Musings on Morality

Ahsch sat in his office, staring at the starry night sky. Brooding, though he would never admit it. Having both Mahat and Avery tell him, in the same day, that he should use his unasked-for influence with Kirasiel... It felt like some sort of conspiracy. Fate playing tricks on him.

He'd rarely been so grateful that his familiar kept her voice out of his head, though he spared a few thoughts of apology for the angrier ones he had about her.

Further reflection on what Mahat had said didn't help. For sure, he had been ignoring his power over Kirasiel, at least so far as he could - needing to copy her a new booklet of orgasm permission slips every few weeks was definitely hard to ignore. But especially since he had no direct interest in having that power, he was even more **** to make use of it with her than he was with his other Thralls. With Ariin things were essentially just a game - a very kinky, 24/7 power-exchange game, but still a game. He could intellectually know that his sister quite literally worshiped him, and not the front that was Enochiel, but Ahsch, her own brother; it still wasn't easy to actually believe that. Then with Dorin, it was more of a business transaction - the ability to wield more control over his servant, with multiple benefits and a few side effects. The human had already reported that he could better gauge Ahsch's intents - even outside of explicit commands - with the effects of Dominant's Tithe, something that, on reflection, Ahsch noticed in some very minor ways, such as how his office was organized and tidied.

But with Kirasiel, it was more of a curse, a burden thrust upon him as cost for Phashak sparing her life. Neither of them wanted it, neither of them enjoyed it (and the hrafthi refused to acknowledge what he'd sensed from their bond, at least until he was finished ruminating over his possible actions in general), and the entire situation was unfortunate at best. There was also a minor, niggling concern that, should he ever try and change the status quo with the Head of House Celes, Ahsch could find himself short a head. Or, at the very least, in heaps of trouble with various royals. As much as **** was a setback rather than an end, it was still one he had no interest in dealing with; even if he was at the point where he could make sure his future reincarnations ended up on Euphoria, he had no interest in having to make up another 18 years of growth. Though he still didn't know if he would end up back at square one if he reincarnated. Did memories include spells he'd learned? Muscle memory? Or was that stuff he'd have to relearn again.

Practical, concrete consequences aside, he was also grappling with the moral implications of using Dominant's Tithe. He soundly cursed his past self for choosing it because of such stupid reasons as 'I'm too lazy to parse out my Mana expenditures to main Ecstatic Generation,' and 'exhibitionism isn't really my thing.' At least with those the biggest problem he'd likely be dealing with would be public decency laws. Though, he'd be shocked if Mahat wouldn't pressure him on gaining a bigger harem of fuckbuddy Mana-batteries if he'd goen with Ecstatic Generation.

But no, he had to go and choose the option that literally let him enslave people. And sure, in an odd double-edged sword way, Phashak had minimized the control Ahsch had over his Thralls, allowing them their free will and restricting his hard control to orgasms, of all fucking things. But there was still a lot of control to be had with influencing their actions, pressuring them with insidious... well, not thoughts, but... He checked the System Description. Ah, right, 'desires.' Desires to follow his commands. He'd already seen what that could do, even in just a few days, with Kirasiel when he had teasingly made her think about whatever fantasy she'd had in the Canyon and tell him. And then withheld orgasms from her.

Hardly subtle, but certainly powerful. Ahsch was pretty sure he'd read or heard something about orgasms being the strongest positive reinforcement known to man, back on Earth. He'd be shocked if that wasn't generally true on Euphoria too.

Not for the first time, he tried to think through what all those moral implications were. Just because 'a god said it was okay,' was the epitome of 'weak justifications,' and especially not a good one when something as obviously amoral as Phashak was the aforementioned god. In a vacuum, using his power to exert control over someone without their consent was bad, plain and simple. The problem was that Mahat had made a good argument that standing by with that power while the person he could influence did bad things that hurt people was just as bad on his part. His familiar had even dared to quote Spiderman at him, much to his annoyance.

