by Marcus Sloss
“My orders as your mother and your god are clear. Reproduce, a lot, numbers matter in the game of the gods. Conquer Vin and utilize its wonders to increase your population here. Free some slaves and bring diversity to this planet. Do not engage other demigods or the gods themselves until the griffins and you Gryff, have fully mastered all the magics you were gifted. I wish I could give you more time and training. Yet your abilities will be dictated by your experiences. You are our champion Gryff, and you King Aves are our greatest creation. In tandem, you can even defeat the gods of the higher universe. Do not rush and be patient. You are both immortal… if you keep your wits about you. Goodbye, my children.”
Lily ran a hand down King Aves's beak and then kissed my forehead. Both of our bodies rippled with power. I watched King Aves grow bigger and stronger. I gained my muscle mass back and added a foot of height. Lily staggered from the magic exertion. She gained her balance, then snapped and vanished.
Derfran was still rapidly writing. Bella was crying. I was flexing my increased muscles. Aves was strutting with his changes. Addilyn, Amber, Pipi, and Velia were looking down and rubbing their bellies.
“By all that is holy. Shrines and temples must be built. We have our gods known for the first time in forever. Our worship must be projected onto them.” Derfran said.
“I agree, it is fitting we pay tribute to those who gave us this planet, this life, and our chance. We have much to do. Time to get to work.” I said feeling great. “Tammy go find me Zack. Send him up to my estate. Ladies I need to get in my armor. Amber will escort me with Velia. I want the rest of you to return to your work. We will discuss this more in privacy when I get back. Do not say anything god related outside of silence shields. They are the big trigger, most of the other stuff is fine. Nothing about gods… Are we clear? Everyone nod… good. And Tammy, teach every air mage you can how to properly silence a conversation.”
The small group parted and we walked in shocked silence back to the Tipsy until Amber spoke. “I am happy and sad for you Gryff,” Amber said.
I worried I may need to scold her from saying more about it but she knew better. “It is going to take some getting used to for sure. You excited to be a mom?”
“Yes!” Velia answered first. I knew she would be. Ever since the day I met her, the woman had adored children. She adopted Vern years ago.
“Most certainly, the perk will outweigh the pain I hope. You know what this means though right?” Amber asked while slapping my ass before we entered the tipsy. “More wives!”
Velia roared in laughter at this and I shook my head. “Needs a six vote yes, that doesn’t change. It should change your plans for our potential castle though. You need to make it much bigger and something that will last the tests of time.” I said and Amber frowned.
“You are probably right, we can encompass the eastern expansion with the southern. When we get up to our room I will show you my blueprint so far.” Amber said. “After we have sex of course.”
“I have too much to do my loves, I promise. Once I settle my contract with Rakmar I will come home for some loving time. Then head south. We also need to find a way to the other continents on Vin. That is for a much later day.” I said as we entered the Tipsy. We climbed the stairs to our estate and entered our room. As soon as we were inside Velia bolted the door. I raised an eyebrow at this. My wives kissed and stripped each other naked. I felt myself stiffen at the display. They approached me and stripped my belts off to let my pants fall. “Oh, it got bigger when I grew. I take my no earlier did nothing to dissuade you.”
The girls giggled and left me standing there. I tore my tunic off and went to join them on the bed when they paused at the side of it. They both planted hands on the edge and popped their asses out. Velia handed me my belt and I caught on. They wanted to be spanked, both of them did. So be it.
I belted each ass cheek down the line until they were bright red. All the dirty talk was intense, both the girls referred to me only as master. They not so subtly screamed out in pleasure and pain. Their booties radiated heat from the stinging marks. I saw both girls biting lips until I stopped and then they kissed. Once I was done spanking they crawled on the bed. Velia laid on her back and Amber sat on her face. Amber bent over until both of my wives were face deep licking pussy. I was left out until to watch for all of five seconds. I gripped a fistful of Amber's hair to yank her mouth in line with my cock. She gagged trying to suck my throbbing boner. Amber gave up on the rough blowjob and I was glided into Velia’s wet and welcoming vagina.
