Exercising Power

Kirasiel Celes' gaze was icy as she glared at Ahsch. "I believe you are becoming far too familiar in your dealings with me, Lord Ahsch."

Petty snubbing cunt, Avery hissed in his head when she was relayed the exchange. Can't bear to use your full, proper name, can she?

The hrafthi gave a weak, apologetic smile. "Unfortunately, it seems Fate conspires to make me keep needing to meet with you, Lady Celes."

She narrowed her eyes, glanced at the noble who had already been meeting with her, then looked back to Ahsch. "What is it now?"

Excellent, he thought, suppressing a grin. "A warning from a... certain powerful individual. It seems your current trajectory in regards to your unfortunately-acquired position as Head of House Celes is causing displeasure. I'm obviously not privy to all the information, but I'd strongly advise you to at least carefully consider your position within court and who you ally with." Nothing he said was a lie. All of it was true. But the careful separation of sentences, and the presence of a third party who wasn't aware of the background of Kirasiel being Ahsch's Thrall - or them dealing with Phashak and Phashim - allowed the hrafthi to both obfuscate who he was talking about by implying either of the dragons was the 'powerful individual' instead of Rwnil, and also stealthily deliver a command without giving himself away as either having done so or initiating the warning that led to the command.

It had been difficult to test the workings of his influence over his Thralls, given that both of the ones he had ready access to were there willingly and more than happy to listen to his advice. Still, a few things had come to light in the days since Ahsch's talk with his mentor. Most important was that he needn't make a command explicit - the intent he had would affect his Thrall as long as he spoke words appropriate to the command's meaning.

Therefore, his intended command for Kirasiel to rethink her stance on the questionable proposals in court, and to question whether she should make nice with Byrdrek and (possibly) Fauna were neatly slipped into his otherwise vague warning that implied he knew nothing of either situation, and that the warning and displeasure came solely from Phashak or Phashim.

He did note that, given every word and sentence he spoke was true (even if, taken together, they were very misleading, implying that the warning from a powerful individual was for Kirasiel specifically, and not Rwnil warning Ahsch; then minimizing Ahsch's knowledge of Kirasiel's actions and likely allegiances with an absolute that was true, if nearly hyperbolic, linked with a generally true statement of displeasure - again, implied to be a dragon's, and not his own - rounded out by the implication that his concealed command was from someone other than himself), the bond of his dominion over Kirasiel seemed to help pass on his intent... a flicker of something from that amorphous divinity within him - the part disconnected from his Boons - seemed to be involved too. Possibly the domain of bonds, or his commandment to be honest? Or maybe both?

Either way, the gambit worked. Kirasiel's eyes widened, and she almost seemed to regret not dismissing the noble who glanced between the two royals with ill-concealed curiosity. But at this point, the main of the message was delivered, and while the meeting was already interrupted, the royal bitch couldn't easily dismiss the noble now without giving him even juicier gossip to spread than he already had; which meant she couldn't ask Ahsch clarifying questions he'd rather not answer. Questions he would avoid answering as best he could for the next few days, at the very least.

Which led to his next statement. "While I'm here, I should also inform you that I will, unfortunately, be unavailable for the better part of the next week - certain matters at the Temple of Enochiel demand my attention. Given it is my property and responsibility - as the one who helped to foster the new religion - it is my duty as a royal to attend the situation with all diligence."

Kirasiel's eyes narrowed again, a hint of suspicion. Ahsch cursed that she wasn't as dumb as her pettiness would otherwise imply - she was only far more petty than she was smart. "I see," she replied carefully. "Then perhaps we should meet as soon as you have returned to R'sath."

Ahsch nodded. "Of course, Lady Celes." He turned as if to leave, but paused, then half-turned back. A sensation of confusion came from Mahat, as well as a couple questions over Daydreamweave, which he ignored as he quickly composed his thoughts. "I should also warn you that I will be otherwise completely indisposed during my absence... meaning that other... ah... 'regular exchange' will be delayed as well. I'm afraid that what you've currently used is all that I can provide. Of course, I encourage you to make full use of what is left." He smiled encouragingly. "After all, a week is hardly that long a stretch of time, in the grand scheme of things."

Kirasiel's carefully schooled expression barely changed, but Ahsch could see the flicker of panic in her eyes before he fully turned away and made a hasty exit.

I can figure out that you were referring to her supply of permission slips, Avery said, her voice slow as she thought, but what the hells was that?

