Bonded Summoner

Book 5. Chapter 11: Final Plans and All Hearths as One

Jake stared at the Conquest Map, standing next to Ophelia and Tanda. A little over one week had passed since the Adventurers arrived, and now they were sitting at 67%. The progress had slowed slightly, as Tartarus had some minor wins across the map.

Rookard’s wolves had now reinforced Warrior Brotherhood in the East Coast, the four parties fighting against the betrayers and undead. But after a few captures of them to create undead servants for Morwen, they still continued their hit-and-run tactics.

Instead, the undead spread the blight, and the Alliance were forced to spend time combating it. The change in the geography had allowed the enemy to set up camp within new deathly swamps, and uprooting the undead from there had become a challenge of its own.

So Morwen and Timone were forced to lead the armies and the Western peoples away, while dragging refugees around and protecting villages. Their goal was to protect life, capture the betrayers, and slow the enemy’s advance.

So far, they were successful enough that Jake was able to keep himself from moving that direction himself. Aisling had warned him that her visions were ominous if Clan Hart headed West. It was as if Jake’s efforts East prevented the enemy from acting on a horrible plot.

Combined with Morwen’s experience and success accomplishing their hit-and-run tactics, Jake figured the enemy was having a hard time finding the right moment to pounce. Hearthtribe was increasing the defense of all villages and city centers. Partial walls were being built, then CP spent to complete them.

Cascadia was more or less complete. They continued to build the walls higher, improving crenelations and fortifications for their siege equipment, for the moment. This was in addition to finishing up all the housing within the city.

Valtor and Amara were on the other side of the table, Mysticus and Zorina almost dancing around the top of it with their lights flashing, the same as when they made their predictions for the Greater Rifts. Nadessa looked on in interest, the childlike dryad conversing with Berri and Rhia.

Zorina proclaimed, “Both Greater Rifts have spawned. We have one week to assault both of them, or we shall be doomed.”

Valtor nodded. “We enter the end game. If you clear just one Greater Rift in that time, it should push us quite close to activating the Raid. You may not even need to defeat both, as in order to assault it, many large Rifts must be closed, the enemy armies gathering in their attempt to stop you.”

Jake asked, “Which is best to move on, or has the best results? I know Aisling said we should focus on the East. A vision she saw.”

Amara’s book body shook back and forth. “It’s impossible to read something so complex and give such a precise answer. However, Zorina had an idea for a divining that worked, we believe thanks to your Hearth enchantment empowering her. Assaulting East means less sacrifices.”

Ophelia frowned. “You mean less losses? Doesn’t that–”

Valtor interrupted, “No, she means fewer sacrifices. The enemy uses various rituals of sacrifice to empower themselves. Attacking either way, we cannot read the outcome. We just know that, for whatever reason, assaulting West, results in more sacrificial rituals being completed.”

Tanda looked at the map. “Weren’t the betrayers mostly west? I thought they were the ones doing all the sacrifices. My dad is out there, Morwen, Rookard, and Warrior Brotherhood. They have been slowing the betrayers, evacuating, and rescuing various Tribes.”

Jake added, “It’s surprising how many betrayers there really were. Combined with the undead, it’s not insignificant. Still, what about splitting my party’s efforts? Is that no good?”

Valtor shook his head. “That only brings more chaos to the reading. Mysticus is sure the calculations for splitting the effort or recalling our forces more than we already have on the West Coast are extremely dangerous. You can send more Adventurers, but they may be fodder for the undead armies. The forces you have there are well-coordinated.”

Jake reviewed the map. “So we head East with Vesuvius and our new Auril Heroes and tamers, then? Rifts are pushing toward Lakemere again from the Greater Rift, and the undead are gathering.”

Amara replied, “That might be for the best. Then, we leave the Elysians and those working toward becoming Auril Heroes in Cascadia and Harmony Peaks.”

Berri pouted. “But I wanted to see them fight! That’s no fair! I wanted to see a tree guy say: I am root!”

Nadessa frowned. “Fair? Also, did you mean Rootivian the Third? How did you know him?”

Berri’s pout got bigger, now realizing there really was a bark covered tree man that was named Root that she would be missing to see fight. At the very least, she would definitely call him that.

Ophelia chuckled. “I’m sure if you asked him nicely he would, Berri. Don’t mind it, Nadessa. It’s just her being her.”

