Surface- Valley of Origins Region

Empire of Night- Eternal Forest

"So this is where I have been coming to work out all my anger issues. I hit a tree, meditate, and work on my Sword Forms away from anyone I could harm." Jacob explained to Cathrine as they emerged from the tree line. She could see the lone Oak at the top of the incline and the nearby boulder as well. Beyond it, in the clearing level, 32-36 Wargs roamed.

Cathrine gave him an amused smile, "So of all the things you could do to alleviate your anger, you choose hitting an Oak tree repeatedly until the point where your hand breaks...Must be a man thing." Cathrine said with soft laughter.

Jacob frowned in response, "When you say it like that, it sounds stupid...but yes. I come here because its safe and I can let my anger out without harming anyone or anything. Odd and maybe stupid, yes, but its safe thing to do. Nila already confirmed that the tree isn't sentient, so I am not hurting anyone."

Cathrine arched an eyebrow, "Except you, and who is Nila?"

"Don't be jealous ok. Nila is Analisa Silverwood, the Dryad that rules over the Eternal Forest. I talk to her and I made an agreement with her. That's how I got all the trees to move out of the roads, fortresses, and ruins so we could access them faster and we didn't have to spend all that extra time clearing out everything. She is nice." Jacob replied suddenly the haunting howls of wolves filled the night bringing a smile to his face.

Jacob noticed Cathrine was still there staring at him suspiciously, "How exactly did you pay for that agreement?"

Jacob frowned then thought of his last agreement he made with a Dryad and blushed, "It wasn't like that. No sex was involved, we made an agreement that we would not go destroying her forest so we could expand the city or build more fortifications. Sure the short-term benefits for us are great, but long-term benefits, not soo much, but it kept the peace between us and got what we both needed and wanted. We have trees we can harvest and all the construction efforts within the valley lost weeks of effort because we didn't have to take time cutting down all the trees that had overgrown the roads, fortresses, and other facilities. She got my assurances that we were not going to go out and start destroying her forest."

"So no sex? No kissing?' Cathrine pressed and Jacob quickly shook his head. "I am sure she regrets that now."

"You have no idea, being frozen in time for thousands of years leaves a lady a little antsy, but he is married and I do not steal from others," Nila stated as she walked out of the tree line.

Jacob smiled and waved at the Dryad, "Nila, this is my lovely wife and the spark of my life, Cathrine. Cathrine this is Nila. Now if you will excuse me, I have an appointment with Big John and my anger issues."

"John?" Cathrine asked.

"The tree!!" Jacob called over his shoulder as he unequipped his armor and lay Moonlight close by.

"I have to be honest with you, he has been coming out here to work out his anger, but he also comes out here to talk," Nila stated as she cast a minor spell that would distort everything she said so Jacob could not hear. He looked back once and shrugged before going back to punching his favorite Oak 'Big John'.

"About?" Cathrine prompted.

Dryad smiled, "All sorts of things. Most of the time he practices what he is going to tell you with us before telling you, so he is not hiding anything from you."

"Us? What does he need to practice?" Cathrine asked growing frustrated with her husband and the Dryad.

"Calm yourself, relax. He practices how to tell you things he is already stressed about. After you almost died and he found out about Sosa straying on the same day, he had to bottle everything up because he was afraid of what he told you would cause you more mental and physical harm. So he has come here and learned to talk about things with us before telling you. We mostly just listen and give very little feedback. Believe it or not, this has helped him immensely, his aura is far more stable than it once was over a week ago. His anger and rage get worked out on 'Big John' and his words get worked out on us.' Nila stated.

Cathrine frowned but eventually her outlook changed, "Idiot, he takes too much onto himself. Now, who is us?"

Now Nila frowned, "That's where it gets more complicated, you see 'us' is Star, me, and a Werewolf that Jacob has no idea is a Werewolf and I made an agreement not to reveal them to the Vampires. So please do not reveal this fact too him. He thinks she is just a very smart wolf of my forest, he has no idea of her true nature."

"What does she want?" Cathrine asked while looking back at Jacob who was punching furiously at the Oak.

Nila chuckled, "Originally she thought he was a whiny little pup, after him talking to her for a few days, that outlook has changed. Now she is beginning to understand leadership can be very lonely. Now she is just here listening to him and not interfering at all."

"Well as long as she does not try to harm my husband, she is more than welcome to listen to him," Cathrine stated. The hunting howls brought Jacob out of his frenzy, he could feel that the anger and rage were going away. Talking and pounding away at the tree helped, Cathrine had expressed interest in what he was doing and had wanted to get out, so he had agreed to bring her along.

Jacob looked at the clock and he had been hitting the tree for nearly 10 minutes, not much compared to previous days but better than nothing. Star came running from the forest, the black wolf shadowing her movements as they ran up the incline and lay down with their kills. They started eating but the black-furred wolf froze at the sight of Cathrine walking up. Jacob immediately moved over to her and placed a calming hand on her should very carefully. She was not a tamed animal and she was eating so he was very careful. "Relax, it's my wife and she wanted out of the palace after I kept her kinda locked up for over a week healing and recovering. She is the one that almost died from a knife to the guy, so relax and go back to your food. Cathrine, this is the wolf I told you about. Wolf, this is Cathrine, my wife."

Cathrine studied her before a smile came over her, "You thought she was a he?" she stated and started laughing while the wolf gave a huff and went back to eating.

