Royal blooded 2 chaos ri.., p.1
Royal Blooded 2: Chaos Rising, page 1
The Story So Far
Eli Grayson used to be a relatively normal man. He lived in suburban Toronto and owned his own business building AI applications for a living. During one of his morning runs he saw a man breaking into a house and attacking its inhabitants. He intervened, putting his years of martial arts training to use to stop the man.
That act caused Eli’s world view to come crashing down. The man revealed that he wasn’t a man at all - he was a satyr, or a half-man, half-goat demon hybrid – and an assassin. As they fought, Eli’s latent magical powers awakened and he had a vision of a mysterious being named ‘Athena’, who informed him that he was something called ‘Royal Blooded’. He ended up eking out a victory against the satyr by blasting golden beams of pure magic through the satyr’s throat. Afterwards, he was nursed back to health by the 3 attractive inhabitants of the house – a high elf princess named Aria Hightower, and her handmaidens: a coldheart phoenix named Freya, and a dryad named Lilliflora (or Lilly for short).
Whether due to his heroism or natural physical attraction, the 3 women took a liking to him and introduced him to the hidden world of magic and magical creatures. He quickly learned about mana, a mysterious energy which was absent from Earth but present in every other realm. It had several fantastical properties, including mutating magical beings to have longer lifespans and changing the ratio of women to men to about 6:1 – causing polygyny to be the norm. The fact that Earth had no naturally occurring mana meant that most humans couldn’t hold it in their bodies, which left them unable to cast spells.
Eli was different though – as a ‘Royal Blooded human’, a quirk in his DNA meant that he had mutated the ability to absorb mana from others, whether it was in the form of a spell or an enchanted item. He wasn’t immune to magic per se, but his mana absorption ability meant that he was far more durable against magical spells than most. He could also learn spells across any of the various types or ‘schools’ of magic much faster than others, mastering in months what normally took others years or even decades. All told, a fully awakened Royal Blood was a force to be reckoned with, and several of the most prominent humans in history had secretly been Royal Bloods.
His awakening immediately made him a threat to the larger magical community. Aria confronted him with the fact that the ruling magical council would likely want to execute or enslave him to keep him from telling other humans that magic existed. She told him about how the council believed that humans were xenophobic and terrified of anyone different from them. Magic users certainly fell under that category, and if humans knew about magic they’d hunt down and exterminate every magic user they could find. While it was difficult to imagine a lone regular human standing against a spellcaster or a magical being, regular humans greatly outnumbered magic users and their ever-advancing weapons technology would more than make up the difference in a fight. In an all-out war, the magical community would be gradually destroyed.
For that reason, the council zealously defended the secret of magic. While they wouldn’t learn of Eli’s awakening immediately, eventually one of their magical wards would detect him and they would come for him. A fully awakened Royal Blood would give them pause and be able to demand better options, but with his nascent abilities he was nowhere near powerful enough to resist them.
As a show of appreciation for saving her life Aria invoked an ancient elven tradition, claiming Eli as her ‘fiancé’ to justify taking him through a magical portal back to the elven realm to hide – at least until he could control his magic well enough to stand up to the council and demand a 3rd option. While the move shielded him from the council, it embroiled him in elven politics of her home nation of Eyilean. A particularly virulent anti-human faction led by Aria’s brother Anar seemed determined to force him out, making him as uncomfortable as they could at every turn. He learned that Anar’s hatred of humans had been encouraged by Princess Icitra, a member of the royal family of the rival elven state of Avallonè.
Despite setbacks, he integrated himself into elven society – learning their language and customs. He practiced magic with Talaedra, a wizened wood elf woman who had served the Hightower family for centuries. He won over Aria’s father - King Faelor Hightower - and his 3 wives by helping link the satyr assassin which came after Aria back to the numbered bank account which paid him.
In between training, learning, and investigating he found time to enter an elven martial arts tournament called the Verinthas. He quickly became a minor celebrity after defeating a powerful female orc warrior named Naz and a female desert elf named Zebeyana bint al-Ramil. During the tournament, Zebayana – or Zee, as she preferred to be called – shared with him that she worked for the Avallonè royal family as a double agent embedded with the CIA, passing human secrets back to the elves. She also revealed that Anar had tried to pay her to kill him during their fight, but she’d refused. Before they could confront Anar with the accusations though, he disappeared. Eli ended up defeating Zee in the final round of the Verinthas and was given an enchanted ring as a reward which he could use as a sort of ‘mana battery’ to replenish his mana supply.
Meanwhile, Eli’s ‘engagement’ to Aria blossomed into a real relationship. To both of their surprise, after the two of them had sex for the first time Eli gained access to her spatial magic, giving him control over gravity – something that eluded him during his magic lessons. Their bonding also gave Eli the ability to assume the form of a high elf. Not only that, it increased Aria’s power, allowing her to master new spells at an accelerated rate as well as empowering her existing repertoire of spells.
