Farnír's POV
Later, in our squad's quarters, I found Suma and talked to her about what Sela-Car and I had discussed. "That is completely insane." Suma said. Frankly, I didn't even blame her. It kinda was. "First, it is illegal. Second, no sane individual would agree to such a thing."
"I did."
"… My response remains the same."
"… Fair. But it isn't illegal. According to Sela-Car–"
"Here we go." She shook her head.
"According to Sela-Car–" I continued, ignoring her "– it is only illegal to perform that Rite of Dominance. But this would not be the Rite, it would be forming a familiar's bond. That is perfectly legal, so long as they consent to it before."
"Even should that be true, why would you do so?"
"The special forces need a way to charge the Railgun spell on the fly. Setting up magic circles on this scale would be too difficult, as far as I understood it anyway, and they would make easy targets too. Plus, according to that Neame I spoke to earlier, the one setting up the circles outside the walls, if something did happen to the circle, it would explode. Which might make a good trap, but not if it goes off when our people are standing on them."
"Perhaps, but… I doubt anyone would ever agree to this."
"It cannot hurt to at least broach the topic to anyone interested."
She shook her head and sighed, "And you want me to perform all of these bonding spells, do you not?"
"Please and thank you."
"You do realize how difficult it will be, correct? Why not perform them yourself? You know how."
"I only know how to perform simple ones for weapons. We need more complex circles, like the one on my arm."
Her wings drooped a bit, "I will perform the spells. But you must realize it will take days to perform them all. I can only perform so many at once. And there are a great number of our special forces."
"We may not have days. We should get some help."
"Perhaps the Queen can requisition some aid?"
"Maybe we should just start, and ask the Queen for help after? Someone once said, it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission."
"A fool, Farnír; a fool said that."
"Probably. I'll go and talk to her then." I stood up and started walking away.
"Farnír," Suma called out.
"Yes?"
"If I am to perform so many spells… I want raisin bread."
I laughed, "Deal. If we live, I'll get the fancy kind with cinnamon." With that, I left and went to the Queen.
Queen Ompera was in her bunker, fresh out of a meeting of some kind and still followed by her normal retinue of aids. She was perched on a wooden post in a private room. I was led in by a Neame who announced my arrival and asked permission for me to enter. "Come." She declared. I walked into the room, and glanced around. My mum wasn't here, which was odd. The two had gotten rather close lately. Since Mum arrived, she seemed to always be with the Queen. "Greetings, Farnír. What has brought you here? If you are looking for your mother, she is taking rest at the moment."
"It isn't that your Majesty. I have run into a slight problem with the special forces training, and need your help… and maybe permission, with something."
"What has happened? I was under the impression that their training was going well."
"It was, but while training, we discovered that apparently, I have been unknowingly using a magic circle for many of my spells." I pulled up my sleeve to show her the circle on my arm.
"Your familiar's circle? I see. That would explain how you can cast such complex magic despite your lack of formal training. What is it exactly that you need then? Resources to create circles?"
"In a manner of speaking. I want to have the familiar's bond spell cast on the special forces. To be clear, I do not mean the Rite of Dominance. Only the bond itself." I said, trying to sound as reasonable as possible. With the exception of Suma, because of our bond, reading Neame's emotions was kinda difficult, especially when they are trying to hide them. The Queen's demeanor barely changed when I said this. The only indication of a response or that she even heard me was a slight twitch of her tailfeathers. "And only the Neame who agree. No one would be forced into this." I added, quickly. She said nothing, so I took the opportunity to explain myself in greater depth; going into the pros and cons, and my reasoning for it all.
"Let me make sure I understand your proposal. You want to make my special forces, and their international equivalents, into your familiars… rogue familiars, might I add. Is that correct?" She asked.
"Uh, yes…?"
"I would have liked to have been consulted on this before." She said sternly.
"But, I am. I haven't done anything yet." I said confused.
She narrowed her eyes, doubting me. "You have not?"
"No."
"I see. In truth, I suspected that you had already begun, and were here to ask for permission retroactively. Or perhaps beg forgiveness for already starting." I started to sweat a little.
"I would never, your Majesty." I lied.
"I'm sure…" She lied. "Anyway, I grant you permission to perform the bonding spell on any Neame who consents. However, this only applies to the Drakes. For the forces of the other nations, I will seek permission from Chancellor Aye-Aron on your behalf. As for King Hidra, he attends your classes, does he not? You should speak with him personally. But be sure to be respectful. This is an odd request, after all."
"Thank you, your Majesty. I shall take my leave now."
"Farnír, I do have one condition." She said.
"Oh? Of course, Queen Ompera. Anything."
"You must spend more time with your mother. She worries."
Standing in front of a crowd of gathered Neame, as well as King Hidra, I finished my explanation of the plan. At the end, I did make it clear that I'd only been given permission to go through with this if they volunteered, and only for the Drakes. King Hidra's decision would determine whether or not any of the King's Fangs would be allowed to get a mark. And the decision on the Serpent Squads had yet to be made either. Everyone was quiet, at most they exchanged confused and worried glances.
