Vaid Empire: Conquest
Chapter 55
27th of Iahta, 12 AVE.
Shai Domain, City of Shai.
Varse‘s finger traced over the symbols etched into the tablet of ice, small enough to require his red eyes to squint. A single word was all he sought, all he had been granted. Palidri.
His return to Shai had been everything he had anticipated, and worse. The attempt upon his life had incited horrified anger from The Council, as false and empty as their supportive promises and words. That was a realization that saddened Varse to his core, yet despite his efforts, he could no longer delude himself into thinking otherwise.
“We’ll get to the bottom of this outrage,” Sinshi had promised, grasping Varse’s hand with both of his own. Never had he been more disgusted at the feeling of another’s touch, though a far more terrible sensation struck him upon learning that he hadn’t been the only target of his would-be assassins. Representative Ensik was dead.
The public could never know, of course, for the good of The Domain. Ensik’s unnatural death was proclaimed natural, hoping to avoid striking fear into the hearts of the population. History had been made in silence, the first Representative to be murdered since The Domain’s founding. Or was he?
Suspicion gathered around Varse like a building fire, blazing in the frozen tundra. He knew the culprit behind his attack. With every ounce of his being, he knew. Other possibilities attempted to push their way to block the horrid truth, his mind bending logic in the vain hope of finding an alternative. The human God Emperor could have learned of The Council’s interference, hoping to humble them by cutting down their Potentate. The Arkos Kromak could’ve utilized his Tolkarik assassins, seeking to free himself of the debt he owed for their part in his ascension. Even The Amirid Empire held a slim chance at holding the blame, slaying him in retribution upon somehow learning that The Council had worked to prevent their final unification.
Possibilities hung limply before him, lifeless and unlikely, for how could any outside enemy have infiltrated their agents? The facts were simple. He had stood against the desires of The Council, and nearly lost his life. Their agents had made the attempt. His only ally had fallen. Everything pointed to the terrible truth, and yet…
A deep sigh escaped him as he rubbed his forehead, a weariness creeping in. Deep beneath The Citadel, he had spent as many nights as he could manage within the frozen vaults below, searching for Palidri.
It held aspects typical of a Dril word, allowing him to rule out foreign sources from his search. Though not a common name, at least none that he had ever heard, it was possibly the name of a location. A city, a fortress, a small fishing village, Varse set upon searching every documented map within The Vault of The Eye. He had dreaded the possibility that the word was actually the name of some obscure and unknown species when at last he found what he sought. The Palace of Palidri.
A relatively small estate, its marked location within Clan Irsi lands only prodded his suspicions further.
“Sinshi,” he had thought to himself more often than he dared to admit. “What have you done?”
He could almost shiver at the thought, a possibility so horrid it could only raise his disgust. A Dril murdering a fellow Dril? Enemies or not, by use of assassins or not, it went against the deepest value he clung to.
Presently, his finger resumed its tracing, running over the icy slab. As he had for the past several nights, he found himself searching the financial records of The Vault of Commerce.
A towering hexagonal chamber spiraled up around him, decorated with ancient stone shelves filled neatly with every financial transaction large enough to warrant documentation. Carved into slabs of solid ice, the oldest documents were periodically brought to the rooftop of The Citadel to melt away, no longer of use to anyone living. Varse could only hope that what he sought hadn’t yet been recycled to make space.
Seated at one of the viewing tables carved from stone as old as the vault itself, he felt the keen cold of the chamber. Decorating every wall rested a Fissu plant, absorbing any heat from the room as if they were temperature filters. Their large vines crept up the shelves like neatly guided white tentacles, lowering the temperature of the chamber until even a Dril could begin to feel uncomfortable.
Loneliness had never been a concern for him, yet even still, he took solace in knowing that Salik waited just on the other side of the sealed door. No one was expected to visit the vault at this hour, yet any rare approacher was swiftly dissuaded from entering after a single glimpse of his loyal guard. It wouldn’t do to be discovered here, for some would become suspicious that their Potentate was searching where he may not be wanted.
