Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Foreword
My first time writing a totally original world. I hope that everyone enjoys it. Some things that you need to know before reading.
Loupi: A wolf/canine like people, they have a large centralized kingdom that has existed for centuries
Ikati: A feline people, there are several tribes with drastically different appearances.
Hu: Tiger: Physically, the largest and strongest. Excellent warriors
Tao: Lion: The second largest physically, excellent hunters
Bao: Panther: Second smallest physically, excellent hunters, trackers and foragers
Huz: Cheetah Physically smallest, often merchants, minstrels and entertainers
Naga-Ra: An isolated people, they possess scales on some areas of their body. Some possess tails, others have facial horns, while a very rare few have wings.
Chapter 1
Dominic stared out into the pouring rain, mind wandering as his eyes beheld the splendour of Rayon. For nearly 24 years the Loupi had ruled over his beautiful Terralun. The view of the capital city never lost its charm to him, but today he gazed out with a pensive smile. Word had reached his court of a strange creature in his city.

Ages ago, shortly after the founding of their kingdom, his ancestor had saved a tribe of fleeing catfolk, Ikati. They had been fleeing through one of the mountain passes and swore their loyalty after the rescue. From those passes and the ships to the east, rumours spread of all manner of beastfolk across this world. But this creature was unlike anything they had ever heard of. It had scales like the lizardfolk, but horns like the Minotaurs and pale soft flesh in places. Even now, Dominic’s best Ikati guards stalked the city for this intruder. The Ikati were excellent swordsmen and duelists, but their true talent lay in infiltration, tracking, and assassination.

Watching the bustling city between the mountains, Dominic pondered what the arrival of this strange traveller could mean for his people. The last time a new species had arrived skirmishes with the lizards had broken out along the border for years, ending shortly before he had taken the crown. Remembering this, Dominic told his guards to act with all haste, to observe the visitor before bringing them before they could leave the city, let alone the valley.

A bustling in the town square had his attention. While the market was usually quite busy, he noted that there seemed to be a much larger amount of activity but from the great distance he could not make out what was happening far beneath him.

What Dominic could not know is that a small ruckus had occurred when the very being he was pondering tripped over a crate and crashed to the ground. The new being’s cloak had slipped, revealing a long arm, covered in equal parts pink flesh and dark scales. Several passersby had noticed, and one young girl had screamed, as the scales reminded her of the stories her grandfather had told her of the war.

The young man, for his face and body had briefly been seen, leapt up and ran for the alleys of Rayon, hoping to vanish into the shadows and allow the shock to wear off. What it failed to notice were several shadows detaching from under eves as they slunk after him.

In a dark corner of the city, the young being leaned against the wall, panting. The guards slowly stalked forward, unseen, blades drawn. The young man slowly straightened, and the hidden trackers’ eyes widened as they heard soft mumbles they recognized as magical incantations. Suddenly, a veil of shadows descended around the being, cloaking him in darkness. If the guards didn’t see it with their own eyes they would have missed him entirely, cloaked in darkness as he now was. Seeing the cloaked being begin moving down the alley again, the guards continued to trail after him, straining their senses to keep track of the strange creature. Following him for several more minutes led the two of them to a lesser known Inn near the edges of town, where the shadowed man surprised them by quickly scaling the side of the wooden building and vanishing into an open window. Glancing at each other they quickly used a messaging crystal, the small stone lightning up and casting a glow around the alley, alerting their captain to what had happened. The taller of the guards whispered to his smaller comrade, “Vari, have a shield spell prepared. If he comes careening out that window I want you to block him.” The smaller guard simply nodded as his companion drew a sword and they both were swallowed by the nearby shadows.

Several streets over, a broad-chested Bao Ikati ran over the cobbled stones towards a small run down Inn where his quarry awaited. The Bao was extremely muscular, long years of training gave him hard earned muscle that moved smoothly beneath his midnight black coat, a scar over his left eye was just one of the many that decorated his skin. Two blocks away, the panther slowed, allowing his breathing to return to normal as he wandered down the street. When he reached the Inn, he slipped in through a side door, avoiding the gazes of the staff. When he reached the relative safety of a storage closet, he drew out his messaging crystal.
“Vari, Aaron, report,” he hissed quietly.

“The subject appears to be washing Captain Ajax.” The deeper growl of the Loupi guard sounded.

“The soap and singing should mask your approach,” Vari the Bao snickered softly. “I have a shield ready near the window if he tries to escape.”

Ajax nodded, despite the fact his lieutenants couldn't see him. “Remain close and be ready.”

Ajax stepped from the cupboard, and silently stalked up a floor and down the hallway. At the appropriate door, he slowly turned the knob, cognizant of any rusted metal, before swinging the door open on surprisingly silent hinges. Stalking in, Ajax took note of the open window through which he caught a brief signal from his subordinated before they vanished again. To the right, was another door, from which poured some rather impressive singing and the sound of water splashing. The Bao made the decision to glance around the room, to see if he could learn anything more about the newcomer.

On the desk was a satchel, and from his current angle, he could see a jar filled with herbs. Hmm, Healer, Priest, or Mage? A travel cloak lay tossed over the bed. Ajax leaned down and noted the boots under the mattress. Standing, he caught sight of a book, half hidden under the cloak. Pulling it out, he took one glance at the pages before coming to the obvious conclusion. A mage. As he slid the tome back into its place, his ears flicked, as they caught the sound of a drain being pulled.

Ajax took of position to the left of the door and drew his longest dagger. Several moments went by as Ajax strained to catch every sound. Suddenly the door swung open and Ajax got his first glimpse of the newcomer. His eyes widened at the strange appearance of the other man. Long limbs, covered in wicked looking scales in some areas and pale, fragile looking skin in others. The scales formed patterns along his arms, hips and legs. His back was facing Ajax, and what drew his attention right away was two long stripes of scale pressed tight against his back. It took a moment for him to realize that the stranger had wings, midnight blue and purple like the rest of the scales.

Not wasting a moment, Ajax brought the blade to bear, swiftly bringing it up against the man's throat. Pinning the man between his blade and his body.
“Don’t. Move.” the brush in the man's hand clattered to the floor.

Several second of absolute silence went by before Ajax spoke again. “I am sorry for the rough treatment, but the last time a visitor of unknown species visited these lands, we had a war for several years. Your name, species and reason for entering Terralun please.”

The winged man stilled when the blade pressed against his throat, as the water continued to steam beneath him. “My apologies.” A deep, yet almost melodic voice replied. “I was unaware that my presence would cause such a stir in your fair city. My name is Halen, and my purpose here is simply passing through. My species, I doubt you’ve heard of us.” He replied, his voice calm despite the danger.

Ajax raises a brow at the calm manner the stranger, Halen, was using. Most would be a bit put off at having a dagger held to their throats. “It’s because we haven't heard of your species that we’re having this conversation. I'm going to remove the knife. Please do not attempt any quick movements or spells.”

Feeling the blade leave his neck, Halen calmly turned around to face Ajax giving hima view of Halen’s face. Halen’s scales formed a pattern at the base of his neck, more scales covered the bridge of his pointed nose. Two horn-like protrusions stuck out from the sides of his head, farming the lower portion of his face. His eyes were a deep purple, and a mess of dark blue and purple hair sat atop his head, spiking despite the water clinging to it. The muscle on his chest and legs hinted at him being more than a simple mage. Ajax resisted looking lower, waiting for Halen to cover himself with a towel. As he did this he let the messenger crystal pulse, signalling for Aaron and Vari to come up.

“My kind are quite reclusive, rarely leaving our mountain home, far to the North of here.” He spoke while drying his hair with a towel. “I’ll cooperate, but if you want to reach my home, then you have very little chance of doing it soon, quickly at least, it took me months to get here, and as you can see, I have a bit of an advantage.” He said, letting the wings unfurl a little, revealing sapphire blue skin within. Continuing to dry his limbs he continued. “My kind are called the Naga-Ra, not very imaginative, but its stuck for millennia. Anyway, what else do you need to know?” Halen said, tossing the towel aside and moving back towards the main room. Ajax following behind congratulating himself on avoiding a glance at the mans backside, especially as he bent over to retrieve his clothing from the floor. He didn't look. Nope, not once.

As Halen dressed, in rather revealing robe, Ajax spoke. “You have my thanks again for taking this so well. However, my king wishes to meet with you. As I said, the last species to meet us declared war for some time. My subordinates and I are to escort you to the Castle as soon as we make contact. I must insist you follow us once you are clothed.”

Halen glanced over his shoulder, having slipped on his pants, long blue and purple, becoming wider as they neared his feet, unlike anything Ajax had seen before. “And what kind of man is you king? Is he a good man?” A deep rumble broke from Aaron’s chest at the perceived slight against his lord. His hands twisted into claws, and he seemed about ready to speak when Ajax easily overrode him, seeing the playful jab for what it was.

“He is. A man I am proud to call lord. Beyond that, you must discover for yourself.” Halen grinned at Ajax’s answer and nodded in acceptance. Putting on the strange top, Ajax was surprised by how much of his torso was left exposed. The entirety of his lower chest was exposed, as were his sides and the majority of his pecs, all bare to the air. A stripe of cloth circled around his neck that ended in tassels, hanging over his abs and etched with arcane symbols. Another stripe of cloth circled around the lower portion of his pecs and around the back, leaving plenty of room for the wings to move. A pair of sandals followed, covering only the bottom of his feet and secured with several straps.

Once dressed, Ajax leapt from the window sill, up onto the roof of the Inn with a playful smirk to the newcomer. “I assume you would prefer to avoid the crowds.” Halen chuckled softly and left after the panther. Vari followed a beat after, a mirth-filled chuckle passing his lips. Aaron, huffed softly. “Show offs,” he mumbled as he leapt down into the street and raced after them, muttering about how the Captain knew he wasn't good at roof running.

Above on the shingles and thatch, Ajax and Vari seemed to have taken it as their duty to introduce Halen to the city during the impromptu, yet willing, kidnapping. They performed more and more daring and elaborate feats of acrobatics, which Halen constantly matched, only occasionally using his wings to compensate. They passed over the Grand Market, several residences of various splendour, and even at one point leapt across one of the cities more infamous bordellos.

Eventually, the Rooftops ended at a large wall, where the two Bao leapt down to the quiet side street. Halen landed beside them, chuckling, which devolved into giggling when the Loupi guard, Aaron, broke around the corner at a breakneck pace, panting.

“You’re late lieutenant,” Ajax growled softly.

“Fuck you too Captain,” Aaron said, half pant, half growl.

Once Aaron and Halen composed themselves, Ajax led them over to the small door carved into the great wooden gate defending the castle. He knocked and the eye hatch slid open for a moment before snapping shut. The door swung out to admit the group into the castle.
v The two guards and their captain walked in quickly, used to the extravagance, while Halen moved at a more sedated pace, examining the palace around him. The courtyard they were in was ringed with statues of Loupi, all regal looking, posed for battle, clad in stone armour. The castle stretched high up into the mountainside, made of fine stone Several guard towers were scattered along the path they would have to take to reach the palace proper. Another set of towers, more artistic than the guard towers, ringed the main keep of the castle. Arriving at the keep’s main door after several minutes of walking, Ajax beckoned a guard over and spoke to him briefly before he dashed off.

The doors opened and at once the three guards changed, their postured becoming stiff and their expressions serious. The change startling Halen, but not quite reaching his face, a calm mask having settled over him. The castle seemed to be decorated in silver and black with the walls adorned with paintings and tapestries that, from what Halen could tell, detailed how the kingdom had come to be. Sconces and weapons also inhabited the walls, many embossed with symbols of the moon goddess Halen had heard about. Overall it was slightly gaudy to his eye, but still overall magnificent. Ahead of the foursome stood a row of six guards in front of a large double door. They saluted Ajax as he approached and moved to open the massive doors. Passing through, Halen could feel six pairs of eyes drilling into his back, a threat from the obviously agitated guards.

Entering the massive throne room. Halen’s eyes swept back and forth taking in the sight. The room was clearly made of stone, but the decorations almost made you forget that fact. The rug was a deep black, embroidered with silver and covered in symbols. It was like staring at an arcanist’s idea of the night sky. Each symbol looked to be made of delicate silver thread’, and depicted several ancient symbols of power, most to do with the moon and the earth. The walls were adorned in a similar manner, with images of the Moon Goddess interposed over certain black, symbol scattered tapestries. Several large bronze braziers were built into the wall and filled with flickering flames. In the far wall was a gigantic window, which spanned from the ceiling, down half the wall. It too had symbols, this time in shimmering coloured glass. Halen instantly recognized these patterns as spells meant to make the glass harder than steel, and reduce the loss of heat. Winter nights must get cold so near the mountains.

Just in front of the window was a raised dais, upon which sat two thrones and several smaller chairs. Only one seat was filled though. Upon a dark silver and mahogany throne sat a wolf of regal bearings. Halen placed him at about 6’6 with a decently muscular build. His fur was smokey gray and neatly kept, marred only by a scar across his left eye that stood as a shock of white. Despite the obvious injury, both eyes were two chips of frozen ice, their blue hue sending a chill down Halen’s spine. The king was dressed in a fine white shirt and black pants with only a few simple adornments. An emerald ring on his left hand glinted when the light hit it, and a silver pendant, embossed with the Goddess symbol, lay against his chest. The look was completed by the delicate silver circlet upon the wolf’s brow. A short sword lay against the side of the throne, small jewels shimmering in the hilt as he sat on the throne, taking in the room before him.

