Preparations on different planes

Aldir sat in front of a wall of the idealized brick cottage within the arcadian paradise that made up his realm on the Celestial Plane, willing it to shift into a view of the Material Plane, specifically of his chosen champion: Caelan Barrett.

Despite his demonic appearance, Aldir had never doubted the man’s devotion and strength of character when he’d honored Caelan’s paladin oath. Caelan proved himself to be a paragon among paragons many times over, even at the tender age of twenty-eight years--while he knew that Caelan was an adult among mortals, it was but a blink of time to a god. Aldir was right to give Caelan a spark of immortality, and he would like to think he would have done so if there hadn’t been a demonic invasion through the reopened Ulcerous Gate, that needed literal divine intervention to give the mortals a fighting chance to defend themselves. Soon, he would truly name Caelan his chosen herald and elevate him to demi-godhood, but not before Caelan had lived some more of his fated mortal life.

He smiled proudly as he watched, for what really was a month on the Material plane, the tiefling man helped the people of Ocowyth recover from the demonic invasion. After all, the work didn’t end when the Ulcerous Gate was shut, even if that valiant battle was all that the mortal bards would remember. But the smile turned faintly sad as he imbued Caelan with more and more of his divine strength at his herald’s request. He watched as Caelan used it to work tirelessly and singlemindedly for the good of all affected by the attempted demonic evasion. Despite his concern for his herald, he could not help but feel a little bit of pride. He was the god of community, and what was a kingdom, the world, the Material Plane itself, but a large community?

What Caelan needed, in Aldir’s view, was to involve himself in his community instead of merely defending it. Aldir and his husband Hyrne, the god of nature and hunting, had once been happy together, until Hyrne was slain in the first Hell War and his domains spread among the surviving deities. It was perhaps because of that, more than even Aldir’s co-dominion over love, that Aldir wanted all of his followers, especially his chosen champions, to find love and happiness.

In the case of Caelan, who was only attracted to women, there were many wonderful choices for his future life partner. There were two of his party members, Mahja the barbarian, Adalheid the druid, and of course Glyka, the fellow paladin that Caelan himself had mentored. There was also the newly-anointed crown princess of Ocowyth, Emilie von Wedell, or Pieta--now Galatea, the poor woman Caelan’s party had rescued from the cruel experiments of Rovanus the Clever, or even the storm dragon Ionanthe--

“All of them,” said a familiar, unwelcome voice.

Aldir sharply turned his head to look at the intruder, and saw that it was indeed Sostus, the god of adventure, fun, and impulsive behavior. While he knew that the younger deity was his ally, it did not stop Aldir from finding him grating, especially when he appeared without notice. “I beg your pardon?”

Both of them knew that Aldir had heard Sostus perfectly clearly. “Yes, all of them. If anyone can handle a complex marriage, it’s him. He would have died from exhaustion after you gave him that spark, so he needs a break. And I decided to give it to him!”

“What did you do?” boomed Aldir, rising to face the other god.

“I signed him up for a vacation! At a place called Harem Hotel! With a name like that, it’s both a relaxing break and a chance for him to get with all of them!”

Aldir took a deep breath, and Sostus relaxed slightly, leaving him completely unguarded when Aldir roared out his fury. “Harem Hotel? The interdimensional lust TV show? Where the contestants are never the same again afterward? They get turned into MISSHAPEN LUMPS OF FLESH? YOU SENT MY CHOSEN THERE?!”

“W-well, they did say that you couldn’t rescind a nomination.”

Sostus seemed to shrink in place as Aldir advanced on him. But before he could respond, or before Aldir could hurt him, a third, musical, gentle voice rang out.

“I will protect him, Aldir. I used to be involved in the making of that show, as a production assistant and then an assistant host, long before Sostus’s mortal forefathers walked the Material Plane, and when Hyrne ruled nature, Aldir.”

Both of them recognized the voice, and turned toward it, or rather, her. Ginelia, goddess of passion, art, lust, trickery, and **** stood in Aldir’s abode. Only because of their shared dominion over love, and that she was close in age to him, did Aldir trust her enough to listen.

“And how will you do that, Ginelia?”

In answer, she manifested in a corporeal form, that of a voluptuous, pink-skinned human woman with darker pink hair, with mesmerizing markings all over her skin that seemed to shift between deep pink and gold and back again, clad in gold jewelry and a low-cut, figure-hugging white dress. “I will serve as host for his season, of course. And fear not, Aldir, your chosen will not be turned into a misshapen lump of flesh, a frog, or any other unpleasant form. He is, after all, the master.”

