Drow's Dilemma Ep. 156: The Harem

"Not for as long, I hope," Caleldir said dryly. "Otherwise my wedding will be very awkward."

"The Empress of Souls is well able to pull you into a pocket dimension and freeze time."

"And I intend to do just that!" Vilinixia laughed, appearing along with Aster and Dahlia.

"As long as we can help out with that, I don't mind!" Aster said cheerfully. Dahlia smirked and nodded. "And we can take as long as you need, Vilinixia. Caleldir is already my husband, after all. Not that I mind joining this ceremony too, it just seems a little redundant."

"Indeed," Dahlia said. "The role of 'wife' is petty compared to our role as familiars."

Caleldir glanced over at Aelsuna. "Is it?"

Dahlia coughed and looked over toward the goddess of marriage. "Er... because a familiar is already the wife of her master, right?"

Aelsuna gave Dahlia a cold look. "I don't think you understand the spiritual level at which a marriage ceremony binds you. She sniffed. "But I don't expect a creature of my sister's to understand."

"Isn't familiarship also a spiritual binding?" Caleldir said with great seriousness, but a twinkle in his eye. "I am pretty sure the two are equivalent."

"The way I see, both mean we get to bang," Vilinixia interjected. "Which, since my grandmother healed me, is more than a little on my mind. Marriage and Familiarship means we bang twice as much, I am sure."

"That would be the case if Caleldir was not swamped with a downright abyssal number of unwanted clingers-on," Ceuphaera sniffed. "Which is as much the fault of the 'Goddess of Marriage' as it is the Lust goddess currently stalking us."

"It is probably mostly my fault since I kept avoiding my responsibilities," Caleldir said with a long breath. "The only way out is through: so let's get this over with."

"That is hardly a way to proposition a lady," Vilinixia sniffed. "You were so forceful before, too. Where is that Caleldir? The one who held me down against my will and made me his while I was crying, shivering, and begging..." The Empress of Souls' tone dripped with innuendo. "When you already have two other familiars too, you greedy, greedy man."

"I did tell him to make Varynae his servant," Ceuphaera said with a twinkle of amusement in her otherwise serious demeanor. "Him claiming you was entirely his own initiative."

Caleldir blushed. "Well... uh... I..."

Vilinixia leaped forward and grabbed him. She had shrunk down to a 'mere' seven-ish foot tall: the perfect height to pull his face into her massive breasts, which stifled all further commentary from him. "You are very, very young, cutie," she purred. "Goelon was at least mature, but you are practically an infant godling. You may be my master now, but I don't mind being the aggressor. In fact: I love it. I did design the Monster Girls to be rapey, after all."

An eldritch portal ripped open behind Vilinixia, leading into a cosmic void. The Empress of Souls winked at Ceuphaera. "That Pixie will probably follow me."

"Probably," Ceuphaera assented. "No one can track her, but I assume she is always somewhere close. Be quick by our time's reckoning."

"I will be. In my Father's Domain, Time is a Suggestion. Ouroboros is Completed there and has always been once I transformed Her. I will be back instantly. Come, Dahlia, Aster. Let us truly get to know each other."

They couldn't help but look at the portal with some trepidation. At least the Abyss was predictable. It had rules that could be followed. But the eldritch void was pure chaos to one who didn't know how to operate inside it. There was no way they were going to be left behind, though. Dahlia took Aster's hand and they stepped through.

Grinning, Vilinixia fell into the portal behind her, and it snapped shut.

Ceuphaera turned to Aelsuna. "She is a bit much. I am glad to see her healed from her trauma, and her gifts are shockingly potent, but still..." The Solar shook her head. "Do you ever wonder how you found yourself with such a perverse set of allies, Love Goddess?"

"Desperate times, desperate measures," Aelsuna said with a great heaving sigh. "And a lot of it comes from my family; it's not like I had much choice. Even when I try to step away from the less favorable aspects of things, people like The Whore plot and scheme and saddle me with unexpected issues."

"Well, big sister, your recent plots have pleasantly shocked me!" Lilith giggled from the shadows. "I didn't think you had such deliciously depraved deviousness in you after millennia of living in our brother's shadow. Which is ironic for a sun goddess..."

"Didn't I tell you to go away!?" Aelsuna snapped. It looked as if she might say something more, but was interrupted.

The eldritch portal opened once more, and Caleldir and his three familiars stepped through. Caleldir was naked, covered in gunk, and looked dazed, Vilinixia was back to her full, dazzling height and dressed in full Empress of Souls Regalia with an expression of catlike self-satisfaction on her face, and Aster and Dahlia both carried far stronger auras than they did a moment ago.

