Making New Friends

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Ahsch smothered the laugh that tried to bubble out at Oleur’s words. “We haven’t been waiting overlong,” he said, somehow managing to keep a straight face. Then he looked around the table, nodded, and stood. “I’d like to thank you all for coming, for agreeing to this meeting. I know that we don’t all… get along, necessarily. But that is my goal with this meeting - to unify us in our common cause.”

“Supporting and advising the people,” Archcleric Bennoch said.

Ahsch nodded. “Precisely.” He gazed around the table, then took a deep, preparatory breath. “We - the gods we serve - all represent important things in people’s lives,” he began, and slowly went around the table with his eyes. “Nourishment and plenty, so that none know the suffering of starvation; progress and prosperity, to better the lives of all; stable families, secure marriages, and safe births; law, order, and justice for those who are wronged; honor and protection against those who would harm us; guidance for the departed,” he took a deep breath. “And unity, health and belonging, hierarchy, and - I’ll be honest - pleasure.” His eyes swept around the table, his gaze holding Bishop Valiera and Mother Ilre’s for a second longer than the others. “I don’t think any of us would disagree with that assessment?”

Nobody raised their voice, and he nodded. “From what little we’ve spoken of,” he directed at the leaders of the two religions that had antagonized the Order of Enochiel, “my understanding is that corruption,” he looked at Valiera, “and preconceptions,” he turned towards Ilre, “were the driving force behind our… sour start.”

The Bishop nodded. “I cannot speak for all of my clergy, but the official stance of the Church of Irzton is not one of discrimination, nor of selfish hoarding of power.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I admit, the personal beliefs of many within the Church… may differ from that.”

Mother Ilre held Ahsch’s gaze when it turned to her. “Enochiel’s teachings of… libidinousness, of domination and submission, of the pursuit of pleasure… do not conform to that of Orror’s.”

Ahsch nodded. “But they are not heresy to Orror either, as far as your holy books say.”

The elf’s eye twitched, but after a moment, she gave a single, grudging nod. “I cannot deny that.”

Ahsch nodded again. “I understand that much of what has been taught in the Kingdom has leaned towards the chaste, towards restraint and… shall we say reservation. Enochiel does not declare that wrong, nor demand that his worshipers devout themselves to debauched revelry. I assume that when you think of a domain of ‘sex,’ coupled with a domain of ‘dominance,’ you picture someone - given the visuals I and my lovers have presented, a man - having total authority over his sexual partners - likely without much romance involved - and sating his every fleeting desire as he pleases without consideration for what they want. Is that inaccurate?”

Mother Ilre looked like she was tasting something a sight too sour for her preference as she shook her head. A quick glance around the table got shrugs of agreement, and Ahsch nodded. “And I’ll admit, on the surface, that… rather is how my relationship with my sister and familiar and several others go. But only because they gifted me - quite forcefully, in several cases,” he added, shooting his sister a playful glare, to which she stuck out her tongue, “their submission. It is what they want.” He snorted slightly. “Woe betide me - or any other - who presumes to exercise that same authority over my wife, Lord Avery Odestag - when she’s not in that specific mood.

“So Mother Ilre, please understand, if someone is gifted the submission of another, but their preferences lie towards simple domestic authority - say, a husband who is, perhaps, slavishly devoted to giving his wives foot rubs and hearty meals - Enochiel smiles upon that. Submission is _gifted _in the main - it is only ever _taken _when it must be.”

Kiilira raised an eyebrow - as did many others, but she was the first to speak up. “That seems a departure from your original preaching.”

Ahsch sighed and nodded. “That is true. My interpretations - and thus, what the Order taught - were… not quite accurate, prior to my… well.” He shivered, a brief flash of that moment when everything had simply _stopped _caressing his mind like a foul, clawed finger across his spine. “Suffice to say, I was educated on my own biases towards Enochiel’s true teachings. After all, dominance is not simply a personal dynamic, nor one limited to private moments. I trust you all know how the Kingdom of Starlight was founded? War is almost never without aspects of conquest, of _domination _over the loser. Would you disagree that King Solan, or any of the Queens, are not _dominating _figures?” The light of revelation was clear in many pairs of eyes within the room. “When needed, domination must be enforced, the submission of others claimed, even if it is not what they want. Either for one’s own safety, or the betterment of many, sometimes, that authority must belong to another. The challenge is to not abuse it.” Without meaning to, he looked in Bishop Valiera’s direction, and she flushed and ducked her head slightly.

