Amethystra Pt. 02

2

Ravin opened the door to the Temple of the Black Bride. Louhi, the young upstart deity in the Ayrosian Pantheon, had come to prominence centuries past for her seizure of the Fates, the three demigoddesses that (supposedly) had a hand in every event, major and minor, across the world. Though Ravin didn't know the particular events that led an Ascended mortal to acquire the Fates as her, for lack of a better term, concubines, she liked to imagine it was a great work of seduction.

Of course, for Ravin, everything was a great work of seduction.

The massive blackwood doors whispered open without a sound in the early night, for she hadn't bothered rapping with the ivory rings suspended from the giant doors, which were artistically placed to appear as piercings on the relief of a woman's face on both doors. She had simply let herself in. After all, should a house of any deity be welcoming to any mortal who sought their presence?

Ravin had business with the Church of Louhi anyhow, and with her dear friend and erstwhile lover waiting for her outside, she meant to be quick about it. Wolf, the massive man from the Gol Mountains, was patient, but after a while would grow restless and seek amusement, which did not always bode well for the interests of their professional pursuits.

Ravin and Wolf were the sole owners and operators of the Ravinwolf Guild, a band of hunters that was spreading far and wide into new chapters by the month in pursuit of fame, gold, and glory. They were professional monster hunters, though the occasional brigand or scoundrel often fell into that category, depending on their transgressions. Gone were the days when Ravin and Wolf would go from town to town looking for contracts to kill a band of goblins or a marauding wyvern. Now, powers sought out the Ravinwolves, making business a matter of spreading their name rather than seeking monsters to prove their value.

Moonlight filtered into the temple through slits in the roof and translucent windows that scattered the cold, silvery light throughout the worship hall. It was barren for now, with the exception of a single robed figure busily rubbing a cloth over the statue of the Black Bride herself. Louhi had been carved from some white stone and melded—magically, no doubt—with black stone that served as her cloak, shrouding her from the shoulders down. Her face, smooth and featureless save for her pointed chin, blank eyes, and neutral lips, looked out between the two rows of thin, almost spindly columns that reached for the darkened ceiling. Ravin looked up and could only see the slits in the ceiling offering the slightest peak into the night's sky.

"Leave," a voice said, echoing through the barren chamber. The Temple of the Black Bride was sparse and small compared to some of the others in this part of Amethystra, which Ravin thought was fitting. Ravin's gaze left the ceiling and saw a surprisingly brightly clothed woman approaching her with slow, measured steps. The acolyte cleaning the statue was gone.

Ravin, dressed still in her road leathers, bowed, and for a moment wished she had taken a moment to bathe before visiting this person of power. There had been plenty of opportunities: public bath houses, taverns with open showers outside, and even some of the temples on the way to this one were all lit up and inviting for the half-elf. She felt self-conscious of her feminine musk, but kept the feeling to herself as she stood up again.

"Well met, High Priestess Del'Sade," Ravin said. "I am Ravin Myradin. I trust word of my visitation preceded my arrival?"

"Indeed," the woman said, smiling brightly. Her auburn hair was pulled back behind her shoulders in thick curls, and her freckled face beamed even in the darkness. "The Lady Darvolest touched my mind with her magic only three days ago. I'm surprised you are here so swiftly."

"We came from Haven," Ravin said, referencing a small, independent city on the other side of the Hordelands from where she now stood.

"You rode through? What a journey!" The woman nearly squealed with glee. "You must tell me of it once our business is ended, nay?"

"As you please," Ravin said, smiling finally. "I regret my state, though. I am yet filthy from the road, and here you are beaming and beautiful in the darkness."

"It is where I shine the brightest," the priestess said, bowing her head in thanks for the compliment and blushing slightly. "But I should put you at ease. You are far from the filthiest creature to grace these chambers, unless said filth resides in your mind and not upon your flesh."

Ravin smirked at her. Flirtation aside, High Priestess Del'Sade was beautiful. Shapely, elegant, with freckles that each demanded their own kiss, one for each tiny speckle beneath her cheeks. Silently, she tamped down on her wandering thoughts. Business first, lust later.

"My cohort, Elica Darvolest, names you as sister, and assures me you would be capable of arranging a meeting with the local Lord, Lady, Duchess, or whomever rules this region. This is, of course, for the further business of the Ravinwolf Guild of Monster and Brigand Hunters, and you would be paid a fee for your troubles."

