Chapter 25.3

In Eirwen's office, Bethan was giving her guidance. "Remember. Deep, slow, breaths. Don't think of anything but your breathing. You are alright. You are fine. Breathe out. You are in control. Breath in. That's it. Just keep that up."

It had been a while since the healer had simply made her done these exercises. Normally, she was already too far gone, or only took a small hit that she recovered from quickly. Today had found that balance spot, in part because she had carefully explained her trauma in just enough words to not push herself over the edge.

After she had calmed down, she explained Bethan what had transpired. The healer shook her head. "I don't think I need to explain how you messed up, but I will anyway. He's overcompensating due to recent events, and he is eager to serve you. Naturally, if you tell him to prepare the troops, he will. And I am sure you understand why he did so in a rush."

Eirwen nodded, wanting to speak but not entirely trusting herself yet. Bethan voiced Eirwen's thoughts instead. "I'm sure you recognised it. That wasn't your weapon master or hound on the field today. It was the Western Blade, commander of the Flameheart armies, who led his troops to countless victories against you. And in battle, he could not afford to build up slowly, since that would cost him the momentum."

He had indeed been in commander mode towards both the troops and her and Aoife. None had dared oppose his command, not even Eirwen, while Aoife had fallen in line instantly when he had reminded her it was an order. Discipline with an iron fist, which had somehow made his troops both fear and love him more than his father.

Still not trusting her voice, Eirwen merely nodded at Bethan, who continued. "I heard about your speech afterwards. It was a good one. And a good move to put Aoife between the two of you. All in all, even though a lot of folks realised you made a mistake, they are praising how you handled the situation. I don't say this enough, Eirwen, but I am very proud of you. And I know your parents would have been as well."

Eirwen's breath hitched at that, tears coming naturally while Bethan embraced her. Words chosen deliberately, as a surgeon's knife to cut her open and let out the emotions. A short but good cry later, Bethan grumbled while healing Eirwen's eyes, then sent her off.

Snatching up Crimson, Eirwen made her way to the throne hall. On arrival, she left her doorguards outside. Inside, she saw her hound and Aoife hanging up multiple rows of curtains. Next to them on the ground, more curtains laid, ropes bundled through them as if they were to be used as massive skirts or cloaks. Additionally, they had brought impractically large greatswords and massive spears, originating from the Flameheart arms collection.

She thought back to their trapped dream. Back then he had been thrice his normal height. At sixty spans tall, the hall should be large enough to fit him. Eirwen voiced her approval. "A good spot. Private and high enough. And I'm guessing those are meant to be used. But why have me bring your old sword?"

"Crimson was designed to help with Gigantification. She should be of great service to help you get used to things. And yes, this is the only private room high enough to fit us. There's a reason my father stopped using it as meeting place during the war."

Both Eirwen and Aoife grimaced at the cheerful way he noted that. As if his father's well-deserved paranoia was just an amusing tale these days. But that wasn't what they were here for.

"Alright, I caught some of it last time," she noticed Aoife looking surprised and added the explanation for her sake, "when you fought the knights and corrupted mages, but not enough. I assume you'll show me slowly, then guide me, and then we use these to spar?"

He shook his head. "Close, but no on the last one. I think I scared you enough for one day." Guilt flashed in his eyes as he acknowledged his responsibility for flaring up her trauma. "No, these are so you can get a better sense of balance in that form, and understand its limitations. And upsides. Since you wish to make use of me this way, you need to better comprehend it."

Aoife looked at the two of them, slight distrust in her eyes. "I'm mostly here as a witness so that the two of you don't lose control. But I'm also rather curious myself, since you never told me about the mountains either. Enough talking, get going."

He stepped behind the curtains to change his outfit. Afterwards he stepped forward again, a ridiculous sight with the improvised massive skirt and uncovered torso. Though truth be told, ignoring the skirt, both Eirwen and Aoife enjoyed the view. His normal clothing fit him well but still hid part of his wired figure. Like this, he was even more pleasant a sight.

He raised an eyebrow at their leery gazes, then just shook his head at them. "If you're done observing my body, perhaps the two of you could focus on my mana flow." He breathed in and slowly began building up the mana. Eirwen could feel the spirals start up inside him, noting the similarities but also differences compared to when he taught her how to get her flames under control. The earth underneath felt less solid, as if it were a wave covering a depth, rather than sturdy ground under his feeth.

