The Beast Realm...

Reynard focused upon the fiery landscape ahead of him with a pleased hum and tilt of his wings.

This had been a special request, one carefully given asked of him by Big John. Reynard was amused by the squat Archmage, his unabashed pursuit of power and control, always trying to find the best angle and means to improve himself, leveraging his power.

The Human was powerful, there was no doubt of that, with a Lavadoom Dragon for a Contracted Beast, the Summoning Element to feed it, and Fire and Earth Elements that complemented it perfectly. With the Void Element for even more versatility, Big John was definitely sitting in a very comfortable position compared to many other mages, especially with the Seeds he’d been given early.

Still, Big John didn’t stand out among his KIA friends all that much. They all had tricks and strengths to fall back on, different ways of approaching problems that didn’t all involve brute strength, and so Big John was continually never satisfied.

That he really, really wanted to stand out in the eyes of Healer Fae was something so obvious, which the Human would likely deny to his grave. Not unexpected, of course. Did she not choose him, and Name him The Great Reynard? That alone showed her incredible foresight and cunning!

Still, there was no reason not to do the little Human a favor, especially as it was a good excuse for him to explore parts of the Beast Realm he’d never been to, which Ancestor approved of greatly. The Map of the Beast Realm was being filled in slowly and steadily as Marked vassals of Flowing Silver High Emperor traveled about, exploring and making contacts with distant Emperors. New Tribes of Beasts were being discovered, unknown Emperors at least identifying one another and their domains, and the landscape being discerned in detail, with so many interesting things to see, places of power, and little secrets to uncover-!

Reynard zipped under the dark and gritty clouds that covered this place, his eyes gleaming with Light.

Yes, there they were, wandering around under their illusionary Camouflage, nearly invisible and undetectable to lesser Beasts, and even to powerful Beasts who did not have greatly expanded senses... or knew how to beat the power.

He was The Great Reynard, of course, and Healer Fae had taught him many, many things beyond what he had learned from his sire and other elders. The invisibility of the Titans was no impediment to a Noble Beast like himself!

He could have concealed himself, of course, but that would have defeated the purpose of why he was here. So, he instead made a dashing, eye-catching figure as he swooped across the skies, heading into the territory of the Fire Titans below, looking for a valley where a family group would be lairing.

Ah, that looked promising!

The Titans couldn’t hide the interest in their thoughts as he swooped down and landed on a hillside out of threatening range. His seven Tails, with an eighth grown to half-length (praise the clever Healer Fae for the constant wash of Celestial energy bathing his soul all the time!) were prominent around him.

He’d yet to find a race of Beasts that didn’t recognize the Many-Tailed Foxes as a noble Bloodline. The Titans were equally noble in their Bloodlines, and peers knew peers. Their Tribes were neither enemies nor allies, and he could feel the slow curiosity of their thoughts as the dozen or so Fire Titans below him regarded him... and then realized he was regarding them right back, despite the fact they were supposed to be hidden.

One by one, they fluttered back into normal sight, realizing their Concealment was useless. The Golden Sun Titan, a mighty Duke-class being who could contend with Kings of less noble Tribes, took the initiative to approach him, leaving his family at a distance that both of them knew was purely superficial, as the reach of both of their attacks extended across many miles.

But he had no hostile intent, merely sending the Titan a pulse of thought when it was proper to stop, and the slightly startled, towering behemoth of burning stone hove to a halt.

It was a good fifteen stories tall, a towering fellow who could look his Ancestor in the eyes. Supposedly Emperor Titans reached hundreds of feet tall, among the tallest and most massive of the Beast Emperors.

“Why are you here, Fox?” the Titan rumbled out in his slow and grim manner, a bit suspicious, but Reynard was broadcasting ‘Here as a Friend!’ and he wasn’t nearly as hostile as he could have been.

“Greetings! I am The Great and Noble Reynard, of the noble Golden Winged Celestial Many-Tailed Foxes! I have come here as a favor to my Contractor from the mortal world! She has an associate, a powerful Archmage of Fire and Earth, a Summoner who is politely wondering if a member of a Fire Titan tribe might not wish to Contract with him!” Reynard said forthrightly, fully aware that Titans appreciated clever discourse about as much as boulders did.

He could tell that the request was completely unexpected, the great Titan blinking fiery eyes at him in confusion as he processed the words.

“Titans do not need to Contract with mortals,” was the eventual, grinding reply.

“Of course you do not! None of the noble Beasts do!” Reynard agreed promptly, confusing the Titan further. “We don’t Contract because we NEED to do so. We do so to save a great deal of time!” He hopped to his feet, and proceeded to prance around in a circle, showing off his horns, his wings, and his many Tails. “Eight cycles! The Great Reynard went from one Tail to Seven and more in eight cycles! It may have taken Reynard fifty or a hundred cycles or more to do so otherwise!

