Enochiel's Commandments

Only Mahat and Dorin accompanied Ahsch when he went to inspect the construction in his patch of forest for the second time. Avery had royal business to attend to, and Ariin had decided to turn her focus on her training. In the days after the Ball, Ahsch and his girls had discussed the implications of Fauna's warning, and the woman's enmity towards Avery. Something just didn't feel right about it - after all, if all she wanted was to warn Ahsch away from his wife, wouldn't she have done so before the wedding? The betrothal was quite public information, after all.

Despite lacking much in the way of facts and hard evidence, the trio was convinced that some scheme was afoot. Coupled with their progressing plans to begin the cult - and all the trouble _that _could easily bring - the sense of looming danger, while distant, was becoming oppressive. So Ariin began to lock herself in one of the training halls, wearing herself ragged in her efforts to grow her power. She spent over a week working to concentrate her Mana within her body, focusing on improving her innately high Mana Density, until it became second nature. Then, even as she continued that exercise, she began to practice her spells and fighting, and even pushed herself to maintain Edge of Glory and Arsenal of Ecstasy for as long as she could stand - and afterwards, held off begging her brother for an orgasm as long as she could bear. Seeing her exhausted, fatigued, and insanely pent up most days was worrying for Ahsch, but she was adamant to continue.

For his part, Ahsch **** himself to think through the difficult questions others - and especially Butler - had posed him when the subject of his, or rather Enochiel's, cult's practices and beliefs had first come up. And what Enochiel's domains should be. Questions that he had held in the back of his mind the whole time, but that a growing feeling of urgent need **** to the forefront of his thoughts. When he wasn't continuing his education as a royal or dealing with the responsibilities that came with being a Lord Odestag, he kept his mind on those questions. When he found himself going in circles about the domains, he changed his train of thought to the teachings and commandments of the cult. If the ruminations there began to stagnate, he switched instead to the practices, the rituals of the cult. He even began to carry a trio of journals with him at all times, one for each line of thought, recording his thoughts and reviewing what he had written.

He almost laughed when Mahat pointed out that those journals would probably become religious artifacts someday, but the thought that he would likely be around - in some way, shape, or form - to see it was quite sobering. And while a part of him wanted to censor what thoughts he put down, another demanded that he maintain his honesty - both with himself and any eventual worshipers who read these journals. A thought he ended up writing on the inside cover of each, in a likely vain attempt to clarify that the writings within were the musings of a mortal who could potentially become a god, and not divinely perfect teachings to be blindly listened to. Perhaps a bit paranoid, but Earth's history was full of examples of extremists who abused religious teachings for self gain and worse, something Ahsch hoped to avoid.

As Ariin trained and Ahsch established the foundation for his future cult, the construction in the woods proceeded apace. Ahsch had already decided to use whatever was built to host the cult back before work had even started, but now that trouble seemed to be brewing on the horizon, he submitted additions and minor alterations (as well as hefty payment to the contracted architects) to better suit the needs of those the structure would eventually be hosting. Needs that he feared would include a place of safety, shelter, and fortification against outside forces.

Those fears only grew as he investigated the local religions more thoroughly, as well as delving into the politics of them. The Kingdom of Starlight had no state religion, but only because - unlike the religions of Earth - the gods of Euphoria were present, and fragments of their power were available to be used to further their ends. Or for others to use for their own ends.

So while dozens of religions were practiced within the Kingdom, there were six major religions that actually held secular power, due to being the oldest and most powerful. The Church of Irzton, a god of justice and law, organized much of the legal infrastructure, and many judges in the lower courts were members of the clergy of Irzton. Krutune was a war and honor goddess, and while overall membership in her religion was lower than most of the others, the fact that most high-ranking members of the army worshiped her gave her significant influence. Most farmers followed Utsus, god of harvests and food in general, and his church maintained most of the soup kitchens in the Capital. Orror's worshipers were varied, and most families at least paid homage to him as the god of family, marriage, and birth. Meanwhile, the Church of Bikulla oversaw much of the Kingdom's expansion and growth, as she was a goddess of civilization, building, and commerce. Finally, Kakais presided over ****, the ungendered deity's clergy performing funerary functions and maintaining graveyards throughout the Kingdom.

While a small number of other religions could be considered 'major,' none of those laid claim to any of the six primary domains of them; most of the religions that did were fairly small and obscure, at least within the Kingdom of Starlight. Which was good information for Ahsch to be aware of, since his interest was in growing in power by having many followers. It helped to inform his path forward, as he treaded carefully around claimed ground and sought to carve out his own unique niche. Especially since, as he investigated the other, smaller religions, he found some patterns that emerged, namely that their focus was either on something that only a small segment of the population would care too much about - such as hunting - or were broad enough to fall under the auspices of multiple other gods.

Interestingly, while there were gods with a fertility domain, there were no sex gods, as such. And sex was something that, as far as Ahsch was concerned, everyone was at least a little interested in.