Nadessa seemed to fully accept that with a smile and a nod, completely used to Berri’s reputation.

Jake reviewed the map one last time. “No sign of the Naga yet? This is definitely problematic. We know the enemy is using them.”

Tanda sighed. “Every attempt to check their known locations has found nothing. This is why Aisling and some reserves stay at Harmony Peaks, I’m sure.”

Blood added, “They are certainly under the enemy’s control. That we haven’t found them, means they are preparing to use them. They can appear anywhere on the map, using the underground rivers.”

Ophelia’s expression was hard. “We are using as much information as we can get, and we are all fighting hard.”

Jake nodded, looking over the map. He had split the forces the way he did because he knew they would work well together, their mobility assisted by the blimps or their parentage. He had balanced their forces on a variety of factors, from levels, speed, compatibility, and making sure there were no weaknesses easy to take advantage of.

He had kept Vesuvius from heading West, to keep the reptile beastkin from facing one another. The tainted betrayers couldn’t be converted or saved, and it would be too painful for his people. Instead, Morwen’s priestesses were much better suited to handling them, along with Rookard’s wolves, their there must be blood chant driving them with righteous fury.

There was a lot of things he’d have liked to change, but hindsight is twenty-twenty, as they say. If he knew they would have such a substantial upgrade to the blimps within a couple of days, he would have had Rookard wait before heading west.

Thankfully, with the tamed creatures following the valley path the Heart of the World created, they could keep up with following the improved blimps east. Vesuvius’s mixed forces would easily be able to keep pace with one another.

The Adventurers supplemented the East well, maintaining the status quo of various locations while Jake’s party made forward progress to the Greater Rifts.

Valtor shone with arcane light, the scripts and runes on his body and robes lighting up. “We Eternum may have provided our guidance, but Lord Jake has chosen this path. Our enemy’s machinations are wrought with complexity, but our people are empowered with righteous might. I’m confident Lord Jake and his wives’ strength will pull us through this war, we need only follow the path and fight with courage. All will reclaim their homes, and all enemies will be defeated.”

Rhia floated over toward her dad. “W-Wow, dad, that was great! You were actually cool for once!”josei

Amara’s page flipped, her runes lighting up. “It was!”

Their destination set, Jake made his plans. They would get ready for the final push for their assault.

***

Jake walked into Fhesiah’s cultivation room with her at his side, the one meant for the less-enjoyable kind. They had finished their Conquest and aid for the day.

Despite their efforts, many clans throughout the wilderness had been forced to flee. Rifts appeared everywhere, spawning undead and other dangerous creatures.

If not for the avian beastkin, Jake didn’t think they could manage scouting and keeping track of where the enemy made its efforts. But Tanda continued to coordinate people explicitly for this purpose, keeping lack of information from becoming a weakness.

“Ready to mark me again husband, painting me with your love?”

Jake smiled at his dragoness wife. She couldn’t help but make a small tease, and he couldn’t help but love her for it. Her Hearth wasn’t the only one being enchanted today.

His trials with the Eternum had taught him a lot. He managed to try various things, and now felt confident with enchanting both himself and his wives. Two facts made him ready.

The first was that removing Hearth enchantments was possible. The longer the enchantment persisted, perhaps the larger the effect was or the difficulty in removing. However, as the enchanter using his own divine hearth flames, he was able to remove them with his will if he was near them.

The second was that he had no problems adding additional enchantments in the future. This tracked with his instinct to enchant Fhesiah’s Hearth originally, reinforcing her Path. Her hearth had since grown, the small fireplace becoming more like a giant blast furnace.

She still hadn’t solidified her choices for her path. Somehow combining the claw and flames of dragons with the holy dark kitsune flames was going to be a complicated endeavor.

Jake’s choice for his path was much more simple. The only thing that was not set in stone for him was perhaps the number of wives, or hearth bonds he would have.

As his hearth core grew, so too would his soul, allowing him to perhaps have more room. He wasn’t sure what the future held, but he had chosen this path.

Fhesiah sat down, and shifted to her kitsune form. Her wings shifted into two furry tails, and her dragon tail shifted into the final one. Horns and elfin ears shifted to kitsune ones atop her head, and hair shifted to her deep purple color.

Jake raised his brow. “Why’d you shift?”

