Flashback I feel so Domineered, Part 4.5

[Ialari Pythone]

Continued From Here...

Back now in the mortal realm, Ialari felt a slight a slight pain poke at her side. The transition between the divine and mortal realms was beginning to have a physical effect on her. Although it was uncomfortable and not unexpected, it did pose a small amount of worry in the back of her mind. The Dominion Scrolls also made mention of such things:

It should be noted that spending a long time in the Ukalas has unknown long-term consequences. Just as the Domineer affects the world around, the opposite also holds true.

Rubbing her side until the pain finally subsided; Ialari looked up through the trees at the sun. Holding her hand up and out in front of her, she held it just below the sun. A little trick she discovered many days earlier was to hold her hand up like she was and drop it one fist at a time. Each time she dropped it equaled roughly one hour. When her hand met the horizon, the number of fist drops to get from the sun to there provided an estimate on how many hours of sunlight remained. Nearest she could tell, five hours of sunlight remained.

She looked down at the zith who remained in the same spot in almost the same position that she left him earlier. “If the whinnis did its job, I’d guess I have a good couple of hours left before you wake.” Ialari said bluntly. She walked over to the stone slab where her poultice ingredients were still soaking in oil. She leaned down and stirred and prodded it a bit while noting that it was getting closer to being ready. She wanted to get the poultice applied before the zith woke but it would close. Ialari then turned to the nearby half barrel of water containing the large catfish she had wrestled from the pond. She tapped the barrel with her foot a few times causing the fish to jerk a bit showing that it was still alive, at least for now.

With a little time left to herself, Ialari pondered heading out for some more herb gathering but looking down at the zith, something else occurred to her. While she had bound it well enough to keep it from doing much while it was weak, eventually, if all went well, the zith would recover and regain its health. Its current bindings would not suffice which left her wondering how best to address such a thing. She had seen slaves in her travel and some actually wore collars as if they were animals. Moving to her pile of salvage, dwindled as it was, she looked through the various scraps. The bits of sail cloth and netting wouldn’t work as the zith’s claws could cut through it easily enough. Even leather would not hold out against a determined-to-escape zith. This led Ialari to the pile of various metal fittings, hinges, handles and bracings also pulled from the shipwreck. There wasn’t anything really useful by itself in any of the piles.

I wonder… She thought as she formed an image in her mind of what would be the most likely to serve her purpose. She reached into the pile of metal and pulled a couple handfuls of scrap from it. She took the first bit in her metallic hand and began kneading and squeezing, merging the metal together. With her other hand she added a few more pieces while continuing to work the whole with the metallic hand. Slowly but surely she was able to merge the two handfuls into a larger lump of mixed metal.

Holding the lump of metal in her flesh hand, she used her metallic hand to pinch and pull at it followed by squeezing and stretching. The metal bowed to Ialari’s touch and obeyed her ministering. As she worked the metal, it was narrowed and elongated until it was about an inch in diameter and over a foot and a half long. She stroked the narrow metal rod with her hand to smooth its surface and even out the thickness. If she had more time she would have imparted upon it but for now, it would do what it was supposed to do. Before she was finished however, she manipulated the metal in one spot as with an impression shaped like her thumb. The idea was that if sometime later she could impart upon an item that could be fit into the impression and enhance the collar. Ialari turned then and walked over to the prone zith. She held her dagger in one hand, the narrow metal rod in the other. Although the zith was still under the effects of the poison, she refused to let down her guard. Kneeling next to him, Ialari held tapped the zith’s head with the flat of her dagger; it didn’t respond. She did the same thing a few more times, each time a little harder with the same result. Satisfied that it was at least somewhat safe, she brought the blade to her mouth and bit down on the flat thus freeing her hand. With her flesh hand, she lifted the zith’s head and with her metallic one she placed the rod behind his neck. Laying his head back down, she took the rod in both hands and primarily with her metallic one, she bent and curled the rod around his neck until both ends met. Once more enacting her bloodborn gift, Ialari used her metallic hand to pinch off the metal so that the two ends of the rod met at a point that left the newly formed collar snug against the zith’s neck while not choking him. She then merged the two ends together and turned it so that the thumb-shaped impression faced forward.

She then reached for the chain that held the zith’s leather bound hands to the nearby stone. She manipulated the chain so that it was no longer holding the ziths bound hands but was now attached to the collar. It was a sacrifice of sorts as far as security was concerned but the beasts wrists were still confined and now with its neck restrained, it would be unable to stand even if it had the strength and awareness to do so.

Now it was a matter of waiting; waiting for the poultice ingredients to finish macerating and waiting for the zith to wake, preferable in that order with time in between. The cramping in her belly signaled Ialari that it had been far too long since she had eaten. She retrieved her seabird rations and brewed up another cup of tea. The small meal was more than welcome as Ialari chewed each piece and held it in her mouth for several seconds, savoring the taste. Although the food and tea was filling and refreshing, it got Ialari thinking more about the nearby fish and how much food it would give her. Of course she had no idea how to clean a fish but it was a small inconvenience to her hungry belly. She had to resist the urge to partake in the fish as she would need something to entice the zith with other than herself. “Come on Ialari, you can do this. You’ve stayed awake for much longer under worse circumstances with less food before. You can do it again. Don’t be weak.” She told herself while trying to maintain her composure.

