When I asked Dylan on Saturday about how marriage works out here in Mistwood, I was not expecting it to be something other than just a "yeah, you're married now" from Chief. That's how a lot of villages out in the sticks handle marriages. Maybe a small party with family and neighbors. What Dylan told me matched up with that as well.

  What I'm seeing upon us and Nolan arriving at the location for it – the former farm across from Chief's place – is a lot different from that.

  "This isn't normal, is it?" I ask Thomas as he approaches, who snorts.

  The waystone I set up is still here, of course, and acts as a sort of unofficial entrance point now. In the six days since I asked Dylan to marry me, someone transformed this property into a sort of wedding venue.

  The only thing which is relatively the same from last weekend is the path that formed over the past several months. A small group of people walking to and from the waystone and the road two times a day four days a week does wear the vegetation down a bit.

  However, all of the grass has been cut down. Someone definitely let sheep or goats clear through here this week. They probably made sure to pick up any waste the animals deposited so that no one sets foot in it. Tables sit off to the sides, some with food and drink on them, others with seats at them for people to sit at while eating.

  That creates a sort of central area, where pretty much the entire village has gathered. Well, they're currently still setting things up and putting food down, but close enough. Past the central zone is a trellis archway decorated with flowers in purples, white, and greys.

  When Dylan, Nolan, and I arrived just a minute ago, it was pretty full of flowers. Robin and Rose showed up almost immediately after us and "fixed" it. Now, it's so full of flowers that I can't even see the trellis, just the flowers and their leaves, with stems visible here and there.

  Several more planters of flowers have been spread out, really half-barrels someone made or had already. That's livened up the place a bit, even if I don't normally see this sort of thing for a marriage in a larger village.

  Those are still pretty empty of decorations.

  A table to the right of the flower-covered trellis has some items on it, which I think are meant as gifts. Most everyone here is wearing their best clothes, even if that's just "best pants" for the guys who haven't begun wearing tunics yet. The temperature has dropped considerably with us being well into autumn now, enough that at least the older men no longer go bare-chested. Us younger men and the boys still go, though.

  We're not as affected by the cold, even if we'll likely begin wearing tunics soon enough. Well, some of us. Dylan and Nolan might, though I'll remain without. It's more comfortable for me to be without and I have ways to deal with the cold.

  All of the guys and most of the women have on their cowboy hats, too. I know it's something they normally wear when working in the fields and farms, but I don't think I've ever seen them all wearing them at once. Thankfully, Dylan did let me know to wear one, and all three of us have ours own. They're a pale cream, almost white, and made of felt.

  They were gifted to us about a month ago, so they're not something I crafted. I still like their quality, though.

  In addition to all of that, the spirits are here in force. Cedric's playing his ocarina and some have gathered, but that's not all that's drawn them here. His songs are still basic, even if he doesn't mess them up when he's not rushing. Everyone's low-level and mid-level spirits have manifested, hundreds of low-level spirits have manifested, and dozens of mid-level ones have appeared. There are also about fifteen high-level spirits, spectral creatures of varying colors and types and forms.

  The only thing stranger than all of this is the young woman who's not from the area that's here. I don't think I've ever seen her before, but she has a farmer's body. Strong and built for work. She's wearing a warm, durable dress and a pair of boots, but they look on the lower end of things. A farmer from somewhere else? Though one with potential to live here, as there's an earth spirit sitting on her left shoulder. The spirit hasn't manifested herself, though I can tell she wants to by the way she's looking at others.

  Our guest would have needed to come with Thomas when he came back from his trip into town this week, so I'll ask him about that in a minute. After I find out why there's a village-wide party for my wedding.

  "No," Thomas answers. "It took so much effort to keep Cedric from telling you during the lessons this week, too. He's been excited for the first big event here that's not a festival. Something just for us locals."

  "What's going on?" I ask. "I was told it would be something small and simple if we had a ceremony. Just a few words from Chief and maybe the magi, then some pastries, maybe a pie. A few gifts from family members and close friends. Not… the entire village coming out and decorating a-the old house is gone, too."

  "It was rotting," he shrugs. "And the space works out for it. And in all honesty, it started off as us younger folks doing something bigger. You've… helped us. We can tell you're hiding some stuff about your past and I'm fairly certain the nobles who adopted you weren't lower ones. But you treat us kindly, are willing to get in the dirt if you need to, offered to teach us all magic for free, and even taught us how to read and write. You make trades you feel are fair, are more than willing to answer questions and teach us additional things, and even make things for us. Mostly to trade, but you still gift us all things from time to time. Ain't ever had a jam as good as the ones you make. You made Cedric's year by teaching him how to contact the spirits with an ocarina, and the spirits themselves seem to adore you. We ain't even able to go to your place these days without at least a few of them being visible."

  The spirits do manifest themselves at my farm more often now than they did when I arrive. In fact, there are always at least a few mid-level and one high-level one wandering around.