"So, any questions?" I asked.
"To be clear–" King Hidra said "–they will not be controlled? The only power you will have over them will be that they can be summoned, and that they cannot attack you?"
"Correct, your Majesty. And I would happily remove the familiar's circle, or I guess Suma will, once we defeat the dragon."
"What are our chances of defeating the dragon without getting made into your familiars?" Someone from the crowd asked. There were a few murmurs, as if they already knew the answer.
"Zero. Our current plan completely relies on this spell. At best, we could reseal him, but that would only delay the problem. He needs to die, or all of us will." I explained.
At this point, some of the Neame were clearly getting offended and upset. "He's looking down his wings at us."
"Thinks the wind blows wherever he turns his head."
"That spell is strong, but I bet lightning would work too. Why can't we learn that?"
"I'll do it!" King Hidra said. The crowd went as silent as death itself for a few moments, before it was broken by his personal attendants.
"Our Liege, please, you cannot!"
"You are a King! Our people would not accept a familiar as their king! Please reconsider!"
"Do not debase yourself, sire!" They squawked, bobbing their heads and flapping their wings wildly in a panic.
"Be silent!" The King roared. "I am no fool. I will put my trust in this warrior. You have faced the Chaos Dragon once before, haven't you?" He asked. I nodded my head. "Then if you say we cannot win without this 'Railgun' spell, then so be it."
"If his Majesty will, then so will I!"
"And me!" One by one, about half of the Neame agreed, surprisingly it was predominantly the King's Fangs who made up the bulk of the volunteers, and less than a third were Drakes. The Serpent Squads would be decided later. But once permission was gained, another twenty Serpents also became my familiars. Suma and a fellow Drake who knew summoning magic performed all of the Drakes, and some of the King's Fangs volunteered to perform the spell on their teams. Later, Chancellor Aye-Aron agreed to perform all the spells for his Serpent Squad members himself. In total, there were sixty once all was said and done that day.
A day passed, leaving us only four days left at most. Everyone was adjusting to their circles well. Most of them had formed on one of their wings, but a few formed on their chest or back. The difference was noticeable and immediate. Before a full day had even passed after receiving them, they all knew the Railgun spell nearly as well as I did. For extra measure, I offered names to any who didn't already have one, and only three refused. In total, I named thirty-two Neame. I wish I could say each was creative, but in truth I just counted one-by-one in dansk tunga; Old Norse. None of them noticed, and greatly appreciated their names. Although Suma did give me a disapproving headshake since she actually knew what I was saying. I did try communicating using my thoughts like Suma and I can, but none of them could hear me. Suma says that was because she had actually tried using the Rite of Dominance, and that it was a function of the spell. Despite resisting it, some of the effects must have still lingered. I chose not to mention the fact that I knew some of that already, and have known since the island.
Once all was said and done, I met with the Queen and Chancellor Aye-Aron, who gave me an update on the excavation of the portal. "The remnants of Apep's creations proved to be quite a nuisance. We had hoped they would be intelligent, but they seem to be merely beasts. During the excavation, a battle ensued the moment our tunnels intersected with theirs. We managed to clear them out, and take several alive. However, countless more were slain. Our priests were rather upset by this. Some even called it sacrilegious and heresy." The Chancellor explained.
"And the split?"
"Located. We expect to have it fully unearthed by nightfall. At least enough to prepare our trap. There has been one issue however."
"The Aether, right?" I asked.
"Neutral mana pours from it in waves. Just standing near it makes my workers sick. The work has slowed because of that."
"By how much?" Queen Ompera asked.
"We could have finished by now otherwise."
"We should send those who will be closest to the dragon to the portal to help. It would make good resistance training for when the time comes. And it will give you more help digging." I suggested.
"Agreed. Svend, send orders to the leadership that all soldiers participating in the mana resistance training are to help dig out the mountainside and are to be under the Chancellor's command while doing so." The Queen said to her attendant. He bowed and flew away immediately.
"Thank you, Queen Ompera. On to other business, how are things coming with the training now that the soldiers have familiar's circles?"
"Very well. Their progress even convinced a few more to get them." I said.
"I do worry about the consequences of these actions." Queen Ompera said.
"Why, your Majesty?"
"Such power can be so easily attained, only by forming a familiar's contract. Is it any different than the slave's seal used by the Southern Union?" She said.
"You know it is." Chancellor Aye-Aron. "The function and forms are drastically different. The familiar's contracts are nearly entirely dependent on the Rite of Dominance to function properly. They were both made to be used in conjunction. A slave's seal requires no outside spells to function, and has built in punishments. And it lacks a power amplifying effect."
"Perhaps, but what will the future hold once it becomes known that forming a contract can grant such a powerful boon?" She said.
"I could easily see orders of contracted warriors being formed, swearing oaths of fealty to their contractor, and using their power to wage new, unending wars." I said.
There was a long moment of silence as the two thought about that. Both were obviously distressed by the prospect. "We cannot worry what may be, when we do not even know if we will have a future. For now, any and all advantages must be seized." The Chancellor said.
4 days until the dragon's arrival…