Chapter 256 – Goddess of the Dragons gives her Decree

*** Alzi ***

This pregnancy itself may not be as bad as my last one, but this marching makes it so much harder. I don't have any stairs to climb, and I'm not washing useless nobles like before, but the problems are how annoying it is to move around and the damn cold. Everything is growing: my tits, my belly, and the number of wounded nobles coming in. Poison is, unfortunately, too common an issue right now.

Elora said we wouldn't be marching for a bit. The enemies have settled again, or we are too deep, or something. I don't know. Elora tries to explain it to me, but I just don't care about the reasons. I just want to go home to my Mommy and raise all of my kids.

I'm well past the halfway mark with these kids, and I'm no longer allowed to take a horse to the men's camp. Well, they never said that, but I asked to start taking a carriage instead. It's much more comfortable, and easier on me. Sex hasn't gotten any easier, but I'm used to much worse, and my skills make up for it easily enough.

I have snuck a few kids into Shyla's womb over the days. I want to see if they will all go together, or if she'll go into labor multiple times. It's a bit mean to the one who is being nice to me now, but I say it is important to know. I may want to have the Mistress pregnant often, and that would be a good way to keep it up, if they don't get forced out all at once.

I'll just have to make Shyla a concubine afterward to make it up to her.

"Shyla, is it normal to be moving this fast through the levels?" I ask. I woke up to more levels and mana. It seems Skills are a bit rare now, since I have all the basic healing skills.

"Kind of," my maid says, measuring out my tits yet again. "All your wives are growing quickly. War provides many opportunities to grow, but not as fast as you are growing. Kali and Esta are much stronger now than when this started. I'm sure you recognize some of the nobles that come too often, and they are bigger in the chest. War trims a lot of nobles, but the ones left are always strong. A small balance the Goddess of War gives out to those that participate in her domain. It is how Lady Oriphusa gained much of her strength."

"But at this rate, I'm going to complete yet another class, or classes this time," I say. "This is a record for me."

"My aura does help those that sleep with us grow. We are having sex a lot," Shyla says. "Are you sure you don't want to shrink these tits of yours?" Her hands jiggle my mounds of fat, mana, and milk.

"Yes," I say. "When did you figure it out?"

"I saw you shrink them, my Lady," Shyla says. "Just let me know. When this is over, I would like to figure out a few sizes that you like, and I can build wardrobes around them."

"If I still don't want to shrink them?"

"Then, my Lady, I will have to keep adjusting, it seems."

"Are life mages this rare?" I ask.

"They are rare, and not all life mages are healers. Some are botanists, tamers, or potion makers."

"So most armies only have three healers?" I ask. "What was the army Lady Oriphusa joined going to do without her?"

"Most have more than three. The army Lady Oriphusa joined had more healers than normal. When Lady Oriphusa left, they were planning on moving some of the healers here. Still, you are doing enough that it wasn't needed, my Lady. The Queen's army hardly has any healers besides the royal healer. Kelly likely is among them. Her healing output should be even lower than Kali and Esta."

"She did fine in the brothel."

"She used you as a battery, my Lady," Shyla says. "Are you ready to go to the medical tent?"

"More fighting?" I ask.

"Yes."

I groan as I stand up. I'm at the waddling stage of the pregnancy. The three little girls have been kicking around in there for a while now, making sure their mother doesn't forget about them. If Zarzi is still alive, I doubt she can sleep with all those little feet kicking her.

I waddle beside my maid to the tent and begin my wait.

*** Zarzi ***

I shouldn't have given Alzi a number to aim for. My future husband is already torturing me, though that is all my fault.

It took less than a month for me to look ready to pop. The kids will be active soon. Two hundred little feet kicking around down there, or maybe I'll have some luck, and they'll be eggs. All I know is that my Goddess has promised to keep my kids and me alive as long as I do my job as a high priestess, which has me naked all day in this lavish cave.

My wives are graciously helping me. For now, I can move, but I know it will be a few weeks before I'm stuck in a position without help.

