Spellheart 9: Chapter 36 (Patreon)

The Hearthwood had grown tremendously once more. The rows of ground-level shops that had once characterized the outskirts of the city were now well and truly within the settlement. They were now less outskirts and more downtown.

The elves had built around the Hearthwood's enormous trees, and in many cases, right up along their sides and around their crowns, forming something of a second city high in the air.

The people living in the tops of those trees were a notch wealthier than those on the ground, since living that high up tended to be rather tedious if you didn't also own a flying sword of some other means of flight.

But that wasn't to say the people down on the surface were poor. Far from it. Good policy on behalf of the Hearthwood Clan meant food and housing was cheap and readily available, so everyone was dressed in at least some token level of attire.

There was no one starving on the streets, picking pockets, or begging for pocket change. In fact, there was an eerie lack of beggars, thieves, or potion addicts in the city.

Such people were inevitable in any large settlement, and it was terribly strange to notice their absence. I feared something brutal had been done with them to sweep them away, and I hadn't noticed.

Mac quickly set me straight.

[Goodness, no. When I cleaned up the streets, I certainly didn't mean to imply that I had troublemakers killed!] Mac replied.

"Then what did you do with them?"

[We sent them to the Monster Dens where I did a little domestication work on them. The dens work the same on elves as they do on monsters, you know. I made them a little more malleable, gave them some honest work, and had them clean themselves up. When they agreed to further treatment, I send them off to Illiel or one of your daughters well-versed in Mind Magic. There, they're treated for their condition with a liberal application of mind magic. Potion addicts have all memories associated with their addiction wiped away. Criminals have past trauma wiped away and generic happy childhood memories installed. Beggars are healed of their physical or mental limitations, should they have any, and then given a basic skill set to hold down a job. We have free housing for them to stay in a while for them to get back on their feet after that. Here in the Hearthwood, we rarely ever arrest a criminal twice! We have a ninety eight percent rehabilitation rate.]

"Ah... well, it sounds like you have it all well in hand." I ran my hand along the back of my head. Come to think of it, I hadn't seen any beggars or homeless on the streets of the Cult of the Unblinking Empire's territory. I wondered how many of the same techniques Ethan and his people applied to their own settlements.

I put the disturbing thoughts out of mind. After all, I couldn't exactly fault Mac and the others for helping people, and I'd approved a lesser version of such a project long ago. Injecting new memories directly into the minds of my citizens was getting a bit close to mental manipulation, but most societies of this world did far worse to criminals. A little advanced mental persuasion was a small price to pay for the results we were getting.

[It's quite effective!] Mac assured me. [But if you're touring the city, might I suggest touring Whitewood Manor? Your servant clan has expanded their facilities dramatically, thanks to the recent manifesting.]

"Recent manifesting?"

[You were too focused on Dual Cultivation to allow yourself to be disturbed. But it happened! The Whitewood Clan's wisps have finally manifested. You are once again a proud father. This time of a batch of about seven hundred new members of the Hearthwood Clan.

I choked a little. Seven hundred?

Had I really bred members of the Whitewood Clan often enough to make Seven Hundred new kids?

[You have,] Mac assured me. [And it was far more than seven hundred times. That's just the batch from a few months ago. There are a lot more on the way.]

I grimaced. "Yeah... I'm going to need to talk to Yavilla and Tavilla. But show me these kids. I have no plans on being a negligent father."

I flew back to Castle Mac to find new family member orientation had already begun. Argona was speaking as the guest of honor, but Illiel, Assyrus, and and Eltiana were all in attendance as well.

"Welcome everyone to the Hearthwood Clan!" Argona said. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. I'm Argona, your older sister."

I quietly slipped into the back and took a seat. I'd seen some of the preparations for this, but hadn't expected such a formal gathering to crop up right under my nose. While I'd been busy with dual cultivation, the rest of the family hadn't been idle.

Illiel started with a brief summary of the family's history and our place in the world.

"The Hearthwood Clan is a new power. Our foundations do not run as deep as those of the older clans, but we are powerful and growing moreso by the day. We boast more wizards than any other clan in Deania or the nations surrounded it. We also have secured the direct vassalage of most of those clans, either directly to us or indirectly through their rulers."

