Solidifying control

Julian had had a great deal of disappointment and negative experiences in his life. The prejudice felt by the classless had been visited upon him more times than he could count. It was why he had been arrested at the classless protest. It was why no one would believe him if he told them that Clevis Revenar, the darling son of the Commander of the Rona Enforcer Corps, had attacked him unprovoked and nearly killed him.

He didn’t know what made a person class. There were several theories, some more generally accepted than others. The most prevailing was that each person who classed was chosen by at least one of the gods if they were not the child of someone who had classed. If a child of classed people did not class themselves, then the parents or the child was thought to have done something shameful to attract the gods’ ire.

Izel had said that his injuries were severe. Enough to warrant the full attention of the Enforcers’ healing staff. He wondered if certain people who would not normally have classed ended up doing so because they had survived a dangerous ordeal and had impressed one of the gods that way.

Trivus, god of determination and battle could be one. He normally shows favor to warriors who suffer great injuries, but survive and continue to fight. Those who regularly experience brushes with **** are his favorite. Klaria, goddess of health and hospitality could be another. She tends to take pity on the beaten and downtrodden, tending their wounds and curing their sickness. Every classless family worth their salt will have a shrine to her. Another possibility is Du’unlaeth, lord of change and renewal. The patron god of mercurial rebels and tyrants, it would not be out of character for him to bestow boons upon the classless who sought to break their shackles only to change his mind and grant more powerful blessings to their overlords. It’s possible one or all of them saw what transpired last night and made me class.

The idea that a person could class through sheer merit resonated with him on a very deep level. The notion that survival and sheer persistence could be rewarded was something that drew his interest like few other things could.

But it doesn’t explain why any of them would make me class as a Psion. Of the three, Du’unlaeth is the only one known to meddle in the darker classes, but he has always avoided dabbling in mind magic and necromancy. A Psion uses neither, but my Skills are very much like that of a Mind Mage.

Izel stirred against him

He opened his eyes. The dark-skinned Tenlani woman was fast asleep. She’d rested her head on his chest and her thick thigh was draped over the lower part of her body. It was like she desired to possess him utterly, even in her sleep. She was impossibly soft for someone so fierce. Her large, cushy breasts were pressed up against his chest. He felt her nipples poking him, semi-hard with arousal from their time together.

Few other things could make me as interested as I am in her. Oh Izel, I never thought we would actually share a bed together.

It had been a far-flung, futile thought. Izel was beautiful, intelligent, and strong. She knew what she wanted from life and was willing to do whatever it took to get it. And he, a classless son of a powerful family, had desired her for himself. She had said she thought him spoiled, yet she always seemed to find time to spend with him. He knew little about women, but he knew enough to tell when one was interested.

Izel had been, even if she would never have acted on it on her own. There were so many men who would desire her, which was true of a lot of the women Julian had met. With so many options at her disposal, Julian would never have expected her to choose him.

And then I classed, and everything changed. I didn’t have to wait for Izel to decide if she liked me enough. I could **** her hand, and even change aspects of her mind to suit my liking.

It had been a stroke of luck that her mind possessed no innate defense against him. He thought about asking her why, but she’d been so sure her mind was protected against foreign influences that he wondered if she’d encountered a Mind Mage in the past. She’d sounded surprised when he’d admitted he was a Psion, and acted like it was miracle that one was even alive.

So many questions. It was difficult to decide which to ask first, if he could muster up the nerve to tear his gaze from Izel’s voluptuous form and ask them at all.

I need to make sure she doesn’t go around telling anyone about me. She might be a forbidden class, but Shadowers are barely Necromancers themselves according to what I’ve read. She might be shown leniency by Imperial authorities if she tells them about the only known living Psion. That, I cannot allow. I will not allow Izel to get away from me. She’s mine, whether she likes it or not.

The only other option would be erase her memories, and he had passed up Blank when he’d last leveled up. His only real option was Hypnosis, and while he fully planned to use to Skill, he did not want to erase Izel’s memories and send her on her way. Not after he’d worked so hard to find her and bring him under his sway.

