Name: Alyssa Pruvik
Species: Luzo (Krystaali)
Gender: Aristi/Male/Female
Age: 104
Likes: Warmth, the suns, pastries, juicy fruits, sleeping in (on days off), the smell of clean water, hot baths, cleanliness, strong people.
Dislikes: Disorganized spaces, butterflies (IMPORTANT), arrogant people, needles, pants in general (NO TAIL HOLE? SERIOUSLY?).
I tolerate: Children.
Offspring: None.
Interested in: 65% women, 35% men.
Languages: Dragon Tongue, Elvish, Low Tongue, Common.
My motivations are: Finding the best pastry in the world.
Hobbies: Reading, sunbathing.
Highest Class: Cardinal (Healer, support)
Total Level: 400+
At the foot of the page was a drawing of the suns and what I assumed to be a person with a tail smiling under them. If not for the information above, I'd assume a three year old drew it. I couldn't help but laugh.
I noticed the priestess fidget a little at my laugh.
"This is pretty cute." I said, gesturing to the drawing on the paper. "She seems cute, too." I smiled and laughed at the comment about pants.
"Yes, she is." she sighed with relief. "I'm glad you find her so, your Excellency." the woman smiled warmly. "How does meeting with her sound?" she approached me with a different smile.
"Right away?" I blurted out. Things sure are fast in this world.
"My." she chuckled. "Not right away, Your Excellency." she grinned with a hand on her cheek. "Your Excellency would need to fill a form similar to this one. I'd take it to her and if she agrees to meet, I'll arrange it." she explained.
"Sounds fair." I looked at the drawing again and smiled. "I have a question, if you don't mind." I looked over the text once more.
"If I can answer." she nodded.
"What is an Aristi?"I looked at the woman.
"Hmm." she pondered, a finger on her chin. "Has Your Excellency not met the Luzo before?" a troubled smile the only thing visible on her face.
"Not yet. As a matter of fact, I woke up only five days ago." I said, a wry smile forming on my face.
"I see." she nodded. "Unlike the majority of species who only require males and females copulating to produce offspring, the Luzo require a third individual. Their role is crucial to the process, they receive both egg and seed, and are the party that gestate the new life. That is the Aristi." she explained. "The Jorrksuuv species are similar, but they are consisted of seven genders, each taking a crucial step in the process." she smiled.
What in the flying fuck? I was shocked beyond comprehension.
"So, a female Luzo can't get pregnant?" I felt my brain turn to mush for a second. The implications of three active genders were too confusing for me, let alone seven.
"Only if the objective is to conceive a Luzo." she chuckled. "Female Luzo posses a womb as any other species. This womb, however, does not present the adequate conditions that allows the gestation of a Luzo egg." she thought for a second. "If Your Excellency would allow me to be bold?" she lowered her head slightly.
"Yeah, go ahead." I nodded.
"Through a skill belonging to one of my classes, it has come to my attention that Your Excellency has both a penis and a vagina." she waited a second, perhaps expecting a reaction on my part. I just nodded. "If Your Excellency were to copulate with Alyssa under the right conditions, producing offspring would be possible." she straightened. "The limitation is only applied when the desired result is a pure-blood Luzo." she sighed with a smidgen of pity. "Such is the way of the world." a sad smile replaced her cheerfulness.
"I see." I nodded. "Are there species that aren't compatible with one another in terms of reproduction?" I had to ask, a tiny worry in the back of my head.
"My." she smiled, this time it was gentle and slightly amused. "Your Excellency is a Halve. There are very few such limitations." she shook her head and raised a finger. "However, a partner would need to be of sufficient power to nurture such a life, otherwise fertilization is not possible." she raised another finger. "The same applies if the partner is male, the seed too weak to fertilize Your Excellency's eggs otherwise."
I stared at the woman with new eyes. I nodded, the worry of unwanted pregnancy mostly answered.
So the Church is like... doctors and shit?
"What would this margin of power be?" my curiosity got a hold of me. If at any point in time I'd want children, I had to know.
"The short answer would be around less than ten percent of difference in total level. The study of this particular field of knowledge is not extensive enough, I'm afraid." she sighed. "Only Her Excellency Yulianna and His Excellency Perculis delved into the matter with an academic perspective." her words were calm, her tone scholarly.
"So inter-species offspring can happen with anybody?" I asked with amazement. What a development. The Perculis fellow came up again.
"Not quite." the woman coughed lightly. "There are… some species… that cannot copulate with others due to… lacking… the required organs."
"Ahh. I see." I nodded in understanding. "Thanks a lot for answering." I smiled at the priestess.
"Not at all, Your Excellency. It's an honor to bring enlightenment." she turned and gestured towards the tables. "Shall we get the form filled?" she asked with a smile.