Trying to shift her attention away from food and sleep, Ialari examined the bites and scratches that covered her body. Some were deeper than others but her isurian skin thankfully prevented what would have otherwise been life-threatening wounds. There were a few though that would require some tending to as soon as she was able. One in particular, a bite just above her left breast, irritated more than the others. She poked, picked, pinched and prodded at the wound for a few moments before pulling out a sharp tooth, a tiny splash of blood coming forth as she removed it. Grimacing, she brought the tooth to her face and looked at it. “Son of a…That better not leave a scar.” Although it wasn’t the living zith that caused the wound, Ialari made a mental note to fully break off its finger if she was left with a noticeable scar.

[Ialari Pythone]

When the Vyfox maceration looked ready, Ialari laid out the contents of the old field healer’s kit she had carried around with her for quite some time now. With a small collection of cloth bandages available, Ialari scooped the maceration from the jar onto a smaller bandage. She pressed the soft, moist, oily mass onto the bandage so that it soaked into it a bit. She then took it and the rest of the bandages and knelt down next to the zith. She laid her dagger on the ground next to her as she didn’t have a free hand to hold it. The poison could wear off at any time so she had to be quick, precise and careful not to speed up waking the zith. With the poultice in one hand she lifted the loincloth with the other. She lightly pressed the poultice against the wound, careful the entire time to keep at least one eye on the zith’s face for any reaction. In a rather awkward exercise in frustration, Ialari proceeded try and hold the poultice against the wound while wrapping the bandages in a way that would hold it in place. More than a few times she almost gave up with thoughts of starting all over but the reality of the situation did not allow for such freedom. She did have to pull the bandages off and rewrap them more than a few times until she was finally able to get the poultice firmly wrapped against the wound in a way that wasn’t too restricting to movement but would not fall off immediately upon the zith waking while also allowing it to urinate without having to change the poultice each time.

Now with the poultice in place and the zith more securely bound, Ialari felt like could relax a bit. Unfortunately, she was still denied such relief. Just as she had finished with the bandages and leaned back to rest, the zith began to stir. Its breathing grew more erratic and it started to slowly move its arms and legs a bit. Its eyelids fluttered and its mouth opened and closed softly. Gripping her dagger firmly, Ialari moved from kneeling to crouching and waited. Obviously the zith was having some difficulty shaking itself out of the poison-induced stupor but it was quickly making progress. After a moment or two longer, it finally opened its eyes. Realization sank in much quicker as it immediately tried to sit up only to come to the end of the chain and come crashing back down. Its hands still bound, it brought them to its neck where it felt the collar and chain. Its wings were still tangled in netting as it tried to stretch them as well. Its frantic movements then slowed as the pain from its wound combined with the pain in its neck from the jerking against the chain mixed with the still lingering effects of the poison.

It then half-growled, half-whined in pain and confusion until its eyes came to rest on Ialari. Its pitiful noises turned to an angry growl as it stared first at her then to its bound hands. It then tried to sit up, more carefully this time, its eyes still on Ialari. It then looked from her to its groin where it lifted the loincloth to see the bandages.

Ialari, still crouched, kept her dagger at the ready although not immediately threatening. She wasn’t frightened of the creature as it was more than sufficiently subdued and in no position to truly be an immediate danger to her. She didn’t however want to complicate the situation even more by appearing overly threatening. When the zith lifted its loincloth and prodded the bandages gingerly, Ialari said matter-of-factly, “I wouldn’t mess with that too much if I were you.” She didn’t even know if the beast could understand her.

At her words, the zith stopped and looked up at her, a mix of pain, fear, confusion and hatred dripping from its face.

Ialari took its reaction as meaning that perhaps it may understand at least something of what was going on whether or not it understood her words or not. Well, here goes nothing. She thought before continuing to talk to it. She spoke slowly and deliberately as she realized her isurian accent could sometimes make her use of the Common Tongue difficult to understand. She also used simple hand gestures when possible to help illustrate her meanings. “Alright, so I don’t know how much of what I’m going to say you’ll be able to understand, if any of it but we have to start somewhere.” She watched its face for any signs of understanding as she spoke. “You and your friends were hunting me. There was a fight and I killed them. I hurt and could have killed you. Obviously I didn’t.” She then pointed to his groin. “I stopped the bleeding and put something on there to help it heal.” As she spoke, the zith narrowed its eyes, watched her hand motions and at least seemed to listen to her even if she didn’t know yet if it understood all of what was said.

Ialari maintained her on-guard posture as she continued. “I spared your life and in return, you are mine.” She pointed to the collar around the zith’s neck. “As long as you don’t try to harm me, I will help you heal. If you try to escape…” She pointed to its groin and then made a motion as if cupping something with her hand followed by opening her hand immediately to symbolize something being popped or exploded. “What will the others think of you now? Like it or not, I’m all there is left for you. Do as I say and I will not hurt you but go against me and I will make you suffer.” The zith continued to stare at Ialari with narrowed eyes but its look had shifted. It now appeared as though it were studying her just as she was studying it.

