Duality

"Meena!" Merla staggered over to the one she chose as a mate, and grinned up at her as she wrapped her arms about her legs. Meena smiled gently, leaned down and picked her up, hugging her tightly.

"Ah, I feel so much better now." She said softly.

"Hard day?" Tazaa asked as she came out of the inner room.

"More than a few people fell in front of the stall, and had a broken leg, or an arm." She said. "I also had a number of customers who wanted to purchase a shower artifact. I described the materials that would be needed, but I would have to get back to them on the cost."

"Makes sense." Tazaa grinned and wrapped her arms about Meena's body, mashing Merla between herself and the smaller orc. "It's twenty six times the manna cost of a wind expression."

"Twenty six times?" She exclaimed. "So much manna is used to create an artifact?"

"Merla concentrates on what she wants, and her manna makes the material obey her image." Tazaa shrugged a bit, and released the smaller orc from her rough hug. She lightly rubbed Merla's head.

"Merla make heater!" Merla said. "Grammie not forget!" Tazaa laughed lightly.

"Don't worry, Merla. I'll get the stone and metal tonight, after I go hunt down a boar for the manna core. The meat will buy the metal from the smith." Tazaa said. "Meena, I'm thinking that a boar should be a quarter of the cost. Figure out the price of the artifact based on that. It's not over the top, nor is it cheap. When Merla learns more, and is better able to control her manna, it will reduce in price, or at least it should." Merla nodded.

"Yep! Manna like river. Strong current. Merla not strong. Hard to hold." Merla said. Meena smiled down at her gently, as she had already felt Merla's hand slip inside her robe, as well as her body relax when she touched her skin. Merla's manna was gently flowing throughout her body, scrubbing away impurities, and kneading her sore muscles from moving the materials around.

"I wonder how strong my Merla will be in the future." Meena said softly. Almost immediately, she felt a gentle stroke of her consciousness from two divine beings, and heard their powerful voices whisper in her ear.

'So strong, you will worship her like a god.'

* * *

"Meena, take to edge." Merla asked her. Meena nodded, and carried Merla to the wall. "Tree! Open!" The wall opened up, which allowed Merla to see out. She frowned. "No room. Tree, room up?" A soft light at the wall blinked three times.

"Need manna? Here. Lot food. Make stair. Make rooms for grammie above. Bed for Meena. Near grammie bed. Grammie protect Meena." Fog flowed out of her body, and was hungrily devoured by the tree. "Grow strong." Merla frowned a bit.

"What's wrong, Merla?" Meena asked.

"Tree has bugs. Tree! Eat bugs. Restore wood. More manna. Fix." The fog flowed faster out of her, and the wood beneath their feet refreshed and softened.

"What in Duality's name is going on?" Taen rushed out of the main room, her eyes wide and fearful. She saw the fog flowing out of her precious daughter, and a new stairwell appear near the main trunk.

"Merla is making her grandparents a place to stay, so they don't have to sleep in that small guest room." Meena said. "She saw there wasn't enough room around the tree to grow out, so she chose up. She is giving the tree enough manna to rebuild and repair its body, as well as expand." Taen saw the amount of manna flowing out of her, and how it made their tree home feel serene.

Taen walked over to the tree trunk and sighed sadly. She caressed the trunk gently.

"I've been damaged for so long, you must have been starving to death. Thank you for taking care of us for so long, even while hungry." Taen said with closed eyes. Meena watched as a lone tear rolled down Taen's cheek.

"She didn't know, did she?" Meena asked. Taen shook her head.

"She's been mired in misery. How could she understand the needs of a tree home when she barely felt the need to be alive in the first place?" Taen sighed sadly. "But Merla is back, and Lyra is regaining the shine she once had."

"Momma!" Merla called out. "Momma tree home. Lock new." Taen nodded. She knew what Merla meant. Only the owner of a tree home could plan, or change the interior, exterior, or structure of the main tree they lived in. Merla may have asked the tree to change, and provided the manna needed to do so, but Taen was the one who grew the tree from its seed.

Taen had a sense that Merla could make the tree lock itself in place for her, but chose to let her make the decision. It was a decision that showed love for her mother, and respect for her position as the family head.

"Tree. Merla's changes are good. Lock in place."

* * *

Tazaa returned with a large boar, and a few ingots that she traded half the meat for. The rest would be used to provide some sustenance for Lyra, so she could recover.

The economy of the orcs was quite simple. Food. The better quality the food gathered, whether meat, vegetables, grains, or herbs, the more it was valued. Trade could occur on the drop of a leaf from a tree, or during the designated times of a shop.

"Meena, someone is here to see you." Tazaa said as she brought a half of the boar upstairs.

"To see me?" she asked. Merla frowned slightly, and rolled off Lyra's thighs. She plopped onto her bottom, tilted her head, and stood up. She walked unsteadily to Meena, and watched as a guard came up the stairs.

"You wished to see me?" Meena asked. The guard blushed a bit.

"My mate wishes to cancel the shower." She said quietly. She was quite embarrassed. Meena was startled that someone would cancel an order like this, but Merla was not.

"Sister Meena, add family black list." Merla said. Meena looked down at her, while the guard paled.

"Black list?" The guard asked, as if their family was added to a list to never be able to purchase artifacts, she would be left behind while all the other orcs were blessed by their goddesses.

"Family hate Meena. Not guard. Wife. Family black list. Merla make heater for cold. Merla make shower." She held up her hand, and gathered manna in a large ball on top of her palm. "Many things future. Meena future mate. Manna echoes. Not mate now. Hard life for Meena. People hate Meena?" Her eyes began to glow brightly.

"Merla will hate them, and I do not forgive easily."