[coronatiger]

Thoughts on March 28th

I dreamed I was a sequence of people, both men and women. There was neither wealth nor poverty. I believed that at least some of these people were descendants of the person I was in my first dream. In some lives I had the ability to manipulate people, and in one generation I drained life out of a sexual partner. I noticed that in all the visions where I possessed supernatural powers, I was a woman. Unfortunately, I was a man when I woke. I recounted the dream to Olivia. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. I said it would be awesome to have wings like in my first vision. I’ve flown once, using a magic potion, and it was marvelous! Olivia said she would love me no matter what form I took. I smiled and said that if I suddenly sprouted wings, I needed to be very careful, particularly if it happened here in Fort Glory.

I prayed to the Sulla statuette, and spent the rest of the day preparing for, and performing, the show. Va’lyndra heard about competitions outside the city, with no cost to participate, but with large prizes. The competitions were going on as long as the conference lasted, and it would be fun to join, but they were held in the evenings, when I had my shows.

Tonight, we performed in Sun Empire’s tent camp, on their marketplace. I meditated before the statuette when Olivia and I got back to our room at the mansion, and discovered how to focus my will and change between Fabian and Mattea. It took a few seconds and a lot of effort, but it was a price I would pay ten times over. I had performed bare-chested, and Olivia’s eyes popped when I grew back into a woman. She buried her face between my breasts. “That’s not the only parts of me that have returned to normal,” I said. Olivia tore my trousers off, and we celebrated my return.


Thoughts on March 29th

With the ability to change genders at will came also an understanding: Having sex with me drained people of their good luck. Not that I was receiving any of it. Olivia frowned pensively for a moment when I told her. Then she said “I don’t care!” and threw herself at me.

Even though I wanted all the attention I could get, in my own form, to build my reputation, having Fabian disappear suddenly might draw suspicion, so I transformed back to my alternate, male body before leaving the room. Although I had begun to acquaint myself with that shape, it still felt a little “off”, so using it for a few more days wouldn’t be a bad idea. I predicted that there might come a time when I need to change into Fabian and be at my best. I should probably change into the male body regularly, to keep up the familiarity.

From today, there would be two shows each evening, according to Varek, so even watching the competitions was out of the question. I had already realized that I wouldn’t have time to compete. Ilzo, on the other hand, decided to skip the performances to go wrestle and throw knives, after taking a trip up the mountain earlier in the day. To his credit, he won the wrestling competition, but I was still mad at him for standing me up.


Thoughts on March 30th

Varek had infiltrated the higher ranks of society, so today we were having festivities at the mansion. The main event, of course, was my acrobatics performance in the garden. Olivia told me that Va’lyndra had come to see her; a man would arrive during the show, and he should be taken to her. With a background in service, Olivia had taken command of the household, and she notified the guards about Va’lyndra’s visitor.

Ilzo informed me that there would be a long-distance running competition this evening, and asked permission to join. I told him I needed him at the show, and that I hadn’t quite forgiven him for his escapade last night. When Va’lyndra said he should use his gold-plated armor, he smiled broadly.

The garden show was a raging success, and I enjoyed the mingling afterwards immensely. There was food and drink and music, and a good time to be had. Va’lyndra’s friend, Fredrik, arrived and the two of them secluded themselves for a good while. When Va’lyndra came out, I gave her a nudge and a wink and asked how it was. She glared at me and said nothing. “Welcome to the world of adulthood,” I declared. She really is clueless! I gave up and went inside. Fredrik was sleeping on a sofa, and didn’t even wake up when I plumped down next to him. Good job, Va’lyndra! I nearly became jealous, but I knew I had Olivia, so everything was all right. I spent the rest of the evening with an arm around her, chatting to wealthy merchants and low-ranking nobles; Varek hadn’t attracted the cream of the crop yet.


Thoughts on March 31st

Leopold spent yesterday at his guild doing research, he informed us at the breakfast table. He completely forgot the time and missed the show, but found a clue to possible undercover Serals, advisors to nobles. That was why we were here in the first place, so I guess I shouldn’t be angry with him for missing the show. I asked if I shouldn’t do something to help with our world-saving quest, but Olivia explained that my job was to draw attention away from Leopold’s and Va’lyndra’s snooping.

According to Leopold, there were about three to five Serals in each nation, doing advisory work and influencing the nobles. There apparently weren’t as many in Sun Empire, and the Holy Alliance had about as many as all the other nations combined. Leopold invited Va’lyndra to come with him to his guild to meet the source of this information; perhaps she had salient questions for him.

Varek said there would be another garden party this evening, and Va’lyndra returned in time to help out. The guests were higher-ranking than yesterday’s, and included a council member from Kardia and a Fort Glory bigwig, a high human. I talked to them, as a good host should, and they asked how it was possible to accomplish such acrobatic feats as I had displayed. I gave a simple explanation, and told them that my cousin, Mattea, was even better than me.


Thoughts on April 1st

Leopold informed us that he had identified two persons, one from the Holy Alliance, and one from Virendia, who might be Serals, and we concluded that we didn’t have a clue what to do with that knowledge. Ilzo wanted to kidnap them, and Va’lyndra reminded us that there was a Chaotic weapon on the way. We should probably wait for the weapon before doing anything.

The Virendia Seral was an advisor to the colonial governor at Surd, and had accompanied the governor’s son in the Virendia delegation to the conference here. We should easily be able to find the Seral again when we returned to Surd after my tour.

The conference could last as much as a full week from now, but we didn’t have the mansion for much longer, so I suggested that we split the party when the lease expired tomorrow. Leopold and Va’lyndra could remain in case something happened that we needed to know about, and would easily overtake the rest of us, as we would take our time in towns and villages on the way north. Leopold also wanted to go into the desert south of the city and make measurements there. For some reason, the southern gate was only open between six and nine in the evening, so Leopold planned to go out one day and return the next. The guards didn’t pay much mind to who passed, as long as they did it while the gates were open.

Today’s show would be at the grand market, and then we were going on tour! Varek suggested that someone went ahead of the main group and did the necessary preparations and promotions for the shows. As he was the most competent person I knew for those tasks, I decided to send him, instead of hiring a random person to do it. Varek would leave today, so I told him that Mattea would be doing the tour, not Fabian. He replied that if that was true, it was good news indeed! I had Olivia confirm that Mattea was back. Olivia took over managing the show at the market.


Thoughts on April 2nd

Va’lyndra and Leopold stayed in Fort Glory when the rest of us left. I wished them luck in finding somewhere to stay, but Va’lyndra said that there should be room in the tent camps outside the city walls.

We made good speed, but didn’t reach Glory Harbor. We left the road and made camp. Once I was alone with Olivia, I discarded Fabian and became Mattea. I had finally grown used to the male body, but both Olivia and I preferred me as a woman.