Dungeon Robotics 9 - 2

Good evening everyone! Going to be throwing up Dungeon robotic chapters to get back up there for a while. There will be no upload on USA Thanksgiving or the day after (Thursday & Friday). 

Louella

“Thank you for your hard work. Your service to the Queendom will not be forgotten as long as I am queen, or my children hold the throne.” I sent a nod over to the mage. As the last of the evening light fell on the ceremony, she chanted a spell that sent several streams of fire into the pyre.

It was mostly ceremonial, there were no bodies after all. The battle had been nearly a month ago and all the soldiers that had died during, thankfully only a few, had been incinerated when Glorious appeared. I still wanted to hold the ceremony for those that hadn’t gotten the honor. It was my duty and responsibility to those that gave their lives to the city and the people that stayed behind.

I stayed at the site until the fire died out. I gave one more bow as the last embers of the pyre when dark before I turned and started back to town. The Thonaca front was a wasteland now thanks to the intense fires that Glorious caused. Our scouts reported that fire elements were making their way well into the Thonacan borders. Reports of sightings even outside Ebonyfalls made the situation that more precarious.

“Its amazing how much and yet how little everything changes after being gone for a few weeks,” I mumbled.

“If your territory is unchanged from your absence, that means you have good people.”

I glanced at Val that was leading the guard around me. As one could imagine, Ezal nearly tripled the guard on me when I returned. She would be here herself, but her baby was due any day now and she couldn’t leave her bed.

“Thank you. Ezal and you really saved me by protecting this place for me while I was wandering the Beneath like a lost lamb.”

“We all get a little lost every now and then. I doubt Ezal would let anything happen to this place even while she was in the middle of birth.”

Laughing, I shook my head at the thought. “I hope it doesn’t come to that. Either way, I really am glad to have you here for her. She… She really missed you.”

Valamar grinned before a chuckle escaped him. “She might have burned me to a crisp if I had returned during a different situation.”

“Likely. She was quite pissed when she found out that you asked Lord Regan to alter her memories of your last visit.”

He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “I thought I was protecting her. I didn’t expect that the dungeon here would remove the necromancers as a threat before I finished my quest.”

I flipped my hand at him as regally as possible. “Just goes to show that men and their quests for revenge are often a waste of time.” I laughed at his expression. “From what I hear, the necromancers sort of collapsed from within. Only a few masters are believed to still be alive. Most of them were in the Old Capital when Tzulxuc slaughtered all of them.”

Valamar shook his head. “Hard to believe a five decade struggle ended in just over a year since that dungeon appeared.”

“We should be thankful that less people will have to suffer from the misguided attempts of immortality now,” I retorted. While the war wasn’t won with our own hands. It was better for everyone that it ended.

There was a flash of light as we walked. My guards all drew their weapons while Val and I readied spells. When the light died down, I noticed Regan and Alara standing a small distance away.

“Lord Regan?” Valamar asked with concern.

“Time to go you two!”

Before I could say anything, Regan grabbed my arm and we teleported. I wasn’t sure what to expect but a cozy room with warm light filling it was not at the top of my list given his hurry. The cozy image was soon broken by the sound of screaming. It was a pain filled scream, but one that woman all came to know over the years while learning about one of their duties in life.

I easily located Ezal laying in her bed, with one of Regan’s doctors next to her. “Its time?!” I asked excitedly as Valamar rushed to her side.

“Indeed. She demanded that you be present.”

“My lady,” Ezal said sounding weaker than I had heard her in a long time.

“Ezal. I always tell you to call me just Louella,” I said after rushing over and taking her other hand.

“Louella. You have always been there for me. I wanted you,” she paused as her face scrunched up in pain. “To be with me during this time. I know that… if Val hadn’t come back. You would have helped me raise him.”

“You know it is a boy?” I asked with a small smile.

She gave me a smile in response. “A hunch. Lord Regan offered to tell me… the gender, but I told him that… I wanted the surprise.” It had only been a few minutes, but it appeared the time between the bouts of pain were getting shorter.

“I see. Well then. Once the child is born, I’ll make sure the valley throws the biggest party in the continents,” I said tightening my grip on her hand. Another bout of pain hit her, and it seemed worse than all the others so far. Ezal slipped into unconsciousness her chest rapidly rising and falling from her rushed breathing.

“Let her rest. There is still some time until it is time. Trust me, the baby will not let her rest when it is time,” the doctor said checking something on his tablet.

I looked up at Valamar. “You ready dad?”

He gave me a grin that said he was ready to take on the world. “More than anything. Standing here now, my quest for vengeance, to correct the wrongness of the world seems so short sighted. I could have easily done that from right here.”

“The benefit of hindsight,” Regan pitched in moving up next to us. Alara was watching everything with great interest. “So often has man looked back on the path he took through life and said the simple words, if only I had known.”

“Coming from you, that has a bit more weight,” I said unable to surpress my chuckle.

The night passed fast. Regan had brought the sun spirits from their place in the dungeon. They were zipping around the room interested in everything that was happening. Since their birth, they have proven to be mostly harmless. That didn’t stop them from setting things on fire here and there. They were particularly interested in Feuer, who was chasing them around the room.

