88 Summoning A Succubus (1/2)
The area I appeared in when I was done teleporting was a simple space. I had an intuitive sense of what parts of a chapel were called, presumably thanks to the influence of the domain of faith, and I found myself on a pulpit on the end of a nave.
The pulpit was the space on which a speaker stood, from which services were led and the nave was the central area in which participants in the service sat and participated. I could see firm looking seats, pews, situated in the nave that allowed participants to have a place to sit.
I looked out around me out of curiosity. I could see that this chapel was focused on efficiency and as such there was no gallery for non-participants to watch any services that this place may perform. Instead the doors that led in and out of the chapel opened immediately into the massive nave of the chapel.
I looked to my right and left and saw nothing beyond the space dedicated to the pulpit. There wasn't a sacristy, a room for sacred objects or clothing, and there wasn't a vestry, a room for priests to prepare for services, either. There wasn't even any living space here. It was purely a spartan chapel which was quite intriguing to me.
Sombra was here, in her dark-elven form. And to my right was the summoning circle. I could see it because it emanated a scarlet glow and at a glance, I could see that it was made from Sombra's own rose-colored blood. The demonic dark elf look-a-like grinned sensuously at me, and I could tell that she felt lust.
She walked over to me, and so I could more readily smell the sweat on her skin, as well as the scent of another bodily fluid. I could see the cut she inflicted on herself to be able to make the circle. Droplets of her oddly floral blood were still dripping down her skin, and the scarlet liquid's scent intermingled with that of her sweat. It was darkly enticing.
I had taken on a new form, and my new form was the regally dressed form I had made that was similar to the one I used when I had a conversation with Andrea. I enjoyed it because it was a form meant to be handsome and awe-inspiring, which differed from my usual form.
When I pretended to be human, I had to hide my strength. I had to hide my capabilities. I didn't have to do that here. It was incredibly refreshing to be able to unleash my real power, or at least not have to be preoccupied with hiding it.
When Sombra stood in front of me, I studied her form for a moment. I had taken time to exquisitely craft her body, and to see it so close I felt tempted to take her into my arms. The scent of her blood, mixing with her sweat, was oddly pleasant and I couldn't tell exactly why but I suspected it was because of me and my personal tastes that I felt it smelled as pleasant as it did.
Sombra wore ”clothes” fashioned from solidified darkness. I didn't make them either, so I had to suspect that this was a power she possessed. They were intriguing because it looked like someone put silhouettes of clothes onto her shapely body rather than actually dressing her.
”Master...” She whispered, breathily, in front of me. I smiled at the demon and was surprised when she wrapped her arms around me. I was considerably taller than her, in my current form anyway, and so she wrapped herself around my waist and chest.
My current form was clad in armor I had fashioned while transforming from darkness. That didn't stop my demon from hugging me tightly, and it didn't prevent the warmth of her body from reaching me either. I smiled at the creature, and knew that it was craving a reward. And a part of me felt like giving her the rewards she craved.
I was acutely aware of what she wanted. Even if I hadn't been a god of lust, I'd have been able to detect it. Her heart was hammering in her chest, there was a visible blush across her face, and she was subtly trembling. I could also feel a part of her chest harden and push against the surprisingly skin-tight armor she wore thanks to my sense of touch and the sensitivity of my skin.
I looked down at her and studied the curvature of her dark lips. She looked up at me and I watched her grin as her tongue snaked out of her mouth. It was a thick thing, as dark as the rest of her body, and she winked at me as it traced her lips before sliding back into her mouth.
It was at that moment that we were interrupted by the sound of the doors to the chapel opening. I wasn't surprised, but I did grin at my small servant who twisted her head angrily at those who dared to interrupt us. The reptilefolk who entered the temple felt the chill of the demon's glare.
”There, there... I'll properly reward you when we return to my tower.” I promised, whispering temptingly into the little demon's ear. I wasn't lying either, as I realized almost instantly what a proper reward would be for her: a new class. One that tied the two of us together even more and further reinforced our relationship as master and servant.
And then I gently kissed the creature's forehead. When I did, I felt her immediately begin to calm down.
Partially as a response to the kiss, Sombra began to lean back against me. And a few seconds later, the demon entirely dissipated and faded into my shadow again. She suddenly and rather unexpectedly left me alone in front of the reptilefolks I had gathered to my side. I sighed and looked out at the gathering reptilefolk as more and more began to enter the chapel.
It took a few minutes for the reptilefolks to finish gathering into the massive space.
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By the time the last surviving inhabitant of the connected caverns had entered the chapel, the place was overflowing. All of the pews, fashioned from solidified darkness, had been filled to their maximum capacity, and creatures were sitting on the floor as well.
I chuckled and counted that well over five hundred reptilefolks were in here. That said, in total there were well over three thousand reptilefolks in the encampment, a gigantic number and many of them were right outside of the chapel, listening to the best of their abilities to learn what was to happen to them and their families.