Ahsch grinned as he entered the lift. I just realized that she asks for a fresh booklet every third week... and I think tomorrow was the day she was going to ask for a new one.

Avery giggled. So you're depriving her for a week? That's mean.

Ahsch's grin widened. _Oh, even better than that. If I did it right, I not only told her that any she has in reserve are now worthless - 'what you've currently used' being 'all I can provide' essentially should tell her that anything she hasn't used is useless. Then I encouraged her to make full use of it - that is, she should go home and orgasm right away today. And my hope is that there's enough in that whole set of sentences to... encourage her to keep enjoying herself... even if she can't cum._

Silence reigned within Daydreamweave for a long moment. ...Ahsch, I would like to thank you once again for allowing me to serve you and take this time to praise your devious cunning, Dorin said, his mind slightly panicky.

The hrafthi couldn't help his laugh. Oh, don't worry, Dorin, I have no interest in putting you in such a situation.

Remind me never to make myself your Thrall, Avery grumbled, and Ahsch could just picture her sipping on some liquor.

He snorted. You clearly haven't been paying attention if you think I'm planning to add people to my selection of Thralls. At least, anytime soon. And I somehow feel that arrangement wouldn't work very well between us.

Smart man you are, husband, came the dry reply.

Ahsch slipped into the hot springs with a satisfied sigh. Ariin followed him in, immediately cuddled up against him, and began exploring his body with a soft hand. A hand which quickly ventured under the water and to his cock, which hardened rapidly in response. The Dominant Mage chuckled at his twin's actions, but didn't stop her. Rather, he just leaned back and enjoyed...

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," came the sharp, yet lazy voice of his mentor.

Ahsch shot upright, turning to stare at the elder hrafthi. "R-Rwnil!"

"Oh, don't stop on my account," she almost laughed. Then dropping her voice, she added, "We Euphorians don't share the... timidity that you seem to have kept from Earth where it comes to sex." Her lips stretched into a mocking, lopsided smirk. "Which is ironic, given one of the primary domains of Enochiel, isn't it?"

The boy flushed, then blushed even more when he felt his sister's hand return to its prior task of stroking his cock. "That's..." he started to say, but stopped and averted his gaze when Rwnil dropped the towel that had barely been concealing her breasts and crotch from view, then slipped into the same pool the twins were in, directly across from her student.

"Mmmm," she sighed, eyes closed. She'd almost moaned, her voice taking on a dangerously sexual tone. "These hot springs were a good choice, 'Prophet," she said, leaning back with her arms along the rim of the pool, leaving her breasts and air-hardened nipples just clear of the water.

Ahsch looked to the side, tearing his gaze away from the woman's chest. Then he inhaled sharply as his sister pressed closer, tucking his right arm between her tits and trapping his wrist between her legs as her hand began to stroke more insistently.

The royal was rapidly regretting his invitation for Rwnil to join him in week-long exile at the Temple. An invitation he had expected her to reject.

"Do you have any specifications for what you wish to bond your reincarnation to?" the ascendant asked, opening her eyes. Ahsch stiffened, looking around wildly, before pausing at his teacher's laugh. "Don't worry, I've warded the pool. Nobody can hear us. In fact, nobody can perceive us at all, at the moment. Aside from the three of us, only Mahat should be privy to what we say - your bond with your familiar is quite strong and deep."

I am here, Master.

"So I'll ask again - do you have any specifications?"

Ahsch focused on the question, trying to ignore his sister's skillful hand. "I... I had one major consideration, but I'm not sure how best to go about doing it."

"Go on."

"Well, the concern is that, even binding my reincarnation to the Kingdom of Starlight, that's still a lot of ground to cover. And it's possible that the reincarnation isn't speedy either - I could remain in a limbo state for any length of time without knowing. For all we know, a thousand years may have passed between Mitchel dying on Earth and Ahsch being born." Rwnil nodded her agreement. "So, I thought it might be best to bind to something with a temporal component, as well as a local one."

"What did you have in mind?"

He swallowed, flushing once again. "I... I had the thought of... somehow putting some of my... uh... 'seed' in a sort of stasis... inside someone. A stasis bound to this body's life."

