Reconsiderations

A full week went by with Ahsch continuing to stew in his frustrations as the members of his inner circle toiled on with their tasks. Ariin spent much of her time at the Temple, having taken a leave for almost a full two weeks prior to giving birth; with her brother's ****, she had become the head of the Order, and, lacking Ahsch's numerous other obligations, she had devoted herself thoroughly to her role as Archpriestess and Divine Submissive of Enochiel. Meanwhile, Kirasiel had the pressing attention of Byrdrek and Fauna to contend with, and an impossible ultimatum to worry over - as if to somehow prove they weren't absolute beasts, the Head of House Celes had been given a month to come to a decision, before it would be made for her. That was a week and a half before Ahsch's (re)birth.

While there were other tasks that needed doing, and Avery still had her role as Lord of House Odestag, Butler - and to a lesser extent, Dorin - had taken up a great deal of her slack in the wake of Ahsch's ****. In the same, private conversation where Avery's murderous intent towards Kirasiel had been explained, Ariin informed her brother that his wife had taken his ****... poorly. Immediately after the ****, the first on the scene - Rwnil, who had gone into action the moment she felt Ahsch die - found Avery amidst the eviscerated and strewn corpse of his killer, her rapier barely blood where it laid on the balcony, as she had ripped apart the assassin with her own hands... and tail... and teeth. Apparently, another piece of shaid Innate Magic was a sort of 'demonic battle form' type trait, which grew and hardened their nails, the tips of their tails, and their teeth into sharp, deadly instruments of ****. At least, that was the first stage - toughened skin, poisoned or even caustic blood, spines bursting forth from their... well, spine; all these were also possible, if the shaid nurtured the trait. Though, given it came with an emotional upheaval that usually left the subject in a (literally) bloodthirsty berserk rage, it was usually considered a rumor among those not familiar with the furtive race.

Even Rwnil seemed somewhat perturbed as she explained what she had found in the Celes suite.

It was only after a great deal of talking-down that Avery let go of any overt desire to actually **** Kirasiel, prior to the Head of House Celes explaining herself to the group. After her wrath had burned off, Avery had sunk into a depressed - and often drunken - stupor, barely capable of managing her own affairs, let alone those of House Odestag. It was at that point that Butler and Dorin had stepped in, helping to keep the royal house from imploding on itself, at least until the Lord pulled herself together a few months later - even news of Ahsch's inevitable return, and the new direction of her hate upon Kirasiel's confessions, did little to brighten her mood.

Though Ahsch struggled to believe the report - Avery was one of his most frequent minders, and the hrafthi begrudgingly allowed his wife to subject his now-infant form to a good deal of babying; even with the knowledge that he was still as intelligent and 'with-it' as he was seven months prior, Avery still cooed and played with him (and though he hated it, those baby instincts kicked in hard enough to go along with it), and Ahsch rarely saw her appear depressed, and never saw a drop of booze, heard a drunken slur, or smelled even the slightest whiff of ****.

It was actually somewhat bizarre.

Mahat also spent a great deal of time with her master, though she also spent almost as much time with the others, keeping Ahsch up-to-date on the happenings he wasn't able to keep himself appraised of. The convenience of sharing brain-space was impossible to understate, and Ahsch was immensely grateful for her efforts. Likewise, Dorin attempted to assist, Ahsch's personal servant having done what he could to prepare to help with a baby, though he struggled to actually do anything, what with the others who were almost constantly with his master.

Of whom Elui was nearly omni-present. The rabbit-girl approached her self-appointed role as wet nurse with a seriousness better reserved for court. She only ever seemed to relax if Avery or Ariin were present, and even then, Ahsch doubted the girl went very far. Beyond simply nursing him, Elui dressed him, helped him 'use the bathroom' when needed - once again, being mind-linked with Mahat and having everyone able to use Daydreamweave was a... 'godsend' seemed a bad choice of expression when he thought about it - and was otherwise almost always searching for a way to serve. Ahsch wondered how she even slept, as his infant body wasn't on a 30-hour sleep cycle, and he woke often in the night, yet the rabbit-girl was always ready.

