Zenith's Greatest Hero

"In the short term that's a good idea, but we need to be careful going down this path. If you always attach weakening glyphs before sex, eventually your mind will form a link between being weakened and sexual pleasure. That will put you in some very dangerous headspaces, maybe even dangerous situations like the one a fortnight ago."

"Still enjoyed that more than paying off a screaming stable boy as he sprinted to a healing temple." Valda mused.

"Have you ever wanted to sleep with someone who you hadn't paid for?" Qilue asked.

"I was always attracted to strength, in myself and others. Ever since I started bench pressing cows I haven't really met anyone humanoid who could take me."

"I see, maybe it would be worth re-evaluating what you want from life and from sex. Use that ring of disguise to meet new people, maybe you'll find someone you're willing to be vulnerable for, or maybe you will discover that vulnerability is not the only way to love, both in others and yourself."

"So it would be like a holiday away from my life. Leave Valda behind and see what's left." Valda reasoned. "I could do that."

...

Qilue had given Valda a couple of weeks to find herself before scheduling the next appointment. She couldn't help but admit that she was looking forward to the session. Valda's position in society had given her such a warped view of self-actualisation, Qilue was unbearably curious to find out how Valda had manifested time away from herself.

Qilue sat quietly in her office, waiting for the tinkle of her bell to herald her star client, when the door opened she practically jumped out of her chair. She was then disappointed to see a tall blonde elf shimmy past the door, brushing off her skimpy dress before sitting down on her sofa.

"Um, can I help you?" Qilue asked.

"You really don't recognise me do you?" Valda responded.

"Oh Valda, good to see how thoroughly that ring of disguise works on you." Qilue sighed. "So I take it this was your identity when you were not being yourself?"

"Yes, Helga Conifer, traveller and aspiring bard." Valda announced with a giggle, before taking off the ring and returning to her former large muscular form.

"So what have you discovered about yourself since we last spoke?" Qilue asked, taking her seat and picking up her notepad.

"It was interesting, I spent the first couple of days living out of my Blackbough apartment, just living you know. I had no responsibilities, no luxuries, and no cares. Then I realised just sitting around doing nothing was relaxing, but it wasn't helping me discover myself, so I decided to try out different lives and meet new people along the way. I managed to get a job as a bartender for a couple of nights, my boss was very handsy but I didn't smash his face in because regular people don't have that option. Then I spent some time loading and unloading boats at the docks, even working after hours to unload contraband, illegal substances and creatures. Then just to really try out all the angles I spent a day as a beggar, I've got to say the way beggars are treated in this town is really bad."

"This all sounds very interesting, experimenting with your life, what did you take away from these experiences?" Qilue asked, fascinated by the journey Valda had been on.

"Firstly that no matter what, I still can't abide injustice, I bought the tavern I worked at and fired the handsy manager, every illegal crate I unloaded got reported and seized, and I'm thinking of providing financial and reputational support to whichever temple does the best work with homeless people." Valda explained, her voice slightly monotonous with the mundanity of fighting for good.

"I sense this is the answer you would give a writer from a newspaper. Even if you can't be honest with yourself you can be honest with me and learn from that." Qilue explained, plastering her most reassuring smile over her face.

"Alright, so I know we were talking about the unhealthy thrill I get at the thought of vulnerability. I genuinely tried to distract myself from it but the lives I lived only made it worse. When my boss was feeling me up in the keg room, I loved how dirty I felt afterwards, which I know is really insulting to his other victims. When I was unloading a ship, I saw a cage and restraints they had locked a harpy in for transport and my immediate thought was how great I would feel locked up like that. I had the idea to be a beggar because I wanted to feel like the lowliest person for the day and actually enjoyed being treated that way. Several men offered me paltry amounts to sleep with them, and if I wasn't still a bit traumatised by my cock crushing vagina, I might have taken them up on the offer." Qilue watched Valda's eyes fill with that same ravenous longing that she saw when she recounted her other story and decided to step in.

"So you tried some new experiences and it embedded some existing damaging ideas?" Qilue asked, trying to keep the framing on these ideas as a bad thing.