Starting to feel like she wasn’t getting very far, Ialari decided it was time to maybe take a risk. She figured that the zith’s neck was secured by the chain to the heavy stone so it wasn’t going to move far at all. Its wings were tangled so it couldn’t fly and it was likely quite weak and still in pain. While there was a risk with her next plan, it was somewhat reduced. The next step, now that she had laid out the basics of it in words, was to see if it understood any of it and would respond. She tried for a moment to put herself in its place. If she had been wounded, restrained and told that she was to be a slave and that if she obeyed she wouldn’t be harmed, she would want to see some action to back up those words. That in mind, she laid her dagger on the ground next to her. The zith eyes followed the dagger as it was released before returning them to her face.

“Ok, so I’m going to free your hands. I trust you won’t attack me?” She didn’t wait for an answer and slowly moved closer to the zith while moving her hand even slower toward it. The zith leaned back, away from her as Ialari moved in closer. She raised her metallic hand very carefully to the zith’s bound wrists. It tried to position itself in a crouch but it was obvious the pain was too much so it remained sitting upright, its torso partially turned with its hands on the ground to brace itself. Ialari was very close to the zith now, close enough that she could touch the leather straps binding its wrists which meant she was also close enough that if it wanted to, it could strike her. Here goes nothing. She gripped the leather straps between her thumb and forefinger and made the motion of snapping the two fingers together which when done against the leather with the strength of her metallic grip, the leather tore effortlessly.

That was the moment the zith chose to strike. Its hand jerked from the ground to close around Ialari’s neck. As its hands made contact with her, the zith’s mark of Nikali came to life and the gift of Ranuri was activated. As the zith touched Ialari, a unique insight blanketed its formerly conflicted mind. It had indeed understood at least the general idea of what Ialari had been saying. It had picked up a bit of the Common Tongue in the past yet even as it had some understanding of what was going on, it had no intentions of letting it happen. That was until the first touch made upon Ialari after being named as belonging to her. It suddenly had this overwhelming urge to do anything and everything to make Ialari happy. Through their physical contact, it saw a lonely, disturbed, empty, incomplete young woman who desperately needed someone living, breathing, willful and strong in her life; someone to help fill the emptiness she felt deep inside. Its grip on her neck lightened, loosened and then fell. The zith lowered its arms to help support its torso once more while its head lowered before Ialari.

For her part, Ialari actually hoped for the type of reaction she got from the zith; it showed that it wasn’t completely broken by its experience. While having a slave was one thing, she didn’t want a soulless, hollow, shell of a being. If she wanted that, she would have simply threw a leash on one of her nuit test subjects and pulled it around with her. The fact that it struck then relented showed it that either it was too weak to maintain the attack or it realized the situation and perhaps was accepting it.

“Enough games. I’ll call that little stunt a freebie. Now,do you or don’t you understand what I am saying?” Ialari said as she rubbed her neck and leaned back. The zith nodded in response and said in a deep voice accentuated by a light growl, “Yes, most of it."

Ialari raised an eyebrow and said, “Good. Do you have a name, something I can call you without having to make something up?”

The zith raised its face to look at her and said, “I am called, Va’al.”

Ialari couldn’t help but feel that things were going much better than she had originally expected. However she was still oblivious to the fact that the zith was under the affects of its gnosis as was she. “Va’al, my name is Ialari. Now that we have that out of the way, you are still hurt and there is a chance that the wound could get worse. For now, you’ll take it easy.” She moved over to the half-barrel with the fish and pulled it over to Va’al. “You’ll need to eat and rest. Later, we’ll talk about what I want from you. Right now though, I am tired, hurt and need to sleep as well.” Ialari was feeling a bit awkward and more than little uncomfortable with how easy the whole encounter was going. Although she was leery of the zith and its strange acceptance of its situation, she found herself somewhat eased by its presence. This in itself was causing conflict against the distaste and hatred she felt from the many years growing up hearing terrible stories about the horrific things zith had done and were capable of. The zith’s gnosis however was stronger and Ialari unconsciously loosened her grip on her otherwise negative feelings.

Scooting back further from the zith, she wanted to leave him where he was and return to her Dominion. That however was more than even the effects of Ranuri could make Ialari feel comfortable with. She was not ready to reveal such a thing to this creature not to mention the fact that the bodies of its kin were there. Taking her dagger, she moved to the other side of the firepit and stretched out her bedroll. She would deal with her wounds later. For the time being she needed sleep. Yes, sleep, maybe that was what was clouding her mind so much.

[Ialari Pythone]

As Ialari laid down to sleep, she had a bit more trouble attaining it than she thought she would; her mind all too busy. What in Izurdin's is wrong with you? First you tend to this thing's wounds then you feed it? What next? It planned to rape you or eat you or both and now you work to save and restore it? Something is not right here. You were ready to torture and kill it one minute then the next you do a one-eighty? It was that same voice; the voice that was her yet not her at once. If it hadn't been so helpful to her for so long she would likely have realized just how mentally disturbed she was. For now however, she fully engaged with her own self-conversation. Perhaps I've changed. Wait, no, I still feel it, deep down. Of course you do, you want to see this thing suffer for what it did to you. You want to see it pay the ultimate price. I can't though. There's something else. Ah, yes, something else is going on here. Maybe...maybe it's that mark the thing's got; it has to be divine. If it's not, if it's just a mundane mark, a tribal tatoo or something, and you're fine. If it is a mark, you're in a corner. You're the one who decided to vocalize a deal with the gods for this animal based solely on a strange mark you thought was divine. It is divine though, I know it. If it is or isn't matters not at this point. You've already called for a deal. What, will you back out of the deal now? Take a chance of angering the divine? What do you think will happen then? No, you'll have to figure out a way to resolve your own internal conflict. The two voices blended so easily, it was hard for Ialari to separate hers from not hers. Or perhaps she didn't want them to be separate. I truly am losing my mind.