Aldir said nothing, at first, then sighed. “Very well, Ginelia. You do, after all, know the Harem Hotel better than I.”

Sostus, meanwhile, slipped out of Aldir’s domain and back to the Elysian Plane, glad that Aldir was distracted, and that the older god’s wrath appeared soothed.

Then Aldir asked a question. “How do you know you’ll be the host, Ginelia? It is a vast show, almost its own plane by itself.”

Ginelia smiled wide, as though to an unseen audience. “I pay attention to any potential seasons that may use our protectorate. When I saw it was your Chosen that was the lucky master, I used my old contacts to make myself the host of his season. The Producers agreed, seeing my portfolio, as long as I had an assistant that they provided, who was a current employee of the show.”

“And what does this…assistant do?”

“Her name is Sassafras. She will help me acclimatize to the modern environment of the show, and the tools I’ll use. And no, she will not harm the Ma--Caelan, or any of the contestants on the show. Even if she was that sort, which she is not, I would not let her,” she said, in a perfectly cheery, practiced voice.

Her voice dropped into a softer, lower, more genuine tone. “And besides, if the demons won, there wouldn’t be much love, art, passion, or even lust left in the world.”

“And what of the women? Caelan didn’t fight alone. If you--”

“I know that. And I’ll give them transformations to bring out the parts of themselves that they can let bloom in this new era of peace, rather than hurt them. Even if it may look odd to you.”

Aldir sighed, hearing that. But as wary as he was, he could sense that Ginelia was being truthful, on this matter at least. She would indeed protect his chosen, and the women he loved--all of them--to the best of her ability. So he decided to change the subject. “When does this start?”

“In two hours from now.”

“Why did you come here then, instead of finishing your final preparations with Sassafras?”

“I needed to protect Sostus! You were about to smite him!”

“Come now, I wouldn’t have smote him! Merely taught him a little lesson!"

Ginelia decided not to comment on that, and instead continued on. "And besides, I had a favor to ask of you.”

“What sort of ‘favor?’”

“I would like you to send down seven of your angelic servitors, transformed into Caelan and the six women that will make his harem, with orders to act like they would and manage affairs in Ocowyth in their stead.”

“And you ask that of me two mortal hours before this…spectacle is to begin?”

“Well, I had to put this season together under short notice, since I knew you wouldn’t want Caelan or his ladies to be hurt too badly, and even I was not expecting Sostus to nominate Caelan. And besides, would you truly leave the Material Plane ****, unprotected, after it’s survived a demon attack?”

Aldir sighed. “And you can’t just…postpone the show?”

“No. Once the season is given a start date by the Producers, it starts on that date, and no one can change that. Not if they value their form and will.”

The last sentence slipped out almost against her wishes. Fortunately, Aldir did not press her further on the matter. “Very well, I shall assemble the angels, as you request. They will follow my orders, and they’ll do it for Caelan.”

“Oh, thank you, Aldir! Thank you so much!”

And with that, she vanished, leaving a bemused Aldir to shake his head at the events that had unfolded under his nose. He didn’t linger for too long. He had angels to delegate.

Ginelia returned to the demiplane that was going to be the set of her Harem Hotel season. It was as she’d left it: a large, dignified manor made of off-white stone, which was surrounded by a picturesque meadow like that out of a postcard, which then gave way to lush woods that had mystery without menace. Standing in front of the castle, evidently waiting for her, was a line of twenty maids, each with the same orange hair arranged in a tidy bun, the same black eyes behind black glasses set against pale skin, the same black dress, white apron, and white frilly headband. She had to admit, it was a little unnerving. Nonetheless, she approached the nearest one.

“Welcome home, milady,” said the maid.

“Hello, Sassafras. I trust that you finished the final preparations?”

The maid, which was indeed Sassafras, nodded. “I am, milady.”

“Thank you,” said Ginelia, unable to keep her unease at the many identical copies of Sassafras completely hidden. Her angel, elemental, and imp servitors all looked different from each other, even the identical twins, even though they were all sworn to or created by her.

“It is normal for a Harem Hotel assistant to create multiple copies of herself, and control all of them simultaneously,” said Sassafras evenly. She did not appear bothered at all by Ginelia’s unease. “So that I may better do my job.”

“I know, and I remember other assistants could do that. It’s just…it’s been a while.”

