Mary studied the map of the seas around her domain, she focused on the collection of dangerous rocky shoals and sand bars to the south. She figured that with a little work she turn that hazard to navigation into another atoll fringed lagoon or even a sizable island.

Her core pulsed again and she felt overfull. Her expeditionary forces were coming home loaded with manna from the destruction of all those temples and shrines of Blackbeard’s. If this was her share Ocidon must have hit the jackpot. She just had to use that manna urgently, the team that sacked Blackbeard’s high temple was due any day now.

How to... yes... that would work. She didn’t want to swallow New Town in her domain so she would have to move to the southern boundary of her domain. Other me walked around with their other core around her neck. Mmm yesss... that was another possibility to consider.

Setting her core on a gold chain was the work of seconds. Now as for her avatar... her human avatar. Upgrade to sea human, done, add some swim bladders, so increase her chest by three centimetres, that will give more than enough space, them make it more resistant against pressure.

Two hours later Mary was in her upgraded avatar wearing the collar with her core around her neck and heading south following the sea bed and escorted by four of Pete’s kids riding sea wyverns, six of her big snakes and a few schools of her barracuda. When they got deep enough they were joined by a dozen of her rarely seen giant squid.

The trip was slower than it could have been because Mary was enjoying the scenery. As she advanced she gathered more of her patrols and swept into her soft zone. Then at the edge of her domain she settled on the seabed and concentrated expanding her domain explosively, feeling relief as she expanded, using the last of her normal manna and switching to all that divine manna that she had gained from Blackbeard’s defeat.

Mary’s avatar smiled in relief as she felt her domain sweep over the reefs and sand bars, it was better than she had hoped and it felt good to have used most of her manna. Her domain was once again circular though the diameter had virtually doubled.

She examined Gerald the chief of her squid clan. She could see how a kraken of legend could be evolved from his people, but no... tempting as the idea might be she had no need for a kraken and something that big would be a constant drain on her manna.

So now. She could sense other her was asleep, so she collected more of the divine manna that she still had in excess and fed it into her other core. She and her cores worked in concert and upgraded themselves and shared their stores of manna. There was a delay as manna was consumed unexpectedly but after about an hour the two cores were identical in content and abilities, and – oops – so were the two Marys’ avatars.

Mary returned to her usual resting place in her lagoon just in time to receive yet more triumphant members of her expeditionary forces. Once again she was overfull and her cores linked and updated themselves, growing and balancing out the charges.

She prepared herself for some major island building so as to have something to use the manna from the High Temple. She was actually getting scared at just how much more was coming her way on the morrow.

« Hey Trish what was that bet you won, and when did you make it? »

« Ooo... Mary, please leave me alone, my head hurts. What have you been doing. »

« Burning manna. I was getting overfull. Trish I think you’ll be surprised next time you check our messages. But about this bet? »

« Marigold wanted to know what we were doing opening doors all over the place. I don’t really know why you are doing it so I fudged and thus the bet. I bet that any chamber you created would be deadly even if we restricted your options. Marigold agreed, just one land monster type, and not a swarm. And you came up with those dinosaur things. Oh my head. »

Trisha dug through the System messages. Her headache forgotten she stared open mouthed for a minute before managing a strangled ‘yes’. She felt herself change and her headache vanished.

* * *

Fleabite the Imp watched as the big Tigerman moved into his dungeon. Poor ANS 39 did his best but thanks to the way Azurea had lobotomised his mind all the ideas had to come from him and he was an Imp not a dungeon. He just didn’t have the right instincts for the job.

The invaders moved through their dungeon like a hot knife through butter and were soon in the heart room. Fleabite watched from his alcove as the Tigerman produced an enchanted crystal that was frankly scary. It reeked of dungeon.

When the Tigerman moved to touch his crystal to touch ANS 39’s core something snapped in Fleabite. He came flying out of his hide screaming, “don’t hurt him! He’s hurt enough as it is, please leave us alone.”

Robin chuckled, “Nice to see one of you lot with the guts to act. Don’t worry, Mother wants to wake your friend up. To fix him.”

Lara moved like lightning and grabbed the imp with water sheathed hands. “Let the captain work, Mother’ll release his mind. Then we’ll see if she likes him or not.”

Robin huffed another laugh and touched the crystal to ANS 39’s emerald. Mary reached through the crystal, ANS 39 was pitiful, there was so little of the person present that she found herself having to reinforce parts of his core before she dared tackle the barrier holding the personality and memories prisoner.

Fleabite shuddered despite feeling some vague stirrings of hope as a strange dungeon fixed the various flaws in the core that he had been unable to fix. Then he saw the invading dungeon tackle Azurea’s barrier. The barrier crumbled in seconds and his partner awoke scared. He dove in with reassurances feeling joy as for the first time ever he met and merged with his true partner. The memories of Earth were strange and they merged and separated.

« Bonjour Marcel, comment ca va? »

Marcel Voclain, member of Les Républicains and député of the National Assembly was enjoying himself with an attractive and ambitious young lady when his soul link came fully alive. Bea was frightened, the last thing she wanted was for the old man to have a fit and die on her. Especially before he had obtained that posting in Brussels he had promised her.

* * * INTERLUDE 1 * * *

The Frost King gazed out on his reduced domain; he had lost the Southern Ice fields to – himself. A new god, a god that had claimed most of the arrogance and certitude that had been his, theirs.

He checked his dearly brought acquisitions and despaired. They were, all three politicians, two believed blindly that planets needed to be cold. And with the arrogance he had formerly possessed gone he could see that this was not necessarily the case. Something had to be done to stabilize his ice fields or there would be no one to worship him.

Well the dungeons would not cause him any problems, though one of them worried him, he had feched a Satanist to Parthia where demons existed even if Satan didn’t. Anyway without help, none of the three would gain enough power to be a hindrance.

* * *

Ice Heart gazed upon his domain and found it good if limited. He had lost the north, but then, he had also lost the doubts and uncertainties that had been plaguing him.

He examined his prizes, they seemed unhappy but that was the lot of lesser beings. They were both female, a pity that. Men were stronger after all, and the natural leaders. Oh well, at least they would more prone to following his orders.

He noted with satisfaction that the two former witches, or wiccans were both worried about planets getting warmer and over population. They should be happy to help him crush and destroy all life under his glaciers.

As for locations, yes he was satisfied, the first on the ice pack near that small island buried under the ice and the other on the ice field above the buried ruins of Veldarian the former capital or the former realm of the southern wood elves.

* * *

Rachel Daniels woke after a horrible nightmare. She had been killed by a god, a god from another world and now she was some kind of jewel. A small blue faceted gem lying in the ice and snow with this urgent desire to get underground, but to leave a hole to the surface. Almost instinctively she formed a small pocket in the ice she was resting on and sank from sight. She felt that she was doomed, she needed to feed and there was nothing alive within reach.

* * * INTERLUDE 2 * * *

Mary woke feeling – different – changed. Again.

She sat down to breakfast with her mother. “What do you think I should ask the government for enchantin’ whatever it is they want. Think we can get them to patent the enchantments and pay us royalties?”

“Pay you royalties dear. And that’s probably the best option. As for this weekend, charge high. Unless you want to become their enchanter.

“Tell you what, I’ll have a word with your father. Now off to school or you’ll be late.”

At least she wasn’t the centre of attention any more. The news of the elder Sottomayor had taken centre stage.