"She and I are sisters, of a sort. In faith, if nothing else," the high priestess said. "I can arrange what you seek, and no payment will be required. The Lady of Fate cares naught for worldly wealth, nor does her servant." She spread her hands to indicate herself. "I do insist upon one thing. You may consider it payment, if you like, but I fear it is not something I can compromise on."

"I am at your mercy," Ravin said, smiling as the high priestess closed the distance to her. She held her breath for a moment as Del'Sade placed her hands on Ravin's hips. She thrilled at the connection and delighted that they were the same height. That could prove convenient.

"You need a bath," was all the woman said before turning and walking away. Ravin felt her heart fall and the tension that had built over the last few breaths dissipate into nothingness.

That is, until High Priestess Del'Sade stopped at the doorway to the right of the altar, looking over her shoulder as her robe fell to the ground, revealing her pale, freckled skin, white undergarments, and the kind of backside that made Ravin want to fall to her knees.

The half-elf walked swiftly to follow the priestess, but when she passed through the doorway, the freckled woman was nowhere to be seen, even with Ravin's elf-touched vision. A hall extended before her, doors lining the wall on the left and sheets of dark glass standing tall and narrow to her right. She walked through the darkened hallway, the panes of glass diminishing the moonlight so much that even with her elven vision she struggled to see details on the wall.

Ravin reached out to feel the wall on her left, knowing from the exterior of the temple that it would end, and the hall would turn left. Her fingers curled around the corner just as her vision failed her. She stopped just as a warm form pressed against her, bare breasts against her leather-sheathed chest and hot breath against her neck.

"Come," High Priestess Del'Sade breathed, one hand sliding slowly down her arm to take her hand from the wall and lead her into the blackness.

A thousand feet over Amethystra, the Skystar floated, suspended thanks to the magical, elemental engine deep in the belly of the mithril and wooden beast. Up in the captain's cabin, Sky Admiral Vyse adjusted his eyepatch, a relic from his years amongst the Blue Rogues of the Heartland Skysea. It had been a long time since the Blue Rogues had usurped the royal family of Valuar, where the Valuan Sky Navy had ruled with an iron fist for centuries. The Blue Rogues were simply one of many small groups of pirates that fought for liberty and freedom from the tyranny of Queen Tedoria and her admirals.

Sky Admiral Vyse had grown up a lot since then, and the Council of Admirals had chosen him as their primary diplomat. At the age of forty-five, Vyse couldn't think of a better way to live his life. Adventure and exploration had cost him much, but he still held his youthful charm, vitality, and the empathy and compassion that had driven him to lead his fellow sky pirates in their rebellion.

Vyse sat behind his desk, staring at the bright red door that would lead him to the gleaming, sophisticated bridge of the flagship of the Valuan Navy. Thoughts of the giant floating islands hanging over all of the Heartlands filled his mind. A knock on the door broke his reverie, though, and he waved his hand. The door whispered open, allowing in a silver-haired, silver-robed woman of slight build and furtive, silver eyes.

"Fina," he said, rising from his desk.

"Am I interrupting, Admiral?" she asked.

"Vyse. Just call me Vyse."

Fina smiled at him, and her silver eyes twinkled like stars. He came around the other side of his desk and the woman, nearly as tall as him, wrapped her arms around his waist. She kissed his chest, right between the lapels of his blue jacket. Her hands came to rest on the various golden pins attached to his jacket, insignias of rank and accomplishment all.

"There is a commotion," she said into his shirt. "The foreigners are at the prow."

"This high up?" he asked. "They'll freeze out there! Can we extend the climate barrier?"

"I was told not to," Fina replied, patting his chest to calm him. "They are remarkable, the Barbarian King and his Queen."

Vyse smirked a little. "You enjoyed your discourse, I assume?"

Fina blushed, a slight pinkish flush coming to her moon-pale cheeks. "You were right to trust them," she said. "They are kind people, with generous hearts. Exactly who we would want allied with Valuar."

"Shame that they are so far away. Building a Sky Harbor here would be no mean feat, either. The Hordelands between our two lands are almost entirely hostile. We nearly lost five of our ten scout skyffs to both magic and missile."

"Not all will accept the changes you want to create," Fina said. She put a hand on Vyse's face, his stubble tickling her palm. "Amethystra has powerful magic, good people, and selfless leaders."