Ginelia then decided to try to lighten the situation with a joke. “More of you would make it easier to handle the…camels, no…cameras! Cameras, is the word for them.”

The corners of the maid’s mouth turned up slightly, but she did not quite smile. “You are learning, milady. Well done. And I can assure you, they are not weapons.”

Ginelia’s face heated, and she wasn’t sure if the blush was visible under her pink skin. “It was only once! And besides, if you were to pick one up, you could attack me with it!”

“So could you, milady,” replied Sassafras. There was a faint but clear smile on her face now.

“Why did they switch to cameras? The recording scrolls back in the day were so much easier to use!”

Sassafras decided that was a rhetorical question, and therefore did not answer.

“Anyway, I wasn’t sure what the Producers wanted to change about the season, but we can quickly fix it before the Master gets here, right? It’s just about the points, right?”

“I believe we can, milady. In the host’s office, if it pleases you?”

It did please Ginelia. The two of them walked into the manor through the main gate, followed by the other nineteen Sassafras clones. The clones then dispersed into the various rooms of the manor, until it was just Ginelia and the main Sassafras clone in the host’s office. Ginelia took her seat at her desk, leaving Sassafras to stand across from her. “So, what’s the problem?”

“The Producers are not opposed to the initial plan for a light, happy season, milady,” said Sassafras. “Nor are they opposed to allowing the initial harem to settle before introducing the…more volatile…elements. In fact, they have found that the calm helps the audience appreciate the storm when it arrives.”

She paused for a few moments, trying to figure out how best to word her statement. “Their concern is the Master, milady.”

“This particular master would try to save them all, even if he didn’t know the true stakes. If he was told that fucking all of his women was the only way to save their wills and bodies from the whims of the show, he’d drop his trousers without thinking twice! They had no problem with that, when I briefed them!”

She realized she was shouting at the maid, who had done nothing but tell her the truth, and took a deep breath to calm herself. “I’m sorry, Sassafras. You didn’t deserve that. It’s just been stressful, trying to put the season together on such short notice…”

“All is forgiven, milady. From what I read in his file, he has already done almost exactly that. At the very least, we will have a master that doesn’t need to be warped beyond recognition to play the game. He will regard it as one of many duties he must perform.”

“So what is the Producers’ issue?”

“You plan to only award points if the Master is enthusiastic about performing sexual acts with the members of the harem. The Producers felt that it was unnecessarily limiting. It does not fit the tone of your proposed story, as a reward for the hero. That, and a sizable portion of the audience is either aroused by the idea of duty sex, or does not care as long as they get to view the sexual acts in question.”

“But how do I provide him a reason to enjoy the…well, I suppose it would be counterproductive to threaten him into enjoying his own reward. And besides, he does love all six of the initial contestants, and they him, even if they all need a little push to act on it.”

“If I may suggest a compromise, milady?”

“Go on.”

“Allow them to get the normal points for the first two weeks, and first two challenges. I take it that the start of the third week is still when you plan to introduce the new girl?”

“It is. And…?”

“Then, you can say that any points earned from interacting with the Master are halved, rounded down, if the Master only does so out of duty. By the third day of the third week, you can change that to only a quarter of the points earned, rounded down.”

Ginelia stared at Sassafras for a few moments, then grinned. “I think I like that. It also helps accomplish my other objectives.”

“Your other objectives?”

“This is only the fifth time since the Creation that old Aldir has raised a mortal to a demigod. All of Aldir’s such chosen demigods have become full deities in their own right. I would like to make sure that Caelan Barrett is worthy of the power and responsibility, before he fully assumes it. What better way to test that than by giving him a taste of power, as the Master of this season?”

“So was it truly an accident that he was selected as the Master?” Sassafras seemed more curious than anything, so Ginelia told her.

“It surprised me too, but yes. Sostus nominated him without any influence from me, or any knowledge of Harem Hotel.”

Ginelia thought for a minute, and then smiled widely. “And whether or not Caelan was the master, having a season set in this world is…a teaching tool. Specifically, on the foolishness of certain actions, which certain people have yet to learn.”

Sassafras smiled slightly upon hearing that. Though she had an idea of what Ginelia planned for the later weeks, with the planned contestants, she was more interested in seeing it play out herself. “Then let us register the change with the Producers, milady. I am here to assist, should you need it.”

It was quick work to submit the paperwork to the Producers, and get it approved. And just in time, since the Master was about to arrive. Ginelia stood at the manor gates, flanked by Sassafras and her clones in an orderly line, ready to welcome him to the manor.