After their first night together, Aria’s duties as a member of the royal family called her away to negotiate a trade deal with the leaders of Coldwater, a city of magic users which was concealed on a floating iceberg in the arctic ocean on Earth. Eli accompanied her, along with Naz, Lilly, and Freya – the former of which Aria had hired as a bodyguard, and the latter of which was born and raised in Coldwater. During the journey, Aria encouraged Eli to take the other women as his girlfriends and form a harem – something which she revealed each of the other women were interested in.
She overcame his initial hesitance to the idea by reassuring him that given the gender disparity, it was normal for male magic users to have multiple female partners. On their last night in Coldwater Eli kissed Freya, but they were interrupted before they could do anything else. Aria was brazenly attacked by human assassins and was only saved by the quick thinking and decisive actions of Freya and Eli – albeit at the cost of one of Freya’s sisters lives. In the aftermath of the attack, Freya decided to stay behind in Coldwater and mourn her sisters passing with the rest of her family while she helped to rebuild the city.
Returning to Eyilean, Eli was confronted by the fact that while his plan had been successful in saving both Aria and Coldwater, it had also cost Freya’s sister her life. Aria comforts him, recommending that he speak to Lilly, who she reveals studied as a psychologist. The two of them confess their love, and Eli resolves to redouble his efforts to learn magic so that he can protect the people he cares about. Those lessons are put to the test several weeks later when a group of humans with guns attack the palace, almost succeeding in killing Aria before they’re stopped by Naz – who Eli rewards with a kiss.
Together with King Faelor and Queens Selendis, Morathi, and Aurora, Eli and Aria link the human attacks to the satyr’s assassination attempt. Eli and Zee trace the numbered bank account back to a human corporation, and infiltrate its offices. There, they discover that Anar has been using a powerful magical artifact to mind control homeless humans, sending them through a portal as disposable shock troops against his enemies.
They retreat to Eyilean, finding that Anar had used his mind-controlled troops to enact a coup in Avallonè, killing the royal family and installing a power hungry Icitra as the new queen while framing humans for the entire affair. Together with Aria, Lilly, Naz, and Zee, Eli infiltrates Avallonè’s castle and kills Anar, stealing the artifact and showing the populace the truth. Icitra is maimed and deposed as queen, but Eli spares her life out of mercy.
On their return, Aria’s father and mothers accept Eli’s actions as necessary and embrace him as family. He has a therapy session with Lilly, after which the two of them have sex.
Chapter 1
Eli and Lilly moved together through the forest, their bare feet padding against the soft soil. Eli still hadn’t quite adjusted to the feeling of not wearing shoes, but Lilly had insisted that he shouldn’t – claiming that it was important for him to be able to feel the forest floor to help practice his new powers. He brushed aside a particularly large bush and emerged into a clearing with her, his eyes tracing the curve of the lithe dryad’s ass as she moved in front of him.
That’s not the only thing I’m still adjusting to. He thought to himself as he shook his head, mentally reliving the events of the past year. Being with more than one woman at the same time is something that I’m still trying to fully wrap my head around – not sure how I’m going to explain that to Mom and Dad once I get back to Earth. Not to mention the whole ‘magic’ thing.
As if she could hear his thoughts, she turned and winked at him before turning her eyes forward to scan the forest. Even if he couldn’t hear or see them, he knew there was half a dozen other dryads and wood elves doing the same around them, determinedly hunting an unseen foe. Based on the way they’d been stopping more and more frequently, Eli could only guess that they were steadily getting closer.
When they’d arrived, the village was in disarray. The previous night they’d been attacked by skeletal remains of forest creatures which had been reanimated through some unknown, dark magic. They’d managed to fend them off at the expense of many lives, but were fearful of future attacks and were desperately trying to reinforce their village.
Immediately, it was like a switch had flipped in their minds. Using her years of military experience, Zee began instructing them on where to place watch towers, walls, and barricades to maximize their effectiveness. Naz interrogated some of the elves who had fought back the skeletons, using her vast experience as a warrior to identify potential weak spots. With the local leadership killed in the battle, Aria quickly assumed command and began giving orders before reopening the portal back to Eyilean to call for additional supplies and troops.
Eli and Lilly didn’t have to look far to figure out how they could contribute. A small group of wood elves and dryads were gearing up to delve deep into the forest and figure out the source of the skeletons, as well as find the elves who had run off into the forest during the chaos of the attack. When they offered to help them the group initially had accepted Lilly’s help but declined Eli’s, citing the fact that he was neither wood elf nor dryad and therefore would slow them down in their natural habitat. He savored the look in their eyes as he transformed into his newly acquired form, the result of his bonding with Lilly.
When he shifted, his skin turned green and his clothes disappeared, replaced with strategically placed vines and leaves. Drawing a small amount of mana from the enchanted mana battery-ring he wore, he called upon his life magic and commanded the vines around him to form a crude approximation of a chair, which he sat on while he grinned.
They quickly agreed to both their help, despite Eli’s insistence that his new form be called a “Dude-rad” as opposed to a ‘dactyl’ – the more traditional name for a male dryad. They’d set out after that, following the footsteps and broken branches which had been left behind by the army of undead animals.