"Ah! You're back-" Aelsuna said before she fully assessed the situation. Then, seeing the state Caleldir was in, she clicked her tongue and stepped up to him. "What have they been doing with you?" Her eyes flashed and Caleldir was cleaned again. She reached over to smooth his hair herself. "Did you not allow him to bathe?" Aelsuna asked Villinixia, annoyed and concerned.

"You locked me out, Nixia!" Lilith complained, popping out of a shadow. "Wha- what happened in there? What fun did you prevent me from observing?"

"I am my master's loyal servant and the equal to my familiar sisters," Vilinixia preened. "I will only dom them where not even the gods can see."

Dahlia's eyes shone with amusement. Aster looked a little embarrassed. Not too embarrassed, though.

"Ugh, judging by how my poor brother looked, I don't want to know what went on," Aelsuna declared with a look of distaste crinkling her nose.

Caleldir took a long breath. "Vilinixia asked an ally of hers - the cosmic serpent Ouroboros - to loop time so that we could get to know each other for... well, it was a very long time. And she massively empowered Aster and Dahlia. They went a bit crazy though. I love them - and supreme sexual predator Aster was a version of her I didn't know I wanted to see - but three succubus familiars is too many."

"You will eventually have seven familiars," Ceuphaera stated. "Not all succubi. Numbers are important."

"You'll handle them well after you become a god," Aelsuna said confidently.

"Ah," Caleldir responded. He summoned a dapper black wedding suit, now fully recovered and looking pleased and relaxed. "Now... it is time to continue the fiance tour, right?"

"Yes, your familiars should stay here. The next category is the Queens." Ceuphaera gestured. "Right this way."

"Cal, it has been long..." came a familiar voice as Caleldir was guided toward the alcove where the queens were settled. Crimson hair engulfed his body with a pleased-looking rusalka at its center, pressing her nude torso against his clothed body.

"Er, Mirjana? These are supposed to be formal introductions," a blushing Ravayra dressed in an elegantly simply light blue gown reminded her fellow queen-to-be. Althaia, eyes glowing an excited pink sat next to her in a very similar white dress, while a nervous Nirza and smugly pleased Alycyrl sat apart, both as naked as Ellistraea wanted them to be.

"Yes, please remove yourself so that I may gaze upon my future husband," an unfamiliar voice requested firmly but politely. A pale-skinned black-haired, white-winged Valkyrie peered with her silver eyes over at Caleldir. Her silver and gold parade armor perfectly highlighted her toned feminine muscle. The patterned filigree matched the bands in her intricately braided hair. Despite all the finery, it looked as if each piece of armor was every bit as functional as the mundane garb the standard valkyrie wore.

Caleldir put his left arm around Mirjana, resting his hand on her hip. "It has been a while," he told her, kissing her on her cheek. Mirjana blinked in surprise but shrugged it off. She stayed next to him, her expression not unlike a smug cat's.

He turned to the others. "Althaia for the Nymphs, Nirza for the Dark Nymphs. Ravayra for the Light Elves, Alycyrl for the Dark Elves. Mirjana for the Rusalka -"

"And me, Dahlia for the Succubi!" Dahlia chimed in cheerfully, suddenly appearing in queenly garb that was surprisingly restrained. Her clothing seemed to have come from a Byzromine history book. There were pieces of cloth missing, however. The standard modesty panel covering her cleavage was gone and the ties that closed her skirts at the hip were laced over bare hips rather than closing the fabric to hide her skin.

"Double-dipping?" Caleldir asked her dryly. "I just spent what seemed like weeks with you." He looked at her outfit curiously. "Was that the style of dress you wore in life in Byzromine? It looks good on you, I admit."

"Thank you, Master. And yes: I must be introduced at the appropriate times!" Dahlia told him, tilting her chin up proudly.

"I didn't introduce myself twice when I could have gone with the Deusterran group as well!" Nirza complained. She stopped, looking from Dahlia to Caleldir. "Wait... life in Byzromine?" Standing up, she walked over to Dahlia, examining her carefully.

"Indeed. This is probably something I would have worn in my first life. I don't remember Theona very well, but I've found that some things about her resonate with me. Like this gown!" Dahlia confirmed.

"Theona?" Nirza said in surprise. She stepped away, blinking. "I... I see now. I knew you in life. Or... or my last life did. We wrote back and forth. I was devastated when you were executed. You were my greatest ally in the south, but your death spelled the end of my hope for Byzromine troops to reinforce us in Blackdawn."