In total, just over 85 of the creatures had been cut down by my forces. I felt their souls within me, and in time I knew I'd need to figure out what to do with those souls.
I looked out at the crowd, and then cleared my throat. When everyone's eyes fell upon me I smiled and began to speak.
”Hello, my name is Althos. I am the new god you all serve and worship.” I declared, channeling my inner pride still and using it to make it clear that I spoke the truth. I also activated one of my favorite powers, ”Religious fervor”, and gave the interior of the chapel a distinct blue tint.
The reptilefolks looked at me in confusion and I chuckled at them.
”I am the source of the dreadful army that you all faced. You fought for your lives bravely and boldly, and for that I am here to welcome you all into my service.” I began, revealing that I was their dreadful foe. Many of them then began to glare at me, and I smiled back at them.
”I want you to know that I recognize that you are angry with me. That is fine. Just like you are angry with me, those you enslaved were angry with you. I came to you to deliver death and justice. I have done those things. Now I am offering you a new future. One which your leaders decided to pick. I am strong, and you are weak. That is the way of the world.” I calmly stated, making direct eye contact with the angriest reptilefolks I could see.
”Your leaders opted to have you join my forces in one way. There was another way by which you became mine. Believe me, your leaders chose the more pleasant option” I informed the reptilians I was making eye contact with. For a second there was a murderous glare in my gaze, and I watched the anger in the lizard-people I was talking to slink back in favor of fear.
”I am a god. Gods are spirits of unfathomable power. I fought against you all not only to liberate your slaves, which I did, but also to test the power of my own minions and to begin to build my own empire.” I informed the creatures I had assembled. They began to gasp when they realized that I had freed their slaves from their cruel clutches.
While they were gasping, I focused and asked a question to the domain of magic specifically.
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”So, I want to conjure demons. I intend to conjure demons I can easily control, so probably succubi, incubi, and praereptor demons. I want them to be my enforcers in this community. How can I do that?” I asked the domain of magic.
I felt time slow to a near halt as I waited for the domain, the one that I felt was among the greatest of the domains I could influence, to reply. When the reply came, I personally felt like a minute had passed, though I knew that was impossible.
”Well... The way you're going about it is unorthodox, but if you summon a total of fifteen separate demons you'll gain the first tier of influence over the conjuration subdomain. And the subdomain has granted you access to a few mid to high ranking spells that are suitable for your intentions.” The domain explained, sounding somewhat tired for some reason. Then it chuckled at me.
”You are such an odd god. Oftentimes many past deities went for magic like conjuration and evocation first, to gather personal power quickly. And here you are, coming into being possessing power over healing, and acquiring both necromancy and alteration before you acquired evocation and conjuration abilities.” The domain said, amused by the odd circumstances of my life so far.
I chuckled, equally amused by the oddities that led me to this particular cavern underneath the surface of the planet. It was an odd set of circumstances to be sure, and I couldn't blame the domain for laughing. That said, I appreciated my growing magical abilities and I actually intended to use some of them here in this cavernous lair.
That said, as a god I wasn't ever just in one place, doing one thing. Even as I spoke to the domain of magic I was beginning to formulate actual schemes about how to best and most effectively influence the world around me.
The truth was, I could influence a considerable number of things already. I didn't doubt that in comparison to youthful gods of the mythic age I was probably weak but I had a number of advantages compared to them and to other creatures.
The first advantage I had compared to the gods of the past was that I was alone. I was, apparently, the only god in existence. And as far as I knew I was the only higher being in existence. So I didn't have to worry about following the rules that the gods of old bound themselves too for the sake of lessening inter-divinity conflicts, nor did I have to compete with them.
The second advantage I had was that I possessed a bizarre mishmash of powers. This included, but wasn't limited to, the fact that I was on my way to becoming an elemental overlord. I could now answer all sorts of prayers ranging from prayers for healing, to fertility prayers, to prayers for good harvests. These powers allowed me the power to be creative, and now I intended to be.
I took a deep breath and then activated my power to split my mind so that I could focus on many different things at once. I wanted to begin to observe the universe I was in more readily and more actively, now that I had secured myself my first victory against a defined enemy.
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The sensation of splitting my mind was an admittedly odd one. It felt as though I was physically in two places at once, and I wasn't. Instead one of the ”places” I was in, was the quietness of my own mind. I didn't intend to let my mind stay a quiet place though.
The second I was done splitting my consciousness, I did two things of note. The first was that I immediately activated my ”domain-sense” power, but I did so fully this time. And the second was that I opened my mind to prayers and other desperate pleas to the cosmos for intervention.
With regards to domain-sense, I didn't pick a single domain or subdomain to focus on. Instead, I chose to open my eyes to all of the notifications my potent power had for me. I immediately received an almost comforting flood of notifications and alerts. I took it all in stride and absorbed the information into myself.
In doing so, I felt my mind expand considerably and for the first time, I gained a true awareness of the planet I found myself within. And that brought a smile to my face.