Ialari slowly drifted off to sleep; the exhaustion, both mentally and physically, finally overwhelmed her. Even as Nysel took her, Ialari's hand was closed around her dagger, her caution still active even though Va'al's mark of Nikali was still influencing her. The dreams that came to her were more nightmarish than comforting. Though buried by her own willpower with the aid of Izurdin following her terrible physical, mental and spiritual violation by the ten shattered souls of Amir Berliotz, the unfathomably evil memories of deeds so foul that they condemned a soul to Dira's personal ministering still leaked out of their subconscious prison. Terrible enough when re-experienced in nightmares, if such memories ever permanently escaped it would quite possibly be one of Ialari's greatest challenges ever.

Ialari was dressed in the red garb of one of the Seven Robes. She was herself but not herself as she relived a memory "gifted" to her by Berliotz. She stood in an unfamiliar room. The walls and floors were bare of adornment though blanketed with various glyphs of warding. Before her was a door baring familiar patterns, shapes and lines etched around its frame and focused in the center of the door itself. She recognized it as a Dominion Door. Although he mind was her own, she went along for the ride in Berliotz's body without control. She was a spectator of sorts except she could sense everything that was happening as if she were there when it did. Her hand reached out and opened the door. Through Berliotz's eyes, she saw a vast expanse of luscious grasslands that seemed to go on forever. The grass was greener than it had any right to be and the sight of it was so sharp, so detailed, that it was almost hypnotizing. Ialari felt herself step through the doorway. Looking up, she saw a sky that was bluer than it should be and its depth was such that one could easily lose themselves in the layers of perfect color.

Looking down again at the grass, Ialari watched in wonder as it withered and died in a large radius around her. She wanted to feel horrified but she was not she, she was him, the one whose memories she shared. So instead, she felt almost amused. Ialari presently and Berliotz in the past both knew how a Dominion responds to the nature of the Domineer and as they both walked forward onto the endless grasslands, they watched as the Dominion responded.

Ialari heard herself speak with Berliotz's voice, "If I'm correct, this is the right one." They both looked around and Ialari noticed something she had not seen moments before. A figure, dressed in tattered rags, crawled through the tall grass just a few yards away. Walking toward it, Ialari saw that it was a human male perhaps in his middle years of life. He was dirty, battered and beaten and looked as though he hadn't eaten for many days. His legs looked to be hopelessly shattered as they twisted in multiple directions. Standing next to the man now and looking down at him, Ialari heard Berliotz chuckle dryly and say, "So, you are still alive, how interesting. It doesn't look like it will be for much longer though, does it. Unless of course this place doesn't allow you to die. Oh, how fantastic it would be if it just kept you on the brink of death but never let you meet it."

The man looked up at Berliotz and reached a frail looking hand. He tried to speak but it appeared that his tongue had been cut out long ago. Berliotz laughed as he turned back toward the door and began walking away. Before he exited, he said back to the man, "Maybe I'll come back in a few days and check on you. Or maybe not." Ialari was left with the impression that he never did go back to check on the man. She also got the impression that the man had somehow been related to Berliotz, perhaps a son.

The nightmare ended and Ialari was finally allowed some amount of restful sleep.

[Ialari Pythone]

While Ialari slept, Va’al remained awake. His groin was on fire with pain and burning although the poultice Ialari applied was keeping it somewhat manageable. He laid there for quite some time and watched Ialari as she slept. As he stared at her half-naked, covered in wounds body, he tried to awaken his hatred of her. She had killed his brothers and both hurt and humiliated him. Though barely an adult at 10 years of age, he was a decent hunter and fighter. His colony consisted of multiple families and hunted among the various humanoid tribes that moved around southern Syliras and northern Cyphrus. Back in his colony he had females and was the first to feed after a successful hunt. But now, after what this strange, black-armed woman had done, he lost it all. No female would have him now. He would be seen as inferior and weak. He would be pitied and reduced to feeding last; fighting other scavengers for scraps. He would be treated only slightly better than the typical slave. A slave, which was now what he was and this Ialari, she now claimed ownership of him. Her words were difficult to follow and her accent was thick. She was not like any of the humans he had hunted before. He was able to understand the general idea of what she was saying and her hand gestures helped but she was still so strange, so alien.

Her arm, the one she used to hurt him with, it frightened and amazed him. It was stronger than he was, stronger than anything he had ever known. It was black and the silver veins that stood out from it, it was not normal. The woman’s appearance, it too was odd. The same raised silver veins crackled across her body and her weight. Va’al remembered his fight with her and how solid and impossibly heavy she was even though her size was so much smaller.

He tried to hate her enough to defy anything she would want of him. The hate was there, he truly did not like her but he couldn’t muster defiance. He wanted to shout out, “NO!” and fly away as fast as he could. However, even at that moment as he wished for such a thing, the desire faded and vanished.

