"When we get to Cibaile, the Dawn of Hope will be taken in at a private dock owned by the Houses. Nothing to worry about. She is the first of her line and, as a prototype, the companies involved in her construction want to go over her with a fine-tooth comb after we've broken her in a bit," Temra said.

"But we'll get her back right?" Kai asked as he altered course to take the ship in an arc around a sky stack that was in their way as it drifted lazily along the ley line they were travelling down.

"Eventually… but that's not the point. As far as any records will show, we will just appear in the city. The lot of us coming from the Twilight Empire, The Sage's contacts in the city, adding us to an appropriate manifest when we get there. The thing you three need to remember is you have no relation to The Sage or The Dawn Empire."

"What about Cillian and his team?" Syl asked.

"Same scenario, but they will acknowledge their connection to The Sage as his newly commissioned a team of tower climbers. The hope is they will draw any attention before you do. Hopefully, they'll be dismissed as inconsequential."

"That is not to say they don't have potential. They weren't chosen by the Sage on a whim. Niamh, Cillian's little sister, is a mean little Thermo mage when she gets going. She'll chill you to the bone inside your armour while you find your sword too hot to hold. A bit too eager to prove herself, though," Kardain said as he spun in his chair. "And the cousins, Maeve, Saorise, and Aoife, work together in ways that only triplets can."

"They're triplets?" Kai asked in surprise.

"They are Identical. Honestly, Kai, how did you miss that?"

Kai shrugged. "They kept their distance?"

"Not really. They came by the table on the Exploration every day to say 'Hi,' and examine you, though Aoife has the biggest crush of the three, from what I can tell. She didn't say much," Alicia said.

"Why are we calling them the cousins and not the triplets?"

"They prefer it. Keeps people guessing," Alicia said.

How triplets could get up to any mischief on a world where everyone had access to examine Kai didn't know.

"The plan is for you to meet when you happen to go to the Adventurers' Guild for registration. Don't be surprised if the girls use their attraction to Kai as their excuse to become friends. You should already know how competitive Cillian is," Temra concluded their discussion of the other team.

"Wait, what?" Kai asked.

"As you know, I'll be acting as your manager. Arranging gear, setting schedules, maintaining your cover and facilitating a few meetings for The Sage. My illustrious new job, you should see the pay package. It's almost as good as what you are paying me as the emperor's personal aid."

"Ah that, any thoughts on Orricks Two?" Alicia asked.

"Orril seems to have a chip on his shoulder, not sure why," Kai said as he drifted back around the sky stack to follow the instrument that showed the path where the ley line was.

Syl chuckled and said, "He hates that you use the Thick Tongue, how much his father has been encouraging him to get on your good side and, according to his sister, he is missing his harem. Apparently, there was a pretty girl from an important family on the verge of adding a braid to his beard."

"How did you find that out?" Kai asked.

"Kai, we've been out here for days. They have been in the domain for almost double that," Syl said as she pulled out a short metal baton that expanded into a full length quarter staff. "Orril made me this, and Ester is working on some armour for me."

"You would know that, Kai, if you didn't hog the pilot's seat half the time," Temra said. "What happened to the shifts we agreed to?"

Seeing the clear sky in front of them, Kai locked the speed and course and sat back, ready to relinquish the position.

"He's flying, can't blame him for getting lost in the feeling," Talious said as she stroked a sleeping Sicily in her lap, the little kit taking such a liking to the dragon that she had followed her out of the domain to see this magical new ship Gift had talked about so vehemently.

Kai did, in fact, feel like he was flying. He had explained his earlier recklessness was linked to his increased spatial awareness of the ship when he extended his mana sense to the ship itself. Heck, the feeling of mana passing by even felt like the pressure of the wind.

He was just glad he had been working on his mana sense before he tried the trick.

Now, after days of long stretches behind the control crystal, Kai had become in tune with the Dawn of Hope, or Hope as he lovingly called her.