I felt like it was flying by as Ezal grew closer to giving birth. She had regained consciousness a few hours before midnight, and the baby wasn’t letting her go back to sleep. She said she didn’t mind any of the pain she had to suffer as long as the baby was born healthy.

I noticed Regan looking out the window and moved over to him. Due to his nature, I had to wonder if he was really looking at the scenery in front of us, or at something halfway across the planet. The fact that it might actually be true gave me pause. How much further would he go in this world of magic and mana? The thought was both frightening and fascinating.

“See something interesting?” I asked.

“I think it will be another hour or so before the baby is born. Want to know why?”

I thought about it, but only one thing came to mind that would happen in an hour. “Sunrise?”

He nodded. “I’m positive this kid will be one of the strongest fire mages in existence. The child hasn’t even been born yet, and there is already a strong aura of fire mana coming from the fetus.”

“It is a good thing his parents both know fire magic then.”

“Yes.”

“I want… a child with you… Regan.” The words caught me off guard, as I hadn’t realized that Alara was sleeping next to Regan on a sofa. She was curled up in a ball and hidden from view by his body.

Regan laughed and reached down to caress her hair. “Someday, my love.” She squirmed but didn’t wake.

“Is she really asleep?”

Regan turned to look at me not dropping his grin. “Yes. Her situation is different from that of a normal core. She had to sleep to recover her mental strength when she was held captive by the necromancers, and then once I saved her, she still had to sleep to combat the unholy taint of her dungeon. It is a habit that she may never get rid of for the rest of her life.”

“Which is a long time given that the lifespan of a dungeon is never ending,” I said leaning against the window seal.

“Yes, but,” he reached down and rubbed a finger across her cheek, “it can be nice to slip away to your unconscious world of wants and desires. I know I wouldn’t mind every now and then.”

I felt something well up in my chest as I watched him and had to turn away or I was sure I would say something I would regret. I made my way back over to Ezal who was breathing steadily for the moment. “You hanging in there?” I asked taking her hand again.

“Fine… for the… moment.”

“Regan says your child will be one of the strongest fire mages in existence. So… that’s exciting, right?” I said trying to sound cheerful. One of the sun spirits floating next to my head even cheered making a small tinkling sound.

Ezal laughed which quickly turned into her grinding her teeth in pain. “Don’t… make… me laugh… right now!”

“Sorry!” I grabbed the damp cloth from her forehead and dabbed her sweat. “This isn’t the first childbirth I’ve seen, but it is the closest I’ve ever been to the action.”

“I know. I’ve been with… you most of your… life remember,” Ezal said with a smile.

“You’re the best friend anyone could ever ask for. You’ve stuck with me through so much.” I glanced at her arm and leg. Regan had made her new ones after we had been attacked by a necromancer in the middle of town. While they raised her power and she claimed to have been happy about the exchange, I still worried that she didn’t feel whole. “I wish I had been better on my side of things.”

“I honestly thought… it would be you… having a child first.”

“You just had to go find love,” I replied with a shrug.

She looked at Valamar who had been quiet this entire time. “I sure did, though in my case, I caught it.” We all laughed at the memory. Valamar had almost fell to his death after being blown off the ramp on the airdock. Ezal had jumped to his rescue and nearly broke her arms in the process, but had managed to catch him before it was too late.

A ray of sunlight washed into the room as the first light of the day hit the valley. As if on cue, Ezal’s face contorted in intense pain and the doctor rushed over. “It’s time!” The doctor pressed something on the side of the bed, and it shifted to lift Ezal’s legs up in the air. “Lady Ezal please push!”

I tightened my grip on her hand. “You got this!”

“You can do it, my flame,” Val pitched in on his side.

The birth lasted for an hour on the dot. Ezal’s screams could be heard for quite the distance, as a guard came to check to make sure everything was alright. Watching from this close, I could certainly see the beauty in it, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure I wanted to have kids anymore. For one, there was a great deal more blood than I thought I remembered.

Just as the last of the morning sun was hitting Ezal, the baby was finally pushed all the way out and Valamar cut the umbilical cord as was the father’s duty. A loud crying filled the air, showing the baby was strong and healthy just as Ezal had wanted. As Regan predicted, there was a wave of fire mana at the moment of his birth. The temperature spiked in the room before it quickly cooled. I was sure that child would always be hotter than other children.

He carefully handed his new son over to Ezal who breathed heavily but had survived the ordeal. The same couldn’t be said for all mothers out there. Though, with Regan in the picture, I wasn’t sure there had been nearly as my childbirth deaths in the valley as there normally would have been.

“What do you want to name him?” Valamar asked Ezal, his arms around both of them.

Ezal stared lovingly at her son for several long minutes before she looked at Regan. “I would like Lord Regan to name him. If he didn’t exist neither would my son.”

Regan moved over with a big grin on his face. “I love naming things! Let’s see.” He tapped his chin for a second before he snapped his fingers. “How about Azar? In a culture I used to know, it meant fire. Plus, it matches your names nicely.”

“Azar… I love it. Thank you, Lord Regan. Azar,” she cooed to her son.

“Now then. I think the new mother and father would like some alone time with their new son, so come along,” I said pushing Regan who carried Alara out of the room. The doctor right behind me. Ezal gave me a smile in response. Today was already a good day.

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