His stern expression hardened further as his finger stopped, hovering over a word near the bottom of the latest slab pulled from the shelves. Palidri. Finally, he found his target.
Red eyes scanning with reluctance, he traced over the details. Transactions for the recent construction of a palace. Expenses listed in careful detail. An owner sells, and the buyer…
“Sinshi,” Varse muttered, his throat nearly preventing the name from being uttered. There, carved clearly into ice, was the proof he had dreaded. “Sinshi, fifty-third Council Representative of Clan Irsi.” There was no denying it now.
Deeply sickened at the truth as it lay before him, Varse buried his head in his hands. The anger he felt at the risk to own safety was a mere afterthought, for the entirety of his species held his attention.
Sensible, pure, incorruptible. Such was the ideal Dril he had held within his imaginings since he was old enough to ponder. Such was the ideal they had all been taught, a population free of the foolish faults of the other humanoid species.
The reality of The Council had begun eroding his ideals the moment he had been selected to the responsibility of Potentate. Tsida had been the first to expose him to their corruption and greed. He had even played his own part, exploiting such faults if it led to the betterment of their people.
Yet this? Violating the final sacred ideal that all Dril supposedly shared? The traditional value above all others? For a Dril to command the death of another Dril?
He remembered the words he had spoken to Sinshi long ago. “You’re not the only being on this roof capable of making enemies disappear.” They seemed hollow now. At worst, they had promised the threat of exile. Fresh and idealistic, such was the harshest fate he could have conceived. Now they felt bitter in his memory, a whisper of the ignorant youth who had spoken them.
Leaning back, Varse looked up at the ceiling far above him. Had his ideals always been a lie, or had something shifted? If one Dril could disregard their founding values, why not others? Did everyone secretly snicker at their idealistic Potentate for being foolish enough to truly believe in their traditions? More dangerously, was he still bound to abide by them?
Other inquiries would be required before he even dared to ponder his next movements, no longer trusting himself. He carefully rose from his chair, striding like a specter towards the door after returning the slab to its proper place.
Salik granted him a questioning look as he stepped aside. As if in silent acknowledgment, Varse granted the masked Dril a nod. Understanding came to Salik’s red eyes, and he kept his voice low despite their solitude. “How will you proceed with this…information?”
“A question that requires time. Until then, you’ll remain on guard within my quarters at all times. We’ll grant our enemies no opportunity to finish what they started,” Varse commanded, making his way to the staircase.
38th of Iahta, 12 AVE.
Kingdom of Spirexia, Near Prismi.
Cold water flowed around Dominax’s thighs, each step taking him deeper. When he was waist deep in the river’s embrace, he stopped to look back at the rocky shore.
He had snuck away from the legion encampment surrounding the besieged city, his cloak wrapped around him in the guise of a common soldier. Only his Truthseekers followed him far upstream, away from the busy camp, the sounds of a trapped city, all of it. His watchers remained hidden in the vegetation as he returned his attention to the water, breathing as he cleared his mind.
Moonlight shimmered off the steady flow passing around him, his feet anchored firmly into the muddy riverbed to steady himself. Another would have shivered in the night air, yet his bare flesh remained calm and firm as he dipped his hands into the water.
Their months in Spirexia had proven fruitful, for already a city had fallen to his hoards. The second was proving to be more stubborn, and once more he found his thoughts drifting to plans of battle as he poured the cool water over his shoulder to clean the stink of war from his skin.
Briza had always said they should remember their old ways. For once in many moons, he relinquished the warm baths befitting a royal, remembering how they had bathed in the waters running near Nitri as children. Despite the manner of her death, he’d honor her in his own way.
A weary sigh poured from his lips at a thought of her, peering down. The moonlight offered his reflection, illuminating the gentle waves. He could almost recognize the young man he had once been, nearly all of his black hair having turned a silvery white. His unique blood held a factor in the early change of color, he knew, yet the lines of stress upon his face were another matter. He traced the many scars torn across his chest, each one a reminder of just how close his dream of a united Magnius had come to a crashing end. A slight flare of anger pushed aside his weariness.
