It did still take them 5 days to get back to Kumse.

  The city was transformed back to its regular state over that time. The Supernatural Elephant had left, following the Path that it wandered every year. The highly ornate road would lead it to Asla, where it would step back into the ocean. A year would then be spent traversing the southern ocean, battling sea monsters and contemplating existence, before it returned to Kumse once again. That cycle had repeated since before Oras had been born and it would repeat long after he was dead.

  On the plus side, all the festivities being over meant that the city was a lot less busy. On the negative side, it meant that the road that they used to get there was filled with the pilgrims that were streaming out of it. More than a few people questioned why they were hauling an injured old man around. A couple of the travellers recognized the one who had extorted them.

  ‘At least they didn’t ask for their money back,’ Oras thought. “I am happy to say that our journey together is coming to an end.”

  “Extremely happy,” Theria yawned. The need to watch the bandit through the night had cut into both of their sleeping times and they were a bit cranky for it.

  The bandit had not said anything in two days and did not change that now. Even when the guards approached them, he watched the proceedings quietly. “So, you must be the ones that went to find the bandit,” the guard stated. It wasn’t the one that they had talked to before, but Oras did not have to wonder why he was so confident in that assertion.

  There were not a whole lot of Dragonbloods around. The Dragon God was not so concerned for the number of his kin in the world that he just threw them around. Matter of fact, Oras hadn’t met another one in his life so far.

  “And this is your bandit,” Oras reported. “I would like the rope back.”

  “You can untie him now, then. I think he knows better than to try anything at this point.” Oras did just that and the guards inspected the man. His nose had partially healed. They had even gone through the trouble of righting it, mostly because he had whistled through it whenever he slept. “Greasy, older male with flabby cheeks. Description matches what we have here.” The guard gave his comrades a signal with his head and they took the bandit into their custody. “Sadly for you, he hadn’t been active long enough that there was a bounty on him yet.”

  “I was aware of this.”

  “Ah, right, heard it mentioned it was your Showing?” Oras nodded. “Guess you got your reward then?”

  “Oh, he will get his reward,” Theria purred.

  “I’m not going to stop you then. Welcome back to Kumse. Enjoy the plummeting inn prices.”

  A city in which inns and pubs made most of their money in a single week was quite cheap the rest of the year. At the idea of saving his gold, Oras smiled lightly. “I will.”

  There was a matter of a priority higher than anything, one that made Oras’ usually stoic expression turn into a truly happy one.

  “You’re so relaxed, your pupils went round,” Theria whispered to him.

  “Did they now?” Oras asked. He had been told that this happened whenever he was truly happy or relaxed, but had never been able to verify it with a mirror.

  “You must really love me,” the redhead teased him. “Like a big, tall idiot.”

  “Nothing idiotic about loving you. The only idiotic thing would be to tell you that we have no shared path.”

  “That was really stupid,” Theria agreed. “Like, the dumbest thing anyone could say. Ever.”

  Oras did not disagree and he had negative inclination to repeat the only true argument the two of them had ever had. Not ever and thrice as little when it was the day of their wedding. He put his arm around her waist, pulled her close, and walked with her towards the temple of the Primary Cult.

  As fate had it, the priest that Oras had talked to was sweeping the stones that cut through the front lawn of the extensive property. “And so you return,” he greeted them dramatically. “Successful, given your mood.”

  “Indeed,” Oras answered.

  “Then come inside.”

  Oras and Theria followed the robed priest through the foyer of the quiet building. After days out in the forest, the cool of the structure was enough to make them shiver. It was not entirely unpleasant. The black-haired Dragonblood felt like it focused his mind on what was about to happen. For some reason, his pulse was accelerating now.

  “Please tell me I’m not the only one suddenly getting nervous?” Theria whispered to him.

  “You are not.”

  A girly little giggle escaped his favourite tomboy. “Why’re we nervous? We agreed on exactly this 3 years ago.”

  “Dunno, I ain’t the source of all wisdom either,” Oras mumbled back, his own countryside accent breaking through.

  “You’re not wise at all, you’re just book smart.”

  “Thank ya for the confidence.”

  “Ya welcome.”

  They both laughed a little at their back and forth, as loudly as they dared within these hallowed halls. Door after door was opened by the priest, guiding them through ornate corridors and mandala-decorated chambers. After minutes that felt like an eternity, they made it to the innermost chamber. Above them was the 1 man and the 5 women.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “First, hand me the Proof of Showing,” the priest instructed Oras.

  He separated from Theria in order to get to his pouch. Pulling out the folded paper was surprisingly difficult and he almost dropped it when handing it over. The priest just smiled at the young man, as if to say ‘that’s completely normal’.

  “You were tasked with taking care of a bandit that terrorized pilgrims and travellers alike. Were you successful in your endeavour?” the priest asked.

  “Yes. I located the bandit and beat him in single combat. Afterwards, I returned him to the city, to be judged.”

  The priest nodded approvingly at this. “A small mercy, as he will be condemned to either labour or the rope, but a mercy nonetheless.” He wrote the details of this down on the Proof of Worth, using large, elaborate letters. Once he had finished the final sentence, he held the document up. The ink was still drying as he spoke. “As one entrusted to interpret the wisdom of the universe and the teachings of the Supernatural Elephant, I hereby acknowledge your worth, Drakis Oras of family Gohman. Through a service to this city and the villages in that area, you have proven yourself deserving of the right to have one wife.” After handing the document to Oras, the priest stopped for a moment, tone shifting from the gravitas of the spiritual to the well-meaning joviality of an older man. “I believe you wish me to hold the rite immediately?”

