With a disappointed sigh, Leon put away the charred remnants of his most recent attempt to create true Adamant.  He swept the bits of lightning-blackened steel into a drawer in his temporary workshop, right with several other piles of similarly destroyed metal.

In the past two months, in between seeing to his duties as King, he’d been flying around the island whenever word came in of a large storm.  So far, however, despite all of his preparations, he had yet to succeed in making his new sword.

He was running out of time, but as he leaned back in his chair, he found that he was too tired to care.  So, he got to his feet and walked right out of his workshop without another thought.  It was about noon, and in his search to find something to occupy his mind with that would help him clear his head, he soon found just who he needed.

Only a few minutes later, he walked into one of the smaller courtyards that Elise had been using as her office.  A long, low table stood at one end, with several chaise lounges next to it upon which Elise and whoever she was meeting with would recline while discussing business.  She’d not only taken it upon herself to act as their household’s seneschal but had also occupied herself with aiding in streamlining the production of the various alchemical materials that they’d taken from their villa back in Occulara.

Elise was meeting with a seventh-tier Raven when Leon arrived, and the Raven, his entourage, and all of the servants in the courtyard immediately stopped what they were doing and bowed.  With a practiced wave, Leon had them return to their duties while joining Elise in her seat.  She leaned forward, letting him slide in behind her, before leaning back and letting him wrap his arms around her waist.

“Husband,” she whispered breathily.

“Wife,” he smilingly replied, his day already brighter just for having visited her.  “I hope I’m not interrupting?”  He cast his gaze over at the Raven.

“Not at all, Your Majesty,” the Raven replied.  “I was simply ensuring that the next batch of thunder wood will arrive on schedule.”

Leon’s smile widened slightly.  The first batch of thunder wood that Tikos had made had been finished the month before and been quickly delivered to the Ravens so that the wood could be properly integrated into the new arks.

“Has construction started?” Leon asked.

“Just a few days ago, yes,” the Raven replied, the sun sparkling on his dark skin as he smiled in pride.  “We’ve been hurrying to complete those that were already partially completed, but we can only go so quickly without sacrificing standards.  Still, the Ten Tribes gained four arks in the past two months, and six more will be completed in the next two months.  All of those arkyards will then make arks incorporating the new materials that we’re receiving.  By the timetable we have, we will have completed eleven new war arks and five new transport arks in six months.  Additionally, we are on track to finish seven of the newer-model arks in the same time frame.”

“That’s wonderful news,” Leon said.  “Arks are the greatest weapons we can bring to bear.  To have so many will only help our cause.”

The Raven bowed his head and whispered, “Indeed.  The only real bottleneck that we’re facing is thunder wood, which is the reason for my visit.”

“They just need assurances that they’ll get the material that they’ve been promised when they’ve been promised it will arrive,” Elise explained.  “As I’ve been made to understand it, the Ravens-of-Hail-Hall don’t like building arks without all the materials they need to build those arks already stockpiled.”

The Raven bowed his head again and said, “We don’t.  When it comes to arksmithing, we like sure things.  The uncertainty of not having the needed materials in hand yet is giving some of our more orthodox arksmiths serious conniptions.”

“They’ll get their thunder wood,” Leon declared.

“Of that, I have no doubt,” the Raven replied.

“Let’s finish, then,” Elise said as she sat up to address the small stack of papers on the table in front of them.  From listening to the end of their conversation, Leon learned that most of those papers were receipts for the delivered thunder wood and reports on how that thunder wood was being used.

As far as he could tell, the thunder wood was being reserved for only the most important systems that it could aid: the engines and weapons.  With incorporated thunder wood, they’d be able to squeeze more power out of their engines, allowing the arks to be larger and carry more weight.  They weren’t exploiting the former quite yet, but the latter meant thicker armor and more Lances.  If Leon’s last ark was anything to go by, about half a dozen Lances were standard on a typical Tribal war ark, while the new arks would have ten—four to a side and two pointing forward.  The amount of armor on the ark would also nearly double—though it had already been thin enough that this didn’t represent nearly as much of a gain as it seemed.

Still, Leon hoped that their arks would be able to take more than a single shot from Imperial arks without having to rely upon power-intensive shield systems.  It had struck him quite greatly seeing how easily the Imperial and Tribal Lances had torn through the arks in Sunlit’s ambush, and he didn’t want to see a repeat of that performance.

With the receipts signed and written assurances made that the next batch of thunder wood would be ready for transport the following month, the Raven departed, he and his adjutants bowing to Leon and Elise as they did.

“Have you any more meetings today?” Leon asked as he slouched a bit, pulling Elise closer as he did.

“I have some time,” she replied.

Leon sighed and relaxed a bit more.  He glanced at the few servants and secretaries still there and ordered, “Give us some space, we’ll call for you if you’re needed.”

A moment later, he and Elise were truly alone in the small courtyard.

“So,” he said, “how are things going?  You’ve clearly settled in well.”