From afar, he sensed a pulling of his attention, an approaching being doing little to mask her presence. He felt the composition of her soul before she emerged from the trees along the shoreline, not needing to turn around to know it was Cendra.
Mounted atop a lixidion of dark purple, the princess slowed the reptilian creature to a stop beside the water. A cloak concealed her pregnant body as she gracefully slid from its back, tying the reins to one of the tall rocks that jutted from the reddish sand.
“You do little to mask your approach,” he said sternly, turning to face her. “There will come a day when the children I’ve sired may sense you as I do, and they won’t always come as allies.”
“On that day, my bastard siblings will find me to be difficult prey.” She walked to the water, testing it with her slim foot. “Don’t forget, I managed to follow you here as well.”
Impressed, he allowed a smirk. “Then you’ve come to join me? Your mother would’ve been touched to see you partake in our old ways.”
Seeing his beckoning hand, Cendra peered into the water. The image of Briza’s drowned and bloodied corpse in the river’s embrace flashed through her mind, causing her already fair cheeks to pale. A different time, a different river, yet it struck her all the same. “I’m quite fine where I am.”
Disappointment tugged at his lips as he lowered his hand. “Very well, I’ll come to you.”
She watched as he slowly emerged, scarred skin glistening under the moonlight. He did nothing to conceal himself, entirely nude as he stepped onto the shore.
“If not to bathe, what, my flower? What requires my attention?” he demanded as his wet hand caressed her cheek.
She could never maintain her mask of imperial dignity long under his piercing gaze. His silver eyes burned through her prideful exterior, assessing her soul within. “I…near the end of my pregnancy, father, and thus I had hoped to make a request of you.”
“Anything within reason, child,” he said with an insidious grin, seeing the shape of her even beneath her thin cloak.
Straightening up to cling to a powerful stature, she met his gaze. “In the moment of my son’s birth, I would like to hold The Sword of Order as I push him from my loins.” The mention of her unborn child allowed a fierceness to seize her, despite an urge to sink into his arms. “He shall be an imperial prince, the first of a new legitimate generation. It’s only proper that I clutch the sword of our House’s founder as I continue our line.”
Amused, he sensed the emotions mixing within her as she spoke. “If such a thing is what you desire, so be it.”
Relief eased into her expression. She moved to embrace him, hesitated, then gave in and wrapped her arms around him. Her cloak opened, allowing him to feel the second purpose of her seeking him out privately.
Just as nude as he was beneath her cloak, he felt her inhumanly soft skin against his own as he held her before whispering. “You come exposed, though not to bathe. It appears I was correct, for it’s a Vaid’s nature to seek the embrace of kin.“
Biting her lip, she lingered in hesitation before separating from him. Beginning to unfasten the clasp of her cloak, she summoned every ounce of her royal pride to banish her fear. It tumbled from her alluring form, revealing every inch of herself to him.
Quickly, Dominax raised his hand to grant his hidden Truthseekers the signal to back away. They’d be reluctant to leave their ruler vulnerable and unprotected, though they’d obey all the same. He sensed them retreat, fanning out deep within the surrounding vegetation. They’d notify him of any potential intruders while also remaining too far away to observe The God Emperor with his daughter.
“As I said, I near his birth. If there was an opportunity to act upon certain desires without danger, it’d be now,” Cendra explained with a coy smile that nearly looked unnatural on her typically stern face. Cupping her belly, the moonlight danced across her flawless skin, granting her the appearance of a divine goddess.
Dominax felt his blood churning at the sight. His daughter nearly appeared to glow with young maternal beauty, an ideal example of feminine allure. He reached down to return his hand to her stomach, taking ample satisfaction in her pregnant state. “You are correct, my flower. I sense him. A prince is nearly ready to emerge.”
Enjoying every second of his touch as he explored her pregnant swell, Cendra’s silver eyes fluttered with desire. No other being could invoke the slightly submissive sensation easing through her, every inch calling out for him. A deeply lonely feeling struck her when his fingers departed, gesturing for her to follow.
He led her over to the towering rocks jutting from the sand, selecting one of waist height. Sitting down upon its smooth, glistening black surface, he took her hands in his and guided her to sit in his lap.
