The Temple of Enochiel

Rwnil was given a room, assigned a servant escort, and promptly went into seclusion, not even coming out for meals over the next few days. Though, given the stories that circulated about how ascendants didn't need food, or water, or even sleep to live, nobody was particularly surprised. Ahsch incorporated feeling out his bond-sense into his daily schedule, usually right after his 'how to be a royal' lessons. He found early on that, with enough focus, he was able to sense some of the important bonds that Mahat had, but didn't consider it any real progress - Mahat was, in a very real way, part of him, so it wasn't much of a shock that he could sense her major bonds without much difficulty. And given that even with that development, he still wasn't able to sense anyone else's bonds, nor any new bonds of his own, he determined it was an artifact of their Master-familiar bond, and not any true advancement on his part. In fact, his progress was slow enough that he only barely developed his bond-sense in time for his next lesson with Rwnil, becoming able to sense Ariin and Avery's bonds the day before.

"That is fairly standard," the elder hrafthi said when Ahsch recounted his experiences a week after their first lesson. "You are correct that sensing your familiar's bonds is thanks to that relationship, and wasn't anything you did. And being able to sense the bonds of those that you have important bonds to is a natural second step." She smirked, a hint of condescension in her gaze. "Your speed - or lack thereof - in progressing is rather disappointing for a hrafthi, 'Enochiel.'"

Ahsch did his best to ignore the taunt. "I had a question about what all bonds could form between," he said. Rwnil gestured for him to proceed. "Well, two actually: first, the phrase 'bonds of fate,' or 'bound by...'"

"Do not even think of fucking around with fate," his mentor snapped, her expression icily serious. "That is how catastrophe the likes of which you can't even imagine occurs. To sate your curiosity: yes, it can be done, but unless you relish the idea of damning everything you know and love to a confluence of doomed fates, you will leave well enough alone. Am I understood?"

He nodded urgently, hoping that the ascendant would cover her oppressive aura of Mana soon. After another few moments of her imperious stare, she nodded once, then leaned back, and the air cleared. "Your second question?"

It took Ahsch a moment to get his thoughts together after that. "Well... I was wondering about ato... er... the bonds that physically make up things?" Rwnil gave him a bemused frown. "I mean... everything physical is constructed of tiny particles, right? And they're held together by certain kinds of bonds. Is it possible to affect those kinds of bonds?"

The elder hrafthi gave him a searching look. "I can't claim to know what exactly you're speaking of - and given that and many other things about you, I believe that we need to discuss your background in much more depth - but if I understand what you're suggesting, know that bond manipulation - like any other kind of magic - is affected by meaning and intent. If the 'connections between particles' truly can be considered bonds of some kind, then a skilled enough mage could affect them directly. But know that for each step one takes away from the purest form of bonds, the difficulty, complexity, and cost of the task grows ever greater."

Ahsch nodded, deep in thought. "Also..." Rwnil said, a smirk playing across her lips, "bondage could count, but is removed enough from the core form, and would be rather difficult. But possible." He flushed, then quickly asked about the new lesson, which was to carry on with developing his bond-sense, while also attempting to establish a new bond with something inconsequential, and, if successful with that, attempt to destroy the bond. The next lesson was set for two weeks out.

Which meant it would occur a week after Ahsch's first sermon in the now-finished Temple of Enochiel.

With careful instruction, the supervision of some more trusted members of House Odestag's servants, and several weeks of time, Aena, Nyrin, and Sifthi had assumed human forms and distributed fliers, advertising Enochiel's new religion. Ariin eventually joined them, though her approach was quite different, as she went and proselytized, gathering modest crowds of interest, to whom the angels and their minders handed out the fliers. Ahsch considered it a good omen that none of the other religions made any move to disrupt their work, though he couldn't help but fret in the back of his mind.The day before the sermon, the Dominant Mage went to do a final inspection of the new Temple. A simple dirt path had been created from the nearest road into the woods, with small magelit lanterns hanging from trees along the path. The Temple itself was actually a small compound, ringed by a stone wall which had basic enchantments to discourage unwanted intrusion, and exits in each of the cardinal directions. Approaching the Temple from the dirt path, one crossed the stream which led into Star Mirror Lake over a new wooden bridge, which gave a nice view of the pond to the left and north - which had been expanded into a small lake. The wall seemed to extend out over the lake, though from the outside one couldn't see if the water intruded into the compound, or if it held dry land.