Before bonding with Lilly, Eli was never a big fan of hiking. Sure, he’d go for the occasional run through the park and enjoy the scenery, but the idea of walking deep into untamed wilderness wasn’t really one that appealed to him. As he stopped next to Lilly and closed his eyes for a moment, he let the sounds and smells of the forest wash over him and realized he enjoyed it. He could feel the forest around him thrumming with life like a heartbeat, and it made him feel alive.
“Good, isn’t it?” Lilly said in Elvish, breaking him out of his trance.
“Yeah.” He replied in Elvish, opening his eyes and running one hand along her back affectionately before pulling her into an embrace. “How come you never told me being in the forest felt like this?”
“Could you explain it to someone who hadn’t felt it before?” She countered.
“No.” He replied, seeing her point.
“Then you know exactly why.” She said, grinning and kissing him softly.
He returned the kiss for a moment before they were interrupted by a blue bird landing nearby and chirping loudly at them. It watched them inquisitively, displaying none of the usual fear associated with such a small creature. Lilly smiled at it and held out her hand, waiting patiently for a moment before it hopped onto her finger.
“Wow.” Eli said, shaking his head. “I’ll never get used to that.”
“She recognizes you as a fellow creature of the forest.” She said, referring to the bird before turning to him. “Now, this is a perfect opportunity to practice what Talaedra and I have been trying to teach you. I want you to speak to her.”
Taking a deep breath, he held out the palm of his hand for a moment before the small bird hopped in. Closing his eyes, he focused and spoke the words of power as he visualized his intent.
“Alara morinamin.” He said softly.
A light golden glow surrounded his hand for a moment, then dissipated. Eli concentrated hard on his goal – finding the source of the skeletons in the forest. In return, a series of unrelated images flooded his mind – broken branches, another bird, bugs in the ground. Frustrated, he redoubled his efforts, only to be rewarded with more unrelated images.
“You’re doing it again.” Lilly said softly, her arm wrapping around his waist. “You can’t command her to tell you. Imagine she’s a friend, and you’re asking her a question.”
Unbidden, the image of Freya popped into his mind. In her avian phoenix form, she looked a good deal like the little blue bird in his palm – albeit much larger. A pang of longing hit him, but he refused to let it consume him. I hope she’s doing okay. He thought to himself as he shook his head, willing away the intrusive thoughts from his mind.
He tried again, mentally envisioning the destruction he’d seen back at the wood elven camp, followed by the path they’d taken to this point, tracking the undead animals footsteps in the soft soil. For his renewed efforts, he was rewarded with useful information – the sight of a reanimated bear ambling out of a cave in the darkness of the previous night. The cave looked like a natural formation in the side of a valley wall, and was surrounded by several other similar caves.
He opened his eyes and watched as the bird hopped happily in his hand and flew away. Turning back to Lilly, he grinned. “I saw something!”
She smiled like a teacher who just watched the proverbial lightbulb go off in a student’s mind. “What did you see?”
“I saw an undead bear coming out of a cave. It was surrounded by a bunch of other caves, in the side of a valley wall.”
She nodded. “I suspected that’s where we were going, given where the tracks were leading us. I know it’s hard to make out from the canopy of the trees, but we are actually in a valley right now. There’s a cliff face a few miles from here, in that direction.” She said, pointing.
“Woah. How did you know that?” He asked.
“I asked a hawk when you weren’t looking.” She responded with a casual shrug.
“Really?”
She giggled in response before hitting him playfully. “No doofus, I looked at the map before we left the village. Besides, if I’d used my magic you definitely would have noticed. Thanks to us bonding, whenever I use my magic my entire body glows gold instead of the regular green. It’s practically a giant flashing neon light!”
Another one of the side effects of bonding. He thought to himself as he cracked up with laughter and shook his head. “Come on now, you weren’t complaining when you started being able to learn new spells faster, or cast more powerfully.”
Her smile turned genuine, and she leaned and kissed him again. “No, I wasn’t.” She said happily after she broke the kiss. “I love being your woman Eli, and you’ll never catch me truly complaining about the gifts you’ve given me.”
“Good, because I plan on giving you a lot more gifts in the future, if you catch my drift.” He said with a wink. “Now, let’s get going and track down this…well, whatever it is.”
Lilly led the way as they started walking again, travelling in the direction of the caves. As they walked, they spoke about their plans for the next few days – agreeing to go hiking in a forest in Eyilean together while Aria performed her royal courtly duties. Afterwards, the 3 of them would soak in the hot tub, followed by long nights of lovemaking. To Eli, it sounded like heaven.
“Don’t forget, you also promised Talaedra that you’d keep up your magic lessons.” Lilly reminded him as they spied a group of deer grazing in the distance. “You’re getting pretty good at using your vines offensively, and your healing powers are coming along nicely. You’re a quick study.”
Suddenly, the group of deer froze. Their heads swivelled as they looked around furtively before bolting. Eli watched them run for a moment before looking at Lilly, noticing she’d crouched down. Her eyes darted side to side, as if they were searching for danger.