Elise giggled.  “Not quite as much as I’d like people to think.  I miss my mother and father, but being able to call her with the comm lotuses is good.  I know that Valeria misses Justin more than she lets on, but she calls him every now and then, too.”

Leon fought off a scowl at the mention of Justin.

Elise almost certainly noticed, but she proceeded on as if she hadn’t.  “I miss our old home and the people we hired to take care of it.  Our new staff treats me a little too respectfully, honestly.  They’re all determined to be servants, not friends.”

“Understandable,” Leon said.  “You’re a Queen, now, not just someone who’s extremely well-connected with a powerful merchant’s guild.”

Elise groaned as she stretched out, then cuddled closer to Leon.

In a slower and more relaxed tone, she said, “Land has been set aside and farms for our alchemical herbs have been set up.  The Bison Tribe has been extremely welcoming on that front.”

“Getting access to better potions and all sorts of other potions that Helen can make is surely a massive boon in their mind.”

Elise hummed in agreement, a lazy smile crossing her face.  “Tikos is expanding the thunder wood groves.  I had a Hart here a few days ago asking if they could set up some groves in their forests.”

“I have no problem with that,” Leon replied.  “I’m not sure how Tikos will take it, though.  Those trees have specific requirements that I wonder if anyone but a tree sprite could see to.”

“Tikos had some ideas on that front,” Elise replied.  “They can use certain lotuses that Tikos produces to prepare the trees.”

Leon frowned a moment in thought.  “I wonder if those lotuses can be produced in any other way?  I’ve only ever seen Tikos use lotuses from their own body before, and even then, the trees often need some internal rearranging that only our tree sprite friend can see to.”

“Some land has been set aside in Jaguar territory for experiments in growing those lotuses without Tikos’ direct involvement,” Elise explained, intriguing Leon mightily.  “Tikos has also expressed interest in finding any local tree sprites who they may be able to sway.”

“Oh?  That’s surprising… but I suppose it shouldn’t be.”

“We’re asking a lot of them.  Tikos can’t be in more than one place at a time, so there was always going to be a need to divide the labor.  As our techniques are, they still demand tree sprites.  Tikos is our only tree sprite, so if we want to divide labor, we need more tree sprites.”

“Are there even any tree sprites on this island?” Leon wondered.

“I’ve asked around,” Elise answered.  “They’re rare, but they can be found in a few deep, dark places on Kataigida.”

“If Tikos thinks it’s a good idea, then we can see to it.  Not without proper guard, though.  Let’s make sure if Tikos has to go anywhere, they have a proper force of Tempest Knights to watch their back.”

Elise took a deep breath, turned her emerald eyes to Leon, and said, “You might want to talk to Cassie later.  She’s been dealing with a lot of elders who want to talk about her ‘intentions’.”

Leon’s eyes immediately narrowed.  “What do you mean?”

“They don’t quite trust her.  But she’s doing, I think, an admirable job at representing her Empire to the elders.  I’d say most are being reassured that the truce will be honored.  But dealing with so much is leaving her stressed.  I think she needs some time alone with you to get back into the right headspace.”

Leon cocked an eyebrow.  “I would’ve thought that you’d want to monopolize my time.”

“Please, I’m not so greedy.  I want you as much as possible, but Cassie, Val, and Maia are my sisters-in-law now, and as the first wife, I have to set the example.  But… if you have some extra time, I wouldn’t mind getting myself a piece of you…”  She punctuated her statement by giving Leon a quick love bite on the jaw.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Leon said with a wide smile.  After a moment, though, his expression turned more serious.  “You know, there’s actually something I’ve been meaning to bring up with you, something that Val’s been bugging me to get to for a while…”

“I was going to ask about that, she’s seemed a little frustrated with you of late.”

Leon nodded, then went silent as he took a long, deep breath, then another, and then a third.  “I… am… well, I…”  He paused and took a moment to gather all of his courage.  “I’m ready to h-have… kids…”

Elise froze in his arms, and then slowly her head turned to face him.  Her eyes were wide, unbelieving.  Her mouth hung open slightly in shock.  She stared at him with such surprise that Leon wondered for a moment if he’d accidentally broken his wife.

And then she exploded into a fit of laughing, crying, and joyous shrieking.  She threw herself against him, pressing her lips against his, and pushing him down to that she could straddle his hips easier.  She constantly had to separate her lips from his as she laughed in triumph and delight, but she only once pulled away from him for longer than a second, and that was to grab Leon’s hand and place them on her chest.

“It’s…” she intensely said as she mashed her face against his again.  “About…” she moaned as she did her level best to press as much of her body against his as possible.  “Time!”

Leon did his best to respond to her as vigorously as he could.  It wouldn’t do in his mind to respond to this with anything less, not after he’d finally made his decision to start trying for children with his ladies known.  Of course, since it was Elise, he was always more than willing, but that was beside the point.

