Wolfe left the patrol to finish their work and flew the rest of the way back into Forest Grove. The witches were already waiting and ready for him, with a special party decoration theme added to the Festival decorations.
The fact that everyone was already gathered for the Festival made things a lot easier. However, the additional influx of visitors and the fact that nobody had left on schedule once they heard that Wolfe had broken through were making the city incredibly crowded.
There were worse fates than having to sleep on the floor, though, and unlike the group that had the power to come straight to the volcano to collect their good luck, most of the guests here had neither the power to get there in a hurry or the senses to know that it was happening until they were informed.
What they did have was a solid intelligence network, and that was enough to find out what the extra decorations were all about before they made the mistake of leaving.
To Wolfe, it was a bit like being a rock star. Everyone wanted to get to know him; everyone knew details about his life that even he might have forgotten if he hadn't been reminded, and they were all excited about his return.
It was a stark difference from life in the Morgana Coven Fortress City, the Academy, or even the first winter here in the Frozen Wastes. It was surprisingly difficult to adjust to, and the attention was making Wolfe feel awkward before he had even landed. In some ways, it was rather pleasant, though. As a young man, he would have gone to great lengths to get this level of attention from a single woman. Now, he had more of them hanging around him than he could reasonably say he deserved.
"Thank you all for the welcome back, and thank you for your patience. A large group met me where I went to finish my advancement, and they required a celebration before we left. But that also comes with good news. There is another new Saint, a Nymph who reached Rank Seven in the aftermath of my own advancement, and two Demons managed to reach an expert-level understanding of the Fire Element at the volcano.
Both of those are rather monumental events in their own right, and there will be more celebrations in the near future to give them the attention and congratulations that they have earned." Wolfe announced as he landed on the stage.
For a few minutes, the cheering was so loud that he couldn't continue, but eventually, they calmed down a little, and the preplanned shows moved to start their display so that the party itself could keep going with the level of energy that the Festival was used to.
Wolfe moved to the back of the stage to greet the dancers, giving them their good luck hug in advance, though the locals didn't have a tradition the way that the Fae did. How could they? There hadn't been a Saint born in the Frozen Wastes since they were created, and the local cultures had formed after that.
But they did have a tradition of celebrating all good news, just in case they didn't live long enough to get more good news. The dangers of the wastes were mostly under control now, and the illnesses and unstable mutations that led to extremely short lifespans were also negated by the abundance of healing magic that had been spread around the continent. But the traditions wouldn't fade that fast.
"Mister Wolfe, did they give you a new title? One of the Dryads told me that Saints and Overlords get a new title when they advance. Like the guy with the cool gold lettering in his horns was given the title [Gilded Dandy], which I'm pretty sure is actually an insult, but it sounds pretty cool." One of the bunnies asked as Wolfe rubbed her head for luck.
"Not yet. I don't get to pick my own moniker. The stronger Fae and Demons will have to come up with it together, since there are no other Magi powerful enough. But I will be sure to let the whole town know when they come up with one."
"Oh, that makes a lot of sense. I hope they call you something cool. The pride of the Frozen Wastes is riding on you as our first Saint." She laughed.
"I will keep that in mind if they suggest something too silly. Maybe we will get some official visitors from the Royal Courts soon, and they will present the names that their leaders like. I know that they will have heard by now, even if they didn't feel it through the open portals.
Now, I am looking forward to your dancing, and maybe later, I will join in and see if I can do it a quarter as well as you all do."
The dancers laughed. A quarter was a good estimation, as a Magi's joints just didn't bend the same way as theirs did, so no matter how good his dexterity was, it would be physically impossible for him to actually keep up with the routine the way that they did it.
Cassie, Ella and Rail met him at the edge of the stage with determined looks on their faces.
"We're not getting cut out of this good luck, so you're coming with us. The others will change out every hour or so until we've all had time with you." Ella explained.
By others, she presumably meant the other members of the Pentacles, who were all still brimming with power from his advancement, with auras that were a bit unstable, as if they were being influenced just by their proximity to him and the power that he was radiating.
Wolfe couldn't tell if their aptitudes with the Elements had improved, but if he saw Risa and the Bloodletter twins later, he might be able to, as they actually had an affinity for Fire Magic to start with.
But the power of the Pentacles had already taken a huge leap, and the bonds were incredibly strong, and slowly changing as he wrapped his arms over the shoulders of the witches and Rail draped herself across him with a sultry look which said she had planned this out with them in advance.
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