Coming up to the Temple from the west, a small gatehouse - essentially just a small set of rooms where sentries could remain out of the weather - controlled access through the front gate. Entering the compound, visitors would find themselves in a courtyard, with paths leading to the left and right, and some trees and bushes had been planted to provide shade and a comfortable, natural air around the stone gazebo that stood in the center of the courtyard. The entry to the Temple building itself was relatively modest, with only an overhang supported by four carved pillars framing the solid wooden door, which was a dozen feet tall. The pillars were somewhat sensual in nature, showing scantily-clad people in suggestive positions, but nothing was explicit.

The building was another ring, which went around another courtyard, or atrium, but this one was populated by benches, platforms, and even beds, all comfortably cushioned or upholstered, and with carvings of the explicitly sexual variety. There were also statues and a quartet of fountains (each of which had a statue as the centerpiece), which also depicted lewd scenes. The atrium was open to the sky, but enchantments would keep the weather out, leaving a permanent, cool summer feel within. In the center of the atrium was a small structure, which was walled but didn't have a door, within which was a small shrine and a place to sit or kneel.

Back in the building, the ring of the Temple held four quarters: on the western, entry side was a vestibule and public hall. The northern arch contained a kitchen, barracks for the sentries and servants that would staff the Temple, and some other basic facilities. The south end was the main hall where Ahsch - or any of his eventual priests - would give sermons, and had seating for hundreds. The east end was closed, only accessible from the main hall or the servant's areas, and was where the members of Enochiel's religious order would live. With the exception of the east arch, each section had access to the atrium, allowing free exploration of the building and inner courtyard.

Back outside, the south and east contained gardens to be explored and frolicked in, and were much like the inner courtyard in that they were decorated with lewd statues and had places that were just out-of-the-way enough to be idea locations for sex. The north side, however, had a magically-heated hotspring, with water drawn from the lake and heated through underground pipes, which then came out to form over a dozen different pools. The pools were set up in a tiered manner, with the ones closest to the wall being the lowest, and pipes within the walls let out water which fell in artful falls.

An ivy-covered metal fence shielded the front courtyard from view, as the springs were the only location within the temple where nudity was required - a changing area existed, largely exposed to the outdoors, with access to the servant's arch of the Temple. The east end of the springs was blocked by a hedge from the gardens, but both the hedge and the fence were curated in such a way that if one wanted, they could peek through the obstructions. Enochiel was a sex god, after all - exhibitionism and voyeurism were on the table.

Everyone in Ahsch's inner circle was present as they walked through the temple, exploring the grounds and building with curiosity and some small amount of awe - it was an impressive structure, especially because, despite its size, it had managed not to ruin the natural beauty of the glade it had been built in. The group had split up upon arrival, each wishing to explore different areas at their own pace, and eventually everyone found Ahsch standing on the stage in the main hall, looking out over the seating area with a conflicted expression on his face.

Ariin and Mahat both embraced their Master from the side, slipping under his arms and nuzzling against his chest. "Everything will be okay, Master," Ariin said earnestly. "You need to stop worrying so much and relax."

Mahat was silent, aside from the reassuring feelings she sent over her familiar bond.

Ahsch didn't say anything, but nodded, and eventually allowed himself to be led back into the private section of the Temple, where a grand bedroom was set aside for him. In a - possibly vain - attempt to get into the right headspace, he'd decided to spend the night before the sermon at the Temple - _his _Temple. His familiar, sister, and eventually his wife did their best to distract him from his worries.