Our arrival on Planet Oz had been momentous. Stapleya had set expectations she would be gone a long time, and she had. It had been most of a year, long enough for Wisceya to become pregnant and deliver her child. A darling child, looks just like his dad. If you ignore the fur. It's a shame Fitz never knew he fathered the child. Nevertheless, I understand there are a lot of his sons here he doesn't know about. I wonder if the child will even meet his father. It's hard to understand how differently the Nekomata look at such things than we do. Father's have little role here, beyond the biological. There had been no communications those long months. Stapleya and Wisceya's return was a complete surprise. Yet, a guard awaited at the portal to greet …show more content…
Fitz's description had not done it justice. It is immense. I couldn't begin to guess how many people it housed, in the hundreds I'm certain. It takes many hands to run a stone-age castle.
The castle itself appeared ancient. Sphinx-like ancient. I could imagine this being the home to this Nekomata family for centuries, if not thousands of years. Uncounted generations had no doubt lived in these walls. Except they were not uncounted. Except they were not uncounted. Stapleya showed me her library, and the great family book. In this massive volume, the vital statistics of every family member resided. I made a mental note to study this book when I had the
Stapleya gave us a tour of her home. Fitz's descriptions were woefully inadequate. She showed us the library, the many paintings and art objects adorning the endless walls. Many were more than mere art. Quite a number of wall-hangings were weapons. Some were magnificent, larger-than-life Heroes weapons like Fitz's bow. Others were beautiful and practical weapons intended for actual use. During the tour my eye fell on a stunningly beautiful sabre. She occupied a place of honor on the wall near Stapleya's bedroom. Displayed with a matching scabbard, leather harness, and other accessories, she was magnificent. She had been carried by Stapleya's Great Great Grandmother Edda. Like Fitz's heroic bow, this sword was legendary enough to carry a name. The sword was named