The last day of summer came before long. Albino rejoined his camp after another night of intimate activities and fire therapy, mending his recovering body. Brenda was already awake, packing up the tent only she seemed to be using… and Quionne, sometimes. Mostly when the Albi-Onna was on duty to protect the village girl. Fierawr preferred sleeping outside with Cormali and Albino (though he didn’t actually sleep). Predator, prey, and hunter all in one familial pile.
“Finally back? I half-expected you to chicken out.”
“Not today, Brenda. Not today.” He nodded to Quionne, perched on Brenda’s hairband. “Let us hit the knights real good today. Let them cross the Verq Arth path with normal air levels, especially the horses, and then drop them to dreamland by noon. We need all the time we can get… Cormali. Come over here.”
The cawdelli complied, eager to receive Albino’s affection. He had eaten from Fierawr’s catch today, causing a warm, fuzzy feeling in the Howler’s chest. Albino used the excess energy he gained from his meal to give Cormali all the strength she needed for their coming trials. The Verq Arth path ran along a steep cliff, so he worried about the recovering animal. Albino also used a calm, mellow energy that tightened her focus and expanded her senses. That mindset would help her clear the path without incident.
The knights were pleasantly surprised at their high energy levels. Still, the Verq Arth path between the Verq Arden and Verq Kaath villages kept even them from acting out. Sir Meriwether had even ordered the other squads to dismantle their carts and reinforce the sturdiest one. “Keep your pace slow and your feet steady,” Sir Meriwether ordered Albino, casting a look at Cormali. “Now is the last chance to leave the injured cattle behind before she drags your girlfriend to her death.”
“If my word held any sway over either of them, I would have done so already,” Albino confessed. Brenda stuck out her tongue, growing bold on Cormali’s back and with Quionne on her forehead.
Sir Meriwether gritted his teeth at her attitude. “Let’s hope your unruly beast doesn’t jump from the cliff. Why not put her in the cage-“
“Fierawr will not run off, and she will not fall.” Most importantly, Albino trusted the shaky cart as little as the knights. It was a solid construction of metal (mostly the cage) and wood (mostly the frame and wheels), designed to keep any inmates inside its bars. It wasn’t made for rough roads or treacherous cliffs. It was a wonder they even made it to Verq Bavas without losing their carts to this harsh terrain. Perhaps that spoke to their professionalism and ability (of the horses).
The Verq Arth path wasn’t particularly long. Fierawr cleared it several times within the first hour, always running back to Albino to receive his praise. Whether he scratched her chin, kissed her lips, or touched her ears, she was happy and redeployed immediately after, intent on exploiting this infinite reward glitch for all it was worth. The horses had gotten used to her, and Fierawr properly evaded the knights with room to spare. Albino found it endearing. The knights, however, were infuriated with the audacity of a mere beast to effortlessly do what they did with their lives on the line!
“Are you ever going to tell me why she can do all that?” Brenda asked Albino when the cart got stuck near a cliff. “You’re not going to claim all Howlers are like that, are you?”
“It would be scary if they were,” Albino said, hugging Cormali’s head to pass the time. “It is the same thing Quionne went through… no, is still going through. She has made it past the transitional period, but Fierawr still harbors some attachments to mortality.”
“…What?”
Albino closed his eyes. “Right. I forgot you know literally nothing about us… Or rather, I told you literally nothing. Let us begin with the basics. As a typical human, what do you need to survive?”
Brenda almost fell from Cormali. “Again, with the riddles?” Today was supposed to be a day for answers, not questions!
Albino blinked. “I thought you would feel prouder if you connected the dots yourself… Alright. Just for today, I will give the answer without leading you to them… What would happen if you did not eat? You would starve! Imagine how that process works. You take food in your mouth, it travels through your body, and somewhere between then and waste disposal, the food you eat turns into the life force fueling your daily existence. What do you think that life force is?”
Brenda rolled her eyes. “Albino-“
“Sorry, sorry. Old habits die slowly, but you have a picture of life force in your head, no? It is an abstract thing, but you somewhat understand what it does. Well, I am a being made of that life force. Life force is all around us. It permeates this world and all the others, and this life force is what I consume. I do not need to eat food, though that process also recovers life force – more so than through simple assimilation as I usually do.”
“Is that how you fought for days without sleep?” Brenda asked.
Albino nodded and placed a kiss on Cormali’s forehead. “I am sure we can proceed shortly, Cormali. Yes, Brenda, I do not need sleep like you do. Quionne does not, either. Fierawr… still does, though I could force her body to stay awake regardless. Look at it like this. Food turns to energy in your stomach, but I am made of that energy. When I share saliva or certain other fluids during nightly activities, that energy passes on directly. Fierawr does not need to convert it into energy as it is made of energy from the start. Rather than through sleep or food or water, her body recovers its strength through the energy I give off.”