"I'd say I tried to suppress and ignore my desires and they came back stronger." Valda retorted. "I know I have to keep myself safe and the legacy of Valda Stormaxe intact, but I don't think trying to repress these desires is going to work. I need your help to brainstorm safe and constructive ways to indulge these, maybe even a way to do so that will help me move on to less damaging desires. I mean your profession means I can trust you and you are the only person I can trust."

"I am happy you can trust me, but that trust is not a blank cheque for me to indulge you, I earned your trust through my responsibilities to your mental health. Of course this is a safe space but..." Qilue froze mid-sentence as Valda's face lit up with an idea, her professional eye recognising a moment of revelation and keen to give Valda space to voice her self-discovery.

Valda sprung to her feet and began stripping off her clothes, the skimpy peasants dress dropped to the floor and Valda sighed with relief, her underclothes weren't too dissimilar to the basic loincloths of common barbarian warriors, small scraps of animal hide roughly stitched together to form a covering. Valda pulled some thread on the back of her bra and it fell to the ground. Given her intimidating body, battle hardened to perfect muscular form, Qilue was surprised that Valda had full round tits that bounced and jiggled out of the bra, the contours of her body seamlessly moving from chiseled muscle to delicate breasts. She bent over and pulled her knickers down, placing them on her pile of clothes before sitting back down on the sofa with a huge grin plastered across her face.

"There." Valda responded, as if her sudden exposure was simply the answer to one of Qilue's questions.

"So..." Qilue began, unable to contain her shock and staring wide-eyed at every inch of Valda's naked flesh. She eventually was able to piece together enough brain cells to respond. "Is there a reason you have chosen to strip naked?"

"You said this is a safe space, you said that vulnerability can take the form of openness and I have been uncharacteristically open with you. If I'm being vulnerable here I might as well be totally vulnerable here." Valda reasoned.

"Valda, I am not a dominatrix. I don't think it's wise for you to use my authority as a tool for your sexual gratification." Qilue informed, her clear curiosity removing any sense of weight from her sentiments.

"I'm not gratifying myself. A couple of sessions ago you said I could do whatever I wanted to make your office feel comfortable and secure. I feel secure with you so I am getting naked to feel comfortable." Qilue knew every textbook and professional body would count this as a massive red flag. There was no way that any therapist that followed the rules (and Qilue considered herself exactly that) would allow this to continue. She thought through how she was going to let Valda down gently, the hero of Zenith was sitting naked on her sofa, telling fantastic stories of her erotic adventures, she had to put a stop to it immediately.

"Fair enough, if it makes you happy, you may remain naked while talking about your experiences." Qilue replied, wincing at her lapse in professionalism. "Aside from myself, how many others have seen you naked without a ring of disguise?"

"Since I came of age, none. Everyone has seen me in my trademark loincloth, hell it's what I'm wearing in that statue they carved, but nobody has seen under the loincloth. Is it crazy that I'm upset that there is a statue of me almost completely nude and still nobody thinks of me in a sexual way? It would probably be going a bit far to commission a new statue without the loincloth."

Qilue talked with Valda for some time about her relationship with her own sexuality, running way over her allotted time before regrettably calling the session to an end. Valda redressed and left Qilue alone to calm her nerves.

...

Qilue was excited to see what Valda had been up to this week, she nervously waited in her office, at one point unbuttoning the top button of her blouse before deciding against it and awkwardly buttoning it back up. Suddenly a large naked woman burst into her office. Valda took off the ring of disguise and collapsed laughing onto the sofa. Qilue disapprovingly cleared her throat.

"I see you have begun to include my surgery in your reckless behaviour." Qilue sternly observed.

"Sorry doctor, I figured if I'm going to do my sessions naked, why not save myself some time and strip off before I get here." Valda explained through fits of giggles. Qilue knew she needed to draw a line at this sort of behaviour or it would only escalate, but her personal curiosity got the better of her.

"How far did you walk naked?" She asked.

