Drow's Dilemma Ep. 139: Wivesmoot

She tapped the crystal eggs on the table. "Mother is powerful, but becoming a new World Tree is more than she can handle on her own. So, we have two I.D.A. units. One will be in the Branches, the other in the Roots. They will mingle in the trunk where Risa will infuse Her Divine Essence through the Leylines and the I.D.A. network to turn her Demiplane into a proper Outer Plane of her own."

The diminutive Archmage looked around proudly. "Any questions?"

The table was quiet for a while as the gathered people thought this over. Ashyr was the first to speak. "This was what Dahlia meant, then, by you two moving in here. If you succeed, then this valley will be the new headquarters of Duskhaven. Or did you want it for Norahist's Capitol?"

"Either way, if all the 'wives' and 'concubines' live here, then Caleldir's day would not be spent having to be teleported around all of Norahist. More time for everyone he has a duty to 'service,'" Dahlia concluded, looking pleased.

"We will discuss Norahist matters following the Wivesmoot," Naliira concluded. "What we wish to establish now is whether all of you would agree to set up your headquarters near or on our tree."

"Already done," Dahlia chimed in brightly.

"Happily," Ashyr agreed.

"I would love to live in the World Tree," Althaia said rapturously.

"This seems the perfect place for our capitol," Alycyrl agreed. Everyone else nodded or chimed in their support.

"Excellent. The wives will live in the world tree. Moving on, then. Althaia: you have aired your complaints. What would you like to see when it comes to time for breeding Caleldir?" Naliira asked, directing a compassionate gaze toward the nymph.

Althaia hesitated, looking around at the group. Caleldir blushed and looked away when her eyes met his. This caused her to blush, look down at the table, take a deep breath, then look back at Naliira. "First of all," she began. "I apologize to Caleldir, to Faraia, to Nirza, and to Fedwyn. I was being selfish. I... I can be patient." She looked very glum. "But as to what I want: I would like Caleldir to actually have sex with other nymphs in order to remake the true Nylameia. I... uh..." she blushed with both arousal and embarrassment, looking down at the table and shifting awkwardly. "This is a big ask, but I know about two thousand of my sisters who want to catch from him, and I can find a few thousand more. And he should also... err... spend some 'quality time' with some of his daughters once they are of age."

Naliira's eyes sparkled in amusement. "Caleldir is a man raised in the monastery by people who do not condone incest for biological reasons. We must give him time to adjust to the fact that he must not keep to such restrictions. When he has daughters of age who are interested, we will discuss that protocol. Ashyr, what do you want to see for yourself and your house?"

"I want to have dinner with Cal every evening and sleep with him every night. The 'concubines,' as Dahlia calls them, would be satisfied if he spends one day a week with them," Ashyr responded. "I don't have to be alone with him, of course, but I would want to set a maximum headcount. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to get enough quality time with him."

"Thank you, Ashyr. Now, I will address the next group: The Lab," Naliira continued. She focused her attention on Fedwyn. "How much time do you need with Caleldir?"

"Weekday working hours two to five days any week that is not another vacation, one weekend a season, one week of vacation a year, and one month of vacation every decade," Fedwyn said matter-of-factly. "Faraia, Nirza, and Risa may be considered part of the lab, and we will negotiate time between us within that allotted segment."

"I will float between The Lab and Ashyr's time," Selene added, looking pleased with herself.

"Alright. Mirjana? Do you want special consideration, or will you attach yourself to a group?" Naliira asked.

"I will stay with the succubi, along with any of my kind who comes here - until we are many and need to be our own group. I will sleep with Caleldir sometimes, I think," Mirjana said easily.

Naliira furrowed her brow a bit, but this was not the time for questions. "Alycyrl, where would you like to fit in here?"

"I have two different interests," Alycyrl began. "One of them is identical to Althaia's: I need Caleldir to produce from his loins the Dark Nymph race. So, I will want to have one hundred and eight children from him and give the other six Dark Nymphs one hundred and eight children each. We have millennia to work our way to that number, though. Whatever time can be spared for that."

"I will make sure that your times with the Dark Nymphs are always pleasant!" Nirza said with a luminous grin. The First of the True Dark Nymphs was still reveling in her new race.

Alycyrl smiled at Nirza. "My only other request is that Caleldir spends some of his working time running Norahist. And..." she hesitated. "I have negotiated another fiance for you," she finally said. "A Light Elven Princess."

