Four centaurs and a gargoyle

You pass through the air at the entrance of the canyon and five people shimmer into view a few dozen yards away. Interesting, you think to yourself, so they can't see in and we can't see out; interesting that it blocks vision both ways. Then you turn your attention to the figures waiting for you. You recognize Ysbail immediately due to her size and her huge sword, and you've seen both Ceirios and Cai stark naked so it's not hard to recognize them, either. Knowing those three allows you to pin the male centaur as Llwyd; with all the armor he wore, you weren't even sure of his skin or fur color until now. The fifth person, however, is a complete enigma; you wouldn't even know it was a person except that a three meter tall granite statue of a nude male human with bat wings and a dangling quarter meter long dong is just a little out of place, and Brighid already told you that one of the neighboring territories is controlled by gargoyles.

As soon as you and Brighid approach to within easy speaking distance of the group, both Cai and Llwyd kneel down on their front legs and bow their heads to you. They speak in harmony, reciting what is clearly an ancient oath. "I pledge my sword to thy banner, my shield to thy defense, and my honor to thy glory. I swear to follow thy commands, advance thy causes, and never to work against thee or thine wishes for so long as thou dost hold faith with me."

You are being offered an Oath of Fealty

This ancient oath is given by a vassal or sworn servant to pledge allegiance to their liege lord. Unlike the oaths of a vassal, the oath of fealty is heavily weighted in favor of the liege; their only responsibility is to maintain a basic level of trust with their servant. The oath-swearer, in turn, pledges their unconditional loyalty and service to their liege. Do you wish to accept the Oath of Fealty from Cai and/or Llwyd?
Know this: Both acceptance and rejection have serious consequences. If you accept an Oath of Fealty, you will gain a Follower, a powerful ally to be sure, but one which marks you as someone with power. However, rejecting the Oath will cause a severe drop in your relationship with the one who is offering you their service and may have further negative effects in the future. Choose wisely, Chosen!

You close your eyes and sigh. To you, it has been less than an hour since the fight with the Taig; everything is still fresh in your mind and you still have not had time to even process all of your prompts, let alone deal with all the emotions and actions and reactions stemming from it all. But to everyone else in the Realms, it has been more than a week, so you reign in your frustration and jangled nerves and open your eyes again.

"Before I say yea or nay, tell me, both of you, why you have chosen to take this step. Nine days ago I doubt either of you knew who I was, except for being the object of rumors. Why are you now promising me your unconditional loyalty and service?"

Llwyd and Cai look at each other, then Llwyd replies, "My Lord, because you need us. There are other reasons, good enough on their own, but what it really comes down to in the end is that you performed a very public miracle and sooner or later someone will come hunting for you because of it."

Cai picks up the narrative. "I owe you my life, my Lord, literally owe you my life. You gave up your life for me, and I know from what you did after my death and from talking to Brighid this last week that you expected nothing in return for it. That alone would be worth something much stronger than the Oath I just swore to you, but it also shows just how much you need people to look out for you. Please, my Lord, accept our Oaths. You will need people you can trust implicitly, and the sooner you accept that and accept us, the better you will be for it."

Llwyd has the final word, however: "My Lord Aidan, I now believe with all of my heart that you are a force of good who has the potential to change the whole world. Even if you are reluctant to accept our Oaths for your own sake, please consider accepting for that reason. Let us help you make the world better."

You have to admit, while you expected Cai's life-debt argument, the rest comes as a total surprise to you. They both make good points, however, and at last you nod and mentally accept the Oath prompt. Instantly, the proper words come to your mind, and you say, "Rise, Cai. Rise, Llwyd. I hear thine Oaths and accept, and in return I swear to hold faith with thee until the end of days." Both centaurs rise gracefully to their feet and walk to stand on either side of you and Brighid.