Though it was that same quote that kept him from acting without thoroughly thinking things through this time. Even if she was doing bad things, was mind control - or at the very least, fucking with her mind - really a conscionable act? Hells, he didn't even dare exert that much influence on Ariin or Dorin, and they had literally asked for him to have that much control over them - one of them without even really okaying it with him in the first place! Where was the line if he did start pushing with Kirasiel? 'Tell us what you know about Fauna and Byrdrek,' was arguably fine, and could honestly be argued to be for her own good, if the two royals were manipulating her. But what if they were? Even if she was made aware of it, Kirasiel was, as Avery had put it, a petty bitch. Really, more petty than she was anything else, which probably explained her feeble attempt to divide Ahsch and Avery, and her poor choices since becoming the Head of House Celes. She would not take kindly to being **** to divulge anything, and again, Ahsch could argue that it would be for her own good to draw her away from Fauna and Byrdrek. But at what point did it stop being 'help her make good decisions,' and instead become 'make decisions for her?' He reiterated to himself that he didn't even do that with Ariin or Dorin, and he was pretty sure Ariin would not only not mind, but probably wanted that to some extent.

My sister places far too much faith in me, he sighed to himself.

He almost wished there was already an established god of dominance, someone he could turn to for guidance. A higher authority always made things easier - at least, if you could trust them. The entire situation with Kirasiel, Fauna, and Byrdrek made that distinction important.

He'd follow his own rules on the subject if only they properly applied. His dominance over Kirasiel had been a gift, of sorts, it was true - but the intention was that it was a gift from the submissive, not from some (amoral) third party. And while he was... willing to be dominant over the royal bitch, she wasn't exactly submitting to him. And for all that he said he felt responsible for her, that didn't mean that he was supposed to keep her out of all trouble and make her damn choices for her. In the end, the best way he could think to approach the question was from a basic cost-benefit analysis. On the one hand, the benefit of not starting down a slippery slope towards tyranny weighed against the cost to other innocents who paid the price for Kirasiel's poor choices. On the other hand, the benefit of protecting those innocents from the royal girl's choices weighed against taking away her ability to choose - and Ahsch had no illusions that if he started to control Kirasiel, he'd have to go all-in. Half-assing his response would end badly, that much was a given.

Then there's also the question of how much I trust myself, he considered. Do I really believe that I can make better choices, on the whole, compared to Kirasiel? Sure. But what happens next time I encounter a similar problem? Somehow make them my Thrall and exert my control again? What problem, what 'bad choice' becomes enough to justify removing someone's freedom to choose? Is there really any such choice short of something truly horrific? Doesn't that, at some point, simply justify taking over the entire world and ruling as a divine dictator?

For once, he wasn't sure he was so grateful that Mahat remained silent.

He wondered if the other gods had ever been in similar situations, questioning themselves over their own choices and the implications of their power.

He wondered what Rwnil...

A knock at the door startled him. After staring for a moment, he called out, "Come in."

The older hrafthi entered, dressed in a simple, thin fur dress. "I was wondering when you would switch your thoughts towards me," she said dryly, then laughed at his stare. "No, no mind reading, just paying attention to your bonds."

"That's... a little terrifying," Ahsch admitted, gesturing for her to take a seat. "Based on that though, I'm guessing you're offering advice?"

Rwnil took a few moments to settle into the chair, then sat back and crossed her arms. "Close - I'm offering an exchange."

Ahsch sighed. "My background for your advice?" he guessed. A simple nod answered him. In contrast, he thought for almost a minute before replying. "I want your word that what we speak of does not leave this room without my agreement, short of some nation-endangering need."

The ascendant narrowed her eyes, but there was no reproach in her gaze, but rather approval. "You understand the significance of a god - even a fledgling god - of bonds asking for such a thing, yes?"

"I believe I do, though I'll admit, I'm more worried about my own ass than binding you to me in any way."

Rwnil scoffed. "You should be looking to bind me to you - I'd be a powerful asset."

"I'd rather a powerful friend, or, failing that, a powerful ally."

She sighed with a small laugh. "You are... naive. And far too soft." She met his gaze. "I vow, to both Lord Ahsch Odestag and Enochiel, God of Bonds and Sex, to keep the secret he is about to tell me, unless events of cataclysmic proportion require the revelation of said secret to avert them."

The bond that settled between the two was separate from the growing bond of fellow hrafthi; of teacher and student. Namely, because it touched upon the portion of Ahsch that was divine, in a way that his other dealings simply didn't. And, most intriguingly, in a way that even his worshipers didn't - completely bypassing Object of Worship or Cleansing Light. As though there was something divine about Ahsch outside of his Boons...

The Dominant Mage pulled himself away from those thoughts. More things to deal with later. Instead, he poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher Dorin had left on his desk hours ago, took a sip, and then settled back into his own seat and, after a few moments of thought, began.