"Thank you, Cisu," I say to my wife. I accept the glass of water and begin to drink. The kids are hungry and thirsty. I have to eat and drink constantly to stay alive. Part of the normal training for this role is how to eat and drink efficiently, something I have to learn fast if I'm to make it through this sane. The Goddess only promised that my children and I will live, nothing about my brain.

A group of silver and red priestesses come in, singing to our great Goddess. Each breathes a bit of magma into a channel along the edge of the room, a simple offering to start one of the many rituals I join, or that happen around me, really. With each ritual, I can do less and less as my belly starts to pin me to the ground.

My wife scurries away to let me do my job. They don't have the time to learn the rituals, instead putting their entire focus on keeping me alive and sane. But the Goddess has drilled my role into me every night. Her lessons are my only break from the kids in my belly, joining the Great Goddess in her realm to learn how to worship the Great Goddess of the Dragons.

I seep my mana into the pool of magma to start my portion of the ritual. I close my eyes and direct my focus to our Great Goddess of the Dragons, showering her in our praise, offering up our mana and worship. This ritual is asking for guidance in return for our offerings.

Guidance on the possible betrayal of our Queen.

"What?!" I shout. "SHIT!" A burst of pain stems from my chest as my attention wavered from our great Goddess. I have to fight through it and ask for forgiveness, my own mana joining the offering to try and placate the Goddess for my failure.

Jars of blood get placed around my pregnant form, and the animals the blood came from go next. The silver Priestess who welcomed me dips her hand in one of the jars and starts to write the question out on my belly in the tongue of the Goddesses. Another writes a rune between my tits, pouring mana into it.

I feel the Goddess accepting the offerings, the jars and animal carcasses leaving the room with the magma. But a stern feeling comes back, hinting tonight will be a painful one for me.

"Do nothing. Let the idiot sacrifice herself. Send out a message that she does not have the approval of the Goddess, and any who wish to skip out on this war may. They just need to pray and join me in my temple. Any that dare stop them from safety will become my unwilling servant," I say. Well, I don't make the decree; I'm just a mouthpiece for the Goddess to speak through and offer her guidance and wisdom.

"As the Goddess decrees!" the silver Priestess says. They give me a final bow and shuffle out.

Thazi comes out from my wife's private bedroom and starts to wipe the blood off of me with a rag. It must be done manually, without magic, or it may interfere with future rituals.

"Thank you, Thazi dear," I say. "Are you ok with living here?"

"You're welcome, dear," Thazi says. She's gentle with the cloth, willing to take a bit longer to clean me so I don't get hurt. I had to learn how to humble myself before them quickly, or I would be a miserable woman. They do too much for me, so many things I count on, just for me to live after I let that girl do with me as she pleased. My future husband. Our future husband. "You need to focus on the ritual."

"I know. But my mother betraying the Goddess? How could they do that?"

"The Queen is distraught after the King's betrayal."

"I think she was always like that. I hope Mother can pull her in the right direction. I doubt the Goddess would stand aside if this plan was going to work for them."

"Yes," my Great Goddess says. "Yes, it would be best for your mother to wise up and straighten the idiot out. As it stands, this is the best I can do to limit the deaths of the dragonkin. Now, what is your job again?"

"To relay the request and offerings clearly to you, my Goddess," I say. "And then return the message perfectly." I'm in the familiar great hall of the Goddess's great temple in the divine realm. Her face is blurred, as normal. I lay on a marble altar, always prepared to be a sacrifice in one of the Goddess's rituals if I go back on my word.

"Yes, and did you do that?"

"No."

"No, you did not. What happens if that messes up the message I send? Do you wish to pop? You could cause all of the dragons to die if you mess up. The reason for the message to be delivered through a ritual, instead of just telling you, is to put power into my command. Putting divine power into the wrong command can end the dragons."

"No, my Goddess. I'm sorry. Please forgive this lowly one. I was just surprised that we would fail you like this."

"Yes, a number of disappointments at once," the Goddess says, her finger moving over my belly. "Try to stay sane."

Pure pain spills out from my womb. The feeling of bursting over and over washes over me as I howl out to the tall ceiling.

Over and over, I feel what the Great Goddess is protecting me from.