"Do you want to dress me?" Qu'Ren asked coyly. I could see goosebumps on her bare chest and arms. She had wild energy in her eyes, as a consequence of the "scientific" research she and I spent the last few minutes conducting.
I studied her for a second before nodding and moving to grab the clothing she had set aside when I appeared and readied myself to brand her. The article of clothing in my hand was an ornate brigandine, a thing made of solidified spider-silk and liberally decorated with spider imagery. It gave off a slightly red aura, one that wasn't nearly as solid as the Bunker Shield's was, but a present one that strengthened its protective capabilities.
It was a heavy thing, though light in my arms. At a glance, thanks to the assorted skills and powers I had gained from my multitude of worshipers, I could determine that the thing, even before it was touched by magic which amplified it further, strengthened the defensive capabilities of those who wore it. And not just the parts of those who equipped it that it covered, but their whole bodies.
I studied it for a moment, admiring its craftsmanship, before getting up from my chair and walking over to Qu'Ren.
I walked behind her and then gently got on the bed so that I could position the armor more easily. Placing it on her body was easy, as she eagerly pulled it towards herself once it was directly over her head. The thing then magically grafted itself to her form, tightening until it was practically a second skin and not a piece of armor.
"How do I look?" She asked, smiling. I grinned at her and ignored the small voice in the back of my mind that missed the sight of her topless form.
"You look great." I said, truthfully. The brigandine she wore wasn't just a strong piece of armor. it was also a stylish one. It clung tightly to her body, allowing one to see the shape of her lithe form more easily, and didn't weigh her down in the slightest despite the considerable protection it offered. But for all of that, a part of me knew I could do better.
I should sit down and practice making some items again sometime soon. I thought, grinning internally. I could make something better than this. And adorn it with my brand. Personalize it to her. And in doing so, mark her once again. I mused, knowing that the memories I had within me, from both enchanters and blacksmiths, coupled with the advanced skills at my disposal would allow me to craft something truly epic if I wanted too.
But that was for another time. I began to speak.
"And now, my little witch, it's time for us to see what you can do. And what I can do." I told her, curiosity distinctly audible in my voice.
I studied her magical aura using my ambient ability to detect magic, thanks to the actions of one of the other me's. She radiated a potent and swirling mix of colors. Before being branded she had radiated a strong blanket of blue light, probably for conjuration since she had lived her life as a neo-witch, a magician specializing in conjuration.
The aura that surrounded her now was like an incomplete rainbow. It had healthy streaks of green, for healing magic, dark purple for mind magic, a shade of blue for conjuration magic, and bright yellow for illusion magic. It was a fascinating thing to focus on, and I didn't mind staring at it. But we still had things we needed to do. Or more accurately, things I needed to do.
Before doing anything else, I quickly made a copy of her latest memories and examined them. The ability to more rapidly experience memories is... very useful. I thought, as I instantly experienced everything Qu'Ren had experienced over the course of the last five days, the time that had passed since the last time I absorbed the contents of her mind.
Among other things I winced in pain as I experienced the biting, burning pain of the moment she was branded and a secondhand version of the twisted pleasure she felt while submitting to my commands. I also got to read the notifications the system gave her, informing her about her powers. It was an interesting thing to experience both on my end, and then on hers. And then I came up with a good idea.
I should have her accompany me. It would be fun to have her by my side, watch her make use of her new powers for the first time. I thought, which resulted in a smile etching itself onto my face.
"Originally I was planning to grant more of your coven witch powers before we went galavanting on an adventure... But I think it might be best for us to take advantage of this opportunity for a real experiment." I told her, a degree of eagerness in my voice. And so we began to scheme, to plot a major move that would reshape this city's politics in a real way.
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An hour later we found ourselves in a part of the city of Undermoon far from the estate Qu'Ren lived in and was one of the leaders of. In front of a grand estate, owned by another noble family. This estate was grounded, in a literal sense since it was built on the floor of the cavern that housed the city of Undermoon, and it was an estate that was no less wealthy or influential than that of Qu'Ren's family.
The noises of shouts, some of pain, some of anger, and others of triumph, were audible even on the other side of the wall in front of us. As were the sounds of metal striking worked spider-silk and even metal striking metal. I knew the cause: beyond the wall in our way were numerous dark elves who were training their bodies and honing their sword-arms.
Through tremor-sense I knew that the open-area beyond the wall was where two dozen dark elves, 6 of which were female, and 18 of which were male, were training. I checked my radar to learn their names, and saw that each of the warriors had the same last-name. Huh. Neat. I was expecting... at least some of them to be mercenaries. This family has a lot of kids. By dark-elven standards anyway. I mused, idly.