Illeil gestured, and illusions illustrating her words appeared behind her. The new children puffed up in pride at the realization that they had been born into a powerful force. Most of the heads were the silvery white of the Whitewood Clan, but I spotted a few of blue, gold, purple, or green hair. The elves of the Whitewood Clan weren't the only ones to lay some eggs for me.

Despite their differences, every one of them had ears a bit more rounded than was usual for an elf, and physiques a little more muscled. That was clear a sign of direct human heritage. I even spotted a bit of myself in most of them, painted clearly in the shape of their noses or the slant of their eyes.

In other words, they were all definitely my kids.

Man, I'd been busier than I thought. It had been a lot of fun at the time, but seeing so many progeny of mine here and how had me a little scared.

Did I really do this?

I looked around at the auditorium full to bursting. This was the kind of thing I expected on a college campus. Not in my personal residence. And from the looks of things, we needed all the space.

The auditorium-sized stadium was fitting, considering the crowd. Elves manifested as fully mature adults with enough memories built right into them from their wisp-hood to make them fully functional members of society from the moment they got a body, so this really was more akin to a college freshman orientation than it was to bringing home a newborn baby.

I expected this odd quirk was something of an evolutionary defense mechanism. Surviving in a world as dangerous and deadly as this one was hard enough for a grown adult. It would have been near-impossible to do so while looking after children.

Or maybe the maker of this world just didn't want a bunch of kids running around the world they'd filled with sexy elves who liked to walk around half-dressed. It could be either, or maybe both.

Whatever the case was, that's what this was. All my kids were skipping right over their childhoods and stepping into either work or further study. With the resources my clan had available, I figured we would encourage all my children to seek additional training before setting out on their own, but if any had made up their minds to move out and live their own lives, I wasn't going to stop them.

Then I thought about the family treasury. Once upon a time I thought I was pretty rich. I was far wealthier than the average Sorcerer, after all.

But somehow, I wasn't sure that was going to stretch as far as I thought. Especially as these kids started reaching higher cultivation levels.

Perhaps it was finally time to ask Sava about magical birth control. Either that, or I'd have to go on another adventure in the Primordial World to keep putting food on the table for a family of a thousand.

Despite my worries, the orientation went smoothly and as planned. After going over the history of the Hearthwood Clan, Argona took over and welcomed all her new siblings, then spoke of the many opportunities the family and what would be expected of them to maintain the family name and our reputation abroad.

"You will not go running around the capital or anywhere else using our family name as a club to bludgeon lesser clans into submission," Argona warned. "Father isn't fond of that sort of behavior, and you'll be on Monster Den duty for a year if you're caught acting like a spoiled young mistress."

There were a few sad groans in the crowd. Someone raised her hand.

"What if we find someone really cute. Are we allowed to take them home. And... you know... tie them to our beds?"

There were nods of agreement all around and a few excited shouts.

I slapped my palm against my forehead. I guess these really were my kids.

"Yes, that's allowed. Some of your older siblings will talk more about that after sundown," Argona replied with a wink. "And don't worry, there are plenty of volunteers in the city to choose from. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of you brought home a True Mage eager to grovel at the feet of a member of the Hearthwood Clan, no matter how low-ranking. Why, there was one time--"

I made my hasty escape. The last thing I wanted to think about was my cute and innocent little crafter talking about her love life. I didn't even know she had a love life. There were only two male elves in the city, and I'd been careful to make sure neither were the type my daughters would have any interest in.

But apparently none of my offspring were above a little girl time. And in such cases they took very strongly after their father in terms of how they liked to enjoy themselves.

No wonder there were so few layabouts in the Hearthwood. Those who didn't want to work would find no shortage of positions as pet or plaything available to the many, many members of the city's ruling clan.

I buried my head in the library for a bit as Argona's introduction concluded.

I brushed up on what I wanted to say. After all, this would be my first introduction to this new generation of kids. I ended up writing up a quick little speech to say hello, inspire them to reach their full potential, and to warn them not to follow too closely in my footsteps on every subject.

It went down well, according to Mac. I arrived in a flash of light and magic, awing them all with my magical might. I talked, promised that I'd spend a little time with each of them one on one sooner or later, and then was on my way.