The sex was great and I did not last long. We were thoroughly satisfied and snuggled on the bed for a brief few minutes. Our impromptu cuddles were ruined by a soft tapping at the door.
Zack announced he was here at my request. I told him to wait a few minutes as I was cleaned. My naked wives dressed me in my armor and I strapped my weapons on. I rummaged through my bag and found the bible still wrapped in leather. I unwrapped it and verified it was the right book still in perfect condition. Feeling ready to go I kissed each wife goodbye. I snuck out the side door of the nursery and out into the hallway.
“Ah, there you are Gryff, good to see you among the living again. Sorry about Winst, he was a good man.” Zack said with sorrowful eyes. “How may I help you today my Emperor?”
That was going to take some getting used to.
“I need to take you to Lakeland. We will head to the portal there. Secure enough catalysts to make a hundred and fifty copies of this book.” I said and pulled out the Horde bible. “Do not repeat what you see understood. I need you to hold it now to get the right amount of catalyst. The griffins will bubble us on the ride south where we can speak more freely. I will meet you at the roost. Any questions?”
“I need to pack a bag and get the supplies from the academy. Does a half hour work or do you need more time?” Zack asked.
“Sounds great. See you then.” I said and he left in a hurry. I decided to take my time and see the changes that had occurred in my absence.
CHAPTER 14
I left the Tispy with a smile on my face. The first thing I did was glance up at the ceiling of Dais. It had seemed brighter earlier and in fact, it was. Bright vole torches illuminated the cavern. While it hurt my eyes to look directly at, I was able to see the covers used to mask the brightness to match night time. As I walked down the smooth road the next thing that set me back was the business district. The first time I had toured this newly constructed section it was devoid of activity. Even after King Horus left it was still a quiet space. Not any more. I was not certain what the driving factor was, but the commerce district had become much busier. Maybe it was that I was the Emperor now and this was the de facto capital. Or it could be we were merely growing with time. My wives and I were spending heavily, which would stimulate the economy here.
I saw the smokestacks for all the smiths down here venting smoke up to the surface. The bakeries and kitchens added to the exhaust. I saw young men and women scurrying wood in hand carts. There was a lot going on and I slowed to take it all in. There were new donkeys carting and even a few horses helping move supplies. The water troughs in front of the bathhouse were full, and I would need to figure out how to provide more clean water for all the animals. There were teams of shit shovelers keeping the road clean from manure. I watched as they dumped some down into the burn pits under the shithouse. While gross, it was nice to see. I did not think with the increased population we had many workers bored and without tasks.
I pulled my bag out and added a note to my to do list. Make a central bulletin board down here where the ramp from Fernlan meet Dais. Would not hurt to be more organized. I passed the smiths and saw Dennis inside through a cutout window. I was pressed on time so I waved when he saw me. His eyes lit up and he ran out.
“I knew I was right Gryff, those spears were messages,” Dennis said beaming with pride. “Vern has been very helpful, and it took a while, but I got all the silver melted. I expanded down here and hired a few
more smiths. Well… more like they applied to work here at low wages to start. We made a deal if they did good work after a month I would pay fairly… Well, you would my lord. It is fantastic to see you again, I got a lot of work to do. Smelting the spears down now as they are recorded and shifting them into bars for later use.”
I never even got to thank him before he waved goodbye and raced back into his smithy. I grinned at his work ethic and continued down the road to the commerce district exit. There was a guard at the front in colors I did not recognize. Yellow and blue. They were not Amber’s father's colors or King Horus’ colors. I approached the young woman who was verifying weapons were sheathed and people had a valid reason for entry. I figured she was mostly for show, to deter crime more than anything.
When I approached she stiffened and became speechless. I waved and gave a genuine friendly smile. The woman didn’t budge. She was mute and clammed up.