He trailed a hand down her back to rest it on one of her fat asscheeks. He squeezed her rear possessively, and he imagined himself owning her, mind, body, and soul. It was a tantalizing prospect; one he found he could not resist any longer.

With his other hand, he reached for his discarded coat. It lay on the floor along with the rest of their clothes, but thankfully it was close enough to the bed that he managed to snare it between two fingers. He dragged it closer to him. The added weight of the coin purse and dagger within made it slightly more difficult than it would be otherwise, but within moments, he had the coat fully within reach.

Deftly, he opened the coat and reached towards the right inner pocket.

A hand snatched his arm.

“And just what are you doing, Julian?” Izel’s amber eyes stared down at him. Her face was mere inches from his, and he had the impression of a predator about to strike. A sliver of fear tingled in his mind. The illusion was diminished slightly when his gaze drifted down her body, to her big breasts which were squished out against his chest. It helped remind him that he controlled her, not the other way around.

“I’m getting something from my coat. That’s not a problem, is it?” his lips twitched upwards in challenge.

Izel’s own smirk widened. It was amazing how well she was taking what he had done to her. Not many people would be as calm as she if they had been controlled as she had. She lifted her right leg slightly, putting herself entirely atop him. Her wet, warm pussy rested against his cock. She began grinding against him slowly.

“The only two things you could grab from that jacket are your coins or that silly little dagger. Don’t bother denying it. I knew you were armed the moment I laid eyes on you.”

With his right hand, he grabbed her ass again. It was so soft and pliant to the touch. Izel’s eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t protest.

“It’s cute that you believe that little dagger would have saved you from the city’s worst elements,” she continued even as he groped her. “It certainly wouldn’t have saved you from me.”

“I don’t doubt it, but I like to be prepared, Izel. It’s better to have a weapon and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Being classless for such a long time, I couldn’t afford to be unprepared, even for a moment. There are powerful people who would like to use me as a hostage against my family or as way to hurt them in some other way.”

Izel’s eyes softened somewhat. She nodded.

“I see. I suppose I can’t begrudge you for wanting to be armed, but it doesn’t change the fact that a mere dagger isn’t much defense against the threats you will face in Rona. It definitely wouldn’t have stopped that elven Enforcer from shooting you with a conjured arrow. I have been meaning to ask you about that, by the way. From the way you two spoke, it seemed like you knew each other.”

“I didn’t know you were watching me,” Julian said.

Izel’s smile widened teasingly.

“I’m always watching,” she said cryptically.

He nodded, accepting her explanation at face value. She probably had some class ability that made it easier for her to keep an eye on those around her. It would certainly make sense since Shadowers specialized as assassins, thus their observational skills would need to be very strong.

“His name is Clevis Revenar. Our families have been allies since my parents rose to prominence and made the Imerdan name famous. The Revenars were actually the first to sponsor our ascendance to a noble house. Our parents encouraged us to interact a lot as children, but we steadily grew apart after Clevis classed and I didn’t. At first, he simply pretended that we’d never been friends. Then he decided that ignoring me wasn’t enough. He wanted to make me suffer. I just didn’t know how much until yesterday.”

Izel narrowed her eyes in thought.

“Wait, you said that elf brat was a Revenar? Aren’t they one of the most powerful families in the Empire, with branches all over Aemar?”

“They are,” Julian said matter-of-factly.

“Gods, they practically own the Enforcer cunts. And you want **** against one of their prized sons?”

Izel’s eyes were wide incredulity, but there was a glint of something dark in her gaze as well.

Julian allowed himself to smile. He’d long thought about visiting much deserved comeuppance upon Clevis for his bullying and his mother for enabling it. Because of his classless status, **** had always lingered beyond his grasp. Now, things were different. He had power and the Will to use it.