The ascendant thought for a moment. "Clever," she complimented, startling Ahsch. "Your semen, sustained indefinitely within a partner's womb, such that not only are you bound to reincarnate from that same seed, but relatively promptly as well." She gave him an almost proud smile, though it was more filled with her usual condescension. "Though I suppose you don't have a spell prepared to place your seed in such a state, do you?"

Ahsch shook his head. "I also had the thought to... well, pause a pregnancy near the end. Basically leave a fetus just a few days from birth, save the extra time of development. Though that would be much more... well, 'inconvenient' is an understatement for how that would affect my prospective... mother-of-my-child/mother."

Rwnil snorted. "Indeed. Though that is also a good idea. I am not willing to invest so much of myself into this - and I doubt I'd need to - but in the future, when you are able to bind your reincarnations in the same way, perhaps you can impregnate many women with your child, and bind yourself to all of them. That way, if some great catastrophe strikes, you do not have only a single chance to reincarnate here." She thought for a moment once again. "You might want to consider adding some sort of fertility or birth domain to your repertoire. Or even reincarnation itself. You could gain a lot of benefit from it, especially given how dependent on it you seem to be."

"The thought crossed my mind, but I'm already at odds with Orror over our stances on sex. I don't need to be seen as trying to usurp one of his domains." Ahsch was proud of himself for finishing the sentence without faltering - Ariin was doing some amazing work with her hand.

"True enough. That being said, I assume you would bind your seed to your sister?"

Ahsch glanced over at Ariin, who smiled and nodded. "Yes," he agreed.

"And I assume you would agree to such an arrangement, Ariin?"

"Anything for my brother, Master, and God," she replied instantly. Ahsch swallowed heavily at her devotion.

"Do either of you have a preference on putting the seed itself in stasis - and obviously guaranteeing its potency - or allowing a pregnancy to progress to just short of birth?"

The twins glanced at each other. "You sound like this is going to happen," Ahsch said. "As you pointed out, I don't have a spell..."

Rwnil waved a hand dismissively. "I will take care of it. So, your answers?"

Again, the two looked at each other. "I don't want to be parted from you for any length of time," Ariin said. "I'd rather pause a pregnancy. To the hells with any 'inconvenience' it might cause."

Ahsch shook his head. "I don't think I'm that much of a target at the moment. And despite you being tied to Enochiel, it would be extremely suspicious if you were indefinitely pregnant," he pointed out. "We should just sustain the semen. That's good enough."

Ariin made a face, almost pouting, but nodded, conceding the point.

"Very well. Then you should probably get that dick in her cunt and put something for me to work this spell on."

Ahsch flushed deeply once again. "Wait, right here?"

"What, did you think we'd do it through a partition? You're a god of sex, 'Enochiel.' Consider acting like it."

He grit his teeth in annoyance, then glanced at Ariin, but she was already moving to straddle him. "Breed me, Master," she whispered, sliding down his length. "Use me to safeguard your life here. Give me your child - give me you."

Unlike what they commonly did, the twins didn't fuck with wild abandon. Ariin slowly stroked his cock in and out of herself, exercising her control to squeeze and caress him with her cunt as she sensuously writhed against him, her every movement venerating the man she loved, worshiped, and obeyed. For his part, Ahsch simply watched in rapt awe, as finally, a small part of him began to truly understand the depths of his sister's devotion to him. Not wholly. He still didn't believe it, not the way he believed that the sky was blue. But he was beginning to.

When he came, it was a long, drawn-out event, Ariin chanting her worship in his ear as she shivered against him, begging her God to fill her, to bless her with his future. Ahsch held her close, his jaw clenched around the side of her neck as he shook with pleasure, with the taboo thrill of breeding his twin. For the first time, he felt Parental Mastery activate, but instead of some kind of menu, he could feel the Boon simply read his intent and copy himself into the seed, with only slight cosmetic tweaks to give his future reincarnation the inability to grow facial or body hair - unlike his human body, he found he didn't like having a beard, and shaving daily was more trouble than he liked. And randomly being hairy elsewhere seemed weird to him, though he allowed himself the chance at pubes; being without that seemed almost weirder.

He could also feel Ariin's copy of the Boon activate and integrate, but like his sister herself, her Boon submitted to the choices of his own.

The deed done, Ariin sat back, her hands cradling her otherwise flat belly, a radiant smile on her face.

"It is done," Rwnil said from behind her. "For a future favor from the god you will become, I have bound your reincarnation to the seed that will impregnate Ariin if and when you die, Ahsch."