  All of those are fair points. I've been involved with the younger members of the village quite a lot. That's turned us into friends, and I guess I have helped them all out in some way. That's still no reason for a big celebration like this, though.

  "And the elders?" I ask.

  "They just wanted to party."

  I laugh at his response. That makes a fair bit of sense. There might be another festival in less than a week, but that doesn't mean they don't want to have fun now. This just gives them an excuse.

  "Alright," I incline my head towards the woman I don't know. "Who's that? We don't normally get people here early for festivals. At least, not for any of the ones I've been to."

  Thomas's face brightens up as happiness fills his mind.

  "That's Olivia," he tells me. "You were right that there's been interest in me since the green began to appear in my eyes. Olivia's village is the one I was originally planning on moving to, and we already knew each other."

  Judging by the way he feels about her, they probably had interest in each other before his eyes began to show green. I can tell she genuinely likes him, too. She might be the reason he was planning on moving to her village, even.

  The reason I haven't seen her before is because her village might be a little too far to make a trip just for a festival. Not for someone who's just a farmer, at least.

  "Originally planning?" I ask. "I take it that means you're not moving?"

  "No," he says. "Like I told ya before, I'd rather stay here. With Olivia and I getting more serious, she was already talking about moving out here with the festival. It's something she's not fully into due to the smaller size, but I managed to convince her. She'll be stayin' with Elaina until we get married, but we'll wait until after the festival. And after she meets the requirements, of course. Ain't gonna marry someone who doesn't."

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "The only one she has left is the pearl," I note. "At least, after today. The spirits do like her so I'm sure she'll be interacted with by at least three while we're here. And speaking of this… we were told things would be ready right about now?"

  "Yeah," Thomas nods, then looks over at Dylan and Nolan, who've been quietly listening in on this conversation from behind us, Nolan sitting on Aluci's back with the spirit in his normal wolf form. "Are you ready?"

  "Yeah," Dylan answers as Nolan nods.

  "Alright," Thomas says, then looks back to the crowd and raises his voice. "FINISH UP! IT'S TIME TO BEGIN!"

  Everyone else hurries to finish putting out the things they're setting out, then move their wagons away. Chief takes up a position at the flower trellis with the magi standing close to him, and the villagers gather in the center. They stand so that there's a walkway straight down the center for Dylan and I to walk down.

  We let Nolan ride Aluci down the middle, and the kid does so with his head held up, a massive grin on his face. He doesn't really understand what's going on, he just likes the attention. When they reach the front, Aluci moves over to stand beside my parents, then Dylan and I walk down.

  I know what weddings are like in cities as I've attended a few, and I know what they're like in many smaller places as well. Here, though, I can't really tell how things might go. Especially since things are already different from what I was told to expect.

  "This ain't how we normally do it," Chief says. "But you're a little bit special to some of our villagers, Rowan. To all of us. You've changed the village a bit, and for the better. Brought back to us some of the hope and life we'd lost. The spirits here like you, and to see you getting married in our village makes us all happy.

  "We ain't sure how y'all do it in the cities," he continues. "But we'll keep this short as we couldn't figure out what to do to make it longer. So. Rowan. Do you agree to marry Dylan and be his faithful husband 'till death? To be of the same household and care 'till the end?"

  Yeah, this is definitely a short wedding. I'm not complaining, though, as that's just fine by me. Thank the gods I don't have to stand through another lengthy wedding ceremony, especially with this one being my own.

  "I do," I answer.

  "Dylan," Chief says. "Do you agree to marry Rowan and be his faithful husband 'till death? To be of the same household and care 'till the end?"

  "I do," Dylan answers.

  "Then as the Chief of Mistwood Village," Chief says. "I declare the two of you to officially be husbands."

  "As everyone knows," I turn to face Dylan. "I've traveled quite a bit. More than ten thousand miles in any given direction. I've encountered cultures and customs different from our own. Here, all that's needed is a promise of the vows and a declaration of marriage by someone authorized to do so, such as a village chief.

  "In some of the places I've visited," I say. "There's a custom I actually like. An accessory placed on one's new spouse after the promise. They're generally made together, by the same craftsman, and created as a matching pair.

  "It's not a sign of ownership," I continue. "But a sign to others that you're with someone else and that they are the only one for you. What type of accessory it is, and its style, is generally determined by the region. This one doesn't have such a custom, so I came up with something on my own."

  A pair of armlets appear in my hands, only 0.25" thick and made of adamantite from Floor 30 of the mines. The metal retains its rich green color for the most part, with some brown vine-like patterns flowing across each. Leaves emerge from the vines in the pattern, and my crest is set into them in purple. Dylan had expressed that we could make it our family crest, so that's what I did with these.

  The description itself is slightly different from when I made it. There was no mention of us being married, only that it was a potential Mark of Marriage. The change to the description means that the System officially recognizes our marriage despite how short and simple the declaration was.

  "That's a lot of words," Dylan comments.

