Bonded Summoner

Book 6. Chapter 19: Triumphant Return

Jake and his girls were standing in the forest within their Refuge, their mission to Ganestra completed. The fake sky created an atmosphere much like the outdoors, the connection to nature making Ava and Tanda feel at home.

Fhesiah was likely to arrive soon, so they were waiting to greet her. Dressed in their home wear, half gym and half relaxing outfits, each were lounging around and enjoying. Now, every girl was very obviously pregnant, with contented smiles on their faces.

Despite being the most pregnant, Berri was playing a game with Ira, hitting baseballs for it to fetch with its near instantaneous movement. At almost 3 months, if she were a human woman, she looked like seven or eight months pregnant, ready to burst at any moment.

Because she was also more than triple the volume of a human woman, that meant her baby bump was… bigger than a human woman–crouched down.

Tanda laid in her hammock, relaxing in the faux sun. Ophelia was next to her in her own hammock, reading a book as she waited. The two were quite similar, in that they were looking a bit past the half-way point in their pregnancy. Their baby bumps were small, but their bodies were bigger than a human woman.

Their normal appearance was nearly three meters tall like Jake, and so their relative baby bump was almost the size of a born human baby already.

Avalara’s lesser avatar was much like a cartoon princess, the many creatures of the Refuge gathering around her. Most of them were the smaller Highlands creatures: deer, birds, rabbits and similar. Jake spent some time touring the larger forest with her, killing time while they waited for Fhesiah to appear.

The family had spent several weeks on Ganestra recruiting and providing humanitarian aid, and the trip was largely successful.

Through a series of discussions and discoveries, they had gotten to the bottom of the ambush situation. Originally, they thought it sounded an awful lot like betrayers, or something like the Alisara situation they were presented with on Ariminum.

Suspecting the dark elves and lamia, Jake’s party secretly observed them before meeting with their leaders. But while underground, they discovered the real problem plaguing the world.

The upper world denizens had simply ignored the underground invasion, outside the dwarven and gnome owned territory. Even the Adventurers had vaguely refused to spend much time in the underground world, and so Tartarus used this extra leeway to its advantage.

Many underground creatures it spawned had tremor sense and similar, enabling Tartarus to master information on the surface.

Then, it was smart about how it took advantage of this information, doing what it could to not tip them off about how it was happening. It used many worms to expand the underground tunnels, increasing the already vast networks of caverns far beyond their original breadth and creating ambushes with the hidden paths.

The denizens of the underground world fought with urgency, and had even entreated for aid–but were largely ignored due to their original position. The dark elves, lamia, and arachne of Ganestra were in what many might consider Cold War status with surrounding nations, throughout their more recent history.

In the past they were often used for larger nation’s plots, and the underworld denizens had been opportunists through and through. Finding out about their plight and Bloodberri meeting with many, Jake had made a few of their leaders offers to join them on Highlands–another migration opportunity.

As to how Jake knew these people were telling the truth, the answer was simple.

Their underground cities were all devastated, and even the average citizen who joined the Framework was able to share an excellent Conquest Performance prompt. Of course, like Bloodberri, an average lamia was quite powerful. However, Tartarus was clearly targeting them, and they had fought hard and well in defense of their homes.

The lamia in particular were extremely excited to live underground on Highlands, to join the reptile beastkin who did the same. Even the arachne would join, much to Berri’s dismay. They all looked at her favorably, able to feel a special connection through Echidna.

There were some dark elves that were interested, and some would be joining them on Highlands. However, it appeared they largely would rather stay on Ganestra, very few interested in Jake’s Hearthtribe.

On the other hand, a majority of the spider and snake girls were interested. After all, the monster girls were much like Bloodberri, where they could only birth females. In the distant past, they had been just like the people of their world, enslaving men and similar. With the world of Ganestra largely united, they had ended the practice lest they be targeted by the large alliance of nations.

In more recent history, they instead had a much more mutual exchange with the upper world’s races for forming a mating practice involving pilgrimages above ground for finding mates, but they had largely stagnated.

The prospect of a people that would be much more interested in mating with them was exciting, the Highlands beastkin having a culture where Jake was certain the reptilian beastkin would be quite interested. But they did worry about losing their cultural identity, their sovereignty. There were several Queendoms, and they didn’t want to lose their established order and rulership.