He watched as the three guards gave the king a bow before motioning for him to step forward. Doing so, he realized that they intended for him to bow. His back straightened, and his eyes met the icy eyes, staring into their depths, making no move to bow as the guards before him has. A rumble behind him drew his gaze as Ajax spoke in a harsh tone. “It is tradition for all to bow before the king in his throne room.” Every word was spoken calmly, but an underlying steel, a threat was within what he had said. Halen gave him a glare in return, straightening his back, his wings fluttering slightly in agitation. “And among my people, to do show is a sign of loyalty, and as I have yet to see what kind of man your king is, I have no loyalty to him.” Biting off his words before an argument could develop he wrenched his gaze back to the king on his dais. He could feel the eyes analyzing him, while behind him he could hear the guards shifting, ready to do as their king commanded.

~~~~~~~POV SHIFT~~~~~~

Lord Dominic Alaric, King of Terralun, Guardian of the Ivory Peaks, Hunter of the Wyld Wood, Alpha of the Loupi, and Beloved of the Goddess Ipomoea had sat upon his throne for nearly an hour, awaiting the return of his trusted captain Ajax. When the message had been received that the guards would be bringing the creature in soon, Dominic had issued several orders to the staff and guards. A room had been prepared and refreshments were being made at that very moment in hopes of a congenial introduction. Of course, several guards in full armor were stationed against the left and right walls of the receiving hall, and no less than four Bao assassins hid amongst the rafters.

Dominic’s heart quickened when the doors finally swung forward to reveal this strange traveler. Ajax and his cohorts were arranged around the newcomer but Dominic barely payed them any mind. It was this man that had his attention. Had Dominic not been a master at schooling his features, the man's mode of dress alone would have had his eyebrows rising. But even that pales in comparison to the man's body. Long swathes of scales covered the man's arms and legs, with sharp protrusions along the edges oh his face. But what captured Dominic’s attention the most, were the voluminous wings on his back. Dominic was very curious if the man was capable of flight.

Ajax and his men bowed as was custom, but even after several seconds, the newcomer did not. Dominic began to wonder at the man’s level of intelligence until he opened his mouth and stated he would not bow, for it was not his way. The long list of shocks finally became too much and Dominic allowed one brow to reach upward in surprise.

Ajax and the other guards seemed to bristle at the apparent challenge against him, despite their stalwart attitudes. Dominic chose to defuse the situation. “As you wish. We can hardly expect you to adhere to a culture not your own. How would you greet one of my station in your land?”

“A visiting noble is rare for my species, given how isolated my kind is, but based on the customs of the path I chosen for myself, this would be the traditional greeting,” Halen spoke and towards the end of his speech he curled his hands into fists and lay them across his chest before giving Dominic a deep nod that lasted several moments. Coming out of the nod he uncrossed his arms are resumed his stiff, if somewhat cautious, posture that he had held the entirety of the time he had been in the throne room. Eyes darted around, searching the shadows for those things that remain unseen. “I must say, your majesty, that your kingdom is among the most prosperous I have encountered in my travels. Truly a spectacular castle you possess.” He spoke, eyes trailing over the finery when nothing was found in the darkness.

Dominic noted the man’s wandering gaze and wondered just how many of the defenses before him he had seen through. Regardless, Dominic stood from his throne, and slowly descended the dais, towards his guest. “You are kind to say as such. I do hope my men were not over forceful when they brought you to me….”

A laugh echoed through the room, brief but amused. “No, no, they were quite polite overall, among the gentler introductions I’ve had. A knife to the throat while I’m bathing is far from the strangest thing I’ve encountered. Although…” He trailed off, a smirk crossing his lips at the thought of mischief. “Your guard there, the Bao, with the scar. He seemed to be poking me with more than one ‘blade’ when we met. Can’t say I’ve had that happen before.” He chuckled at the thought. “Ah, forgive me, my name is Halen. Halen Neoma.”

Dominic felt his brow rise again, as he slowly looked over at Ajax, whose gaze was fixed firmly on the glass window, expression stoic. “I see. Well it is a pleasure Halen, if i may call you that. I should still apologize for the rather sudden summons. The last “new” species to my kingdom caused quite a lot of problems for us.” Here Dominic paused to see if the man knew of their history.

“Your guards said as much. And as I told them, I highly doubt you would encounter any more of my kind. They are widely reclusive, and even with my advantage,” his wings ruffled a bit, the membrane reflecting some of the torchlight, “it took me months to reach this place. I imagine that by ship and land it would take over a year for even a small party to travel between our homelands.” Shaking his head, his eyes unfocused slightly. “Even so, I haven’t spoken with anyone from home in many years. You have nothing to worry about from me.” Shaking his head as he came out of his memories.

“I see,” Dominic said. “Are you a wanderer by nature or necessity then?”

“A bit of both, my people are somewhat strict in regards to some people, causing me to leave. Then my studies have prompted me to travel further. So much to learn in this world.” Halen spoke, keeping the answers vague.
“Studies? I presume you speak of magic. Ajax mentioned you were at least familiar with the art. Or am I wrong?” Dominic’s voice took on a slight tint of excitement. Magic was something of a passion and a hobby for him. He loved his people and his crown, but magic was a personal pleasure for the powerful Loupis.

“Among other things, yes. Several branches, healing, elemental, some summoning, among other schools. Some cultures have very different reactions to magic users you will find. I’m glad that this is one of the better ones I’ve encountered.” Halen spoke, a shake of his head when he mentioned the reactions others have had. “Speaking of magic,my equipment is still back at the inn, under several cloaking spells, I will need to retrieve it before they fade.”

For the first time, Dominic allowed a grin to spread across my face. “That is a most impressive repertoire, my friend. I would be delighted to discuss them all at length.” At this Ajax failed to hold a back a playful snicker, which earned him a swift glare from his king. “As for your equipment and spells….I may have a solution. I believe it necessary for you to be monitored at last somewhat, in order to assure my advisors. Therefore, I would like to extend an invitation for you to stay here at my castle, at least for the next few days. I would very much like to continue our discussion of magic, and perhaps make inquiries about your people on the off chance we ever meet. A guard would be assigned as your guide of course. We can even make it Ajax if that would please you.” This last part was said with a devilish grin. Off to the side, Ajax seemed moments away from sputtering and stammering in refusal.

Glancing around the room, Halen realized that he lacked any real option here, but it was probably the best option. “Who would I be to refuse. I’d be delighted to stay for a time. As for a guard, the two that trailed me through the backstreets would do, as would Ajax.” He heard a groan from the Bao, while the other two guards snickered at their captain. “As for magic, I would be more than happy to discuss it with another practitioner.” Looking around, he gave the King another look. “That being said, as much as I would enjoy being a guest. Would it be possible for me to wander the castle at times? Maybe a trip to town?”

“I had intended as such. The guards can show you most of the city, and you are free to wander the castle. Very little is locked, and if you are looking for information on magic, my library is on the third floor. Do be warned, however, I have spent more than one sleepless night locked up in it.” Dominic chuckled and offered his hand to Halen. “I imagine it's been a day. I’ll send for your things. In the meantime, I’m sure Ajax can answer most of your questions, once he’s escorted you to your room.” Dominic’s smirk only grew as Ajax made several abortive motions at that statement. “Relax please, dinner should be in about two hours. I’d love for you to join me.”

Crossing his arms, Halen gave Dominic another nod. “Thank you, your majesty. I’ll do just that.” He spoke, turning to face Ajax again. Nodding to him and the other two guards they took up positions and exited the throne room, the massive doors slamming shut behind him. Walking through the opulence, he examined the guard more closely. Ajax seemed to be a bit flustered as he rushed through the hallways, his armour was minimal compared to the others. His top was covered only with a vest and bracers, leaving much of his muscular arms exposed. Black leather pants clung to his legs, built for both power and speed. By comparison, Vari was more in line with the average Bao, muscular but less bulky than the other man. He wore leather armour with a hood that covered his head, shading his face when it was up. Aaron, the Loupi guard, was quite muscular, his grey fur accenting his muscular build. His armour was also leather, but only his upper arms were covered, the bottoms of his arms were only covered by thin straps of leather, highlighting his fantastic muscle. His massive pectorals, strained against the leather. On his back rested a broadsword, something that only the strongest of men could wield. “So,” Halen started. “Can you tell me about yourselves?”

Aaron and Vari both swung their gazes to their captain, the former with a smirk and the latter to see how to proceed. Ajax glared at them both briefly before he spoke. “I suppose I'll go first. I’m a Bao, which I believe you already know about. Several hundred years ago, a large group of Bao and a few other Ikati were attacked and pursued by their enemies. The records fail to indicate who. Simply put, they fled through one of Terralun’s passes and ended up here, where the then king saved them and vanquished their enemies. Since the enemy had been destroying their homes and land, the king offered to allow them to find a home here, so long as they accepted his rule. The accepted as you can probably guess.” The Bao captain gave a sarcastic smile then let it fall. “But you don't want ancient history, you want me. So…I suppose it’s nothing really fantastic. I'm a Bao who doesn't quite fit the mould of my people. I am an excellent tracker and hunter, but the poisons and silent kills my people are fond of never suited me. I prefer my sword. So in recognition of our history, I took work here at the castle with my skills. Hunting down criminals and the like.”

“I’ve come across some tribes of your people before, but it was quite a ways from here,” Halen spoke, looking off into the distance through a window, his words having surprised the two Bao in the group. “Interesting people certainly, if a bit odd at times.” Shaking his head he returned his gaze to the others. “And yes, I can say that seeing a Bao that wields a sword that large is quite uncommon.” He spoke, gaze fixed on the massive blade resting on Ajax's back. Looking towards the other guards he gave his head a tilt as if asking them to explain themselves as well.

Vari spoke first, having deemed that his story was similar enough to Ajax to not give away too much. “I’m a bit more standard for a Bao, good at tracking and such, good with a bow, some skill with my daggers.” He said this as he pulled out a wicked looking blade, curved slightly and formed of a metal that seemed to suck in the light around it. A red stone rested at the base of the grip. “Joined the guard some years ago, bit of a tradition in my family for at least one member to join it every generation.”
Aaron just shrugged. “Dad was a merchant. I was shit with the customers and what not. Got along better with the guards. So left the business to the little sis and kept to fighting. Eventually wound up here.” Aaron didn't feel his story needed anything more. It was pretty basic.

Nodding Halen began his own story, knowing that it was likely to get back to Dominic quickly. “Hmm, mine is a bit longer, so I’ll just stick to the basics. Born to an average family, parents were a merchant and mage, two younger siblings, both skilled in their fields.” A sense of longing entered his voice at the mention of his family, a far-off look in his eyes that quickly faded. ”I took to magic early on and due to, let's just say a stroke of luck, found myself with quite a few offers for apprenticeships. I studied for some time before circumstances at home changed, people demanded things I was not prepared to do, so I left.” His voice growing bitter at the mention of the demands, then sombre when leaving was mentioned.”Found myself travelling and continuing to study what I could my hands on. Eventually wound up in Terralun, and you know the rest,” he spoke with a smile playing across his face.

Ajax gave a similar smile, not at all surprised that Halen’s story had been just as devoid of detail as their own. Finally, they made it to the room the staff had prepared. Ajax pushed the door in and made a sarcastic sweeping gesture inward. Within was what passed for an average room in the castle. A large four poster bed of light wood sat to the side with fresh blue sheets. A large desk was pushed up against the wall and a stack of blank paper and an inkwell had been prepared. A simple wash basin had also been brought, it was a lovely silver bowl on a stand by the corner. A decent sized window let light to flow into the room.

Aaron and Veri watched as Halen entered and began to look around the room. Once Ajax stepped inside they shared a look and wordlessly agreed to leave. Ajax could handle him for the time being. He didn't seem dangerous and the king wanted to be informed about anything that the visitor revealed.

Halen moved to the bed, flopping down on his stomach and letting his wings unfurled slightly. Stretching his arms above his head, he heard a throat clean behind him. Turning his head, he saw Ajax giving him a look, one eyebrow raised in question with his arms crossed over his chest. “What?” Halen spoke. “It’s been quite some time since I’ve gotten the chance to sleep in a bed this big and let my wings out a bit.” His wings spread out more, covering most of the mattress beneath their bulk. The sapphire scales sparkled in the dying light, drawing Ajax’s gaze.

“I’m sure the king will be glad you like it. We have some time before dinner and the king said I was to answer any of your questions.” The Bao leaned against the wall, calmly taking in the wings and glistening scales. Ajax briefly wondered what it would be like to run his hand across those scales, would they be rough and sharp, or would they be smooth? Did they have feeling? Would Halen find the sensation pleasurable if they did? Just where did those scales extend to…...and it was time to shut that train of thought down! Ajax shook himself and worked to focus just past the newcomer, lest he react like he did in the Inn.

“So…” Halen drawled, still laying on the bed. “What happens now? We just wait here for dinner? I have no clothing to change into with me and I doubt that you just want to stand there for an hour while I relax.” He slowly shifted, his wings retracting again and sitting up, turning to face Ajax. The muscular Bao was gazing at him with a look that he recalled seeing back at the Inn. Smirking, an idea ran through his head. “You know. I never got to finish bathing earlier. Think there is a place I’m allowed to use?”
Your things should be here soon. But I wouldn't worry. And there should be a bath house down on the grounds. I can take you if you wish.” Ajax fixed his eyes firmly on the wall.

Standing, Halen nodded to Ajax. “Sounds excellent. Shall we then?” Moving off the bed he stretched his arms above his head, joints cracking as he strained them. Moving to the door he turned to face the other man that stood rooted to the spot. “Ya coming? I’d be happy to wander until I find it, but I doubt the other people here would be happy with that.”

Ajax nodded sharply, closing the door as they stepped into the hall. He tried to smile at Halen and then led him down through the corridors until they exited into the courtyard behind the castle. There, set into the cliff face was a short building that was unusually long. Within, Halen saw a well-lit chamber with a large pool. Ajax ignored that however, and led Halen around to the other side, shouldering open a door. There was a long hallway with several doors. Ajax stalked to the third door on the left and pushed it open as well. Within was a large tub with a small shelf filled with bottles of scents and oils.

Halen gave the steaming tub a glance, easily large enough for a dozen man the size of his guard to be seated comfortably with room to spare when Ajax noticed he explained. “The pool is warmed by magic,” Ajax explained. “Theres a large crystal in back that stores and absorbs ambient magic, or if you have the talent you can heat it yourself with this.” Ajax indicated a runic circle just over the tub. “Do you need something specific for the scales?”

“No, no, the wings need some special equipment, but they are not due to be cleaned for a few days yet,” Halen replied, gazing around the room, the walls lined with bottles of oils and soaps. “I must say, this is certainly an amazing bathhouse. That tub seems large enough for a full troupe of guards. And impressively stocked as well.” He spoke while moving to a wall shelf, taking an elegantly shaped bottle of soap from its place. “Thank you for guiding me here,” He said, taking off his top and placing it on a low sitting bench, his pants quickly followed leaving him in a set of highly revealing underwear. “So, care to join me in the tub? You seemed to be interested in joining me last time I was wet,” he joked, recalling the time they had met.

Goddess yes.” Ajax response before his conscious brain could fathom the question. As soon as the words left his lips he slapped a hand over his mouth. His eyes grew to the size of saucers and his body made an abortive jerk.

Halen’s eyes widened at what Ajax said, thinking he had misheard. Glancing at the Bao and seeing his embarrassed expression he smirked. “Well, I guess that I do owe you something for being such an amazing guide.” Walking over, the bulge in the front of his undergarments growing, he trailed a finger around the waist of the other’s pants. “But I think you’re a tad overdressed.” Walking towards the tub, back to the other man he stripped the remaining clothing from his body. “Why don’t you join me in the tub so I can reward you?” Said, sitting in the steaming water.

Ajax felt his cheeks flush. “W-w-well I suppose it wouldnt be bad. Using my tub….with you….us….” Ajax turned away from the alluring sight and took a deep breath before he began to divest himself of his leather armour. He slowly laid each piece on a nearby shelf until he was stripped to his undergarments. Finally, he turned back around and took in the full sight of Halen in the bath. Ajax plucked a bottle from the shelf and stalked forward shucking his underwear. Slowly, he stepped into the bath, allowing the hot water to soothe him. Once he was in front of Halen he reached out tentatively and brushed a finger down his chest.

Smirking at the feeling of the silky fur trailing across his skin, he moved forward to do the same. A hand caressing Ajax’s muscular chest. Bereft of armour he could see how unlike most of his kind that Ajax was. His muscles were massively built, his arms are chest were slabs of stone, covered in silky midnight black fur, a black nipple stood out on each pec, begging to be teased. His stomach was defined, muscular and solid, when a hand trailed over it, the deep ridges of abs could be felt beneath the fur. His legs were just as impressive as the rest of him and topped with a flawless ass. Moving forward, he gave the slightly shorter man an embrace, letting his cock run against the others. “So, what do you want to do, shadowstalker?” He whispered into the other’s ear atop his head.

Ajax felt something within him break. He pushed Halen against the wall and began kissing him fiercely. Moaning into the kiss, Hanel moved his hands over the other’s arms, caressing and groping the massive muscles that were holding him against the wall. His felt the massive tongue invading his mouth, dominating the kiss and trying to draw sounds out of him.

Ajax slowly worked his way down Halen’s jaw and throat, scraping his teeth against the scales. Suddenly, Ajax slides his hands between Halen’s legs and lifts him up, pressing his back against the wall and throwing his legs over Ajax’s shoulders. Ajax let his hands caress Halens thighs as he worked down to one of Halen’s nipples.

Feeling himself lifted off the ground had Halen breaking the kiss, moaning when the other’s tongue attacked his chest, licking and sucking on his nipples. His cock rose between them until the 11-inch shaft stood throbbing, Pre leaking into the black fur of the man holding him up. He tried to buck into the tongue teasing him, but the strong arms held him in place.

“Careful. Don't want me to drop you now do ya?” Ajax chuckled as he momentarily broke his assault on Halen’s skin. Flexing his arms around the less muscular man. Ajax chuckled as the cock throbbed against his stomach, the pre-cum soaking into his fur as his own cock began to rise. “Like being manhandled little dragon? Like the strong cat lifting you,” He said, setting Halen down and flexing his bicep, showing the impressive mound of rock-hard muscle.

Seeing what Ajax was doing, Halen moaned and moved to caress the silky fur covering his arms. His head descended to kiss the right bicep, the musk coming off of the Bao making his cock throb, pre-cum spilling into the steaming water beneath them. Seeing that Ajax was not protesting, he moved to kiss the other bicep, his hands working over the other’s chest and tweaking the dark nipples. He grinned when Ajax moaned from his actions and continued his ministrations.

Suddenly, Ajax wrapped the arm around Halen, until he had him in a gentle chokehold, with Halen’s back pressed to his chest. “You’re such a little tease, cutie. Well if our gonna play with me, I’m going to play with you.” At Ajax’s words, he reached down and began to stroke Halen’s cock, chuckling in his ear.

Moaning at the large hand stroking his cock, Halen began to buck his hips, wanting more stimulation and ready to beg to get it. His knot beginning to form at the base, surprising Ajax when he felt the large mound of flesh inflate. He could smell the musk emanating from the pit that held him, driving him wild with lust.

Ajax immediately stopped his ministrations and wrapped a firm hand around the cock, stopping any ejaculation. “No no. You don't come without permission boy. You have to earn that right. Now, up against the wall. It's time you got the full Terralun welcome!”

Doing as ordered and loving the other’s attitude, Halen braced his hands against the walls near the side of the tub, his lower legs still submerged in the steaming water. The flush that rose over his skin was caused by both the hot water and the attitude that Ajax was displaying. Feeling the gaze on him had his cock throbbing and his massive balls churning. Hearing movement behind him he turned his head and his eyes widened at what he saw Ajax was doing.

Ajax slid his hand down between Halen’s cheeks and paused when his hand came into contact with something wet and gel-like. Slowly, Ajax massaged Halen’s hole, feeling the strange substance. He drew his hand back and considered the slick before smirking at Halen. “When I felt the knot i assumed you were like the Loupi. Goddess knows I've felt the king's enough to know. But this is something else. Care to explain?”

Blushing, Halen muttered something beneath his breath. A sharp squeeze, making him let out a quick yelp had him speaking up. “I told you I studied many branches of magic. Some of them are a tad more ‘exotic’. The slick is the result of a ritual. Same for some stretchiness down there.” He quickly explained, a blush covering his face after he admitted to participating in a ritual that gave him such features.

Ajax seemed to freeze as he processed that….Then a large and worrying smirk grew on his face. “Really now…” Ajax pressed Halen back up against the wall and began to press two fingers into his hole. Chuckling ajax said, “You are just full of surprises aren't you little drake. I'm going to enjoy this, and you.” He thrusted his fingers roughly, opening the lithe man and dragging several moaning cries from him. All this fueled Ajax’s more dominant side and he returned to his assault in Halen’s neck, leaving several marks low on his throat.

Feeling the mouth sucking on his throat, Halen moaned, a jab from the thrusting fingers on his prostate had him spurting pre-cum into the pool. His moans echoed around the chamber, and he knew that if someone was walking by they would hear his moaning. He thrust his hips back into the fingers, wanting to get more of the pleasure that Ajax was providing him with. His hands trembled, threatening to collapse under his weight and the torturous actions the Bao was inflicting upon him.

Ajax’s other hand came around to abuse Halens nipples as he curls his fingers, applying direct and continuous pressure to Halen’s prostate. Gasping at the pleasure, Halen gave out a whimper, his sensitive nipples causing his cock to swell and his balls draw up, he wanted to blow but knew that ending the fun now would be a waste. Holding back his coming orgasm, he waited for Ajax to make his move.

Ajax chose that moment to pull his fingers from Halen’s hole. He positioned himself quickly before pressing forward, burying his prick into the little drake. His 10-inch cock was, like the rest of him, incredibly thick, almost the size of an average man’s wrist. His other hand came around to Halen’s cock. Slick stained and ready, Ajax stroked Halen’s rod as he began to piston in and out of that tight heat. Snarling softly, Ajax took great delight in toying with Halen. Striking just below his prostate repeatedly to drag a tortured moan from the Naga-Ra. The slick flowing around his cock making the thrusting easier and faster, letting him thrust harder and harder, a squelching sound occurring whenever he pulled out.

Halen groaned in pleasure as the thick cock penetrates him, incredibly thick and hard. Glad for the ritual enchantments that allowed him to enjoy the cock to the fullest, the slight pain from the initial penetration was quickly overcome by the pleasure coming from his prostate being abused and his cock being stroked. He bucked back into the thrusting cock before bucking forward into the meaty hand, trying to get more and more pleasure.

Ajax growled and groaned, feeling the Naga’s hole flutter and twitch around him. He pistoned his hips, driving into Halen. “Such a good little slut. I think that your gonna fit in just fine here. The king is going to enjoy having you, I promise you that. And I’m going to have plenty of time to enjoy you while you’re here.” Ajax gave you a sharp jab to Halen’s prostate. “I want you to make me a promise you’ll visit my barracks.” Ajax chuckled at that. Halen’s hole seemed to spasm at that idea, and Ajax began to imagine the possibilities.

Nodding desperately, Halen had fantasies of what may come over the next days. Riding Dominic in the throne room, servicing Aaron and Vari late at night, taking cock after cock. All these thoughts ran through his lust fueled mind as the massive cock battered his prostate, each thrust forcing pre-cum from his cock and moans from his lips, his balls were drawing up as his ability to resist cumming fell away, caused by the overwhelming pleasure assaulting him from all around.

Ajax sensed the strain Halen was under and chose to break him swiftly. Ajax snapped his hips forwards, jabbing the Naga-Ra’s prostate while he bit down on Halen’s shoulder. Feeling the bite and the hard thrust pushed Halen over the edge. His cock swelled and the knot reached its full size. His massive balls contracted as they squeezed out rope after rope of thick, creamy cum. It splattered against the wall and into the tub, clinging to the surface and swirling around in the water. His hole tightened around Ajax’s cock, trying to milk the Bao’s cock of its cum.

Ajax moaned into Halen’s shoulder as the heat around his cock tightened. The feeling threw Ajax over the edge and he came, with several shots of hot cum blasting into Halen’s hole. Eventually, Halen’s hole was filled and the cum and slick began to pour out as Ajax fucked through his release. “Fuuuuuck. Fuck little drake, you make a pretty little cum dump.” Ajax chuckled as he slowly drew his cock free.

Halen groaned at the loss of the thick cock, his hole closing behind it as it left, sealing some of the cum inside of him. Collapsing into the tub, the water rose up to his shoulders, his sore muscles relaxed in the water. “Fuuuuck,” he groaned, too tired to move any muscles. He saw Ajax lower himself into the water, his legs shaking as well. “Hah, glad you joined me for a bath? Guess it’s a good thing ya interrupted me earlier.” He chuckled, more to himself than Ajax.

