The Fire and The Storm - The Nexus of Kellaran #2
Chapter 194

PART 27

In the following days, life returned to some semblance of normal.

The Forty-Four spent much of their time training, most of the rest with their parents in the Volunteers, and less with Mark and Talia and Alilia. This had little to do with the latter's new divinity and much to do with the children's need to make things up to their mortal parents, especially their co-fathers. Who they were physically with at any given time made no difference to their activities anyway, since they spent much of the time Linked with each other and with all of their parents. There love grew ever deeper and more profound because of this. Their parents took over their training and conducted most of it by direct psionic learning along with simultaneous physical drills.

The progress of the Forty-Four accelerated even more than it had under the Governors' tutelage. It was not fast enough for them to catch up with the development of the Governors, since those four were still working hard and advancing quickly, but they were no longer falling behind.

The New Gods didn't urinate or defecate, and they only slept if one or more of their children wanted to sleep with them, but beyond that their behavior was not that much different.

Making love was just as enjoyable, and often far more so. This was also true of eating, playing, and all the other pleasures of life.

Mark, Talia, and Alilia found that the sexual aspect of the curse were still with them, though they could eliminate it if they wanted to. They realized that they didn't want to.

Sometimes they just played with their new powers. They found that if they wanted to, they could be anything they wanted to be at the moment, whether it was dragons or gargoyles or any other life form. Unlike when using Simulacrums or even Shapeshifting, they could now find out what it was like to truly be a member of any other race, to feel like them and think like them in their own language, and they tried many of them. Being Kag was especially entertaining due to their attitude that everything in life was an act of artistry, including their many acts of violence and warfare.

On the third day after the great Ascension the call came for teams to register for the Tournament of Governors at The Hall of The Just Alliance, and be vetted by the old gods who were the tournament's organizers. Mark and his family duly attended and registered as two teams; one under his leadership, and one co-led by the Governors.

The Governors' command team included everyone they were most used to working with on Hiliani. All of the prominent citizens of Homestead, the elders and most talented youth of the Hiliani Sylvan, Ria, and Quewanak were all listed on their team.

Over a hundred teams registered, and only a handful were judged by the gods to be unqualified to participate. At the end of the day the list of competitors was released to the public.

"Here's a surprise." Six commented as they went over the list at supper that night. "Father, your team is listed as you and 'others'. Why are your team members not listed?"

"Not my doing." Mark shrugged with a grin. "I told the organizers who was on my team, I didn't ask them to keep it secret, and they chose to list it that way."

"Oh. So who's on your team?"

"Oh, us of the Six, Alilia, you four, and others."

"What others?" Fire pressed.

"I'd rather not say." he told her with a smile and a wink.

"Oh I see!" she laughed as she reached over and gave him a slap on his shoulder. "Well just go ahead and be that way! We'll still beat you anyway!" "Probably." he agreed, and she wasn't sure if he was being serious or not.

The Governors assumed that when they were off doing their own preparations for the tournament, Mark and his team also prepared. But the fact was that he spent no time or effort at all on preparing for the tournament specifically. He judged that leading his nations and commanding them in battle-training was preparation enough.

The four youths found that they no longer needed Quewanak's assistance to complete the training they wanted to do, so they attended to it themselves. They spent five long days investigating the military capabilities of Kellaran and The Triax, including the specifics of every fighting unit and their equipment, the records and abilities of thousands of key personnel, the state of readiness of every civilian population and their infrastructures, and all the sources of necessary supplies and their chains of distribution.

On the sixth day they gathered supplies in their bedroom on Hilia, then spent twelve subjective weeks there in Reverse-Stasis fields. They familiarized themselves with as much of the information at their disposal as was practical. They gamed through hundreds of scenarios, and did their best to anticipate everything that the demons might do, and to develop contingency plans for every possible eventuality. They didn't prepare for the tournament on the day before it was due to be held. They felt as prepared as they could be, and they wanted to be mentally fresh and rested for the tournament.

They played instead, and convinced the rest of their family to join them, which was as easy as asking. It no longer seemed strange to spend a day traveling the world and enjoying meals and activities on a Hilian schedule, regardless of what time of day or night it was wherever they happened to be at the time.

In the morning they flew with the elves in the forests around Heartwood, then had lunch at Homestead on Hiliani. In the afternoon they went swimming with the Selkies of Loch Crotia in Xervia, then went flying again, this time with the dragons and Sylvan of Serminak through the volcanic mountains in the south-east of that continent.

In the early evening they feasted and partied and fought in the challenge circles with the Sylvan of Hiliani, on the beach at the first training-community the Governors had built there.

They ended their night with dancing, snacks and drinks at Norka's Palace of Refreshment in Latrel, Sming, which was still Mark and Talia's favorite public house. Like all of the more famous such establishments, it was now open every hour of the day or night to accommodate international travelers. They were joined there by Nek and Reen and the other Smingans they knew from Hiliani.

In the early morning they had a leisurely breakfast as they all did a quick review. The Forty-Four and The Volunteers wished their family's competitors well before they left, then they were at The Hall of The Just Alliance at the appointed time, which was before the sun rose in Hilia.

The only people present were the team leaders and their senior commanders, the organizers, professional Revealers and news-mongers, and a few service personnel.

The teams were as varied as the population of Kellaran, and every race was represented. A few teams contained members of only one race, but most were mixed-race teams. As was expected, many teams were led by rulers or other senior politicians, but others were led by groups of senior military commanders, leading academics, powerful wizards, or prominent business people. Most teams had at least one member from each of those professions.

There was only one team that had only one member, and that was Zarkog. He'd done himself up for the occasion, resuming the appearance he'd worn when he was Dragon-Lord of Serminak. Each of his large black scales had a thin band of silver at its edge, his dorsal spines and horns were silver-tipped, and his claws, eyes, eyebrow ridges, teeth, and the outlines of the bones in his wings were all gold. He was huddled with Amirgath at the edge of the room, and everyone else was giving him a wide berth.

Yazadril approached with a wide grin on his face and a parchment copy of the team lists in his hand. "I hold a record of some distinction, I think. While I haven't chosen to lead or co-lead a team, I have been invited to participate as a member of sixty-one different teams! No one else has been asked to be on as many teams, or even half as many!"

"You're actually on sixty-two teams then." Mark told him with a smile. "Your name isn't listed as such in the program, but you're on my team too."

"Even better then!" Yazadril chuckled. "I don't suppose you'll be telling me who else is on your team?"

"You suppose correctly." Mark responded with a smug little smirk.

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