'There is so much I need to understand still... Tabitha should be able to help'

4th Litordae, 25th day of the month of Semens (Sem), the 3672nd year of Salvation's Landing

The country of Polivandria ran its schedule on quarter-hour, half-hour, and hourglasses with the time set on the rise of full sun of the summer solstice. That first hour in marked in the cities by the chiming of the first Daybell. Then there is the Quarterchime and the Halfmark. The daybell ended its ringing on the twelfth. After that it was the Nightbell that rung. A much smaller bell that caused less noise pollution. Reglin's day shift on the Guard started on the first Daybell and went until the eighth Halfmark.

It was close to the first Nightbell that Reglin made his way to the halls of the east wing of the palace. He opened the grandiose, ten-foot-tall double doors and entered from the west. Having spent so much of his childhood inside these walls, the sights, the smells, and even the sound of his footfall echoing in the quiet were a comfort to him. And with it being like a second home to him, he knew that he was to continue eastward to the second aisle of bookshelves and turn left, going north toward the rear of the palace. He would go about forty feet before the western wall would come out to almost meet his path to allow for the Magistricia's offices, and then there was the doorway to said offices facing east.

The office was fully lit by torch and candelabra he could see at his approach. The table he could see from the distance was covered in tomes, both opened and stacked on one side. Once coming to the office doorway, Reglin peeked his head in and looked to the north where Tabitha's desks were located, fully expecting to find her seated there and sure enough, she was.

With her head bent over reading the giant leather-bound tome in front of her, Reglin could see her honey-blonde hair was braided and then wound up into an ornate bun, so sometime during the day she changed that up. Sitting perfectly still with her hands clasped on the very bottom of the enormous book, she was far less animated than when he had caught her reading this morning. She still wore the same crimson dress of modest cut with the black satiny frills at the edges and golden embroidery.

Reglin smiled to himself briefly before he reached up and knock on the open door. Tabitha's eyes instantly came up, followed by her head, "Ah, Reglin! There you are! I wasn't sure if I would see you this evening. What, with it being your first true day of duty." She quickly stood up and came around the desk to him and, once again embraced him tightly, surprising Reglin. The hug lasted longer than the one this morning and Reglin could not help the spark of hope that lit in him that this evening might be as eventful for the two of them as this morning was. She pulled away slightly to look up at him, "I am pleased that you chose to come see this old lady thought."

Putting on what he hoped was his most charming smile, he hoped to work his way into her good graces once more, "Dear Tabitha, this was a place of comfort and solace for me all those years. And the only reason it was was due to your company. You were always what drew me to the library. Learning all that you could teach this poor excuse of an intellect what just gravy on the meat." He held her shoulders firmly in his hands and leaned down, putting his lips to her cheek, providing a lingering tender peck of a kiss. Reglin was pleased to hear the slightest of contented sounds come from Tabitha's throat at what was little more than an innocent kiss of greeting.

"Ahh... Ah, yes..." Tabitha shook herself subtly, "Learned indeed." She seemed to grab onto that subject to clear her thoughts, "You were an astute pupil all those years. But you have been gone for some time. I'm afraid you are going to be hard-pressing to play catch-up for those missing five years." At that, she pulled herself away and gestured to the table Reglin first saw, with numerous open tomes and manuscripts all over it, "I had taken some liberty with your curriculum, giving the circumstances of today. I thought it would be good to do some refreshing."

Nodding at the idea, Reglin agreed that there would be need to rehash some subject matters, but he did notice a commonality amongst many of the books, "So we are to go over mana, it seems. Fitting indeed. And some auras and magicks?"

Tabitha gave Reglin a sunny smile at his observation, "Yes, fitting. Come and sit. We will see what all we can accomplish this evening before you are exhausted." She moved to the side of the table where she had set up two chairs and stood next to one and gestured to the one next to it, "Sit..." As she did the same, smoothing her dress under her legs as she did.

As Reglin came around to his seat, she asked him, "What all do you remember of the very broad subject on mana?" Reglin adjusted the seat for to sit down and not bang legs with Tabitha, "I remember some, though I am sure it wouldn't hurt if you gave me an equally broad refresher."

