The Cultivator’s Citadel was a massive building between the center of the city and the Processing District in the northwest that was one of the few buildings sporting greenery as various trees and pnts spilled from balconies and adorned windows. It was beautiful, refreshing, and almost like a second home to Patricia.

  She knew Phoenix’s party had delivered supplies produced in the citadel before but had never come to the building itself. Normally, they loaded up the supplies in the district to the west dedicated to storage and logistics, like most Adventurers.

  As the group was led into her small office that morning, she greeted them with a wide smile.

  Before she could say anything, however, she was wrapped in a friendly hug by one of the voxen twins. She gave a gentle ugh and said, “You must be Lady Saiya.”

  The young woman nodded and Patricia continued speaking to the others, “Welcome to the Cultivator’s Citadel. I’m so gd to finally meet you all. I’ve never met anyone that my obstinate brother has ever shown any interest in, aside from his old adventuring party. I had hoped that it would have been a potential spouse, but now I’m convinced that he decided to skip that part and go straight to having a brood of children.”

  Her eyes sparkled as she took in the party’s reactions. Phoenix blushed in embarrassment, Dazien chuckled in amusement, the twins both grinned with pride and Uriel looked slightly horrified by the idea. She’d have to try and work with them more on controlling their body nguage if they ever got that time. Maybe that would have to wait until after the blood moon.

  “I might have teased him about acting like a dad but I never expected him to actually pursue the idea,” Phoenix bashfully admitted.

  Patricia ughed, causing the others to smile at her levity, “I don’t think anyone can ever predict what Paul is going to do.”

  They hadn’t talked too long the night before, but it was enough to get a feel for each other’s more private personalities and Patricia could already tell the current setting had the young introvert more nervous than at home. This fact alone made her support Phoenix’s request to stay out of the public eye as much as possible.

  She gestured for them to follow her out of the office as she continued talking, “Come with me and we can get to know each other a bit better while I show you around. Have any of you ever seen what we do here?”

  “It looks like a vertical farm from the outside,” Phoenix offered, “My world was exploring the technology but it looks like the magic in this world can produce a lot more than we could. What all does the clergy produce here?”

  Before Pati could answer, Phoenix noticed some of the awkward looks and flushed faces of her teammates and abruptly asked them, “What is it? Did I say something wrong?”

  Patricia looked on in amusement and asked her, “Has nobody expined the functions of the clergy of the Cultivator to you?”

  Phoenix blinked then asked in confusion, “Isn’t it just something like growing pnts?”

  She chuckled and teased, “We grow and breed many things here.”

  “Oh, like animals for meat?” she asked curiously.

  Pati gave an amused smile, “Not just for meat. Now follow me.” The fact that the Wayfarer’s mind hadn’t gone straight to the domain of the Lover was actually somewhat refreshing to her. Perhaps she wouldn’t need to worry about potential suitors any time soon after all.

  She led them through the floors to show them the different farms as well as the pens with pregnant animals that were meant for food and others for milk. She even expined how the magic enchantments in pce actually created an illusion for the creatures of their more natural habitats so they could live in retive comfort for their short lives.

  The interior walls were covered in murals that denoted the theme for each floor. Saplings growing into rge trees, sivatherium caring for their young, and people deep in the throes of lovemaking.

  That st mural made Phoenix pause and Pati could see the rising heat in her cheeks. Apparently, she had missed the hints being dropped that not just pnts and animals were cultivated here. Phoenix looked down at the floor as though it was the most interesting thing in the world at that moment.

  Pati couldn’t help but chuckle at the innocence of it, “I understand that you are still young and Paul mentioned that you haven’t been exposed to much of the world or people in general, but there’s no need to be embarrassed about the cultivation of life. It is a beautiful and sacred activity that one should be pleased to partake in.”

  Phoenix looked more uncomfortable but inquired, “Do people come here to… um, do the life cultivating right here?”

  “Not how most people normally would. We help people who are struggling to conceive and have various rituals and facilities that provide gestation services. There is little of what’s depicted on these walls actually happening within them. I doubt Paul told you if you haven’t asked, but he and I were both conceived in this very citadel on this very floor. Most nobles will choose to have their offspring develop here, where the unborn can be closely monitored and cared for.”