Thankfully, after meeting them and feeling her power and Champion status of Echidna, they were happy to be under their new empress, Bloodberri.

Jake assured them that he would only rule with a light touch regardless of whether they moved or not, that outside of enslaving or sacrificing others they would be allowed to practice their culture. Several did push their daughters or themselves at Jake, but he held them off.

What he had learned through Fhesiah’s discovery of the hearth bond, meant he needed to be strict about whom he brought close to his heart. While a hearth bond wasn’t required with every wife, it was something that he personally could not help but desire.

It might just be his void bloodline talking, but he wanted powerful connections and bonds with the women he loved.

Jake’s empire was only just beginning to grow, already at three worlds. If he married every queen or princess that entered his sovereignty just for minor benefits, there wouldn’t be enough days in the year for him to spend a day with each of his wives.

Because as it stood now, within five or ten years, he might rule over dozens of Tier 1 and 2 worlds. How many princesses and queens would have been offered to him by then? It sounded thrilling, but every minute he would spend with some other woman besides his hearth-bonded wives felt like a detriment. He loved his current wives with every fiber of his being. How could he take away from them by frivolously adding every beautiful woman that crossed his path?

Thankfully, he knew his wives were very selective. Blood and Ophelia were certainly going to fight to ensure–

In a flash of golden light, Fhesiah appeared in front of Jake and Ava, a wide smile on her expression. She was in her kitsune form, her five lustrous tails dancing behind her. The red, gold, and black and purple flame sat in the center of her chest, her Passionate Presence washing over the family.

Wearing sunglasses and holding a purple sun umbrella that matched her robes, Fhesiah also carried several bags reminiscent of a recent mall visit held in her tails.

She looked like she just stepped off of an airplane carrying luggage, returning from a sightseeing vacation.

“Honey, I’m home! Back from my vacation.” She winked with a smile.

Jake was quick to sweep her up in his arms, a playful laughter exiting her lips as he kissed her. Her umbrella floated over them, as she returned his embrace.

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“Welcome home. I missed you.”

Ophelia closed her book and flashed over with a single flap of her wings. “We missed you! Welcome back!”

Fhesiah was quickly dog and snake-piled by the girls, adding their hugs and welcome homes. The feeling of familial love built, a warmth in the family’s chest for being whole once more. The five of them hadn’t been separated overly long at around seven weeks, but their sister-wife’s presence was still sorely missed.

Ira joined in welcoming Fhesiah, giving her a hug with its new arms. She pet its muzzle, happy to meet the new dragon once more.

Feeling it once more but also somewhat for the first time, a strong feeling of unity permeated the family’s very beings. Their hearths each began to connect to Jake’s, and for him, in this moment, he felt complete once more.

But it wasn’t just figuratively–when Fhesiah’s Hearth made its connection, his soul shuddered. Their connection was strengthened, and the runes around her hearth connection in the aperture of his soul blazed.

Jake was bathed in warmth and love, as Fhesiah’s Hearthian Bond finished being established, his soul strengthened and restored once more. The flames of Fhesiah’s path now appeared in all five of their hearths. A miniscule amount of the golden flame arrived as well, blending in with their divine flames.

Now, what was missing was restored. Jake knew he could form his hearth bond with Ava–

“Hold that thought, husband! I brought gifts for everyone!”

Gift bags flew out to all the girls and Jake. Inside was a cosmos sack and a few trinkets, which Jake had to use his new Qi to access. Lacking Divine Sense, he could only look inside the odd space with his Gaze. The other girls had a bit of trouble, but used their advanced mana perception to view the insides of the sack.

Berri exclaimed, “Oh, neato! So many pelts inside to practice with, and tons of monster corpses! Just what I wanted.” She licked her lips.

Fhesiah snorted. “Those are for crafting, not for eating. I have a special sack set aside for some…more enjoyable meals.”

“Yay! You’re the bestest sister, Faye-Faye!”

Blood rolled her eyes. “Hmph. For that comment, I’m not going to help you cook them later.”

“Aw, come on! All Jake’s lovers are the bestest, and that’s the truth! You’re the bestest of all time, forever and ever, besides Jake, the end. Okay? I mean it!”