She nodded at his recommendation and grabbed the smallish book that opened in front of them, "I figured as much... " and just like that, Tabitha had shifted into the familiar role of lecturer, "Alright, Reglin... As I'm sure you recall, all humans produce mana, through our thoughts, our words, our deeds... It's as prevalent as the air we expel with our lungs. There are many kinds of... streams... for the lack of a better term, of mana. Love, hate, fire, water, fear, lust... So many of these streams’ humans always produce that the atmosphere is permeated with mana, waiting to be plucked and focused by us.”

She gave a small gesture at herself then, “And by us, I mean women, of course. I’m sure you also remember that women are natural receptors of mana. It is a double-edged sword, however. Some women are blessed with that capability to harness and focus mana to do a multitude of things, from the mundane to the extraordinary. But ALL women are susceptible to the effects of these magicks that are performed.” She paused for a brief moment and raised an eyebrow at Reglin, “All sound familiar?”

Reglin nodded, “All sounds familiar, yes… Please, continue…” Tabitha smiled once more and patted his thigh a couple of times before giving a couple of passes of rubs before removing it. Reglin felt that spark of hope alight a bit stronger, perhaps a little close to where her hand just was.

“Ok, the capability is a simple yes or no question for women. Either you can, or you cannot. However, sensitivity does play a role in a woman’s capacity. Women who are capable, but relatively insensitive will be lower in their capacity as an Arcanist. But they do have roles that they fill quite well. The one that most comes to mind is the militant healer. She will not be easily charmed or beguiled by magick opponents and they will have the capability to mend those with life-threatening wounds so that they may get back to some of the more powerful mediciners that would be too easy of targets themselves on the frontlines.” She blushes ever-so-slightly at this, “This is why I was never cut out for combat. My capacity is quite high, true… But it makes me ****. By the Gods, I feel a bit nervous around any arcanist truly. I feel that I must be on my guard and ready to preemptively strike at all times.”

She looks over at Reglin and gives his thigh a slow rub again as she smiles and further explains, “Now, you men were given something to help balance the scales so to speak. You are all far less sensitive to the effects of mana, but it too is on a wide range, like us women. However, the most sensitive man is still less sensitive than the most insensitive woman by at least a couple orders of magnitude. There are some men who are almost mana void. Mana is almost repelled by them innately. Unfortunately, it means for them that if a mortal wound were to occur, they have little chance. Poor souls.” Tabitha sounds truly piteous at the end, those last two words barely audible. ‘Perhaps she has seen it happen before’ Reglin thought. But then she smiles at him with a warmth, “But we are about to touch on something else entirely. We are going to discuss what I think you are…”

That sounded kind of ominous to Reglin and his concern levels rose very quickly, “Ummm… I thought you just covered the bit about men and mana?” his face reflected his bemusement.

Tabitha’s warm smile spread wide enough that her teeth showed, “Yes dear, we did… But you are something else, I believe. Now, save your questions for after I explain my reasoning.”

Reglin just nodded slowly, respecting her request. His eyes were already lacking focus as crazy notions going through his head. But when Tabitha’s words followed, he snapped back into focus.

“So Reglin, you have to understand that the subject I am speaking to is not well documented… At all… In fact, there is no real name for the status. Some have referred to it as a Regulator, but I like the term Governor.” Tabitha collected her thoughts briefly, “There have been times in history that certain kinds of men have been documented to have existed. Like nearly all men, mana affects them at a very diminished level. But not ALL mana…”

She gave a dramatic pause as her eyes bore into his, “Only mana that is focused on them with ill intent. Somehow, some way, these individuals had some sort of innate ability to differentiate between mana that was either helpful or harmful. But the records I have read have been clear. This was not a conscious ability on their behalf. They had an **** ability to ’govern’ the mana around them. That’s why I like the term. It sounds less… sterile… than Regulator.”