Unknown to Va’al, his gnosis from Nikali was fully activated. It was empowered after Ialari claimed ownership of him and the deal was sealed when he grabbed her after having his wrists unbound. He saw at that moment what Ialari needed and there was a need beginning to grow inside him to give her what she needed even if he wanted to kill her. It was a confusing feeling but one that he had little to no control over.

As for his mark, the acquisition of it came to mind as he tried to come to grips with his current situation. It was a few days ago, just before he and his brothers set out on their ill-fated hunt. They had spent the day sleeping some ruins over grown with weeds and nestled against a handful of trees. Va’al awoke first and stepped outside just before sundown. He stretched luxuriously and yawned widely. He turned his head slightly to the side and saw something surprising. Standing just a couple of feet away stood a completely nude, pale-skinned woman wearing a black, featureless mask. The woman’s body was flawless and pristine. Va’al didn’t know what to do. His limbs wouldn’t respond and he was unable to make a sound. The strange naked woman proceeded to slowly and strangely sensually walk around him as if sizing him up for something. She touched him with a single finger and traced it around his chest, over his shoulders, across his back and then down to his buttocks. It was there that she traced something into his skin. She never said a word to him yet he felt meaning enter his mind through her touch. She was giving him something that would help him later. Then, just as abruptly as she appeared, she was gone.

The strange woman had given him the odd red mark and filled him with an understanding that it would somehow help him. Seeing where he was now and what was happening to him, he couldn’t help but wonder if what the pale woman gave him had helped him survive his encounter with Ialari. Could the pale woman have known what was going to happen? The idea of gods and religion was a foreign concept to Va’al otherwise he may have tried to dig further for meaning to it all. Instead, pain, fatigue and hunger won out. Va’al turned his gaze from the now sleeping Ialari to the barrel next to him. He peered into it and saw the large fish. He reached in and poked at it a couple of times. It moved slightly, barely alive after sitting in the barrel for several hours. With both hands now, Va’al reached in and grabbed hold of the catfish. It was too weak to put up much of a struggle as the zith took a large bit out of its underbelly. It had been a couple of days since he last ate and through the pain and fear he was experiencing, the hunger had boiled over. He devoured the fish, stripping its scale-less flesh from the bone.

It took Va’al little time to reduce the catfish to little more than a skeleton with a few final, slimy scraps hanging from it. Tossing it aside, he felt the metal band around his neck and followed it to the chain that ran to down to the stone that held it. He tested it a pulling against it. The stone was too heavy for him to move and the chain, though a little rusty, would not give. He couldn’t get his fingers around the metal band either. He then reached behind him and felt the netting wrapped around his wings. It didn’t feel very secure so he made an attempt at untangling it. He watched Ialari for any signs that she may wake and notice. She never woke and after a few moments of fidgeting with the netting, he had it removed from his wings. He then took the opportunity to stretch them. Of course he couldn’t move from a sitting position thanks both to the chain restricting his movement and the pain in his groin but at least he could stretch his wings and find some small amount of added comfort.

Va’al didn’t know if he would be punished or not for removing the netting but after feeling the relief of having it off, he would accept any repercussion. Now that he was a little more comfortable and no longer hungry, he allowed himself to lay back down and reach for sleep.

[Ialari Pythone]

When Ialari awoke, the small fire in the pit had died and the sun had long since set. She wasn’t certain but it appeared as though she may have slept for four or five hours. It wasn’t nearly enough. While she felt a little better after having rested, her nightmare plagued sleep prevented her from fully recharging. She didn’t remember any of her dreams but she knew they weren’t pleasant. Stretching her legs, one by one followed by her arms, poor sleep could be felt throughout her body. Ialari looked across the now fireless pit to see Va’al was still asleep. Hoping that he was as exhausted as she had been and still somewhat was, she slowly and as quietly as possible, stood. She stretched again, the aches in her body lightly throbbing. Carefully, she walked around the firepit and toward the Dominion door. Ialari looked over her shoulder to make sure Va’al was still asleep. Noting that he was, she slowly slipped the key into the lock, turned it, opened the door just enough to slip in and entered.

Stepping inside, Ialari was greeted by the infinite grasslands of the Ukalas; reminiscent of her first time entering as well as that experienced many times over by her “mentor” Amir Berliotz. She pulled the door almost closed behind her, stopped only by a small rock that left it open but a few inches. The barrage of impossible beauty poured down upon Ialari though she stood strong. While it never ceased that she was placed in awe by the experience, she was becoming accustomed to the dramatic difference between the mortal realm and the divine. It did however cause a moderate headache to erupt within and brought her a short pause until it passed.

When her mind eased, Ialari stood unable to move from the sheer awe of what happened next. The grasslands began to warp as the grasslands began to curl upward to surround her. Her Dominion remained intact while the rest of surroundings grew up and over her. The grass sank into the bare earth. The dirt was parted by stone as Ialari was soon surrounded by a large cavern of bare stone. The air around her also changed from a slight breeze carrying the smell of grass and flowers to the crisp, cool, earthy taste of a subterranean realm. Light slipped through a number of small crevices in the ceiling creating a dim, comforting glow to Ialari’s eyes. The temperature was cool but not cold, just like her mountain home in the Isurian Kingdom of Sultros.

