Spellheart 9: Chapter 17 (Patreon)

With newfound determination burning in my heart, I realized I had to protect the Hearthwood and my family from all the powerful enemies coming our way. I could afford to rest on my laurels no longer.

Instead, I focused on growing my power, and that of the Hearthwood in general. Mac was still busy diagnosing himself and figuring out exactly how Prince Tivar shut him off. So far, we didn’t think it was something intentional that he’d done, just a side effect of the magic he was using. That was something we couldn’t allow to happen again.

Meanwhile, my goal was simple. I needed to become a force to be reckoned with once more, not only as the Patriarch of the Hearthwood or one of the most powerful cultivators on the Groveguard Continent, but a power whose reach and influence could stretch between worlds. I needed to full use both my own abilities and the powers of The Wanderer.

I used my Enlightenment hint. I was surprised to find it ready and waiting for me. I dimly remembered Mac reminding me that it was available again, but with all the things happening, I had placed it on lower priority than usual, and it could sit there, wasted and unused. No longer.

I gathered the powers of the Hearthwood. That meant everyone who was at true mage or above. My matriarchs were among the foremost among those gathered and were the most powerful of those settled in the Hearthwood.

But the Hearthwood represented only one small cornerstone of our sprawling network of vassal clans and nations. The Rakaren Queen was there and at the wizard realm. Despite being a queen, she followed one of my daughters like a lost puppy.

There were others under my sway as well. The twin sorcerers from the Ancient Tree Temple, Teilinith and Feilinith, were present. The two of them had come a long way since they’d first come under our care in the Hearthwood, and they could mostly function on their own now. Whatever the Cult of the Unblinking Eye had done to strip away their free will and turn them into little more than puppets had been nearly fixed. They still seemed to feel like they owed me for saving them, though and had remained quite devoted to the Hearthwood and its cause, despite me telling them they were free to leave.

The leader of the Golden Sword Sect was present too, with Comela standing beside her. Going from leader of one of the most powerful factions on the Groveguard continent to my daughter’s private tutor had been a steep downgrade for her, but she’d taken the demotion in good grace and had held exactly to the spirit of her promise. I was tempted to remove that zeal-restricting collar I had on her, but then I might end up having to do what the Cult of the Unblinking Eye had promised and never delivered, giving her a powerful child. If I made her mine like that, I would never let her go.

Yillinarena, the former Sovereign of the Auqualian Isles, was in a similar position. She’d been ousted from her former throne after being defeated by me, and Illiel and a few of my daughters were taking turns administrating her territory in my name while she remained my willing captive in the Hearthwood. And, much like the leader of the Golden Sword Sect, she also expected to become my breeding stock.

Really, these elves had very high expectations. I had enough women to please as it was. Did they really think giving up control over factions they spent a lifetime building and surrendering to me unconditionally would be enough to worm their way into my harem? That was the position that took loyalty and friendship to earn. Not just mountains of gold, vast swaths of territory, and an admittedly very tempting body on both of them.

Tivana’s friend, the Sunspire Princess, was there, looking at me with thankful eyes. I’d saved her from a horrible fate at the hands of her family’s usurpers, and now she was rebuilding the nation that had been stolen from her. With the aid and resources of the Hearthwood Clan, of course. Aid which the Sunspire Princess and her vassals repaid with vassalage, like the others.

Xoreda was there, as well as the representative of the Circle of Necromancers. After my little stunt reorganizing their entire society to make a few functional cities, they’d started seeing me as something of an important person up there. They’d even started asking me for advice mitigating disputes and offering troops to my banner should I ever call for them. They’d even taken to putting my clan symbol on all of their flags, which was very flattering. They were welcome here as well.

A few years ago, it would have been impossible to get them here when wizards from their extremely hostile neighbors, the Lifekeeper Sanctum, stood there next to them. But the Lifekeeper Sanctum had also been brought under the Hearthwood’s wing. Most of their wizards had unfortunately been skinned and replaced by Timeweaver Spiders, but the few who survived were collared, chained, and working off their demerits to the Hearthwood with their labor, sort of like a prison sentence, but if they worked hard, they could earn their release a little sooner. In the meantime, a few of my daughters had taken charge of their territories and settlements and were administrating them accordingly.