  Phoenix finally chanced looking up at her and admitted, “I didn’t want to pry but I was curious as to how a human and a runeforged could be blood-reted. I assumed Paul was adopted since most of the city isn’t human.”

  Patricia nodded in understanding at the confusion and expined, “Paul mentioned your old world only had humans. The different species here can reproduce together but mixed offspring won’t be conceived like what we’ve seen happen with some pnts and animals; they’ll be one or the other.

  “Here we can perform certain services that can allow for a family to make certain choices about their future child, which includes the species they become. Our mother was a human and our father a runeforged. It’s a common practice to let the first child’s species be left to chance while following children are a bit more… designed.”

  She paused for a moment as they reached a room and gestured for them to enter before continuing, “We can help select certain traits that the parents possess and want to pass down, then we allow them to gestate here before delivering them to their parents after they are born.”

  “Designer babies?” Phoenix said with surprise while looking around the b which Pati was very proud of the clean and organized nature of –so unlike her children’s rooms. The Wayfarer seemed unfazed by the idea of what they did with magic, though, as she added, “I know some people have been chasing that dream for generations in my world. I also heard of some people that abhor the idea.”

  “There are certain things we don’t alter and, like I said, the traits must be present within the parents. We can remove a lot of the random chance, but there are some other limitations to what we can do as well. Another thing we have struggled with is the requests from prospective single parents, this is one of the reasons someone like you is so interesting to the Cultivator.”

  Phoenix raised an eyebrow at her, “Why would the Cultivator be interested in me?”

  She had expined the night before about the offer she wanted to make today in front of her party members to see how they would respond and to give her some time to think over the proposal, but she hadn’t expressly stated the reasons for her goddess’ interest.

  She gave a warm smile and tried to reassure her, “You are a Wayfarer,” her eyes flickered upwards to take in her wild red curls and emerald green eyes set into abaster skin. They weren’t impossible traits in their world but they weren’t common, especially on the tundra, but that wasn’t the main reason for the interest as she expined, “Aside from your rare characteristics for this part of the world, Wayfarers are rather unique in that they cannot reproduce more Wayfarers. They will always produce their partner’s species or… something new.

  “When Wayfarer’s reproduce the results can be… unpredictable sometimes. The runeforged were a species spawned from a Wayfarer and cinderen many millennia ago, along with the felions, faeforged, and gemites; though, the tter is a much more recent addition.”

  Everyone’s gaze turned to Dazien who rolled his eyes and shook his head, “My parents were both gemites, just like me. I got my coloring from them,” he said as he flicked a lock of dark purple hair over his shoulder for emphasis.

  She spoke up again, “By ‘recent’ I meant a few hundred years. You, Phoenix, would be a welcome donation to our cause since Wayfarers are so compatible with every other species.”

  Now everyone was staring at Phoenix as she blinked owlishly at her before she finished processing the words and asked incredulously, “Wait, you want me to help the church make babies for other people?”

  Patricia moved behind a white counter and started pulling out some gss vials and a few papers as she continued, “In a sense. You would be justly compensated for the service, of course, and would be helping so many people.”

  Then, as pnned, she pulled out a few more instruments from under the counter to pce on top and grinned mischievously at them as she said, “Just sign the contract here.” She pushed forward the small pile of papers then lifted a needle with a syringe, “Then I can take a sample and we’ll begin our research.”

  Phoenix almost gave away the ruse with her grin but then seemed utterly shocked when her entire party moved to shield her, though Saiya was looking between her and Phoenix in confusion. However, Dazien spoke first and harsher than Pati had expected, “Apologies, Noble Waynd, but we will not stand by and let you… study our party member without her fully understanding the ramifications of her decision.”

  She ughed boisterously, “Of course, Mister Smithson. Paul told me you all might be a bit protective of your Wayfarer–”

  “Our friend,” Uriel corrected with narrowed eyes. That correction made her feel relieved about the two men not simply wanting her future niece for her connection to Paul. While she had heard mostly good things about the pair in her few inquiries, she had worried about the motivation of a pair of orphans living in one of the worst parts of the city.

