Chronicles of Master Eldrin Voss – Court Wizard IV: The Cycles of Conceptions

Year 20, Month 10 (Eleven months after the first public births)

The first cycle is complete.
Twenty knights have each impregnated their assigned daughter or sister at least once.
All twenty women have given birth publicly.
All twenty children have been taken to Wessex to be raised as wards of the crown.

The cages were never emptied.
The women were allowed only six weeks of recovery. Then the second cycle began.

The crowd has grown larger. The betting more sophisticated. New odds boards now track:

Time to second conception

Number of failed attempts

Whether the knight will break before the second flare

Detailed Observations – Second Cycle

Sir Kael (Cage #1)
Daughter: Lady Mira (now 20, already nursing their first child in the palace)
Kael has become almost mechanical. He mounts her twice daily without prompting. No tears anymore. No resistance. On the 9th day of the second cycle the runes flared violet during his morning breeding. Mira gasped, hand flying to her belly: “Again, Father ... I feel it sparking...”
The crowd cheered. Kael simply rested his forehead against the bars and closed his eyes. He has not spoken since the first birth.

Sir Torren (Cage #4)
Sister: Lady Elowen (now 23)
Torren’s hands remain gone. He can no longer thrust. Elowen must do all the work. She rides him morning and night, grinding down while the crowd chants “Ride the cripple! Make him spill!”
It took 47 days. On the 47th day she sank down hard, circled her hips, and the runes flared. Elowen cried out in reluctant pleasure. Torren stared at the ceiling, tears running silently into his ears. The betting payout was massive. Many had wagered he would never conceive again.