As they made out, their hands roamed each other’s bodies, undoing clothes and running over skin.  Elise’s fingers traced Leon’s muscles, hungrily seeking out just about every nook and cranny of Leon’s well-built body.  Leon, meanwhile, ran his hands up and down, from thigh to neck.  Whenever his fingers brushed against her throat, she’d lean down into them, tacitly demanding that he go even further.  So, with one hand on a thigh and one softly closing around her neck, Leon pushed her back just enough to flip her over on the lounge.  She cried out in need and rapturous glee as Leon just barely held himself back from tearing her form-fitting dress right off her.

But undressed they soon became, and Leon, not wanting to put on the impression that he was only doing this out of obligation, dove right in.

Halfway through, he briefly recalled that the household servants were still in earshot, and became momentarily aware that his wife was not holding back her cries of pleasure, but as her arms went around his neck and her legs closed around his waist, he realized that he didn’t care that much.  He had much more important matters to concentrate on…

---

[It’s going to take a long time, and a lot of trying,] Maia sternly warned the group, her lack of clothes not presenting any kind of problem.  Then again, they were all gathered in their family’s main bath, which more resembled a small swimming pool than anything else, so it wasn’t like she wasn’t dressed for the occasion.

Leon, Valeria, Cassandra, and Elise were all there, listening to every word the river nymph said on the subject.  She’d been the most adamant about having children and had spent a significant amount of time researching the best ways to go about it—most inheritors of bloodlines weren’t as fertile as normal humans, not to mention a woman’s reproductive cycle slowed considerably as she advanced through the tiers.  Once-per-month on average became more like once-every-few-years, making reproduction even for two fully human high-tier mages require quite a bit of effort.

[At our level,] Maia continued, her demeanor deadly serious,[two humans would need to try for at least a decade on average.  Many need half a century of trying before they’re able to not only conceive but carry a child to term.]

“How is that going to work for us?” Valeria wondered aloud.  Of everyone there, she was the only one even somewhat dressed, though with only a towel wrapped around her body as they soaked in the hot water.  “I mean, as exciting as it finally is for us to be taking this step—”

“—Some of us,” Elise playfully interjected with a pointed look.

Valeria had made it known that she was perfectly fine waiting; she knew this was going to take a while and wanted the others to go first. Not that that stopped her and Leon from being intimate or the others from encouraging them to be together, often after he’d taken them a little too vigorously and they needed some time to rest. But she wasn't that into being intimate as a group, and so was fine with letting the others monopolize Leon's time, so long as he still at had at least some time for her.

“As exciting as it is for some of us,” Valeria continued with an exasperated, though good-natured, smirk, “we’re not all human, and one of us has not one but two Inherited Bloodlines! I don’t think any of us are even close to being with child, even with how hard we’ve been going this past week.”

“And we have been going hard,” Cassandra said with a sultry wink as she snuggled up against Leon and let her hand drift down below the water.  Leon chuckled and caught her hand before she could go too far, though he didn’t push it away.

“Business first, then fun,” he said, eliciting a pout from the Princess.

[I can’t say,] Maia admitted.  [Records indicate that most men of the Thunderbird Clan, and then later House Raime, didn’t have many children.  How often they tried is unclear, but I spoke with Nestor about it, and it seems that the Clan of Old had fertility treatments for women to reach their fertile period and for the men to overcome their own lesser, though not nonexistent issues.  He doesn’t have nor have I found any of these treatments.]

“How do the Ten Tribes do it?” Elise asked.

“I asked Nikolaos about this,” Leon said.

“You did?” Cassandra asked with genuine shock.  “When?  I’d have thought one of us would’ve pinned you to our bed for this entire week, when did you have time?”

“I have had some time for work,” Leon shot back with a sarcastic smile.  “Nikolaos indicated that they’ve generally relied on certain herbal medicines, but those have only gone so far.  Giving a married couple plenty of time to reproduce is a large part of the culture here, though we rarely see it since we’ve mostly been dealing with elders and Chiefs, who are usually older and have already had their children.”

[We need those herbs,] Maia declared, the other three nodding with varying levels of enthusiasm.  [Even then, it might not be enough.  You have two bloodlines, Leon.  Who can say how long this will take?]

“It will take as long as it takes,” Leon replied.  “I, for one, am more than willing to try until it finally works.”

“Of course you are,” Cassandra quipped.

Leon gave her an almost disbelieving look.  “Who is the one here with her hand on me right now?”

“That’s Valeria, clearly,” Cassandra said without a hint of shame, despite Valeria being on the other side of Elise from Leon.  Then, she gave Leon a hungry grin and pushed her hand lower from where he’d stopped it.

However, before things in the bath could escalate—as they seemed about to with Elise grinning as she slid up to Leon’s other side and Maia swam back to him from where she’d been speaking—one of Elise’s female attendants entered the bath, respectfully turning her eyes from the scene.

“Your Majesties!” she called out perhaps a little louder than was strictly necessary.  “The Honored Tree Sprite Exotikos has arrived!”

All thoughts of sex were thrown out the window.  Tikos had sent word that the next batch of Hesperidic Apples was rapidly ripening, and its return to Stormhollow could only mean one thing.

The apples had been harvested.  It was time for Leon to see just what twenty Hesperidic Apples could do for him.

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