A smile slowly spread across her face. Her studies of Dominion revealed how it could react and respond to the Domineer, growing and changing along with the Domineer’s skill as the two grew closer to one another. Although she had no control over what was happening, she couldn’t help but allow the joy and pleasure fill her with what was happening. Of course, always present was the great Tree of Death just out of reach; the bodies of numerous Ialari’s hanging from its branches. This did little to dim her experience though as she marveled at her new surroundings. Having almost forgot, she turned around to look for the two bodies of the zith she left there earlier. They were there, lying against the cavern wall on either side of the door where she last put them.

She walked over to the cavern wall. Raising her metallic arm, she reached her hand into the stone. She reached in deep, almost up to her shoulder. Dragging her arm through the stone as if it were little more than mud, she carved out the shape of a slab, roughly five feet long and three feet wide. She pushed and pulled the stone, sculpting and shaping until a large flat slab was pulled forth, sliding from the wall to the ground with a solid thud. Getting on one side of it, she rolled it over so that the flatter side faced up. She then slid it closer to the center of her available Dominion space. With her full arm, she ran it across the surface in order to further smooth it. With the slab in a satisfactory condition, she turned then to one of the zith corpses. She approached it, reached down, took hold of one of its arms and dragged it over to the slab. Reaching the slab she lifted and laid it down. She stretched it out so that the wings were folded underneath; its arms were positioned at its sides with its legs straight and slightly parted.

The zith, one with long grey hair, was the one Ialari had stabbed in the gut before dragging the blade down to its groin. This left the corpse barely able to contain its innards. Its face was twisted and broken from the rock that she struck it with. Ialari began talking aloud to her Dominion as she gave a cursory examination to the corpse. “Something you should know about me, I rather enjoy study and experimentation. While I would prefer this thing to be living so that I could pull any possible information of any use from its mouth, dead is almost as good. The body itself holds many secrets just waiting to be uncovered. Discovery sometimes requires one to do unpleasant things.” Ialari took hold of the zith’s head with one hand and used the other to open its mouth. She used her finger to poke around inside, moving its tongue around while examining its teeth. Most of them were sharp, used for biting and tearing, while some of the back ones were flatter to help with grinding. Of course there were several missing and teeth from where the rock Ialari threw had shattered them but there were still more than she would have thought. With her metallic hand, she plucked, one by one, each tooth before placing them on the open part of the slab. When she had the rest of her tools and gear she would do more to separate and store them but for now, the whole process was somewhat therapeutic for her.

“There is strength in life and vitality yet one can also find knowledge and power in death.” Ialari wanted to continue her toying with the body but she didn’t have all that she needed as far as tools and materials and she had other pressing matters outside. She was feeling better though as she always did after spending time in her Dominion but it still wasn't quite enough. Standing there over the body of the zith, Ialari couldn't help but think about the story her mother used to tell her about the birth of the first Isur. Oddly enough, her brief examination of the body made her think about exactly how Izurdin created King Izurith. She shared the memory with her Dominion as she spoke it aloud.

"One of the things I think I miss most about home is my mother. When I was a child, I always wanted her to tell me the same story over and over again. It was the story of King Izurith, the first Isur. Izurdin saw all the damage that the other gods were doing to the first humans by twisting and molding them so as to better serve whatever divine whims the gods had in mind. The Divine Father wanted to somehow change the direction the humans were going in but didn't want to directly interfere with his divine brethren. So, always the builder, he set out to construct something to act in his stead; to act as an example for the humans to follow." Ialari could still hear her mother's voice. The morbid aspect of her talking about memories of a children's story while standing over a dead, mangled body didn't even enter her mind. The exhaustion mixed with pain and mental stress combined with loneliness was having no small effect on her mind.

"He carved from a chunk of divine stone harvested from Izurdin's own realm. With his hammer and chisel, the Father carved a humanoid skeleton from the rock. With a piece of silver, he formed the muscles and sinew that would cover the skeleton. After having granted the stone skeleton muscle, he used his own reflection in the silver to inspire skin to crawl its way over the figure. The flesh was as mine is now, a mirror of Izurdin's own. One of the figure's arms hadn't been covered in flesh though so Izurdin touched it causing the silver to flake away. It was replaced by a surface of pure ruby. Then, breaking off a piece of his own heart, Izurdin placed it into the figure and granted it life. From there, he sent his child out into the world to teach and hopefully lead the early humans down a different path than what they were on. In the process, King Izurith himself created his own children in a way similar to the Divine Father which brought into existence my people." Ialari sighed heavily. She was feeling more than a little conflicted. The desire to discover new things and create even greater things such as her Dominion seemed to always be tied, in some part, to death and decay. The things she loved could never escape the things she hated.

Unable to justify spending any more time in her Dominion, Ialari sighed heavily again and walked back to the door. She then stepped through it back to what lay behind it.

[Ialari Pythone]

Before Ialari had entered her Dominion, she took note of how Va’al had removed the netting from his wings. The fact that he hadn’t gone anywhere while she had slept earlier told Ialari that the chain and collar were more than enough. Upon exiting her Dominion, the coolness of the night caused Ialari a slight chill so she put on her philterer’s robe for warmth. Va'al was still asleep while she chewed on smoked seabird meat and leaned against The Retreat while she waited for him to wake. She didn’t have to wait long. The sun was still a few hours from rising when Va’al woke up. His eyes slowly fluttered open and he painfully sat up. The way he was laying did not help the overall pain he was feeling. The burning between his legs was a constant reminder of his situation as did the chain that prevented him from doing anything else but sit.