Of course, they could tell she meant her words. Blood’s scowl hid a blush, as she folded her arms. “As if that would make me happy to hear.”

Tanda beamed as she looked over the many contents with her senses, her tail wagging. “There’s so many seeds, this is amazing! Oh! What are these crystal thingies, are they what Faye uses?” She withdrew one of the crystals, and held it in her hand. To Jake, it looked like a colored quartz crystal.

Fhesiah nodded. “Those store information in them, that you can read with divine sense. Each of them has various tidbits of cultivator knowledge, and I made sure each of you got something to help with your crafting! We’re going to need to find some way to transcribe the information, since the family is…lacking it. Hm, this is a strange problem.” She frowned in thought.

Ophelia had pulled out several weapons and armor, as well as ores and natural treasures, to inspect them. “There’s really a lot in these things. These must be worth a fortune?” Jake could tell she was excited to use her new Runic Crucible ability to refine these special materials, and make some new heavenly energy equipment.

Fhesiah pulled some items out of her own sack, from some expensive looking cultivator robes, to some mysterious treasures one after the other.

“In truth–we’re rich! The Battleground truly was a massive win, and I have everything I need for my personal progression for a long time–perhaps all the way until we pass the middle-point of this Tier. However, it’s difficult to pawn off all this stuff. I’ll definitely try to sell the best stuff, or use them to barter with the local cultivator clans to see if I can win them over. Don’t worry about wasting anything, and just use what you like for improving your skills–I already filtered away the truly useful items.”

Within Jake’s sack were various raw Qi-based crafting materials, information crystals, and weird treasures. He really wasn’t sure what to make of some of them, from weird flying contraptions to attack treasures made in odd shapes. Only the helpfully included tags from Fhesiah gave him any clue about what they were or how to operate them.

Who would want a hat that you threw like a frisbee and cut into things, or a statue that would grow after you threw it, for it to crush someone when it landed? There were also some unusual tools that seemed interesting that Jake would need to play with to understand how they even worked.

Fhesiah smiled at Jake. “You got the oddest stuff. I figured they might spark some inventions, or maybe you can modify them with your enchanting to be useful! Now, you said Ava was waiting for me to get back, right? Let’s not make her wait any longer!”

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Avalara had been looking over her sack with interest. There were many robe-like outfits, and also plants and seeds that looked like Fhesiah had picked out for her. When Fhesiah called out her name, she put down her sack and walked over to Jake with a smile.

“Yes, I am excited to join this bond for all of time.” She fingered her necklace. “You’ve already fulfilled my culture’s desire for our mates, and I would like to join you in yours. So the beastkin and I can be your family’s strength, and I can join this wonderful family in truth for all of time.”

Jake walked over to Ava, and held on to her waist as he kissed her lesser avatar. She made a pleased hum as she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and the kiss deepened. He bathed her in his feelings for her, his love for both her and her people, her world.

And his feelings were returned by the warmth of her love, her gratitude, and respect for her glorious hero, her stag that fought off the great enemy against all odds. The man who would protect her song for all of time.

Their hearths connected over their bond, the world core’s connection directly to his hearth over their bond. This lesser avatar in front of him had nearly nothing to do with this, but she was connected all the same.

Understanding what was happening this time, a piece of Jake’s soul and Ava’s was exchanged, the hearth of the world core becoming one with Jake’s.

Her energy then intermingled with the family’s her flame of conflict, rebirth and evolution, born of life and death auril and ignited with their triumph against the wicked enemy–the death god. A golden energy containing her nascent divinity, something almost as precious and powerful as the Divine’s flames.

For now, the energy just intermingled with their bodies, a warmth spreading within them. Much like the divine flames of Hestia or now Fhesiah’s flames, it suffused their bodies. It was a special form of auril, and it would take them some time to get to the bottom of how this would affect them.

Fhesiah had her eyes closed, looking and was already playing with the energy like many of the girls. “Damn, that was a bigger deal than I thought. That’s going to be difficult to top now.”

Jake frowned. “Top?”

“I got special gifts for you, husband! There’s more to come later, but here’s the big ones now!”

Suddenly, an urn, an even stranger lantern with suns and moons, and her… changed pill furnace appeared on the ground beside them.