I had planned to have a word with Yavilla and Tavilla afterward about easing up a little on the egg-laying, but the two of them stared over the assembled crowd of their progeny like the proud mothers they were. I would give them the bad news about birth control later. There would be plenty of time to expand the Hearthwood Clan again after the end of the Seventh Golden Age.

I needed to clear my head after the kinds of shocks I'd gone through, so I headed to the Sacred Grove. There was nothing quite like walking through a beautiful garden to clear the mind. So that was where I went.

The first thing I noticed was that the plants were far greener than before. It was like every leaf and blade of grass had been dipped in dark green paint.

I marveled at the change, though it wasn't until I found Aelina that I realized what caused it.

"The green hue to the leaves?" Aelina asked. "That would be the new fertilizer your friend, Master Ethan, brought to us. We distributed it around the grove per his instructions."

"...Already?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes. I analyzed it myself and it was up to standards," Aelina scooped up a handful of dirt to show me.

I knew little of nature magic, but this kind of nature magic in particular had a much higher earth zeal than working with plants did, so I had an easy time looking it over.

While I wasn't too experienced at examining dirt, I'd see enough dirt to be able to spot an anomoly. Here, there was none. It was just like the kun peng dung included in the kit I'd received. A dense source of vitality to be consumed by the plants, fairies, and eventually the elves living in this Sacred Grove. The only odd question was where Ethan had gotten so much vitality-rich soil.

"It looks good to me as well," I replied after looking the rich soil over. I looked Aelina over with a serious gaze. "But tell me. You've met Ethan. What did you think of him?"

Aelina shrugged her shoulders shyly. "It isn't really my place to say... he's a Master, and I'm just..."

I shook my head. "I'm asking for your honest opinion, Aelina. I won't be offended by what you say. Quite the opposite. I'll be more offended if you refuse to answer."

Somehow, my attempt at comfort only seemed to make Aelina more nervous.

"Well... he's not the nicest man ever, nothing like you, sir. In most ways he's the same as the Satyrs. Not as cruel, mind you. But just like them he sees us only as tools. I can tell by the look in his eyes. He didn't even talk to us directly, just told the Librarian of Sacred Groves to explain what the fertilizer was to us."

"Really?" That was a bit odd. When I was present, Ethan seemed perfectly fine speaking with the nearby elves. He even smiled at the various shopkeepers and bystanders who waved to me in the city as we walked. At most, he'd ignore them. But I'd never seen him dismiss them outright.

"Well... keep an eye on him. And for that matter, keep an eye on anyone else," I leaned in and whispered. "To tell you the truth, I think I'm closing in on the Satyr King's agents among your fellow elves. It's just a matter of time..."

Aelina went stiff as a board. "Oh... is that so?"

I nodded sagely. "Yep. I just need to find someone I can trust to help me catch them."

"A-and what will you do when you catch them?" Aelina stuttered. "Torture? Brutal execution? Send their broken soul back to the World of Wood's and Wilds for their family to despair over, realizing she will never manifest again?" She grew paler and paler over her own words.

I laughed. "Man, maybe I should put you in charge of it. How'd you like that?" I shook my head. "No, I'd always preferred the carrot over the stick. While the guilty will definitely be punished, I can forgive those who realize the error of their ways. After all getting such a guilty elf to cooperate with me would certainly prove helpful in rounding up the others."

"So... if one of the Satyr King's agents surrendered herself to you, you'd spare her?"

I nodded. "More than spare her. I'd reward her. And promise that I'd do my best to help loosen any bonds the Satyr King still held over her. At the very least, I'd make sure she had enough wealth to live in comfort here in the Hearthwood."

"And if you caught her without confessing... you'd have to punish her?"

I shrugged. "I'm afraid so. And it wouldn't be the fun kind of punishment."

Aelina's shoulders slumped. She took a deep breath, then finally met my gaze. An instant later, she dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the ground.

"Forgive me, Patriarch! I am one of the Satyr King's agents!"

<Note>

Theo was perfectly prepared to chase off any boyfriends one of his daughters brought home. As for cute tied up girlfriends... he isn't sure whether to be proud or mortified.

Also, Amazon Apocalypse 1 released today!