"Ah. I never expect to find a friend from my past life! Well, we should be friends in this life too! We are much changed, but perhaps we can reawaken wisdom we have since forgotten. This is my bit, to begin with: In our position, you quickly learn to take advantage of every opportunity. Otherwise, we end up like Mirjana. When was the last time you got to spend time with Caleldir, Mirjana?" Dahlia focused on the rusalka.

Mirjana pouted a little. She seemed to be enjoying Caleldir's attention despite the crowd around her. "Since I was to greet the envoy and go away before The Stop happened, it has been weeks."

"I would still like to look at him, Rusalka Queen," the Valkyrie said, growing annoyed.

The rusalka smirked with her sharp teeth. Her hair moved until just his manhood was showing, expertly moving his trousers out of the way. "Is this what you must see?"

Caleldir tensed and frowned, but shook his head and did not further react.

"A male's beauty is not localized to his penis. His muscle tone and proportions are important to see, as apparently, I will be breeding with him," the Valkyrie tried to explain. Her tone was dispassionate, but there was a spark of curiosity in her eyes.

This seemed to offend Ravayra, though, "Our husband is not a piece of meat for us to breed with!"

"My apologies, Your Highness. The Brother of Lady Freyja must have great qualities. I am greatly honored to be here," the Valkyrie responded politely.

Caleldir shook his head and turned to the valkyrie. Without letting go of Mirjana - who lowered the rest of her hair to prevent a queenly fight from taking place - he reached out his right hand for her to shake. "Umm... we have not met yet."

She took his hand after a moment to process what she was meant to do with it. "I am Princess Rota, heir to the High Mountain Throne. My mother is queen, but, as she is already wed to my father, will be stepping down in my favor when the time comes."

"Another princess then," Caleldir said with a laugh. "Not long ago, I would have been overawed by that. But... since I am supposed to marry Frejya Herself too, I think I am past the ability to react. It is nice to meet you, Princess Rota. And, Mirjana. Please either put my pants back on properly or disrupt my rune and use your hair as my clothing. Either is good, but I don't want to run around with just my manhood showing."

"I vote for the second option!" Althaia said cheekily, breaking her silence. She glanced over at Aelsuna, observing the whole event. "Not during the actual wedding, of course, my Lady."

"No indeed," Aelsuna said firmly. "Everyone must be dressed appropriately for the wedding. I will have my groom in a handsome outfit."

"If Caleldir does just wear Mirjana right now, then that will make it easier to show him off to Princess Rota," Alycyrl said pleasantly. "Though I confess his body shape is more to Drow tastes in men than it is valkyrie tastes. He is toned, but lacks mass."

"Fine. I will just dismiss my runes," Caleldir said with a sigh. "Might as well strut around naked until the ceremony."

"I don't know. As much as I like looking at you, isn't there some sort of bad luck involved with seeing your future spouse naked on the wedding day before the ceremony?" Dahlia asked.

"You just spent a month banging me in a time loop outside of space!" Caleldir said in amusement. He did not dismiss his clothing yet.

"You're not supposed to see each other at all," Aelsuna corrected. "Just on the day, in this case. Most couples have already met at this point. But you do have a good point. We'll be that much more excited to see each other if we've gone to bed after this and wake up tomorrow without seeing each other. Ceuphaera can attend him and guide him, as she will not meet Caleldir at the altar yet."

"Indeed. My duty to my new god demands that I wait to consummate our relationship until we can resolve his uncontrollable attraction aura. We will be limiting the permanent harem to 108 brides and some attached concubines."

"Define 'Concubine', Alycyrl interjected.

"Women attached to his wives who are not wives - like House Duskhaven, the Dark Nymph race, my Planetars, the Bouquet Seduction, Rota's future Victory, and so forth - as well as temporary additions such as breeding contracts, and certain devout female worshippers who shall be rewarded for their service," Ceuphaera stated. "And yes, Queen Alycyrl, you may bring in your favored ones. The point is to limit the number he has an emotional attachment with to a more manageable amount, and reinforce his divine theming with a mythologically significant number of brides."

"I have no objections, then," Alycyrl said happily. "As one of the greatest connoisseurs of the female form in the world, I am overjoyed to be part of this."

"Of course you are," Nirza fussed, shaking her head.

