be surprisingly difficult for a certain group of assholes swimming in gold to hire local talent to come after any of us. Because even the most elite assassin-Chads are going to have to consider Ashland, and my back, off limits for any of their reindeer games. At least if they want to make use of a full dozen wealthy tier limitless dungeons to level up, potentially without limit, at any time in their centuries-long lives.”

Elonia grinned. “And even if that route to wealth, incredible wealth, is still years in the future, that Tier 2 ascension pod… shit. How much will Blue be charging to use it? Are you still getting a 20% cut of that action?”

Eric grinned. “Yeah, about that Tier 2 pod center… Blue Corp doesn’t own it. I do.”

He chuckled at Elonia’s flummoxed expression. “That’s right, sis. It counts as a residence. My own personal domicile, of which I have 100% ownership. And my pad contains a whole cluster of pods for all different sizes of guests in a sweet, futuristic, fully air-conditioned obsidian pyramid that no one can enter without my permission. Literally. It has Bronze Tier defenses. No White Tier Classer of any level will have any chance of breaking in.”

Elonia gazed at Eric for long moments, shaking her head. “Do you have any idea how much political capital, how much leverage, that will give you? Shit, Eric, you don’t have to wait decades. We could make a deal with any government, any faction, for immediate exclusive use of your Tier 2 pod center for their entire population. Everyone could be tested! Not just the desperate, enslaved, or ex-cons with no better options, but literally millions of people still alive in the Continental Northeast, and eventually, people from all over the world. The potential, brother!”

Eric frowned at his sister, before bolting up in alarm. “Shit!”

“Eric, what’s wrong?”

“Pilmsburg! I slipped by it to catch Greystone’s forces off guard. I never cleared it!” Panicked eyes gazed his sister’s way. “This isn’t over, Elonia. not until I—” He blinked when his sister gently hushed him with her finger.

“Eric?”

“Yeah?”

“When was the last time you actually slept?”

Eric frowned. “Maybe for 30 minutes after getting shot in the heart, while being breast fed back to health. But what the hell does that have to do with anything?”

His sister gave him a look. “That’s right. Annika mentioned that Dairyland had evolved a very, ahem, unique strain of faerie hybrid. Girls that looked awfully similar to the overly-endowed heroines of your favorite anime. Stop blushing, Eric. My point is that you’re clearly running on fumes. Because if you weren’t… you would have picked up on the fact that Pilmsburg is no longer red to us.”

Eric blinked, pulling up his interface map and gazing at it for long moments. “What the hell?”

His sister grinned. “Here, I have the advantage. You’re an independent, with no centralized territory that anyone could, well, surrender to. You’re a raider, basically. Going for blitzkrieg strikes, conquest titles, and seizing loot, with zero interest in a ruler’s mantel or an administrator’s headaches, leaving the remains for Blue, or, dare I say it, your sister’s faction to pick over. Which fits you to a T, since we both know how brilliant you are with the big ideas and the bigger picture, as you’ve shown! But we both also know that you’re allergic to anything resembling hand’s-on management, and you have no patience at all for the nitty-gritty, or any sort of details-oriented work.” Elonia winked. “You know, the work required to get anything off the ground on a tight budget? When you’re not swimming in capital, resources, and haven’t made a de-facto alliance with a thousand year-old mercantile federation?”

Eric winced. “Yeah… I’m not going to lie. I am so not jealous of you shooting for the throne. Not only because I love you and I want to see your star shine bright, but I also have, like, zero interest in the headaches you’ll run into when a handful of territories becomes hundreds, and they’re all clamoring for your attention with a thousand demands and all your time is dedicated to wiping their butts and you eventually realize that the nice shiny number in your bank account is a golden trap all its own. Because there’s no point in being free of the 9 to 5 cage if you’re just chained right above it, you know?”

He flashed a cheeky smile. “I’d far rather toss Blue Corp my golden farts and be on my merry way.”

Elonia chuckled. “Exactly! Whereas I love making things as efficient and streamlined as possible, and you’ve never been a 9 to 5 anything.”

“True,” Eric admitted with a grin. “I can’t even be bothered to do my laundry.”

Elonia chuckled. “I know. You used to just wear whatever you had on set for the rest of the day, then sleep in it. It drove Mother crazy. And much as she drives both of us just as crazy sometimes, she really does know us best. It is for me to bear the mantel of rulership. And for you? Absolute freedom. Though she did mention getting you a nice elven butler, if you asked politely. She also mentioned that Annika, with a full set of Meridians herself, might be a perfect match for you. But we’re not even going to go there, are we, brother? Anyway, it’s hard to surrender to someone only in it for the kills and thrills like you, brother dearest. Fortunately, I don’t have that problem.”

Eric blinked. “Wait, you didn’t take it by force? Pilmsburg surrendered?”

“They did indeed. Because all they had going for them was a defensible position and a couple of Classers who, I’m guessing, would have left in a heartbeat if their families weren’t under orc ‘supervision.’ But with all their allies smashed to oblivion, it was only a matter of time before they ran out of supplies, or the monstrous orc bane who enjoyed making their own dead fight against them would come along to sweep them completely off the map.”