“I am Gryff, we have not met, may I know your name please?” I asked. The woman shifted and almost fainted. This was a first. I wondered if I would meet more people who mishandled talking to an Emperor. I was not being very intimidating.
Elan saved the poor girl. “Ah Emperor Gryff, forgive Lexica. It is not every day an Emperor engages his citizens in conversation. Please follow me, I want to show you the changes to Fernlan. Do you like your new colors. Your wives selected white, blue, and yellow with a griffin outline for your emblem. New Empire, new emblem,” Elan said as he led me past the guard and towards the ramp.
“I was wondering about that, I think it is quite neat. Nice to meet you Lexica. Keep up the good work.” I said and the woman breathed a sigh of relief at my departure. She was obviously glad I left. I clasped Elan on the shoulder. “Baron Elan! It is good to see you. How have you been?”
“Busy, and did I mention busy. The transition of power is still shifting. There are more immigrants arriving all the time. A lot want to keep flying north. We opened up Uhara for fishing crews only for now and are keeping Livina closed. We want Uhara rebuilt, your wives and I are in agreement on this. We also do not want Livina pillaged. It is still unlooted since you went under. Amber, King Horus, and I agreed it should stay that way until you figured out a way of handling the valuables. Well, those and the property. I was thinking rentals and the crown owns them all. Would help buffer your treasury with recurring income. King Horus wants you to gift the property out, and Amber is going to side with you.” Elan paused halfway up the ramp. A resting platform had to be made off to the side. He caned his way over to a balcony that looked down upon Dais. There were griffins flying, mages training, and people going in and out of their houses. “Pretty awesome, and to remember this was a dying village when you got here. This, this right here. Makes all the work worth it. I like to sit here, it is my favorite spot to review paperwork. I am having a tea stand installed and this expanded. It is a prime location. I will stay here. My hip aches, only so much healing can do for the pain. Enjoy what you see up top. A lot of effort went into the improvements.”
“Thank you for your hard work Elan. I hope to join you for tea on this balcony soon. I should return in a few days. Until then,” I said and we parted. I saw at the top of the ramp another balcony was being constructed. This one not for viewing and instead for an elevator. It was still early in the construction though and I looked forward to seeing it built. Maybe even have on at the halfway point too. I liked the idea of elevators even if I did not intend to use them myself.
I crested the lip of the ramp and exited the dig out. When I went from the western fields to the upper platform I was in for a shock. The entirety of Fernlan main village was gone. No house still stood. The iconic inn “the Inn” was gone. Dennis’ house and shop removed. It was all cleared, and in its place was a market larger than any I had seen before. Sure it was empty but its intent was massive. The most unique thing about it though was the columns of hardened clay. They supported a new structure over the market. This did two things, utilized the space for two buildings. The bottom of the new building was covered in torchlight. Meaning the market could be open even after dark, and it never got rained out.
The upper structure was a new town center, and this one was massive. It was almost as wide and as long as Dais. I had no idea what was inside the overly immense building. The market I understood. I really was able to wrap my head around that Fernlan was going to be a trade hub from the seven northern cities to the rest of humanity. I also understood it was overbuilt in case this was the capital.
Pipi approached with a few meat sticks in hand. That woman was so amazing. She knew me in ways the others missed. I saw her beam at me drolling over the food.
“Husband, I figured you would want some food before you departed.” Pipi sauntered my way. I was handed three meat sticks and the moment I accepted them she locked both hands to my face. She pulled me down for a long lusty kiss that I enjoyed. I tossed the food, which she saw and giggled about. Because it was a big deal. I scooped her up and we kissed there in the middle of the road for minutes. A cough from my side interrupted us. Addilyn was at our side.