With a delay in her speech, Reglin raised a brow, wondering if he could ask something. She nodded, “There is a bit more, but go ahead. I figured this was a good spot to let you ask…”

Reglin smiled at her and nodded, “Thank you…” And he then sighed and leaned back in his chair to collect his thoughts. But without even realizing it, Reglin slid his right arm out and onto the back of Tabitha’s chair, grazing her back. Tabitha glanced at his arm as she turned a bit more in her chair to look him in the face. She gave a small mischievous smile, but then realized he was not even focused in looking at her. He was lost it thought.

After a few moments of thinking of what it all could mean, if true, Reglin decided to just start at the beginning. He leaned forward and turned to his right so that the two of them were now face to face with just about a foot between them. Noticing that his arm was pretty much around her, he paused and then decided to leave it there, “Okay. First things, first… What in the name of the Gods makes you think that I may be one of these exceedingly rare kinds of men?”

Tabitha’s eyes seemed to be looking at Reglin’s lips if they were looking at anything. It was her turn to have that distant look in her eyes, “I noticed something peculiar about you early on. When I referred to you as an irrepressible child, I meant it on a different level than most. It seemed as though you truly were. Not just on your average day. It was on every day. I knew how people treated you due to your family’s social standing. Having parents that were indentured servants in almost every sense of the term will arm children with nearly all the emotional weapons they would need to tear a normal child asunder with their cruelty. And that is something that a lot of children have in abundance… cruelty.”

At this, Tabitha paused and looked into Reglin’s eyes, smiling that warm smile and her left arm came forward to give his thigh that more and more reoccurring stroke. Reflexively his right arm dropped off the arm and gave Tabitha a slow brushing of his hand on her back.

When Tabitha continued, her hand remained on his leg, as though it had found a resting place at least for the time being, “But you, dear Reg, never let it show. You just found more ways to make others smile or just added fuel to that extensive reservoir of determination you seem to have. I could not believe it initially, but then I watched the auras around you… Okay, I will need to explain this. I’ll try to be brief…”

The hand rubbed his thigh again, “You see Reg, auras as we Arcanists call them, are really nothing more than watching the streams of mana in the world coalesce around emit off individuals. Seeing the streams is something that I MAY be able to show you later. But, for now know that all those types of mana we discussed earlier show themselves to aura seers in various colors. Like just a general affection for someone will manifest as a soft, sky blue. Feelings of love are seen as a vibrant red… The rest we can talk about later.” Her hand slowed in its rubbing but came to stop. Reglin’s mind was really trying to take in everything the beautiful woman that he had borne a crush on for so long, but for a quick moment the only thing that filled his head was, ‘Is her hand inching close to my… my cock?’. He had to let that go for now. This was not a time for fancies, “That would be… interesting… if I were to be able to. It sounds strange to imagine.”

“It is strange initially, but also quite beautiful most of the time… But there are streams on mana that are forged from harmful thoughts. Jealousy, anger, hate… They all have their own hues of streams. It was those that led me down this path. I saw when people would project ill-intended mana toward you. I could see them slither closer to you only to dissipate. Something I had not seen in all my years. So, when I said you are irrepressible, I meant it quite literally. Your aura repelled all the mana that would bring you down, depress you, or make you doubt. I know you heard their words and saw their actions, and I could see you comprehend what it was they were trying to do. But, in the end, it just did not matter to you. You had things that needed to be done, for the sake of your family.” The soft rub again, “Do my observations match up with your experiences?”

Reglin’s hand absent-mindedly continued to rub Tabitha’s slight back as he lowered his head, looking down in thought. He tried to recall those occasions of his youth. He had always used others’ words that should be hurtful to propel himself forward, ‘But did those things ever really strike home and hurt?’. Raising his head back up and looking her in the eyes, “You know, I think you may be right. I don’t remember ever really hurting. I just learned that certain people were just not pleasant to be around and would avoid them.

Smiling and nodding, Tabitha seemed pleased, “That really is great to hear. And what you have is extraordinary emotional protection. If only all children could be so lucky. Now, I know you have more questions, and that one took a bit to unwrap. I think that for now, you should take some time and ingest this all. You know where I am. We can go over more later. Is that alright?”

