Drae thought carefully, keeping mental notes specifically on where the girls, Sapphire in particular, were not to travel. He thought that he may need to pay a visit to Sularia at some point, curious as to what would have been there that would have been so dangerous. His interest was definitely piqued, but he nodded and agreed to make certain that Sapphire and the other girls didn't wander off. 

When it was mentioned, however, Drae raised an eyebrow. "DaeLuin?" he asked, unsure what she was talking about. It was not a place he had ever heard of. He looked at her puzzled, but then looked to the air above them as she formed the two gems and proceeded to explain what was going on, the effect the World Tears were having, and what it that was on the other side. The concept of time and space being torn was a fascinating one, and he listened, his eyes following her object lesson with extreme focus. Dopplegangers had an interesting ring to it, as there were so many theories floating about as to what would happen if someone ever came into contact. Apparently, in this case, the individuals would fuse and become one being. He looked at her as she explained that she was the fusion of two parts of one being, each from a different realm, with the memories and experiences of both. 

Drae wondered what he would have been like, if there had been a doppleganger of him out there in the world that had fallen. Frankly, he wasn't sure he liked the idea of walking around with more than just his memories in his head. 

"I don't know how I would handle having the memories of another me," Drae said softly. "I can understand why you are so stressed out," he told her as the gem was set upon the nightstand and she snuggled close to him. "I'll do what I can to help you here, my services are yours, out there in the Temple, or here in bed," he told her. He held her close. "Sleep now. I'll do what I can to chase away the nightmares," he said as he began stroking her hair soothingly. 

Angela watched his eyes with a gentle smile. She was still so very tired but he was comforting to her. Someone who knew her pain and was wishing to help her even if he was getting something on his end of the deal, he was doing it in a way no one had thought. The Goddess was happily snuggled into him as she thought about everything that the next day would bring. "It is very hard to deal with since she is also missing her husband. Since I haven't found him I am assuming he did not make it through the sundering. Though he is not the type of man who would like my lifestyle. Nor the amount of little ones running around."

Closing her green eyes she thought about it. "He didn't really know how to deal with his own children let alone the ones she gave him. I can't even call her me. Things are so much different here than there." His arms held her close and she kissed his neck as she nuzzled the side of his face.

Nodding to his words she yawned and wrapped her arm loosely around him. "You are a good man despite what you say. At least in the way you treat both the girls and me." That was a plus for her as she fell asleep to his warmth. She twitched a few times but it was not as violent as earlier.

The morning came with one of her other lovers come to wake her from his arms. "What is it?" She didn't even open her eyes as he shook her shoulder gently.

"It's the clock in Sularia. Work has begun on it." His voice was harsh with her and she opened her eyes. Angela kissed Drae softly before pulling herself out of bed. She kissed the other man lightly and moved to undress.

"What is the progress on it? Have the mages begun to find the pieces?" The man moved over to her and helped her undress. He would have been all over her by the looks of it if it were not for 
Drae being there.


"The pieces of the clock are falling from the tears that are recently opening like it was predicted. The water has been pushed back so the repairs can be done. It is with hope that this will balance time." He pulled a dress up onto her and pulled on the strings lacing the corset back up for her.

"Thank you. You may go now, I'll take half the clergy with me to Sularia. You've earned a good rest." The man was upset clearly that Angela hadn't asked him to accompany him instead she moved over to Drae and sat down on the bed. "It looks like you will have time to spend with the girls. I'll be back in a few days time from Sularia. If everything goes well that is."

Drae lay there for a while after, watching her sleep in his arms. Her words bothered him a bit, though he couldn't put a finger on why. He watched her for what must have been hours, seeing the powerful woman become reduced to a scared, vulnerable mother in a matter of minutes as the dreams began to bother her. She didn't cry out, and when she did become upset, he held her tighter to him, to bring comfort. At one point he ventured to carefully removed his vest, shirt and belt, so that he could sleep comfortably without risking ruining his best clothes. He fell asleep in her embrace and slept quite soundly. 