Next, Ysbail steps forward half a pace. "Don't worry, I'm not going to be pledging my allegiance to you. I like you well enough and Heavens know you need all the help you can get, but I'm a little too independent for that. I actually haven't even been camped out here waiting for your return like all these others, I just happened to be in the area this morning. Good luck, eh? Anyway, I just wanted to thank you and to say that if you ever need something big killed, give me a call. Maybe work on your strategy next time, though; even the true phoenixes of old are long dead now. Keep that in mind." Though her words are more than a little standoffish and even a bit rude, she gives you a warm smile. You figure that's probably just the way she is with everybody.

Ceirios steps forward next, but you hold up your hand to forestall her speech and instead ask her, "How are you doing? Mentally, I mean. You suffered more at the hands of that thing than any of the rest of us did except maybe Brighid, and I already know that what my ritual was able to accomplish did not completely heal her mind." Brighid squeezes your hand and you squeeze back.

Ceirios lowers her eyes briefly, but then meets your gaze squarely. "Thank you for your concern, my Lord. I will not say I am well, exactly, but I will be well. I can remember what happened, what was done to me, but almost like they are someone else's memories. I know that is not completely healthy, but I also know that it should be much, much worse than this. Thank you, my Lord, for everything, and before you say anything because I can see that you want to, I do not blame you one bit for what happened. You did the best with what you had. If we had no time pressure, I am sure you would have taken the time to tilt the situation further to our favor, but as it is, almost two thirds of our tribe's warriors are dead and ashes. If you had waited even five minutes longer to explore other options or clear the hallway of vines, then Fionn, Ailis, and all the others would be lost as well -- and we still probably would have ended up in the same situation. That is what I am really here to say to you, Aidan. You are a good man, and I know that you will blame yourself for what happened regardless of what I say, but I waited here with the others to tell you that I believe you did the best you could possibly have done. The only one who bears any blame for any of what happened is the Taig, and you are the one who destroyed it for good. Like Ysbail, I will not pledge my fealty to you just yet, but know that I will be there in the future if you should have reason to call on me." She gives a short bow and steps backwards.

You turn to the gargoyle and raise one eyebrow; he is the only one left to speak. Sure enough, he bends his head slightly to you and speaks in a deep voice with a strange resonant quality, like echoes in a cathedral. "Greetings, Chosen Aidan. Know that I am called Sarpedon, of the Sapphire Sky Horde. I have come, along with those of my brothers and sisters who yet remain awake, to make a request of you." You blink at the living statue in surprise; what could you possibly have to offer his people? He smiles kindly at your look of confusion and says, "I give you my apologies, it has been long indeed since I last talked with one who is not of the Sapphire Sky, and I have forgotten much of how it is outside our conclave. Perhaps it would be best if I were just to explain quickly. My people, and I mean gargoyles as a whole, not just the Sapphire Sky, are dying. Not from any disease or malady, but because we do not have the ability to reproduce on our own." Now you're even more confused, and your confusion must be showing because Sarpedon grimaces. "It is a very long story, millenia old, and I do not think this is the time nor place to tell it all. I will try to be brief. Our race does not produce sexually, as humans and centaurs and most others do. We are not a natural race, you see; we were created by mages as a sort of extremely advanced golem. Some of our more distant kin would object to that characterization, but it is true as far as it goes. When those ancient mages realized just what they had made, though, they worked with us to give us a means to make more of ourselves, in limited fashion. In essence, two gargoyles intertwine a portion of their souls in a specially-made receptacle along with the soul of an Animamancer, who fuses all three soul fragments together into a new, unique soul. Ah, I see that now you begin to comprehend what we wish of you."

He holds his hands up placatingly and says, "We know that you are young and yet to come into your full power. We are a patient people, Chosen Aidan, both as a race and a cultural grouping. All we want from you is your willingness to work with us to attempt to make new gargoyles when you are a powerful enough Animamancer to do so. We do not know the rituals required to join the souls, for there are no living gargoyle Animanancers in all the Realms, but we do have the knowledge of how to craft the receptacles. We do not require results, only effort, and only once that effort could be gainfully employed. In return, we offer you our guidance and wisdom. There is much which has been forgotten in the Wildlands which we still remember, and there is one thing in particular we could show you this very day which could advance your cause more than perhaps anything else we know of." He pauses a moment, then adds almost as an afterthought, "Do not fear retaliation should you turn us down. As I said, we are a patient people. Eventually, another will come who has the qualities we seek, and eventually one will accept our offer. If that one is not you, we will simply return to our lands and await the next."

