The morning light that fell across James and Mina’s bare skin woke him.


    He could feel his body absorbing solar energy and using that to boost his recovery speed, even if ever so slightly.


    Experimentally, he sent an order to his lower extremities.


    Wiggle, big toe… Come on…


    After a second, he perceived a twitch. Then a slightly stronger one. The movements were small and extremely weak, but a key stage of his recovery had clearly begun.


    A slow smile spread across his face.


    The recovery proceeding nicely, he rewarded himself with another hour of sleep.


    When James awakened the next time, it was because he felt Mina stirring beside him.


    “Hello sunshine,” he said lightly. He had never had a real nickname for his wife. Not like how she called him “skapi.” Maybe that was something she had gotten from her parents. Since James’s parents’ marriage had been ended by death when he was in the middle of puberty, he could not remember his parents using pet names like that. It wasn’t a part of how he naturally viewed relationships. When Mina started calling him “skapi,” he had seen it as both a unique foreign thing—clearly something from her home country—and as a precious token of affection.


    Now that she glows like a little indoor sun, I have the perfect nickname for her.


    A little extra glow appeared on Mina’s cheeks as she raised her body so that he could see her face without trying to turn his head.


    “Sunshine?” she repeated. She blushed slightly hotter as he waited for her response. “I like it.” She placed her hand on top of his unmoving one and softly caressed it. “I could call you my Mister Sunshine, too,” she added.


    “No,” James said. “Skapi is good. It’s perfect. Plus, sunshine is mine. I had it first.”


    They shared soft laughter and soft kisses and further soft words in the pleasant atmosphere of the early day.


    It was Mina who broke the spell, by referring back to the events of the previous evening.


    “So, what did they do to make you feel contempt, skapi?” Mina asked.


    “They had a moment of sincere fear and doubt,” James replied with a small, rueful smile. He already felt slightly bad about judging his council members for their moment of weakness. Maybe it was because of how relaxed he was now, with Mina.


    “To doubt is human,” she replied.


    “Well, then, to believe in me would be just divine,” James replied. “Especially for those I have literally blessed. For all I know, they might even weaken themselves by doubting me. It’s very annoying.”


    Mina just looked at him for a long moment, and James felt slightly ridiculous.


    “What does it mean to you?” she finally asked. “To have them doubt you.”


    “L''état, c''est moi,” James said immediately in clumsy French. The fact that he had never properly learned the French language was just one of the things his father’s early death had robbed him of. “It means they lack true faith in us. In our project. The country that belongs to us is an extension of us, after all.”


    “Haven’t you said that King Louis never actually said that quote?” Mina asked, her lips curling, one cheek dimpled.


    “Yeah, probably not,” James replied. “But he should have. That’s monarchy. The buck stops here, for real. In my case, it’s even more accurate. I don’t really give anyone else real power—except you, when I’m out of commission. The council members are basically just administrators who get to implement my programs and occasionally give me advice. Because it benefits me to make those who put my orders into practice feel important, and yes, because there are many things I do not know.”


    The “administrators” label was an exaggeration of his real feelings toward his council, but James was still not in a charitable mood toward the body after last night’s meeting. He did not know if the group’s bad emotional reaction to the vision of the Panther Army truly reflected doubts about his capabilities—the alternative, simple cowardice, was just as bad from his point of view—but in any case, it certainly did not endear his councillors to him.


    “You can’t change how other people feel,” Mina said softly. She took his hand. “What would make you feel better?”


    “I want to end their doubts. Not by words or any kind of manipulation. By actions.”


    “How would you do that?” Mina asked.


    “I’ve been thinking that the foreign invasions the army is taking on are a chance for them to show they can take out a Ruler or several Rulers by themselves, without needing me. Otherwise, they’re frankly not very useful as an independent force. They would have to stay near where I am at all times.”


    Mina simply waited, her expression reflecting that she knew he was going somewhere with this.


    “Similarly, I would like to show my council that even in an imperfect condition, I could take on an entire army by myself,” James continued. “I’m definitely stronger than the average Ruler. And I’ve already seen what the Panther Queen and her people were capable of in those memories. I wasn’t that impressed. I can solve our stray cat problem without the council’s or the citizens’ help.” His expression turned deadly serious. “It’s been a while since I wiped out a Race anyway. No one on the council has seen me do something like that before either. Except Rotter and Damien. Because they were in my Orientation. If the others had been there, they wouldn’t doubt my ability to keep them safe.”


    “Skapi, I know you’re strong, but you do remember that you can’t move right now?” Mina asked in a playful tone.


    “An obstacle, but one that can be overcome,” James replied, trying to match her tone.


    She swallowed, and he felt her slight nervousness peek through from beneath her light demeanor.


    “If you say so,” she said after a moment. “Even though this honestly seems to me a bit unnecessary… I will help however I can.”


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I know, he thought. That was one thing he never had to question. It made him feel a bit better already, though he was still interested in attempting his idea.


    “I’m not stuck on this,” James said. “If I assess the situation, and I think it’s impossible without help, I’ll get the help. But it would be amazing if you and I could take the Panther Army out without bringing a lot of others into it.”


    Normally, James would not be very interested in the idea of his wife accompanying him on what could be a dangerous mission, but he had also been reflecting on the meaning of Sister Strange’s visions. If they were real, then he had a fairly good idea of the circumstances under which his wife would die: an attack on the Fisher Kingdom led by religious fanatics.


    If that was the case, she could not also die while helping James fight the Panther Army. This reasoning was too thin for him to consider it reliable, but James at least thought it was strong enough to justify him taking Mina out of the Kingdom for training more often. And that had been Vidarr’s advice too. James should not shelter her. Mina needed to grow stronger in her own right.