“What’s–” Jake and all the girls looked over with interest. Just what were these three strange items?

But the urn and pill furnace suddenly opened and there was an explosion of motion, figures exiting the odd spatial devices bathed in a white light.

One stood firmly on the ground, an odd, red scaled creature with six limbs. It stood almost like a centaur at the moment, its almost-humanoid upper body nearly upright. Its claws were like a fist full of long daggers made of ruby, and it had them on its middle limbs as well.

Spikes of the red ruby-like structures grew around the creature’s body, almost like transparent plate armor. It had a muzzled face, that looked very much like the badgerdillo he had seen before minus the fur.

What Jake immediately noticed about this creature was how strong and dense its energy was, its aura savage and powerful. It was a being of heavenly energy, a demonic beast with the power over blood. Jake could even feel how dangerous the claws were, like the sharpness was a part of the creature’s dao.

Fhesiah had mentioned that these creatures, with strong enough bloodlines, could perform nearly a half-tier above a mana-based life form in certain aspects just like cultivator materials could, and this was easy to believe for him.

While not quite a boss monster, he could tell this creature was outstanding, and could easily compete with his Garuda in strength.

Excited about this gift of a potential permanent summon, he looked over at the other creature, which was floating.

It was a being of flame, a young woman in a meditative pose. Sitting cross-legged in the air, her hands were clasped out in front of her with her eyes closed. At Jake’s Gaze, her golden eyes opened, and a small, almost shy smile touched on her flaming lips as she returned his look with interest.

Her second Tier aura was also substantial, her power over flame special. It was like she was a living hearth, and he could feel himself drawn to this mysterious creature.

His thoughts were interrupted by another explosion of movement from the lantern took his attention, as dozens of tiny…flaming women swarmed out of the lantern. They flew and spun around Jake and each of his wives, the little creatures taking interest in each of their flames.

But they eventually settled on Jake’s Divine flame resting in his chest as the most interesting. They circled his body, nearer and nearer as they appeared to drink in the heat from his flames, and dance around one another. Their expressions looked joyous and laughing, though no sound resulted from their giggles that he could identify.

These creatures appeared to be nearing the peak of the first Tier. Their individual strength was surprising for their size, and their control over their flames was masterful as they played with the fire leaking from his chest.

“Look at that! They like you, Jake. So, let me introduce everyone. This here is Ruby, and I like to call her a blood badgerdillo! But really, she’s kind of a mutant, and…kinda not really that anymore at all. Still, she’s definitely one at heart! I thought you would like that, and so I nurtured her. So far, she only really knows fighting and eating, so living here in your Refuge will be a big change for her. Ruby loves to fight!”

She motioned over at the flaming girl, in a meditative pose. While she remained nearly motionless unlike her much smaller brethren, Jake could feel her interest in him and the girls all the same. He felt what he knew was her divine sense sweeping over him repeatedly, and in an almost excessive fashion.

“This is Sati! I found these fire spirits in a cave, gathered around a treasure. I took it, but offered them a place in my lantern here. She started out as one of the little ones, but really took to my flames and grew. I nurtured her with my pill furnace and she grew quite a bit more. Then, she earned some kind of inheritance in the Battleground, where she found some form of enlightenment. It seems to involve Yoga, and I think she formed an inner fire. I’m really hoping she teaches what she learned to the little ones. They’re…excitable.”

Berri snaked over to Ruby, and seemed to match her gaze for a moment. “I like this one! Nice to meet you!” She hugged the creature from the side, and to Jake’s surprise, Ruby awkwardly tried to hug her back. The beast appeared to struggle with managing her sharp claws, which scraped along Berri’s scales along her lower body.

Ruby backed off from the hug and seemed worried at harming her, frowning at her claws.

“Oh! Hehe, not used to hugs? That’s okay. Fighting and strength is both needed and fun, but it can’t be all the time. Faye said you fought a lot, right?”

Ruby seemed to nod at this, and Jake’s eyebrows were at the top of his head. This beast understood speech?

Fhesiah chuckled, then rubbed Ruby’s scales atop her head between the ears, causing the creature’s eyes to narrow in happiness.