Shifting to drape her legs over the side of his as she half turned to face him, she felt her bare rump against his lap, the exposed bulge of his manhood pressing against her.
“He’s strong, Cendra. I can sense his power,” Dominax said as he cupped her swollen midriff. “Lord Clin should be praised for granting me an adequate grandson.”
“Adequate?” She nearly scowled, only for her expression to melt away as she felt his hand run through her black hair. Every instinct incited her to flee from such a vulnerable feeling, despising her own weakness, yet it was impossible to muster the strength to abandon his touch. She wanted to be held, hating such a truth.
“Don’t mistake my meaning, my flower, for I’m very pleased with the result. Clin was an ideal candidate to breed you,” he replied bluntly. “Yet a Vaid deserves only the best. Tell me, are you satisfied with him?”
Blushing slightly, she nodded. “Of course. Choosing him was a decision I shall never regret.”
“Yet you’re here.” He caressed her long, feminine leg.
“A necessity. Nothing more, nothing less.” She waved the statement aside, attempting to sound casual. “We’re unified in heart and mind. There are merely…occasions when we must seek alternative sources of pleasure. Monogamy is unnatural, father, despite what the pompous northern kingdoms claim. You of all people are an example, are you not?”
Dominax chuckled, impressed by the control of her voice despite the emotion he could sense within her. “Many would disagree, though you’ll find no argument from me. He knows you’re here, then?”
She nodded gracefully, feeling his hand move to cup her rump. “I’ve granted him a pretty slave girl for the night. He takes his enjoyment, and I seek mine. No questions are asked, and we return together knowing nothing can come between our love. I only require his seed to remain outside of anyone but me, and I shall bear no man’s children but his. It’s an arrangement we both find more than acceptable.”
“Ah, but you didn’t quite answer my question. I asked if he knew you were here, my flower, with me.” Dominax grinned with amusement.
Suddenly reluctant, she looked away. “I’ve…offered enough hints to allow him to speculate. I’ve yet to do more than command the tongues of slaves, though he knows I take the rare company of a favored lover. The fact that it’s you is…well, such knowledge should be eased into.”
Dominax nodded in agreement. “The situation is yours to deal with as you see fit. For the moment, I’ll have my fill of what’s rightfully mine.”
Feeling his manhood hardening against her rear, Cendra couldn’t help but allow desire to display across her beautiful features. She maneuvered off his lap at his command, sitting on the smooth rock as he moved to stand before her.
“On your back, my flower,” his powerful voice ordered her to obey. She couldn’t stop herself from chuckling as he dragged her closer, the rock’s height allowing their loins to line up with ease. However, he refrained from taking her fully, instead moving to grab her legs.
Lying back, she watched as he lifted her legs upwards, holding them together. Then, feeling something prod at her, she moaned with need as he slid his cock between her clenched thighs.
As soft as the finest silk, Dominax slid back and forth between her firm royal thighs. His hands felt their feminine shape, strong yet elegant under his touch.
The only being that could make her moan in submission, Cendra watched pleasure fill his eyes. Her body nearly felt as though it were reacting to his presence, her pussy growing wetter at being so close to his cock.
The taboo of their act drove Dominax’s lust further. The gorgeous female before him was no ordinary lover, her craveable body sired from his seed. He savored every moment his cock spent sliding back and forth, building his burning desire until it threatened to consume him. Only then did he finally ready himself to take her, spreading her legs wide.
Cendra reached down, spreading her lower lips with anticipation. She wanted him, her body tingling with the need to feel him inside.
Pressing forth, he began to slide in, a groan ripping from his throat. The divine perfection of a Vaid vagina squeezed around him as he entered, warm and tight.
“Ooohhhh…” Cendra moaned as he pushed himself against her limit, filling her as deeply as possible. Awakened to the truth of her nature when she had lost her virginity, there was no longer any need to feign reluctance. The coupling of kin was as natural as the setting sun, she now knew, allowing herself to ease back and fully enjoy herself.