It was after that first full week of being filled in - as, beyond the broad strokes that had been relayed to him over the first couple of days, countless details had filtered in, mainly from Mahat, including a review of new teachings and rituals for the Order, reports on the status of Ahsch's royal holdings (which had surreptitiously been kept separate on the paperwork side of things, awaiting his reincarnation), and updates on the progress of the healthcare project at the Temple - that a couple of things happened. Reviewing his conversation with Kakais, Ahsch realized that his approach to a number of things would have to change. He'd already started on the rituals, as there were very few that he instructed Ariin and Mahat to restructure, and none that he objected to outright - something that had changed from before. His sister had already included several of the ideas Kakais had suggested (making Ahsch wonder if the **** God had been referencing what she was doing when they had spoken), including cleansing the hands and feet in the artificial lake before entering the Temple building; and taking a bath - preferably together - prior to engaging in sex with a new partner, or prior to any sex the couple decided was 'significant.' Things Ahsch had considered pointless and a waste of time before, but he now looked at with new eyes.

Likewise, he reevaluated his approach to both Dominant's Tithe and domination in general. The point about being able to directly break Dominant's Tithe with the bond-related magic Rwnil had been teaching him - or the mere rescindance of an oath - suggested more options to Ahsch about expanding his cadre of Thralls. The proposal of a group of bodyguards was pointedly well-taken, in light of his recent demise. But beyond that, he took a good look at the broader subject of domination. Dominance.

He'd always been interested in it, at least, from a kinky-sex point of view. And, he admitted to himself, the orgasm control mechanism of Dominant's Tithe was likely plucked from his own head - orgasm control and denial was certainly a kink that tickled his interest. And there were more beyond it, many more. But on Earth, he hadn't the partners, nor the resources in time or wealth, to properly pursue his interest beyond a few light 'games.'

But he was the (future) God of Dominance. Could he really play coy with one of his own domains? No, he sighed to himself. _No I can't. And while there's more to dominance than the kinky-sex kind, I am a sex-god first, and a dominance god second. _That also necessitated a second look over the Order's teachings and approach to sex, kink, and dominance in general. It would be a long process.

Mahat's soft, almost tired-sounding chuckle disrupted Ahsch's thoughts. Even when reevaluating your own interests and beliefs, you still aren't fully honest with yourself, she chided.

The hrafthi bristled. What are you talking about?

_You are - or will be - a god, Ahsch. And much as you may want to hold on to the morality and 'ways' of mortals, you are, quite frankly, somewhat beyond them. Gods bless their followers, that's true, but any god worthy of being regarded as one demands a price. What sort of prices do you think your worshipers would expect from a _sex _and dominance god?_

Fantasies of women in sheer, gauzy silks and glittering jewelry and nothing else danced through his mind; as did images of women in much more compromising positions - collared and leashed, decorated by intimate piercings and tattoos, or brands; shackled and leaking cum - his cum - from all three of their holes; flesh decorated with angry streaks from a flogger or a spank or a slap; the idea of him seated on a throne, with a gaggle of bound, nude **** girls waiting on him hand and foot, mouths and tongues worshiping his cock and balls and ass, food and drink served between puckered lips or soft tits, while a chorus of moans from other bound women echoed throughout the room as they were violated - maybe by machines, maybe by futanaris like Mahat, or maybe even by some kind of sexual parasites that feed the pleasure of ravishing their bodies back to him.

Fantasies he quickly banished. Exactly, Master, Mahat said, then faded away from his consciousness, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

He tried to distract himself with his other revelation from Kakais, but the simple solution to that final, face-palm-worthy bit of stupidity, was to train, and not wait around pointlessly. Upon reflection, it was obvious to Ahsch that simple growth and the daily challenges of the Woods around Sarvas had served to fuel his progression, but both of those had been cut off by the time he arrived at R'sath. Daily training would be necessary to push his growth and make use of his potential.

It was a simple decision, which left the hrafthi back with the uncomfortable thoughts Mahat had roused in him. After all, what other kind of price could he reasonably demand for blessings or divine gifts? He could already bind people into his service directly with Dominant's Tithe, even beyond the 19 that could fuel his Mana Generation and provide him additional Pools, making his Domain of Bonds somewhat pointless - though perhaps a more esoteric option would become clear later. Sex was obvious, and any sort of 'sacrifice' or 'cost' relating to bodies carried... concerning implications. But dominance? Or dominance and sex combined?

He considered what kind of blessings or favors people might request of a god with his domains, beyond what Cleansing Light might provide - and he somehow doubted that that Boon would activate for frivolous or overly complex things. It came to him that worshipers - or at least, those who sought his blessing - would likely ask for things either relating to sexual performance; for something he could find, strengthen, destroy, or otherwise affect via bonds; or for something like 'fixing' or just changing their bodies. Perhaps they'd have a request related to dominance, but Ahsch doubted he'd be willing to assist there, morally-dubious as he expected those types of requests to be. And, as Mahat had said, what were they likely to expect him to demand in return? Sexual service and/or servitude, no doubt.

