Chapter 365

Oceane looked off to the side in a silent conversation, and not long later, a shy beastkin woman entered, looking very nervous. I didn’t recognize her, but I could tell she was a succubus. She must have been someone Oceane had transformed since I’ve been gone.

“Lilith, this is Sienna. She’s only been a succubus for a few months, but she’s very talented.” Oceane turned her attention to the new woman. “Please have a seat next to me, dear.”

“Yes, madam!” the woman squeaked. As she sat down next to Oceane and Grace, I took a good look at her. She was a rabbit beastkin with pretty white fur all across her body and gleaming ruby colored eyes. She was thin and svelte, but had just enough chest and waist to give her an hourglass shape. She looked quite nervous, and her eyes kept glancing at me as she squirmed across from us. She was wearing a thin dress typical of what many of the prostitutes here wore, a light pink dress with a flared skirt that went well with her eyes.

“Relax, dear. There’s nothing to worry about. We just want to talk to you about your unique skill with the succubus bond,” Oceane said gently. It was surprising to see Oceane treat someone so carefully, but the girl seemed really timid, so it kind of made sense.

“I would be happy to help, Madame. Is she… really the Lilith from the oath?” The woman asked.

I smiled and gave her a nod. “I am. I’m happy that more people are joining my family every day.”

Sienna gave me a shy smile. “I’m happy to be part of it.”

Oceane rested a hand on her shoulder. “Sienna’s karma ability has something to do with the bond. When she was going through her bond training with Tisha and Jade, the two of them realized she was able to share memories through it. It’s much more vivid than the way the rest of us can share our emotions or impressions through the bond. After some careful experimentation, we’ve found that these shared memories can help someone pick up skills and learn things as if they experienced it themselves.”

Morrigan perked up. “You’re saying that if I teach her how to use magic, she can share my lessons with other succubi?”

“Not exactly, but close. You won’t need to teach her specifically, you can teach someone more appropriate for those lessons. Afterward, she can then immerse that person in the bond and share those lessons from there. It’s a bit of a time-consuming process, but it makes up for it in the sheer number of people she can then share that person’s memory with. This means that if you can teach even one of us how to relearn magic, Sienna can make sure gain those memories without taking much time away from whatever our other duties are,” Oceane explained.

“I see…” Morrigan said with a nod. “I think it would still be better for some of the succubi to attend any classes I set up. In a way, it’s easier to teach the lessons in a group. Maybe we can use her ability to share the memories with whoever learns the skills needed the fastest.”

“That makes sense. Are the skills needed to relearn magic difficult to acquire?” Oceane asked.

Morrigan shrugged. “Yes and no. The first thing needed is easy for succubi, the ability to perceive magic. Since all of us can shift our eyes to use our racial magic sight, this part is simple unless the person intentionally wants to learn to use a different magic sense. The next part requires internal magic manipulation. The people who are best able to relearn this skill are enhancement mages, since some of them may have had it before System’s End or would at least have a head start learning it, since it requires the caster to be aware of the mana circulating in their body. The last piece is the ability to wild cast magic. This can sometimes be the toughest part for people, since this was an uncommon skill before System’s End, but it’s the key to unlocking the ability to cast spells again. Using the same techniques you use to wild cast magic, you can tap into your own mana pool using internal mana manipulation and use that as fuel rather than environmental mana. From there, it’s just a matter of relearning any spells you may have had before System’s End. This is usually the easiest part, but the difficulty can vary wildly based on the spell.”

Sienna raised her hand, asking permission to speak.

Oceane chuckled. “You don’t need to ask permission, dear. What would you like to ask?”

“Oh, sorry… But, um, if our intention is to teach everyone using the same shared memories, the best way to go about it would be to teach the same person each part of it. Someone who wants to learn mana sense, doesn’t already have internal mana manipulation, and doesn’t know how to wild cast. That way, the shared memories would be useful for everyone. Otherwise, they would struggle with anything that was too far from their own abilities,” Sienna explained.

Morrigan cupped her chin. “Hmm, I didn’t think of it that way. I’m not sure how much faster it would be to focus all of our attention on one person versus teaching people in a larger group who might be closer from the start, though.”

Oceane grinned. “I can almost guarantee it will be faster to use Sienna’s method. Even if personalized instruction isn’t how you usually go about this, for the succubi here, focused attention and sharing using her ability will be much faster.”

“Alright, we’ll do that then.” Morrigan turned to me. “What should we do about the city, though?”

“We need to use these lessons as leverage to allow us to secede peacefully. If we can secure a good trading relationship with both Eastern Torlimal and the Northern Greens, even better. We traveled here right before winter started so we would be able to train the soldiers while they’re pulled back during cold weather,” I said.

“There’s talk about renaming ‘Eastern Torlimal’ to Hearthspire, with Goldenhearth as the new country’s capital. The elves are very favorable toward Sera Faelyn Morrister and may as well be propping the entire war up on her shoulders. Western Torlimal is fighting a war on two fronts, and the elves make it hard to take any lands once you reach the edge of their forests,” Oceane said.

“Do the elves have the same issues with spellcasting as the people here?” Bella asked.

“They don’t seem to have any casters in Goldenhearth, and I haven’t heard more specific news from the war front on that subject. I suspect the only reason the elves haven’t been more affected by it is because they have such a strong emphasis on archery and wilderness exploration. Even if they no longer have any casters, they still have strong long-range combat options, something that Western Torlimal lacks. If it weren’t for how individually powerful each melee fighter on the western side was, this war would have already been decided. As it stands, the elves are having to pick them off where they can, while remaining too mobile for their infantry to catch. The few times there have been direct confrontations, the elves were absolutely destroyed. Any hope that this war will involve regimented fighting is a pipe dream, the elves have been forced into a position of stealth attacks,” Oceane said.