Seeing people about to respond, Alycyrl held up her hands and spoke quickly. "Looking over this group: you have me, Queen of the Dark Elves, Althaia the Queen of the Nymphs, and Dahlia, Queen of the Succubi. To say nothing of various goddesses and archmages. I propose we make Caleldir High King of Norahist and marry him to each racial group leader in Norahist. Norahist is meant to be made up of Light Elves, Dark Elves, Nymphs, Succubi, Rusalka, and Valkyries, I have been told. Six primary races: six queens. But the only Light Elves we have here are either already turned into succubi," she nodded at Dahlia, "actually not a Light Elf at all" she nodded at Caleldir, "or half-ghost and a nobody who has not been involved with any other Light Elves for centuries," she indicated Faraia. "So, I spoke with the Sunites who came up from the south about a young woman they would be willing to make their leader who could marry into our group. Thus: I want you all to meet Princess Ravayra Dalthinn after the Wivesmoot."

"I think there are enough main wives..." Caleldir said slowly. "We also have no Valkyries, just a single Erinyes, and only one Rusalka. So... who will be their Queens?"

"This is a political marriage," Alycyrl declared. "To ensure the stability of the realm. As to Valkyries and Rusalka, we can worry about them when we have them. Besides: this girl will absolutely enchant all of you without meaning to. She is as precious as Aster and much less lewd."

"You say that as if lewd is a bad thing," Aster said with a slight pout.

"It's a good thing for a succubus, dear," Dahlia said with an affectionate pat of her knee. "It is good to have variety is all Aly meant."

"We... will have to find a way to slot her in, then..." Ashyr said, uncertain. She gave Alycyrl a long, unreadable look.

"The addition of another wife is a matter that should be put forth to the Wivesmoot going forward," Naliira said with a slight scolding tone directed at Alycyrl. "Before making any arrangements or promises. Are there any serious objections to the new princess?"

"It sounds like arrangements have been made and a rejection who cause major issues with our Light Elven allies," Selene said in obvious annoyance. "I can not think of a critical argument against this alliance." She gave Alycyrl a sharp look. "You may be queen, but-"

Ashyr cleared her throat. Alycyrl held up her hands. "It is not decided so certainly," the Queen explained. "We need to make some marriage alliance, but it does not have to be this Princess. I asked the Sunites to have several Queen candidates in reserve in case their initial Princess is unsuited."

"Princess Ravayra Dalthinn is an angel," Faraia sniffed. "One-quarter angel by blood, at least, with both her mother and her father being Light Elven Aasimars. Her ancestry is that of High Priestesses, Kings, Dukes, and Generals going back to the founding families of Byzromine. She is accomplished, well-mannered, pure-hearted, beautiful, intelligent, and charming. And a very distant relation of my own. She is much more suited for Caleldir than most of you ska-"

"That is not very nice to say," Nirza interrupted Faraia, who crossed her arms and leaned back with a mulish expression.

"We will take up grievances with each other after we have negotiated as a group. In the future, I will mediate if necessary," Naliira said smoothly. "Now, serious objections?"

"Why would I object?" Marigold shrugged. "The more the merrier, I say."

"She is a very nice girl," Althaia agreed. "I approve." The nymph looked towards Ashyr and Selene with an apology in her eyes. "I fear that Queen Alycyrl ran this plan by us Queen candidates when she came up with the model and most of us have met Princess Ravayra already."

"Politics is politics," Fedwyn grumbled. "Though I do not approve of more women being added to the core harem."

"If this is a harem, who is running it?" Caleldir groused. "Certainly not me. But I will meet this girl, at least."

"Unless we come to a different decision, I will 'run' the 'harem,'" Naliira said calmly. "I hope each will shepherd herself for the most part. I wish to intervene as infrequently as possible. Since there are no major objections to a new member - though I agree, the addition of new wives should be heavily regulated if not stopped - we will move on. Dahlia and the succubi: what do you want from Caleldir."

"To start the process of incubizing Caleldir as soon as possible. Starting today, if I can. He could go about his daily business, he would just have to learn how to concentrate while having sex at (almost) all times. Preferably with a succubus, but any Nylameia will at least keep him from losing progress," Dahlia said frankly. "For myself, I can teleport to him whenever I want. It would just be a matter of when the rest of the wives require alone time with him."

"Hmmm," Naliira said with slight annoyance. "Does the same go for you, Astrid?"