“I do. You’re right, the Revenars are powerful. I know I am risking a lot for seemingly little gain. Once upon a time, the Revenars nearly possessed the Aemari throne before Empress Alindra and the Taelindars won out in the Succession. That is the sort of influence they still wield, but I will have my ****. The gods know it to be true.”

Izel shook her head.

“Dammit, Julian. Do you know how much you will be risking? If I were you, I’d leave and find some other place to set up roots. Someplace far away from the Revenars and the Imerdans, for that matter.”

Julian smirked.

“You sound worried.”

Izel’s eyes flashed a venomous yellow. She glared down at him hotly.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I can’t leave this Nethrus-damned room without your permission, so of course I’m going to be concerned if you go on a **** quest and end up getting yourself killed, imprisoning me here for eternity.”

“Relax. I’m not going to keep you here very long,” he said.

“You had better not,” she said. “Or I swear, I will resurrect you from the grave and torment you for the rest of my life. Then you’ll know what it truly means to be someone else’s puppet!”

Julian felt a chill run down his spine. He nodded slowly.

Seemingly satisfied that she’d cowed him somewhat, her ill mood melted away as if it hadn’t been there in the first place.

What a woman. Damn.

Izel chuckled.

“What is it?” Julian asked.

The dark-skinned woman tapped a finger on his chest, drawing his eyes to where their two bodies met. He rather enjoyed the contrast between his fair skin and her darker shade. It was like they were two sides of a coin.

“I always saw you as the bookish sort; more comfortable in a library than on the streets plotting vengeance and enslaving women. Before today, I would never have thought you were one to take on challenges that were so obviously beyond you. But I was wrong. I’ve been with men who prized strength and men who had a love of books. The ones who valued strength were too simple to lead lives of their own and the ones who valued knowledge lacked the courage to put that knowledge to action. You are different. You possess and value knowledge, but you aren’t afraid to leap headfirst into danger to take what you want. If you’d made that more obvious to me, maybe you wouldn’t have had to twist my mind to get me into bed with you,” she gave him a complicated stare that told him there was probably far more she wished to say, but wouldn’t or couldn’t. “But now we’ll never know, will we?”

“No, I suppose not,” Julian said softly. For the first time today, he felt a twinge of regret. It seemed Izel genuinely cared about him in some way, and may have been willing to give him a chance if he’d only expressed himself more openly.

She could be lying about her feelings for me, but I think there is at least some truth to what she said. If circumstances had been different, maybe she would have been mine of her own volition. We could have started a life together as equals and forged our own path in the world together. But in my haste to take what I wanted, I ended that story before it even began. Would we ever have worked? Each of us values autonomy and control. We don’t have much place in our lives for equals, so one of us must dominate the other in order for us to be together. Status.

Julian Imerdan (lv. 5 Psion)

HP: 115/115

ST: 76/102

WP: 275/441

Skills...

Attributes…

Effects…

He reached for his coat again. Izel let him, and he grasped an Imperial coin between his index and middle fingers. He lifted it so it was between his face and Izel’s.

She quirked a black eyebrow.

“A coin? What are you up to now, Julian?”

“Beginning another story,” he said.

Izel furrowed her eyebrows confusedly. She opened her mouth to speak.

Hypnosis.

Amber sunlight which spilled through the window reflected off the surface of the bronze coin. The light twisted midair and shined into Izel’s eyes.

Her face slacked immediately and her breathing slowed. Her mouth stayed open. A dollop of saliva soon accumulated near the edge of her bottom lip. A small amount of it dribbled past her lip and down her chin before landing on Julian’s chest.

He felt her spit land on him. It was such an undignified display from Izel. If she didn’t want to kill him already, she certainly would if she ever found out how she looked under a trance. She seemed utterly mindless, more so than Rila and Joanna had.

One use of the Hypnosis Skill, and the woman that is Izel Vidoz can be made to surrender. She slumbers behind the flesh of her own eyes, unseeing and unthinking, more **** than she has probably ever been. I hate to see her like this. Why does it arouse me so much?