"I am glad breeding contracts will still be allowed," Althaia said with a blush. "Breeding Caleldir has become my favorite kink." She looked at Aelsuna with a slightly accusing expression.

"He has already promised this to us. My goddess orders me to keep him to his promise," Mirjana added.

"I have been likewise instructed. My goddess did not need to give me further motivation," Princess Rota said in a slightly disapproving tone.

Ravarya blushed and looked uncomfortable, but said nothing.

"To be precise, I am speaking long-term," Ceuphaera clarified. "Short term, the God of Harems will be copulating with and being raped by many, many thousands of women in order to attune himself to his portfolio. The limitations I speak of will be once things calm down and we can do away with the unpleasantries." Ceuphaera wrinkled her nose. "Like the rape."

"Good. We still get to have fun," Mirjana said bluntly. She was beginning to get distracted by her proximity to Caleldir.

"I don't like this conversation!" Ravayra complained.

"Eh..." Caleldir shrugged and squeezed Mirjana. "I find it weirdly charming. Though Mirjana could be more elegant about it."

"The rusalka is rather crass," Rota agreed. "Are we then doing the Ceremony now, or do you wish us to retire, prepare, and reconvene in the morning?"

"In the morning," Aelsuna decided. "We have introduced everyone except my Attendants, correct? Shall we go to them?" she asked Ceuphaera. "... if we can extract the rusalka - ahem, Future Queen Mirjana."

"The goddesses are indeed the next category, then Caleldir will spend the night alone with the Beloved Ones," Ceuphaera replied.

Mirjana, however, was not inclined to let Caleldir go so easily. Her hair flowed back over him, snaking under his clothes to caress his body underneath. Meanwhile, her hands pulled out his cock and stroked it to fullness. Then she quickly impaled herself backwards onto him. Her hair pushed his hips into hers hard enough to make her breasts bounce. "Queen Dahlia said to not let opportunities go," the rusalka explained herself to a disapproving crowd. "It has been weeks!"

"It has been never for me and Rota!" Ravayra retorted.

"Your loss," Mirjana said with a shrug.

"I did miss you, Mirjana," Caleldir replied with a gasp. Shrugging, he dismissed his clothing completely. "Sorry about this," he said to Rota and Ravayra. "I will make it up to you tomorrow unless Princess Rota is the sort to sample unlike the other Princess, in which case I guess we can fight a bit and you can overcome me." This was said while affectionately caressing Mirjana at odds with her attempted ravishment.

Princess Rota grunted. "In this case, I think, er... we will not do it that way," she said a bit awkwardly, looking him up and down. "I will be happier if I embrace my more gentle nylameian instincts in this case."

"You will be disappointed in a wrestle with Cal?" Mirjana asked with a knowing smirk. "He can fight more than he looks with his magic."

"As can I," Rota sighed.

"I know he is not the male stature you are used to. Your father is a bear of a man," Aelsuna said gently. "But my brother can make you happy in his own way."

"As I said, I trust Lady Frejya's judgment," Rota repeated.

"You should trust the judgment of the Goddess of Love as well," Aelsuna said with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Yes, My Lady," Rota responded with a humbly bowed head.

"I am happy with him!" Mirjana declared, pulling away from Caleldir, her core now dripping with his cum. She turned and claimed his mouth with a possessive kiss, which he met.

When Mirjana pulled away completely, Caleldir resummoned his clothing. "You probably would have liked Goelon more than me, Princess Rota" Caleldir chuckled. "And... to be honest, I probably could pull off the same sort of things he did. I just lack the killing desire. But I am a true expert at giving people just enough fight to allow them to narrowly win, regardless of their power level. If we fought, you would win, and it would be just difficult enough to give you a really good workout."

"I can verify!" Althaia laughed.

"More to the point, so can I," Ceuphaera said quietly. "His tactics did defeat me. Since you know who I am, you should know what that means, Princess."

Princess Rota looked thoughtful but did not respond further.

"Now, Aelsuna." Ceuphaera turned to the goddess. "You want to bring him to introduce to your court, right? It is time for our future God of Harems to meet the five Goddesses who form the kernel of his harem."

"Yes, let us go! There are two of them you haven't met yet, though they have experienced bits and pieces of you through a couple of their people, so they are excited," Aelsuna explained.

"I am sure they are." Ceuphaera shook her head, smiling. "I will leave you to the divine introductions, Caleldir. Do not be surprised if it is a bit of a blur, though."

"I expect that," Caleldir laughed, his tone worried.

"I'll try to keep them restrained," Aelsuna reassured him as she led him away.