Ajax chuckled as well and then reached over to grab the bottle and cloth he had left earlier. “I suppose it was,” Ajax poured a little of the oil into the cloth and lathered it up. “Come here, let me take care of those scales of yours little drake.”

Drawing himself up he trudged over to the panther and plopped down beside him, water splashing over him. “Gently please, the scales do need special treatment sometimes, so please avoid cleaning the edges for now.” He slumped against the side of the tub as Ajax began to clean him. Seeing the soap he had grabbed earlier, Halen cast a simple spell to pull it towards him and emptied some into his hands. He lathered it up and began to return the favour, lathering the shampoo (lavender in this instance to his delight) into the silky fur.

Ajax began to purr softly as Halen’s talented hands lathered his fur, working out small knots and tired muscles. Heeding the advice he was given, Ajax gently cleaned the scales slowly, before working a little more vigorously on Halen’s skin. Leaning over gently, Ajax activated the cleaning function on the tub, which caused the water to begin clearing. Then he picked up one of his companion’s legs and began to wash and massage it as well.

Halen groaned at the thorough job Ajax was doing. Having been ages since he had such a considerate lover. “Mmm, definitely have to have you massage me again some time. Are these all standard for a guard?” Halen teased, moaning as the strong hands massage a knot in his thigh, the firm fingers working it until it faded away. His own hands continuing their ministrations, working on one of the Baos arms, suds being washed off into the self cleaning water. Standing, he moved to Ajax’s other side, allowing him to continue massaging his other leg while he cleared the other arm.

“Sadly no,” Ajax smiled, “Let’s just say I met an impressive young Bao who had an intimate understanding of the body and leave it at that. Comes in handy with those lovers who enjoy my more… rough nature.” Ajax blushed lightly as he released the leg he was holding.

Lounging back in the tub, Halen enjoyed the feeling of the water lapping against him. “Hmm, I enjoyed it, can’t say I won’t be asking for another round while I’m here though.” Looking around the room he spotted a timepiece. “Seems that we should take our leave soon, we don’t have long until dinner is set to start.” He said, getting out of the tub and stretching his sore limbs. “Come on, I’ll get lost if I try to find my way back to my room, and I don’t want to be late.”

Ajax drew himself from the water and allowed it to continue cleaning. He grabbed two towels and tossed one at Halen, which he caught, while drying his fur with the other. Several tufts of fur began to stand up and Ajax huffed softly. He pointed to a small blue vial on the wall. “Toss me that would you?” Halen smiled and tossed the vial over. Ajax spread a small touch on a comb he kept here and began to brush his fur back into obedience. Once it was relatively straight, Ajax tossed on his armour after stretching out his muscles. Glancing over, he saw that Halen had redressed as well. Leading the Naga-ra out of the bathhouse was a simple affair, and they soon found themselves back in the room the king had provided. Inside a few bags, and the leather satchel Ajax remembered seeing at the Inn were placed on the desk. A long cloth wrapped object also lay near the food of the bed. “It looks like the palace staff delivered your things. Best check that everything is there. If we need to collect something I want to know now lest it get lost.”

Looking over his bags, and ensuring that all of the enchantments on his items remained undisturbed he nodded, satisfied. “No, everything seems to be here. I’ll give it a more thorough review after dinner though. I travel light most of the time, so there's not much to lose.” Looking into his bag he pulled out a simple black top and pants, embroidered with runic symbols in silver thread. “This is the best wear I own, hopefully your king will not mind.” Halen spoke, quickly changing into the black formalwear, slits in the back allowing his wings to remain free.

“Well, it does match the royal colours. I imagine that will please him,” Ajax chuckled. “Dinner will be in just a bit. We should head down soon. But before I show you down, did you have any questions about Terralun? You said no earlier but I just wish to check.”

“Not really. I was here for a few days before you found me and got a general vibe. Anything I should expect during the meal? Who will be there?” Halen asked, wondering if the council mentioned by Dominic would be present.

Ajax furrowed his brow in consideration. “The king of course. The general is also in Rayon so he should be in attendance. As well as the court mage. I normally attend but I have duties tonight. The head of the guild council should be there if work doesn't drag him away. And I believe any other advisors are out of the city at this time. The economic advisor is overseeing a large trade deal on the coast and won't be back for at least a month. And the Agricultural advisor is assisting in rituals to increase our crop yield. Other than that, the only people who regularly attend are visiting dignitaries but we have none now.” Suddenly a deep, resonating gong sounded throughout the castle. “That would be dinner, allow me to show you the way.” Ajax led Halen down to the second floor and across the castle to a large dining room. The room was decorated in wood and earth tones with several windows to let in light. A magnificent wooden table was covered with a white tablecloth and several candelabras, all of which were lit. Ajax stepped to the side and gestured in. “Enjoy dinner little drake,” he said, “and behave for the king.” With a lecherous smile and a peck on the cheek, the Bao was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Halen walked into the dinning room to the wonderful scent. A banquet table set with finery was illuminated by the candelabra positioned around the room. A roaring fire to the left cast a warm glow over the table. The table was large enough for several dozen to be seated, but only a handful of chairs were filled by Ikati and Loupi of varying appearance and ages with Dominic at the head. Dominic gestured to him when he noticed Halens presence, to the empty seat at his left. As he walked to the chair he examined the plethora of dished. Bowls of vegetables, covered in sauces sat steaming. Baskets of puffy bread and platters of cheeses were scattered around. The centerpiece was a platter of many roasted meats, hams, poultry, fish and beef, all seasoned to perfection and wafting a mouth watering scent throughout the room.

“Halen, please, come in. The cooks have outdone themselves tonight, as i told them we would be having guests. I wasn't certain what you would desire so they did their best to accommodate you. I hope you find something to our liking.” Dominic smiled a charming smile as Halen sat down, taking a roll from the platter near him and placing it on the fine earthen dishes.

Looking again at the many dishes, Halen’s mouth watered lightly, it having been months since he last had the chance to eat such fine foods. “And I thank you My Lord. This all looks marvelous. That being said, may I ask whom the others here are?” He asked, gesturing to the other people seated around the table.

Dominic chuckled and began to gesture around. “Allow me to introduce you to Eamon, the general of my armies and my personal military advisor,” the king pointed to a grizzled old Loupi with a dark black coat who watched Halen carefully. “This is the court sorcerer, Asher, who advisoes me on mystical matters and is my contact within the mages guild. He makes frequent use of my library as well so expect to run into him.” Dominic pointed to another Loupi, this one younger than Eamon, with a silvery-white coat of fur and sparkling green eyes. “And finally, let me introduce Jessica, the the head of my guild council. She keeps me apprised of the concerns of the artisans and craftsmen of the country.” The king finally pointed to the Ikati at the table. A lovely Hu (tiger) woman, with a well kept fur and pleasant smile.“My other advisors are currently out of the city, seeing to the kingdom. I will inform them later.”

Halen nodded to each of the council members in turn, they returned the gesture. Seeing that Dominic had started reaching for food, the other followed suit, devouring the bounty before them. Halen spoke little during the dinner, unsure of how the council members view him and for the panic his arrival had caused. He listened as they and the king spoke, discussing topics both related to matters of state as well as personal. Asking about Jessica’s wife, Ashers students and Eamon’s grandson that had just joined the guard. He enjoyed the fine food all the while, eating savoring the delicious, fluffy breads, savoury meats and succulent vegetables. Eventually the meal was cleared away and Halen sat back in his chair, satisfied at the meal and at not being questioned. To his dismay, the Jessica took this moment to address him.

“So tell me Halen. Where is it you come from? I’ve dealt with many merchants over the years, and am told many tails. But none of them have ever mentioned your kind. And I’m sure that someone with wings would have quite a few stories about them.” She spoke, leaning forward, an almost hungry look in her gaze that made Halen gulp.

“My kind reside in an isolated mountain range, and rarely venture out. I’m probably the first one to leave in several years, and I don’t know if any of my kind have ever ventured so far from our homeland.” He spoke, swirling his glass of Ice Wine lightly as he spoke before taking a sip of the sticky, sweet liquid. Jessica seemed satisfied with the response, but this opened him up to questions from the others. Most were things he had answered earlier, to either Dominic of the guards, until a question from Asher caught his attention. “Dominic has mentioned that your a mage, but when he mentioned the number of fields you studied I was surprised. Most don’t branch out much until they are quite old, yet you seem to be barely out of your cub days.”

Looking around, he could see the others at the table were interested in what he had to say. “I’m not quite as young as you may think. The Naga-Ra have a long lifespan compared to the Ikati and most other species. I’m 47, which is barely an adult for my kind, but most can live to be over 500, some even live to be over 600.” He finished, a grin on his lips at seeing a dumbfounded look on the others faces.

Dominic was the first to recover. “That...it’s incredible. The Loupi have life spans similar to the Ikati, falling just a bit short at about 160 years.To live so long, it must have quite the effect on your people.I...forgive me for asking, but it is my understanding that cultures that have such long life spans tend to have….fewer children.” the king finished in a tentative voice. His duty to his country demanded he ask but he knew how delicate such topics could be. But if there was a race of ancient warriors, with a population to match Terralun….he had to know.

Halen nodded at Dominics statement. “Quite true, its not uncommon for siblings to have decades difference in age, I’m almost eight years older than my next sibling, and almost two decades for the other.” He said, thinking on his family. “The long lifespan also makes many of the Naga-Ra slow to accept change, elders often make breaking from tradition hard, given how long their memories are.” A scowl crossing his face at the mention of the elders.

“I can imagine,” Asher chuckled, “still the oldest of your kind must be a great treasure. For the chance to speak to them, I have so many questions to ask and theorems to debate…” Here Asher seemed to trail off as he looked down clearly lost in his imagination. Dominic’s face split into a grin as he too contemplated such an opportunity.

“That depends on the elder, some of them are quite wise. Open to discussing with anyone on many topics. Others…..” he shook his head, a frown marring his face. “There is a reason my kind remain isolated, and that is largely due to some of the elders. They have views about others, and are quite obstinant about their opinions, looking down on those that they don’t deem of ‘value’.” He spoke with a somber tone.

Asher gave a nod to Halen. “I apologize if i have brought up bad memories. Let me perhaps jump to a safer topic. Dominic mentioned you were adept with several fields of magic but he had not learned which ones or how many. If i may be so bold, what areas do you specialize in? Here in Terrealun we mainly have earth magic, with some of the mystics in the mountains being more attuned to ice and the priests having what is referred to as “lunar magic” if you don't believe it is the power of the Goddess. We also have such things as warding, healing, and enchanting but those are more generalized.

Taking another sip of the sweet wine, Halen replied. “I dabble in many fields, so if you want a full list we may be here for some time. But my specialties….. Fire and Ice are a specialty, I’m also somewhat handy with Warding and Ritual magics. Golem creation and Enchanting were part of the family business, so I picked those up early on. Healing, but more so combat based than in a clinic.” Here he paused, debating his next words and how they may be taken.”I’ve also studied some more, ‘exotic’ schools, Summoning and Necromancy, but those are things I cannot practice as often as I care for.” He said, seeing the startled looks on the others faces. “And during my travels I picked up, from what I can tell, is a forgotten Magic. I can’t translate the name well so I’ve taken to calling it Black Magic.” he finished, downing the last of his glass and moving to pour another.

Dominic passed over the bottle while exchanging silent glances with his advisors. “Before i say anything, could you elaborate on this Black Magic you’ve been rediscovering? I do not with to make assumptions.” The king kept his face neutral, despite the concern he could feel radiating from his advisors, especially Jessica.

Taking a sip of the refilled glass, Halen gave a hum, debating how much to reveal. “Combat focused, but on an entirely different level from most magics I’ve seen. Some ritual, enchantments and other lesser schools can be augmented by Black Magics, but it seems to be most combat in the end.” he spoke, placing down the wineglass when a server placed a plate in front of him. A delicate glass containing a trifle, layers of custard, cream and fruit perched upon it. Breaking the surface with a spoon and taking a bit he hummed at the flavour, noting at the others at the table had yet to touch their desserts. “”Imagine a candle, sturdy flame, not the strongest, but long lasting. Then imagine a campfire, made with a dry dry wood. That is the difference. The candle can last for ages, but is not overly strong. The campfire though, will burn brighter and hotter, but it will fade sooner. Black Magic can damage the body with time, so it is not fit for prolonged usage.” he spoke, taking bites of the dessert throughout.

Dominic and Asher seemed to have a silent conversation with nothing but their eyes for a moment before the king turned to his guest. “I confess, that was not what i was expecting when Asher firsts asked his question. Fire, ritual, golems, these all have peaked my interest, and im sure Asher and most of the Mages guild would you their right arm, for a demonstration, and their mothers for a copy of you books. Summoning…..Dear Goddess its a fairy tail to us. If it truly is possible…. Regardless. Im sure you can imagine that the last two are concerning to us. The necromancy is a concern culturally. We place great value on our family, and perhaps more so our ancestors. I must request that you not use this power too liberally here in Terralun. Normally I would demand you not raise any of the Loupi or even the Ikati, but I will only ask for your word that you will obtain the consent of any living family before such action. Is that acceptable?”

Halen gave him a look that was part disbelief and part respect. “Well, you took that much better than the last person I told. And I will attempt to do as asked, Necromancy is not something I practice much, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“But it is something you wish more freedom to study. I love magic, and I believe myself open-minded. I will not stifle you. But I must ensure no one is harmed in my kingdom. Base animals should be fine. Can you only animate corpses or can you also converse with spirits?”

Surprised at Dominics response, Halen took a moment to respond. “Bodies mainly, communing with spirits of the dead is impossible as far as I know, but I’ve only read a handful of Necromantic texts. And communing with a spirit of nature or an element would be a different discipline.” He spoke, somewhat dissatisfied by the lack on information on the topic.

Dominic grumbled in annoyance. “A pity. As i said, we hold our ancestors in great esteem. It would put many in your corner if you could allow the mto speak with those past of their line. But on to more delicate matters. This Black Magic you spoke of……..I cannot lie i am extremely curious. But I must insist you not teach it to anyone here. If you yourself are still discovering all there is, i cannot allow any of my people to come to harm. Especially as you mentioned that it can have horrific effects on the body. But you said you discovered it in your travels. I believe i have your measure now so I must ask. Did you discover it in some ancient local? Somer ruin or temple?”

Finishing the dessert, Halen looked at it sadly, shame it was gone so soon. “I honestly don’t know what the building was, maybe a temple, maybe a school. Whatever it was, the ruin was older than many I have seen before and deep in an uninhabited area surrounded by, if not dangerous, then rather odd creatures.” he spoke, thinking of the difficulty he had reaching the knowledges resting place. “I wouldn’t teach anyone even if I could. The first step to learning it is rather particular, and something that cannot be done at any place.” Looking Dominic in the eyes, wanting the King to believe what he said.

Dominic nodded. “Then i suppose my next question is, did you come to Terralun looking for similar ruins?”

A playful smirk plastered itself on the scaled mans face. “Ah, you could say that. I’m traveling to look for ruins in general. But do I know if there is a ruin here? No. I can’t say that I do. So you could say yes, or no. I am in search of ruins, yes, but I am unsure if there is one here, or if I’ll have to go further to find the next one.” Halen spoke, the eyes of every person at the table on him.

“I see.” Dominic seemed to consider for several moments. “Well I would you to tell me if you discover any. Knowledge like that is dangerous. I will see if we can assist you of course. And please keep the Black Magic in check. I would prefer my castle standing in all honestly.” He gave a smile to show he was teasing.

Mentally sighing in relief, Halen nooded. “Of course My Lord, but it can be rather dangerous, so I hope that if your guards keep escorting me, that they will be up for it.” he said, grinning playful at the end. Looking around, the servers came to remove the last of the dishes, noting that every dessert but his own and Jessica's was untouched. Around the room, the candles and torches were being extinguished, indicating the end of the meal and the growingly late hour.
“I believe we should leave, lest the chefs begin shooting us. Allow me to show you that library i've been boasting about Halen. And please call me Dominic.” the king smiled softly.

Standing, Halen walked over to Dominic, as the Loupi stood. “Of course Dominic.” And moved to follow the man as he lead Halen out of the dining hall. Up a new flight of stairs, and down a well lit corridor, Dominic stopped at a simple wooden door. He pushed it open and stepped within, leaving alen a view of a large, almost cavernous space. The ceiling rose far above, the room clearly taking up two floors, and had magnificent arches and murals. But what was truly astonishing was the number of books. Row upon row, shelf upon shelf, there were thousands. Perhaps tens of thousands. Several tables were scattered around the door, but Halen couldn't see much further, the bookcases were so tightly packed. It was a small maze that Dominic found great pleasure in getting lost in.

“There are many subjects this library covers. History and treaties for Terraluna, ancient geography, the arts, long forgotten stories of daring heroes, all that's on the first floor. The second floor is where everything on magic is kept.” Dominic pointed upwards, where hundreds of shelves lined the walls

Halen examined the room, somewhat impressed at the collection. “A very respectable collection Dominic, I look forward to examining some of you magic collection.” He said, moving over to the shelves. “You’ll find that no two cultures view magic exactly the same, and that they can often have very different takes on the same spell. Perhaps we can discuss it more in depth later on.” He spoke, a yawn coming out at the end. He gave the king a glance, admiring his appearance and looking forward to speaking to him again. “That being said, I think I’ll retire shortly. It’s been an…...interesting day.” Halen spoke.

Dominic chuckled, “Very well. I look forward to your stay here. Do you need an escort back to your room?”

Blushing, Halen rubbed the back of his head while chuckling. “If you don’t mind. I’ll probably get lost on the way there.” He spoke, clearly embarrassed.

Dominic opened the door back up and motioned for Halen to follow. They stepped out and Dominic lead them down a few hallways until they came to a curved stairway. “Don’t worry. You’ll get a feel for the castle in time.” Up the stairs, and to the left, Dominic pushed open the door to the room. “Here you are...little drake.” Dominic gave a smirk.

Halen gave the Loupi a smirk, the teasing tone in the others voice giving him ideas of what he may do in the coming days. “Goodnight Dominic. I look forward to getting to know the castle, and its inhabitants, much, much better.” He spoke, purring the last words, his tongue tracing his lips. Before closing the door behind him and moving to the bed. His formal wear was stripped and folded before being placed back in his bag.

Looking around the room, Halen began chanting under his breath, a purple glow emanating from his eye. Looking around with his altered sight, he was relieved to not find any sort of enchantments within the room, beyond a few standard spells. Canceling the first spell, he moved to his bag and removed several books, checking for any tampering before casting additional spells to keep them secure before moving to the four-poster bed. He flopped down on his stomach, his still glowing in the moonlight that flooded through a nearby window. His hand move downward slowly, wrapping around himself while thinking about what he could get up to in the near future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dominic purred as his cock thrusted in and out of Ajax’s sweet hole. The massive Bao guard moaned and cried out as his king plundered his hole over and over again. The flirtatious remark he had heard Ajax give to his new guest at the door to the dinning hall had intrigued him. So he had sent for the Bao for a full report of Halen. It had taken a little work to pull all the details from the nervous little kitten, but he had learned everything that Ajax had.

As the report had gone one, and Ajax had described Halen’s experience in the bath, Dominic had felt his loins stir. It was very clear that he would have to take some time to enjoy the Naga-Ra to his fullest. But he had needed relief so he had pushed Ajax to his knees and fed the willing and submissive Bao his 10.5 inch cock. Dominic had been so lucky to find the kitten. A vers who loved to submit to authority, highly skilled in multiple forms of battle, and capable of instilling loyalty and obedience. Oh Goddess the Bao was his, and he was good. Things had progressed quickly from there. Dominic had thrown his captain on the bed and began to fuck his hole with wild abandon. While driving into his guard he had elicited several promises from his captain to assist him in entrapping and ruining his pretty visitor. Oh he would be a gracious host and allow Halen all the freedom he could, but he would have the Naga-Ra for as long as he chose to stay.

Unsurprisingly, the captain had been all too happy to comply. He even seemed excited at the prospect. Or it could have been the gallon of boiling seed that was being emptied into his pussy that had Ajax crying out in ecstasy. Dominic wasn't sure and he didn't particularly care as Ajax’s shuddering was doing wonders to the knot that had tied them together. Dominic had taken great pains to ensure Ajax new how to service his knot.
“Good bitch,” Dominic whispered as Ajax fell unconscious.

Chapter Text

Halen wandered the halls silently, enjoying how still everything was in the hours before dawn. The long castle hallways were dark, most of the light sources had dwindled overnight until only the barest traces of flame remained. He wandered through the hallways in search of the library he had seen the night before. Unable to sleep late, he decided to seek out some of the books within while waiting for the rest of the castle to begin its day.

He had been wandering for almost thirty minutes when he realized that the door coming up on his left was (hopefully) the one he was searching for. Opening the door he moved into the room, relieved to see it was the room he was seeking. No longer tired as we has the night before, Halen took a moment to examine the room. The walls of the lower level were lined with bookcases, stacks upon stacks dominating the majority of the room in neat rows. A sitting area was near the far left corner, comfortable armchairs and couches were in a semi-circle around a fire, several tables were between them, some covered with scattered papers. The far right held a staircase that allowed access to the second level. Halen quickly scaled the staircase to the second level and looked around. Far fewer bookcases were present, instead several pedestals were scattered around, glass cases covering books that rested on pillows, protected (or locked away) from the outside. He moved to the nearest one and gazed at the book. He recognized the title, a book of healing magic that he had read from in the past. Moving to the next he saw a scroll, the material yellowed with age, the handles having changed colour from centuries of age.

Taking a moment, Halen began to mutter an incantation under his breath, a purple glow emanating from his eye. Halen raised an eyebrow as each pedestal lit up. Clearly the protective spells said that the Loupi valued these books. Halen began to turn away, before noticing an enchantment that allowed someone to flip the pages without opening the case.

Slowly Halen approached a seemingly ancient text about what appeared
to be a story of an ancient Loupi who made a deal with an ancient spirit of the mountain. Peering closer, Halen began to see parallels to his own knowledge of summoning.

"Quite the amazing tale isn't it." Halen jumped so hard he briefly wondered if he'd lost scales. There, standing by the stairs in a corner created by a shelf, was Dominic. "It's one of the oldest stories in all of Terralun. It harkens back to the days when my people were still nomads, wandering the mountains and plains. What drew you to it?" Dominic had drawn closer and closer as he spoke, soon standing less than a foot from Halen.

"Merely chance to be honest." Halen spoke, his gaze wandering back to the ancient text. "Although, I'm not sure how much of this tale is entirely fiction, not just a meer tale I'd say. Some of the things mentioned in it mirror my own knowledge of summoning, the deals being made are reminiscent of a contract being forged with a nature spirit, or some other being that is tied to the land." Halen spoke, continuing to flip through the pages as he spoke to Dominic.

Dominics eyes widened. "Truely? It seems you become more interesting by the minute. I find it harder and harder to decide just what topic to pick your brain over first. If my people once held such contracts....well we don't know. I wonder how the art came to be lost if you're right."

"It's hard to say, the spirit itself could have destroyed the contract. But given the nature of a spirit......" Halen shook his head, thinking about the many possibilities for what could make a spirit break a contract. "I can't say, it could be any number of reasons, and given that this was before your people came together, only you would know about how many scrolls survived from that era." Halen finished.

"Very few. There may be a few still held by the mystics.
Perhaps...Perhaps you could assist my people in reclaiming this piece of our history." Slowly, Dominic slid his hand up Halen's arm. "I would be extremely grateful," a grin had come into his voice.

Halen feeling the strong, fur covered hand on his arm, looked towards Dominic. "I could assist, but it's hard to say how much I could actually contribute." He spoke, leaning into the others touch and grinning slightly. "That being said, I can't say that I've ever had a king being grateful to me before." He said, letting his wings flutter behind him.