"I just was to be near Caleldir as often as possible," Astrid said quietly. She didn't seem to share Dahlia's ambition.

"What about you, Marigold?" Naliira asked.

"We need to spread Caleldir's seed as far and wide as possible," Marigold declared. "Also, it does not have to be just Nylameia. Having sex with any woman will help with the process."

"Absolutely not!" Faraia objected. "Caleldir does not want to be an incubus, and you cursed succubi should respect that!"

"I do not mind being an incubus," Caleldir said cautiously. "But it takes far too much sex over much too long of a time to be practical. I have other things I want to do besides bang succubi."

"As I said, Caleldir can go about his regular day," Dahlia explained. "He simply needs to have sex with a nylameia - preferably a succubus - during the majority of the day and every night. During the night everyone is sleeping, so that shouldn't matter. During the day, it just has to be a blowjob under the table or something similar. It will take longer than if we went all out, but it would get things started. When he becomes a full incubus, the succubi can simply go in the rotation with the other nylameia. I do support him having as many children as possible with all sorts of women - Goelon ordered me to, after all, so it's literally my duty." She reclined casually with a smug smirk on her face.

"Goelon did what?" Caleldir said with deep annoyance.

"So... that was Goelon's last wish?" Marigold said with a big smile.

"Yeah. No," Fedwyn said pleasantly. "No incubizing Caleldir. Whether he has been bullied into accepting or not: I will not allow it."

"Why? He will only change slightly in biology. I am confident that he will be like any succubi who chooses her transformation: mostly unchanged with a heightened sex drive," Dahlia said. "Due to his godblood, I am also certain that he will keep his gender. His transformation will only level the playing field that currently puts the succubi at a great disadvantage. To put it bluntly: He turns incubus and I can quit my scheming to compensate."

"Quit your scheming, you say?" Fedwyn said dryly. "Well, I suppose that when a brother has successfully removed the king and taken the throne, his plots to become king end. So, fair point. But incubus Caleldir is far, far too powerful of a weapon in your arsenal. You are a headache right now, Dahlia. I do not see you becoming less of a headache if we just give you everything you want."

Aster furrowed her brow in confusion. Dahlia sat up. "So you say that I and the succubi should be permanently handicapped because you don't like me?"

"I like Aster just fine," Fedwyn said easily. "And I don't hate you. But yes: sometimes a parasite needs to be handicapped so it becomes a symbiote instead of killing the host. And succubi cause too many problems. The Abbot would laugh at me for saying this: but the threat to public morals alone is a huge issue."

"Archmage Birchborn," Alycyrl said patiently. "Like it or not: succubi are one of the six races that Norahist is to revolve around. We cannot simply antagonize them for no reason."

"Dahlia already has too much power," Fedwyn said, leaning forward with a calculating expression. "An incubus Caleldir would make her unstoppable. She is worse than Rubella, and my old Cambion apprentice is a headache and a half."

"Is it just an issue of the power balance, then?" Alycyrl asked, sensing that Fedwyn was leading up to something. "I do have... ways to keep her in line, but you seem to have a different idea."

The Archmage grinned. "Incubus Caleldir is just a more durable Caleldir. Well, except for an important note: succubi can be familiars. As can incubi. To put it bluntly," Fedwyn leaned back in her chair, "I will support the incubization of Caleldir if he becomes my familiar."

"Absolutely not!" Selene snapped. "What gives you the right to claim him like that?! If anything, he should be my familiar. I'm the one who took his virginity."

"I will not have the master of my master be you, Archmage Fedwyn," Dahlia said firmly. "When it comes to it, I would much prefer Selene. Abyss, even Naliira would be preferable to you. At least she's a goddess without a grudge against me."

"I don't know about Caleldir being your familiar, Fedwyn. No offense," Ashyr agreed.

"Perhaps we should ask Caleldir himself?" Fedwyn suggested.

Caleldir looked stunned, then just laughed, tension flowing out of him. "Well, my ambitions in life were always primarily to work with you in the lab, so I would not mind being your familiar. But don't you think you are being a bit heavy-handed, Fedwyn? Surely you could have proposed this without antagonizing everyone."