He supposed that thinking about this for a bit would help him with what he knew of himself and what was still a mystery to him after. “Ok, that sounds fair. I still wonder about all this in general, but perhaps I can puzzle some things out on my own and not spend an entire evening pestering you with inane questions…” He smiled widely, “Though, I will more than likely just pester you with different inane questions…”

Tabitha gave a very small and a very pleasant giggle at that, “Oh, my dear, you can ask me whatever you’d like. It can be about being a Governor, or about that artifact you possess, or… other things.” He eyes didn’t have the shine of mischief that she had shown earlier, but Reglin couldn’t help but think that last bit was a bit of flirting.

There it was again. That spark that was lit this morning with this very woman. ‘Confidence’ he said in his head, “Okay, I got more to ask in a moment… But first…” and with that, Reglin’s arm went from a soft rubbing of her back, to sliding over to her far shoulder and grabbing hold firmly. Just like that, he turned the beautiful honey-blonde more to him and crushed her into him. Reglin’s lips met Tabitha’s with more pressure than he had used either time this morning. Possibly taken off-guard, but Reglin wanted to believe that is was his lips that caused her to inhale sharply, but what he did know was that the following purr of a moan in the Magistricia’s throat was not from surprise.

Reglin slackened his mouth slightly and Tabitha followed suit, he hands coming up to cup both sides of his face. His lips parted for his tongue came out to flick her own tongue as it came from her mouth. A couple more of those tentative darting flicks made way for his mouth opening wider and their tongues engaged in a dance, tangling with each other. Tabitha’s moans became deeper with every passing second.

Tabitha’s hands would not hold still, dropping down to Reglin’s chest with her palms flat against his tunic before then coming back up and around his neck, all the while the kiss continued. Reglin would not have been able to formulate any kind of complex thought process at that time. His mind was running on sheer pleasure. So much so that he leaned down and brought his left under the back of Tabitha’s knees and scooped her up smoothly and placed her on his lap, sitting perpendicular, both of her legs hanging off his left hip.

The angle of the kiss changed with her now being a bit higher, but the intensity increased even more. Moving his left arm from under her knees to cupping her ass, Reglin would be mortified with himself if his rational mind were still present. But all he could think about was his desire to just feel this woman he had carried a crush in his heart for so many years. The hand under her ass could not make out much due to the bulky dress style, but he effortless raised her by it even higher still, bringing her head above his so that Reglin now craned his neck a bit to continue that dance of tongues.

After who knows how long, Reglin finally withdrew from the kiss and immediately nuzzled into her neck, kissing the tender flesh just above the collarbone. That was about the lowest his lips could go and still touch flesh. With his lips now moving over her skin with the movements of a novice lover, all that piloted him was desire. But that was good enough for the time. When those lips of his touched that sensitive neck of Tabitha’s, she shivered violently, moaning in minor ecstasy. Something in Reglin’s primitive mind wondered if Tabitha could feel how rock hard his cock had become underneath her. She very well might have, given that with that shiver, her hips undulated, making a rocking motion on top of him a few times.

And it was that violent involuntary movement that brought Tabitha to her senses. She gave one last purr in her throat before her hands came from behind his head and back to Reglin’s chest. Applying pressure with her palms, she attempted to create some distance in their bodies, “Okay, okay, okay! Whoa!” Her breathing came in gasps.

And just like that, Reglin realized what had just happened. He knew he initiated it, shortly after their tongues first touched, his brain took a back seat to his desires, “Oh, dear Gods! I don’t know what happened… I wanted to keep up with the confidence thing, but then…” he let out a long breath.

Tabitha actually gave a giggle, something that Reglin would have bet everything he had ever owned to not be what came from her. But she did, and then her head came forward to his and placed her forehead against his, “Dear Reglin… You are a dangerous young man, I believe.” The breathing from her was starting to even out, as the moment of passion passed. “In more ways than one as well! You handled me like a kitten in your grip!” She looked down at their current situation, “In my many, many years of life. That was a new one. What in the memory of the Gods did you do out on those Marches?” And she giggled again!

The giggle was contagious apparently, because Reglin chuckled himself, “Oh, I don’t think I can put my manhandling of you on my time in armies. I got a lot stronger, yes, but not anything like that level…”

Pulling her head back from his, Tabitha’s brow quirked up, “Oh, really? It was just such ardent desire for me that inspired such feats of strength? I may be a bit on the slight side, but I still have some height on me. I am no waif.”