"I assure you, it has its advantages." Dominic murmured, his hot breath floating across Halen's skin. "But let us speak of more pressing matters. I had a fascinating report from Ajax last night." Dominic ghosted his other hand up Halen's bare side. "I admit I find myself wondering, so perhaps...," Dominic pressed Halen up against a bare strach of wall, pinning the arm he had been carressing up above Halen's head. " Perhaps you might sate my curiosity," He hissed into The Naga-Ra's ear.

Halen smirked at Dominic. "Really, I'm not sure what he could have told you." Halen said, brining his leg up to brush against the growing bulge in the front of Dominics leather pants. "I will admit, something he said last night piqued my curiosity." He spoke, his tone turning sultry as he mentioned the previous night. "I've only encounter one other race with, 'equipment' like my own, I wonder how the Loupi will compare."

Dominic gave a growl of excitement, "I assure you, I won't disappoint." Leaning down, the king placed a passionate kiss on the dragon's lips, a hand come up to cup his jaw. At the same time Dominic pressed forward and began to roll his hips, grinding on Halen's leg and occasionally brushing his hardening prick.

Halen thrust his tongue into Dominics mouth, tasting a
surprisingly fresh, minty tone from the slightly shorter man. His shaft hardened in his robes, creating a tent in the front and rubbing against the furred mans legs. His free arm trailed down the others arms, tracing firm muscle underneath the fine, silky fabric. Eventually it came to rest on his firm rear, just beneath the point where his swishing tail jutted out. He gave the globe a firm squeeze, drawing a yelp and glare from Dominic, the eyes promising retribution.

Using the arm he had pinned, Dominic turned Halen until he was facing the wall, before delivering a firm smack to Halen's rear end, pulling a sharp yelp from the Naga-Ra. Dominic repeated this action a few more times, causing Halen to moan and pant between each strike. Once the king had "punished" Halen, he knelt down and pulled up the robe Halen wore. Reaching in he massaged the defenseless hole he found gently. Eventually, dominic grew tired of that and leaned in running a coarse tongue across Halen's hole once. Then he pulled those two soft globes apart and allowed his tongue to burrow deep into the moaning dragon.

Moaning as the rough tongue brushed over his hole, Halen could feel himself start to slick from arousal. Hands braced against the wall, he shifted forwards, bracing himself on one arm and brining the other down to the front of his undergarment. Pulling it aside allowed his cock to spring free, splattering the wall and carpet with his pre-cum. Dominic gave a gowl of warning when he moved to stroke himself, and retreated. Instead he reached behind, towards Dominic to urge him forward. The long tongue began to jab at his hole, the slick allowing it to pierce the ring of muscle easily and caused him to squirm, a gasp escaping his lips.

Dominic smirked inwardly at Halen's reaction as he lapped at the slick spilling hole. HE was pleasantly surprised to find the slick had a slightly sweet taste to it, which he enjoyed. Pressing deeper, his snout bgan to glisten with slick as his tongue brushed against Halen's prostate. When his mind registered the sensation, Halen released a short scream of pleasure, before Dominic drew back. "There it is." he smirked.

Halen felt his legs trembling beneath him as he slumped forwards, his sweaty forehead pressed against the cool stone wall of the library. "Shit" he exhaled, breath somewhat shaky. "Thats a skilled tongue Dominic, wonder if thats why your such a good negotiator." He chuckled, Dominic echoing the sound. Steeling himself, Halen turned around and dropped to his knees alongside the king. He moved forward, forcing dominic to sit on his ass as Halen crouched over his lap, hands trailing over the firm muscle outlined by the tight shirt. His hands made quick work of it, leaving him bare from the waist up. Moving before Dominic could stop him, he slid his pants down, exposing the bulge in his undergarments, a wet patch on the tip of the growing mound. Moving back, he got his first look at what Dominic was packing, and his mouth watered at the

It was an impressive 10 and a half inches, nearly rivaling Halen's own with an impressive thickness. Halen liked his lips and pulled the royal prick from its confines, before giving one long lick from base to tip. Dominic threw back his head, making soft sounds of pleasure. Halen licked a few more stripes up and down before rearing back and swallowing all ten and a half inches in one go.

Not wanting to waste any time, Halen began to bob up and down, using his skill to pleasure the king. Swiping his tongue across the underside of Dominic's cock, Halen did his best to elicit louder and louder noises. In response, Dominic groaned and growled, fisting Halen's hair and thrusting up into his throat.

The first thrust caught him off guard, causing him to gage around the mighty shaft. Pulling back before Dominic could give another, he took a deep breath and threw himself forward, fucking himself on the cock. The king took that as a sign and resumed his own thrusting, the cock vanishing into Halens mouth every second, saliva and pre-cum trailing down the sides of the shaft. Halen moaned around the cock, savoring
the taste and noting how the taste was slightly different than others he had sucked recently. As he sucked Dominic, Halen moved one hand south trailing along his own cock before it moved to his hole and he began thrusting into himself with one finger, His own cock dripping onto the floor beneath him.

"Look at you. Ajax told me you were a needy little slut. I almost didn't believe him. But I'm glad to see he was right." Dominic cut off to moan loudly. "First I'm going to feed you a nice thick breakfast. Then i'm going to bend you over one of the tables and fuck you till you break." He chuckled, puncturing each statement with a sharp thrust. "Don't worry. When you wake up you'll be tied up in my bed and Ajax and i will see to it you never want to leave." Dominic ran some of his claws up Halen's back, leaving faint red marks as he chuckled and thrust down the dragon's throat.

Halen moaned at Dominics words, his cock throbbing beneath him, pulsing whenever the massive cock thrust into his throat. Feeling the claws along his back sent shudders through him. Drawing off the cock, Halen stood quickly, shedding his robe, boots and underwear, leaving him naked before the monarch. Shuddering at the others lust filled gaze, Halen moved to disrobe the king, hesitating at the others pants, a nod was all the permission he needed to leave the other man as bare as he was. Dominic quickly stepped forward, embracing Halen and rubbing their cocks together, pre-cum splatting skin and fun. Halen moaned as the silky fun stimulated his skin, Dominic doing the same from the scales that lightly scraped along him.

Dominic lifted the Naga-Ra, using his plump ass as a handle, carrying him over to the table where he sat him down. With little effort, Dominic leaned Halen back, there lips never parting. Once Halen lay on the table, he found the Loupi's hands everywhere. No patch of skin or scale was safe as Dominic seamed intent to marking every imaginable area he could reach. Fur tantalized and claws scraped up and down, eliciting more and more shivers and moans from the little dragon. Finally, Dominic stood and parted Halen's legs, placing his cock at the Naga-Ra's entrance.

Halen's eyes locked with Dominics, the king giving him a confidant smirk, which was met by Halens playful one. The monarch took that as permission and pressed his cock forward, slowly sinking into the tight, slick, heat that parted around the invading shaft. Halen moaned as he was stretched for the second time is as many days, his own cock throbbing as he was stimulated. Resisting the urge to jerk, knowing that it was likely to end up with his hands pinned again, he reached forward, trailing hands across firm, silky pecs. Finding the nipple he settled in to tease them as Dominics knot settled outside of his hole. Seeing that the king was waiting to start moving, and being a tad impatient, he gave the nubs a sharp tug. A howl escaped the Loupi, and spurred him on, fucking into Halen without mercy.

The king gave a series of snarls as he drove his cock deep into the little drake. Ajax had forewarned him of what taking Halen would be like, but words hadn't done it justice. His shaft glided in and out, ravaging the Naga-Ra as Dominic fucked with wild abandon. He took great pleasure in tormenting Halen by randomly jabbing his prostate, causing sparks of pleasure to light up his brain. Each time, Halen's ass would tighten and Dominic would gasp and chuckle. He continued this torture for several minutes, just hammering away at Halen. Eventually he wrapped a hand around the dragon and squeezed, stroking slowly until Halen threw his head back and cried out. At this, Dominic clamped down, stopping Halen's orgasm cold. He paused just long enough for Halen to begin whimpering before he began fuking into that tight heat again.

Halen could barely form a coherent thought as he was ravaged by Dominic, his hole dripping slick as he was destroyed by the cock. Feeling the hand on his cock, stopping his orgasm left him pent and needy. Glaring at the king, it was ended when a hard thrust to his prostate had him throwing his head back in ecstasy. He tightened his hole around the pistoning cock, trying to draw the same moans and groans that he was releasing, and failing that, mustered up the will for a small spell. Reaching forward again he tweaked the kings nipples, his fingers channeling a spark of electricity into the nubs, drawing a gasp of pleasure and surprise from the man who responded with a savage thrust. His hole began to buckle under the abuse, slowly opening
wider every time the knot was thrust against it, yielding to the massive pressure Dominic was putting on his slick dripping hole.

Just a few thrusts later, Dominics knot slipped into Halen and he threw back his head with a cry. The knot rapidly expanded, pressing against Halen's inner walls and providing a glorious pressure. Several hot, thick ropes of seed were shot into Halen's hole, and he rapidly felt himself fill. Through his orgasm, the king continued to rut into Halen, givering several thrusts that dragged his cock across the dragon's prostate. Eventually, cum began to slowly leak out of the dragons abused hole as seed reached deeper and deeper up into him. Soon the warmth spread into his stomach area and Halen became all but comatose with pleasure.

Halens cock throbbed desperately when the knot plopped into his hole, Dominics grip preventing him from cumming. Relief came to him when he felt cum flooding his hole and the hand left his cock, his own knot swelling as cum flooded out of his shaft, coating both himself and Dominic with draconic seed. Halen felt the seed flood deeper and deeper with every rope, forcing itself further and further inside until he felt his stomach swell slightly with royal seed. Only when both of them were spent did Halen allow himself to collapse on a boneless heap on the desk, Dominic collapsing atop him. The two men lay there in the afterglow for several moments before he shifted.

"Not that I don't' love this, cause I do. But can we switch places, it's a little uncomfortable.." Halen spoke, gesturing to the wings that were tightly folded along his back. Dominic quickly swapped their positions, leaving Halen lying on the kings massive, furry pecs, still tied to the monarch by the swollen knot. He spent his time waiting for the knot to deflate by absently tracing patterns in the others fur. Dominics hands were stroking along his back and wings all the while.

"So tell me, Little Drake. Did my "equipment" and I live up to expectations?" Dominic punctuated the statements with a roll of his hips, grinding his knot
into Halen's cum filled hole. "Did I represent my realm well?"

"Well, I can't say for all Loupi in general, but you certainly left me satisfied." Halen quipped, giving Dominic a peck on the side of his snout. "But your equipment, very nice, I think I need another round or two to give you an answer." He spoke, a look of lust in his eyes.

Dominic chuckled and ran his claws down the Naga-Ra's back. "You are a temptation, little drake. First breakfast. Then we have the day free, so you and will spend some time here. I still wish to pick your brain. Then a nice supper, before I take you back to my chambers. I assure you I will keep you satisfied. And we will find an answer. How does that sound?"

Halen gave a light laugh, filled with joy and amusement at that. "Sounds like an excellent day Dominic, but do you actually have the day free, or are you merely delaying work to spend it with me?" Halen questioned, absently tracing lines through the silky fur. "I would, however, not be at all opposed to spending some time in your chambers tonight." He grinned into the fur.

"I assure you I am indeed free. Even monarchs need a day to themselves once in a while. Unless you would like to be chained to my throne. I'm sure the visiting dignitaries and complaintains would love to use the hole of a new slave." Here Dominic gave an almost feral smile, deciding to test Halen's limits to get a better feel for him.

"Who am I to turn down such a generous offer then." Halen said, giving the more muscular man a hug. "Although, I think your negotiations may suffer if I were there to distract you all day, what would the visitors say." Halen purred, clenching around the slowly softening shaft. "As for sharing me... Let's save that for a few days yet, I don't know you quite that well." He said, some steel in his voice, but still
playful.

Dominic only chuckled, a gleam in his eye with untold promises of what was to come, before leaning up and capturing the Naga in a passionate kiss. "We'll have to fix that." He said once the kiss broke. Slowly, Dominic sat up, and gently pulled his deflating knot from the warm, wet confines of Halen's hole. This elicited a groan of displeasure, as he had to leave such a wonderful experience. Thankfully, his complaining was cut short when both their stomachs rumbled lightly. Doinic rolled his eyes and smiled, "Food. The cooks should nearly be done with breakfast. I should warn you, I have an unhealthy obsession with bacon."

"Bacon you say." A glint entering Halens eye. "Well, it's no sausage, but an excellent second either way." He said, a hungry tone entering his voice. Standing up he stretched his sore arms above his head before reaching behind to his hole. Dipping a finger in, it came back covered in sticky white cum and slick. "Well, before that, can you direct me to the nearest bathroom? It seems that you made quite the mess."

Dominic merely rolled his eyes at the terrible joke, before waving his hands in an arcane gesture. Halen felt his body lighten and freshen a though he had just bathed, add the seed within his hole seemed to disappear. Reaching down, the Naga-Ra found very little trace of there previous coupling.

"Sooo, I think I could use a spell like that. Mind showing me how later on?" He said, eyes silently begging for the useful spell. "How does it work anyway? Where does the, um, removed substances go?"

Dominic gave a soft chortle. "I invented that spell actually. And it is very useful. Whatever is removed is basically either reduced to its component parts, or absorbed and remade. Theoretically, the spell could be used to annihilate cities. Realistically...you have to know the
physical makeup of what your dealing with, and the energy to disassemble it. It would take a god to power it to dangerous levels." Dominic stood and began redressing himself, hungry for breakfast. "As for learning it....I'm sure you will be well acquainted with it soon." The king gave a sultry wink.

"Hah, I don't mind being filled at times." Halen said, smirking at the king who had a slightly dazed look on his face from the idea. "But given we are about to attend breakfast, I figured it better to leave some room." Sliding a hand over the others arm, he once again appreciated his physique. "That being said, I believe we should redress soon, lest we get caught by anyone else visiting this place." Giving Dominic a queer look when he didn't make to move which shifted to a deadpan. "You've been caught before, haven't you?" He spoke, his voice flat with a raised eyebrow.

"Does it count as being caught if they join in?"

A sigh was all Halen could give as he moved to retrieve the nearest piece of clothing, his robe top on the chair nearby. Before he could slip it on two strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him back against the solid chest. Kisses littered the back of his neck, causing him to groan at the feeling. "Breakfast first." Halen said, pulling away, but giving the other man a peck on the lips before slippin on the clothing. Dominic grumbled while he did the same with his haphazardly strewn clothing.

Once they were both dressed, the king led his guest out into the hall, surreptitiously slipping a book into his hand. Down to the ground floor they descended, until Dominic shifted course from the dining hall Halen had seen last night and up a side hall. There, Dominic stopped at a simple wood door. When he opened the portal, Halen saw a simple parlor/solarium. A small table was set with dishware, and the tall windows allowed in some of the dawning light.

"I felt a smaller setting was more appropriate for today. Last night was mainly to introduce you to the advisors, assure them I have the situation in hand. This is for entertaining honored guests. Come in"

Halen moved to the table, quickly taking a seat while Dominic cast a spell that Halen recognized as sending an alert. 'Likely alerting the kitchens.' he thought. And was proven correct when a servant carried in a tray piled high with a variety of breakfast foods, juices and fruits. Another brought in a basket of breads, rolls and other pastries, all delicate and mouth watering. Seeing Dominic seated across from him drew his attention to the other man. "So, you usually eat such a lavish spread for breakfast?" Halen asked, impressed at the sheer variety and amount of food for the twosome.

"No not usually." Dominic answered drolly as he spooned a small helping of eggs and several large strips of bacon onto his plate. Seeing Halen's eyebrow raised he replied, "Can I be blamed for wanting to impress my handsome guest?" This was said with an air of dry wit and playfulness and the king poured out a glass of juice and buttered a few pieces of toast.

Humming, Halen reached towards the platter, piled high with bacon, quickly filling his plate with bacon, pastries, and slices of crisp fruit. "So, handsome am I?" A smirk crossing his face as he gazed at Dominic, popping a strawberry into his mouth, enjoying the juice that gushed forth when he chewed on the succulent fruit.

"I'd go so far as to say ravishing," Dominic gave a wolfish grin. "What else can I pass you? You found the bacon." Dominic held the platter
of sausage out with one hand and munched on a chocolate chip muffin in the other. "There's plenty here. Juice? If you'd like something special, I can inform the cooks so they can make it tomorrow. Whether you take breakfast with me or not."

Eyes widening at the scent of the succulent sausage, Halens hand was a blur, several sausages vanishing from the platter and appearing on his plate. Another found its way to his mouth, Halen moaning at the delicious flavour of the perfectly cooked meat. "Sooo good." He moaned, licking some of the grease off his fingers.

"You are both arousing and hilarious. I'm not sure whether to make a joke or-" Halen was cut off by a knock on the wooden door. Waving his hand Dominic sent another arcane alert. The wooden portal opened to show Ajax in is usual armor, with a piece of parchment clutched in his hands. "Good morning your majesty. I have a report from the mages guild. You said you wanted to be kept apprised of any information." Stepping forward Ajax offered the page to the king while saying, "They say they have some leads, but they suggest receiving some....aid." At the last word Ajax gave a glance to Halen. Dominic nodded his head in a way that said he would consider it.

Halen gave Ajax a wave, while Dominic looked over the document. "So, Ajax, early day?" He asked, munching on another strawberry.

The Bao gave Halen a once over, before a grin made its way onto his lips, seeing that the kings attire was ruffled in a similar manner. "Indeed. That being said, it seems that you two also had an early day." He replied, chuckling when a faint blush covered the Naga-Ras face. "A lot of strenuous activity?"

Dominic smirks. "Careful Ajax. No one likes a hypocrite. You know full well you've sat in that same spot many times. Many, many times." Dominic allowed his gaze to rake up and down the Bao, who was not the one blushing as he refused to meet his kings gave. Dominic gave another once over before he raked his gave doen Halen as well.

"Well i believe I should go and see to-" Ajax began, before Dominic cut him off. "Ajax, why don't you stay and join us. There's plenty of food." Though phrased as a request, Ajax knew an order when it was given. He sank into the one of the two open chairs, thankful that under the table, neither the king nor the handsome guest could see his half mast cock.

Halen looked between the two men, feeling the slight tension that was present between them. Attempting to diffuse the situation, he thought back on something Ajax had said. "Ajax, you said that the mages need aid for something. May I ask what they are looking into?" He said, plopping another strawberry into his mouth after the question.

Dominic was the one who answered, "I'm afraid you can blame me for that. It's a bit of a scheme I have really. After last night, I realized it would take a long time for us to discuss all the things I was curious about. So I had the mages guild search for any mention of ancient ruins that might contain the Black Magic you mentioned." Dominic grinned playfully. I thought we might go investigate when we had a little free time."

Raising an eyebrow at the other man, Halen looked towards Ajax in disbelief, the man merely shrugged, used to his kings bizarre behaviours. Turning back to the
monarch he sighed and accepted what he was trying to do. "Well, who am I to turn down such aid." He said, a smirk on his face that was mirrored by the other two. "That being said, I will have to enter the ruins personally. Do you actually plan to follow me around when I trek through these places?" He asked, with a skeptic tone entering his voice. Looking towards Dominic he raised an eyebrow. "You do know, you could just ask me to stay around for a while, I have no schedule to keep or people demanding my presence."

Dominic seemed to be embarrassed by that statement. "I apologize if I overstepped. I'm so use to the give and take of court life. I thought I should offer of interest before suggesting you stay. And yes I intend to go with you. An entirely new school of magic? A dream come true to me. Even if it is dangerous, you suggested its main purpose or use was to augment combat magics. There may well be tomes or information in those ruins." Dominic smiled excitedly.

Looking at Dominic, Halen couldn't find it in him to try and dissuade him. "Who am I to say no to the assistance then." Halen replied. Dominic gave a bark of laughter, filled with joy that was mirrored by Ajax. "That being said, I think we should wait a few days." He said, raising a hand when Dominic made to protest. "I was exploring the mountains before your guards found me, and the weather up there was getting worse, that's why I came down to your city in the first place. I would rather not get lost when a blizzard was raging up there." He spoke, calming the monarch as he spoke.

"Agreed," Dominic replied. "I must clear up some business here at the capital as well before I go sallying forth. Or I risk the ire of my advisors. Not something I wish to see. I have a few objects that will lessen that problem but it looks like i'm in for a long night." Dominic monched on a peach. "Is there anything you have need of Halen? For your stay or the journey?"

Lowering his head, Halen clasped his hands while thinking over his supplies before shaking his head. "Nothing I
can think of beyond provisions. Besides that, I should have plenty of equipment, more than enough for myself to get by at least." He spoke, trailing off when Dominic gave him a look.

"Get by?" Dominic said, clearly not liking the phrase. Ajax's concern was clear in the disapproving expression he wore.

Blushing, Halen scratched the back of his head, slightly uncomfortable with the looks the other men were giving him. "I lost a fair amount of supplies some months ago." He spoke, sighing when the other two gave him a look, demanding further elaboration. "Some pious assholes I came across, seemed to take the revelation of Black Magic a tad more hostile than you." Rubbing the back of his head while speaking. "Lost a fair amount, but the necessities are still safe." He finished.

Dominic growled softly, "Was this before or after you came to Terralun Halen?" Ajax had also tensed, prepared to spring at any moment. "And what did you lose?"

"A few weeks before I entered from the southern border, as for what I lost..." He trailed off. Mentally ticking off the supplies. "I had a better tent before, personally wove some enchantments into the fabric, my current one is too low quality to handle them. A few security items, portable ward stones and the like. A heat rune that I could use in place of a fire, have not found the materials to replicate it yet, some writings that I had collected, nothing irreplaceable, but still a loss." He finished. "A few other odds and ends, but that's the most of it."

Dominic drew the pen up from the back of the parchment Ajax had brought him. "I see, could you be more specific? What kind of security items? What materials would you need? Writings on what subject?" Dominic had the look of a man who was in deep thought, and the expression was mirrored on Ajax's. It was clear that both fund such actions
disturbing.

The table was nearly clear by this point, everyone having finished their meal some minutes ago, and servants having begun removing dishes after Dominic sent the alert spell. Those in the room were looking at Halen with sympathy, and Dominic with apprehension. The king's policy on discrimination was well known. When one of the Loupi merchants in the city had refused to sell to Iakti customers, calling them several names due to the manner they entered the kingdom, dominic had been near apoplectic. However few outside the castle were aware of this. After all, the only thing they hear about was a search by the guards that discovered several illegal items in the merchants possession. It had been a swift case.

"Pre-made wards that I can set around a site, saves time when camping, alert, defensive, some that can strike back. As for supplies, some high quality stone, marble preferably, limestone will works if needed, carving supplies, access to a forge. As for the writings....." Halen trailed off. "Various topics, nothing on Black Magic, but some interesting texts, a book on spirits that I had yet to read was probably the biggest lost." He said, annoyance clear in his tone when mentioning the spirit tomb.

Ajax turned to the king, "We still have a few blocks and tiles of marble from the expansion of the castle in the sheds my lord. And the forge is right next to it." Dominic nodded, "Yes, and our guest has already suggested we may have some fragmented knowledge on spirits. He was looking at that ancient story book upstairs in the library." Ajax's eyebrows rose at that statement. Everyone knew the story, The Queen of Snow. But to learn their might be truth to it...well Halen just got more and more interesting. "I see....I will inform the smith that the guest may ask to make use of the forge. What shape do you need the marble in? Size and what not."

"I can take care of shaping it, thank you for your generosity, both of you." Halen spoke, the sincerity clear in his voice. Looking at them, his lips formed into a grin that had both of the others gulping. "Now" he purred. "How ever can I repay such generosity?" He teased.

"Careful what you offer little drake. We've both had a taste. And one might not be enough. Are you sure you wanna try this?" Dominic had a hungry look in his eyes, his fingers white knuckled on the table as he slipped the paper into his pocket.

Halen looked between the two, both whose eyes were locked on him before locking eyes with each one in turn. "Yes"

A feral smirk played across Dominic's face before he locked eyes with Ajax. His eyes seemed to gesture before he uttered a single word. "Now." Ajax swallowed and nodded, disappearing beneath the table, where he placed his hands on Halen's knees and pulled them apart, nuzzling up against the half-hard cock. As Ajax, nuzzles and kissed Halen's hardening prick, Dominic stood and walked around the table until he stood behind the handsome Naga-Ra. Placing his hands on his shoulders, Dominic massaged gently as he began to lick and nibble his wa up Halen's neck and jaw. When Ajax ground his muzzle against Halen's clothed cock just right, Halen threw back his head, gasping. Always the opportunist, Dominic seized Halens jaw and began to asail his mouth, kissing him passionately and deeply.