  “Yes, of course, Mister Karislian,” she said, holding up pcating hands, “Please, do not mistake my actions for coercion. I know some of our clergy might seem a bit… singurly focused, but if you read the contract,” she emphasized her words by pcing a finger on the papers, “You would see that I pn to study the composition of Miss Fraser’s more unique characteristics and will not produce any offspring from the samples directly. If there is a request made that might desire her direct involvement, that would be brought up and handled in a different contract.”

  Patricia met Dazien’s gre and added, “Also, we will be better prepared to assist her in the future should she choose to have a child of her own. Which will be especially important should she pn to join my family.”

  Rayna spoke up this time in Phoenix’s defense, the voxen’s half-furred arms crossed in disapproval, “You’re not pnning to make this a stipution of the potential adoption, are you Noble Waynd?”

  “My, my,” Pati chuckled, “You all seem much too suspicious and jaded for your ages.”

  She shook her head in slight disbelief, her braids swaying with the motion, but she was pleased that they didn’t seem nearly as naive as Phoenix did. “Paul would drag me through the streets and toss me over the outer wall if I tried to extort one of the very few people he’s actually become fond of.”

  Patricia stepped to the side slightly to look past Phoenix’s party leader and meet her eyes, “Of course, as I said st night, this is not reliant on the adoption and I would be happy to welcome you into the family.”

  She turned back to the slightly confused faces of the others and crified, “My brother has never asked me for anything this serious before and I would never deny him this kind of request anyway. I believe he knows this. All we’re waiting for is Phoenix’s acceptance. My main goal in meeting you all today was actually to take everyone’s measures in order to best facilitate whatever decision she makes. Whether it’s becoming part of the family or remaining just a Protégé. Honestly, I mainly wanted to see how all of you would react to the request –which was actually encouraging.”

  Dazien seemed to ignore her words and instead turned to ask Phoenix directly, “She’s talked with you about this already? Is this something you want to do and not just going along with what the nobles want?”

  Phoenix looked uncomfortable as she tried to expin, “I–I didn’t even know it was possible for me to have kids until Pati asked about it st night when we were talking over how inheritance would work. I… my whole life I knew I wouldn’t be able to,” she gnced at her other friends then muttered, “I haven’t ever, um… had a female cycle thing…”

  Pati chuckled at the tidbit Phoenix hadn’t mentioned before and crified, “You’re a Crystal Caster, that’s normal and doesn’t preclude you from having children if you desire it.”

  “I get that now, but– wait, does that mean I have to worry about getting pregnant if I don’t want to? I mean– I’m not really looking for that kind of retionship at all right now, but I mean like someday when I’m older and actually have someone like that.”

  “No. While you can have children, you’ll need either the right rituals or gain a few more Caste levels to better control your own physiology,” Patricia expined, then gnced around at the group and asked hesitantly, “You have had the talk right?”

  Phoenix looked confused by the question but Dazien spoke up as he gnced at the Wayfarer hesitantly before saying, “I believe Phoenix would be the only one who potentially hasn’t. We never thought to ask.”

  Patricia decided to expin just to make sure they were all on the same page, “As your Caste increases, your body burns off the things it no longer needs to function. Repcing it with more durable and powerful magic.”

  “Oh, yeah. I learned about that a bit when I first arrived,” Phoenix seemed to recall, “No digestive system at Crystal, no lungs at Sapphire, not sure about beyond that though.”

  She nodded and filled in, “The vascur system and most other internal organs are at Emerald. Muscles and nervous system at Ruby, which includes the brain. This process is also what makes higher Caste people age slower and become more beautiful. You all will eventually no longer need to perform any Mundane physiological task.”

  As silence fell for a moment, Dazien spoke up again and asked Phoenix, “Do you mind if I read over this contract with you before you sign it? I want to make sure you understand exactly what’s in something like this before you agree and potentially regret it ter. I know it’s ultimately your decision but it would make me feel a lot better about this whole situation if you allow me to. I’ve been subjected to shady contracts in the past and hope that another pair of eyes can help you at least.”

  Phoenix nodded and stepped past Dazien to take the papers, “That would actually be a relief. I mean, Patricia expined a lot st night about the whole taking samples to help me have kids in the future but I want to double-check how that’s going to help other people too.” She grinned at her party leader and added, “Plus I’ve already signed every other piece of paper you’ve handed me so I trust you if you say this looks good.”