  "It can be," I say. "When there are a lot of features to a magic item. They're designed to be able to be worn at all times, no matter what we're doing. The tradition involves putting them on the other. As armlets, they go on our upper arms."

  I offer one to Dylan, who fixes it onto my right arm. I then fix the other onto his right arm, then pull him in for a kiss.

  With the very short ceremony completed, everyone begins mingling again while Thomas pulls out his guitar and begins to play. Dylan and I walk over to the food tables, Nolan following us. There are several stews, a few salads, a couple of pies, and some loaves of bread. Thomas's parents begin cooking marinated chunks of meat over a fire to serve while Patrick makes for the jars of ice cream my parents set out.

  Dylan and I grab a little bit of food for the three of us and listen to some of the elders tell tales. The food disappears long before people start heading home, most of the rest of the evening spent listening to stories, listening to music, and singing songs. There's still plenty of drink, however, and many adults stumble their way home.

  "Come on, Nolan," Dylan lifts the kid off of Aluci's back. "Let's get you a bath and into bed, alright?"

  Nolan fiddles with his father's armlet for a few moments.

  "You want one, too?" I ask, and Nolan nods. "These ones are special, they mean that your father and I have committed to being together for the rest of our lives. So you can't have one exactly like it… but I did make a similar one for you."

  I pull it from my stasis pocket cuff, and Nolan examines the armlet. It's sized to fit on a full-grown person so he's probably wondering about its size. The armlet for him still retains its natural coloration, and the vine pattern on it remains green rather than brown. It does possess our family crest, though.

  "This has most of the features that the ones we have do," I tell him. "And it represents that you're our son. It's also really special."

  I fix it onto his arm and when I do, the armlet shrinks down to fit him perfectly.

  "As you grow," I tell him. "It'll grow as well, always fitting you perfectly. There's something else."

  A trio of earcuffs appear in my right hand. Each of them is made of medium-grey adamantite and has our family crest on them in purple. A tiny magic crystal sits at the top point and the bottom point of the star-like icon.

  "This is for all three of us," I say as I fix one onto Nolan's ear, and it shrinks down to fit him properly. "That'll grow as you do. It'll never be uncomfortable, and it'll never fall off. It only comes off if you purposely take it off. By putting 1 MP into the top jewel on it, you'll be able to accept a 'call'. That will let you hear what someone calling you says. To make a call, put in 1 MP into the bottom jewel and think of the person you want to contact. They have to have one of these for it to work. If someone makes a call to you, you'll have an awareness of it."

  "Ain't ever heard of something like that before," Thomas comments, having walked over as I explained.

  "Because I invented it," I tell him. "There's no form of instant long-distance communication outside of sending a messenger of some sort. If I ever go camping in the Mistwood, I want to be able to contact my husband and our son and talk with them. Or if one of us is out and someone wants to let another know something. The solution to that was to make something which enables it. These use a mixture of spatial adamantite and air adamantite to achieve this. The air magic allows for it to record sounds and the spatial aspect allows for it to instantly send said sounds to the others."

  In all fairness, there have been attempts at doing such things before in both our kingdom and others. Spatial magic is finnicky and not suited for this so it mostly focused on air magic. They tried to create air messages that could quickly travel through the sky. It wasn't instant, but the goal was to be as fast as possible.

  The range on those is extremely small, consumes a decent amount of mana, and why bother with that when I'm gifted enough to just make actual instant communication possible? I even managed to massively reduce the mana cost for the earcuffs to the point that they can still work outside of a Mistland Region, in areas with low amounts of it. They do draw on ambient mana to fuel the connection once it's opened, so making that cheap was important.

  I fix one onto my right ear, then another onto Dylan's. His hands are a bit full.

  "Those will be a bit too expensive for me," Thomas says. "Otherwise, I'd probably ask about buying them from you."

  "Thomas," I chuckle. "I only made them from adamantite because my family deserves the best. I can do it with cheaper materials. They'll still work over the whole region. Though you might just get them as a gift for your wedding."

  "Thanks," he smiles a little. "Speaking of that… Olivia and I were talking and if it does happen, we wanted to do the armlets as well. We like the idea, even if it doesn't really mean anything out here. Everyone would know we're married."

  "If you let me know how you'd like it to look," I tell him. "I can make the pair for the two of you."

  "Ain't gonna do that for free," he tells me. "And it ain't gotta be as fancy, either."

  "How else am I gonna keep you bringing me milk, butter, and cheese?" I ask with a smile. "And I can have all of the same features on one with lower-cost materials. They won't be as powerful, but they'll be there."

  "Sounds like a deal, then," he says. "Thanks, Rowan."

  "No problem," I say. "I'm gonna go collect the gifts now. Have a good night, Thomas. May the gods and spirits guide your paths."

  "May the gods and spirits guide your paths," he responds, then sets off towards his house.

  "Alright," I ruffle Nolan's hair. "Let me move the gifts into my cuff, then we'll head home."