Chương 352: Chapter 8-350 – A Return to a Family

Cameron Dow looked at the Family Mansion with very mixed feelings in his heart. He had been here before, of course, as it was the heart of the family. However, it had always been as a junior member, someone coming to listen to his elders speak, perhaps be recognized, and receive a reward or kind word from his elders. Then he would depart as they spoke of serious things, while he joined the rest of the family at whatever party or banquet was arranged for all the cousins visiting. Today, today he came as a conqueror.

He looked around at the house, the lawn, the landscaping, the flowers, the land, and the setting. He felt the pleasant aura of the Manafield here, the land selected as much for that as the view and the lake, studied the smooth green of the lawn, and his eyes lingered on the extremely expensive automobiles parked there, indicating the rest of the Family had arrived much earlier than he had... as well as a great number of guests. That was to be expected, of course.

After all, he was the reason why they were gathering! He was the first Sage born of Michigan in the last century, and the first to live here since Henry Ford had died so violently some years past. Healer Fae was a Sage, true, but while Michigan had embraced her as one of its own, she was not born here, nor a member of the Families who led the state... Although there are certainly Families here who would kneel down to accept her as their matriarch in a heartbeat, Cam thought with a quiet guffaw.

The elders of the Dow Family had finally reached out to him, asking if he might not want to set up a meeting with them. It was left unsaid that his exiled status was no longer applicable, whether he returned or not. Who in the Family was going to deny him their door? He had agreed after some consulting with Sama. Healer Fae had simply told him to go with his heart, and not let his bloodline rule him.

Despite the fact his holdings were in India, he was the Sage of the Great Lakes, the Knight and Servant of Queen Gichigumi, Princess Karegnondi... and 'King' Babe, ascended to Low Emperor right after Cameron had reached Sage, a timing that really was not coincidence. And so, he had agreed to the meeting, and someone clever in the Family had leaked the fact.

Abruptly the event became a celebration of welcoming the prodigal son back into the Family, only unlike the ancient parable, it was the son bringing wealth and power back, not returning to it. Naturally the other Families in the state wanted to forge closer ties with the new Sage, and it had turned into the grand event of the season. The Illitches, Darts, Fords... all the Families had sent someone, even if they had difficulties with Coralost.

Perhaps because they had difficulties with Coralost, and Sama and Briggs could be overwhelming to deal with at the best of times. Nobody liked sitting there without their magic in front of two deadly physical combatants who loathed word games and social politicking, their proud Family Names meaning absolutely nothing to the pair. Cameron, however, was one of their own. Surely they could deal with him!

"If you could take us around the side, King One-Eye, I'm sure they would appreciate you more." He didn't hide his amusement from the Wolverine, whose dark fur was going golden at the tips, obsidian claws faceted like diamonds at the edges. The Noble Wolverine could endure anything Cam could throw at him, but likely not beat him... and as Cam had told him, this was the Wolverine State, not the Blue Ox State.

If he wanted to be an Emperor here, he had to get the humans living here now to acknowledge him, the fact he was here, and that he wasn't going away. Of course, the very audacity of riding a Noble Wolverine, of all things, to this family gathering was only appropriate for a Sage of Coralost!

There were a large number of Archmages and their kin who turned to gape at him as the massive Wolverine came loping up with strides so smooth the humans on his back could barely feel them, claws which could rend boulders like taffy leaving silent gouges in the ground that sealed back up instantly as he passed. The trees and shrubs got out of his way as he moved along, then shifted back into position without effort, a massive yet casual display of his power.

Of course, the biggest fact was that he was a Noble Wolverine, loping around INSIDE Michigan, and the Wolverine Hunters weren't going apeshit or alarms going off all over the place.

"Together, now," Cam said, rising to his feet and offering his wife Maria his arm. Everyone else there with him did the same, and as King One-Eye - who was definitely not one-eyed any more, his formerly-scarred eye now a glowing metallic silver - came to a halt, Cameron and his family leapt off one by one. He and Maria led the way. He was followed by his niece Penelope and nephew Manuel, nicknamed 'the Gears' to his 'Cam' by the KIA team, for they followed him everywhere.

They were both Mages of extremely solid foundations, ready to take the leap to Archmage. His sons George and Geoffrey, and daughters Iliza and Chandice all followed, the younger children riding Disks in safety. They spread to the side of their mother as Cameron's father Henry followed with his mother Julia, and his brothers Hank and Thomas, his sister Lisa, and their spouses and children. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

He and his siblings didn't have any children who were married at the moment, but things were proceeding and some marriages were being planned for within the next couple of years. Once everyone was on the ground, they all turned and bowed formally to King One-Eye, who just nodded slightly back. Then he just shimmered in place and was gone, as smoothly as if he'd never been there at all.

Cameron could sense King One-Eye's disdain for the Blue, Red, Brown, and Purple Auras that dominated the older Humans at this party. Only in the youngest were there traces of the White, Yellow, and Orange that had proven to be such good measures of the beings that had them. It was a disdain Cameron rather shared, but they told him who to trust, who not to trust, and who to lie to cheerfully and freely.