“The Great Reynard notices you have a strong and virile son, but he is merely a young Silver Moon. If he could join you as a noble Golden Sun in but five or ten cycles, would that be worth a Contract with an appropriate mortal?” His golden Tails fluttered hypnotically, while the massive Titan frowned to consider that point.

“Five or ten cycles?” the father Titan asked, his stony face managing a frown as the burning flames in the cracks of his hide surged and slumbered in turn. The great craggy head turned to regard the younger Titan watching from safely behind him, all of his family clearly interested in what was going on here.

Growing to a Golden Sun Titan in but ten cycles? That was as fast as the most legendary of Bloodlines might do!

He called out to his son, who came striding up with heavy, yet deceptively fast, ground-eating strides. The younger Titan only came up to the waist of his father, yet he still towered far over Reynard, and exuded all the primal strength and power of his species.

“Show us this mortal who thinks to Contract with Titans!” the Golden Sun Titan huffed.

Oh, this is the best part!, Reynard grinned, letting his tongue loll out as he notified Big John in the Markspace.

The response was almost instantaneous.

The air trembled with the force of the Summoning Magic that abruptly manifested right beside Reynard. The complex Seal seethed with the power of Earth, Fire, and Void Magic, reaching across the abyss between their Worlds effortlessly and manifesting in a huge Seal that towered over even the Golden Sun Titan, glittering with dark stars within shining crystals and blazing with Fires of depth and fury that even a Fire Titan had to acknowledge.

The Titans stepped back instinctively. They could feel the magic thrumming in their bones and their blood, calling out to them with its fury and its sheer domineering strength. Not even the elder had beheld a Summoning as mighty and perfectly attuned as this, and Reynard could read the flash in his eyes.

If this mortal Archmage had called for me, I would go!, the Titan was thinking.

Space peeled inside as that incredibly powerful Seal seemed to recede into infinity, and the Veil between their worlds opened.

The first thing they saw, apart from the gorgeous Fireland and its many Fireborn Plants beyond, sure sign of a Fire Phoenix or Luan’s touch, was the Lavadoom Dragon there, also a Baron of its species, looming tall and proud, flames beating solemnly beneath his scales and in beautiful patterns upon his wings.

Dragons and Titans had a long and proud history together, longtime allies and neighbors, sharing a primal elemental heritage that bound them. The Titans could also now discern the Dragonfire in the Seal spun by this mortal.

The very, very small mortal, who radiated all that power from such a tiny frame.

The power and presence of the little Human radiated across the Veil between them as he met the eyes of the two Titans without fear, secure and sure in his might and magical strength.

“I am BIG JOHN!” the little Human’s voice thundered loud enough to shake the ground, loud enough to be acknowledged by Titanic ears. “I seek a Fire Titan to stand with me against the Darkness beyond, to grow and grow with him in service to Earth and Fire! WHO WOULD JOIN ME?!”

The two Titans stared, almost mesmerized by the power before them, and the Golden Sun Fire Titan abruptly realized that he himself could swear a Contract with this little mortal, and give up none of his own power to do so. The little thing was that powerful in his magic...

But, no. He turned his eyes on his son, and prodded him forward.

A Silver Moon Titan was the weakest of their kind, but as a Great Commander was still able to contend with Barons of most other races. The young Titan was gaping at this display of power from something so small, and the presence of a Dragon Baron of Earth and Fire, on top of that!

He stumbled forward a step at the prodding, shook his head, and then the mote of light that signaled a Contract emerged from the silver crescent on the young Fire Titan’s forehead. The burning spiritual Seal flittered forward, pressing up against the Veil before the little Human, who reached out his hand opposite.

The flash of the Contract Seal filled the entire Veil with four Elements of magic, and the young Silver Moon Fire Titan almost fell down at the shock of the Contract being accepted!

Reynard’s Tails waved in delight. The massive young Titan was only a Great Commander, and was dealing with a Six-Tier Archmage! Of course it was the inferior one in their relationship, but that would only help him grow faster...

“Have you a Name?” Big John asked the towering Fire Titan now Bonded to him, and received a hesitant shake. Titans acknowledged one another with variations of ‘Hey, You’; they didn’t normally have names themselves.

“Then I am going to call you Little John! And you, you are going to be Father John!”

The Golden Sun Fire Titan blinked as the Name settled across his soul, stunned at how easily it was bestowed upon him!

“Come, Little John! I would like to show you about these beautiful Firelands, so you have tales to tell your family! Also, I must introduce you to Lord Quake here, and my Lord Fire Phoenix Emperor, who has made such beauty for us to enjoy...”

Bid by the Summoning Magic of the Contract, the young Fire Titan stepped forwards, at first hesitantly, and then with mounting eagerness, passing through the silvery Veil that normally denied passage between their Realms with no effort, and so joined the Human and Dragon on the other side.

The massive Summoning Seal reversed itself from existence, receding back in from infinity, and then smoothly unspun itself, as if it were not there and never had been.

Reynard’s Tails fluttered in appreciation for the show, while the Fire Titans looked on, somewhat dazed.