Moaning at the double stimulation the men were giving him, Halen found his hips bucking forward into Ajax, begging for more direct stimulation, at the same time his head fell backwards as Dominics tongue attempted to map his mouth. His moans were swallowed by the more muscular man, and only escalated when he felt his pants open, and the nuzzling on his crotch stronger with fewer layers in between. His hands traced Dominics back, trying to pull the man deeper into his mouth, and at the same time his legs
wrapped around Ajax, pulling him further into his bulge.

Dominic Moaned into Halen's eager mouth, hands reaching beneath the robe to begins playing with the little drakes nipples. At the same time, Ajax pulled off the last layer, and freed Halen's cock and balls. Slowly he swiped his rough tongue over each round ball. The king always loved the stimulation he got from that. He was sure Halen would as well.

Moaning from the all the attention, Halen could feel his orgasm building rapidly, even after being drained less than two hours earlier. He moaned into Dominics mouth from the attention to his balls, when his nipples were teased, he almost screamed. He could feel the other man grin as they kissed, and responded by giving his lower lip a nip, causing the monarch to growl in response. The king gave his nipples a sharp twist and tug, before breaking the kiss. "Now now little dragon, do you really want to go there?" Dominic questioned. Halen only gave a sly grin before resuming the kiss, his teeth scraping along the others lips.

Ajax heard the exchange and decided to swallow Halen's cock whole, at the same time Dominic broke the kiss to strip Halen of his robe, before allowing his hands to explore as he resumed the kiss. Halen was all too eager to do so, and soon he had Dominic moaning into the kiss as claws raked his front. The stimulation brought Halen to orgasm, which Ajax happily swallowed down.

Slumping back in his seat, Halen stared, somewhat dazed when Ajax (now out from under the table) and Dominic stood next to each other, smirking down at him. "So" he started. "Want me to return the favor?" He grinned, staring at the bulges in their pants. He was almost disappointed when Ajax shook his head.

"While I would love to, I have several duties to attend to first, but come find me later." He spoke, adjusting the
obviously straining erection in his pants, slightly put out at knowing he couldn't have fun with the dragon now.

Dominic, meanwhile smirked at Halen before shaking his head. "We have several things to go over today, but let us consider that the first 'deposit' for how grateful you are." He teased, rearranging his own cock to make the bulge less obvious (and given the size of the equipment, failing epicly).

"I believe I promised you a day in the library." Dominic smiled and slowly rearranged the dragon's clothes. " I'm eager to begin honestly. I believe we should start with spirits and summoning little drake." Dominic gave Ajax a passionate kiss as he left, reveling in the knowledge that it only worsened the need the Bao felt.

Standing, his legs slightly shaky, Halen walked over to Dominic before patting him on the arm. "Well, let's get going then. I have several theories about that ancient story, but I need to go over it again." He started, before letting his hand trail down over the muscular arms, stopping just above his belt. "And maybe..... I can help you out in a bit." he whispered into the others ear, breath ticking the fur.

Dominic did his best to suppress a shudder running down his spine and followed Halen out. Halen led the way back to the library, clearly remembering from earlier that morning. Inside, the two of them returned to the second floor and the old book Halen had been examining a scant few hours ago.

Looking over the tome again, Halen began to speak, Dominic listing intently from a short distance away, seated at a table, an ornate fountain pen clasped in one hand as he took notes. "The ritual didn't bind the spirit to the bloodline, like some rituals do, which is rather odd given the age of the document." He started, thinking over all he knew of the topic. "That being said, it could be bound to a
more abstract concept or object, like whomever is regarded as leader or whoever wears the crown." He continued, looking towards the monarch, his eyes focused on the papers that was being filled with neat lettering. "That being said, the point is moot, given the lack of spirit, or at least your awareness of it. Meaning that either the spirit broke the bond, the spirit was corrupted, sealed or, unlikely, it was somehow slain or altered to such a degree that then original bindings no longer apply to it. All of these theories can't be confirmed, given that I don't know the spirits original nature or enough history about your people." Halen finished, looking at Dominic again.

"Would there be any physical sign of the compact you mention? A mark, item, something?" Dominic began, knowing there were more than enough stories of ancient magical artifacts and symbols to fill his library ten times over.

Halen shook his head at the question. "There is no way of knowing without knowing how the binding was done. Some spirits leave marks, some alter those involved while others are centered on an object that their power flows through. But I couldn't predict which one it was without knowing much more than I do. You have to realize that most spirits are elusive for a reason, their powers are unpredictable, and some fear bindings. It's possible that at the first chance it had, it may have fled." He responded.

"I see. If it is an Ice spirit what might one expect to know about it? I intend to attempt to form a contract in all honesty, provided the spirit is willing. What should I know? Does the fact that its an ice spirit tell you anything? What would I need to bring?" Dominic took a deep breath, his voice having gained speed as he spoke. "I'm sorry, i must be overwhelming you."

"No, no, that's fine. But it's hard to say. Knowing what the spirit is, but asking the nature of it based on its type is like asking a dozen people to describe the ocean. Some may say it's breathtaking or beautiful, others may say that it's fierce and savage. A spirit is as complex, if
not more so, than any person. As for how to bind it...." Here Halen scowled slightly, a look of concentration on his face. "That is something I cannot answer, it depends on the spirit itself. Being safe, something related to its element would be an acceptable tribute, but that in no way guarantees a binding taking place."

"And what do spirit's value? I would prefer a contract that benefits us both. Is there anything that spirits universally enjoy? I just want to have a good chance of being heard when I speak to...her?" The last part was phrased as a question as Dominic gazed at the title of the book. Already in his head he was trying to think of gifts for tribute. A few ideas spun around but he needed to determine what would work well.

"Starting with the gender, I guess it could be a her, but these are not mortal beings, so don't assume a gender." Halen started. "As for what they like, gems sometimes, but also things of sentimental value, something infused with your energies. A treasured item, or something you have created with your own hands. As for being heard...." Here he shrugged. "I can't say, I've only encountered a few, and I've never tried to form a deal with any."

Dominic nodded, his ideas already shifting then he glanced at his companion. "Why not?"

"Honestly, for me it's not worth it. Almost all spirits prefer to stay within a certain area, that may be the size of a nation, or even a continent, but they don't like leaving for long. I travel far too much for most to be happy. An unhappy spirit can often cause problems, depending on their strength." Halen stated, his tone serious. "Also, I worry about some other factors. The Black Magic for one......" Shaking his head he muddled over what to say. "It's an old art, but there seems to be no mention of spirits anywhere in the ruins I've explored, and I don't know if the spirit would react in a negative way." He finished.

"You're wise to consider that. I would worry as well. Perhaps we should return to more academic questions. You have mentioned 'strength' and 'shape' of spirits. Can you elaborate. Tell me more about what I can expect to see and experience if I ever meet one?" Dominic tried to ease Halen's mind and return them to the fast paced back-and-forth they had had.

"Shape is easier, they don't have any set form, and as such are free to change their form. Some have a prefered shape, others are fluid, never staying the same for more than a few moments. As for power....." He hummed. "No two are the same, and not all are related to nature. A spirit of fire would be stronger near a volcano while it would be weaker when in the snow or waters. An ice spirit would be weaker the further it is from its icy domain. There are spirits that embody lesser aspects of nature, a single tree may have a spirit, that would be much weaker than a spirit that embodies a forest." He spoke.

Dominic gave a weary chuckle, "So in other words, there are no certainties when dealing with spirits. Be polite, be to the point, and don't be an ass. That about sum it up?"

"More or less, that's assuming it's not corrupted of course. A corrupt one will need to be calmed and the source of taint removed, then it can be interacted with in a normal manner." Halen nodded.

"Good to know. This was actually more than I expected. I was worried you would tell me it required some long and complicated ritual, with esoteric knowledge and a specific offering. Or at least something to that degree. Instead, I need to show that I have basic empathy for this...creature?... And have negotiation skills. Much more in my skill range. Goddess be praised." Dominic leaned back in his chair for a moment. "I have another project to look into while we are here. I simply need to collect a few tomes and then we can head out. It should be more hands on as well, so be
ready." The king stood and began to trod back into the stacks. "Feel free to look through that story again. You might find something I can use, or something that you haven't heard of before. Be right back." Dominic then disappeared among the shelves.

Halen looked over the other sealed cases, examining more of the collection. Nothing caught his interest as he perused, some piqued him and warranted a second glance, but it was not until he was about two/thirds of the way through that he found something that made him take a third glance. A tattered scroll, covered in runes that he recognized as belonging to an ancient fire cult sat beneath the glass. Using the enchantments to open it beneath the glass, his eyes poured over the old knowledge, he had only gotten to the meat of the text when Dominic emerged from the stacks, carrying several leather bound tombs in his arms.

"Found what I need-" Dominic broke off seeing Halen in deep concentration. His eyes flicked down to the text he was pursuing. "Another ancient text has caught your interest I see. And another supposed legend. Are you going to tell me that this is another truth my people have lost?" Dominic had a pensive look, unsure of what he hoped the answer was.

"Not so much a truth, but the story is not the only thing in here. Seems that a spell is contained somewhere in the document, but I've yet to come across it." Halen said, eyes still focused on the parchment, stained with age. "I've heard the tale before, but this is the original text, not a common find by any means."

"Original? Did this fire cult exist? And how did the text make it here? We've never had fire affinity in my nation. What spell?" Halen's explanation had left Dominic very confused and he responded how he had been taught. Question everything, he was told, and he did. "I'm sorry i'm bombarding you again."

"Cult is a bit of an exaggerating to be honest, they were more of the central temple for a larger religion. But that's beside the point. As for the spell, I'm still reading, so give me some time and I'll tell you what I find here." He said, still enraptured by the scroll. "Something strong without a doubt, but beyond that, I can't say yet."

"Alright, i'll send a message then refresh my memory on these," He gestured to the tomes, "Let me know when you figure it out." Dominic strode down to the door and motioned for a servant. When they came he gave instructions quietly and then returned once they were on their way. Cracking open the first book, Dominic began to read, occasionally throwing glances at the Naga-Ra.

Halen stood by the case reviewing the scroll, reaching the end he contemplated a few minor differences from the original and the version he knew from other texts, a word here and there didn't quite match and some lines had been swapped. A small seal at the end had his eyes widen in realization. Going back to the beginning he re-read the text, picking out some words from the scroll as the spell came together in his head. Finishing the text for a second, then a third time, Halen walked towards a nearby table to record his findings, this drew Dominics gaze from his readings. He spoke while writing. "So, it seems to be a flame that won't fade like others, rather resistant to forces that are trying to extinguish it, even should the caster perish it will continue to burn." He spoke, contemplating the uses of the new spell. "Also, it mentions that it has a sister spell, more powerful, but sadly not recorded here." He finished as he set the pen down and folded the paper, placing it in a pocket.

"An eternal flame. Very useful. It could create a symbol, or a wall. I'm not sure it has many combat applications thought. Or am I wrong?" The king said, glancing at the page before realizing he wasn't versed enough in pyromancy to understand.

Halen shook his head as he approached Dominic. "No, far from eternal sadly. But long lasting, a normal magical fire sputters out when the energy source is removed, this one seems to draw some from the ambient energy, sustaining it longer, but even that is finite, and the flame will go out." He spoke, sitting in a chair near the king.

"A fair point, but I feel my comment on its uses still hold. Regardless, shall we set out for my little project? It isn't far."

He gave the other man a smirk. "As you wish Dominic."

The king smiled, loving the sound of his name from Halen's lips. Standing, Dominic piled the tomes into his arms and set off at a brisk pace, down a floor and out the door. Beside the door stood an ornate rapier. "Grab that please!" Halen nodded and grabbed the sword as he followed the king. Dominic felt a grin growing across his face as he navigated the twists and turns of his castle. He always felt this way before a new project. His blood pounding through his veins and his breath sharp. Only a glorious night with a lover could ever compare. Out into the courtyard, Dominic stalked towards another squat building like the bathhouse, only far more open. Within, Halen could see an anvil and fire. On the table nearest them were several pieces of marble of different shapes and sizes as well as more tools then the average smithy. Dominic allowed the books to fall onto the table.

"Well, if your going to be working on an project here, may I start the wardstones we had discussed this morning?" Halen asked, spying several slabs of fine marble sitting on a table further in.

"That was rather the idea. However I wanted to pick your brain about wards and enchantments this
time. I have an idea for my gift for the spirit I hope to seek out. That's why I had you bring my sword. What do you sense from it?" Dominic was grinning like a child. He loved magic, and he loved creating. Wards and Enchanting were a personal favorite of his, even if he didn't have immense amounts of talent.

Examining the blade, Halen looked over the enchantments. "Very nice, certainly saturated with your energy, even a portion of this would satisfy a spirit" He said, beginning to realize that Dominic had planned. "I can assist, carving the stones should not take me too much time though, so let's get your project done first." He spoke handing him the blade.

Dominic chuckled. "You misunderstand. I have no intention of giving up my sword. I simply wanted your opinion on the runework and enchantments on it. I crafted it myself." Slowly, Dominic ran his hand up the flat of the blade and the runes came to life with a gentle blue-white glow. "You see, the enchantments are to increase its durability, so it can stand against even claymores. The runes are to allow me to pass magical power through the blade. Something like this." Dominic took the sword and focuses a moment, until the rune's blue-white light seemed to sharpen. Slowly, he let the tip of the sword brush the ground where frost formed. Then he took another moment and the rune blossomed with an orange glow, and began to radiate heat, melting the frost. "Thoughts so far?"

Examining the blade again from a distance, Halen approved of the plan fully. "An ideal gift for the spirit, and I look forward for whatever your final product will look like. " Halen spoke, moving to start the forge for Dominic before turning to him and smirking. "That being said." A sly grin on his face. "It will take some time for the forge to warm up, so why don't I pay you back for after breakfast." He purred, moving towards Dominic, letting a hand trail down his muscular torso and coming to palm the sizable

"You still misunderstand. I'm not crafting a sword for the spirit. But I'll
explain the real plan later. It seems you have plans little dragon. Are you thirsty? I'll call for Ajax if you wish." Dominic felt his cock hardening again. It seemed the Naga was insatiable.

Halen nodded at the offer. "Of course, he did do most of the work." He quipped, grinning when Dominic gave him a glare. "Oh, don't go complaining, until he arrives, you have me to yourself." He said, letting his voice go low at the end. Dropping to his knees while Dominic cast the alert spell, he undid the tight pants, pulling them and the undergarments down, letting the long, thick Loupi cock flop out. He gave the semi plump shaft a few jerks to bring it to attention. It quickly filled, rising higher and higher 'til it was level with the monarch's belly button. Looking up, his eyes locked on Dominic's deep blue eyes as he began to swallow the shaft. The eyes bore into him as he went lower and lower until only the knot remained outside of his throat, he hummed around the shaft, and mentally smirked when he heard Dominic groan from the vibration.

Dominic was impressed by Halen's Skill and soon grabbed the back of his head, thrusting into his open throat like he was staking a claim. "You're such a filthy little slut. Anyone could come by and see me using you. Or do you like that huh?" Dominic thrust deep down Halen's throat.

He moaned around the rappidly thusting cock, having anticipated the actions. The cock stretched out his throat with every piston, saliva drooling out the sides of his mouth from the violent action, furry balls smacking into his chin, covering him in their musk. Reaching up, his hands went under the tight shirt and tweaked his nipples, causing Dominic to gasp and give a particular hard and deep thrust, some of his knot slipping past Halens lips. Redoubling his efforts, he simulated Dominic as much as he could, wanting to milk the king of his seed and repay his kindness (and get more of the wolf dick).

Dominic was all too happy to fulfil Halen's unspoken wish as he pistoned in and out. Slowly, Dominic was able to slip his knot
into Halen's mouth. Then he began to give small sharp thrusts, never fully removing his knot from the warm wet pleasure. Halen's tongue did wonder's on the underside of the king's prick, causing him to leak copious amounts of pre down the wanderer's throat. Inevitably, Dominic reached his peak, and came down the Naga-Ra's throat, his knot expanding slightly. Several spurts were fed to Halen as Dominic moaned out in bliss.

Swallowing around the pulsing cock, he savoured the feeling as it throbbed in his throat, the feeling of the pulsing cock, tied to his mouth, was unlike anything he had experienced before. The rich seed poured directly into his stomach, his throat expanding around the shaft. When Dominics orgasm finally tapered off he stretched his mouth as far as possible, the still hard knot popping out, leaving Halen to rub his jaw and falling on his ass. Dominic chuckled at this and reached a hand down. Halen clasped it and found himself being pulled up quickly and was pressed against a warm chest. The two men were moving to kiss when a cough interrupted them, revealing that Ajax stood near the door, his shirt over his head, muscular torso exposed, and his pants thrown to the side, the throbbing Ikati cock, bright red and pulsating.

"Perfect timing Ajax. I believe the little dragon was rather desperate to repay us for this morning." Dominic then stole a passionate kiss from the Naga-Ra, plundering his willing mouth and took a taste of himself before pressing Halen down on the table, chest to the wood. "Why don't you give the dragon a good taste my sweet kitten?" Ajax gave a shudder at the name the king often called him while plundering his hole. The ripped Bao stepped forward and grasped Halen's head, slowly sliding his monster prick into the wanderer smirking, "As my lord commands."

Halen was fascinated by the dynamic between the two men, how similar yet different it was in public and private. But his thoughts were quickly cut off when the Bao sheathed his shaft in Halens willing throat, quickly sinking in until his balls were pressed against the other's forehead. Ajax's behaviour mirrored that of the monarchs, quickly slamming his cock as deep as possible, over and over again, balls spanking against his forehead, Ajaxs musk mixing with Dominic's.
Wanting to taste the Ikati, he reached his hands up and repeated his ministrations on Ajax's nipples, twisting and tugging at the sensitive nubs, trying to milk the cock of its precious seed.

Ajax took great pleasure in fucking Halen's mouth, glad to release his more dominant side. Then Dominic pulled him over Halen and delivered a searing kiss. Ajax was in heaven. Both his dominate and submissive needs were met in that moment and he proceeded to blow his load down Halen's throat just like Dominic.

Halen eagerly drank down Ajax's load, the load even larger than Dominics, flooded into his stomach, his throat stretched around the Ikatis cock. Feeling Ajax start to pull out he was surprised when the cock deposited a rope on his tongue, which was followed by three on his face when the tip plopped out. The cum rolled down his face, and a quick spell left his hair water repellent, allowing the seed to flow onto the floor of the forge. Catching his breath, he smiled up at the two men, locked in a passionate kiss. Chuckling, he spoke up. "Hah, So. Think I paid you back for this morning." He said with a smirk.

Dominic broke the kiss and chuckled as Ajax just hung his head and blushed. The poor Bao seriously wondered if he would retain his sanity with these two. Slowly, the three disentangled themselves. "Stay for a little while kitten. I'm sure Halen would love to see more of you." The chuckle the king gave made the innuendo all to clear but Ajax dropped into a seat and relaxed.

"Now I believe we were talking about a gift for the spirit."

Halen moved off the table, rubbing his throat. He gave a firm cough, then another before speaking. "Ah, yes. Based on your blade and the rune work you've put into it, you should be more than capable of creating a suitable tribute." Halen said, his mind still not fully back after the savage throat
plundering. "Do you need me to assist at all, or shall I start on my projects?"

Dominic smiled, "Actually I need your input, or at least would appreciate it. I intend to create a kind of pseudo-ward. One that absorbs heat energy, and if possible, can transform that energy into other forms. This way the spirit can ensure it can create a suitable area to live in, and potentially be used to defend itself. I imagine an ice spirit would have trouble against fire magic. With this it could simply absorb the magic and use it against its attackers. Plus if i make the ward, it's saturated in my energy." Dominic took a deep breath after his length explanation. His eagerness had been showing with the rise in volume and speed of speech.

Laughing at the kings enthusiasm, halen needed a moment to respond. "Of course Dominic, it will be no trouble to assist you in the task, but you must be one the one to make it." He said, looking at the now glowing forge. "Shall we start?" To which Dominic nodded and pulled a page from within one of the books he had brought.

"Here is what I have so far," He showed a runic sequence on the page. "I'm simply unsure if this form of enchanting will change things. So I need someone more knowledgeable. And then I need to know the procedure to craft it." Dominic glanced over at the forge.

Looking over the notes, Halen began instructing Dominic on those areas he spoke about not understanding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Time Skip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours had passed, Dominic working on his tribute after Halen had explained the finer details of the rune work.
Meanwhile the Naga-Ra could be found dusting off his hands, flicking chips of stone off of his robe as he examined several rune covered spheres of marble. Each could comfortably fill his hand and was intricately carved with dozens of runes. He set the orb down into a bowl containing five others, before stretching his arms over his head, his back stiff from being hunched over while doing the carving. He turned to Dominic and saw that he was grinning at the object he had created, Ajax standing next to him and also examining it.

On the table lay a very large silver amulet. The disk was slightly larger than the size of a human palm. Dominic had chosen silver because of the ancient ties it had to the moon and water, making it seem appropriate. The rune work was very intricate, and had required more patience than any of them had expected. Several stones served as anchor points for the carefully crafted enchantment. Again Dominic had chosen items of ancient significantes. This time it was sapphires and diamonds. Ancient symbols for fire, water, air, and ice spelled out the details of the spell across both stone and metal and over both sides. The power conversion and redistribution had been particularly difficult, but Halen's advanced knowledge, plus a few tips from the Loupi's texts he hadn't seen before lead to a breakthrough. Dominic was sitting before the object and the grin showed no signs of waning.

Halen examined the silver offering from over their shoulders before giving a whistle. "Well, I must say that you lived up to what I expected. I'm sure the spirit will be pleased with an offering of this caliber. The stones and rune work are all of an exemplary quality." he said, startling the two men who had been focused on the amulet.

For a moment neither man did anything. Then Dominic simply started chuckling before he grabbed Halen and begun swining him around. Ajax sat at the table holding down chuckles. It had been some time since Dominic had been this excited about a project. He only hoped Halen survived.

Halen was startled by
the exuberant actions of Dominic, but seeing Ajax repressing his chuckles had him laughing as well. When the man stopped spinning Halen found that the strong arms holding him up made no move to release him. Looking down at the man, he was surprised when the others lips met his own, in a kiss that, unlike their earlier ones, was passionate without being filled by primal lust. He returned the gesture until they broke apart and the arms released him. Chucking, Halen spoke. "So, I'm guessing your happy with the outcome?"

"So very much. I wish I knew where the spirit was! I haven't had something this fun in ages. All the mages in the kingdom defer to me when I try and engage them in debate. No-one's had the courage to work with me on this. Oh we simply have to keep this up. Quick! What are you really interested in that we could work together on?!" Dominic was practically vibrating with energy now. Halen's head was bobbing up and down as he tracked the Loupi's energetic bouncing.

"Umm, there is the potential for ruins in the area, were your mages not looking into them?" Halen asked, the man's energy was almost infections, and he found the mans wagging tail adorable. "I can't make any promise about finding the spirit, but I would welcome your company, both of you, at the temple." he spoke, realizing that he enjoyed both Dominics and Ajax's company more than he first expected.

"Perhaps we could extend our trip a few days. You said that spirits and Black Magic didn't have any connection, or at least you haven't found one. So it's doubtful they are in the same place. But we can check several old ruins. Or look to see if any landmarks are promising." Dominic was very appreciative that the Naga-Ra was so willing to assist him. It was a pity he might leave one day. He thought, moving over to a nearby table to look over some paper "But for now what else can we work on?"

Halen laughed slightly at the other's eagerness. "I have no more plans for the day, Dominic. My new wardstones are finished and I'm a tad drained having carved and charged