Eric frowned at this, especially considering the messages his Interface had flashed him earlier, declaring that he had successfully wiped an entire faction he had sworn Vendetta against off the map.

Elonia flashed a wicked grin.“Believe me, Eric, their surrender was a foregone conclusion once Mother used the Dominion Interface and her own exotic magics to show that poor bastard of a chieftain a closeup recording of you and five hundred or so of your closest friends charging down the slope before exploding through the back ranks of our enemies like a freight train, slamming into them so hard that their broken bodies were airborne for football hang-times.”

Elonia leaned back, stretching her arms as she took in the view of the spectacular night sky above them both. “And the footage we have of you pulling cannons out your ass to obliterate how many thousands of those fuckers that had been trying so hard to take us out, last month?” She snorted. “I think the sight of all that gave that orc chieftain religion. Only thing missing was you wearing blue face paint and roaring ‘Freedom!’ That, Eric, would have been perfect. Because sure as shit, within five minutes of him breaking the connection, he sued for peace, declaring that he wasn’t even related to the faction we had sworn vendetta against. His clan had just pulled in a bunch of favors to get a toehold of their own, here on Earth. Hell, he surrendered even before my storm took out those final two stone giant bastards.”

Eric blinked, thoughts feeling oddly muddled, not quite sure how he felt about the epic encounter with multiple artillery snipers that he had been wracking his brains for ideas on overcoming, suddenly folding like a house of cards. “They had families?” he said at last, earning a strange look from his sister.

“Of course. Most of the Classers fighting for the orcs embraced their alpha status to the fullest. Which means living out your wildest partying fantasies. And that, of course, leads to babies. Lots of babies. Because that’s sort of the point of being an alpha male of any species. Then you find your badass self holding a newborn babe and the girl you thought of as a casual fling is now the mother of your child and you’re hit by feelings you never expected, and however much of a ruthless badass you thought you were… you suddenly find yourself worrying about the fates of fragile lives held firmly in the hands of monstrous employers that sure as shit will tear out their throats if you even think of jumping ship.”

Eric lowered his gaze, hit with a sharp pang of guilt he neither expected nor wanted.

Because of course it made perfect sense. All he had to do was think of a certain slinger with his pregnant girlfriend, embracing a savage mascot persona just to keep him and his girl in the good graces of a coven of killers.

How many humans, how many fathers, had he put down who were playing the role they thought they needed to play, just to keep their lovers or their children safe?”

“Shit,” Eric whispered, pierced by the sudden sharp sting of bitter regret.

He flinched at his sister’s tentative touch. “Eric. Don’t. You had no choice but to do what you did. If you didn’t...”

Eric swallowed the lump in his throat. “Yeah. I know. It’s just...” He clenched his jaw, glaring at his assembled revenants. “I might have forgiven them in death, but I’ll never forgive them in life.”

“That’s fine, Eric. So long as you don’t make a liar of Mother, and honor the terms of Pilmsburg’s surrender.”

“Please tell me it includes a way to send them home?”

His sister snorted. “Like mother’s going to waste a hundred million credits for that bullshit. Their faction’s been destroyed, Eric, and the losers that surrendered are only tangentially related to our sworn enemies. Noorc from the Blackfang Alliance, which includes a very large chunk of their Federation, will be permitted to step foot in this solar system, ever again.”

Eric blinked. “Wait, there are other orcs out there?”

His sister nodded. “Multiple Alliances for each of the humanoid races. Each acting independently from the others, each with their own Contenders, each willing to go to war with the others, should only one race survive. Don’t worry, though. Your vendetta was Blackfang-specific. It’s over. You, by some mad miracle, actually did it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you got a sweet experience point bonus or something else for putting them out of commission.” She grinned. “I know I did.”

Eric shrugged. “I did. Alright, fuck it. Maybe I won’t kill them all on sight. I’ll ignore surviving remnants who swear off conquest and just live their lives in a neutral territory. Besides, it’s not like I’m planning on sticking around long enough to run into those bastards anyway.”

His sister’s expression grew forlorn. “You’re not leaving already, are you?”

Eric shook his hed “No. I… believe it or not, I appreciate what Mother did. Offering guest privileges when she could have...” He shuddered at the memory of being crushed like a tiny blade of grass under the weight of a howling storm. “She showed me a grace I know she didn’t have to. The least I can do is show some gratitude. Best behavior for at least a dinner, right?” He smirked. “As much as I sometimes absolutely loath and despise her for what she put us through, she is still my mother. A woman who took time off from ruling her realm to give life to us, to put up with a pair of screaming colicky infants, then raised her children as best as any power-mad tyrant probably can. Children who might just be a bit more like her than I sometimes want to admit. How can I not love her?”

His sister gave him a sympathetic smile. “And if mom was saying what I think she was...” she bit her lip, suddenly nervous.

Eric swallowed, patting her hand. “We just might meet our father soon.”

Elonia slowly nodded. “I wonder what he looks like?”