Reglin’s hand that rested on his mentor’s dress-covered ass gave a squeeze at that, “Now I cannot assess it thoroughly, truly. But, from what I feel I would definitely not refer to you as waifish.”

Tabitha’s quirked brow turned to a scowl and his feeling of her posterior. However, it lacked any real venom since she said nothing and did not even try to move, “Well, if it wasn’t some fervent need of me, what was it?” she added on with dry humor.

“Well, this afternoon I was able to go over the artifact a bit more. I saw how much mana I was harnessing from others. Then I looked up some of those mana channel abilities… And I found a couple I really needed.” Reglin said with utmost confidence.

“Was it ‘Treat one of the most powerful arcanist in the Kingdom of Polivandria like a tiny puppy’? ability? I must say, that sounds rather niche. I might have held out for something a bit more practical.” The dry humor seemed to be in order at this time apparently.

Giving an honest laugh at that, Reglin responded, “No, no… I actually took two rather practical channels. But the one that allows me to throw you around like my little plaything is called Corpu Vigorii.”

Tabitha hummed in thought while her green eyes looked directly into Reglin’s. Then, as if her own body had a will of its own, he hips did that grinding undulation down onto Reglin’s still very stiff member, “Hmmm… Vigorous body, huh? Interesting…” Her hands that pressed against his chest began to move over it in a caressing touch. “So, this happened just this afternoon? I would like for you to describe the new abilities to activated tonight. I wonder if the change is drastic in its immediacy, or if your capacity might still grow?”

With both of his arms still behind Tabitha, he just shrugged his shoulders, “I am not sure. I just remember that the first tier of Vigorous Body said that I would have the strength, agility, and endurance that could only be matched by one in fifty-thousand men.”

Both of Tabitha’s brows shot up at that, “Oh… wow! So, in all of the capital, only ten men will be able to match you in strength. And only ten men will be as nimble as you? And, dear Gods... the endurance.... I wonder?" Her body gave a small grind on his pelvis with her own. That purr occurred again deep in her throat, “Dangerous indeed…”

That sound just sent all kinds of sparks through Reglin. He fought to retain a cognitive thought and not just revert to that primitive, desire-based brain and **** this beauty in his lap with kisses and gropes.

Tabitha cleared her throat, “Reglin… I would be a liar if I said I did not enjoy that… immensely…” again, with the grinding. “However, if we go down that path, I fear that the rest of the evening might be lost to… Carnality.” She did not sound entirely displeased at the idea, Reglin thought, “So, in my infinite wisdom, I recommend we hold of on ‘those’ lessons until the end. Can we agree to that?”

Nodding in tentative agreement, Reglin had to ask, “What if there are no other lessons to be learned? What if the only lesson for the night is just that? The giving of pleasure? Will we wait until the late hours of the night?”

It was Tabitha’s turn to nod, “I’m afraid so, Reg. People with access to the library are allowed that access until the fourth Smallbell. I must be accessible until that time. Sorry." In condolence, Tabitha gave him a peck of kiss on his lips and finalize moved herself to stand, "Which reminds me, this would perhaps be unbecoming for someone to witness if they were to need me." As she walked around Reglin though, her hand stayed in contact with his shoulders, "Okay, now seriously though... What should be the next subject of discussion?"

~This is knowledge for the Reader~

The Affection Multiplier

~Mana: 273 (+61) 314~

~Mana Channels: ~Labiae Passionii (Lips of Passion) free, ~ Corpu Vigorii (Vigorous Body) 100, ~ Uirtau Proelium (Martial Prowess) 100

~Tabitha~ Affectionae: 78 (+18) 96 Erosii: 12 (+8) 20 Libidae: 10 (+35) 45
~Lim~ A: 26
~Boll~ A: 15
~Grahm~ A: 28
~Lina~ A: 29
~Asha~ A: 25 E: 2 L: 2
~Princess Katya~ A: -63
~Lady Wilmyna~ A: 1
~Princess Katya's Entourage~ A: (+11)