them. Plus." He said, looking at the smirking Ajax and taking a step closer to him. "I don't think that our lovely Bao friend would appreciate being abandoned." He said, getting a grin from the aforementioned man.

"Are you certain about that? He's such a quiet kitten most days. Have you become an Ajax whisperer." Dominic walked over to Ajax who was still sitting beside the table, the chair half turned towards the forge. He stood behind the Bao and leaned over, tilting his head back and began to kiss him passionately.

Halen gazed at the two, seeing how well the men compliment each other, and decided that he wanted to join in their fun. Stepping forward, he embraced Ajax, his arms wrapping around the muscular man while he lowered his mouth, sucking at the base of his neck. He could hear the moans coming from the Bao and smirked, the sounds urging him to redouble his efforts. He could hear Dominic chuckle into the kiss, having guessed what Halen was doing.

Eventually, Dominic broke his kiss and simply listened to the Bao's moans as he watched Halen slide up to take his place. Then he pulled Halen back for a moment, and decided he would be claiming the Naga-Ra's lips for some time, sucking on the bottom one before pressing his tongue past them, ravaging that sweet mouth. Ajax soon began to assault Halens neck in return.

Halen moaned at the double stimulation, loving the treatment that Ajax had been subject to only moments before. He felt Dominics tongue invade his mouth and savoured the feeling, of the two men pressed up against him, the silky fur caressing his skin and sending shivers through him.

Dominic then drew away, practically purring at the sight of Halen flush, mouth open, tongue extended. "You are quite the provocative creature Halen. Perhaps you'd care to join me tonight in my chambers. With Ajax of
course. We can give you a proper experience, where breakfast was merely an opening act." Ajax, purred into Halen's neck at his lords suggestion.

He could only find it within himself to nod at the suggestion, Dominic's words sending visions through him mind of what the three of them might do that night, and the next morning he hoped. Before that train of thought could continue, he felt Dominic kissing along his neck, drawing another moan out of him.

"I'm filled with anticipation." Dominic whispered into Halen's ear. "But perhaps it's time we behave ourselves." Dominic chuckled as both he and Ajax suddenly ceased their ministrations. Halen was left groaning in frustration, and thankful that his robe pants were designed in such a way that they hid his frustration. He saw the twosome walk towards the door, Dominic carrying his tribute. Halen dashed to where he left his ward stones and gathered them before moving to where the men were waiting. They moved out the door and back towards the castle proper. Both Ajax and Dominic giving Halen a smirk as they walked, while the drake in question walked on, trying and failing not to feel flustered from their gazes. Gods, the sun couldn't set soon enough they both thought.

Chapter Text

Halen and Dominic had spent the rest of the evening discussing their own personal view on Cryomancy. It seemed the premise of the amulet had inspired Dominic. Ajax had followed behind, guarding the king as a silent shadow. They had first hit up the kitchen where the staff had been kind enough to furnish them with a small plate lunch of sandwiches. Dominic also pressured Halen to tell the staff some of his favourite foods so they could prepare them if possible. Halen made a great fuss about not being a burden but Dominic would have none of it. The elderly matron who ran the kitchen had only smiled at the interaction.

Afterwards, they had meandered through the castle and courtyard, discussing spells and even showing a few to improve each other's repertoire, though Dominic felt he got the better end of the deal. When the sun began to set, the three of them had returned to the solarium and enjoyed a nice dinner of chicken and salad, finished off by slices of cheesecake. Halen had merely blushed at the effort the staff had given, while Dominic and Ajax had merely inhaled the lovely treat. It had been chocolate cheesecake so Dominic was in heaven.

Finally, the sun hung low in the sky, half hidden by the mountains, and Ajax and Dominic had lead Halen up into one of the towers, where Dominic's lavish chambers were. Inside was a massive four-poster bed, large enough to fit six men. A fireplace lay across the room, where Dominic was already busy with kindling. A large forest green rug dominated the floor and other shades of wood brown and forest green made the room seem so peaceful.

"Ajax, would you please?" Dominic gestured to the bucket of ice where a bottle of wine lay cooling. Ajax chuckled at the cliche gesture but popped the cork and poured three glasses. "All you're missing is mood music, my lord," Ajax said in a playfully mocking tone. Dominic had had his head in a low lying cupboard, a music stone half pulled out, until he shoved it back in and closed the cupboard with a sheepish grin.

Looking around the room, Halen was surprised how well it reflected the man he had come to know over the past two days. Everything in it was clearly of a high quality, but it was not excessive, the walls were smooth stone and the floor was covered in woods and rugs. When the fire cast a glow over the room the entire room seemed welcoming. Turning to the two men, he accepted a glass of wine and quirked an eyebrow when Ajax motioned for him to wait a moment.

Dominic, seeing that all three had their glasses raised up his own. "A toast, to what is to come," he said, a smirk on his lips. When he spoke, Ajax groaned, the cheesy line almost painful, while Halen let out a joyous laugh. Both men clinked their glasses with his and then with each other, before they drank. Dominic hummed as the rich liquid danced across his tongue, enjoying the fine vintage. He was glad to see that Halen was also enjoying it, not having to worry about Ajax, knowing that this wine was a favourite of his.

Finishing his glass, Halen set it down on a table before speaking to Ajax. "So is Dominic always this..." he shook his hand around. "All this? Enthusiastic, energetic, romantic?" He asked, biting back a guffaw of laughter when Domonic choked on his wine while the Bao let loose a hearty laugh.

Dominic grimaced and smacked Ajax lightly upside the head. "Oh hush you overgrown tomcat." Neither the insult or the assault seemed to dissuade the Bao who continued to chuckle for several seconds. "To answer your question...No, I'm not always like this. Sometimes I'm more... primal. Sometimes I'm more formal. I just felt like being a bit more romantic." Dominic sighed and rolled his eyes as Ajax's laughter finally tapered off. "As if you have any room to talk. First time I did this with you, you were a stuttering stammering mess. Should have seen him. If he was a human he would have been cherry red, willing for the floor to swallow him whole. I mistook him for a virgin back then." Ajax's expression did a 180, with his lips pursed and his eyes glaring at Dominic who was now the one
laughing. Halen could tell there was no heat in Ajax's gesture though.

Seeing the way Ajax was glaring solely at Dominic, Halen took the chance to sneak up on the man, wrapping his arms around him and pressing up against his back, giving the back of his neck a kiss. "Aw, don't be too mad at him Ajax. I'm sure he was just trying to rile you up," he said, one of his hands moving south, rubbing over his firm core. "I'm sure you have plenty of stories about our resident wolf to make him blush like a pup caught with his paw in the cookie jar," Halen whispered into his ear and causing the Bao's glare to break as a smile form on his lips.

"Careful little drake or I'll start asking you about your embarrassing stories. I don't think any of us want to play this game." Dominic's ears had swivelled when he caught Halen's comment. He was looking at the embracing pair with a raised eyebrow and a slight smile. "Besides, I believe we were headed somewhere, weren't we Ajax?" At the comment, the Bao seemed to consider for a moment before leaning up and kissing Halen softly.

Smirking at Dominic's comment, Halens growing smirk was cut off as the other's firm lips covered his own. Their tongues danced for some time, both trying to explore the other's mouth. He could feel the heated gaze coming from Dominic as his breath was stolen by Ajax. He heard shuffling from the direction of the king but was too enraptured with the guard to be bothered. It was not until he heard a throat being deliberately cleared that the kiss broke and the twosome faced their third.

Dominic stood there, shirt gone, tossing a bottle up and down in his hand. "Why don't you more our little guest to the bed Ajax. He deserves the royal treatment, yeah?" Ajax nodded, purring, and stood, carrying Halen who wrapped his legs around the shifting Bao. A few quick strides had them at the bed.

"Just relax, boy. And lay down." Ajax's breath ghosted over Halen's ear.

Halen rolled over onto his stomach, letting his wings unfurl sightly, as he followed the other's suggestion. He felt warm paws pulling at his robe top, quickly undoing the ties and minor enchantments that held the clothing on him. With the robe top gone he felt the hands begin to move over his skin, firm and strong, applying the perfect amount of pressure to warm up his muscles. The sound of a cork being popped was followed by the feeling of a cool liquid being drizzled on him, causing him to let out a yelp. He turned to look at a sheepish looking Ajax. "Sorry, thought it would have been warmer by now." The Bao said. Halen huffed a bit, before laying down again, and the feeling of four hands rubbing his tense muscles resumed.

Dominic began at his shoulders, while Ajax started at his lower back. Each slowly rubbed at tense muscles and tight knots. Dominic and Ajax shared a look as they both came to the same conclusion. 'He's been roughing it without a bed for way too long.' Both of them recognized some of the symptoms of laying on rocky earth. As they worked to relieve Halen's stress both took the time to marvel at the Naga-Ra's muscled body. Most mages in Terralun were petite, the strain of magic burning away fat but producing little muscle. That did not hold true for Halen. It was clear that Halen was accustomed to work. The scholar in Dominic wondered at the wings, trying to map out the muscles and how they would interact, while the warrior in Ajax noted that Halen had to make use of a weapon and magic like his king. Finally, Dominic spoke, "Your wings, do they need attention? I assure you the oil should be safe for the scales."

Halen was lightly dozing from the heavenly feeling of the hands working over his flesh, the only sounds coming from him was light breathing and the occasional grunt when a particularly knotted muscle was relaxed. He was broken out of his dozing when Dominic spoke. "Um the joints, and at the base of my back. But be very gentle, they are tough, but bending them wrong can be very painful." He said, spreading them out
slightly more and wondering how wise it was to trust someone else with his wings. He disliked having them touched too much, finding that they were very sensitive, the membrane right along the bones being extremely sensitive to all stimuli.

Dominic hummed softly, "Then could you give them a few more flexes, so I can see what way is natural?"

Halen gave a hum of agreement and started moving his wings, letting them flex and bend, while trying to prevent them from hitting the two men on the bed with him. The joints flexing and shifting to move the massive wings. After a few of these motions, Dominic began to gently rub the muscles at the base of the wings. "Ajax could you get his legs?" The black Panther nodded and began to massage Halen's feet, slowly working up.

Halen groaned at the pleasurable feeling running through his entire body, his muscles relaxing under their hands. When Dominic caressed the membrane around his joints he found himself moaning in pleasure, the sound leaving him before he realized what had happened. Clamping his mouth shut, he was glad that his face was hidden from the other two, though he heard a chuckle from both, and was slightly worried when both of Dominic's hands moved to caress the highly sensitive skin.

Dominic had been paying very close attention to Halen's reactions, just in case he massaged the wrong way on those glorious wings. However, it seemed he had massaged them the right way. Smirking, he caught Ajax's attention and gestured silently to a chest at the foot of the bed. Ajax nodded and silently opened the chest, retrieving a set of leather restraints. Ajax hooked them to the two bottom posts and then slowly slipped them onto Halen's ankles, to ensure he felt it.

Feeling something around his ankles made Halen still, at first he thought it was Ajax's hands, but when he felt them
remain in place while the man moved around he jumped a bit, when he found that his legs were tied to the bed by leather cuffs. Struggling a bit, he stilled when a voice sounded above him.

"Relax Halen," Dominic growled in a low, husky voice. "If you want them removed, its done, but from what Ajax and I have seen, you like to be held down, control removed at times. Now we can continue like before, or you can be a good boy, and do as your told." Dominic released Halen's left wing and tilted his chin up with a claw. "Which will it be?"

Gulping, Halen gave the man a nod, to which a smile was returned. Dominic leaned down to give him a kiss that he quickly dominated, his tongue overwhelming Halen's as he surrendered to the invasion. He could hear Ajax rummaging at the base of the bed and wondered what else was coming his way.

Unseen by poor Halen, Ajax removed several items from the chest. First was a blindfold made of black silk, then a leather harness meant to accentuate a man's muscles, followed by a rune engraved cock ring, a second set of restraints, a pair of nipple clamps, and finally a plug with attached rubber tail.

When Dominic finally released Halen from the kiss, Ajax slid up the Naga-Ra's body and slipped the blindfold over his eldritch purple eyes. When his sight was taken all Halen did was give a soft whimper of desire, which the sharp ears of his "torturers" caught. Ajax passed the second set of restraints to his lord, who affixed them to Halen's wrists. The two wrists were pressed against each other and bound together, before Dominic slowly pulled the dragon up. The king hung the Naga-Ra's wrists from some strong wooden beams above, leaving Halen blind and naked, kneeling on the bed with his arms and spine straight up. Dominic slowly began to stroke the poor dragons cock to a painful hardness while Ajax stripped down to his underwear and the leather harness. "You need a word little drake. Something to make us stop. Your safe word."

Halen strained his hands, testing the strength of the restraints before doing the same with the ankle cuffs. Satisfied with the result he took a moment to consider the others question. "Asparagus." He said, and he could feel the quizzical looks from the other two before hearing affirmation from them. "Sure, you say asparagus and we can have you down in a moment," Ajax said, the voice coming from the left of him. Waiting in the darkness was an odd sense for Halen, even if he could cheat with magic, he figured that it would be more fun to wait and see what the other two had in store for him. Thinking back on his times with each of them, and then earlier that day, had his cock plumping up with blood and reinforced his idea to see what they have planned. He could hear objects being moved around but, based on sound alone, he could not figure what they could be.

Dominic continued to massage his captives shaft with one hand while the other began to roll Halen's nipples, making them red and pebble. "I think I want to hear you scream a little," Dominic said, trying to affect a dark and foreboding voice as he twisted the nipples sharply. Ajax, meanwhile, had pressed himself against Halen's back and was running his hands wildly through his hair and down his sides.

Halen was lightly groaning at Dominic's ministrations while leaning back into Ajax when he felt the twist. Fire radiated from the abused bud and sent a jolt straight to his throbbing cock. A yelp left his lips, and the opening allowed Ajax to slip a finger between them. The hand stopped twisting his nipple and simply caressed it, giving the occasional flick. While this happened Halen could feel Ajax lean forward, his breath ghosting over his ear. "Now, little drake, why don't you show me some love." He said with a husky voice. He did as asked and immediately sucked on the digit, sucking it like he would a cock.

Dominic smirked as he watched Halen obediently suck on Ajax's finger. "Take his cock," the king ordered, and the Bao reached his free hand down to take over Dominic's ministrations, while the king brought his
now free hand up to abuse the other bud. Massaging and flicking it until he gave it a harsh twist just like its brother. Halen gave off a choked gasp around the digit in his mouth and Dominic caught Ajax glance and smirked. "Feel his cock jump when I do that? Little slut likes his nipples played with. Hand me the toy."

Ajax released the dragon's prick for a moment, eliciting a whimper, before tossing the king the clamps and returning to that glorious flesh. Dominic chuckled and opened them slowly before letting them snap shut on those rosy buds, the connecting chain falling across Halen's chest.

Halen yelped when the pinch clamped down on both buds unexpected. The metal bit into his nipples, cold and slightly painful, but highly arousing and caused his cock to jump in the moments after. He shook a bit out of reflex, trying to shake them off before he felt Ajax's arms wrap around him and hold him still. Dominic rumbled at seeing Halen react like that, a pleased growl resounding throughout the bedchamber.

Ajax meanwhile chuckled, loving the feeling of the drake squirming in his arms, pressed up against his chest while his cock rubbed up against the others back through his jockstrap. He rutted against him for a few moments, enjoying the others whimpers and gasps around his finger while his cock pulsed in its basket. Feeling him stop struggling he gave the other a long lick on the neck, enjoying the feeling of Halen shuddering against him while sharply inhaling from the sensation.

Halen found himself mindless bucking back against Ajax, the heat emanating from his body was soothing his nerves, allowing him to relax his senses while the Bao continued to lick his neck. The first swipe had him a shivering mess, but each further one served to relax and arouse him further and further, his unattended shaft dribbling pre-cum onto the bead before him.

"What a beautiful sight," Dominic whispered near Halen's ear. "Oh it is marvellous, but let's see how good we can get. After all..." Dominic snapped the cock ring around the base of Halen's shaft, "...We don't want the night to end too soon."

Halen whimpered as the ring snapped into place, he could feel the simple magic that it contained, preventing him from cumming not just physically, but with a magical ward, blocking the trickle of pre-cum flowing from his tip. He could feel his balls backing up, slowly filling with his now trapped seed. He could feel the smile from Ajax against his neck and was willing to bet that Dominic had a similar expression.

He was right of course. Dominic had to fight back the chuckle in his throat. "And besides, I believe Ajax and I owe you a little punishment." Dominic slid his paw down to Halen's ass cheek, letting his claws press into the flesh. "Trying to goad me and Ajax into that little fight in the smithy, naughty naughty dragon." Dominic nuzzled Halen's jaw. "Kitten take his front please." At those words, Dominic stood and went to the chest while Ajax swung around to the front. He slowly began to stroke Halen's trapped cock while the king retrieved a leather riding crop.

Halen smirked when Dominic mentioned what he had done at the smithy and felt his throat throbbing slightly from the battering it had taken earlier that day. He groaned when Ajax moved away from his, the silky fur and solid heat leaving his front slightly cooler. His bemoaning of the loss was quickly shut down when solid, warm, paws started moving over his chest, one moving towards his nipples and lightly flicking them while the other moved south. It circled his cock for several moments, caressing his thighs and teasing his balls before grasping the base of his shaft. Biting back a moan as the hand started moving over his cock, he gave in when a sharp tweak on his nipple forced the moan out. This continued for some time before a swat on his ass forced him to yelp, another two sharp swats drew another yelp from his lips, his cock throbbing in Ajax's paws.

Dominic brought the crop down in an alternating pattern. First the upper right, then the lower left, the lower right and the upper left. He repeated that pattern about six times before he suddenly went in reverse. He wanted to be sure he constantly had Halen on alert, nerves and senses singing. At the sharp reversal, Halen let out a gasp and began to twist in his restraints. Of course, Ajax had a firm grip on him as he tortured the head of his penis. Bit by bit, Halen's cheeks grew to a lovely dusk red, each one radiating heat. Dominic moved in close, chest pressed to Halens back as he gently kissed the slightly damp cheek below the blindfold. "What do you say boy?"

Halen was panting from the abuse heaped upon his ass and took a moment to gather his wits. "Heh, not bad Dominic, not bad." He said between pants, his nerves on fire with pain and pleasure. The throbbing of his ass was bordering on painful, but for the time was giving him ecstatic pleasure. He noticed a slick feeling between his cheeks and clenched them together, waiting to see if Dominic or Ajax would notice the wetness that was dripping down his thighs.

As Dominic applied a slightly moist cloth to sooth that burn, Ajax brought his hand up Halen's thigh. He noticed the slight wetness and huffed, holding his hand up to show the king. He had explained about this from before and Dominic knew what it meant. "Feeling needy Halen? You can ask you know. But you need to be polite." Halen could practically feel the grin.

He groaned at the teasing hands, wanting to put up a strong front but getting sick of being kept on the edge for so long. With a frustrated sigh, he responded. "Fine, fuck me dammit, I want those massive cocks to fill me up." He bit out, knowing that both men must be smirking at him after what he had said.

"I believe I said to be polite little drake."
Dominic dragged his claws down Halen's front. "But I suppose you're just too tempting to resist." Dominic slowly swung around the bed, letting a claw drag down Halen's jaw bone. He gave a look to the Bao, who understood immediately and smirked. Ajax moved to Halen's back again and slowly parted his cheeks, allowing slick to run down. At the feeling Halen gasped, knowing what was to come. Gently, Ajax pressed his throbbing, hard prick into Halen. Adding inch by torturous inch as the dragon shuddered and whimpered. Dominic knew Ajax's body well enough to time his masterpiece. The last two inches always received a sharp thrust to bury them into the Bao's lovers, so when the king saw his captain stiffen to do so he snapped his fingers. As the last two inches slammed into Halen, the band on his cock seemed to vanish. The duel actions ripped a powerful orgasm from the mage as he screamed in ecstasy.

Halens orgasm ripped through him as his prostate was hit, his balls contracting and squeezing out their rich, creamy seed. It rocketed across the sheets, a rich, musky scent filling the room. Some ropes managed to strike Dominic, coating his paws in the thick seed. Several ropes managed to splash up against himself, dripping down over his muscular chest. He clamped down on the shaft splitting him open, drawing a groan out of Ajax behind him while Dominic chuckled before him.

Dominic was ecstatic at Halen's reaction and allowed him a moment to breathe as he reached up with the clean paw and removed the blindfold. "Hello, little dragon. How do you feel?"

Panting, Halen's eyes watered from the sudden brightness and pain from the earlier swats. "Shit." he groaned. "Pretty good so far," he said, grinning at Dominic.

"Good. Because the night isn't over just yet." At that Ajax drew his cock back slowly, and just before he slid back in, Dominic snapped his fingers and the cock ring powered back up. The rough stroke Ajax gave caused Halen to jerk forwards a bit, the nipple clamps shaking and stimulating his abused nipples. Ajax made
three more sharp thrusts before he wrapped an arm around Halen's shoulders, grabbed a hip, and began to thrust at a very fast pace. Barely drawing half out, Ajax gave swift strikes to Halen's hole, moaning in his ear as he felt the tight passage caress his cock.

Moaning as the pistoning shaft abused his slick hole, Halen felt the Bao grab his hips before delivering several harsh thrusts, each one pounding directly into his prostate, forcing curses and moans from his mouth.

The entire time Dominic was smirking at the twosome, his own cock dribbling pre-cum into the mess Halen had made moments before. Standing up, he smacked his cock over the dragon's face sending splatters of pre-cum over his lips. He watched as Halen opened his mouth and groaned when half his shaft vanished between the skilled lips. Dominic moaned and took a hold of Halen's head as the little dragon worked his shaft. He forced himself not to buck as he experienced one of the best blowjobs of his life. Halen clearly knew how to pleasure a man and was making use of all his skills. A slow stream of precum poured down Halen's throat as Ajax continued to piston his hips. Years of servicing his lord had left the Bao with some impressive stamina and cum control, which he used to ensure Halen was truly ruined before he was done.

Moaning around the shaft, Halen did all he could to get the other males off, he clenched his hole around Ajax, trying to milk the dark shaft of its seed. His throat massaged the Loupi's cock, his tongue reaching out and tracing along the base of the cock. He mentally grinned around Dominic when he groaned and gave a swallow, pleased with himself when the King let out a pleasured groan. Ajax's pistoning shaft remained constant, abusing his prostate with every timed thrust.

Slowly, Dominic withdrew from that warm mouth and laid his cock on Halen's face. "Goddess you're so pretty. I can't believe I'm so lucky." He slid his cock across the dragon's face until his sizable balls lay against the Naga-Ra's lips. At the same time, Ajax switched his thrusts to the
slower, more forceful thrusts which caused the nipple clamps to strain and pull.

Every breath Halen took was filled with musk from Dominics fuzzy balls. The Loupis thick musk was spicy, rich, reminiscent of earth, ice and something he couldn't place. He let his tongue out to lick the orbs, the massive cock dripping precum onto his head the entire time. Each of Ajax's thrusts had Halens entire body moving, the clamps pulling on his nipples and his cock bobbing up and down.

Finally, Ajax couldn't restrain himself. With one final snap of his hips he buried the whole of his cock in the dragon and came. Several spurts of cum fired into Halen, painting his insides white and filling his body with warmth. Ajax had his head thrown back and snarled, his body wracked with shudders, panting.

Groaning at the feeling of seed flooding him, Halen could feel his cock throb, wanting to mimic the one that was filling him with molten seed. Ajax's load flooded through him, the pulsing shaft preventing any from leaking out of the tight seal. He could feel himself swell slightly from the massive volume, filling every available nook within his packed guts.

Seeing the two of them, faces filled with bliss, Dominic slowly undid the knot above Halen and allowed his wrists, still bound together, to lower, until he and Ajax lay on the bed. Once they lay there, Dominic took in the scene as he climbed down, before he slowly parted Halen's legs. "Now little drake the question is..." Dominic strokes around his hole, brushing Ajax's cock in the process, "...can you take more?"

Realizing what was about to happen, Halen merely nodded, anticipating the full feeling that was about to overtake him. Dominic climbed atop the little dragon and pressed his cock in beside his loyal servant's. The muscles stretched and Halen's head fell back as he groaned in
unison with the other men. Dominic was in heaven at the feeling of heat and pressure, while Ajax savoured the feeling of his lord's cock sliding across his. Ajax's seed and Halen's slick spilt out, lubing up Dominic as he pressed forward. Panting, the Loupi slowly began to thrust.

Halen groaned at the feeling of two cocks moving within him, the shafts stretching him further than he had in years. Dominic's knot pressing against the outside of his hole, unable to breach the intense tightness that was Halen's hole. The two shafts didn't give him a moment of respite. Two cocks constantly moving, constantly. They swapped their style every few moments, sometimes alternating thrusts, sometimes thrusting together.