"Let's." I followed her.
We took a seat at a nearby table, with her sitting next to me. She pulled a blank piece of paper and an empty form along with a quill out of her storage. Perhaps an item sorage like Lapia mentioned before, I couldn't picture the priestess diving into E'er like my girlfriend. My cheeks heated up at that thought.
"Let us begin." she put one next to the other.
I noticed the empty form had a very large collection of options for the many species that existed.
The quill worked interestingly. I saw the top end of the feather disappearing as ink came out, fine hairs getting sucked into the thing.
Around thirty minutes later, I looked at the final product. I changed my interest ratio after experiencing Lapia, a penis changed my entire view on my sexuality. The priestess was satisfied with the information I wrote down. I even spent ten minutes sketching myself and Lapia, the priestess highly praising my drawing skills. It looked rough, but it was a near perfect image of the both of us. I drew the Elf in her 'everyday clothes' and me in my current dress.
"Now, I shall take this to Alyssa." she stood up, taking the form with her. "Your Excellency is welcomed to peruse the Archives in the meantime." she smiled, bowed, and left.
I stood up and watched the woman close the door behind her. Is it me, or does she want to either get rid of this Alyssa, or to set her up with someone equally as desperately.
Looking around, I approached the shelves and searched for scouts. After walking around a bit, I found a small section dedicated to the class. I leafed through what felt like a thousand individuals, mostly human males. The few female scouts were either human or had motivations that sounded too grim to add to the group.
I had no way of confirming, but I had the feeling humans weren't as long lived as me or Lapia. Losing a mate to the unavoidable passage of time was not something I wanted to experience in the future, so I avoided them. Maybe they live longer the stronger they get, but I don't want to find out if I'm wrong the hard way.
There were Assassins, Rogues, Binders, and was surprised to find a 'Crown Traitor' among them. Though her level was decent, she went only for men, so I didn't even bother checking her species. I supposed the class had nothing to do with the crimes the individual committed, otherwise she'd be imprisoned or executed.
I moved to another shelf after not finding any satisfactory prospects, finding a book that read 'partying for dummies'. I gave it a read and aside from insulting me every page, it provided little explanation to the concepts it brought up. Apparently, you had to 'bond' with a companion for the E'er released by monsters to be absorbed equally, but it didn't go into detail as to what 'bonding' actually was, or why E'er was released when something died.
Maybe having sex forms it? I wondered. Lapia said we had already bonded. Maybe mutually agreeing is enough? The guide was absolutely useless. Instead, I focused on finding this 'bond', whatever it was.
I closed my eyes and read the E'er within me, along with looking for any link or union. The status list assaulted my eyes with its unnecessarily large amount of information. Everything was the same, save for the little amount of stamina I had spent during the day. Then I tried the thing I did when I first 'peered' inside myself. I felt the unfathomable storage, the weird knowledge of skills and a calming warmth that reminded me of the suns. It slowly moved inside my body and coalesced on my skin. I tried to picture any link, union, bond, attachment, connection, tie and most concepts that meant the same thing.
I noticed a light tug around my heart.
There, a calm heartbeat accompanied mine. It was exactly how Lapia's felt earlier in the morning. I was surprised how clearly I could remember it.
"That's neat." I whispered, touching my chest. I had a general idea in which direction to go to get to her. I looked at the book and refused to credit it for this finding, placing it where it was.
I continued my exploration of the library, finding books about the different species, too intricate and full of technical jargon to understand in passing. I had confidence in my drawing skills, playing the piano, my singing and even my affinity with E'er, but not in my brain to understand the genealogical origin or Lupum in a matter of minutes, not that I was that interested.
I saw books titled 'How to catch a man, the intricacies of the male heart', '200 positions to conquer a man in a single night', 'What do men look for in a relationship?', 'How to handle your man', 'Top ten hottest men of the century', and many more.
Fucking hell. This is insane! I gaped at the books, shaking my head and moving on.
A few books about alchemy caught my attention for a while, presenting the history of material transmutation and the laws imposed to avoid over-saturation of the market. Instead of punishing alchemists, they were given office in government to help regulate, deepen and spread the knowledge of the art and its dangers.
And they lived happily ever after. A mocking snort escaped me. Yeah, right. Like that'd happen.
I picked another book, but before I could read the title, the doors to the Archive opened behind me. I felt my pulse quicken, a light faintness sneaking into my head. The sound of two pairs of footsteps made me gulp.
I just got a girlfriend today, and I might get another one in the next few hours. Though events were going faster than I was used to, there was no denying the excitement of the circumstances.
Back on Earth, before the pandecade, I was no stranger to numerous hookups, however, that's where the similarities ended. This felt more like a dating site, but fantasy polygamy on speed.
I carefully put the book back on the shelf, slowly turning around.