We had an entire host of elves from across the Groveguard waiting on my every word.

Those who’d seen or heard about what happened here in the Hearthwood and knew what it meant had gone pale from the disaster that had nearly befallen our settlement. A demigod was as fearsome as foes came on this world, and slaying one who was a member of an even larger faction on another world could only bring down a calamity the likes of which they had never seen before. That was especially evident on the faces of the older council members who had been with me from the start. Elves like Ullua from the Waterbeetle tribe.

A few of the younger elves had the opposite reaction, though. They looked at me with wide eyes full of adoration that bordered on worship. I’d killed a demigod, the most powerful type of being they knew of. In their eyes, I was practically a god myself.

“Listen up, everyone,” I began. “I’m sure you’ve all seen the dark omens in the sky as of late. Things brew that have not occurred since the end of the last golden age. Powers other words are coming to challenge us, and I shall soon fill our own world with blood and strife.”

I measured my words carefully. Of course, I couldn’t spill the beans about the end of the Seventh Golden Age quite yet. However, I could still give everyone a warning and instructions that would help them prepare nonetheless.

“I have a short- and long-term plan to help us prepare for both. First, I will distribute resources from my own coffers. These are hard-won prizes collected during our recent fight against the dragons, along with no small share of trinkets from my adventures in the Primordial World. I will be handing them out as rewards for good service rendered. Then, afterward, you may all trade what you don’t need among yourselves to make sure everyone leaves the Hearthwood a little wealthier and a little more prepared than they entered it.”

Yillinarena stepped forward and raised her hand to speak. This wasn’t our first meeting, and it had been a bit tough for all these former heads of state to learn they only had the chance to speak when I gave them the floor. It was tedious but worth it to ensure these meetings happened in an organized matter.

“Yes, Yillinarena?” I asked, acknowledging her.

“These items and rewards you’re offering up. Are they for... everyone? Including, you know...” A blush covered her face as she wrung her hands together. “Your... playthings?”

The leader of the Golden Sword Sect leaned forward in interest.

I nearly slapped my palm against my face. “Both of you, quit it. You’re political captives. I’ve made no promises of anything more! But yes, I’ll be distributing rewards to everyone here.”

One of the wizards from the Lifekeeper Sanctum stepped forward and raised her hand. They were the one group I didn’t know by name yet, so I just pointed. “Speak.”

“Can we use these rewards towards our demerits?” She asked.

I considered that thought. I’d put together a bit of a system for all the naughty elves now under my care. These ladies had demerits to work off proportional to their crimes. Service on behalf of the Hearthwood Clan eliminated a few of those demerits. I’d actually given out a gold star sticker worth ten demerit points to all those who helped fight the dragons with the Hearthwood Clan, and the system seemed to work rather well thus far.

Eventually, I nodded. “Alright, sure. I’ll let you buy off a maximum of five demerits with my gifts. But no more than that. You’re supposed to work to autonomy and prove you’ll be a valuable member of society. You don’t just get to use the money to buy yourself to freedom. But frankly, I don’t recommend buying yourself out of any demerits. The prizes I’m giving away are quite good.”

Rather than draw out the suspense any longer, I decided it was time to just reveal what I had. So I opened my Dimensional Storage to all onlookers, and chests upon chests of exotic items and do-hickies not even I had identified appeared on the ground before me.

“This is a Nine-Heavens Rainbow Gem! Where in all the realms did you get something like this?” an elf exclaimed as she identified what seemed to be a colorful rock. I recognized it as one of the items I’d picked up in the bargain bin in the Primordial World. That’s where most of the items I was giving away came from, though a few had been sifted out of Kun Peng dung by hand. I kept both those facts to myself, though.

“I found it on my many exciting adventures,” I replied as cryptically as possible.

“Give me that! I need it!”

“Fat chance, it’s mine!”

I shook my head and raised my voice. “Quiet!”

Everyone went silent. A few muttered voices of ‘yes, patriarch’ were scattered throughout the room.

