A Royal Dinner

Traditionally, for a smaller, private meal between royal houses, the Head of the House met the guest(s) and escorted them to the dining area - or to whatever waiting space they would use prior to the meal, assuming other business was to be conducted first.

Avery was anything but traditional.

She didn't do anything quite as insulting as having Dorin or Butler (or one of the numerous, more common servants) bring Kirasiel to the dining room. But after pointing out the slight snub it would be to have Mahat and Ariin be the ones to escort the royal bitch, the two girls were rather eager to participate in Ahsch's wife's shenanigans. Much to the Dominant Mage's exasperation.

That didn't stop the smirk from pulling at his lips when Mahat gleefully informed the Lords Odestag via Daydreamweave of Kirasiel's poorly-hidden ire when the Lady was met by the two not-technically-royals. It actively encouraged Avery's grin as she threw a second leg over the arm of her chair at the dining table as she balanced precariously at an angle and emptied her first glass of wine after jokingly toasting to their guest's annoyance.

Ahsch rolled his eyes and sipped his water, reflecting that, based solely on the volume of **** his wife consumed, she definitely could be considered a functional drunk. _Should _be considered one, really.

The two Lords Odestag _did _deign to stand when the three ladies entered the room, giving bows of differing depths - Ahsch making a point to be accurate to the propriety required, Avery dancing dangerously along the border between 'not quite respectful enough' and outright disrespect. For her part, Kirasiel closer matched Avery by giving a slight nod to the lower-ranked royals before sweeping over to the opposite side of the table. Her eye twitched slightly when Ariin and Mahat extended the Odestag side of the table by sitting next to Ahsch, sister between the master and the familiar.

A brief exchange of formalities later, and the fivesome was silent as the Odestag servants ferried in the first course - a selection of appetizers, soups, and salads. Everyone filled their plates, then settled in to eat.

_Well, this is positively chummy, _Ariin remarked.

I told you guys annoying her right away would be a mistake.

Maybe, Avery said, eyes twinkling. But it sure is fun.

Picking at his plate more than fully eating - what with five more courses to go, he knew he had to pace himself - Ahsch awkwardly cleared his throat, then looked up at Kirasiel. "I don't suppose there's any chance you've come up with some ideas about our... dragon-related problem?" Dorin and Butler were the only servants present inside the dining room once the course was served, but it wasn't like the walls were sound-proofed. At least, not as far as Ahsch knew.

Kirasiel gave the hrafthi a cool glare. "Believe it or not, as Head of House Celes, I do have a number of obligations beside what _problems _you provide."

Avery snorted. "Problems, if I'm remembering correctly, you caused, M'Lady," she drawled in an almost bored tone before numbering off the fingers of one hand. "Pissing off a Goddess enough she wanted to kill you, intentionally going off the path near a Primeval Demesne..." a smirk formed on her lips. "Antagonizing someone who has at least a little influence over you... or maybe a lot..."

Ahsch audibly sighed. Smooth, he chided his wife, receiving a mental cackle in response. "_I _am not interested in placing blame," he said, giving Avery a warning look. "Which we could spend all night doing, and get nowhere. What's actually important is what we're going to do going forward. The way I see it, there's three potential things to keep my 'observers' from getting too bored, though I can't really claim any idea about precisely how to go about any of it." He lifted a finger. "Firstly, they seem rather intent on me doing 'something' in regards to you, Lady Celes. It's quite likely they want to see that in the form of the aforementioned Bond between us, but perhaps there are other things in that vein. That, in and of itself, is part of why we're here in the first place." He gave Avery a pointed look until his wife sighed, rolled her eyes, and conceded the point with a vague gesture of her quarter-empty wine glass.

He raised another finger. "Secondly, they also have explicitly called out my use - or lack thereof - of Dominant's Tithe... something which my manservant is willing to help with." He shot a look at Dorin, who gave a subtle nod. "I have to say I'm rather leery of going to far down that path, especially since the message I received included that reckless use of Dominant's Tithe wouldn't be seen in the best of lights. Thankfully. Still, if others could be found who would not object to the restrictions of the Bond, I could see making use of it... with careful consideration."

He let that hang for a moment before raising the third finger. "Finally... I believe that their interest in me, specifically, has to do with my potential. Finding other means of increasing that may go some way towards placating them. There's at least a handful of individuals methods in that direction, with varying utility and ease of making use of them."

Kirasiel narrowed her eyes. "You say that as though any of these are universally good things, but on the whole, they sound like they benefit you far more than anyone else."

"Yes, because having either of my husband's 'admirers' decided they're bored and descend on the Capitol and R'sath are totally universally good for everyone," Avery pointed out. Ahsch caught the slightest motion of her hand behind her chair as she slouched, signalling Butler.

Lady Celes scowled. "Be that as it may..." she started, only to abruptly pause as the servants streamed in and swapped out the appetizers for the next course, which was the first main course, featuring some super-fancy pasta with a creamy, nut-based sauce and a side of mushrooms. Ahsch had inquired what the dish was even called, and immediately felt like that one time he had been to a fancy French restaurant with indecipherable names for all the food. With the meal actually in front of him, he decided it was pretty good, and left it at that.

Once the servants were gone and they had started on their meal, Kirasiel spoke up again. "While I can't deny that keeping those two from taking matters into their own hands is a good thing, I _also _can't say that the idea of giving your husband more power on top of what he already has is remotely appealing."

"At this point, it's Ahsch or the dragons," Mahat stated bluntly, startling Kriasiel. "I know _we _would rather it be Master, but from your perspective, maybe you just have to choose the lesser of two evils." She smirked slightly. "And be honest, if he really wanted to, do you think you could stop him?"