Making no delay, Dominax nearly began to move by instinct. Hips thrusting, nothing stood between him and his eldest, loins locked together. He held her spread thighs as he moved, rocking her body with his powerful rhythm.
“F…fuck…” Her silver eyes briefly rolled back, forgetting what it meant to be a proper princess. Her facade of pride fell away, momentarily little more than an animal in a desperate heat. “Fuck…me! I love you…father…”
The flowing sound of the nearby river served as a reminder of their exposed state, their bodies enraptured in pleasure beneath the night sky. Dominax studied her pregnant form, bathed in moonlight as her arms fell back to rest above her head.
Every inch of her body nearly tingled, calling out to him. Their souls were bound as parent and offspring, a connection deeper than any other. Her heart would forever be Clin’s, yet she understood the necessity of occasionally coaxing a familial bond, Vaid lying with Vaid, a sensation more natural than anything she had ever felt.
Dominax placed his hand onto her pregnant swell, beginning to rub her like a priceless artifact. He could sense the child growing within his daughter, adding to his satisfaction.
Her vaginal muscles worked his cock with exquisite complexity as he continued to thrust, a sensation he could never go without for long. Ordinary females were more than sufficient to please him, yet none could compare to the advanced loins of the beings of his blood.
“I bred…for you…ahh…father. I’ll be a mother…for you…” she said in a haze of pleasure. “Are you…satisfied?”
“More than you could possibly know…” Dominax chuckled before moaning. “You’ve done well…my pregnant little flower.”
Emotion welled within her, forcing her to cast it aside with disgust at herself. The feeling of his gentle caresses made her want to cling to him and weep, an impulse she ignored as she focused upon his cock buried deeply inside her.
Once more his words flowed through her mind. “My pregnant little flower.” Her body clenched as her pleasure peaked. She cried out in orgasm before her breath caught in her throat, slowly easing from her lips.
“Good…ahhh…cum for me…” he commanded, pleasuring his daughter with each movement. Blood of his blood, she deserved every ecstasy imaginable.
Gasping as she recovered, she heard the wet slaps of her soaking pussy each time he slid inside.
He sensed the child stir within her, calming its consciousness with his own. It recoiled, mind reeling, and Domianx eased his presence.
“I…ahh…want you to cum inside me…” Her voice could not keep the hunger from her tone. “I’m already with child…there’s no danger…”
A risk would’ve only furthered his desire, as Vixin remained a primary example of his cravings, yet he’d promised to abide by her reluctance for bastards. “Earned it then, my child.”
Face blushing at his command, she nearly moaned with a slight humiliation. “Please…cum inside! Fill me…ooooohhh…fill me with your seed!” she said with a memory of how she had demanded Clin to do the same, the act that had given her the child swelling her round stomach.
Hearing his daughter beg forced his hips to quicken, arousal flaring brightly. He watched as she moved to squeeze her own breasts in enjoyment. Round and firm, they had begun to swell with milk in preparation for her birth, a young mother ready to feed her baby.
She felt doubly exposed. Anyone could stumble upon them, discovering their utterly taboo act of love, yet she also felt further naked under his gaze, his silver eyes stripping away her stern facade. She could hide nothing from him, her emotions on display to his piercing senses. He had taught her to better conceal her thoughts, yet with his cock buried into her furthest depths, nothing remained from his reach.
Dominax felt his finish approaching, her divine vagina tearing away his expert endurance until every ounce of his being desired only to fill her flawless body. Hard, fast, he bucked into her wildly, forcing her to groan.
Finally, delaying the culmination of their familial bond no longer, he pressed hard against her cervix as climax claimed him. Body clenching, pleasure ripped through his loins with painful intensity, a pure and untainted bliss.
Her silver eyes rolled back, joining him in orgasm as she felt his warmth spurting into her. She cried out, unable to contain the pleasure tingling throughout her entire body. She felt as though her very soul was stimulated, father and daughter becoming as close as possible.
Shuttering, tingling, his body stood in the afterglow of their pleasure. His sperm leaked around his shaft, pouring from her tight pussy to rain down the smooth black surface of the rock.