With order restored, I handed out free gifts of tokens printed by Mac, especially for this event. Of course, the amounts I handed out were completely biased, but I made sure everyone got enough to bid on something. I did want to strengthen the entire Hearthwood.

I’d held back before because I wasn’t nearly as sure of the loyalties of these elves as I was of others, but times like these called for taking risks. I’d already stuffed myself, my women, and all my kids full of as many resources as we could consume. There was no sense in letting things gather dust in the Hearthwood Clan vaults when they could be put to work today.

I included no small share of secret spells and techniques among the rare items I freely gifted. While not uncommon in the Primordial World, most of the elves present had never had the chance to visit the Primordial World. And even if they did, their powers wouldn’t let them last too long there. So to them, every secret of the forgotten past I freely gave away was a treasure that could reshape their entire path.

The auction lasted hours, but I was in charge of the Hearthwood, and I figured it would do well for all of our vassal clans and organizations to remember that. Holding a position of power here and now would cement that fact in their minds a little further.

Eventually though, the auction was done. Finally, my children got some good practice experiencing what some of the more cut-throat markets in the world were like. I saw more than a few glares thrown Comela’s way when she walked away with some exceptionally coveted prizes. I even suspected a bit of trouble later that day as a few of the wizards from the Lifekeeper Sanctum eyed one of Xoreda’s prizes.

I would intervene if it got too violent, but there was no need to tell anyone now. After all, if I caught those Lifekeeper Sanctum wizards red-handed breaking the laws of the Hearthwood, I would get to tack a few more demerits onto their names. It was pretty useful to have a few spare wizards at my disposal, and I could give out an infinite number of gold stars.

But until then, I had other plans.

“Now, I have one last announcement to make before I let you trade among yourselves for what’s left,” I announced as soon as I got everyone quiet again. “Listen up, because this is going to be important. I’m going to be cultivating hard for the next little while.”

There were a few mutters all around. “You’re going into seclusion?”

I turned to the speaker, the leader of the Golden Sword Sect.

I nodded. “That’s right.” Seclusion was a popular technique used by the elves of the world of Sanctuary and Serenity when they wanted to focus on getting more powerful. I’d done it plenty of times, though usually with the help of the Cultivation Chamber’s Time Dilation effect, so the Hearthwood had never been without me for too long.

The obvious question followed moments later. “How long?” Assyrus asked.

I shrugged. “Until I’m satisfied with my progress. The Hearthwood should be able to run itself just fine in my absence.”

“It will be difficult without you...” Sava said, voice full of lonely longing. She was cast no small number of jealous glares, particularly from Yillinarena, Teilinith, and Feilinith.

I let out a chuckle. Sava wasn’t quite sure of my plans yet.

“It may be difficult for some of you to be without my presence, but not for you, Sava. In fact, not for most of my matriarchs. I’m not the only one who needs to get some cultivating done. So I’m taking a bunch of you with me into seclusion. When I said I would be working hard, I meant I would be working hard. And right now, that hard work means dual cultivation.”

A few eyes lit up around the room. “Dual cultivation? The legendary secret technique of the Deanian Royal Family?” One of the nearby elves asked.

I nodded. “The same. Sorry, but that technique isn’t mine to sell, so I won’t share, no matter your contributions. It’s for my family and me only.”

A few elves licked their lips. Yillinarena stared at me with hungry eyes. “And by family, you mean anyone you like?”

I shrugged. I thought she’d given up on cultivation after reaching the sorcerer realm. She’d only broke through thanks to a pill given to her by the Cult of the Unblinking Eye. A pill that had likely ruined her from making any further progress, but had doubled her remaining lifespan, increasing it to the point that she didn’t care.

“Let’s just say the option is only open to Tivana and the Hearthwood Clan’s official matriarchs for now.” I stepped off the stage and waved goodbye to everyone. “Ladies, I think I’m done with this auction. If you don’t mind?”

Nela appeared under my arm in a flash. Moments later, so did Tivana, Assyrus, and Sava. The others were too busy to attend this little meeting, but that was alright. I’d leave a message with Mac for them to show up later.

For now, I had some serious work to do.