Ialari finished off her last bite and took a couple steps forward. Va’al looked up at her, gave a short, distasteful grunt and looked away. While he was still strangely drawn to the idea of doing whatever she said, he couldn’t help but feel no small amount of distaste for her. For Ialari’s part, while should couldn’t shake the strange allure that she was drawn to when she looked at Va’al, she also couldn’t shake the thought that he was still a wild animal.

The awkward moment was broken when Ialari spoke while motioning to Va’al’s now free wings, “I see you’re awake and a bit more comfortable. I trust your fish was filling?” Va’al ignored her while fidgeting with the dirt and grass. With a shrug, Ialari continued both with words and hand gestures, “You don’t have to speak, just listen. I spared your life, you are mine. I don’t need a slave. Slaves are for the lazy and weak. I require assistance.” She started to pace absently around the campsite as she spoke. All the while she kept looking at Va’al, looking for and studying any reactions. “I am alone here and out of my element. I am not a hunter and scavenging food takes too much time with little reward. I need food and you will help me with that. Also, as you and your kind have proven, there is great danger lurking just out of sight. I need an extra pair of eyes to watch over this place. You will be those eyes. This place is very special to me but I can’t defend it alone. You will help protect this place and you will help protect me.” Ialari continued to look for a reaction. Meanwhile, as she spoke, Va’al looked up from time to time but didn’t interrupt; he did however continue toying with the dirt beneath him.

“Now, why should you do this? Why should you not just leap into the air and fly away the moment you’re released from the chain? You could do that. You could leave and never return. But where will you go? You are of no use to your kind anymore. Females will be of no use to you. Males will see you as their lesser. Face it, I’m all you got left. Serve me and I will reward you. Defy me and I will punish.” Ialari laid it out the best she could and in as simplest of terms as she could. She emphasized her words with simple hand gestures that conveyed the key points of what she was saying.

Va’al listened and watched her move. His grasp on the Common Tongue came from the few slaves that his small colony kept. It was just below a basic understanding but the hand gestures Ialari used helped. What he heard and understood was, “Why? Why not flee? You are alone. Females and males will turn on you. I’m all you have. Do well and be treated well. Do bad and be treated bad.” Still unknown to Va’al and Ialari as well was the fact that as Ialari spoke, Va’al’s gnosis mark was quite active. Her words only helped to strengthen the strange bond between the two. Their dislike and fear of each other was the surface of it all while the divine magic worked in the background.

“Now you are informed. Next, I need to change your bandages.” Ialari pointed to Va’als groin while holding up a jar containing the poultice mixture. “Also, I need you to eat this, it will help.” She then held up the blue paste made from the brinetooth. Va'al remained motionless for a few moments longer before reaching out and taking the poultice. As he sniffed it, grimaced a bit and then cautiously tasted it, Ialari asked, "By the way, that mark, where did you get it?" Ialari pointed to where Va'als gnosis mark was. The zith's eyes met Ialari's as he muttered a single word, "Nikali."

[Ialari Pythone]

Ialari remained silent for a moment. She knew the mark was divine in origin and had suspicions of who it could be from but now that it was confirmed, she wasn't entirely sure how to feel. As to not seem weak or confused, she quickly returned tot he moment. She frowned a bit and said sternly, "I know, they stink and taste bad. They are both good for you though. You need them to heal."

Va'al understood from Ialari, "Stink and heal." He was rather crude and primitive in many ways but Va'al was not stupid. Though his kind were quite bestial and animalistic by nature, they were known to adapt quickly to new situations due to their extreme curiosity toward new and strange experiences as well as a passion for learning. It was those traits when combined with a potent reproductive capability and joy of the hunt that made the zith as a race a potent threat.

It was Va'al's curiosity that was being tickled the longer he was around Ialari. That curiosity, though not diminishing his distaste for her, was quickly overriding his desire to flee or even cause her undo harm. He and his kin attacked her. They were quite set on raping and eating her. She fought back, killed the other two and seriously hurt him. Yet now she stood before him having unbound his wrists, fed him and was no attempting to treat the very wound she created. Ialari's actions defied what Va'al considered what should have been the reality of the situation. He should be dead. Instead, this strange woman was looking for him to help her and in exchange she meant to help him. Confused yet still painfully curious, he leaned back and allowed Ialari access to change his wound dressing.

Ialari cautiously approached. Her dagger was tucked into the belt of her skirt as she slowly knelt down next to Va'al. Speaking slowly with some hand gestures, Ialari told him, "This is going to hurt. I suggest you keep your claws to yourself though else I will break them."

What Va'al heard and understood was, This will hurt. Strike me and get broken." It sounded rather threatening yet Va'al understood the basic concept behind tending to wounds. It often hurt more before it got better. In response to Ialari, Va'al gave a single nod of his head accompanied by a mildly scornful grunt.

Ialari took his response as a sign he had at least some understanding of what was going on. Slowly, Ialari began to unwrap the bandages. She used as tender of a touch as she could the closer she got to the wound. Va'al tensed up as she began to peel the bandage away from his groin to expose the poultice. His fits clenched and and his teeth began to grind as the poultice was pulled away. The wound was sticky with a bit of blood, dead skin, some fur and pieces of the poultice. Although it looked very unpleasant, Ialari could see no real signs of infection setting in. She set to cleaning the wound as best she could while trying to push Va'al's pain tolerance to its breaking point.