She had never felt so much cum, her only other experience being that of Clin. Her heart would never change, yet she allowed herself to bask in the sensation of being so utterly filled.
Slowly, he pulled his cock free, almost wanting to remain inside her for eternity. He bent over, holding her belly as he pressed his lips to her soft skin. “Clin had better remain worthy of you.”
“He shall…of that you can be certain.”
1st of Onis, 13 AVE.
Kingdom of Spirexia, Prismi.
The command tent just beyond the besieged walls of the city of Prismi filled with strained cries.
“Breathe, Cendra. We’re at your side,” Irith said gently while kneeling beside the princess. A low cot had been placed in the center of the tent, holding Cendra’s nude form as her thighs remained spread.
“He’s coming! Just a bit longer!” Clin yelled, feeling his mate gripping his hand tightly. On the opposite side stood Dominax, his silver eyes studying the scene with an eerie calm as he held her other hand.
“The…sword!” Cendra cried out, releasing her father’s grip. He unsheathed The Sword of Order, allowing her to take its hilt. She squeezed it for support, feeling her son approaching.
Dominax lowered himself to one knee, placing his hand upon her stomach while sensing the child inside. He touched its mind, his presence calming its panic. He then looked to Clin, seeing ample worry upon the blond man’s features. “A Vaid will not succumb during birth. Her first may prove taxing, though her body shall easily endure.”
His words did little to comfort Clin, for he only squeezed her hand tighter. In all his battles, all his hunts, no moment had ever made him feel so on edge.
Cendra clutched the hilt firmly, grimacing before presenting an expression of firm strength. She knew her pain would be trivial when compared to an ordinary human, and she endured the feeling of her own pushing.
The birth of Vixin’s first born had been before a throne room filled with worshipful observers. Cendra’s, however, was far more intimate. Aside from the healers, only her siblings, Irith, Clin, and her father surrounded her. She cared little of her exposure, seeking only to grant them a display of a true imperial princess as she began to raise the sword.
The orb in the weapon’s hilt began to lightly glow, sensing her power as she nearly roared. A final push allowed the new prince to slip from her loins, and to her surprise, she felt waves of euphoria begin pulsing between her legs. Her body felt as if it were reacting with delight upon fulfilling her biological duty, sending orgasmic ripples to replace what had once been a dull pain. None had warned her, for surely none could have expected the effects of a Vaid’s biology but her sister. The sensation was more mental than a physical pleasure, and she briefly closed her silver eyes to conceal it.
Oblivious to the pleasure caressing the mind of the princess, Irith quickly wrapped the crying baby in a banner of his House.
“To me, Irith.” Dominax beckoned towards the child as he rose to his feet. Already moving to hand the little prince to Clin, Irith hesitated before approaching.
Feeling the sensation ease to a manageable level, Cendra looked up at her father as he accepted her child into his arms. “Father, is he…worthy of House Vaid?”
The God Emperor peered down to study the newborn. His first legitimate grandchild, he had Vaidimated the little prince several days prior as he rested within his mother’s womb. Eyes of silver stared back at his, slowly calming. Wisps of blond hair topped his head, as gold as his grandfather’s throne.
“He’s…” Dominax began, studying the little prince’s face. Hints of both Cendra and Clin were evident, as were his own and Briza’s by proxy. He found himself thinking of Briza, seeing flickers of her in the boy’s tiny features. Something wet touched his cheek. His hand sought the source, and with horror, he realized that tears had begun to trickle from his eyes.
“Dominax?” Irith’s voice held concern, moving to place her hand on his forearm. “My love, what’s-“
He carefully but swiftly placed the prince into her arms, attempting in vain to wipe away the liquid remnants. A trickle turned into a steady flow, and within moments he found tears pouring down his grimacing features.
“Stay with them. Don’t follow,” he managed to command before shoving his way through the fabric exit, departing swiftly.
The tent remained briefly silent before the prince’s cries returned them to the moment, causing Irith to lean down to allow Cendra to take him. Together with Clin, they held their son for the first time.
“Worthy indeed,” Cendra said, ambition claiming her gaze.
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