  “”Yes!”” Oras and Theria answered instantly and in unison.

  “I will spare you the great rituals then. Face each other.” The two young adults did as requested. The priest took two steps back, positioning himself behind the basin of clear water. “Look at the ground.”

  They did. Beneath them was that elaborate mandala, created from coloured stones, inlaid with such perfection that no border between them was even visible.

  “Megomaia is a complicated place. The earth beneath your feet will be steady and yet shift. Greater beings than you will make it tremble. Do not tremble in fear, find solace in each other, for he is and she is what you have above all else. You stand on this earth together.” The priest stopped for a moment. “Look above you.”

  They did. Above them was the painting of the first follower of the Supernatural Elephant, painted by artists with expensive pigment and the greatest attention to detail.

  “A relationship is a piece of the heaven and the stars. You who has proven worthy of one are expected to act according to that worth. You who is the first to be his woman are expected to serve him in ways different, for you are equal beneath the gaze of the forebearers and the universe, but different in who you are in this life. Compliment each other and the skies will bless you with fortune and children.” Once more, he paused for a second. “Look at your partner.”

  They did. Oras almost felt like crying, beholding such beauty. He did tear up a little, he was not ashamed of it. How could he not when she was just… his Theria? Nothing had changed about her in the seconds he had not looked at her, nothing except the trails of happy tears that were running down her own cheeks, leaving visible marks in the dirt of their journey.

  “No words from my mouth ought to ever be enough to describe the value you have to one another.” The priest took his final pause. “As one entrusted to guide the young and bind the worthy, I declare you husband and first wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

  There was no force in the universe that could have kept them apart. Before Oras even thought about it, his lips were already on hers. Her warmth filled his soul with song. She smelled of the forest and the road, of dangers and shared steps. She tasted of Dawnroot and salted meat. She met his tongue eager and his embrace in kind. She was everything he wanted and so much more.

  They remained attached to each other for a long time, until their entanglement of romance began to turn into one of passion and their minds realized that this was not the place for this kind of consummation. “Thank you!” Oras said to the priest.

  “It is my duty and privilege,” he responded in kind and flicked some of the holy water onto them. “For good fortune and cleanliness. Now, go and do what you ought to do.”

  Theria tugged on Oras’ sleeve. Suddenly shy, she averted her green eyes. That was, between short, blinking glimpses at his face. “Can ya carry me out of here?” she pleaded.

  He scooped her up immediately. Adventuring gear made her heavy but his pride made him strong. Without looking back, he hastily carried her to the exit.

  After that was the difficult part.

  A snap decision made Oras turn back towards the street they had come from. There were some proud whistles from people around that understood exactly what it meant for a man to carry a woman from that particular temple. Such supportive sounds ceased the second he sprinted towards the city gate. The soldiers were too busy and flabbergasted to comment on it.

  Oras’ muscles were burning by the time they made it to the forest. He was a healthy guy, but running while carrying a toned tomboy and her luggage would have made stronger men than him feel exhausted. Luckily, he was pumped up on every happy feeling a man could conceivably fit into his heart.

  Theria gazing up at him with unbroken admiration was all the fuel his fire needed. Without thinking about it, he ventured off the road. Years upon years of forest exploration let him confidently advance. He couldn’t run anymore, not when the forest ground was slippery from recent rain. At least that let him somewhat gather his breath.

  There was not a word spoken between them. Only the quiet anticipation of what came next existed between them. A woman like her would have looked gorgeous on any bedding, but Oras wanted their first time to be in the same kind of environment that they had spent most of their relationship in.

  He found a small glade, so far away from the road and the city walls that he was confident no one would see or hear what they did next. Trees and foliage created a barrier around a patch of soft moss, glistening with the dew of recent rain.

  Putting her down felt wrong, but he had to in order to let things proceed. The moment she was out of his arms, Theria was moving herself. She all but tore her clothes off, tossing them next to her backpack. Once stark naked, she yanked one of her blankets out of its bindings and tossed it atop the moss. The thick cloth made for the only separation from nature they needed.

  Oras watched, quiet and entranced, while his nude childhood friend presented the curves that had developed over the years he had known her. Her regular clothing had left little to the imagination and he had seen all of it before anyhow, yet she had never been more gorgeous than she was now, as his first wife.

  Theria’s tan was near universal. The brown-pink nipples crowned medium-sized mounds of a caramel shade. Only her womanhood was of a lighter colour and still far from pale. It was enough to highlight her mons, swollen with excitement, and the pink lines of her labia between them.

  She put her bubble butt on the blanket. Legs parted and fingers spread her pussy, for him to see everything that now belonged to him. Her midriff tensed, defined muscles curling up her shoulders and head. Her core was more than strong enough for her to hold the position while she used her left hand to make a suggestive gesture. Index, middle finger and thumb together formed a ring she held near her open mouth and presented tongue.

  “Wh-aht ah-re you goihng to do to youhr wife?” she slurred, refusing to end the lewd display of her mouth. The erotic gleam in her green eyes awaited his answer eagerly. Whichever of the two virgin holes he first wished to claim did not matter to the blushing tomboy.

  Oras quietly swallowed. He was not a virgin himself, but this was different from fooling around with a horny widow. His Theria only deserved the best. Pondering how to find the perfect way to satisfy her was simply in his nature.

  And satisfy her, he did.