  Patricia winced at that procmation and stopped Dazien as they turned to step away to look over the papers, almost pleading, “If you could get me a copy of everything you’ve had her sign that would be greatly appreciated.”

  The contract was indeed what Patricia had described it as. Additionally, they would store Phoenix’s samples with what was considered a ridiculous amount of security as she expined to the group what a “Divine Vault” was. Those samples, in turn, could be used in the future to produce offspring only with Phoenix’s express permission.

  The only question they ended up having for Patricia was when they got to the section about compensation. “Is this correct? It says fifty Ruby Mana Bits and one ‘Divine Favor,’” Phoenix asked.

  When she nodded, Dazien tried to further crify, “That’s an absurd amount of money for a few samples.”

  “It has been… difficult to get Wayfarers to agree to provide samples. Not all of my fellow clergy want to forgo the option of producing offspring but I believe the value of the knowledge we gain from the research alone is worth it. Plus, I hope that by showing you such respect and concessions, you will trust me in the future to help others in need.”

  Phoenix gave a thoughtful tilt of her head, “I see. So, what’s this one divine favor?”

  Patricia gave her a pointed look and gnced towards the center of her chest as she vaguely answered, “My goddess thought to follow in the footsteps of her siblings.”

  The two women stared at each other silently for a long moment before Phoenix turned to look at Dazien when he pced his hand on her shoulder and quietly admitted, “That is not a gift given lightly Phoenix. I’m not sure how or why you received the others but most wouldn’t turn something like that down. Despite my own misgivings about the whole situation I’m not going to advise you not to accept that.”

  Phoenix contempted for a moment, seeming unsure of which direction to take. It was her [Guide Book] that would apparently help her decide, though, as it appeared before her with a new quest.

  New Quest: Light of Life

  The priestess is requesting your aid to further the Cultivator’s cause and grant their divine mark.

  Objective: Gain Cultivator’s mark of favor and sign the contract.

  Reward: Rare Knowledge Tome.

  With that nudge and a slight sigh, Phoenix signed the contract and handed it back to Patricia. They spent the next few minutes quickly using a few simple non-invasive tools to gather the samples of skin, saliva, and hair and then she handed over a small bag full of Ruby Mana Bits. She knew Phoenix had a dimensional storage space where they would be safe and she was gd the Cultivator had thought of this reward for the young Caster who would need to eventually procure some very expensive Spirit Gems.

  Once Phoenix made the small fortune vanish, she began to ask, “So, do I need to go to the Cultivator’s temple or–”

  Even she was startled along with the rest of the group by the deity’s sudden appearance right there in the b room. Patricia fell to her knees in supplication at the presence of her divine patron. Only Phoenix and Dazien remained standing in the presence of the goddess as the pressure of that Divine aura filled the room.

  The Cultivator didn’t speak as she smiled at the pair of them and then pressed her finger to Phoenix’s Soul Mark, adding her own signature to the mix. The jolt of Divine energy surged through the young woman’s body and she stumbled slightly before Dazien wrapped an arm around her to help steady her and keep her from falling.

  Phoenix looked instantly exhausted, but Pati found herself wondering just how close this shiny gemite intended to get to her future niece. She decided to leave it for now and instead gnced over the new information dispyed in Phoenix’s book.

  Quest: Light of Life

  Objective Complete: Gained Cultivator’s Soul Mark and signed the contract.

  Completion Reward:

  [Potions of Makera 1] has been added to your collection.

  Completion Reward:

  20 [Crystal Mana Bits] have been added to your collection.

  The goddess gave Dazien a pyful wink and surprised Pati by booping him on the nose before vanishing as quickly as she had appeared. She was baffled by the action, but her goddess graced her with a mental whisper, “He’s secretly adorable, and you know I have a soft spot for the Wayfarer-forged species I helped breathe life into. I look forward to him cultivating a family someday.”

  Dazien seemed to shake off the action and shifted to help support Phoenix more as he asked in concern, “Are you alright?”

  “I’ll be fine,” she muttered absently, rubbing at the mark on her chest. She straightened after a moment of catching her breath and stated, “We should finish our business here. I think I’ll need to take a nap before we leave now.”

  They all agreed and Patricia led them to gather the supplies they would be delivering and thanked Phoenix once more for assisting her goddess and entrusting her with her potential future.