"Well, excuse me I am not a Ranger that can tell an animals likes, dislikes, and sex at a glance.' Jacob retorted as he sat down between the two wolves the women quickly joined him as he started pulling out all sorts of food for them. Cathrine raised an eyebrow at all. 'When you managed to get me to agree to bring you out here, I asked Miss Dotts to throw something together so you would have something to eat while we were out. Its takes an hour to get here over land, then another 30 minutes of talking and such, so time to eat you are still recovering." Jacob informed her.

Both wolves were staring at all the food Jacob was taking out of his inventory causing him to notice their predatory gaze on the food. "Nope, you guys have food that you hunted and killed. Finish that off then if you are still hungry, then I will share with you two." Jacob informed them.

"So, how is everything going with you, Jacob?" Nila asked as she started picking at the fruits and cheese.

"Let's see, I got an army mobilized and aimed at my people. I have no idea when they are going to strike, but they will. I got the freaky Celebration of Spiders that I have to attend in a couple of days. Beyond that..." Jacob trailed off.

"And?" Nila prompted but Jacob was picking at his food.

"He received a letter and head of the one who had been fucking Sosa. Apparently, Alog Tor'akon does not take kindly to people that risk a valuable Alliance. The male was executed, his soul cursed and sent to the deepest parts of the Abyss. His family was cast out of the clan. Sosa was stripped of her position and now works closely with her uncle and under his thumb. Her brother was promoted to Chief in her place and is now in charge of Darkfang Hold." Cathrine informed the Dryad since Jacob refused to talk.

"You feel guilty because of this?" Nila asked while looking back and forth between Jacob and Cathrine.

"He did until a follow-up letter arrived, apparently Sosa got pregnant because of her affair, that is why Alog did not send her head as well. She still might be executed, but Jacob already stated he did not want her to die because of his anger. So in one sense, he feels guilt in another he feels vindicated in what happened too them." Cathrine stated while studying Jacob.

The wolf stood and paced over putting her head on his shoulder and whined until Jacob tore off a piece of chicken and offered it to the wolf absentmindedly. Star quickly joined her and repeated the performance causing Jacob to feed them both. Both women were softly laughing at Jacob who stopped and looked at both wolves before rolling his eyes and mock-yelled at them. Some things were good for the soul and it was what he needed.

Surface- Valley of Origins Region

Empire of Night- City of Eternal Night

Palace of Night- Control Room

"So they are fully mobilized and equipped, do we have a firm number of how many troops they have yet?" Jacob asked as he stared at the strategic map that was currently centered on the Free Cities to the north.

"Current estimates put the armies size between six and eight thousand most of them lightly armored foot soldiers, but a good core of about a thousand are seasoned troops with heavier armor. They also have about 500 mounted soldiers. We have no idea who is in command though, and we have no idea how far they can march overland in a day." Nadal stated.

"Have you looked at the sight of the intercept point I suggested?" Jacob asked the Drow.

He quickly nodded, "We can fight two sorts of battle there. Either we can ambush them as they march or we can fortify the position and make them come to us. Both have their advantages and disadvantages."

"Come up with a battle plan for both scenarios and let me see it with a cost analysis of both. Then I will make a decision." Jacob told the Drow who bowed and left the room.

Eiloma strode in as the Drow left and made directly for Jacob who was still fiddling with the map and bringing up the various reports coming from the Free Cities and the Slavers Union trade routes to the Eastern Kingdoms. "I have decided to accept," Eiloma stated.

Jacob nodded absentmindedly, "Accept what Seneschal?"

"Becoming a Full-Blood," Eiloma stated. Jacob triple tapped the crystal shutting down the map and turned to face the woman.

"Ok, once this happens there is no going back, it's your life. All the good and bad.' Jacob stated and she still nodded. 'Ok, follow me and let's get this done, we will both be bedridden for a while after this."

Jacob staggered back from Eiloma who was passed out, both Heart Guards immediately moved forward to help Jacob recover. "Just help me get to the other side of the bed so I can rest for a moment." Jacob stumbled around the bed like he was drunk, the two guards minding his movements until he was laying down.

Cathrine was there quickly as soon as they moved away, "That really takes it out of you creating a Full-Blood. Feels like the first time I created another Vampire. Somehow the cost was more though." Jacob informed her as he checked his stats. The six-month cooldown was there as he expected but it had also left him with several de-buffs that if he had not eaten today, he was sure would have been worse. Other Alerts had popped up.

Alert...

Secret Achievement Unlocked: Dawning of a Dynasty

Description: After becoming Heir to the Throne, then ascending the Throne of Night, you have finally created your first progenitor that will ensure your legacy in the World of Ithea. (Fame +500)

Alert...

Alert...

Fame Level 1 reached (1,000)..."You are that guy, from that place, that did that one thing, right???"

Alert...

Note* Costs from merchants decreased by 5%, chance to find secret quests increased

Note* As your Fame increases, so will the benefits, but it will become more difficult for you to move about in the world of Ithea without being recognized.

"How long until you recover?" Cathrine asked worry etched on her face.

Jacob gave her a weak smile, "10 minutes or so, then I will be fine." Jacob muttered out as darkness claimed him. Cathrine quickly checked their Pshyicic link, but he was just out cold from exhaustion so Cathrine joined them in bed.