Kai could feel the mana surge through the ship better than he could his own body, the way it was pulled in from the ambient surroundings into the batteries, then pulled out into the rest of the systems.

There had been a point on the third day when he realised he no longer needed to look at any readouts. He just had to feel the ebb and flow of the mana through Hope, and he knew how much he could ask of her. How much he could accelerate and how fast he could go without straining her.

He had found the balance, and with what was coming in from the mana sails that were fully extended out into the dense mana of the ley lines, Hope was flying faster than anything on record without ever drifting into a low mana state.

"That and it is excellent mana training for him, whether he has realised it yet or not. Everything he is learning when flying, Hope will help with everything else. The mana in his body, the mana all around him and the mana in others," Talious continued. "All things a dragon like him should know instinctively."

"I'm not a dragon," Kai retorted.

"I know, but you smell like a dragon, and you use magic like a dragon. Even Sicily's parents thought I was a powerful new mate of yours until I informed I was old enough to be your mother." Talious tsked, "To even insinuate I was attracted to you! Like you could even mate with my mighty true form. I know I'm beautiful, but there are limits."

Kai looked down at Syl and Alicia for help, catching their eyes one by one. He found only amusement.

Two days later, Hope was floating silently above the main lake in the domain and Kai was looking at a collection scantly clad woman in front of him on the top of the roof of the residence of the domain.

Kai regretted letting Syl arrange this.

He was standing in front of what would have been a collection of super models on Earth.

Even Orril and Kardain had the cut of men found on the front cover of magazines.

The issue was the speedos and string bikinis.

Only Sicily and Gift, in their younger forms, stood there in something that could be considered modest.

When he had asked Syl why she hadn't introduced something like a one piece, he was quietly informed that she had and that he should be thankful for what he got as Alea's version of swimming baths were all completely nude affairs. That everyone had seen what she was planning to wear and just went with that.

Apparently, freeing the nipple was not something Alea needed, as the cousins were apparently just wearing the tops because of the novelty.

Looking at the three attractive blonde el'vei, trying to spot any difference, anything he could use to identify the three of them. Noting the fact that the three of them were identical, the only distinguishable difference between them in how they chose to wear their hair and noticeably different bust size.

They could swap and change their hair, so it was no good keeping track of them that way. And he would be damned if he used their bust as a means of identification.

As the cousins giggled to each other, he remembered he had another way, and he examined them and thanked the spirits his personal system let him mark each of them with their names.

That these three beautiful triplets fancied him to varying degrees didn't seem right to him.

Kai looked over towards Syl and Alicia and he was caught off guard by the look they were both giving him.

Syl going so far as giving him a hand signal that read, 'I'm watching you.'

Kai's sudden panic must have satisfied the two of them, as they then also giggled to each other.

Knowing that defending himself would only open himself up for scrutiny from everyone present, he decided to get this started.

"Raise your hand if you can swim?" Kai asked everyone in front of him.

Kardain, Sicily, Gift and Talious raised a hand.

"Okay, raise a hand if you can swim in your humanoid form?"

The three shape shifters dropped their hands.

Kai sighed and gestured for Kardain to come to his side. "How good of a swimmer are you?"

"I can keep my head above water," he grinned. "But I spent more time training when I was your age than I did visiting my mom's palace for a leisurely dip in the pool."

Getting a bad feeling, Kai asked, "Okay, how far are you comfortable swimming?"

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Kardain thought for a moment as he squinted into the distance. Eventually he said, "I once crossed a river in a dungeon in my full armour, but our bags floated and the current carried us most of the way. We were just thankfully nothing was in the water."

"Are bodies of water really that dangerous?" Kai asked as he turned back to the curious line.

Everyone looked at one another and Kai saw the mix of confusion and agreement.

Orril stepped forward and folded his arms. "Everyone knows water is dangerous."