Julian grasped her chin with his free hand. He turned her head left and right. Her eyes remained focused on the coin like it was the only thing that existed in the world.

“Izel, can you hear me?”

“Yes…” she replied softly. Her voice held none of its usual fire. It sounded wrong to him. Someone as strong as her shouldn’t have been so easy to silence. Yet she stared blankly at the coin Julian held in his fingertips.

I might as well be holding her soul.

He didn’t want to change her personality, but it was clear that they could never be equals. She would try to free herself and he would be tempted to let her do so. He couldn’t let her go now, not after he’d taken her and experienced what she had to offer him: pleasure and power. She clearly knew her way around the Empire. He could only imagine the knowledge she had of Rona’s criminal element. Such could be rife with potential slaves and partners to assist him in his endeavors. Through Izel, he could exert influence over the classless movement in Rona, potentially starting riots and diverting the Enforcers where he wanted them to be.

That was not even touching on what Izel herself could do for him. Releasing Izel’s chin, her moved his hand downward to cup one of her breasts. It was so soft and warm. He imagined it filled to the brim with milk to nurse their offspring. His cock hardened against Izel’s moist pussy. Apparently, being hypnotized posed no barrier to arousal.

It was hard to believe someone with such a soft, voluptuous body commanded the forbidden powers of Tenlan’s ancient assassins, the Shadowers. She could guard him and fill the gap he'd have in his capabilities by not investing much into the Matter Discipline.

Licking his lips, he readied himself to change Izel’s life forever.

“Do you know what’s happening to you right now?”

Izel didn’t respond.

Julian stared at her nude body for a long moment. He spent a few minutes wondering what he should say. Hypnotizing Rila had been much simpler for there had been a definite goal in mind. Julian wasn’t sure what he wanted from Izel. On one hand, he wanted to possess her utterly, yet he also wanted to preserve her personality which would naturally balk at being subservient to him. It was a paradox. He looked into her eyes again.

“Izel, have you ever had companions?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any now?”

She shook her head.

“Why don’t you have any companions?”

Her lips twisted into a sneer.

“They get in my way and can’t keep their mouths shut,” she stated.

Julian nodded. He’d expected as much. Izel never really seemed like the sort to work well with others. He was the same way.

“Have you ever been someone else’s companion or helped someone else with their journeys?”

“Once,” she said.

That surprised him.

“Who were you a companion for?”

“My sister Zira,” she said.

Julian blinked.

Izel never mentioned having a sister.

“Tell me about Zira.”

Izel licked her lips.

“Zira’s my older sister. She’s beautiful, confident, and powerful. A natural leader. She’s always watched out for me.”

Julian felt himself smile.

It’s nice to see Izel had a good relationship with her sibling. Unlike me.

“How long has it been since you’ve seen Zira?”

“Over ten years,” Izel replied.

Julian frowned.

“That’s a long time not to see your sister. Where is she now?”

“Tenlan,” Izel said.

“Why haven’t the two of you seen each other in such a long time?”

“Because I can never go back to Tenlan and she can never leave.”

“Why can’t you go back home?” Julian said.

“My parents will kill me or worse,” Izel spat hatefully even under the trance. Her brows furrowed angrily. “I hate them. I hate them so much. Nethrus willing, I will kill them one day."

Fuck, she sounds really upset. Better calm her down so she doesn’t end up waking up somehow.

“Stop thinking about your parents for now. They’re not here. You’re with me. You’re not in any danger,” Julian began rubbing Izel’s arms. She hummed comfortably.

“You like being around me, don’t you?”

“Mhm…”

“Being around me makes you feel comfortable and safe.”

“…and free,” she mumbled.

He eyed her quizzically.

“Why do you feel free around me?” he asked.

“I can be myself,” she said.

“You feel free around me even though I used my powers to control your mind?”

She nodded.

“The fact that I control your mind doesn’t bother you?”

She shook her head.

“It does bother you?”

“Yes…”

“But you still feel free under my influence, right?”

She nodded.