Brenda blushed at the news. She had known they had an intimate relationship (how else could they have a child together?). Albino had never divulged more than the bare minimum information about those activities to her. Even their bath before departure had been really casual, though Brenda admitted to enjoying the sight at the time. Sadly, Albino hadn’t looked her way too much. Fierawr had demanded his attention from start to finish.
“I see your blush. This energy transfer has less shameful applications as well. Skin contact is not as efficient, but it works just fine. I used it to strengthen Cormali’s regeneration on top of all the herbs and medication Quionne procured.”
“I see,” Brenda said, mulling over the information. He was a being of energy? But he was right here, solid to the touch. “Did you… ever use this transfer on… me?”
“I always give off some energy but never deliberately as I did with Cormali, Quionne, or Fierawr. You should not have noticed anything, but… would you like to know what it feels like?”
Brenda paused, then nodded. This was no time to hesitate. Albino reached out for her leg and pressed his fingers into her thighs. He drew slow circles near her hips, directed his hands to her waist, and constantly pumped a steady supply of calming energy into the girl. Brenda felt the effects immediately. It was like drugs on steroids. Yes, she felt calm, but a rush of vigor permeated her body from her tippy toes to her fingertips. Albino’s touch gave her a refreshed feeling of awe-inspiring fulfillment beyond even a perfect night’s sleep, followed by a hearty breakfast. Brenda exhaled, feeling at ease to the bone.
“This is… incredible.” No other word even came close.
“I am glad you enjoyed it,” Albino said, looking at the knights. They had finally gotten the cart to advance again. “We can continue, but stay out of their earshot.”
Brenda absently nodded, surprised at her current condition. “Can you give me a massage against the riding pain later?”
“As long as you understand what areas of your body I would have to touch, I can do that.”
Brenda snorted. “You do not even look at me with lewd eyes, and… you can’t just show me a feeling like this and then deprive me of it. I would almost call it addictive.”
“…A state of energy is what all matter strives for.”
“How are you made of energy and matter, then?”
“Energy is in everything. Everything can become matter, so it stands to reason that matter can become anything in return. In short, this body is made from my energy. It is anchored to this world by the deity that governs it.”
“And the energy you give off is… also you?”
“In the same way you breathe in and out, taking part of your surroundings as your own and giving part of yourself up to your surroundings in a never-ending cycle, I… yes, you could say I similarly breathe energy.”
“I don’t really get it,” Brenda admitted. Albino shrugged and smiled, staying silent. She still didn’t know what he hid underneath his mask… This whole secrecy business had started with it, had it not? “Can you show me your eye? You said you would show me.”
“That I did. Perhaps we best leave that for later when the knights can not turn back and spy on our conversation.” Albino cracked his neck and flexed his fingers. His left shoulder was still stiff, and his body felt sore and powerless. “There are some other things I can explain verbally, though. Take this right arm of mine…”
Albino explained his circumstances, not allowing Brenda’s brain any breaks. His right arm, the concept of eternity, the actual size of this world, what the Albiverse was, his purpose in this mortal world…
“What do you mean by Exodus? Why here? Why me? Why Fierawr? Why Quionne? How do you choose?”
“I do not choose. I go through every mortal, one by one… until they are all safe and secure in the Heart of the Albiverse.”
“…And you will marry all of them?”
“Your concept of marriage probably does not mean the same thing we will do, but it comes close.”
Brenda’s mind raced. She tried to understand Albino’s explanation, but Brenda couldn’t keep up. She tilted her head. “But what about all the people who died in our long history?”
“They come later. My current target resides in Verq Lowtown.”
Brenda decided to ignore the contradiction of dead folk following after the living. “What does that mean? You took Quionne and claimed Fierawr, but you say there is another target you need to focus on?”
“Mortal worlds are usually closed off from the rest of the Albiverse. These barriers only weaken in rare circumstances toward the end of a world’s life. When that happens, the individual in question can be broken free from the world in a long process we call an Exodus. At some point, the world realizes the target will only disrupt the peace, and finally, the Exodus succeeds.”
“…You won’t get angry if I don’t understand any of that?”
“Not at all, Brenda. Thank you for trying.”
Brenda chuckled at her own ignorance. “What other choice do I have, dear husband?”
“Not yet, Brenda. Not yet.”
“But Quionne can call you names all she wants?”
“Obviously,” Albino said to much proud fluttering of the butterfly in question. “I love that woman with all my heart.”