"I'm not saying it isn't, but I think the issue here is what's in the water. Where I'm from swimming is commonplace."

"A good lake is an excellent place to find food, believe me," Talious said as she exposed a toothy grin.

"You like fish?" Kai asked.

"The big ones are okay, but I prefer the smaller leviathans. You ever want to know which bodies of water are safe? Ask a dragon. They'll tell you which one they are keeping their snacks in."

Kai noticed Kardain lick his lips, and he asked him, "What is it?"

"I haven't had fish in years. Even at mother's table it is a bit of a luxury. Safe fishing is only found in a few rifts and dungeons. Though there are rumours of small villages that somehow live by rivers and lakes and manage to get by fishing the waters."

"Just rivers and lakes, no oceans or seas?"

"No one lives by the vast waters. There are old maps with some lost cities, but it's just too dangerous."

"I don't even cross the vast water. There are things in there that can swallow me whole," Talious added. "They're just too dangerous to hunt alone, despite the essence they give."

This all lined up with what Kai remembered Temra had explained to him on the ship as he pointed out to the lake in the domain. "Well that body of water, while it has some kind of spirit fish living in it, is completely safe. I'm told you can't even drown in the water if you tried."

Everyone looked at him, then out to the body of water wearily.

"Now where I am are from, there is a saying when it comes to learning to swim. Actually, it's more of a saying about facing challenges head on. It's about your mindset."

"Are you talking about jumping into the deep end?" Syl interrupted. "That is why we're on the roof, isn't it?"

"You asked me to teach people to swim. This seemed like the easiest way to get things started," Kai said with a sly grin.

"Deep end of what?" Ester said as she looked up the line to the edge of the roof.

"Well, normally it is the deep end of the pool-"

"Pool's don't have deep ends," Orril scoffed.

"They do where he's from. Keep up," Ester said, without looking back from down the line.

Orril's jaw snapped shut as he glowered at his sister.

Kai walked to the edge of the roof where the decking hung out over the water, and he turned back to everyone else.

He tried to catch Ester's eye, give his thanks for taming her brother. But from his new position, he realised she wasn't looking out at the water or the edge of the roof.

She was actually eyeing Cillian.

The group moved round to line up in front of him.

Kai had to change his assessment as he realised he was wrong about Ester eyeing Cillian when he caught her unashamedly checking out cousins'Flegs asses as they all shifted their position.

When Ester finally looked over at Kai, she realised she was caught. She just bit her lip and shrugged with a hungry smile.

Chuckling to himself, Kai pointed over his shoulder. "This is our deep end. Specifically designed for some rest and relaxation by Syl."

Syl bowed dramatically.

Cillian walked up to the edge, stepping carefully as he got close and looked down, "Kai, you're insane if you think this is either rest or relaxation."

"Once you get used to it, you'll find it fun. And I'm guessing just knowing how to swim will open up opportunities in the future. Just think of all the ladies you can impress with your prowess. Now try not to panic and keep your legs together when you hit the water. It's not so high that will injure yourself, but a belly-flop is something you don't want to do more than once," Kai said as he contemplated pushing Cillian over the edge.

"What?" Cillian said with wide eyes as he backed away suspicious Kai was planning something.

Kai decided it was a bad idea as the opportunity literally moved away from him.

"Everyone come close and watch what I do. I'll be right back," Kai said, turned, and jumped off the edge.

His higher stats carried him further than he thought, but he concentrated on keeping things simple. Legs down and feet together, he smashed into the water just as he crossed his arms.

Surfacing, he took a breath, and started pushing the water away with sweeps of his arms as he tread water and looked up to see a curious row of faces looking down on him from the roof.

He swam casually over to the ladders on the side of the jetty, where he opened up a portal back up to the roof.

"That is the safest way to do it. The main thing is to not panic. Oh, and make sure no one is below you when you jump," Kai said as he stepped through the portal. "Who is next, or will I have to push people? There is a variation of that saying about throwing people into the deep end. You're all levelled. I'm sure you'll figure this out faster than a child."