"I have an apartment and gym a few blocks from here." Valda bragged. "It's where I left my clothes. It's also where I applied these." Valda thrust out her chest so Qilue could see the row of six recurring symbols, magically dancing on her skin with glowing menace.

"You applied strength draining glyphs before our session. How long do they last?"

"The ones at the sparring arena only lasted an hour, so I got these ones specially made to last three. Nobody asked any questions as everyone knows I put on glyphs of weakening before my exercises, they just assumed I was becoming more formidable and unfuckable." Valda explained, her excitement turning to sadness at the end.

"And what was to be gained from including me in this?"

"I wanted you to see what it was like for me, to engage with me when I'm in this mindset."

"Would you have me beat you up like some prostitute in Blackbough? Or maybe you want me to sexually assault you? I don't know what you expected to get out of this action that could possibly be considered appropriate."

"I figured this was the one place on this whole stinking planet I didn't have to be appropriate." Valda erupted, standing to her full height.

"You seem to be working to desecrate the one place where your well-being is central, a foolish thing to do considering the path you are going down. If this blows up in your face, you need to be able to come back here and pick up the pieces of your psyche without getting flashbacks of the debauched and dangerous behaviour you indulged here. This behaviour is problematic, to associate it with the office trying to help you risks you never feeling safe and content at the same time again." Qilue ranted, standing up and staring into Valda's eyes, trying to portray strength despite the barbarian still being a couple of feet taller than her. When Valda didn't back down, Qilue just smiled and pushed her onto the sofa.

"Hey, you can't do that." Valda replied.

"Why not? Because it's not what therapists do? Well coming naked to my office is not what patients engaging with their treatment do. If the rules don't apply to you I guess they also don't apply to me." Qilue stated, pushing Valda down again as she tried to get up. "Do you want me to be looking after your mental well-being or do you want me to indulge your self-destructive behaviours? Because I can do either."

Valda looked confused and worried as Qilue stood over her with anger in her eyes.

"Surely I could just..."

"You will treat my office with the reverence it deserves, or I will kick you out." Qilue erupted, stopping herself in the middle of an idea. "Although if you want me to indulge this self-destructive journey to its natural conclusion, I can do that too."

Qilue grabbed Valda by the arm and began to drag her towards the door.

"No, at least let me put the ring of disguise on."

"No, Valda Stormaxe wants my business to be a part of her downfall, then let's be efficient shall we. I'm going to drag you into the street and yell for anyone to hear that Valda Stormaxe is currently naked, weakened, and looking forward to being raped in public by anyone who wants to." Qilue explained in a wild fury. She put one hand on the door to the outside world, then looked down at the fear in Valda's eyes and paused expectantly.

"Alright, I'm sorry." Valda bashfully admitted.

"Why are you sorry?" Qilue pressed, still holding on to her arm.

"For not treating you like a professional."

"Nope, that's not what you need to be apologising for. You have one more try before I drag you into the street." Valda's brain buzzed and processed as quickly as she could muster as Qilue's grip on the door handle tightened.

"I'm sorry I compromised my treatment for the sake of self-destructive thrills." Valda screamed. Qilue's resolve melted to a warm smile as she let go of Valda's arm.

"In this office you are always welcome to do whatever you feel you need to do to express yourself, it's why I tolerated your spontaneous nudity last week. But if my office is used for these sorts of games again I will be dropping you as a client, OK?" Qilue explained, a little saddened that it had come to this.

"Alright." Valda dejectedly replied. "I won't drag you into this any more." Qilue knew what she should say and what she wanted to say, they were two different things. Every training session on professional boundaries and guild code on appropriate behaviour towards a client was screaming that this breakthrough needed to bridge back to a more professional relationship. But with everything she had seen so far Qilue decided to follow a different path.

"I don't mind observing your predicaments, I daresay it may even help with your therapy. But this office needs to have an association in your mind as a safe space of healing. How about I join you in returning to your apartment to collect your clothes?" Qilue suggested. Valda nodded, unaware of how big of a lapse in judgement her adventures had just caused in her therapist. "So where are we heading?"

