Lind had finalized the adjustnts to the new gateway. He had not nad it as he wanted Teegan to. She would be in control of the weavers he had taught to modify the other Gates to the new thod.
It would be the work of decades even with teams doing it but perhaps others could learn and speed up the process.
He had actually modified the original inscriptions with his weaving and tapped into far more of the kukan stone than was previously possible. He still had to credit the refiners as without their inspiration, he would have fumbled with it for a much longer ti than he had.
"So it can work with the existing Gates? How does that happen?" Ethan was nearby as he was one of the key figures of the new power growing in the Blessed Amber Scale lands.
He had stayed like all his group to work with Lind and the rest to settle those that had nowhere to go. Teegan had been generous to let them build a new ho but hopefully it would beco sothing wonderful in the future.
"The Gates use resonance and while the gateway can invigorate them, it will only make a more stable connection than before. The other issue is that a Gate cannot connect back. Whoever leaves this way will not be able to co back until the conversion is complete." He was about to go into more when he noticed Teegan was now coming over.
A flash of sha went through his heart but he schooled his face to reveal nothing.
"Make sure the weavers are confident and I will inspect them later." Ethan bowed to him and marched off to the impromptu hall being used to practice weaving and other professions that had stayed with them.
"You know why I have co?" The happy and energetic young girl had been slowly replaced but a serious and focused leader. He also knew why she had co. He was not proud of indulging his anger.
"I am sorry about–" She raised her hand to cut him off and motioned to follow her. He nodded and put his tools away in his ring to follow.
The sight of deep tan and crimson robes were easy to spot but no one dared co near them as the aura around them was tense.
Delenn frowned as they passed but did not stop her lesson to so budding Forgers they had discovered.
The pair went into the main cavern and finally ascended until they ca to an alcove with so furniture in it. Teegan activated so wards and motioned for him to sit.
"You were wrong to do that. I am not saying the man is innocent as I can sll the blood on him as much as you can but you taught
I can only act on what I can prove. He may have been abused in the pens. He may have had to do things to survive that are driving him to act erratically. I punished him but then you acted like you were the true authority over life and death." She stood up and paced a bit before turning to him.
Her eyes demanded an answer and Lind felt uncomfortable in a way he had not for a very long ti. He realized his frustrations were causing old wounds to be irritable on his soul.
"Sigh, it is not him in particular but what he wanted to do. Your scents were a bit off. He was not lusting after the woman. He had specific ideas of what he wanted to do. He wanted to control her and bind her to his will." Lind felt anger rise in his heart and beca concerned.
He had not realized how much he was bottling up lately. The guilt of what happened on the trail behind his journey was the start but he had been running non-stop since.
"I am the product of, to put it politely, a forced coupling." He saw Teegan take ti to process before she looked grim. Dragons chose their mates by strength and combat. Any dragon that forced mating would be killed on principle!
"I know humans are monsters at tis but things like that make it hard to tolerate them. Did you have a heart demon?" He nodded.
"I actually had 3. It was a dark ti but had extrely important people help
and heal . Yet, heart demons are not a one and done event. You learn the tools to process your emotions and regrets. You have to do it as you cultivate and progress or new heart demons could rise from the graves of old." Lind felt it right then.
It was weak but heart demons were there. He sensed maybe 2 at the mont but more could be forming.
He felt like a fool.
He was not a child nor was he naive, but he had fallen into the cycle of dark emotions and venting his frustrations in unhealthy ways. He shook his head in sha.
"True Lord?" He felt a sting on his heart. She was confronting him but did not realize the depth of his sha.
"I do not deserve to be one today. You are doing very well, Teegan." His use of just her na shocked her but she smiled.
"Can I do anything to help?" He shook his head but then nodded.
"Yeah, you can keep calling
out. No one is infallible. If you can hold onto that and accept criticism will take you very far. I have to deal with this soon. I do not need to battle heart demons on top of everything else going on." He was humbled by a child.
It was ironic after all Qing taught him and he had faced but the threat of heart demons never went away. So long as cultivators periodically confronted their regrets and emotions, it would be fine. He just had not done that!
"Thank you for your reprimand, Teegan." She blushed and he bowed low to her. She beca flustered and was quickly tilting him back up.
It was only when she ca close that her scent filled his nose and his instincts reacted. He had not been around dragons that did not know him for quite so ti, yet now he slled sothing familiar that made him smirk.
"Sothing you want to tell , Princess Teegan?" She instantly backed off and was now deep crimson. He felt no ripple in his heart which made him sad for her but he waited.
"Um, well since we are talking about regrets. I want to mate with you!" Even he was shocked at how direct she was. Her face was looking at her toes but he did not laugh nor sneer.
He summoned a jade slip and placed it on the desk next to him. He infused his Qi and an image flickered to life.
"Teegan, look up." She glanced up and froze as she saw smiling faces waving at her. They were won, beautiful won.
She saw a demoness, humans, beasts, and even an aether child! The image flickered and younger people showed up. So were tackling the younger children to tickle them while the oldest ones were adults trying to corral them for the image capture.
Lind smiled warmly and felt he should look at the slip more often.
One of his heart demons shattered right then and he knew part of his frustration was tied to not being able to see his family.
He did not dare to accept that was all to it but would examine it more later.
"My family." He only spoke 2 words but saw her face grow pale. He held up his hands and put the slip away. "I am cut off from them. I have not seen them since I ca here from the Ogros Kingdom. I will not get to see them unless I can confront my enemies."
He did not elaborate as it involved things that would only terrify her.
"I see. I am sorry to have offended–" His aura slamd out sharply but only to stop her as tears ford. He smiled warmly at her.
"I am in no way offended. I am honored. I am, however, deeply in love with my wives. Believe it or not, the harem was not my idea! They are quite forceful when they want sothing and they don't let
lie to myself." He then slowly stood up and his aura shifted.
He was now the True Lord and Triple Maester all at once but also he let his full dragon aura flare. Teegan basked in it but then frowned. She had senses on par with his own so she had to feel it in his completely exposed aura.
"You don't feel anything for ?" He shook his head.
"You are my student and now a good friend. I treasure you and will always co to your aid if you need . Romance, however, is not there. I cannot stay and I am on a journey that I do not know the ending of. If I knew then what I know now, I may have married at all." A dark shadow crossed his face as a new slip appeared.
Several beings displayed on it but it stopped at a massive dragon! The aura was clearly an Immortal even just as an image!
"Lanbao died for . She saved my life from a being I have sworn to kill. That being has threatened all I love over and over. Each ti I feel like I have learned all it can do, I find more nightmares waiting to strike. We are all trying to survive and I have chosen to walk into fire." He was not being a martyr but the stark reality was that his enemy would strike at him any way it could.
"A broken heart can nd, True Lord. I will wait." Lind froze. He slowly turned and saw a gentle look on her face. A realization crossed his heart as he considered her words.
Ever since Lanbao died, he had been guarded but not closed off. His family had to help him a lot at tis but they were always there. He slowly began to grasp that other won had been clearly after him but he had pushed them all away.
His other heart demon scread as it beca much fainter.
"I have a lot to think about, it seems. Your words are not wrong, Teegan but I still feel I will not change my mind. Accept that possibility and do not push others away." It seed ironic coming from him but he bowed once more and left. His humble pie was a bit much but much needed.
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