He barely shifted when Angela was roused by one of the men that took residence in the shrine and left his arms. If he did wake at all, he was so far gone that their conversation about the clock in Sularia became interwoven into his dreams. He felt the kiss upon his skin, but he could not have been certain if it had been real or not. The only time he did stir was when Angela had come beside him on the bed again and he looked up at her groggily as she explained she would have to go away for a few days, and that this would give him a chance to get to know the girls. Drae, unaware that there was another of her lovers in the room, nodded sleepily. 
"All right… but do hurry back. We have unfinished business," he muttered as he reached up and caressed her face affectionately. "You look stunning, by the way," he added. It was hard to tell if he was joking, for the morning light had yet to enter the Goddess's bedchamber, that is, if it ever did. 

The lover behind Angela, a high elf by the name of Kalidyn, stiffened visibly and he scowled at the half asleep half-elf in his mistress' bed. 
"Come, My Lady. They are waiting for you," he insisted through gritted teeth. He then turned and left the room to wait for her outside while she finished with Drae. 

He stood there, thinking hard. He had not expected that face of all faces to appear sharing a bed with his lover. And how differently she treated him than the rest of them. At least with the other men she was just as indifferent, but here she was treating that silver-tongued charlatan like he was better than the rest of them. He wondered what it was that Adraejen Porthyrius had done, what spell he had woven her, to get her to treat him like a king. It infuriated him. Of all the men there, it was he, Kalidyn, who should have been sharing her bed with her, not Drae. After all, he was Angela's favorite, and was a favorite to her daughters as well. Or at least he had been. He smothered his burning gaze towards the bedroom as Angela exited the chamber. 

"What would you have me do while you are away?" he asked, hoping to do something to gain some favor with her.

Angela chuckled at him and kissed his lips. "I will hurry the best I can." She gave him a small smile as she caressed his face back. "Sleep Drae." She kissed his forehead and left the room with Kalidyn. "Alright." She pulled herself up from the bed and left the room. There was now much to be done now that the repairs on the clock had begun.

Her green eyes looked up at Kalidyn. "Take the few days I'm gone off. You've earned them quite well. Drae will take care of the girls while I'm away." She reached her hand up and caressed the high elf's face before making her way to where they were portaling out of the temple. Angela's mind was fresh with the sleep she had managed to get last night. 

After a while a young clergy member popped into the room. "Sir? Mister Adraejen, the girls have requested you come and join them for breakfast. I'm afraid there's not many of them here but will that be alright?" The girl was a pretty little thing. "Some are from DaeLuin at the table, the mistress wanted me to tell you that. They will introduce themselves or maybe they will be quiet. When you are ready I'll take you to the to dining hall."

Bowing she left and waited for him outside. Once ready they traveled together down to a large room almost like castle dining hall. The ceiling was vaulted and painted with wondrous murals. Large crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling with bright ever glowing candles. Iva and Sapphire sat there with four other girls. They all looked up at Drae when he entered before going back to chatting. All of them were still fresh in their pajamas except for one.

She had long strawberry hair and was by the looks of things a half elf like Drae. Though when the candles swayed her hair was more red with mixture of silver. She was dressed for the day in a corset dress. She hardly even looked old enough.

Another was a sun-kissed skinned girl. Long white hair with red eyes. She wore a long black nightgown. She was elegant by far and the most proper at the table. Her manners were beyond the others, from the way she held her silverware to her speech.

Finally there were the twins. Their hair long and blonde.  Each of them had enchanting bi-colored eyes. One appeared a light blue while the other was an enchanting gold. They were gossiping about the local things happening around the cities and what not. Everything seemed lively as a spot was prepped for Drae.

Kalidyn watched Angela leave, and doing what she insisted, he turned and stormed off to his own private rooms. 