Qilue left her office first, desperately glancing up and down the street for any sign of movement before waving out her naked client, currently covered only by the disguise her ring projected onto her. Valda ducked behind a sign for a now closed haberdasher while Qilue scouted ahead. Qilue's office was located in the back alleys of Fountainwood, the well off area of Zenith, by design so that her wealthy clients would not look conspicuously out of place but could also ensure privacy as they entered for their sessions. Valda had rented a space a short walk away, almost entirely navigable through small walkways, with the exception of the Fountainwood high street, a large thoroughfare that bisected the two blocks of buildings they had to traverse. Qilue appreciated the professional clicking of her hard shoes on the cobblestone streets, framing the occasional pause and dry slapping of the panicked run of bare feet behind her.

For someone whose professional life very deliberately deplores stealth, the legendary barbarian was still surprisingly good at concealing herself. Every so often Qilue would signal for her to hide as people walked by, every time Valda was somehow able to squirrel herself into a hanging doorway or behind a well placed cart or bin. Qilue found herself wondering if she would be as adept if the situation was reversed, before shaking that thought out of her mind. As they approached the high street, Qilue turned back to check on her client.

"So this is the most risky bit." Qilue began

"I know."

"It's possible you could be seen."

"Wouldn't be the first time today."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Alright I'll look weird if I'm just standing around in the street, so I'll walk across to the other side and wave you across if it is clear." Qilue explained. She calmly strolled out of the alleyway and into a thoroughfare bustling with people going about their business. She turned around and came back to Valda. "How the hell did you get across this without being seen."

"I didn't, I got across without getting caught." Valda proudly explained.

"So just wait for a gap in the crowd and make a break for it. That was your master plan?" Qilue angrily whispered.

"Nobody ever asked me what my plan was, we left that sort of thinking to the Bard and the Wizard." Valda sheepishly explained.

"Well, think of a better plan." Qilue demanded, to which Valda smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Qilue growled with frustration and walked back into the street to await the quietest moment possible.

Qilue waited for a gap in foot traffic that never seemed to come while she paced the road like someone unsure of where they were going. After some time she lowered her requirements to a moment where there weren't any city guards or suspicious looking people. Eventually she chose her moment and waved Valda across.

Valda broke into a surprisingly fast sprint, she was halfway across the busy street when the first of the by-standers even began to react to her. Qilue stared in awe as she saw Valda's determined face and bouncing breasts thundering towards her. Then as she passed Qilue watched from behind as Valda's powerful naked buttocks churned underneath her, propelling her into the darkened alleyway. Qilue took a moment to swim in the sounds of disgust and outrage from the pedestrians, closing her eyes and imagining the humiliation that Valda must be feeling before calmly walking towards the address she had been given.

When she arrived at Valda's apartment, a small living quarters attached to a large gym, Valda was in the bedroom furiously masturbating at memories of her adventure. Qilue decided to look around and deliberately ignore Valda as she screamed her way through her orgasm. She was in the kitchen having a drink of water when her client returned, now fully clothed.

"So you were aroused at all that fear and humiliation?"

"Deeply." Valda replied with no shame.

"And you realise what a perverse and unhealthy association that is?"

"Very much so, but I've lived a life where anyone in authority telling me no would only drive me on more, why would the same voice in my head be any different?" Valda reasoned, pouring herself a drink.

"So you know it's unwise, but you continue anyway? Do you see indulging these urges in the same emotional vein as charging head-on at Lord Killshade? That you never cared about freeing Zenith, you cared about the thrill of adventure and reaching the apex of your abilities."

"I do still care about helping people. I still step up to the plate when evil rears its ugly head."

"Evil isn't adventurous. Evil doesn't ride into danger, it seeps into the world and grows from the misery. Being the good guy means being at the front of the charge, it also means hearing the call to adventure anywhere, after all the bad guy crosses the street when they hear someone being attacked." Qilue explained.

"So you think I've always had these drives."

"Yes, and they have mixed with your sexual awakening to take on a new and dangerous form. How about you try and find a new adventure to dedicate yourself to? I look forward to hearing about it when you arrive at my office next week. With your clothes on of course."