?3041 When the Great Mother Speaks (Part 1)
"I should be the unluckiest man on Mogar for that to happen and we both know I'm the luckiest." Lith said.
"Thanks." Kamila giggled like a little girl.
"I was talking about Elysia." Lith said in mock indignation.
"Jerk!" She punched his shoulder with all of her strength, hurting her hand and losing the breathing rhythm. "Don't joke about that. I'm already envious that you are her favorite.
"I can't stand the thought of being number two in your heart too. If not number three."
Solus spent more time with Lith than Kamila and the secret bedtime story proved that she also knew about the family dynamics more than Kamila as well.
"I'm not her favorite and you're my number one. Always." He interrupted her exercise to hug her from behind and heal her hand.
"Really?" She asked, leaning her head on his chest.
"Of course. Make it so, number one!" Lith used a mind link to explain the reference to her.
"I knew I shouldn't have married a nerd." She said while chuckling. "Let's be clear, if you want me to grow a beard, you have to get bald first."
"I'd rather not." He shuddered at both ideas. "Seriously, I'm not Elysia's favorite."
"Yeah, right. And I'm secretly the seventh god of magic." She snorted.
"I am serious. I'm not making this up just to coddle your feelings." Lith replied. "And it's not just an opinion either. I know I'm right because Elysia showed it to me through the Dragon scales. She loves you a lot. She just doesn't understand you."
"Because I don't have scales, I know." Kamila's shoulders slouched.
"No, because you either treat her like an adult or a human baby." He said. "Just treat her like I do. Like a very smart baby but still a baby."
"What's the difference?" She asked in confusion.
"I hate revealing my secrets, but for you, I'll make an exception. I'll show you once they wake up. Now let's get back to work, Mopey. Elysia is nearing the bright orange and you are still at the bright yellow."
"It's not my fault if her core develops faster due to its natural growth and the fact that she spends most of her time over a mana geyser." Kamila pouted but resumed her breathing technique.
Later, Lith brought the babies and Kamila to his Forgemastering lab in the tower.
'I'm happy he's going to share with me his "cave of wonders story time" but how is this supposed to help me? Lith knows I'm not good with Light Mastery. I'm a beginner with holograms. I can't make voices yet, let alone sound effects.' She thought.
"This is how I get my work done even when it's my turn to watch the kids." Lith said while clearing his voice and opening the grimoire that contained his latest magical theories.
He started to read his notes out loud, with the same tone she had heard him use for his fairy tales.
The Forgemastering subject at hand was boring and complex but the kids didn't miss a word, like he was telling an epic tale. Rather than listen to Lith, Kamila looked at the babies, laughing at their reactions to his words.
When his tone got excited, Elysia and Valeron clenched the bars of the crib as if he was describing an arduous fight instead of discussing his doubts about a specific rune.
When Lith's voice lowered and he spoke slower, the kids would get sad like a bad guy had won or a beloved character was in trouble. He raised and lowered the pitch of his voice while reading the details of a spell, giving the impression different characters were talking.
The babies focused hard, trying to remember if they had already heard those voices and when. The most stunning part was the ending. Lith's tone became strong and confident akin to a motivational speech.
"Thus, I need to find a string of runes that don't end up overlapping over their respective focus points and devise a way to alter their spacing without causing a loss in mana conductivity. And by the gods, I'll succeed!"
Elysia and Valeron giggled and clapped their little hands in excitement. At the same time, Kamila turned around and Hushed herself to have a good laugh without ruining the effect of Lith's creative reading on the babies' mood.
They were so excited by the heroic conclusion that Valeron stood up and Elysia followed his example, needing to lean on the crib due to her still-weak human body.
"Gods, Elysia stood up by herself!" Kamila dispelled the Hush zone and ran to the crib while Lith activated the recording function of the tower.
It would create a Remember from those images that he could later show to the rest of the family.
"Was this her first time?"
"Yes." Lith sighed, a bit envious of getting to the crib second. "You did great too, little guy. We are proud you can stand up, but you could already do it when we took you in. Elysia has just learned it, instead."
Valeron's worries about the difference in treatment disappeared as Lith picked him up and talked to him with a soothing voice.
"See? What I was trying to show you is that even though they are smart, they are still babies. Without the scales, they don't understand long words or difficult concepts, only the tone of your voice." Lith said.
"By reading them stories, I taught them how to recognize when I'm happy, sad, angry, or confident. Elysia used her diagnostic spell on me because she heard my pained voice and associated it with the scenes where a hero is hurt and the healer intervenes."
He showed Kamila one of the illustrated books from the children's library.
"Holograms help, but they aren't essential. Just show the children one of the images and teach them how your voice changes based on your emotions. They will learn to recognize how you feel even when you're not telling them a story, building a bond with you."
Kamila nodded while complimenting Elysia for standing up and helping her to do it again. The baby girl was happy to oblige, holding her mother's hands for support as she searched for her balance.
"Thank you for sharing this moment with me." She said. "Do you have the time to listen while I tell them a story and give me pointers or do you have to get back to work?"
"I've all the time on Mogar for my girls. It's a man's duty to protect his family. Right, little guy?"
"Yes, Papa." Valeron said surprising them with a first time of his own.
***
Jiera Continent, Wild Empire, city of Laska.
Bodya used Lith's channels with the Kingdom to go back to his homeland via the transoceanic Gate and then he travelled to the Nidhoogs' underground lair.
Council communication amulets were supposed to work from any distance, but Vothal's rune was still offline and all the members of Bodya's family refused to answer his calls.
"Grampa's rune is still on, so he is alive but that doesn't mean he is okay." In the days following Thaymos' destruction, Bodya had tried to contact Vothal to thank him for his help and make sure that he hadn't been punished harshly.