Dominic took particular pleasure in the randomness of his thrusts. Each time he alternated, Halen would shudder and his head would roll. Eyes closed, the Naga-Ra was nearly comatose as the feeling of two cocks in his hole dove him mad. The stimulation was especially bad since he had cum recently. Halen was lucky that all three of them were highly sensitive at that moment. Dominic had been holding back as long as he could but the experience was simply too erotic. He threw back his head screaming as he came deep inside the Naga-Ra. The explosion of seed drew duel releases from his bed partners, as Ajax unloaded inside Halen for the second time. Luckily, Dominic had been able to deactivate the cock ring again, allowing Halen's release.

Halen moaned, his senses being overwhelmed with pleasure as Ajax and Dominic unloaded inside him, the cock ring's deactivation letting his second release of the night flow from his balls as well. His load flew all over himself, coating his chest and face, some ropes splattering onto Dominic while others trickled onto Ajax. His stomach groaned as it was flooded with amazing levels of seed, forcing him to swell further, a small bulge under his skin forming, pushing his abs out slightly. He collapsed limblessly onto Ajax, both other men still buried inside him.

Dominic leaned in and began to kiss Halen
passionately, dominating his mouth for several seconds. When he released the dragon, he fell down onto the bed still inside of Halen. Ajax immediately took his place, tilting Halen's head back and ravaging his mouth for several seconds. Once both had made their last mark on the mage Dominic threw his arm over Halen and clutched Ajax's shoulder. "You're both staying the night."

Groaning, Halen moved to roll off of Ajax but found the Bao's arm around his waist, holding him there, his cock slowly deflating. He groaned at the clingy cat before giving him a smirk and kiss on the cheek. "Fine, fine." He said, a playful grin on his face, before looking at Dominic. "Soo, gonna use that spell to clean me out?" He asked.

The king smirked, his eyes closed. "Nope. Enjoy the feeling."

Groaning, he gave the man a half-hearted push. "Fine, not gonna let me move as well I guess?" He said, cuddling into Ajax behind him, enjoying the arms wrapped around him. Dominic chose not dignify that with a reply as the three drifted to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Time Skip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning had Halen awakening when a light shone through the windows, drifting over his eyes and forcing him awake. He moved to stretch his arms when he found himself restricted. Memories of the previous night came back to him as he opened his eyes, looking up to Dominic and Ajax that were both cocooned around him, their fur and solid bodies keeping him comfortably warm. Their softened cocks had slipped free overnight and some of their impressive loads had leaked out. Focusing a moment on the uncomfortable feeling, Halen attempted to cast the spell that Dominic had shown him the day before, glad to see that he had succeeded and feeling it cleaning the cum off/out of him. Feeling Dominic shift from his movement had him wincing, his
wings pinned in an uncomfortable manner. Continuing to wiggle he managed to dislodge one arm from Ajax's vice-like hug before he managed to free the other.

Realizing that he was still pinned by Dominic he set his arms down on the bed and pushed, he rose slowly, lifting the Loupi with him before turning and rolling the king off his back. Dominic landed on his back and seemed to continue to doze, unaware of what was going on in his own bed. Now free, Halen hopped off the massive bed, stretching his arms and wings in one grand gesture. He felt a pleasurable throbbing from his rear from the night before. He debated leaving and returning to his own room before discarding the idea, knowing that the others wouldn't appreciate being left like that. Instead, he gathered his clothing, but only slipped on his underwear and pants before sitting at a nearby table and waiting for the others to awaken.

Unknown to the Naga-Ra, the wolf had in fact woken from the roll Halen had given him. However, the Loupi king was not known as a graceful morning man. He had laid there, feeling Halen move as he allowed his brain to begin firing. He managed to catch just enough to notice that Halen had not left the room but seemed to be waiting. This made him smile. Slowly, he rose from his bed, in a manner that reminded Halen a bit of a corpse rising from the grave. The king's eyes were squinted as he hobbled over to the window and drew the curtains mumbling, "Motherfucking sun can't take a goddess damned hint." He weakly waved at Halen as he shuffled over to the wash bin, filling it with water and a few herbs before tapping a rune making the water heat. The room was filled with a soft medicinal scent. Dominic took a deep breath, seeming to come alive. He reached into the basin and began to wash his arms.

Halen continued to watch his lovers, enjoying the domestic feeling that he sadly knew, would not last long. He gave a small chuckle when he heard Dominic's comment about the sun, before curtains were drawn and the light was doused The scent of the herbs was quite pleasant from the distance and helped explain the earthy smell coming from Dominic the night before. Leaning back in the chair his gaze shifted to Ajax, still apparently dead to the world in the bed. His arms had wrapped around a
pillow after Halen had left the bed. Shaking his head, he moved over to where they had eaten the night before, taking a glass and filling it with water from a jug that sat untouched. A flare of magic had the liquid chilled to a more pleasant temperature before he began to drink. Finishing a sip he looked over to Dominic who had moved from washing his arms to scrubbing his chest with the herb infused water. "So..." He said, "Is Ajax normally this dead to the world in morning?" Halen asked.

Dominic took a moment to respond. When his brain registered what Halen had said he glared at the dragon for several moments. Then he held up his hand, slowly ticking his fingers down. 3.....2.....1....and then he pointed to Ajax. The Bao in question seemed to shift around before sitting up and stretching, his mouth open in a huge yawn, tongue curling. This lasted a few moments before his arms dropped and he looked around the room, eyes alert. "Good Morning!" Dominic gave an agitated sigh and let his head thump against the wall behind the basin. "Every. Damn. Morning." Ajax chuckled, used to his king's morning routine. Then he turned to Halen and said, "How are you feeling from last night? Any pain?"

Halen looked between the two, a bit startled by how accurate Dominic was with Ajax's awakening and how alert the man could be the moment he woke up. "Um, no, no pain back there, just some throbbing. My wings hurt a tad from getting pressed on wrong, but I've had worse." He said, letting his freed wings shuffle behind him. "That spell you showed me yesterday works quite well, something that saves a great deal of time," Halen said, giving a grin to the king. Turning to Ajax he gave the man a smirk. "You, sir, have a grip like a vice." He said, chuckling when the Bao ducked his head in embarrassment.

Dominic was finally reaching the land of the conscious as Halen spoke, "You managed the spell ok?" Dominic had told him he needed to have intimate knowledge of what he was dealing with. Then he remembered the ritual that had given Halen his...extra features, and assumed hat Halen knew enough. After that, the spell was simple. "Did you absorb or destroy it?"

He gave the man a puzzled look before realizing what he was asking. "Oh. Um, I destroyed most of it, whatever had leaked out or was in the lower intestines at least, the stuff that was further up I just broke down into proteins and let my body absorb," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "And yeah, you explained the spell well yesterday so it wasn't too hard to figure out how it worked." Looking towards Ajax he asked, "So, I'm not sure what you two have planned, but do you have any ideas how to fill our time while waiting for the storm to subside?"

"I have a few ideas. What is so important about the storm?" Dominic asked as he dried his paws.

"I've never seen a storm quite as strong as the one that was brewing up there. The snow falling was almost blinding and that was nowhere near the peak of the strength. I heard thunder and lightning through the howling winds. You would have to have a death wish to enter that place." Halen said, clearly concerned about the strength of the weather. Shaking his head he looked between Ajax and Dominic, a serious expression on his face. "I don't know what could cause a storm like that, it didn't feel natural, but I would caution against entering it until it runs its course." Shaking his head he continued. "Either way, it shouldn't take too long, I doubt it would last more than a week, maybe a week and a half, and I left the mountains almost five days ago now." He finished.

Dominic and Ajax both took a moment to ponder that information. Halen was right, storms rarely got that bad, and if a powerful mage said it was unnatural... both were concerned. Dominic made a mental note to have it investigated. Then shook his head, "Did you have anything, in particular, you wanted to do? You are my guest after all, and I've been dragging you around the past day or so." Dominic refrained from saying that the Naga-Ra had offered little resistance. He was a gentleman after all.

Laying back in his chair Halen thought over the past few days and what needed to be done. "I've not had a chance to see you spar. Would you sate my curiosity by having a bout for me to watch?" He asked with an eyebrow raised in question at the end, hoping that the men would allow him to see them in action. Dominic caught the look and tossed a glance to Ajax as they had one of those silent conversations. "I suppose we could do so. But I'm afraid I must demand you give us each a bout as well."

A smirk formed on Halens lips, his teeth gleaming, slightly predatory. "Of course Dominic, but don't expect me to go easy on either of you." He said, standing and quickly slipping on his top. He sat back down as the other two moved to gather their clothing, both Ajax and Dominic grabbing a sheathed weapon that they had left by the door before they all left the chambers. The threesome moved to the parlour they had breakfast in the day before and, moments after they entered, several servants arrived carrying platters of food. When Halen raised an eyebrow, Dominic merely shrugged and said, "I have a routine. And the staff are very good at what they do." The threesome sat down and enjoyed another breakfast together. Dominic smirked when Halen noted several strawberry crepes placed near his seat. Dominic of course simply had to steal one, laughing at the huffy face the dragon gave him. They dug in, savouring the meal and were delighted when several chocolate baked goods came out as a sort of brunch

Once they had eaten their fill, all three picked up their bundles and followed the king as he dashed out the door, down several corridors until they popped out into the courtyard again. Dominic pointed to another building attached to the smithy. "That's the armoury. We can change in there. You first little dragon."

Halen rolled his eyes and moved towards the building, rather than take some of the leathers stored in shelves, scattered around the room, he reached for a bag he had taken from his room after breakfast. Inside lay his combat gear and one of his prized weapons. Retrieving it he smiled as it thrummed with power, practically
vibrating with energy as it responded to his presence. He quickly stripped out of his robes and into the combat gear, strapping his weapon to his back before stepping outside.

Ajax and Dominic leaned against a low wall by the smithy, waiting for the reappearance of the dragon. When he emerged both men were rather surprised at what they saw. Most mages they knew prefered robes or simple leathers but Halen had several plates of metal making up the upper portion of his armour. His midriff was covered in the leathers they expected, surprisingly the majority of his pecs were exposed, only a small strap running between them. Oddly, only one arm was wrapped in leather while the other was bare from shoulder to elbow, his forearm covered in a metal vambrace. They could see several small signs of wear that suggested the armour was well used. A darker leather covered Halen from the waist down, and what looked like a piece of robe fluttered behind him. The leather was form fitting and with the robe and wings drifting in the light breeze Halen cut an impressive figure. Both Ajax and Dominic had to fight off the idea of ending this spar early and returning to their room.

Halen took a moment to enjoy their stunned silence, knowing that his armour was far from conventional for a mage, yet he enjoyed the way it felt and how it allowed him to move. When the silence stretched on Halen raised an eyebrow at the other men. Dominic quickly shook himself from his stupor and punched AJax's arm. The two of them glanced at each other before both nodded. They raised their hands and shook their fists once...twice...thrice....when suddenly Dominic flattened his palm. Ajax gave a disgusted grunt as Dominic pumped his fist. Then he sauntered into the armoury.

Halen looked towards Ajax, his eyebrow raised in question. The Bao merely shrugged his shoulders, as if this was a common occurrence, something which Halen suspect to be true. He leaned back against the wall next to Ajax, almost brushing against the other male while he waited for Dominic to emerge.

When
the king finally returned Halen raised another brow at his slightly cliché armour. The king had on firm leather armour that coved him nearly neck to toe. The leather was a dark brown and studded with rivets across the chest, arms, and upper legs. It was clearly intended to allow manoeuvrability while protecting against most sword slashes. The vambraces were especially thick with rivets, making Halen suspect the king blocked with his arms. The joints were thinner to allow full range of motion. Over the top of the armour, a dark grey cloak covered Dominic. Halen could spy several distortions in the cloth which he assumed held hidden surprises. He could also sense the enchantments on the armour, probably meant to increase its effectiveness. In his hand, Dominic carried his rapier, with the same magic Halen had sensed before.

"What do you think? Any thoughts?" Dominic asked.

"Hmm, certainly nice to look at. That being said...." Halen trailed off, pacing around Dominic, a glowing hand moving slowly around to help him sense the interwoven magics. "The true worth of armour can only be determined in the heat of battle." He finished, smirking when Dominic gave a gruff laugh. He turned to Ajax then who moved away from the wall and towards the armoury. Halen moved back to leaning against the wall, leaning in such a way that his wings and weapon wouldn't dig into his back. Before him Dominic was stretching 'Or perhaps showing off for me' Halen thought with a smirk, which was returned by the Loupi when he caught his gaze.

Unfortunately, any hope for banter ended when Ajax reemerged. From the waist down, Ajax wore similar armour to the others, dark leather pants, meant to protect him and allow mobility. Over the top, however, was where the differences began. The leather armour over his torso was thicker than theirs, and less flexible, providing more protection. It was clear that Ajax was less of a finesse fighter then they were. Across his chest were two leather bands, reminiscent of the harness he had worn last night. However, these were filled with daggers and vials. Each vial contained a different liquid, and given his Bao heritage, Halen correctly assumed that the majority of them were poisonous. His upper arms were bare but on his wrists were
bands of leather with long segments of metal that seemed to serve as vambraces. However, Ajax showed their second use when he tested them, letting the two fang-like metal spikes jump out before locking them back. What was different from most Bao, however, was the large sheath on his back, containing an impressive black broadsword.

Halen's eyebrows rose after examining the Bao's armour. While daggers and poisons were to be expected, the thick sturdy leather and massive sword were unexpected, highly rare for one of his people and enough to throw off most who have fought against a Bao before. Still, he appreciated the elegance of the armour and how, like his own and Dominic's, seemed both well made, cared for and used. Nodding, he moved to stand straight and stepped away from the wall. "So, I believe I was promised a match I could watch before I joined in. Shall we get started?" He asked, the feral grin returning to his lips.

Ajax nodded while Dominic huffed a laugh and the two stepped until about half the courtyard separated them. Neither moved for a few minutes and Halen could discern their eyes flicking up and down each other. Rather than a sexual glance, it told Halen that these men had spared many times before and were trying to formulate strategies. After several moments, absolutely no one was shocked when it was Dominic who moved first. Rapier extended out to his right, it appeared as though he was going for a haymaker of a bottom right to top left slash. However, he surprised them both when he reversed the grip, rapier pointed like a lance as he altered his course to the left a step. Ajax now had a needlepoint aimed at his heart and responded by shifting his broadsword so it was tilted almost parallel with his body. The point of the rapier connected with the flat of the broadsword and skittered up its length, sparks flying, till it his the guard and was thrown off. Dominic's momentum carried him past his retainer.

Ajax began his own turn, letting the weight of his sword carry him as he slashed back and to the side, body twisting. However, Dominic bent forward allowing the blade to pass over him before straightening and hopping back a step. The two men now faced each other with only a few steps of space.

Halen watched as the two men spared, their movements fluid and fast. He realized just how close the two men must be for how they were moving, almost like a dance. Their steps careful and all with purpose, every movement in time with the others. Dominic was the more aggressive of the two, delivering fast strikes that tried to get around his opponent's guard. Ajax was more solid, deflecting every blow directed towards him, his broadsword turning away every strike and responding with his own, which Dominic nimbly dodged.

Suddenly, Ajax came around, his broadsword sweeping towards Dominic's seemingly unprotected left side. Halen tensed slightly when all the king did was lift his arm. The broadsword connected with the thick vambrace he had noticed earlier and was stopped cold. The rivets had stopped any momentum the sword had without seemingly taking damage.

Halen was surprised by how strong the magic on the armour must be, he had suspected that the rivets were more than they appeared and their ability to block a blow like that only confirmed it. They pulsed for a moment, magical energy being depleted. Halen realized that their power, while drawn from Dominic, was not infinite, taking a time to recharge before blocking again. He watched as Ajax pulled back and moved to make another strike, one which Dominic dodged by rolling to the side. Suddenly, the vambraces gleamed again, signalling that they were ready for use. It was much too fast for an enchantment to have filled naturally so Halen wondered if the vambraces had multiple charges or if Dominic had forced his magic into them.

Ajax made for another slash and this time, Dominic blocked with his rapier. The two swords collided with the ringing sound of metal on metal. Halen half expected the rapier to snap like a twig, but it held firm. Clearly, the durability enchantments on it were top-notch.

"Locked together again Kitten? Haven't we been here often enough these past few days?" Dominic snarked, trying to throw the captain off with innuendo. Unfortunately, Ajax took battle all too seriously and merely replied, "Remember my king, all enemies have surprises," before flicking his wrist, causing the metal fangs to snap forward. Dominic was forced to disengage or experience severe punctures to his wrist. As he skipped back, ajax reset the gadget and prepared to step forward. However, Dominic was faster. He plunged a hand into his cloak and came back with a rod of oak with a clear-ish gem on the hilt. The rod lit up with a blue-white light and several blasts of ice launched towards Ajax.

Halen leaned forward excited to see magic used in combat. Ajax easily blocked or sidestepped each blast, a small smirk appearing. Finally, Dominic seemed to get irritated. Extending the rod and sword to the left side, the king swung the sword towards Dominic. A wave of bluish-white energy flew out and landed just shy of the Bao. The entire area between them was covered in thick ice. At first Halen assumed the king had missed, but Dominic brought the point of his rapier down, slamming it into the edge of the ice field. A flash of light and the sound of broken glass heralded the end of the ice as it exploded upward, shards of ice flying in every direction, followed by a cloud of ice crystals. When the frozen smoke screen faded, Ajax stood with several ice shards embedded in his armor. He was unharmed, but nodded his head, conceding the match.

Halen clapped at the conclusion, impressed with the showing that the other two men had put on. Stepping forward he moved one hand, dispelling the ice around Ajax. "I must say, I am thoroughly impressed." He said, turning to Ajax he spoke. "Excellent sword work, you show great skill with that blade." To which Ajax beamed with pride. He continued by speaking to Dominic. "Some very impressive enchantments, and excellent use of your rod." Dominic was about to speak when he was cut off. "Your rod that shoots ice," Halen said, his gaze flat, knowing the awful joke that could have been made.

Smirking, he reached a hand behind him. "That being said, I believe it's my turn." He said, pulling the spear from his back. Unlike Ajax and Dominic's weapons, the spear glowed with power. The shaft was black and purple, runes etched on the surface glowing faintly. The head of the spear was a double-sided teardrop shaped blade that ended in a point. Nestled in the widest point of the teardrop was a hole, in which a glowing orb of pulsing purple light rested, the same shade as Halen's eyes, which left a fading trail behind it as he twirled the weapon. Pointing it towards the ground he spoke. "Who's first?"

Dominic chuckled and spoke, "I believe I will claim that honour. An impressive spear little drake. Let's see how good you are." Ajax nodded and stepped off to the side as Halen took his place. This time, Dominic stayed still nodding his head allowing Halen the first move.

Halen lived up to the expectation of a mage, as he gave the spear a twirl and let loose a wave of ice, quickly formed into several foot long spikes that raced towards Dominic. The king smirked, thinking the Naga-Ra wanted to beat him at his own game. His rapier came up and blocked the first spike, which shattered. Then he twisted his oak rod, causing the other spears to veer off course. He remained in the same spot and gestured with his finger a 'come hither'. Smirking at the Loupi, Halen gave the spear another wave, before leaping forward with surprising speed, and the icy aura following the tip as he raced towards the other, he swung the spear down, moving to hit the king's shoulder, gathering the ice energy at the tip for his attack.

Dominic was versed enough to know what ice energy like that did to leather. Goddess knows that icy wave of his was designed for that purpose. So Dominic did the smart thing and skipped back a few steps while thrusting the rod out, channelling energy so any ice magic would have a harder time reaching him. To his surprise when the spear hit the ground, the energy did not dissipate but rather formed into several more ice spikes that rose up and floated around Halen. The Naga gave him a smirk before dashing at him again, the
tip of his spear trailing behind him, the ice spikes following his movement. As he was about to reach Dominic two spikes flew forward, one aiming for should shoulder, the other for his knee.

"Fuck," Dominic said as he slashed through the lower spear while the other trailed along his armour leaving a trail of ice and frigid air. Dominic flexed carefully to break the ice and check the integrity of the shoulder. Luckily the cloak had been behind him.

Halen took the opportunity to twist his spear forward, revealing a crackling purple aura emanating from the tip. He thrust the head forward, which was blocked by Dominic's rapier. Their weapons locked, giving them a moment for their eyes to meet. Halen gave the Loupi a smirk before releasing the aura around the head of the spear, a burst of electricity running down the king's blade. Dominic restrained a cry of pain as his body was sent skidding back, sparking. When he managed to stand, a snarl marred his face with a quick gesture several glyphs glowed on his rod before a number of stones shot from the earth and rocket towards Halen.

Seeing the incoming stones he spun the staff, the base trailing along the ground before him and forming an ice wall where it touched that the stones dissipated against before the ice fell. Dominic had not expected Halen to block like that but it worked just the same. As the Naga-Ra stepped forward the hidden, latent ice magic in the stones activated and lightly froze Halen in place. Normally they were to cause an issue with an enemy's weapon but this worked too. Dominic charged forward, rapier ready to strike.

Halen, momentary surprised by the trick smirked, he let a trail of fire magic circle him, quickly vaporizing the ice, but by that time he only had a moment to dodge the charging swordsman. Jumping back, he let his wings unfurl to their full size and beat them several times, kicking up dust and frost before landing again. He noticed the stunned looks on Dominic's face and took that moment to dash forward, his spear once again pulsing with an icy aura.

Dominic stood ready, allowing Halen to charge as he gathered energy. He swapped his Oak rod for the Ash one and just as Halen was getting close, jammed the point of his sword into the earth. A spire of dirt shot up and Halen struck it, the icy power discharging and freezing the temporary barrier solid.

Seeing the frozen wall that blocked his path, Halen let his wings unfurl again. Jumping with a single hard thrust, he was propelled over the earthen wall and brought his spear to strike down at the king. A surprised look on Dominic's face changed to annoyed when Halen's spear made contact with his shoulder, letting out a burst of cold wind along with the torrent of energy, creating a thick coating of ice on his arms and chest.

Dominic huffed in annoyance and flexed, while his rod glowed, making the ice shatter. "I believe this round goes to you, Halen. I'm impressed." Dominic offered his hand.

The Naga-Ra chuckled before grasping the hand but quickly turned the handshake into a brief hug. "Mm, you did pretty well yourself. Interesting techniques certainly." He said a radiant grin on his face.

"Really? It doesn't seem all that impressive. You were doing much the same, hell you made your weapon your focus. Even I would have trouble with that." Dominic replied

Halen needed a moment to respond to that, merely laughing while rubbing the back of his head. "It's not all that hard, but the spear itself is designed to act in such a way." He said, gesturing to the glowing orb of energy contained within the bladed head. "I channel it through that point, and it can be channelled through the weapon as a
result."

Dominic rubbed his jaw, contemplating all the ways he could replicate such a technique, even modify it. He did love experimenting after all... maybe if he set the orb in the pommel and made the handhold wood.... Dominic shook his head, placing that train of thought at the back of his mind to run its course. "Still impressive. But I believe it's Ajax's turn." The king beckoned the Bao over, who had taken a moment to mend his armour with a quick spell. The damaged areas would be a bit weaker but would hold for now.

When Ajax made it over he merely nodded to the King and traveller, then took his place. Halen watched from the far end of the courtyard, knowing that having watched his fight with Dominic that the Bao would be far less likely to be surprised. He waited for the other man to make the first move while gathering an icy aura at the base of the spear.

The Bao seemed to consider the spear for several moments before he reached up, fast as lightning and lobbed one of his vials towards the Naga-Ra. It smashed about ? the distance and exploded into a huge gas cloud that slowly crawled towards Halen.

Seeing the cloud crawling forward he jabbed the base of the spear at it, releasing the ice magic in a dispersed cloud that impacted that from the vial. The ice wrapping around it in tendrils and condensing it until only a small, discoloured ice orb remained. Smirking at the Bao he swung the spear in an arc, letting out a wave of fire that spread as it headed towards the poison user.

The wave of fire raced towards the Bao and seemed to engulf him. When the light and flame cleared, Ajax was down on one knee, panting as he huddled behind a mostly melted block of ice. Slowly, the captain stood and pulled another vial from his collection. This violent green concoction was in a vial designed to dispense drops,