Qu'Ren was beside me, and the two of us studied the place carefully. I could sense her doing a mental check to see what new powers she possessed.
I'll send her some warmth. Help her relax. I thought, gingerly using this as an opportunity to test the connection we shared through the brand. I envisioned her chest growing warmer, and heard her softly sigh. And then she turned in my direction and glared.
"Don't do that here." She said, annoyed at me. I chuckled and closed my eyes, pretending to be remorseful.
"Sorry, I was just trying to get you to relax." I explained, telling the truth even if my remorse was insincere. She glowered at me but bit her tongue, holding her commentary back.
In front of us stood a large wall that barred outsiders from entering the grounds of the Blood Keeper family. The thing was dark and made of solid, worked metal. There was only one door in or out of it.
I waited for a second so that she could regain her composure before I began to walk towards the wall that separated us from the estate's grounds.
She began to walk a second after she saw me do so. It took us mere moments to reach the lone door that would have kept out lesser beings. We walked until we were in front of the entryway, and then waited.
Qu'Ren wisely followed my lead and didn't question me just yet. I knew that the wall was manned, my enhanced tremorsense told me so from kilometers away. I also knew that the wall's guard was approaching us, each footstep giving away his precise location, and I didn't doubt that the guard was wary. Not many intruders came to this martially oriented family so brazenly.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
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When the guard finally appeared he peeped at us through the door. It was a solid thing but it had a window precisely for this purpose, and the guard knew better than to open the door to anyone strong enough, or foolish enough, to come here so arrogantly. Unsurprisingly the guard didn't react to me, especially when he noticed my companion and servant.
"Madame Qu'Ren? Noblewoman, what do you want?" He asked, bluntly, even if he slipped in a few words acknowledging her station with the blunt demand. I chuckled, causing him to spin to glance at me. He studied me, unsure about the attitude I was showing, but quickly and logically turned to face the powerful noblewoman he knew.
It was exceedingly dark-elf-like to ignore anyone who seemed to be a noble's servant, and among dark-elves little screamed "servant" more than a male dark-elf who was shirtless, muscular, and accompanying a known dark-elf noblewoman.
Qu'Ren studied him, her gaze predatory and her heart calm. And then she smiled at him. Her aura, invisible to him but brilliant to me, flared to life, the illusionary color of yellow shimmering excitedly as she silently activated a spell she gained through me. A piece of the yellow of her aura broke off from her and raced towards, and then into the guard. And then she spoke.
"Open this door and let us through you silly guard. Who do you think you are, standing in my way?" She asked, the words harsh but her tone playful. The guard looked at her in confusion, and I sensed his mind reacting to the power of her new magic. I sensed the initial resistance he felt, and his natural desire to question her, fade away.
"Yes... yes you're right. If you're here, you must have a reason to be." The guard said, confused but at himself not at her. He pushed the door open for us and then beckoned for us to come forward and through the door, post haste. We acted on his invitation, walking towards the door and then through it.
Qu'Ren speedily advanced past the guard, not bothering to make eye contact with him. She even made a disapproving noise as she walked by him, causing him to look at me intently.
There was a look in his eyes, a pleading to intercede on his behalf and to ask Qu'Ren to be merciful and keep this encounter to herself. I didn't make eye contact with him. It's fun to see him squirm. I thought, with a bit of cruelty in my mental tone. He was silent, wisely opting not to make a scene of begging Qu'Ren not to tell anyone.
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Once we passed through the door, the guard shut it and followed us into the thin confines of the space in the wall designed to welcome guests and more importantly to bottleneck anyone trying to invade. Then, while right behind us, he began to speak again.
"It is my duty, and my honor," He began, quickly adding in the second part of the statement. "To accompany you during your time in our estate." He told us, demurely trying to justify why he was following us. Qu'Ren and I didn't really react, but neither of us moved to hurt the guard either. He breathed a sigh of relief after neither of us objected to his presence.
The area we were in was a tight space, unlit and straight. It stretched forward for a bit, before finally opening up and allowing travelers truly into the estate of the family.
"I am Antur." The dark elf guard said, introducing himself to us. At this point I decided to speak.
"I am," I began, causing him to haughtily begin to pretend to ignore me. He had been hoping that Qu'Ren would speak, not I. "Althos." I said, revealing my true name to the dark elf.