“Free…”

“And you feel free under my influence because you can be yourself,” he said.

She didn’t respond.

“If you can be yourself while I control you, I must be allowing you a lot of autonomy, right, at least in your own head?”

She nodded.

“A tyrant wouldn’t have let you keep your mental faculties. A tyrant would have turned you into a completely different person to serve his every whim and need without a second thought. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes,” she said.

“So I’m not a tyrant, am I?”

She shook her head “no.”

“I won’t **** the power I have over you. You’ll always be yourself even when I control you. Won’t you?”

“Unless you change your mind…” she said.

“Is that what bothers you about this whole situation? That I could change my mind and **** my power over you?”

Izel nodded.

“Would you be surprised if it wasn’t your beauty or your body which interested me about you the most?”

She nodded.

“Why would that surprise you?”

“You’re a man,” she said simply.

Julian chuckled.

“It’s hard to fault your logic there. Men are covetous creatures, aren’t they? They always want women for their beauty. But I’m not like other men, am I? If I’d only been interested in your body, it wouldn’t make sense for me to keep your personality intact, would it?”

She shook her head.

“So I’m not like other men. Say it.”

“You’re not like other men,” she repeated obediently.

“Other men would just use you for your body, wouldn’t they?”

She nodded.

“But I’m not like other men.”

“You’re not like other men.”

“Say it again.”

“You’re not like other men.”

“Again.”

“You’re not like other men.”

“Repeat that phrase again and again in your mind. Every time you do, you’ll internalize it and realize that I’m not like other men.”

“You’re not like other men,” she said firmly.

“If I’m not like other men, then I won’t **** my power over you, will I?”

She shook her head.

“If I won’t **** my power over you, there’s no reason to be bothered by the fact that I control you, is there?”

She shook her head.

“There’s no reason to be bothered by the fact that I control you. Say it.”

“There’s no reason to be bothered by the fact that you control me.”

“You’re comfortable under my control because I’m not like other men.”

“You’re not like other men,” she smiled.

“And if you aren’t bothered by the fact that I control you, there’s no reason to try to break free of me, is there?”

She shook her head.

Julian smiled.

“You feel free under my control. Under my control, you can finally express yourself freely because I’m not like other men.”

“You’re not like other men.”

“You like that I used my powers on you. It shows that I cared enough to give you a place where you could be comfortable and free.”

She didn’t respond.

“I’m not like other men.”

“You’re not like other men,” she replied almost immediately.

“You feel free and comfortable under my control, don’t you?”

She nodded.

“There’s really no reason to be bothered by the fact that I control you, is there?”

“No reason…”

“You want to stay under my control. You want to feel free and comfortable. You want to be able to be yourself, right?”

She nodded.

“If people found out about my class or what I've done to you, then I’d be shipped off to Eptium and you’d never be under my control again. Is that what you want?”

“No!” her voice rose slightly. Her eyes widened, but still remained blissfully glassy and blank.

“So you’ll never tell anyone about my true class without my permission, will you?”

“I won’t,” she nodded.

“I’ve taken on a huge risk bringing you under my control, haven’t I? I've broken Aemar's most sacred laws.”

She nodded.

“You like men who take risks. Men who take charge. Men who aren’t like other men.”

She smiled.

“I’m not like other men.”

“You’re not like other men,” she said.

"From now on, you're not going to be worried about me controlling you. I'm not like other men, so I won't **** the power I hold over you. Being under my control makes you feel safe and free. You feel free to be yourself when you're under my control. Do you understand?"

Izel nodded.

"I control you, Izel. Say it."

"You control me," she replied.

"You like the fact that I control you. Being under my control makes you feel free and aroused. How does being under my control make you feel?"

She licked her lips.

"It makes me feel free and aroused."

"You won't ever try to free yourself from my control since I'm not like other men and I won't **** my power over you, right?"

She nodded.

"And since I won't **** my power over you, by definition nothing I do could be considered an **** of my power, could it?"

Izel stared at the coin blankly.