Vyse smiled, taking her hand in his, and kissed her forehead. "Come, let us see to this commotion."

He led Fina, one of his closest friends, out onto the bridge, where another of his dear friends had her face pressed against the enchanted glass looking out over the ship's deck.

"Aika," he said, and the orange-haired woman whipped her head around, wide eyed and grinning. "What is the meaning of this?"

Surrounding the woman, the rest of the bridge crew were glued to the glass, trying to get as good a look across the ship as possible. Vyse pushed his way through and saw the Barbarian King and the Queen Matron of Amethystra at the prow, against the railing, holding onto the rigging securing much of the ship's moving parts.

"Moons and gods," Vyse cursed. He recalled the Valuan tragedy of the Titania, a love tale between a poor lad and a wealthy noblegirl. The maidens of Valuar, and a fair number of lads, had become enamored with embracing one another at the prow of any large skyship to reenact the scene. "It was one play, written by a bard decades ago, about the largest skyship to ever sail out of Valuar, and people must re-enact the prow scene on every ship they board?"

"They're not re-enacting anything," Aika said.

"And I believe the Valuan play is based off an older tale that originated elsewhere, and did not deal with skyships at all," Fina said from Vyse's side.

"What are they doing, then?" Vyse demanded, reaching for his spyglass. He snapped it out, elongating it with a flick of his wrist, and brought it eyeward. He took a moment to get the couple properly in his sights, then snapped the eyeglass back down.

"I like them," Aika said, smirking at the Sky Admiral. The rest of the crew were nodding and laughing their agreement.

"Back to work!" Vyse snapped, thoroughly flustered. As far as he was concerned, peoples' love lives were their own to contend with, not his. But did it have to be like this?

He sighed, taking the captain's seat and putting his chin in his palm.

"Orders, admiral?" Aika asked. As his first officer, she was highly respected and adored by the crew. But Aika was ever a pirate—more than Vyse, that was for certain—and a bit of debauchery wasn't something to be chagrined at. If anything, she was prone to sauntering out there to join them.

Vyse knew she had a way with the crew, and part of that was her eagerness to enjoy life. It was the pirate's way, she told him, and while he didn't disagree, he found it somewhat vexing that, in many ways, it was Aika, not Vyse, that rallied the crew in dire situations.

Vyse looked at Aika, who had been like a sister to him growing up, and, indeed, he saw her charms. She eschewed decorum by wearing a cropped shirt that bared her midriff and a scandalous amount of cleavage. Her boots were loosely tied, and her pants were somewhat ill-fitting. If it weren't for her belt, they might fall off her, and Vyse wondered if there was intent in that design.

He didn't want to call her a slattern, but Aika was the farthest thing from a prudish woman.

"Vyse, quit staring at my tits and give an order," Aika said. Their helmsman gave a chortle.

"Buckle that down, Orm," Vyse scolded him as Aika grinned. To Aika, he said, "No orders. They want to go down in the morning, so we wait here until morning. Maintain combat readiness, keep the engine warm, and be ready to raise barriers."

"Alert status?" Aika asked, but Vyse was already shaking his head.

"For a nation of aerial explorers, we know little about this part of Ayros. Less than we know about the Plane of Air, I should think. I just want to be ready. They say the north is the land of dragons and giants."

"I'll go check the cannoneers and artillerists," Aika said, nodding.

"You're leaving the bridge?" Vyse asked, surprised.

"Aye," she said, walking down the flanking stairs to the door that would lead her belowdecks. "Don't need to stay if you're going to sit the chair!"

Vyse sighed, but he couldn't deny the tug of a smile. Nobody was better suited to their job than Aika was to hers. He loved her for that.

Fina sat next to him, where Aika would have sat, in the first officer's chair. "You are right to be cautious," she said quietly.

"You sense something?" Vyse asked. Fina's eyes were wholly silver now, gleaming like tiny moons.

"I do. But I know not what."

Aika knew the Skystar better than nearly every other person associated with it. Not only did she serve as the ship's first officer, but she had been through every duct, tube, walkway, and cabin in the massive ship. She was the flagship of Valuar and deserved to be known as intimately as Aika could possibly know a ship.