The royal brat's gaze slid back to Ahsch, then back down the table as Ariin spoke up. "Think of it this way: without your help, Ahsch grows in power and influence at a slower rate - maybe much slower, maybe just a little. _With _your involvement, you at least have a say in how things go. Not to mention that at a certain point, having some favor with him will probably be a good thing, for you, House Celes, and R'sath as a whole."

Kirasiel seemed to think on that, and nobody else spoke for the rest of the second course. Eventually, Avery motioned to Butler, and the servants swept in and out in orderly chaos, moving them onto the third course, which was a lighter fare between the two main courses, featuring starfish from Star Mirror Lake (which were actual fish, not the five-limbed bottom-dwellers that Mitchel would recognize from Earth), as well as some seasoned bread and a mixed assortment of cooked vegetables.

"You seem rather confident in your growth," Kirasiel eventually addressed Ahsch.

He gave her an even look. "You remember why I was so calm when we fell into the Canyon, I assume."

A slightly strained look crossed Lady Celes' face. "I remember," she agreed.

The fourth course was another main course, featuring venison - or a beast-derived equivalent - and steamed carrots (or at least, if they weren't carrots, Ahsch couldn't tell the difference).

"Say that I agree to help - or at least not obstruct you; what would that third option look like?"

Ahsch pulled his attention away from watching his wife decimate the rather ridiculous amount of meat on her plate. "Well, given my... oddities, being circumspect would be good no matter how we go about it. But, based on the Boons I have, there are a few ways that don't directly involve you or Dominant's Tithe: I can learn Innate Magic from my... intimate partners," he cast a glance at his wife, realizing that he had yet to actually learn anything from her, all of their interactions either starting and stopping for refreshments, or being diverted towards his sister and familiar; a passing thought made him wonder if that was on purpose or not before he turned his attention back to his guest. "I can... well, I guess 'home grow' magically-dense potions from designated partners, which could be something I can tinker with to grow my Magnitude, though I'm not sure," he ignored the disbelieving look Kirasiel gave him. "And the hardest, but most direct way to grow my power would be... worshipers."

"Worshipers?" Lady Celes' blank voice matched her somewhat dumbfounded expression.

Ahsch nodded. "With enough, I could... basically become a god, though I have no idea where that threshold is. Regardless, each worshiper I have gives me at least a little boost, though not much per worshiper." He glanced at Ariin and Mahat. "I honestly can't really see much difference with the few that I currently have, so it's probably a tiny percentage of my power per worshiper."

Kirasiel sat back, rubbing her forehead. "So basically, you're telling me sex, sex, and worship, is that it?" She glared at him, though for once it didn't seem to be in malice, but rather at the absurdity of Ahsch's weirdness.

He shrugged helplessly. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly looking for lots of casual flings, just laying out the options as they stand."

The finished off the fourth course quietly, and moved on to desert, which was an assortment of sweet pies and cakes. Several minutes after, they proceeded to the sixth and final course, which Ahsch still didn't believe was an actual one, which was coffee and assorted ****. My wife is a functioning alcoholic, he bemoaned to himself.

Kirasiel seemed mostly bemused by the final 'course,' but partook nonetheless. "Religion is a... complicated matter," she finally said.

"Always is," Ahsch agreed.

"My question is how you intend to gather worshipers without the divine power to back it up," she retorted.

"Well, I have two boons based on it: one gives me power and domains based on my worshipers; the other allows me to both grant my worshipers access to my magic and create angels at the cost of some of my power." He thought for a moment. "I can also create artifacts that are linked to me, but that's not directly related to the god stuff. The problem is, while the potential is high, I need the power base, or the effects are rather diminished. And the artifacts are especially taxing, as they actually take up whatever portion of my power I put into them, so I'd need to recoup that manually; unlike the angels, who just absorb a portion of my Mana."

Kirasiel stared at him, her disbelief clear. "That you just say things like that..." she muttered, before shaking her head. "If they can be identified as angels, making some is, perhaps, the best way of gathering a following," she mused aloud. "I'd advise against going public with who, exactly, you are - or rather that the worship is directed to you, specifically - but having angels to assist in your... cult... would definitely go a ways towards gathering worshipers, even if they are 'diminished' from what you'd eventually be capable of. And if your worshipers can gain your magic, even if only temporarily... that's far from what any mortal is capable of, barring some Innate Magics to copy spells."

It was a thought that Ahsch had entertained, but having Kirasiel explicitly suggest it gave it some merit. After all, in all the mythology Ahsch (and Mitchel) was familiar with, divine messengers and servants usually came in many castes and tiers, some greater than others. If he could spin the narrative of a god that was new to Euphoria (which was true), who could bring a benefit to people that wasn't already covered (something he'd want to anyways), it could make sense that the only angels present who served that god were relatively minor, and help attract a following despite the limited reach he'd have.

Well, he considered, recalling the absolutely mind-boggling power he had sensed from Phashak, nothing 'relative' about making an angel that's 1/5 of my power, when my power is like a drop in the ocean compared to a true god. The point still stood though - if they could be identified as angels, then perhaps it would still work. Though such beings would only be just shy of Magnitude 4, less than half the Euphorian average among humans. Very, very minor angels.

Still, the average human wasn't exactly a font of knowledge, and he wasn't planning to have them show off immense feats of magic - not yet, anyways. And if they inherited certain Boons from him, that could still surpass their lower Magnitude's limits. Possibly.

"That's... at least a start. Thank you, Lady Celes, for your advice."

Kirasiel seemed almost startled by the gratitude, but recovered quickly and made a dismissive gesture while she enjoyed some coffee.