Then he started siphoning his spirals, almost as quickly as he drew the mana inside. It leaked through the earth and consolidated deeper, within his very bones. He turned to their side and began taking measured steps, while weaving the mana not just through each other, but into his very being. Slowly but surely, his body began to grow as the mana became part of it, digit by digit, taller and taller.

It was easy to notice how his control increased as he grew. Eirwen took note and shared her observations out loud for Aoife to hear. "I noticed last time, but you really are using your body as a buffer here. It grants you far more control over the flame mana, because you can store and use it, rather than having to consume it at once." He smiled slyly and gave an approving nod. He always loved it when she caught on quick.

She did note that as he grew, he pulled in more ambient mana. Not due to a lack of control, but because he needed it. To feed the growth, but also to maintain his size. It was a complicated weave which needed to be held, no, not held. He was already doing this by instinct. But it needed to be fuelled, as it slowly leaked. This method wasn't perfect, it required constant upkeep. A doable amount, but also a noticeable one.

He finished his growth, now three times his original size. She could tell it hadn't been as easy as he had made it look, sweat visible on his face and torso. The sight was greatly attractive, amplifying her lust towards him. She was grateful to have Aoife as witness, to discourage her from acting on her desire.

He looked down at her, the grin on his face making very clear he understood just what effect he was having on both of them. "Your turn."

With a roll of her eyes, Eirwen moved behind the curtains to change into the improvised skirt and cloak. She noticed both of them withdrawing their senses, providing her some privacy, as she did so. A part of her wouldn't have minded, but it would have been inappropriate. Especially since they first needed to figure out their feelings and possible actions regarding Aoife.

Honestly, the idea in itself didn't disturb her. Only the thought of Aoife having him while Eirwen was still trying to figure things out, that triggered her jealousy. But there was a time and a place for those thoughts, and this wasn't that. Putting her feelings aside, she breathed in and out, deep breaths, calming her nerves.

He appeared in her mind, gently visiting while bringing Aoife along. He'd be guiding Eirwen, while letting Aoife observe in detail. Her excellent skill with earth mana would make this a possible tool for her as well, or at least something she could understand well. Eirwen almost chuckled at the thought of all three of them showing up as giants. Now that would be a good way to send a message to the crown.

One last deep breath as she took hold of Crimson, then she began to gather mana, turning it to spirals. As he gently guided her along, she could already tell she was leaking far more mana than he had, which in turn was causing the ambient mana to gather faster. He did intercept some of it, using his body as a buffer to keep her safe, prevent a mana storm from rising. She also noticed that Crimson was helping drain her excess mana, letting the fire leak into it.

He mentally encouraged her to focus on growing, rather than containing the mana, and sharing the weave with Crimson. She duly did so, though it was making her body itch as she stood still. Taking a step, she noticed it helped, letting her grow her body more comfortably. And to her surprise, Crimson was growing with her, still helping her with her excess flames.

As she grew in size, she noticed the larger shape used more mana but granted her more control. Copying his buffer method, she continued weaving the mana through her, while he ceased calming down the ambient mana as it no longer was needed.

Even though she still was learning, she could already tell his technique had imperfections contained within. No surprise there, as it wasn't a technique easily usable. He had never used anything like it in the war, so he had months of training at best. She began tweaking things as she slowed down her growth, while he studied her tweaks and started using them as well.

To Eirwen's surprise, Aoife also offered suggestions, specifically to the earth base layer they used to absorb the mana with. It took them a while to stop their improvements and let Eirwen focus on her body instead. 

The two withdrew from her mind and Aoife not to look too closely. While the improvised cloak did provide some modesty, it mostly did that at an equal eye height. Standing too close to Aoife would let her see more than intended, so they took some distance first. Next, Eirwen took up weapons, struggling with her sense of balance for a moment. That too passed, fortunately.

By the time Eirwen had completed her practice, including using several mana techniques, ambient mana levels had dropped very low. Despite the constant flow from elsewhere, it already was becoming a struggle to keep up the techniques. Done for the day, her hound showed her how to gently unweave the mana, letting him shrink first.

Following in his footsteps, she realised a bit late that she no longer was hiding behind the curtains. They had turned their backs to her in time, which part of her regretted. A clear sign that she should avoid using flame mana for the next few days.

A deep breath to calm herself down and suppress her want while she quickly changed clothes. "Alright, thank you for showing me that. Now I'd you'll excuse me, I need to go see the tailors for arranging clothing for you." Ignoring the smirk on his face and the blush on her own cheeks, she quickly made her exit, Aoife following her at once. He'd have to take care of the cleanup.