They talked long until after they cleared the Verq Arth path. The knights grew bolder and cockier in response which led to Albino and Quionne mercilessly robbing them of any air to speak. It didn’t take long for them to collapse, citing the rising tension and stress of the Verq Arth pass as a reason.
As the knights wobbled around and built their tents, Brenda smirked at the sight. “We should have done this from the beginning.”
“We do not want them to suspect any foul play from our side. My insolence and insubordination taunt them sufficiently.”
“If you say so.”
Albino’s group spent their time in a cuddle pile until the knights were fast asleep. Albino and Quionne released their elementalism around the horses but kept a thin veil around the twenty-seven men.
Brenda tapped her foot, her arms crossed. “Is it time yet?”
“…Are you certain you want to start with my eye? It might… alter your opinion of me against your logical will.”
Brenda snorted, taking it as another stalling tactic. “Like what? Mind control? I can handle it, so come at me!”
Albino shook his head. No mortal could handle mind control. That’s what mind control was all about… He shook his head. “If a child ordered you to kneel before him, would you do it?”
Brenda frowned. After a minute of this, she sighed. Albino couldn’t stop himself, huh? “No. I would not do it.”
“And if it was not a child who gave the order, but the king?”
Brenda shrugged. “Obviously. It’s the king!”
“Exactly. If you look at my eye, you will feel what I truly am, and it will alter your perception of me forever.” He nodded at Quionne. “Take Cormali and Fierawr away. They are not ready for this.”
“Yes, my Master!”
Fierawr was reluctant to part with Albino, but Quionne eventually got her to leave with promises of woman-on-woman bonding time. Cormali came with them because she had nowhere else to be.
Albino and Brenda locked eyes and held hands. After several deep breaths, Albino released his mask with a shudder. His right eye was unveiled for Brenda to see, and she lost herself in its fiery depths.
Golden arms like the sun’s rays danced around Albino’s eye as though alive. The eye itself was a molten inferno of heat made incarnate with a dark slit of endless darkness in its center. In this void, Brenda heard the voices of people she intrinsically recognized yet were entirely alien to her. Brenda’s body shivered and convulsed, the magnitude of Albino’s being imprinting itself upon her soul. How insignificant she was, a mere mortal from some little village! Her body was forced to bow, her breath shaky and her heart drumming wildly.
“See? Even without an order, you bow to me.” Albino pulled Brenda back to a seated position, forcing her to confront his eye from close up. This time, she also saw numbers and letters in its depths, somehow knowing their contents despite the unfamiliar language (and her inability to read or write). “…What is that?”
<< Maximum traveling speed: Level 54. >>
<< Current bonus per level (27/27): +2 meters/hours. >>
<< Current total bonus: +108 meters/hour. >>
Albino shook his head with closed eyes. The mask rematerialized, covering his eye from Brenda’s sight. She breathed out, finally free of its powerful hold… at the same time, her body and mind longed to see the bright fires in Albino’s right eye again. Just once more! Albino broke her out of those thoughts with a kiss on the forehead. Energy poured into her, giving her strength and returning reason to her.
“I do not think today is the day for more. You looked at my eye, and you are still here… You do not seem frightened, just in awe. Please, do not become another Quionne. I enjoy our friendship. I would be thankful if you continued to be my friend, not my cultist.”
“…Now and always.” Emboldened by her experience, Brenda returned Albino’s forehead kiss. This man was her destiny. Any doubts were released from Brenda’s heart. She would marry him and no other. She would be his friend before all others. She was his… forever.
The rest of the return trip took longer than the knights had expected. The main reason was the exhaustion of the horses. Albino regretted putting the animals through this, but it was less evident that the mountains were not at fault for this phenomenon. The knights never stayed long in the villages that littered the road to their destination. The beds were more comfortable than the bedrolls they slept in on the road, but Quionne suffocated them near death. The few times the knights had the strength to demand a woman, they fell asleep before doing anything.
So they pushed on, breathing better as the mountainous villages gave way to larger towns with less treacherous paths connecting them. Albino and Quionne kept them short of breath for as long as they dared… but their excuses ran out when Verquuva Savante, the capital of the Verquuva Voohrdom, appeared on the horizon.
“This is the difficult part,” Albino warned his companions. “They will want to split us up, but we stay together until I say otherwise. No matter what.”
His expectations rang true when they reached the main fort. The gates had been open and inviting before their arrival, but the moment Albino’s group was inside, the facade fell. The gates fell shut with a loud bang. Vigorous barking and cackling laughter announced the arrival of another figure strolling towards them.
Greetings and salutations! You have earned my eternal gratitude for reading this humble mortal’s story. If you enjoyed yourself, I will have done my job well. If not… well, there is always room for improvement.
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