"...yes..." she whispered faintly.

"Say it louder."

"Yes."

"Is it possible for me to **** my power over you, Izel?"

"No."

"You like the fact that I control you, Izel. You like that it makes you feel free to express yourself, don't you?"

She nodded.

"You hate having to hide who you truly are from everyone. Under my control, you can be your true self, can't you?"

"My true self..." her lips twitched upwards slightly.

"The next time you see me, you're going to realize that I'm not like other men and that you like being under my control. The more I command you, the more under my control you'll feel and the freer and more aroused you'll feel. Anytime you think about the possibility of me abusing my power over you, you'll dismiss the thought instantly. You'll remember that since I'm not like other men, I would never **** my power over you. You'll relish the fact that I control you because only when I control you can you be your true self. You won't ever think of breaking free of my control because without my control, you won't ever be free to express who you truly are, and that would be one of the most painful things you could ever experience. Isn't that right?"

She nodded.

"Good," he muttered. "Now repeat all of that to me. Feel the words become a part of you."

She obeyed readily.

Julian had her repeat all of his commands multiple times before deciding that they'd sunk as deeply as possible into her mind. He felt the presence smile at him, like a proud father would a son who had just taken his first steps.

He grasped the coin within his hand, hiding it from Izel’s view.

She blinked once. Then twice. Her amber eyes glimmered with lively awareness once more.

“Hm. You know something, Julian. I don’t really think the idea of you controlling me is all that bad,” she said.

“Oh really?” Julian replied.

The beautiful woman nodded. She began grinding herself against him once more.

“You could have done whatever you wanted with me. You didn’t need to keep my mind intact. You… really aren’t like other men, are you? I mean, I knew that before but I never realized just how unique you are.”

He smiled.

“I had no idea you felt so highly of me,” he said.

Izel rolled her eyes.

“Don’t let it go to your head, idiot,” she reached a hand back to grab his cock. She lifted herself slightly and pressed his cockhead against her hot pussy. She bit her lip as she stared down at him, amber eyes waiting for permission.

His cock throbbed at her display of deference.

“Go ahead,” he said.

Izel smiled sexily and began lowering herself, pressing his cock inside her tight, wet cunt once again. He groaned from the pleasure as she began riding him in earnest. Her large breasts jiggled and swayed with her movements. None of her earlier ire was present in her gaze.

I could get used to this.

---

Julian Imerdan (lv. 5 Psion)

HP: 115/115

ST: 76/102

WP: 247/441

Skills...

Attributes…

Effects…

Julian's Skills

[Manipulation] Suggestion (cost: 20 WP) - The user can telepathically implant a suggestion in the mind of a target to influence an action, thought, or behavior of theirs. The target must be sapient. There is a chance that it might fail depending on the state of the target mind. The more simple and less unusual the suggestion, the easier it is to implant.

[Manipulation] Hypnosis (cost: 30 WP) - The user lulls the target into a light hypnotic trance. While hypnotized, the target will be more open to Suggestion and suggestions, and more likely to divulge information they would not otherwise. Requires the use of a pendant or other foci to draw the target’s gaze. Can be interrupted by any sudden or intense stimuli. Duration: ten minutes.

[Affliction] Mind Jab (cost: 15 WP) - The user projects a weak bolt of psionic energy that attacks the mind of an opponent, causing crippling mental pain that lasts for a few seconds. Affects any living creature with a brain.

[Affliction] Psi-Bolt (cost: 5 WP) – The user emits an unguided bolt of psionic energy that inflicts low Psi damage to a target upon impact. Deals moderate Psi damage against targets affected by Mind Jab, but clears them of the status.

[Connection] Detect Mind (cost: 2 WP/s) - The user can detect the minds of sentient organic beings within ten feet.

[Innate] Focus (cost: free) - The user enters a state of emotional detachment, allowing the user to ignore pain and resist negative mental effects. Increases WP regeneration by 20% while active. Only usable during combat.

---

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LLation