In many cases, too intimately. Lower lip pinched between her teeth, she remembered one particularly steamy evening in the engine room surrounded by magical, elemental crystals that were shaped just right.

Aika came to the second deck, which, among a few other things, housed the main battery of port- and starboard-facing cannons. Each one had glinting, hollow pipes connecting it to the massive elemental engine deeper down in the ship, infusing the cannons with greater potential for devastation. Along with that power, the cannons could fire the massive cannon balls and cannon shot arrayed behind each massive, shining weapon.

This late at night, the cannons were unmanned except for a few cannoneers keeping things in order and serving as an early response team. Among them was a newcomer, who had only gained her position in the week leading up to their departure from Valuar.

"Well met, Commander," she said when Aika approached, and the orange-haired woman felt somewhat on guard facing this woman, despite their familiarity. She was taller than Aika, as tall as Vyse at six feet in height, except for the black horns that curled back and arched upward from her brow. The black hair that would have grown from her skull was shorn down nearly to the skin, and thick black wings sprouted from her upper back. Scales served as armor across her chest and abdomen, sheathing her arms and thighs, and a thick, muscular tail protruded out from behind her.

Aika had met dragon-blooded people, but this one possessed a great deal more of her draconic ancestry than others she had met. She was all black scales and pale flesh.

"Miss Lovedrake," Aika said, stopping and placing a hand on the cannon that the half-dragon had been near.

"Lidia," she said with a smile. Her smile showed several sharp teeth. Aika realized she was holding her breath. "Everything alright, Commander?"

"Aika," she said, smiling. "And yes, all is well. Vyse wants us to maintain our readiness. I think Fina is wary of a potential threat."

Lidia smiled and shook her head. "If that is the case, then I would be surprised. I know these people. At least, a few of them. Whatever threat may have existed in or around Amethystra has been exterminated—or turned to ally, I would guess."

"You are from here?"

Lidia smiled at Aika, then beckoned her to follow her to the wide window that the cannons fired through. She leaned over, nearly all the way out. Enough that Aika thought a word of warning might be in order. But she held her tongue and followed, looking down. Lidia pointed at the southern tower of Amethystra, the one sitting high on a hill.

"There," she said. "My mother dwells there. Alluvamethystra."

Aika looked down and felt the world spin around her. No matter how much she flew, she never got used to the vertigo of looking straight down from a thousand feet or more in the air.

A hand on her backside centered her immediately, and she snapped her gaze to Lidia, who was no longer looking down, but looking at Aika, massaging her firm, athletic cheek with a terrifyingly strong hand. Aika grinned at her and spread her thighs slightly. She was rewarded with a firm, long finger slipping between her cheeks and rubbing her vulva through her leggings.

"I was wondering if you would visit me again," Lidia said as she pushed away from the railing. Aika looked over her shoulder as the half-dragon stood behind her, towering over her, and placed both hands on her hips. She felt the woman's strong fingers slip into her leggings and slip them down over her cheeks.

"Your last night aboard," Aika said over her shoulder, eyes fluttering as she felt a finger pressing against her now-bare slit. She was sodden and felt the half-dragon's digit slip through the soft petals of her flower, her meticulously trimmed hair cloying to the skin. "How could I resist," she asked in a much weaker voice.

Aika looked over her shoulder again, but she couldn't see Lidia. Rather than feeling alarm, she closed her eyes and let her head hang earthward. Her moan was brought forth by the woman's face pressing against her ass, tongue sliding along her slit, climbing to the soft skin of her anus. Aika gripped the railing all the harder as Lidia pushed her forward with her face, her tongue pressing into her hole as her strong, draconic fingers gripped the soft, pale globes of her cheeks and squeezed.

Aika felt the wind rush by her face all of a sudden, and her eyes snapped open. Immediately, her head felt like it was on a swivel and the world was spinning around her. She remained rooted, though, on the long, slithering tongue probing her backside, and the strong hands groping her cheeks. "Oh...Lidia..." she moaned, her vision losing focus on any specific feature. Her lightheadedness only added to the sensations filling her most sensitive nethers.

The tongue slithered out, leaving her feeling wanton and needful, empty even, and she felt Lidia standing behind her. She heard sibilant whispering and felt a pulse of magic between them, grinning as she anticipated what would come next. A thick, fleshy phallus pressed against her sex, the tapered, draconic tip of Lidia's conjured cock thrilling her.