Ahsch huffed a sigh. “As for sex, as I was saying earlier, ‘everything in moderation, including moderation.’ I have yet to spend a whole day - from waking till I fall asleep - engaged in hedonistic pleasure. Have I enjoyed days of lengthy debauchery? Certainly. But in the main, I balance the desires of my flesh with the duties and responsibilities entrusted to me, either as a royal, a Prophet, a friend, a lover…” he shrugged. “There are days when the needs of one outweigh the needs of the others - I don’t believe I will end today having equally split my time between all the tasks and projects I’ve set out on, seeing as I suspect several hours will be spent here, executing my responsibilities as the Prophet of Enochiel. And there is nothing wrong with that, so long as that aspect does not overshadow the other parts of my life more than it should. And should sex be my preferred passtime, and all my partners agree - eagerly! - to participate…” He sent a pointed look around the table, and most of the others there nodded.

He then refocused on Mother Ilre. “I’ve perhaps rambled some, but I hope I’ve made clear that Enochiel does not require copious sex, nor even a dynamic of dominance or submission.” He smiled slightly. “Just as Orror does not require that all families - let alone all couples - procreate. It is but one aspect of his teachings.”

The elf held his gaze, her eyes searching his for… something. Heart sight wasn’t much help, as it only told him she was cautious, yet… hopeful? After several long, tense moments, Mother Ilre nodded. “I see that I was indeed prejudiced against you - and Enochiel,” she finally said, her voice begrudging even as she admitted it. “And I further see that the reason you’ve stated for this meeting - to bring us all together - is a fine and admirable one.” She relaxed slightly in her seat, though she still held her regal bearing. “Should none of our peers protest, I believe it’s time to move on to that topic.”

Ahsch nodded in genuine appreciation, then looked around the table. Perhaps somewhat eagerly, Bishop Valiera spoke next. “I would like very much to discuss how we might aid each other - all of us,” she said, pulling her gaze from Ahsch and including the rest of the table.

Kiilira smirked broadly. “Be much more eager, Bishop, and we might all think you’re swinging too far in the opposite direction from Ymanis in regards to our dear Prophet here,” she teased, lazing back in her chair. Ahsch had the thought that, if you gave the vampire a glass of wine and an over-appreciation for drink, she could be Avery’s long-lost sister. “But yes, I concur. Much as Krutune likes a good fight, honor demands that allies aid each other, and we’ve all spent too much time squabbling to hoard what we should share.”

“Kakais approves,” The Shepherd’s response was - predictably - simple, though it made Ahsch shiver, as he imaged the death deity watching from beyond the mortal veil. And speaking to the eerie shaid.

“As you said, Prophet, Bikulla reigns over progress - and this can most certainly be considered such!” Oleur added in an excited voice. “And aside from the necessity of survival - which is hardly enjoyable - progress is pushed most by cooperation, so this is certainly a great way to ensure the, ah, ‘prosperity’ of us!” She paused for a second. “All of us, of course.” Her dwarven aid rolled her eyes with small shake of her head, leading Ahsch to hope that at least some of Bikulla’s Faithful weren’t simple capitalists.

“It is a relief to hear such sentiments,” Bennoch said with a warm smile. “I’ve dreamed of the day we would all be able to unify and focus our efforts not on posturing or fighting for authority, but working together for the betterment of every person we can help.”

Ariin grinned while Ahsch sighed in relief. “We are relieved as well,” she said, standing and lightly touching her brother’s arm affectionately. “It is our hope that together, we can bring peace, prosperity, safety, and fulfillment to all those who we serve.”

Ahsch nodded. “To that end, ironically, I’d like to discuss the problem of the refugees.” There was some surprise from the others, but the table agreed, and the siblings sat. “While I have volunteered a great deal of support from me and my personal allies, my hope is that all of us can come together to make this project as successful as we can. On the one hand, we can view it as a pilot project - a smaller task to exercise our unity and shared goals than tackling the whole Kingdom, or even just the Capital.” Nods and murmurs of agreement came from around the table. “To that end, I’ve put together some ideas about how each of us can contribute.” He turned to Kiilira, enjoying the slight surprise on the Avatar’s face at being first. “As I’m sure the militant aspects are already in motion, I am hoping to leverage the ‘honorable’ aspect for this. Namely, applying soft pressure to encourage royals, nobles, businesses, and potentially even the citizenry at large to support or contribute in some way to the refugee relief effort. Some of the wealthy have already pledged their support, but for a project of this magnitude, more can never hurt.”

Kiilira was nodding thoughtfully. “Many of the groups you’ve listed are adherents of Krutune - displaying their honor is important to their positions, of course.” She thought for a second. “I can already think of a couple ways to… encourage them to actually make use of what they claim to have.”

Ahsch nodded once, smiling. “Excellent.” He then turned to Mother Ilre, who also seemed taken aback by being addressed so early in the conversation.