    Mina nodded. Then they heard a gentle sound of crying. Junior was awake.


    “I’ll go and feed him,” Mina said quietly. “I will come back with breakfast later. And just tell me if there is anything you need from me today.” She kissed James on the cheek and rose. “I know you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, but I am your wife. I can carry at least half—especially when your arms do not work!”


    James smiled as he watched her dress and then go off with Junior. Then he was left alone with his thoughts.


    For the next few hours, interrupted only thrice, he considered and discarded options.


    The first pause was something entirely predictable, considering that he had kept informed about the movements of the army. The monster he had left with Dave had a message for him.


    The Royal Fisher Army has invaded the territory of the enemy, a rattlesnake hydra creature. They will report back soon on how the attack proceeds. Leading the invasion was Luna and the wolfpack.


    James nodded to himself and resisted the urge to astrally project into Luna or one of the other battle participants from his side. They did not need his distracting presence, especially since there was nothing he could actually do to enhance their performance from such a great distance. He sent a simple acknowledgement and wished the army luck in the battle.


    For the next interruption, he ate breakfast, a meal that Mina fed him by hand, which was pleasant if slightly embarrassing—it was still strange to be so helpless, even in front of someone he fully trusted. There was another half an hour of focus, then another interruption.


    Your army has defeated the enemy, and the Ruler has fled following her skirmish with Luna, reported the monstrous spider with Dave. The battle was without fatalities on our side, though Luna was injured. Healers are on the scene with her now. The enemy were either scattered or destroyed.


    At first, James was pleased that the army had done so well. But as the message concluded, he frowned.


    Luna was apparently pretty badly hurt, given that Dave commented on it but not on anyone else’s injuries. And we didn’t even kill the Ruler or destroy the enemy forces completely? Is this really a victory or some kind of feigned retreat? He shook his head slightly. What Ruler would run away from her own territory just to hopefully get the enemy to chase her down?


    He composed a quick message to Dave. Hunt down the rest of the enemies if it is at all possible. Ask Luna to contact me as soon as she wakes up. Beware of the possibility of feigned retreat.


    He sent it and resumed his task. As he imagined various scenarios for a battle between himself and the Panther Queen, he narrowed down his own possibilities for victory to a handful of abilities that might be powerful enough for him to rely on them to defeat an army without his mobility returning fully.


    He assumed that if he was fully mobile again, he could run around like Rambo, picking off squads of enemy soldiers until he had made a massive dent in the enemy army, whittling them down so that he could finally face the remaining force in a straight fight.


    But for now, he tried to plan around the idea that he would still be semi-paralyzed for the duration of this potential conflict.


    As he finished this process, he reached out to his recently created monsters that had left the Fisher Kingdom the previous day, instead. After all his meditation on various battle plans, he finally knew where he wanted to send them.


    He established the connection with all of the monsters but his wyverns at the same time. He still wanted the wyverns to focus on protecting the Fisher Expeditionary Force. It was gratifying to observe that, following his instructions, several of the monsters were in the middle of hunting random wild creatures. The only thing he thought needed adjusting was that too many were going it alone rather than fighting alongside fellow creatures from the same origin.


    His monsters were mostly relatively feeble compared with the naturally occurring kind, most of which had gone through an Orientation at some point or another and come out alive, just like James. It was only when combined into super-monsters or when attacking as a group that his creatures stood much of a chance of winning a fight without their creator present to inflict the lethal blow.


    Only the strong could battle alone and win.


    James ordered the creatures to combine for now.


    He knew they had obeyed when he felt the telepathic presence of the monstrous fusion creature, and he heard the sound of his own voice in his mind, coming from someone else.


    It is my pleasure to serve, progenitor, the monster sent. How may I support you?


    I need you to go to the following location. There, I will enter your mind and deliver a message… James sent his directions to the monster. Afterward, I will direct you to where your next target is.


    It would be my privilege to assist, replied James’s strongest creation.


    They cut the connection, and Roscuro spoke up from James’s side for the first time in what felt like a while.


    Were you talking to someone, master? he asked. You had a certain look on your face that you get when communicating telepathically.


    You are starting to know me too well, Roscuro, James thought.


    But he sent back a simple, Yes. I was communicating with the monster I created yesterday. Remember?


    The one that looked just like you, of course! Roscuro replied. A magnificent specimen. Is it going to be doing some fighting?


    James responded in the affirmative. Why do you ask? he added.


    I would love to have a chance to consume something, Roscuro sent. I have been thinking about this, and I suspect that since your creations are composed of your own body and do not have separate souls of their own, only separate physical forms, any one of them should be able to wield me in battle. Then I could devour some enemies and grow stronger—to better serve you in the Victors’ Tournament coming up.


    James agreed immediately. It was a no-brainer. In the next few minutes, he shed his skin, formed a Skin Balloon, and sent Roscuro off through the window, with instructions sent to the Skin Balloon and the composite monster to rendezvous on the way to the destination James had given his creature.


    Lastly, James used one of his bread and butter Skills: Dominion.


    He already had the beginnings of his plan to deal with the Panther Army in mind. And it was clear to him that in order for him to fight them responsibly, he needed to expand his territory. If the battle was fought within the core of the Fisher Kingdom, he would potentially be putting other people’s lives in danger for the sake of his own ego.


    Better to confront the Panther Queen on ground of his own choosing.


    Just as the pulse of energy had left his body, James received another telepathic message.


    I have awakened, my King, sent a familiar, feminine voice.