For Va'al, the whole process was immensely painful. He couldn't even open his eyes due to the horrible sensations that were shooting from his groin and spider-webbing throughout his lower body. He wanted to kick Ialari away from him, scratch her eyes out, fly away, do anything to get away from the pain yet he was paralyzed by it. What he didn't know was his gnosis mark was responding to the physical contact with Ialari. It was the mark that paralyzed him. Ialari needed to be able to tend to Va'al's wounds as a part of her perceived deal with Nikali and her unrealized need for some form of companionship while in the wilds by herself. That need was transferred to Va'al and his mind and body were unconsciously answering. It was then that something strange happened. Piercing its way through the pain, acting on Va'al's reaction to Ialari's hidden (to herself) need, was a morbid sense of pleasure. By not pushing Ialari away, by allowing her to help him, Va'al was helping her and through his gnosis mark was being rewarded. While the pain he felt was very real, the pleasant sensation he was feeling was more of a mental thing. It was not unlike the feeling one received after ingesting a stimulating drug.

When Ialari had finished cleaning the wound, she reapplied another poultice and re-bandaged the wound with a mix of the old, cleaner bandages and a few new ones. She had a limited amount of very basic medical supplies from her kit so tried to use them as sparingly as possible.

When she was finished, she wiped her hands on a scrap piece of cloth and said, "All finished. You took that well. It's healing but not very fast. Here, you need to eat this. It will help make you stronger and could speed up the healing process." She held out a scoop of the brinetooth paste. The boost it would give to his strength and vitality she hoped would work side-by-side with the poultice to help the healing. She didn't know how fast zith healed their wounds but what limited knowledge she did have of medicine told her that if she could maintain his strength and overall health, his body would respond in kind and work harder to fight infection and heal itself.

Va'al again heard and understood from what Ialari said, "Done. Looking better. Eat this to get strong and heal." He looked at the clump of blue paste in her hand. It did not look appetizing and it smelled bad. With some amount of hesitation, Va'al slowly reached out to Ialari's open hand. He paused and watched her to see if she was going to do anything else. When she didn't, he took the paste from Ialari and brought it to his nose. He sniffed it again before turning his head in disgust. Looking at it again, he forced himself to finally bring it back to his mouth. He licked at it once, smacked his lips a bit at the somewhat off-putting taste and then finally plunged it in his mouth. After no small amount of effort, he finally swallowed it and used his tongue to clear the rest out of his mouth. It took a couple of minutes after but he felt a slight flush form followed by a small boost of energy; signs that the paste was already working.

Ialari moved back away from Va'al and put the medical supplies away. She was really beginning to feel the effects of hunger. She needed to go find some more food. The meager foodstuffs she had left were almost gone. Gathering up a few things to take with her, Va'al watched her the whole time. When she was finally ready to head out, she turned to Va'al and said, "I need to go gather some things. I'll be back later."

Va'al watched Ialari gather a few things in a pack and sling it over her shoulder. When she spoke to him, he heard, "Going out to gather. Return later." He took it as Ialari going out on a hunt. It was something he recognized rather well. As she left, it occurred to Va'al that he would likely not be returning to his colony any time soon if ever. That being the case, he wondered if they would miss him at all. It was however not all that uncommon for members of the colony not to return from a hunt. Hunts were dangerous. One could get seriously hurt or even die while trying to take down their prey. While hunts usually didn't result in outright deaths of members of the hunting party, injuries were common and from those injuries death would sometimes occur. Of course, there were always younglings ready to step up and take over for the missing and lost. Va'al still couldn't help but toy with the idea of what it would be like for him not having a colony to go home to. The thought was sad but also intriguing. The very question of it all was a curious one; one he was gradually growing more eager to explore.

[Gossamer]

The Fates Have Spoken
Here is your thread grade!

Chatacter: Ialari Pythone
Experience Awarded: Observation +5, Planning +5, Medicine +4, Blacksmithing +1, Rhetoric +4, Dominion +2
Lores Awarded:
Dominion: Spending a long time in the Ukalas has unknown long-term consequences.
Dominion: Time spent in the Ukalas can produce body aches and pains
Blacksmithing: Forming a metal leash without a fire
Medicine: Making Poultices
Medicine: Bandaging wounds
Rhetoric: Attempting to Communicate with a Zith
Nikali: What Nikali’s Gnosis Mark looks like
Nikali: What A Singular Mark of Nikali Does
Berliotz: One of the Seven Robes
Berliotz: Through dreams knowing where one of his dominion doors is
Medicine: Zith anatomy
Rhetoric: Convincing a Slave to be a Slave
Observation: Spotting a Gnosis Mark
Medicine: Changing Bandages
Medicine: Using Brinetooth Paste


Notes: This was another great diverse thread from you. I appreciate your fantasy realism and the fact that you portray your PC as beautifully flawed and unskilled. It's nice reading these series of threads to see how she's slowly growing as a Dominion mage and learning the ropes of being out on her own away from her society. Even taking a slave for her is awkward and she struggles through it but not without hickups.

As always PM me if you have issues.