"Heavy-handed. Me?" Fedwyn held up her tiny hand, squinting at it. "There is nothing heavy about me. As for being antagonistic, that is what gets this group going, right? Rape?" She smiled at the assembly with some viciousness. "Frankly, you lot are mostly kind of terrible - barring you, Aster - and my favorite apprentice is far too much of a wimpy pushover. His father and mother entrusted him to me, not any of you, and now that I am properly back in the game after cleaning up from the destruction of Deusterra by the false gods of this world, I am determined to surgically add a backbone to him and put leashes on all of you. I can't have a mountain of slutty drow and Nylameia just running rampant through Abbot Geirloss and I's precious realm just raping and reproducing like rodents. You all need to be controlled since you do not even see the reason to control yourselves. I thank you for breaking the curse on me, but really."

Selene spluttered angrily, Aster looked like she was about to cry, Dahlia fumed, Mirjana had a dark expression, and Ashyr's brow was knitted firmly together.

"When you say it like this, I will not agree to your tyranny," Mirjana said. "Caleldir must not be made a Familiar."

"Why the- what do you-" Selene tried to say. "At least none of us has thrown our entire country into twelve hundred years of cursed torture! No. I prefer Caleldir as not a familiar."

"I agree with Selene. That is a hard No from me," Ashyr said firmly.

"I don't want that either," Aster said very quietly, very guiltily.

"Fedwyn, dear, I do not think your idea is wise. The way you have brought this forward has threatened to put a rift through the Wives and Norahist itself. Part of the reason we have called this Moot is to prevent any one of us from monopolizing Caleldir. You threaten to do this in the most intimate way possible," Naliira said gently.

Fedwyn winced a little, let out a long sigh, and rubbed her forehead. "I am not trying to monopolize Caleldir," she plead with her mother. Her face fell, and she slumped back in her chair, the tiny archmage suddenly looking very old and very tired. "I am just trying to protect him. I... Geirloss and I failed to protect our people from the Bl- from the Enemy's Curse. I failed to get Vinya online in time to counteract the Curse. And because I was cursed along with Vinya, I was unable to protect Caleldir and Faraia, and now Deusterra is just an ancient memory, never to be reborn. I only just managed to get our old systems back online and remove the last traces of the curse, and now I want to prevent Caleldir from getting gang-raped by drow, nymphs, and succubi all the time because he is constitutionally unable to put up an actual fight against amorous advances. These ladies not only have proven to be unable to protect him, but they also seem unwilling to! And his older 'Familiar' is the worst of them all!" She shot a venomous glance at Dahlia, then slumped again. "I suppose I have to work with you all, though," she said glumly. "So... if you work with me, I will work with you. Anyone have any other ideas?"

"Part of the wivesmoot is to spell out our expectations of Caleldir," Selene reminded Fedwyn in a frustrated voice. "To set out rules. Which means no more inappropriate gangbangs, right, ladies? We all want to protect Caleldir from outside forces as much as each other because we all acknowledge that things have gotten out of hand. We don't need you to come in, insult us, and try to assert your dominance by forcing us to do what we've already tacitly agreed to do!"

Aster bit her lip, looking a bit distressed at the sour mood that had settled over the room. "Um. Mother developed a way to bind a succubus to a non-succubus without making her a familiar... Is there something we can do to connect us all to Caleldir? We can more easily support each other, protect Caleldir, and enjoy a deeper bond with him like Dahlia and I have."

"I... I could whip something up with the Archmage's help," Alycyrl said slowly. "You see..." She explained the spell that she had cast on Dahlia.

Fedwyn grinned. "Rubella managed that after all? With just a bit of effort, it seems like we can use a modified version of that spell to link us all in a pseudo-familiar relationship. Now, normally it would be impossible to-" The Archmage looked around, then shrugged. "Eh, that all can wait. The details are extremely complicated and the Deusterrans, Alycyrl, and Selene will need to work out the exact mechanics of the bond. I have the general structure in place, however. For now, the only decision that we need to make is to name a Network Administrator for the system. It will need to be one of our members who is an actual goddess, though, which limits our options to Risa and my mother right now. My recommendation is Risa because her nature as an Animating Intellect allows her to more efficiently split attention between many things by devolving the complex mechanics of mass spell-transferral between a group as large as ours to a sub-process. Mother has the power to manage such a network, but I am pretty sure she wants to retire and not be a full-time manager."

"I would only be manager out of necessity. I think Risa will be an excellent administrator," Naliira agreed. "What do you ladies think, then? The condition of Caleldir's incubization will be that we form this network with Risa as administrator. Are there any concerns or objections?"