Drae was woken by the rapping of knuckles upon the door of the chamber as a young lady of the clergy popped in. He lifted his head from the cloud-like pillows as the pretty girl came in and delivered the message that Angela's daughters were waiting for him to join them for breakfast. He looked at her groggily as she shared this message with him and he nodded. "Right, I'll get up," he said as he got to his feet, shirtless. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and staggered over to the dresser that Angela had said he could use and began rummaging for a shirt and vest. 

Hefound something dashing but simple and splashed some water on his face before he threw it on. His good vest and shirt was in a wrinkled mess upon the floor. He ran a comb through his slightly mussed hair before he straightened his clothes and headed out of the chamber to where the member of the clergy waited for him. He followed down the hall to the dining room and walked in to see half a dozen young women, ranging in ages, all sitting at the breakfast table. Several of them had Angela's red hair, but there was one or two who did not. Drae put on a charming smile as he came in and greeted them warmly. 

"Ah! Good morning! How lucky am I to be greeted by such lovely faces this fine bright day," he said as he bowed slightly to the girls before he moved to the chair that had been designated for him. He sat between Iva and Sapphire greeting each of them with a smile and a good morning before he looked at the four other unfamiliar faces. 

"Well, I know Sapphire and Iva from yesterday, but I have yet to have the pleasure of making your acquaintance yet," he said to the others. 

Iva was sitting there in her chair with Winston on her lap. She peered over to her sisters who were chatting about. "Do you think they will help us Winston?" Probably but she wanted an adult to do this delicate job of helping them out. Breakfast was brought out for all of them and placed in the center of the table for everyone to choose what they want.

"Can Winston and I have some juice please?" Iva loved juice especially from the sweet fruit in the throne room. Nodding to her request the helper got her and Winston two cups of juice. She kicked her feet lightly as Drae came in. "Good morning Drae!" She yelled excitedly from her chair as she patted the seat next to her. "Winston and I are about to have breakfast!"

When Drae asked about the other four Aelwen was the first one to speak up. She moved her long strawberry hair and nodded her head. "I am Aelwen LeSilve. I'm a battle mage and one of the daughters from DaeLuin. I was also a runner for my uncle's guild before the sundering. My mate is Christian but he will be around later. I think he is scouting Revaliir for signs of his people." Her eyes were silver almost like one of the moons in the sky.

Nerezza was next. "I am Nerezza Rose. I am daughter of Angela and the man named as Raeguel. My twin brother is Lucian. I am a psionic mage or learning to be one. I am the younger sister to Aelwen." Her voice while pleasant had much to hide in her eyes. They were almost like a dark well as if always hiding something. "My papa calls us the only thing he ever did right."

The twins were next as they were chatting and got quiet. The one on the right went first. "I'm Belle Rose! I am a traveling herbalist that studied under my mother I am not here much. This is my twin sister Fern. She doesn't know what she wants to do!" Fern nodded to him and laughed with Belle.

Compared to the ones from Revaliir Aelwen and Nerezza looked hardened perhaps their life had been different back on the other plane. Though Nerezza certainly held more grace to her as she took small amounts of food. Aelwen was basically almost stabbing poor Sapphire's hand to get food.

Iva leaned over. "I heard that Aelwen is kinda half blood elf but they don't call them blood elves. I don't know what the difference is but Aerkai are scary." She peeked over and watched Aelwen eat. "Drae? Can you tie Winston's new bow for me? We want to match!" She gave him a pink bow. "He gets a pink bow today because Mama got me a new dress from Abed!"

"That you're going to get mud all over," the twins teased her.

"Nuh uh! This time it's going to be different because Winston can't get dirty!"

Drae's first thought toward Aelwen was that she was incredibly small built for someone of Fey blood, though what her exact heritage he wasn't sure he could pinpoint it. Nerezza had secrets, he could see that in her eyes, secrets like he had, which amused him greatly, though he did not know what the nature of her secrets were. 