You have been offered a new Quest!

The Next Generation
Long ago, gargoyles were created by mages using techniques lost to time. When those mages discovered that they had created a new, sapient race instead of just powerful golems, they selflessly chose to work with the gargoyles to develop a means for the gargoyles to reproduce. Unfortunately, the secrets of that method has also been long lost; the last newborn gargoyle came into the Realms outside the memory of the oldest living mortal. The Sapphire Sky Horde has identified you as having the potential to re-discover this lost secret and breathe new life, literally, into their dying race. They have requested that, when you have grown skilled and powerful in your arts, you devote time and energy to helping them give birth to a new generation of gargoyles.
Success: Achieve Adept rank in Animamancy and begin research into ways to create artificial souls.
Failure: Achieve Adept rank in Animamancy, but do not begin serious efforts to research artificial souls within one year of that time.
Optional Goals: Successfully re-discover the method of gargoyle reproduction; devise a new method of gargoyle reproduction; cause the birth of a new gargoyle child.
Reward: Unknown.
Penalty for Failure: Enmity with the Sapphire Sky Horde.
Notes: The Sapphire Sky Horde has pledged to teach you lost knowledge and offer guidance in exchange for simply accepting this Quest. There is no penalty for refusing.
**Do you wish to accept this Quest? Yes/No

You shake your head, suddenly exhausted, and ask, "I am sorry, Sarpedon. I do not mean to be rude, truly, but from my perspective I died less than an hour ago, in an exceptionally painful manner. I need time to gather my thoughts and consider your offer. Would you mind if I think on it tonight and tell you my answer tomorrow?"

The huge living statue manages to look abashed and even sheepish. "Of course, Chosen. I sincerely apologize for not waiting for you to recover, it is just that we have been waiting so long without anyone with your potential coming within our ability to sense them. I became over-eager and pressed when I should have remained patient. Please, by all means, consider as long as you need to. I will wait for you at the top of the tall hill outside of the Starchaser village." He bows to you, unfurls his wings and flaps them once, then hops into the air and rises into the sky with a massive downbeat of wings which look like they weigh a ton each. You just shake your head again; the entire time he was speaking to you, Sarpedon spoke with a slow and measured pace, with barely any variance in tone, even. If that was him being over-eager, you can't even imagine him being bored.

You watch the gargoyle fly away for a moment, then lean against Brighid and ask the group of centaurs, "Are any of you going to pitch a fit if I ride Brighid back to the village? After returning to life like this, I can barely walk. It took me almost fourteen hours to make it from this spot to the village last time. She can carry me in her arms if it will truly offend any of you, but that will be slower and less comfortable for both of us, and I really, really need to sit down on some nice cushions, have something to drink, and decompress for a while."

Cai, Llwyd, and Ceirios all shrug and shake their heads, and Ysbail just laughs and says, "I'd give you a ride myself, but I suspect Brighid would punch me for it."

"Yes," your Soulmate says through clenched teeth, "She would."

Ysbail laughs again and waves her off. "Relax, Red. I'm not trying to steal your man. I prefer a stallion who can cover me completely and tug at my tits while he's plowing my pussy! I'm sure that tail of his has plenty of fun uses, but I'm old-fashioned like that."

Brighid blushes scarlet at Ysbail's on-point comment, but you place a hand on her flank and she kneels down on the ground for you to mount her. Fortunately, she already had the thick riding blanket in place. Riama hops up in front of you and Brighid stands back up. You wrap your arms around her waist and lean against her, saying softly, "Canter please, flame of my heart. I don't think I can handle a trot or gallop just yet." She takes one of your hands from her waist and kisses it in response, then places it over her heart -- which just coincidentally means your hand is also right on top of a huge, soft breast -- and takes off towards the village at a canter.