“She’s smart and the Framework helps her understand, but this body is relatively new to her. Not only was she raised for battle in those heretical urns, it was a whirlwind of deadly battles near the end of the Battleground there. It may take some time for her to adapt to a more quiet life, but I bet this is where Jake and Jasmina can help. Go ahead! Bond her and Sati up.”

Jake motioned to the swarm of fire spirits. “And these? I have plenty of permanent summon slots, but not that many.”

Fhesiah chuckled. “Hm, well, I will keep these in my lantern for now, I have a summon skill of my own for them!”

Jake was intrigued by her having her own summon skill, but looked over to Ruby. “Alright. What do you say, Ruby? Do you want to become my summon? I’ll call upon you for battle, and we’ll fight the bad guys together. When we’re not fighting, you can stay here in the Refuge. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

Berri added, “Jake always makes sure everyone gets plenty of yummy food! Jasmina is also very happy!”

Ruby gave Jake a serious look, and he could feel her getting a feel for his blood–his bloodline. Her eyes widened in shock as his heart thumped, his odd void orbs stirring in response. Extra energies from the void were drawn, causing Ira to look over in interest. Jake got the feeling this creature might be able to help him understand his bloodline better than he did now.

The blood badgerdillo looked at Fhesiah, and she gave Ruby a smile and a nod. It appeared Ruby definitely held Fhesiah in high regard.

From her thoughts, it was largely because Ruby held a high amount of gratitude in her heart for how she was nurtured by Fhesiah through her tribulations in the urns.

Jake easily formed the glyphs containing his mark with his hearthfire, and began branding Ruby to make her his permanent summon. When it met with Ruby’s body, a savage aura met the mark–like a frenzy of claws scratching against it.

A low growl came from Ruby’s lips, but a slow exhalation of breath came from her as she stopped what Jake assumed was her body’s instinct to fight it. The mark landed on her cultivator core near her heart, making her his permanent summon.

Thanks to the newer feature in the Refuge, she stayed active within for the moment.

Sati then floated forward, and met his eyes with her own. Lowering her clasped hands, she bowed her head slightly. To Jake, this felt like a clear request for the same.

“Nice to meet you, Sati. I’m glad to have you fight by our side.”

He added the bond to Sati, feeling no resistance at the bond being added at all. Her flames brightened significantly as the mark met her core, something within her shifting as his golden flames met hers. She closed her eyes and seemed to smile in contentment, but moved back to her meditative pose.

Since becoming a Battle-nexus, Jake’s total permanent summon slots were numerous. He not only could fit these two new ones, but his forthcoming fusion summons and many more. Having many active at once was a drain, but the special features of his Refuge aided in this.

Jake was a bit excited to see these two creatures fight. He could feel their strength, and this was just before he buffed them up. Just how strong would they be once he did?

Lia’s eyes were narrowed at Fhesiah, who had a wide smile on her face. Even with her thoughts somewhat hidden, Jake could somewhat guess what she was thinking–and so could Lia.

“Why do you seem so pleased with yourself? It’s pretty great that you brought such strong summons for Jake, and we’re happy about it, too. But why are they all females, even the little sprites?”

Fhesiah clutched her chest, like she was wounded by Ophelia’s words. “Why Lia, just what are you saying? Of course I’m happy to bring such wonderful gifts for my husband, they just happen to be female. Just look how happy he is, and how happy they are! Jake has several summons, from the Garuda to Jasmina, and these girls are no different. What’s the problem?”

Berri frowned. “What’s the big deal about them all being girls? All lamia and arachne are girls too.”

Ophelia’s eyes narrowed on Ruby, who was still frowning at her claws, and seemingly shifting the blood and her gem-like protrusions. Sati just had her eyes closed in meditation, her smile in contentment.

Lia and Faye had a brief mental conversation about Ruby and Sati’s expectations before she relented a bit, her features relaxing. “Can they talk? They seem to understand us just fine.”

Fhesiah nodded. “They should be able to, their intelligence is certainly more than enough. In truth, I just haven’t had the time to teach them–we were fighting for our lives, after all. I will spend some time teaching them a means of communicating with the rest of you, and teaching them more about the overall world. For now, I have just been sending them mental images of what I want them to do with Qi and Divine Sense, and they can in turn do the same with me. I’ll really need to look into our family’s… Divine Sense problem.”