Eric smirked. “Probably a Scandinavian prince. We are pretty pale, after all.”

Elonia chuckled. “Not necessarily, Eric.” She smirked at his puzzled look. “Wait, you don’t know?”

“Know what? What are you talking about?”

“Elven traits share uniquely dominant phenotypical patterns, especially among female lines, Eric.”

Eric blinked. “Which means...”

“Which means that if you actually hooked up with Annika, your sons, if you could have sons, might look like both of you, but your daughters will look almost exactly like her. It also means that our father could be anyone. A Chinese billionaire. A South American shaman. An Indian seer. Or, sure, an actual living European prince.” She shrugged. “He could be anyone at all.” Elonia gave him an arch look. “But that also means that if you married, say, Rica, with nothing but human blood flowing through her veins, you’d better have that heart-to-heart with her before she pops out a baby girl that might not look like either of you.”

Eric winced. “Because if she gets our father’s traits… totally suppressed in us, because our Mother’s a Silver Tier faerie queen... yeah. You’re right. That might get a little bit awkward.” He groaned, rubbing his temple. “Because I do look like a male version of, well...”

“The Winter Queen?” His sister smirked. “Let me put it this way, bro. I might look like mother’s younger twin, but when I would tell all my friends that my dorky brother is actually her son… no one doubted it, no matter how much of an otaku you looked and acted like at 14. With a definite thing for girls with ridiculously bouncy...”

“Okay! It’s not like I even remember what happened to Dairyland! I just know it cost me all my new toys and a hell of a lot of the experience points that should have pushed me to god knows what level. Besides, I was sort of mortally wounded at the time.”

Elonia snorted. “More like nurse maid land, with endless milk and honey for all the boys feeling kinda funny. Seriously, Eric?”

Eric rose his hands in surrender. “Okay, I’m still part otaku! Back to the topic at hand. We’re definitely Aurelia’s children. But only in appearance, anyway. Personality-wise, though, were nothing like that overbearing...” his words died off when he saw her expression. “No. Don’t say it.”

Elonia smirked, waving his protest away. “I wasn’t going to say a thing. Except that we really should get to the meditation chamber if you’re going to safely level up, and get showered and changed in time for dinner.” She frowned as he cracked yet another yawn. “And maybe a nap. Come on. Have you even been in a proper palace before? Much to show you!”

Eric’s gaze hardened, forced to face that which he had put off as best he could. “Elonia… even though I promised myself a day of rest… that I deserved a day of rest after everything we’ve both been through... I should be heading to Freetown as fast as I can, finding out what happened to Rica and doing all I can to rescue her.”

His sister’s gaze was filled with gentle sympathy. “I know, Eric.” She reached out and clasped his hand. “Would it surprise you to know that Mother’s already taken steps?”

Eric’s eyes widened in surprised disbelief. “Seriously? But I thought… I mean is there anything she can do?”

Elonia patted his hand. “She’s the Winter Queen, Eric, and has been playing political games for centuries. Of course she can take steps. And, not to put too fine a point on it, she owes you. Fucking big time. Seeing what she can do to free your girlfriend and her companions from any… political misunderstandings is the least she can do.”

Elonia gave him a mock pout, flicking his forehead. “But that means you not tearing apart Freetown and risking your standing with Blue Corp, okay? The fact that someone had the foresight to slip in long term lease requests and extremely generous farming rights for any faction you’re on good terms with as a stipulation for the surrender of your territories was both brilliant, and well within the rules. And since my faction’s the only one you know of right now that you’re not at war with, ha ha, this will give us a hell of a lot of breathing room where we can grow an absolute shit-ton of crops without having to worry about enemy factions destroying what could well be the most fertile regions on the planet. At least no faction that doesn’t want to pick a fight with Blue Corp, the only faction with access to any sort of Bronze Tier defenses. And you risk all of that glorious, safe farming land, a political move that actually had mother singing your praises, should you fuck things up with Blue now. So please, Eric, give Mother some time to work her magic.”

It was Eric could do to ease the tightness in his jaw and force a nod, earning a beaming smile from his sister. Because she was right. If there was even a chance that his mother could bring her talents to bear and free the people he cared about without him having to risk an absolute bloodbath in Freetown that might result in Rica or her child paying a terrible price for his rashness, not to mention alienating the one faction he could trust, which would please the Goblins to no end, he was sure, then he would back the fuck down and give his mother the time she needed to pull off a miracle.

He refused to let anxiety or desperation force his hand. Not if there was another way.

And if his mother could actually help Rica achieve her freedom, that would go a long way to his mother making amends.

“Alright, sis, let’s go check out your palace,” Eric said, earning a happy squeeze from his sister.

“Right this way, bro. And I have a surprise that I think you’re absolutely going to love!”

“It’s not Annika smiling at me under a bed of roses, is it?”

“No, not unless you want it to be,” Elonia said with a teasing smirk. “That girl definitely has a crush on you. Just say the word, and I’m sure she’ll come running as fast as your legions.”

Eric laughed at that as he walked by his sister’s side, feeling better already.