“Just felt like it. I might distract you less, too.”

He joined her on her cultivation mat, her torch floating near. Closing his eyes, he followed her bond until his mind arrived in her spiritual temple.

Now a proper palace, she was rapidly approaching what was called the great circle of the Foundation Establishment realm. When a cultivator reached that, they could create their cultivator core at nearly any time.

Of course, this was when the Framework would consider her level 25.

Her throne room was largely similar to how it was when she first created it, just larger. Thrones were replaced with ornate love seats and couches, allowing Jake and his family to relax intimately in front of the Hearth.

While the walls on opposite sides of the room originally had the kitsune and dragon mosaics, they now reached all the way along the walls and intertwined within the enchanted Hearth.

The energy contained within the entire temple reinforced her entire being, of what made her who she was. Now, the mosaics included her images of herself, the templates when she shifted between [Bloodline Transformations].

“I’m ready when you are, husband. To me, this is hardly different from us forming our Hearth bond. You are just reinforcing who we are, with what we mean to you. The same as when you created your Runebound States.”

Jake nodded. While the first time he had reinforced her path, this time he was accomplishing similar to what he did with the Eternum’s purifying conduit. This enchantment would be a mix of Demonic Runes and Scripts, meant to connect with Jake’s own Hearth.

Walking over to Fhesiah’s Hearth with her at his side, he willed his divine hearth flames through their bond. His flames entered into her Hearth, gathering and circling within.

His various enchantments where he had added her runes for her flames were still present, and perhaps even brighter than ever. Jake had left room for him to attach and connect the runes. Her hearth was fundamentally different from the Eternum, as he had apparently infused her Qi bricks with his divine flames.

Jake inscribed the runes and scripts on the hexagonal bricks, focusing on everything she meant to him. Fhesiah was his Passionate Sage, who would aid him with her wisdom and enthusiasm for all time.

Reinforced by her path, she could manifest her will to both create and destroy. Seeking the truth, Fhesiah sought both pleasure and enjoyment for herself and her family.

As Jake completed the runes, Fhesiah’s Hearth became even brighter. The powerful flames were filled with both warmth and love, the passion Fhesiah exuded and brought to Jake and his family.

Everything she was and hopefully would ever be was reinforced, enhanced by the divine flames.

Jake’s Divine Hearth Core was like a small flickering flame at its center. For him, it was a strange thing. Through his and Fhesiah’s efforts, they had created a true core of mana, a metaphysical sphere that held all the mana available to him, instead of a cloud that hovered in front of his soul.

But when he became Hestia’s Champion, it became a Hearth core. It maintained its spherical shape for the most part. But flames drifted off of it into the metaphysical area within his chest, almost becoming a gas-like cloud of mana again.

He could remove 99% of the flames, leaving very little at the center. That last percent was the actual core. As he had increased his core levels, this had nearly quadrupled in size. This was what he would now be enchanting.

Returning to his body with Fhesiah in his lap in her cultivator room, he now grasped onto the flames, and began etching his connection to her. Following the bond like a red string of fate, he enchanted the core where it connected.

Their bond was reinforced, and Jake’s soul was empowered. This now completely counteracted the effect of Jake’s void cells, bringing their connection back to what it was and beyond.

Fhesiah wrapped her tails around Jake, hugging him even tighter into her soft body. “I just love how you have entwined your Path with mine, and the rest of your wives. We now walk our Path together, our Hearths all as one. You hold us all together, empowering us and making us better.”

“It goes both ways. You all bring out the best in me.”

Jake knew now that he could find resonance nearly instantly with Fhesiah, their connection so powerful. His Runebound state would have a stronger influence than ever.

Their Hearth bond reached level four, and Jake knew if they aligned the right set of circumstances, he could probably use his powerful Summon, just like with Ophelia.

“That didn’t take long, did it? Let’s get the other girls done?”

Ophelia arrived, wearing her training outfit–a sports bra and tight leggings. Jake inscribed the runes and scripts for Ophelia, the Loyal Guardian. She was not just loyal to Jake–but to herself and who she was.

From the beginning, she had made Jake her Chosen to fight for what was right. Because she knew that he would do his best, even when it was tough.

Her vajrafire hearth core blazed in intensity, as he finished his enchantment.

