Ialari chose to set aside a day to spend doing nothing but enjoying the comfort of her Dominion. While she used to do this quite often over the years, since her arrival in Riverfall and The Sanctuary she hadn’t spent as much time with her Dominion as she normally did. Part of bonding and communing with one’s Dominion involved spending time there, breathing the air, experiencing the sights and sharing one’s thoughts with it. While the Dominion itself wasn’t necessarily sentient, it did react to the Domineer’s presence over time by slowly shaping itself to suit the mage while also sharing a bit of itself as well. Ialari would often commune with her Dominion by just speaking aloud. She would talk about her thoughts, feelings, how her day went, things she had learned; it didn’t really matter what she talked about though. Whatever the topic, it gave her the sense that there was somebody on the other side, listening.
Ialari sat on the large stone overlooking the small pool of water in her Dominion. Sunlight shined down through a fissure in the ceiling, illuminating and providing a bit of comforting warmth. Arith and Reth, her two snakes, lay out on the rock as well, basking in the heat. Ialari looked on them with pride in knowing that it was her blood that had given the creatures life. As she gazed upon their jet black scales, she recalled all that she knew of snakes. They were truly amazing creatures. All of their qualities and features were such that Ialari’s family had, many centuries ago, taken on the name, Pythone, in honor of the serpent. As Ialari sat with her snakes, she began talking not only to them but also to the Dominion itself. It was a therapeutic exercise but at the same time she thought that perhaps by sharing her knowledge of snakes, maybe the Dominion would be more pliable to shaping it to better suit them.
“Did you know that snakes possess senses that are different than any other animals. See, animals rely on their senses of smell and touch.” She lightly brushed her hand down the length of Reth, the larger of the two snakes. “As you know...” She directed her some of her words to Reth, “Snakes do not have actual eyelids. Instead they have clear caps on the eyes that protect them. Also, they do not have ears like other animals. There’s a bone that can detect sound vibrations.” She thought about it a moment and continued, “I always wondered what it would be like to be able to actually feel sound instead of hearing it.” She thought that perhaps she would try to extend her senses through her Dominion to feel the sounds within as opposed to hearing them. Would it be possible? She added a mental note to attempt it in the immediate future.
She considered the way snakes used their sense of smell. Snakes, while having nostrils, do not smell like other animals. “The snake’s tongue is used in place of a nose for smelling. They smell their prey or enemies.” Ialari took a deep breath through her nose and then stuck out her tongue to taste the air. It tasted moist, but there was no smell other than what she detected through her breath. Yet another sense she would have to try channeling through the Dominion. She wondered if she may be able to actually taste the air through her Dominion and have it provided the same feelings that smelling did. It was a lofty goal but she learned long ago that in the Ukalas, nothing was impossible.
Ialari sat on the large stone overlooking the small pool of water in her Dominion. Sunlight shined down through a fissure in the ceiling, illuminating and providing a bit of comforting warmth. Arith and Reth, her two snakes, lay out on the rock as well, basking in the heat. Ialari looked on them with pride in knowing that it was her blood that had given the creatures life. As she gazed upon their jet black scales, she recalled all that she knew of snakes. They were truly amazing creatures. All of their qualities and features were such that Ialari’s family had, many centuries ago, taken on the name, Pythone, in honor of the serpent. As Ialari sat with her snakes, she began talking not only to them but also to the Dominion itself. It was a therapeutic exercise but at the same time she thought that perhaps by sharing her knowledge of snakes, maybe the Dominion would be more pliable to shaping it to better suit them.
“Did you know that snakes possess senses that are different than any other animals. See, animals rely on their senses of smell and touch.” She lightly brushed her hand down the length of Reth, the larger of the two snakes. “As you know...” She directed her some of her words to Reth, “Snakes do not have actual eyelids. Instead they have clear caps on the eyes that protect them. Also, they do not have ears like other animals. There’s a bone that can detect sound vibrations.” She thought about it a moment and continued, “I always wondered what it would be like to be able to actually feel sound instead of hearing it.” She thought that perhaps she would try to extend her senses through her Dominion to feel the sounds within as opposed to hearing them. Would it be possible? She added a mental note to attempt it in the immediate future.
She considered the way snakes used their sense of smell. Snakes, while having nostrils, do not smell like other animals. “The snake’s tongue is used in place of a nose for smelling. They smell their prey or enemies.” Ialari took a deep breath through her nose and then stuck out her tongue to taste the air. It tasted moist, but there was no smell other than what she detected through her breath. Yet another sense she would have to try channeling through the Dominion. She wondered if she may be able to actually taste the air through her Dominion and have it provided the same feelings that smelling did. It was a lofty goal but she learned long ago that in the Ukalas, nothing was impossible.