Ahsch weighed the moral implications of providing divine blessings in exchange for sex or slavery. Even if it was technically consensual, depending on the request... he could too easily envision a situation where someone felt like they had **** but to ask for the blessing and sell themselves into slavery to him. Something that left him feeling... a little gross. If they didn't want that, then was it right to demand it of them?

But then again, would he be demanding it? Or would it simply be Fate maintaining balance? What would the cost, in terms of Fate, be for not charging such a price? And if supplicants came to him expecting such a cost...

He mentally sighed. It was a tricky concept, that was sure. Even the justification that he wouldn't mistreat those he gave his blessings to felt hollow - mainly because he knew it was. Slavery was still slavery, no matter what dressings you put on it. But at the same time, everything had a cost, and depending on what was requested of him, if the cost was high enough... Ahsch considered stories of people giving up firstborn children, or their souls for mystical boons. On the one hand, that was usually considered to be duplicitous negotiation on the part of the supernatural, but perhaps there was a logic to it. Even magic wasn't free, and some of the more powerful magic Ahsch had seen - namely the Boons he'd gained from the Reincarnation Office - had acted based off intent, yet seemed to be... balanced. Dominant's Tithe was a prime example, because - while not a boon - it had a balance to it: he could gain power, but in return, he had a responsibility over others, at least, if he wanted to use that power morally.

Suddenly, Phashak's tinkering made sense: she had claimed to have changed the 'cost' of the Generation Method, making it so that Ahsch didn't destroy his Thrall's free will, but rather influenced their desires and controlled their orgasms, which was a cost for him because he wanted to avoid immoral use of his control over others. Perhaps there was some sort of cosmic balance around souls and morality, where he could **** his power over other and gain greater mystical capabilities, but at the cost of his morality, his... humanity. Ironic, given he wasn't technically human anymore.

And if that was true, then what sort of limits, what sorts of balance must be kept between gods and mortals? What was the price of even a small divine favor or blessing? Did it cost a sliver of morality? A year of freedom? A soul? The divinity inside him resonated with the concept, and Ahsch was suddenly certain that Fate would screw him over if he handed out divine blessings willy-nilly, without extracting an appropriate cost from those he blessed.

But it was the resonance of that divinity that provided an idea, distracting him from those heavy thoughts. While he could sense his Mana, he could, in no way, shape, or form, interact with it. He had assumed that to be true of all of his mystical everything, Boons, magic, and divinity included. And yet, he realized he could still sense the worship from Enochiel's faithful. Cleansing Light gave him the impression of three 'beings,' the angels that had been erased from Euphoria upon Ahsch's ****, waiting for him to give them life and purpose again. He could even sense bonds, and beyond that, he could sense his divinity, and through those two, his domains.

He knew that he and his friends, family, and allies didn't have the time for him to mature into adulthood again. Not even the handful of years it took for a child to touch their magic, so that he could use Entropic Revelation to age himself up. But maybe...

Yes, he realized. The bond-affecting abilities that Rwnil uses, that I have been learning... it's just magic. Sure, it lacks the order and organization of spells, but it's simply magic. And if I can use my bond-sense and affect bonds just as I could before, then perhaps... He considered his idea. There were clear, obvious differences between the Innate Magic he used in the same way he took a deep breath; compared to the spells he constructed from understandings drawn from other spells, which required different approaches based on where he pulled the understanding from; and the spells he had been taught the 'traditional' way, which necessitated involved gestures, invocations, or ritual to cast. He could feel a revelation on the tip of his tongue, but he pushed it aside. There was something more important to take care of.

He dug deeper into the insights though. His 'bond sense' was essentially just a different form of Mage Sight, or Heart Sight, or even Threefold Senses, except even beyond them, there wasn't the same sort of structuring to them that a 'spell' had. He could simply use it. And when he did...

Ahsch burbled his annoying baby-laugh. Using his bond sense cost Mana. It wasn't much, especially not in comparison to the thousands of Mana he had pooled, but it cost Mana. He could use magic, even as a baby! It was simply spells that were unavailable to him. Something that should have been obvious the moment he was able to use the passive, Innate Magic of Familiar of Flesh, all those years ago.