Later, he would try to find a means to reinforce the other aspects of her path, working it out with her. For now, he moved on to inscribe his portion of the connection. Once again he followed his Hearth bond, reinforcing it with his enchantment.

Despite their connection improving back to where it was before his bloodline awakened, it did not improve to the fifth level. Still, he could tell it was strong, and once again his ability to find resonance with her for his Runebound State would be even more rapid.

Bloodberri then entered the room, along with Tanda. “Do me next! Of course, I should be the Super-Amazing-Biggest Saint!”

Tanda giggled. “Berri, you’re so silly. You want all that written on your Hearth?”

Ophelia chuckled. “Super and Amazing? That’s not a little much?”

Berri looked at her like she was stupid. “And biggest. Of course not, it’s only right? Ask anyone. Also, I thought this could make us what we want to be. I want to be the super-amazing-biggest saint.”

Fhesiah smiled. “I guess not the humble saint either? Still, the Saint was already a bit of a stretch, wasn’t it?”

Berri started. “That’s right! It should definitely be super-amazing-biggest-bestest mommy!”

Jake chuckled, as he focused on Berri. “When it comes to children or helping others, you are compassionate and selfless–even if they aren’t your own. But you bring a special energy to everything you do, your joy and charisma infectious. You are definitely my Radiant Saint.”

“O-Oh! I like it. Super-radiant-saint. I’ll take it. Let’s do it now!”

He then focused on Blood. She was still finding her way, having only been able to act in her own interests for a month or so at best. Even still, her focus on her sister, her lord husband and his desires remained.

She valued power, but she now devoted herself to the many responsibilities that went along with it. She had found her calling in aiding Jake and the beastkin people, assisting him as his queen.

Blood was Jake’s Devoted Monarch. Jake inscribed the runes, this time on their odd holy light and dark core. Not just a metaphysical object but a physical one, their core was like that of a monster within the center of their chest.

Their respective magics emanated through, as Jake inscribed their special enchantments on them.

Again, their Hearth bond was improved. His loving snake girls lavished him with a wonderful hug and a kiss, the two doing their best to convey their love for their lord husband. Jake returned his own feelings of love and affection, enjoying their strengthened connection for a time.

Last was Tanda. She desired to punish the wicked, to avenge those wronged by Tartarus. But her heart was boundless, filled with compassion and empathy. She sought harmony with his family, the world, and all people, fighting for and respecting the balance of nature.

Tanda was his Empathetic Avenger. Enchanting her odd Heathfire Ivy’s main flower, the flame within brightened as he reinforced her spirit, their connection becoming even stronger. Their Hearth Bond increased, as he connected her to his own Hearth.

As he completed the final connection, Jake’s Hearth swelled, his Divine flames blazing as if reignited.

Something began to shift or change, but as he monitored it with his [Arcane Eye] and Fhesiah watched with her Divine Sense, they couldn’t understand what. Whatever it was, he thought he had reached an equilibrium or balance, the flames seeming less chaotic than before.

Fhesiah’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Perhaps this is one of those things we’ll have to wait and see what it is at the next Tier. It doesn't look like your core will take that long to reach the fifth level.”

Jake checked his Menu, and didn’t see anything amiss. As each of the girl’s cores leveled, their [Energy Vortex] increased. The pressure within his core improved, their mutual connection gathering sending various mystical energies between one another.

Tanda had closed her eyes, just breathing and enjoying the connection as she rubbed up against Jake in his lap. “I think we’re closer now.”

Ophelia frowned as she tried to sense something different with Jake as well, “Well, your Bond did just improve, but–”

“No, I mean us. Jake’s mates. I feel like Jake has a part of us all, and that part is even closer or stronger than ever.”

Blood hummed. “I like that. I haven’t known you girls overly long, but I am already quite fond of you. None of you can replace Berri, but you all have a special place in my heart. I enjoy my time with all of you, and there’s no other I’d rather have at my side in a fight.”

The girls and Jake all hugged each other together, giving endearing compliments and expressing their admiration for one another. Jake quickly found himself in a cuddle pile, the girls each enjoying their closeness to one another.

Soft fur, feathers, and even sleek and smooth scales rubbed up against Jake and each of the girls. Jake had become stronger as a result of locking in his and the girl’s Paths, and his family had become closer than ever. Whatever challenges might come, the Hart family was now ready.