“Do you like my work?” Addilyn asked while I set down Pipi. She retrieved my food and went to wash it. I probably would have eaten it dirty, but I appreciated the effort. “We decided a large central government building with lots of room for expansion. You may be asking yourself why so big? Well, Salvoni kept his records in his palace… Which no longer exists. The Empire ran on a lot of bureaucracy that was wiped out. My father has been working tirelessly with the other kings to reestablish order. Thankfully, they all like the idea of you being the new Emperor. They do want to rotate stewardship but understand my father should have the role for the first year. It is not a bad idea and would please all four kingdoms. Speaking of which you may want to establish a fifth kingdom. Your seven colonies to the north may require it but Amber will speak to you about it in depth later.”
Pipi returned with my cleaned snacks and I devoured the flavorful goblin. I never felt squeamish about eating the flesh of the little green monsters. I kissed Pipi’s cheek, then smashed a long kiss to Addilyns lips.
“You wives make me so proud. These changes are fantastic and I could not be happier. I need to excuse myself I see Zack heading to the roost. Anyone seen Bella I was hoping to bring her?” I asked and the girls giggled. They pointed at the roost. Made sense, I was going to her home city after all.
I headed to the roost and sure enough, Bella was on Dina’s back with Zack. I did a final check of my gear out of habit and found myself good to go. I scurried up the saddle and sat between Zack and Bella.
“Fast flight time, but Gryff I will be with cubs soon. You will need to find another rocket as you like to call me to haul you around.”
I never got to reply as we launched off the ground and my hair whipped back. We soared with the speed only Dina could achieve. I noticed the expansion trees were being cleared, fields being tilled, and more importantly, the air was significantly colder. I shivered a bit in my armor at the biting wind. We passed over the river and I saw a lot of monox scurrying about. A few fishermen were working the water for a catch. We passed them all in a hurry as we accelerated over the river. I asked nicely to get a flyover of Streb and Dina said no problem.
Bella and I had small talk while we flew. It was nice to get to see her again. I really had not been spending that much time with her. She mentioned how she missed me a lot. She was clingy and sweet. I knew she loved me a lot and it was sincere. While she went on and on about the nursery she had planned for our eventual castle, I zoned out. Not that I was against her plans, mainly that I was worried about seeing Rakmar. I had no idea what to expect of him. I also pondered on how I would go about trading for slaves. Then I drifted to thoughts of the Knights of Fernlan. I was generally excited to see them again and head south. I wanted to start farming ice cats and yetis.
When we approached Streb I had an idea. We could create a frozen breeding cavern. It should fit our needs and purpose. I had
no idea how we were doing on hearts for spells, or if the sandworms had been fruitful in their parts. I dug my pen out and notated both the cavern and heart questions. Zack saw me writing and spoke up.
“Oh, the sandworms. Sorry I noticed the paper fighting the wind and saw what you were writing. Well, they have about the same potency as an ogre heart. They are roughly the same size and both creatures live underground. We found no use for the blood. As far as tree worm blood goes you have enough to sell now. There are some thirsty booksellers and librarians that would happily divest their coin in exchange… I brought plenty with us in case you wanted to gift some to Duke Riza. The man has been instrumental with Derfran and filling employment slots.” Zack said as he showed off his full bandolier. Numerous vials of green blood were filled to the top. “The troops were able to leave a lot of the tree worms at the Monox Isle. Our harvests should recover quickly. If not, there were plenty of other islands to move to and harvest there. Oh here comes Streb.”
Zack pointed out the village while Bella and I gazed down. The ryegrass was bright green in contrast to the wild land fall shrubs. The yakins and baby bison, or cows, were grazing on piles of condensed food. Rats scurried from moon pies, and a few workers tended the fields by spreading fish guts. It was a unique ecosystem designed to be the most productive it could, I saw a few small caverns converted to add mushroom growing. The exterior around Streb had been clear cut back a hundred feet and lumberjacks were chopping down more. Griffins provided aerial cover while crews worked outside the barrier. I saw a few wolves darting after rats and smiled. To the victor goes the spoils.