"You are lucky. I was never lucky enough to have a sibling," he chuckled towards Nerezza in her mentioning her twin brother Lucian. He looked to Fern and Belle who were simply like mirrors of each other. Belle announced that she was an herbalist, and Drae smiled at this an nodded. "I know who to come to for herbal remedies then," he told Belle then looked to Fern. "Don't worry, sometimes it take people a long time to find their calling. Is it simply because you like so much that you can't choose, or does nothing hold your interest, Fern?" he asked her curiously. 

He ate as he listened to the girls as they chatted and squabbled, and almost stepped in as Aelwen kept sniping food right out from beneath Sapphire's fork. Drae chuckled softly before he leaned down next to Iva to hear her words. He nodded as she told him that Aelwen was half Aerkai. Drae noticed as she peeked over the table, almost apprehensively at Aelwen. 

"Of course I can," Drae smiled as he took the bow and the black plush bear he had brought for Iva the day before. He carefully wrapped the ribbon about the bear and tied the bow neatly and perfectly before he handed him back to Iva. 

"There, now you two are ready," Drae smiled. He laughed lightly as the twins teased Iva that she was simply going to get her new dress all muddy. As she protested that she would not be getting dirty because Winston didn't want to get dirty, Drae chuckled and gently ruffled her red curls. 

"It's alright, Little Princess," Drae smiled. "There is nothing wrong with getting a little dirty. Its healthy even," he told her. 

Nerezza watched Aelwen for a bit before a stack of the food floated. "Nerezza!" Aelwen looked at Nerezza angrily. "Give me it!"

"Spoiled rotten." Nerezza said as she floated the food high enough that the small Aerkai could not reach. A war hammer appeared in her hands. It had to weigh more then the girl herself. "Do you really want to fight?"

The sisters stared at each other before Aelwen sat down. "Fine." Nerezza gave Sapphire a whole stack to herself and Aelwen leaned on her war hammer. "I'm not use to this many siblings and neither are you so why are you so happy about it?"

"We don't have much of a choice. We have to learn how to get along. My papa taught me you either adapt to the world or it kills you. Like putting candle snuffer over a lit wick. You adapt or you die. When I got my first kill I was five. I was not innocent like our dear Iva. I had always known my father was a monster, the difference was I did not understand what he was doing was evil. I butchered a man with a dagger." She elegantly cut a slice of food clean. "And I stuffed him into a bag. My papa understood that the visions we shared while he fed were probably very bad for me. However, I grew to understanding that it was not what he wanted for me. So you adapt or you die. Your father, if not stubborn, should have taught you that."

Aelwen slammed her hands on the table. "Say it again Nerezza."

"Taylef was an idiot who waged war on his brother. While he cared for me like he too was my father, he made an error thinking he could best Frey. Not only did he kill your uncle in our world, he put himself into a coma and possibly did not survive the sundering because of his mistakes. Are you going to deny that?" Iva pulled her legs up on the sit and listened as she got close to Drae.

"No, my father was an idiot but even if he made it here… He would leave mom as soon as he seen the way she is now. He doesn't share nor would mom let him keep up with how he lives his life. A life of lies and possibly hurting our brother. Our brother that mom was clinging to." Aelwen admit as she slid the plate over closer to Sapphire. "We Aerkai do not learn as fast as Vampires do. Nerezza has more insight on that then I do. My apologies."

Iva's eyes got big as she realized how much an impact their fathers had on their life. Everyone at the table was quiet at the moment perhaps they had realized exactly what little Iva had in that moment. They were all missing out on the lessons their fathers could teach.

After Drae put Winston's ribbon on Iva hugged him tight. She was glad that Drae was sticking up for her. "Drae I made you something!" She put Winton in the seat next to her as she reached in her pocket. "Mama got me beads when she went to Apoy Island. She said the villagers made them from their trees and shells on the beach." She brought out a necklace that had many beautiful beads in a very random pattern. "I made this for you because you got me Winston."