Cameron and Maria turned back around, she slipped her arm back into his, and they both smiled toothily as they went to join the festivities in the face of the very impressed Families who had gathered to meet them. As he'd told her the day he'd been exiled, "You stand by me, and I'll stand by you, my dear. Don't hold my family against me, and I'll not hold yours against you. Together, we'll be greater than either of them." The only other Archmage in the Garciaz Family was her grandfather.

But her grandfather had not fought in the littoral raids for five years, or learned Coralost Wizardry! This day was one where they would not be separated! Manuel and Penelope Garciaz followed their aunt and uncle silently, their eyes hard and open.

They hadn't earned a reprieve for their parents, who would never get one for their treachery, but as promised, Cameron had not held that against their two children, and they had come far, far further than they ever believed they would, enough to make their parents proud despite what they'd done. If one even looked at it a certain way, the very treachery their parents had used had still had the desired results, bringing their children a better future.

It had cost them anything resembling a comfortable life, but that was the price of their deeds. The Garciaz Family had only profited, however, as now they had two strong Mages ready to advance to Archmages, and extremely strong ties to a Sage! Sacrificing a pair of Adepts for such a boon was nothing to a Family... Speaking of sacrifices, Cameron could see Eustace DuPont IV was here, the patriarch of the DuPonts trying to look casual and proud and confident, but Cameron knew better.

The DuPonts were not a Great Family now, Eustace holding out hope now for one of his sons to make it to Sage... and the Dows, their great rivals in the alchemical industry in America, were now a Great Family if Cameron returned. Of course Eustace was here, needing to get the lay of the new ground. Their relationship was going to be redefined until the DuPonts raised up a Sage of their own again.

The other Families who'd suffered against Coralost, at least in their minds, were also going to want to get a handle on a new balance of power. Most of them had not actually suffered so much as been left behind, out of the limelight, out of the profits, out of the increased status and acclaim.

They had done things the way Families had always done things, and Coralost had done things so much differently, yet managed to eclipse all of them in such a relatively short period of time, despite all their efforts to bring Coralost to heel. Coralost's influence had spread across the globe. The number of people they influenced or outright directed was greater than the employees of every Family represented here combined, and Cameron had little doubt the same was true of their fighting power.

Moneywise, perhaps not, not yet... but that was only rising by the day, from so many angles. Military contracts, alchemicals, electronics, computers, programming, new vehicles, and engines... the list went on and on.

The Think Tank and inventions that came out of it never ceased to amaze him, the wizards, artificers, and alchemists joining forces to make new things that made each of the inventors independently wealthy, as Briggs and Sama didn't monopolize the money or rights to the things that their people thought up. A new golden age of shared knowledge, especially among the true believers in Coralost, was riding a new wave for mankind and the Beasts.

If it all came crashing down in fire when Nirvana and the Netherworld made their moves, well, that was what it was. They could only fight until that point... and if they lived through it, Coralost was poised to lead the way into what would come after. Cameron squeezed his wife's arm, Maria squeezed back, and together a dragon and a shark dove into the pool of social warfare like good and proper predatory Family folk should be.

Their withdrawal was quiet and almost wordless, but these were all Mages, people of magic, and they could not fail to notice the Auras leaving and converging in the private chambers within the Dow Family Mansion. A few of the more alert outsiders had noticed that there was tension between the family line of the returned Dow son and the rest of the Family, a thing which was hardly unexpected. An exile returning as a Sage threw all lines of inheritance and the allocation of power within the Family on end.

Those who thought they would be moving into positions of power would now be scrambling to ingratiate themselves with someone they'd denounced, and their own current positions might even be in danger. Only the most minor positions at the Family table were held by a Mage. Every Elder there was an Archmage otherwise, even if not an Archmage who saw much combat and so had not developed their skills very far.

'Hollow Archmages', as those tried in blood and battle called them, men who had the raw power, but not the decisiveness or experience in using that power, and so were far weaker and more vulnerable than those lower than them might think or expect. Cameron came in with his wife on his arm, surveying the cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents spread around the table.

Each represented either a particular location or a specific branch of the Family, commanding people and resources in pursuit of power, much like every other Family that was out there. He saw the one remaining seat and smiled. The first test of influence, as he also noted the surprised and hostile eyes glancing at Maria coming in with him. Maria, who, if they cared to do battle, would send Elder and half-Sage Herbert H. Dow his teeth in any test of her aptitude.

"Interesting. Not even leaving a chair for me?" he said lightly, leading his wife to the single open chair with a sweeping motion. She seated herself with a dazzlingly wide smile, her red dress a bright flower at a table of conservative blues and blacks. Cameron watched a number of his wiser relatives whiten in shock as they realized he could easily take this as a hostile opening move, while the more arrogant were instead shocked that an outsider, even if she was a Sage's wife, was taking a seat at THEIR table!

Cam's father just smiled in relaxation at the brutal opening move, knowing the best was yet to come!