"You do this to children?" Kardain asked.

"Best time to learn. Now who is jumping first? Theres a water-slide for anyone who can't work up the courage," Kai hadn't even finished when Sicily and Gift turned and jumped together,both of them squeeling joyfully as they fell.

The group turned to look down over the edge to see the two smallest among them surface, flail in the water for a bit before figuring it out and working their way over to the ladder and through the portal Kai had left down on the jetty to then run straight past the group and jump again.

"See it's easy."

Syl turned to Alicia, grabbed her by the hand, and gave her a look. With a nod, the two of them turned and jumped.

Kai watched as the group looked over the edge, remembering all the times he had jumped of cliff simply to prove he wasn't scared to the onlookers.

The same thing seemed to spur them all on. He had challenged their collective courage, and if one jumped, then most likely all of them would when they realised it was safe.

Unless, and he was hoping, this wouldn't be an issue, there was a genuine phobia among them.

He was relieved when the cousins chose to jump next. Ester jumping right after them.

The calls that came from below when Orril looked over the edge and a quick peek back through the portal behind him told him told Kai there weren't any issues.

Orril turned back, his shoulders slumping when he caught Kai's eye, straightened up and setting his shoulders, he turned and jumped.

Noting the way, the shorter man grabbed his beard and tucked his legs, the splash and the applause that followed told Kai that Orril had just performed the first cannon ball.

Kai wondered if they would know what a cannon ball was here on Alea, if he would have to come up with a new name for it or if his omniglot skill would translate the name into something everyone understands.

When Temra looked like she was about to jump, Kai realised he might have made a miss calculation in his plan. Temra was pregnant, her baby bump prominent already on her smaller Gnomel stature. She shouldn't jump, even with her higher level and stats. Or could she?

Kardain either felt the same or picked up on Kai tensing up and he called out to stop her, "Use the slide, please?"

"But-" Temra complained.

"Please?" Kardain asked.

"Dont make me change the contract," Temra warned.

"Please."

There was a long moment's pause before Temra let out a long sigh, "Fine, but if our child is boring, I'm blaming you!" She then climbed into the slide and disappeared, a scream of sudden delight echoing up the tube.

That left Cillian, Niamh, Kardain and Talious.

Cillian was still looking over the edge, doing his best to ignore the calls from below. It seemed he was immune to his cousin's jibes.

That was when Niamh caught Kai's eye as she quietly stepped round behind her brother's back, grinned, and then, without looking, reached out and pushed her brother off the edge.

Kai and Kardain both laughed as she bowed.

She turned, placed her legs a little over shoulder with apart, then reached down to touch her toes in a stretch that rocked from side to side before finally standing up straight and adjusting her bottoms to fit perfectly on her ass.

"Was that for me, you or both of us?" Kai groaned quietly.

Before Kardain could give him an answer, Niamh twisted to look over her shoulder to look Kai directly in the eye before she blew him a kiss, winked and jumped off the edge.

"Shit."

Kardain just sighed. "It's not so bad. They're your age, all promising adventurers and growing friends of your wives. Just wait. People will start sending their daughters your way for nothing more than political gain."

"One of those wives is your little sister," Kai complained, as he mentally made the decision to continue to avoid the domain while they had guests.

"That doesn't mean much on Alea. Even Thanric got along with my father like they were brothers before he went missing in a rift raid," Kardain said as he stepped off towards the end of the deck. "Just don't break Alicia's heart and I won't have to break you," he finished with a warning as he, too, made the jump.

That left Talious.

She turned and walked over to him, dodging Sicily and Gift as they ran through the portal to then jump into the mouth of the slide.

"She's in heat, if you're interested," Talious said, the look of amusement on her face speaking volumes.