I bit my cheek. “So, this is basically full-scale guerrilla warfare then?”

Oceane sighed. “It’s not that simple, either. While the elves have the advantage in any wooded areas or places with rough terrain, a majority of Torlimal is plains. There are some territories that the soldiers from Western Torlimal will never capture, but the elves have no hope of taking over large stretches of the country, and many of the cities and key areas are in open lands that the elves can’t contest themselves. That’s why they’re working so closely with Goldenhearth right now. They need soldiers who are able to fight Western Torlimal in open areas more effectively.”

“But having mages again would completely change things, right?” Morrigan asked.

“I think so,” Oceane agreed with a nod. “Tactics involving mages are well practiced across Torlimal, and they have a lot more options than they can achieve with just archery and stealth tactics. If you were able to get the mages in fighting shape again, then Hearthspire would have a huge advantage over Western Torlimal, even in the plains where they currently hold the advantage.”

“So do you think our teaching methods will be enough to sway both of them to agree on allowing Traehall to break away?” I asked.

Oceane grinned. “I’m really not sure, but it’s a much better place to start than we had before. Sera Morrister likes your group a lot, you saved her life. The benefits of that are not something that’s always easy to predict. Some people will bend over backwards to accommodate anything you ask of them, and others will feel almost entitled to being saved, especially nobles. I expect her to fall more closely to the former end of the spectrum from the times I’ve talked with her in the past, but who knows if that will extend all the way into politics. Still, it’s a good starting place.”

“And the elves?” Torien asked.

“A bit harder to predict, if I’m honest. I really could see them going either way on it. The elves haven’t claimed the forests that far south, but they might not want another power to rise up so close to them… That being said, it might be a good opportunity to establish strong relations with them early. If they feel like the new country could grow to be a useful ally, they might support you as well,” Oceane replied.

“Do you think my prior deal with Feylaria Winethorn will help?” I asked.

“It could,” Oceane hedged. “You freed a lot of former slaves from the capital during the demon attacks in the city, many of them elves. That and your friendship with Cecilia and Tarklin Silvergrove should generally put you in the ally category already. However, your city’s political structure is a bit of a problem. If you were the singular ruler of Traehall, then it would help more than it does. As it is, you’re only one member on a council, and not even the one primarily in control. Other than Raksha’va, they don’t know who the rest of them are, so they will likely be unsure of your city’s political standing. Your reputation should be enough to make short-term deals, but not long-term ones. Again, not a bad place to start, but not ideal either.”

Torien sighed. “The war affects the elves too, though. From your story earlier, it sounds like they’ve taken casualties. Surely being able to use magic, and especially regaining nature healers, should be a huge boon for them.”

Oceane nodded. “It should, but I don’t know the exact state of the war. Our mercenary company is obviously left out of all of their strategy missions. We have a decent idea of the general state of things, but only based on how things look on the battlefield. So far, things have looked surprisingly even. They might not be willing to give up a large portion of their supposed territory if they think they would win without your help. Alternatively, they could be hanging on by a thread. I can’t really tell you how well received your offer will be until you make it, but talking about secession could be dangerous. You realize that if this goes poorly, you might be making an enemy you’ll have to deal with after this war, right?”

“Raksha’va is aware of the risks of sending me here. We’ve talked about this at length, and this is what all of us agreed to do,” I replied. “There was already talk about secession long before I realized we might have a good bargaining chip.”

“As long as you’re aware of the risks, I don’t mind supporting you. It was idea of starting a succubus country, after all,” Oceane said with a grin.

“Would framing it that way help?” Morrigan asked.

Oceane frowned. “What do you mean?”

“What if we present it as the founding of a succubus nation? Would that help or hurt our case? Not everyone in the city is a succubus, but it’s an open secret there,” Morrigan said.

“I don’t think anyone on the council would reject the idea if it worked,” I added.

Oceane mulled over the thought. “I’m not sure. I’ll have to think on it. Either way, the most important thing will be speaking with Sera Morrister and the delegation from the Northern Greens. You can float the idea to the Baroness without committing to it first. The way she reacts will inform us in how we should proceed. It’ll be much easier if you can get her on your side. She’s not the only one making the decisions for ‘Eastern Torlimal’, but her close relationship with the elves has made her rather powerful. The remaining nobles in Eastern Torlimal haven’t decided on how they want to structure their new government with the war still going on, but there have been talks of making her at least a duchess if they form a new monarchy.”

“That sounds like the best course of action, then,” I replied.

“Until then, Grace will find someone who is best suited to be tutored on magic. Sienna, thank you for coming. We’ll ask you for your help as soon as whoever we find makes some progress,” Oceane told her.

“Yes, Madame,” Sienna said with a nod.

Grace smiled. “I think I have a few good candidates in mind. Why don’t we go see who wants to relearn magic first?”

Saine

Hello! Time for planning! And cheating the rules using magic powers! It’s probably pretty obvious at this point, but the Succubi are going to be consolidating a lot of power as things progress, and a lot of that is directly because of Oceane’s influence. I think Lilith and Oceane make a good team. It’s too bad that Lilith is in such a fragile state right now, because Oceane is showing her up a little! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reading!

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