...like a dipshit

Not everything Mel and Cari said was psychotic bullshit. Since learning the fate of Falowfield, where his refugees had been fleeing from, Simon had been on the grind. What was once a large hub-town had been swallowed by a hive of the Hornet Empress's children. Most of the inhabitants were bug-food before they knew what was happening. Fortunately the ones he had found were from outlying farms, far enough away that the swarm of horse sized insects was thin enough to allow for some of them to escape. With the growth rate of those hives he didn't have the luxury of waiting until he was confident in his ability to burn the revolting things from very far away. Sending Nyali out with an escort to gather more fighters was simply a wise precaution, an entirely necessary delay. It had absolutely nothing to do with the way the image made his flesh crawl. Mostly nothing.

The past days had settled into a tense routine as he readied himself. After seeing to the needs of his people in the morning he would study what magics Ariel could teach. Mostly light magic, binding and healing, Ari was a powerful air elementalist and summoner but Sly could already practice air magic and Ari warned him not to try summoning until he was ready to be noticed. Even divine protections can't keep you hidden if you shout into the ether.

Lovers Quarrel, renamed by Ariel because 'Try to kill Ari' wasn't to his liking, was fun at least. With his speed of learning shared it proved to be an even more beneficial exercise for his companions. By the time Lara could hold her own she got a grasp of what Sly's biology could do and insisted that he keep his gifts active while they trained, at least until she had to stop training. She wanted all of the gifts active and was just starting to show a bump. Ariel didn't benefit from the sparring as much as Sly or Lara but by the evening the three would retire to the longhouse for the night and exhaust themselves.

Late nights, for Sly often slept the least, would be spent deepening his connection to his realm or experimenting with spells. Slowly letting his elemental infusions permeate the realm, though it was not quite in the world it touched Ruyanei and he drew the beasts fleeing the swarm into it. The lands, bursting with life magic, would keep them safe and encourage re-population. As he grew in power so did Tir an Fiain, though it was concerning that it seemed to be gaining it's own quirks. The pens were broken. Always. They couldn't be repaired and the pixie-drones refused to work on any fences. That the drones were refusing was disturbing in and of itself. If they start developing sapience he would need to figure something out.

The little village bustled now. Garth and his family had brought seed and were growing. No natural earth would produce so much so fast and some of the fast growing produce was already being harvested. To Sly's great delight they grew hemp, so he had sifted through to find female seeds. No tobacco around here but after an evening of manipulation he had several freakish cannabis plants grown and cloned. Conor, at Sarah's urging, had set up a meadery and would have some fermented soon. With that and the newest generation of silk-weavers producing mythril-infused silk in abundance he had valuable trade goods as well as the means to enjoy the time they all had.