Tanda’s tail was wagging as she stood in front of Ruby. “I’m excited for our new friends, these two will be very helpful! What are we going to do now, anyway?”

Blood hummed. “That’s a good question. Finally, we’re all together again. We can’t involve ourselves in the war for now, so that just brings us back to our original projects. Then, just a bit longer until the little ones…” She rubbed her belly, a feeling of pride filling her and all of Jake’s wives.

Berri beamed. “Soon, the egg will come out! Then we’ll be able to make another, and start our own Hart monster-daughter baseball team!”

Fhesiah smiled, and wrapped her body around Jake’s side, her soft body full of warmth. It was only a few weeks for her since she last saw him, but she was certainly due for some of his time, at least from her perspective.

“And I will soon join you! Right, Daddy Jake?”

Jake only kissed her in response, one filled with more than a little heat.

“Mmm, so good to be home! And Ava might want to join me as well? Can this body in front of us become a mommy too?”

She looked over at Ava’s lesser Avatar. The deer-nymph woman smiled, her ears fluttering up and down, and her tail swishing. “I’d like to! As it turns out, this one can. My primary avatar can as well, but I’m not so sure me or my dear mate are quite ready for that.”

Jake asked, “Why’s that?”

Ava’s words came with a bit of pride, but also longing, “Why, when that happens: I shall birth a new world. It is not a task to be taken lightly.”

The family was both shocked and intrigued by this detail, but Faye was quick to move past it. Her body had long-since floated into Jake’s arms, her tails beginning to caress Jake’s thighs and move near his groin.

“Wonderful! Well, I would love it if you wanted to join me on this special occasion–you know, sharing is caring, and the more, the merrier with Jake, after all!” Fhesiah looked at Ophelia as she said this, her voice taking on a teasing tone. Lia paled a little as she realized Fhesiah had a better insight into what might have been said with her away than she might have imagined.

Ava sauntered up to Jake, and he was fine to add and lift her with his other arm. She smiled at Fhesiah, being held up from the other side. “I know my mate desires to celebrate and reward you for your hard work, so I’m happy to aid him in this. We can take care of our lover, and enter motherhood together.”

Fhesiah was beaming with excitement. She looked over to Bloodberri and the rest, who were taking interest in the items within the sacks still, or in the case of Blood and Berri, trying to communicate with Ruby a bit more.

“Toodles, girls! Enjoy the gifts, take care of my friends, and I’ll see you all hopefully much later–unless you wanna join!”

Jake teleported away with his two lovers in his arms, leaving the girls with Sati and Ruby–and the fire spirits running amok in the forest. They weren’t hurting anything, but they were rambunctious and chasing around the wildlife.

Tanda giggled. “So full of energy! Oh, that one started a fire!”

Sati’s eyes opened, and the flame was snuffed out with her mere gaze. She pointed over in the distance, and the flame sprites instantly stopped their playing, before heading in that direction.

Ophelia frowned in thought. “Ah, the hearthfire tree forge. They might like it there. What about you, Sati?”

Sati nodded, and floated toward the forge.

Ophelia watched her float away. “Sati is easy to take care of, but what about Ruby?”

Berri patted Ruby’s head, much like Fhesiah did. “What do you say, Ruby? Are you hungry? I have plenty of Jake’s cooking, and even some raw stuff you might like!”

Ruby nodded, and Blood hummed as she looked over Ruby’s large claws. “Those claws look deadly, but they are not great for eating around polite company, are they? We’ll do our best to teach you.” She spread her own claws, which were certainly deadly on their own, before taking her off to a picnic table they had in the forest.

Ophelia opened her sack, and smiled. “Guess now is as good a time as any. Let’s check out some of this stuff!”

Tanda’s tail was wagging. “Yes! I saw so many interesting seeds! This should be exciting, our sister really got a lot for us.” She sighed, one full of relief. “I’m so glad she’s back and well.”

Ophelia snorted. “Was there ever a doubt? Still, I do feel much better now that she’s back. Now I feel like I can really relax.”

Tanda rubbed her belly, “Our Clan both grows, and becomes stronger. Let our hearts beat as one, and let’s try out that new forging skill of yours, Lia!”

The two headed to the forge, full of excitement. The family finally whole, they could relax further and focus on their passions and motherhood.