Kai's jaw fell open as he looked at the Dragon in her hot red bikini, his brain trying to catch up with what she had just said.

Talious looked herself up and down, then said, "No Kai." Her tone clear, firm and just a little bit amussed.

"I- I wasn't," Kai stammered.

She grinned, her perfect sharp white teeth showing as she gave him a feral look. "Most of them are nearing it. The three sisters are next, in sync with each other but slightly off from the devious little one."

Kai tried to retort that he didn't want or need to know. That was when the cousins came out of the portal behind Niamh, who bounced along confidently in front of Kai. He clamped his mouth shut.

He made a deliberate point of not watching them as they disappeared one by one down the slide.

"Can I ask why are we are doing this?"

"The swimming?"

Talious nodded.

"Because it's a good skill to have. But the main reason is fun."

"Fun, hmm, I guess I can have a little fun now and then too," she turned and walked up to the edge, adjusted herself just as Niamh did and jumped off the edge with an evil laugh.

Syl stepped through the portal and paused to look at Kai.

"Are you going to stand here all day or join us? The lot of them, as superhuman athletes, are picking things up quickly. Though I had to make an inflatable donut for Orril to climb into. He sinks fast whenever he forgets to tread water. But no one is panicking, which is the main thing."

"I'm utterly screwed," Kai said as he looked off into space.

She walked over to wrap her arms around him and give him a long, passionate kiss.

Pulling back from him, she gave him a knowing look and said, "You were screwed the day I met you. First the system, then me," she sighed. "Then us being bound and coming to Alea, finding Alicia… Now you're fucked. We both are."

Kai didn't see what she was getting at.

"You are handsome, kind, and now you also have a powerful position. Woman are always see you as desirable. Some are going to want you, and some might even try to take you." She reached down, grabbed him, and squeezed. "Just don't ever let me catch you thinking with this and not you heart, mind and soul. If you can do that, we won't have any problems."

When she turned and walked away, her backside swaying seductively.

Kai decided to start up the barbecue. He needed time to recover, and maybe even a stiff drink to dull the pain and frustration.

Four days later, his plan to hide on the Hope was thwarted when he was banished to the domain for hogging the control crystal so much.

He was watching Talious as she tended to her new herd of Orruk.

They had come across a herd she insisted was wild, one she often attended to, just as they were leaving the Dawn Empire's borders. And the dragon had wanted to take a few for the road, put them into long-term storage in case she got nostalgic and decided she fancied a shift into her true form to consume a meal that could apparently sustain her for weeks.

That was when Alicia mentioned they were thinking about bringing orruks for their unhatched dragons to hunt when they grew large enough.

Talious loved the idea, and they lost a whole afternoon to convincing the orruks that the weird place through the shimmering hole in the world was much safer than the plains they were currently in with the dragon flying menacingly overhead.

Kai had thought the big hairy things would be wild, free, and stubborn. But they were more docile than anything else. The key to getting them to traipse through the portal actually lay in them, sampling the peculiar purple grass more than it did any instinctive fear of dragons.

Now, Talious was learning that herding was a lot different from hunting as she tried to move them into the next valley.

Kai chuckled as he watched the dragon swoop down to swipe at the bull of the herd, as she flew away with nothing but a clump of fur that was evolved to come loose in such an attack, the big beast ignored her as it kept grazing.

He watched as she rose high and circled back, when he was suddenly overcome with a strange feeling, one that was building by the second.

Talious approached quickly, wings outstretched and dropping into a downward swoop as she picked up speed.

The feeling grew within Kai, and it looked like the dragon that was coming straight for him would collide.

But he was locked in place as he felt a something call to him.

Talious flared her wings at the last moment as she shifted through a torrent of her own flame, her horned and scaled humanoid form stepping softly onto the hill before Kai. "You feel it don't you? The eggs, they are hatching."

He nodded as the sky above them shifted, shook and he felt something crack, a new energy, a new connection solidifying within him.

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