He was walking behind us and I heard him nearly trip when I said my name. At this point, I received a notification, a positive alert.
[New Feats Gained:
Peaceful Power-Broker & The Maker Of Emperors
Benefits: Peaceful Power-Broker is a feat that improves your persuasive abilities. It makes your arguments more effective and is an idle charisma booster.
The Maker of Emperors is a feat that increases the charisma of those you select to be leaders. By gaining it you gain increased abilities to help boost the esteem of others in the eyes of their peers.
Methods of Acquisition: Peaceful Power-Broker is gained by beginning the process of a transition of power. Earning this feat means that one of you, the assorted you's, has begun the process of causing a settlement somewhere to transition power to someone. This doesn't actually mean that that person has become a leader yet, it just means that you played a hand in persuading a government to hold an election or another form of governmental transition.
The Maker of Emperors feat is gained when you, any of you, select someone to be an emperor and begin the process of making them one. In your case, Ayla Syah has been selected, and the government of Namira is beginning the process by which they'll elect either her or someone else to become the city's next Sultan. An election will be taking place in two weeks due to the urgency of the believed threat of the sandmen Ayla just repelled one wave of.]
I chuckled and willed away the notification. How exciting, we're gonna acquire Namira soon. I thought, grinning. Behind me, the guard was still fumbling about in shock due to my casual revelation that I was the god of over half of the dark elves who lived in the city. But after moments of the guard punishing himself, which I heard because I opted to create a quiet link that bound us, Antur began to speak again.
"Sir Althos... why are you here?" He asked, suddenly and keenly aware that I was the superior between Qu'Ren and myself. I was silent while I considered what to say. And then I spoke, powerfully and confidently.
"I am here to take what is mine. And to exert my law on those who defy it." I explained, honestly. At this point, I felt the spike of conflict that appeared within the guard's mind.
I felt him immediately want to try and stop me, because he heard me say "take", "exert", and infer that I was here to punish disobedient dark elves. I also felt his fear and the sly presence of a grain of hopelessness within his heart. I grinned, my face turned away from his field of view. Oh, how noble. The little dark elf wants to protect his masters. His family. I thought, smiling.
I heard Qu'Ren's muscles tighten when she heard the guard slow down. I heard her ears strain as she sought to listen to whatever Antur did next. And when the guard did stop, I saw a surge of purple energy overtake Qu'Ren's aura, go through me, and then hammer the man's mind. The guard was stunned, his body freezing up, as his mind was wracked by a wave of mystically charged mental energy.
"Nice mind-blast!" I said, complimenting Qu'Ren. She was in front of me and smiled at my compliment.
"And now... for the fun part." I said, a look of creative satisfaction on my face, as I turned to begin to experiment on Antur Blood-Bone, the weakest member of the Blood-Bone family, one of the noble-families that was resisting me and hadn't yet submitted to my worship. I descended on the frozen form of the man, invading his mind and then immediately breaking it, opting to be rough since I'd be rewriting his memories anyway.
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Invading his brain, stealing his memories, and breaking him took a matter of seconds. Once it was over, and I was outside of his mind, I received a positively delightful notification. While I read the thing, I set about manipulating the memories of Antur, modifying them to include that his family secretly worshiped me, and for fun, I added that he significant, lustful and obsessive feelings for Qu'Ren.
This'll be fun to fill his mind with. I thought, smirking at the idea that this guard would do anything for my witch. And then I set about reading the notification before me.
[New Quest alert: Master Manipulator
The mind domain, the memory subdomain, and the emotion subdomain have teamed up to grant you a joint quest. You already have the first tier of influence over the mind domain, but you have yet to gain any tiers of influence over the memory subdomain or the subdomain of emotions.
Quest Objective: Start or end 10 prolonged conflicts using your powers over the mind, and your ability to create or rewrite memories. This means that one-on-one fights don't count, and neither do fights that have more than one person but are one-offs.
Reward: Successful completion of this quest will grant you either further influence over critical domains and subdomains or grant you the first tier of influence over them. The domain of the mind is linked to mind magic, certain classes, and potent subdomains.
Doing this quest will award you the lowest tier of influence over the subdomains of memories and emotions, the next tier of influence over the domain of minds and will award you progress towards the domain of dreams, subdomains of nightmares, sanity, and insanity.]
Oh that's nice. I thought, chuckling as I recalled how the domain of minds had made my mind-related powers stronger and granted me access to the mind-jamming power to prevent telepathy. And in reading the quest details I got even more excited. Starting or ending conflicts? That'll be fun. I mused.