Iva blushed and giggled softly. "Will you wear it?" She was trying to make the mood happier as she spoke up the others did the same going back to their conversations.

Drae had learned quite young that you could never put a price on listening patiently. You could learn a lot about people just by watching and listening to their conversations. The argument between the two Other-World sisters taught Drae about who their fathers were and what kind of upbringing they had. He also learned that Nerezza was more likely to embrace, or rather accept, their life in Revaliir with their new sisters, while Aelwen seemed to have a hair trigger temper that was bigger than she was. He patted Iva's hand gently when she leaned closer to him during the argument, letting her know that if things started to get out of hand, he would have no problem intervening. 

Surprisingly, he learned something about Angela during the conversation. Of all her children, it seemed that it was her son, Lucian, that she clung to most. He thought about it. Yes, she had told him that most of her children were girls. As a matter of fact, he was pretty sure that Lucian was the only male child he had ever heard mentioned. He made note to do a little research on the rest of Angela's family. He was pretty sure that Sapphire might be able to help him find some sort of family line among the archives in the library. He also felt the need to research the Aerkai as well, and the coven of vampires besides the prominent Rosenites. 

The argument ended very much with Aelwen's admission that Nerezza was right about her father, and the comment that her race might not learn as quickly as vampires would. Drae was contemplating whether or not she was forcing herself to concede the argument for the sake of the younger girls at the table, or if she was actually sincere when he felt Iva tug on his sleeve. Her announcement that she had made something for him made him start with surprise. 

"Really, Little Princess?" he asked, a smile spreading over his lips. He watched as she put Winston in the chair next to her on the opposite side of him and pulled a strand of unique beads and charms from her pocket. He had seen such beads and shells among the fine crafts that made their way into the Wyllmochvar marketplace from Apoy island, but this one distinctly lacked any symmetrical aesthetic, clearly made by the red-headed child he sat beside. He took the necklace from her delicately and looked at it. It was, cute to say the least. 

"Thank you, Iva. This is very sweet. I like the colors you chose," Drae told her and was about to put the necklace into his pocket when she asked if he would wear it. He paused, and looked at the necklace again. It would mean a lot to her, though he could not imagine having an outfit that would go with it properly. He looked at Angela's youngest, and her big brown eyes, hoping that he would wear the treasure she had made for him. She was almost akin to a little puppy with how she looked at him. He let out a laughing sigh and nodded. 

"Of course I'll wear it, Little Princess," he told her. He lifted it to his neck and fastened the cord behind him, and let the assortment hang down near his collar bone. 
"There," he smiled. "How does it look?"

Iva gave him a sweet smile and nodded her head. "Yes!" She loved how he smiled at her and giggled as she pulled the necklace out. She had put a lot of love into it with the help of her faithful bear of course. "I thought they matched your eyes." She said crushing on Drae. 

The child was full of giggles as she watched him tie it around his neck. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She jumped out of her seat and onto him when he was done and hugged him tight. "You are the best Drae! Winston and I know so!" She rubbed her nose on his and hugged him tight before Sapphire got up and set him back down in her chair.

"You need to eat or you will stay small," the teenager said while petting the child's red hair. Sapphire was quiet as she moved some food onto Drae's plate as well. "Momma said we should show you around the realm today. Or rather one of us I figured Iva would be your best bet." Sapphire gave him a smile as Iva got a wide smile.

"We're going to run around in the wheat fields! Jump in the water at the salt flats! Climb on giant crystals! SEE WHO CAN RUN UP THE STAIRS THE FASTEST! We will do everything!" Iva squealed as she rushed to eat. Sapphire pulled her plate around and scolded her for making a mess. Iva gave a look before pulling the plate back and calmly eating. "Fine. I'll eat slow so I don't get sick."

She stuffed a honey roll in her mouth and made a face at Sapphire who sat back down next to Drae.  She took it out and swallowed the bite. "Drae? What's your favorite type of flower?"