But the fears he had grew more from the politics of the major religions than from the religions themselves. For example, Krutuneites tended to follow their own 'honor culture,' which regularly clashed with the less strident society outside of those militant groups. Orrorists were often quite conservative about social matters of family and sexuality, maintaining that male-centered, heterosexual harems were obviously the natural order of things, and further that sex was a procreative activity. Despite their variance across all facets of civilization, the ranks of the Bikullanians contained some of the most economically self-centered people Ahsch had ever seen, rivaling some of the worst capitalists he knew of in their pursuit of personal wealth. Most distressingly, Irztonites held very black-and-white views, and while it was somewhat of an amalgam of various philosophies from the other five religions, it was usually the most conservative views available, and often focused on some weird view of 'purity' that only they could define.

In short, Ahsch anticipated that once his population of Enochiists reached some critical mass, friction with the major religions would become a major problem. In fact, given his plan from the beginning, he suspected that the Churches of Orror and Irzton would immediately condemn Enochiel as some kind of heretical cult to their followers, which could incite some rather not-pretty fallout. Those concerns became more and more likely as the hrafthi refined his initial plan for Enochiel's cult.

By the time of his second visit to the construction site, he had determined his domains, and hammered out the broad strokes of the religion. Folded under the back cover of one of his journals, the hrafthi kept a sheet of paper - often edited, sometimes completely replaced - that held his current version of those broad rules. He'd made a promise to himself that when he had kept one sheet, unedited, for a full week, he would make that the cornerstone of his religion. And as he looked at the skeletal frame of the growing Temple of Enochiel, he gently patted the journals in his pack, his jaw set as he resolved that promise. It was hardly an official publication, but a guide, something to refine and polish before presenting.

Enochiel, God of Bonds and Sex

Commandments:

1. The bonds you make are sacred. You may end them, but do not break them.
2. Your word is your bond. Keep it.
3. Respect the bonds of others. Do not seek to break them.
4. Sex can tie a deep bond between partners. Know beforehand if you and they wish to tie that bond.
5. Sex is not a single-faceted thing. Ask for what you want, and respect what your partners want.
6. Consent must be maintained throughout sex. Sex without consent is blaspheme.
7. Respect the gift of dominance over others - it can be revoked.
8. Those who dominate do so to nurture and protect those who submit. Those who submit do so to serve and empower those who dominate. One can be either, both, or neither.
9. Preserve your body. It houses You, and should be kept healthy and clean.
10. Your body is the You which is shown to the world. Be honest with it, and feel no shame for it.

Finally decided? Mahat teased, drawing everyone's attention.

Yeah, Ahsch said, sharing the list. It's not much, but it's a start.

I am disappointed in the lack of actual bondage involved with this list, Avery joked, but I have to say, it's a pretty decent list.

The hrafthi rolled his eyes. Kinky stuff is implied at this point, though I'm sure it will be explicitly mentioned eventually. Especially if you have anything to say about it.

Damn straight!

I'm curious, Master, Ariin slowly began. Your tenth commandment... what does that mean, exactly?

Ahsch thought for a moment, formulating his response. So, a few things. For one, I've noticed that a lot of people dress and present themselves in very similar ways. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but people aren't homogeneous, especially not when you consider the number of different monsters who live in the Kingdom. All that's to say that I'm willing to bet there's a lot of people who would feel... 'right' with, say, piercings, or tattoos, or a different style of dress. Or - and this is maybe slightly more in line with m- Enochiel's teachings and message - some people don't exactly 'fit' in their bodies: people born into bodies which we call 'boys' and 'men' but who feel feminine; or into bodies we call 'girls' and 'women' but they feel masculine - or hells, even people who don't feel either way, or both ways! That's just... who they are, and they should be able to present who they are at heart and feel no shame in it. None of the other religions offer that kind of support and validation, and I want to, especially if I'm going to be having a domain related to 'bodies' or whatever.

Ahsch could feel the somewhat shocked attention of the others through Daydreamweave - and Dorin's physical stare of surprise not five feet away. He sent a mental shrug back. _What can I say, I'm pretty accepting of that sort of thing.__ _He smirked. Hells, two of 'my girls' have cocks, and a lot of people would claim that to be very homosexual of me, and some would even declare me to be 'unmasculine' for 'allowing' it. He rolled his eyes. _T_hose people would all be idiots.

But back to the question, in essence it just means to present yourself as you are, and that you shouldn't feel shame for doing so.

...I... see, Ariin eventually replied, her message carrying tones of deep contemplation.

Everyone returned to their personal activities, though the quiet was eventually broken by Dorin. How long was it until the construction would be complete, again?

Another month, I think, Ahsch replied.

Call it a month and a half, I'm sure you'll get bad weather or some other kind of unexpected delay, Avery said. Happens all the time with big projects like this.

And the goal was to begin sermons as quickly as possible after it was done, yes? Dorin pressed, a hint of concern in his mind's voice.

Ahsch sighed, both physically and in Daydreamweave. I know, I know. We need to finish up at least a few sermons worth of teachings, and figure out how to proselytize for worshipers. And have it all ready within a month - or a month and a half.