and he allowed three to fall on the hidden fangs on his bracer. He looked Halen in the eye as he jerked his wrist, causing one drop to fall to the ground as he replaced the mostly full vial. The bright green droplet hit the pavement and began to spit, boil and smoke. Then he positioned his bracer, and Halen saw the ripple of magic signalling an enchantment charge being expanded. Ajax slashed up and to the left, and the fangs released twin waves of toxic energy which race towards the Naga-Ra.

Seeing the toxin race towards him and knowing that he would be unable to contain it Halen jumped back while opening his wings, beating hard he managed to climb over the incoming attack. At his peak he could see Ajax staring up at him, smirking. Wanting to return the favour, Halen channelled ice magic into his wings. Crystals began to form around the edges and with one hard beat, he released them all, raining tiny ice spikes towards the Bao.

Ajax was very used to ice shards, since they were one of Dominic's favourite tactics, so Ajax simply swung his Broadsword above him, shattering the vast majority of the projectiles. The others he sidestepped until the attack ended with only one shard embedded in his armour. Ajax smirked as he pointed his fist at Halen. At first the dragon didn't know what he was doing. But he widened his eyes when the metal fangs shot off the bracer towards him.

Stopping the beating of his wings, Halen plummeted several meters, safely missing the incoming spikes before snapping them open and angling himself towards Ajax, spear poised to strike. Just as he was about to score a hit on the man's shoulder, his massive sword moved to deflect him. A hard shove from the blade threw off his balance, sending him spiralling before he could correct the rapid change in balance. He managed to land on his feet, sliding several paces before coming to a stop in a crouch, gazing at Ajax with bared teeth and spear at the ready. The Bao launched himself forwards, his broadsword coming around for a powerful swipe against Halen. Ajax worked to angle himself to skim his blade down the spear when Halen blocked, allowing him to score a light blow against the Naga-Ra.

Seeing that the man had managed to score a blow more than he, Halen upped his game. He channelled magic to his robes, causing several previously hidden runes to glow purple. Seeing the astonished look in Ajax's eyes he darted forward, his spear in one hand moving to swipe at his knees while the other hand glowed blue, a sphere of energy gathering in the palm of his hand.

Despite worrying at the unknown magic, Ajax choose it over the spear, flipping back and feeling the air shift as Halen released the magic orb straight at Ajax. The glowing sphere impacted his side and released the stored energy, coating the side of his armour in thick ice which started to crawl upwards, icy tendrils slowly wrapping around his arm. Ajax snarled as he landed in a crouch. He had been the recipient of enough cryomancy, he should have recognized that spell as similar to Dominic's ice wave. He used what little knowledge he had in cryomancy to halt the spell's progress, though it didn't do much. Dominic debated breaking the ice but chose to leave it. The leather underneath was weakened, and the ice would serve as some protection.

Instead, he swept his sword around again, aiming for Halen's sexy midriff as if to bisect him. Smirking at the Bao's attack, Halen let it hit when a gong-like sound rang out, a collection of glowing purple lines blocking the blade. Using the others surprise he gathered more ice to the tip of his spear before smashing down at the unfrozen side of Ajax, missing by a hair's length when he disengaged. The purple lines fading away as a rune on his armour dimmed slightly.

"....Mage armour. Fuck." Was Ajax's response to the revelation. Then He swung his blade again, coming in a downward arc. Halen merely took a step back, but that was what Ajax wanted as the sword slammed into the ground. Without losing momentum, Ajax swung his left hand out, the other fangs of metal snapping forward as he used them to catch the spear and force it back when the fangs skittered up the haft and caught on the shaped point. His other hand came up, as he completely released his sword, natural claws extended as he swiped up at Halen's face.

Releasing the spear, Halen leaned back, the claws almost managing to catch him in the face. Standing, and now disarmed, Halen took flight again while gathering energy. A glowing aura in each hand, one red the other blue, began to take shape, flowing into ethereal weapons. A glowing single-edged blade burned with fire energy while a dagger cloaked in frost lay in the other. Diving down, he struck with the blade which was quickly parried, while his dagger managed to score a hit on the Bao's armour.

Ajax was thankful to the Goddess of the Moon and the Bao's ancient God that he was so accustomed to ice magic. As he moved to the left, he snatched up the spear and flipped, tossing it far to the right, where it struck the wall near Dominic and stuck. Now divested of what Ajax prayed was Halen's main weapon, he had to contend with those mage arms. He had left his broadsword on the ground, so he prepared his claws and the metal fangs and sank into a martial arts stance. He moved forward at speed and grabbed Halen's wrist and slashed the fangs down, until they were parried and held by Halen's ice knife. The two stood, arms entangle and pressed their strength against each other.

Halen began to worry, knowing that while he was far stronger than most mages, the Bao before him was levels higher than him. Looking towards the stronger man Halen gave a smirk and inhaled deeply before pursing his lips and blowing, an oddly coloured substance leaving his mouth, directly into Ajax's face. The Bao began to cough violently, an action that was mirrored by Halen for several moments.

Ajax could sense the chemicals in his body in a way. As a Bao, he was familiar with many poisons and such things. Halen had hit him with some form of knockout gas, his body was already going numb. Using the last of his strength and Halen's distracted coughing, he released Halen and made one last swipe, which brought the fangs up to graze Halen's leather armour. Then the momentum carried Ajax forward and he toppled to the ground, unconscious.

Halen found himself half pinned by the now dozing man, his legs trapped under the solid chest. Looking to Dominic who had rushed over he chuckled. "So..... can you help me get him off. I can wake him up but I can't do it from this position." He said. The other man quickly helped, slightly concerned about the state of his friend. Halen placed a palm over Ajax's lungs before his palm glowed, he slowly moved it upwards towards the man's lips, where the mist from earlier emerged. Another violent cough came from Ajax before his eyes opened and he gazed between the men standing over him.

"How long was I out?" Ajax was always one to get a feel for the situation. Dominic only chuckled, "Maybe a minute. Halen undid the spell, pulling the cloud from your lungs." the king pointed over to where Halen was condensing the mist into a small orb which seemed to glow purple before he absorbed it. The Naga-Ra smiled, "I'm actually surprised it worked, usually I just end up coughing when I use it. Poison magic isn't my forte." Ajax just raised his brow.

"You may want to keep that spell secret. My people would go mad to learn it. I've never heard of it."

"I doubt many have, it's a bit of necromantic magic, heavily watered down of course. But necromancy all the same." He said, slightly nervous about having used the spell after the warning from the day before. Seeing that neither man was moving to rip his throat out he figured that it was fine. "Anyway, I removed the toxin, and the worst you should have now is a bit if stiffness that'll fade in an hour." He spoke.

Ajax shifted back and forth, looking at his metal fang's, "Necromancy huh... doubt my people know that." Then the Bao shook his head to clear it. "But I suppose that's alright. What did you think of our fight Halen?"

He beamed at the other two. "Truly fantastic, similar to your people, but with enough other things thrown in to keep anyone on their toes. I haven't enjoyed a spar like that or the one with Dominic in years." He said quickly, a blinding smile on his face. Ajax smiled and nodded, "So now that you've seen us in action, what do you think we should do?"

Dominic chose that moment to break into the conversation. "I think we are all taking a little trip up to visit the mountains. You said the storm was unnatural Halen? Well, I just received reports that it died down a bit, but now several ice creatures are wandering a section of the peaks. My people have never seen their like. Not only that, but they appear to be patrolling an area around one of the ancient ruins up there."

Going silent for several moments, he thought over what he knew. Shaking his head before speaking he looked between his companions. "All we can do is see for ourselves. Whatever they are, they must be connected to something in the ruin. Whether or not it's the spirit or a black magic ruin, it should be investigated." He said, resolute in his declaration.

Dominic nodded, "I agree, and just so you know Halen, the ruin was one of the ones the mages guild suggested was worth looking into for Black magic. So I really need you to come with. With any luck, you can explain how to unmake these... what I hope are golems... if there is more..." Dominic left the rest unsaid. "I believe it would be best if we set out in the next hour. I have already sent messages to others who will be joining us."

Standing, Halen dusted off his robes. "Of course, in that case, I shall go prepare my belongings," he said, nodding to the men before rushing off, muttering under his breath about what would need to be brought.

Ajax and Dominic shared a glance before rushing into the armoury. They emerged a few minutes later, each carrying a large sack of equipment as the dashed off to their personal quarters. Thoughts the same as their Naga-Ra guest.

An adventure had begun.

Chapter Text

Halen grimaced in the saddle, discreetly rubbing his sore rear end for the umpteenth time since they had left the city proper. The Loupi and Ikati in their party seemed content on their mounts, quietly chatting with each other as they travelled towards the mountain path Halen had entered the kingdom from. But Halen had always found them uncomfortable, the skittish animals were usually mistrustful of him and he returned the sentiment.

Feeling his rear come crashing down uncomfortably again, he took a moment to examine their party in an attempt to ignore the dull throbbing. Dominic and Ajax rode stallions near the head of the party, the king's was a chestnut beast while the guard's was as black as his own fur. Behind the two sat Asher, the mage guild leader he had met some days earlier atop his own white mare. Examining the man out of court finery revealed a lean build, that while he was almost Dominics height, he was far outstripped in terms of muscle. Several bags hung from the side of his mount, and Halen could spy several enchanted objects and notebooks.

Next to the court mage was a younger male Ikati on a calm tan gelding. Asher had introduced him as Ishmael, his apprentice. Unlike Ajax, Ishmael was a Hu, his form was naturally somewhat muscular and thicker built, with starting orange fur intermixed with black stripes which faded towards white near his neck. He seemed pleasant enough from their brief introduction but he noticed the man sending him the occasional glance.

Behind him rode Aaron and Veri, the guards that had first found him and escorted him to meet with Dominic the first time, they sat on matching chestnut geldings. They were playfully bickering back and forth, sending the occasional glance forward towards the rest of the party. Both were dressed as they were when he first met, but he spied thick cloaks in their bags.

He was broken from his musings when his horse, a black stallion impacted his rear again. He grumbled under his breath about how he despised riding them, and a huff from the creature in question showed that their feelings about each other were quite similar.

The staccato beat of hooves on the road quickened behind him, and suddenly Aaron was right next to him. "I take it that you and most horses don't get along." The Loupi quipped as his own gelding made a huff and tossed its head. Aaron laid a hand on his horse and it calmed almost instantly. Then he reached over and did the same for the black stallion Halen rode. While the great charger refused to relax totally, it calmed by several degrees and Hale found the ride far more comfortable. "Sometimes, you just need the right mindset." Aaron continued. "Appreciate the horse for the work it's doing. If you shift and squirm, it knows you're unhappy, and it takes insult. You're too tense. Lean back a tiny bit and try to unclench your shoulders."

Doing as ordered, Halen found the ride somewhat more comfortable but still less than pleasant. Looking at the grinning Loupi he thanked the man. "Thank you. I've never had much use for horses, and they seem to dislike me as much as I do them." He said, frowning when both his stallion and Aarons gelding gave matching snorts. "Even so. Thank you, but I dearly hope that riding does not become commonplace for me." He finished.

Aaron chuckled at the comment until Veri rode up and punched him in the arm. "Be nice to the poor guy. He's the kings guest. Or need I remind you of the time you-" Veri was cut off when Aaron placed a hand over his muzzle. "Ok. Ok. No need to fight dirty. Goddess." Aaron said with fake exasperation. Halen merely chuckled at the sight, realizing how close these two were.

Suddenly the column halted, the other soldiers standing at attention. "Alright, men, "Dominic's
voice emanated through the mountain pass. "From here we will be turning North and using that road," he pointed to an offshoot that was half the size of the road they were currently one. "The terrain won't get any kinder so we will continue at this gentle pace. As is, we should reach the nearest mountain stronghold in three hours. We will bunk there for the night then journey to the ruins tomorrow." Dominic rolled his shoulders before continuing, "As it will be our base of operations for the next while, you will be charged with securing it, aiding the garrison, and ensuring all its fortifications are in proper order. Now move out." Dominic turned his Stallion and began up the road. The column shifted as they went to fit.

His face neutral, Halen thought of how odd it was seeing Dominic in private, as he had over the past days, versus this more public setting. He was still the same man through and through, but he seemed slightly harder, having to put up a confident face in place of the excitement he had for the trip the night before. 'Perhaps it was the mention of these ice beings that changed him so?' Halen pondered but shook his head to rid him of the thought. The next several hours of riding continued at the gentle pace, with the terrain around them shifting. Forest and grassland became more sparse in the foothills, and when dirt turned to stone the wind picked up, carrying the scent of ice and snow from higher in the towering peaks. Snow covered the ground when they were an hour out from their destination, crunchy and freshly fallen, bathing the land in powder that sparkled in the last afternoon light. Shallow at first, but as they rode it grew deeper, slowing their progress slightly. Finally, a quarter of an hour later than Dominic had predicted, their destination came into view.

It was a decent sized fortification, probably meant to reinforce the larger garrison along the pass they had been travelling earlier. It sat with its back to a gargantuan outcrop of rock, so the entire structure was in shadow, save for the fires that burned from within. As Halen analyzed it he realized that there was no way into the fort save the front. A powerful defence, and given the structure of the mountains, he was willing to bet there were escape tunnels. Any invading army couldn't risk leaving this behind them, but a siege would be long and tedious. The large wood and steel doors opened allowing the column in. The walls had to be twenty feet high, and Halen could just barely sense
magic in the stones, specifically along the upper rim. Archers patrolled the causeway and sat in the two towers. He saw both crossbows and longbows among the men. The area they entered wasn't all that large, as it had been cut in half by a wooden palisade. A few small houses and a smithy wall took up the outer courtyard. Halen estimated that the troupe he had come with was about a third the size of the garrison.

They approached the palisade, and it too swung open to admit the king. Within was the keep, a modest building, and on its steps stood a soldier in full plate mail. The armour was slightly more decorative than the rank and file, but only somewhat. The king dismounted and began to climb the steps, Ajax following. "Major, I see the fort is in good condition."

The Major knelt, "Of course my king. Welcome. We have prepared for your arrival." Dominic nodded.

"Good, you may rise. I will need a situation report in the next two hours. Have you had word from your sister fort and the Pass?" The major nodded.

"Neither has spotted anything out of the ordinary. We appear to be the only ones to have seen the creatures. However, when they heard you were marching out personally, they made ready to reinforce us if necessary." Dominic smiled at that information. Halen guessed the other soldiers hadn't taken the threat very seriously until the king's intentions had been known. The major saluted and began to lead them into the fort. The men dispersed to see to their own quarters and Asher moved after the king. Taking a moment he examined the Major, he was a Loupi with chocolate brown fur and perky ears. He had black eyes that spoke of years of experience. Any further examination was difficult, given the full plate that covered the rest of his body.

Halen followed after Aaron and Veri, figuring that Dominic
and Ajax would be tied up in their briefing for some time, and on topics regarding more than the ice creatures. The men he had followed waited for him to catch up, noticing the man trailing after them.

"Hey, what are ya doing with us? Shouldn't ya be with the king?" Aaron questioned. Looking towards Veri he saw his friend's eyes held the same question.

Shrugging Halen spoke. "I figure that the major will be busy with them for some time. And given that Asher and Ishmael darted off right away, I figured it would be best to stick with you two for the time being." He said, smirking when he continued. "Afterall, you heard Dominic. I'm not allowed out of the castle without an escort," he finished, a playful tone in his voice.

The two guards shared a look before grinning at the Naga-Ra. "Of course," Aaron started. "It would be unwise to disobey the king," Veri continued. "In that case, we can swing by the barracks, we'll introduce you to some friends." Aaron continued, a hand wrapped around Halen's wrist dragging him forward.

The three of them wandered out of the wooden gate and headed for the largest building, across from the smithy. Inside were several tables and soldiers, drinking and playing cards. Aaron seemed excited and immediately sat down at one of the tables, placing a bag down and calling to be dealt in. Veri followed with a roll of his eyes. Halen watched their interactions with a smirk, glad to see the two men relaxing. A wave from Aaron had him wandering over to the table where a round of introductions began.

While Halen and the others were busy out in the "barracks", Dominic and Ajax were going over maps and reports inside the Keep. Asher and Ishmael sat close by, absorbing all that they could. The reports suggested that the creatures had been spotted just before the creation of the storm which
Halen had trudged through to reach them. However, due to poor visibility, many of the men assumed they were just wildlife among the snow drifts. It wasn't until the storm began to abate a day ago that the spotters had seen the truth. The major had ordered a scouting party to investigate, and they had gotten within sight of the ruins with their binoculars before being discovered. The party had attempted to fight, even managing to wound one of the creatures, until it seemingly regrew the damaged limb by taking in the surrounding snow. The party had been forced to retreat, the only casualty being one of the Loupi sustaining a broken leg. He was on the mend thankfully.

As Dominic finished reading the report he glanced up and then frowned. "Where is Halen?" The five of them shared looks before Ishmael spoke, "I believe he went with the men, my lord." Dominic facepalmed. "I told him I needed his help with this. Why didn't he follow...? Nevermind." Dominic walked to the door and tossed it open pointing at the guard on the left. "Fetch my guest. He should be out with the men. He's the only non-Loupi or -Ikati in the whole fort." Dominic then closed the portal without another word. The guard stood there perplexed before he raced out of the keep.

As the soldier rushed from the keep, Dominic picked up some of the notes and books they had on the ruins, calling Asher over to help him read, instructing Ajac and the Major to map out the terrain for him.

The poor soldier dashed down the carved stone steps and bolted towards the barracks. He burst through the door to find an odd sight before him. The guards that his majesty had brought with him were rolling on the ground laughing, at the table the strange creature (man? Guest? He wondered) sat with a pile of coins before him and several face-down cards, several others guards grimacing as they shoved even more wealth to the strangely dressed creature, some throwing their cards in frustration. He found himself enchanted when a pair of eldritch purple eyes landed on him and he didn't register what was going on until the man had walked up to him alongside the other two guards and one of them had spoken. "W-what?" He stuttered.

Halen smirked at the bemused guard after Veri had asked why he was here. Aaron gave the man a puzzled look before repeating the question. "He asked why you burst into the hall like that soldier. Is there something you require?" The Loupi said, an annoyed tone in his voice. He repressed a chuckle then the man stuttered out that the king required the presence of the only non-Ikati or -Loupi in the base. Seeing that his fun was over he turned to the grumbling guards and gave a small, mocking bow before following the man out of the rooms. Going through several hallways had them outside a plain looking door, within sat the rest of the travelling party and several men from the fort, including the one addressed as Major. Looking at Loupi that called him, he spoke while raising an eyebrow. "You called for me, Dominic?" At his question, he noticed the Major's grip on the book he was holding tighten in rage before Dominic responded.

"Yes, I apologize, I wanted you here but did not explain. My apologies. We have most of the information gathered. That pile," Dominic pointed to about six pages at the end of the table, "Contain the reports on the ice creatures and a few rubbings from the ruin. The rubbings are several years old. Could you look them over and see if anything strikes you as familiar?"

Doing as asked, he lifted the pages and began to review them. Humming as he read, he could feel the gaze of several guards upon him, some giving off a feeling of curiosity or lust while others radiated disapproval. The knowledge within the pages confirms some theories he had developed. Setting them down he turned to the assembled people. "I can't say exactly what caused them, but their behaviour is reminiscent of golems, the self-repair being the largest indicator. Also, given that it did not pursue your men, even with one wounded would mean that its objective would not be aided by following to finish the men off. So it would be safe to assume that whatever is causing these beings to form is likely what they are guarding." He spoke a hint of certainty in his tone.

"So the ruin is our main objective. Discovering what's in there and assessing the situation. Ending it if necessary." Dominic nodded. He had suspected as much but Halen's confirmation was helpful. "And the rubbings? Any hints there?"

Looking back at the pages he had not finished reading he examined the darkened shapes. "Hard to say honestly," Halen said as he splayed several sheets on the table. "All of them look like they could be part of several different runes, for Black magic or some other forgotten magic, but given the location of the temple, and I'm assuming that these are from the ruins exterior?" He asked, to which the major nodded. "Then they are likely quite weathered, obscuring their meaning," Halen said, before pointing at one page that seemed to contain a chain of strange shapes. "This is the only clear part, something about a holding place. But whether that refers to the spirit or something else, I cannot say."

The major sighed, "We always meant to get rubbings from the inner area and send them to the mages but it was never a priority. Plus there is that giant locked door." Halen raised his eyes in inquiry so the major continued, " From what we could tell there are four rooms we can access in the ruin. The entrance hall, a smaller room to the left and right of the entrance hall, and the room beyond the entrance hall. Past that is unknown. There is a large stone door which has a magical lock on it. From what we could tell it would take three mages, using cryomancy to open it. Or so we assume. There are three magic sensitive crystals around the door and runes about ice all over the place. There were never enough mages of sufficient power who were interested. They always assumed it was some study spot for ancient cryomancers and that anything in there was either known or not worth the trouble."

"Well, we have enough mages now, and plenty more interest in exploring the interior of the temple. But even so, getting there would be hard, depending on the nature of the golems." Halen said, troubled by the change of
events. At the major's questioning look he elaborated. "A golem is a very general term which refers to several types of magical constructs. Given the way that the ones you've encountered behave then it's likely that they draw all of their power from something within the ruins. And the closer they get, the stronger the energy they can draw upon." He finished, the major's eyes widening as he explained.

The Major and Dominic exchanged a look. Then the King spoke, "Alright, so the further they are from the ruin the harder it is for them to draw energy. We can attempt to lure them out away from the ruin, or try and smash through or disrupt them magically. Unfortunately, barring the smash and grab a lot depends on you, Halen." The king's comment drew several disapproving glances. The other Loupi did not like having to rely on a foreigner. The king continued smirking at the glances Halen was receiving, "So I want your opinion on the tactics. If we try the smash or the lure we need to increase our chances. If it's the disruption, I need to know if there is a way. Suggestions?"

Thinking for several moments, Halen considered what he knew of the situation and the Kings question. "Honestly, neither is perfect, but you make an assumption that these beings can be destroyed." He said, gathering alarmed looks. "From your own reports, they can reform, meaning that whatever damage we do can only slow them down, and the closer we are to the source, the faster they regenerate. Meaning that smashing and grabbing would be impossible, depending on the size of the ruin. Drawing some away could work, but if we do that, the party that enters the ruin must be able to stop the source of their energy, the construct will gather around the ruins if the source is threatened, meaning that escape will be difficult." He finished.

"Then let me make a suggestion. You're well versed in fire magic which I assume is a weakness of those golems." Dominic paused waiting for Halen's input. "Fire, force, maybe earth in the right situation." Dominic nodded and continued with the thought he had paused. "So the question is, can you teach these men the basics of Pyromancy and some basic tactics against them. With that, we can make an assault on the ruin. Once we are inside, the men fall
back and only re-engage if the golems try to follow us. Then they attack their exposed backs."

Thinking over the men and women he had met less than an hour before he considered Dominic's request. "Hard to say, that would be dependent on individual talent and main proficiencies. I'm sure that at least a handful can learn pyromancy to a very basic level in a few days," he said, mentally going over lessons from his past. "Of course, I would require some assistance from your mages, they would be more familiar with the teaching style these soldiers are used to." He said, catching a brief eye roll from Ishmael at being dragged into teaching.

Dominic nodded, "I would assist and love to learn. Asher should be able to help," Dominic paused, glancing at the mage who smiled and nodded. "I'm not sure how Ishmael would feel about it, but I'm sure he could learn and advise at least." The king began to consider, glancing at his rapier. "Runes could make things a bit easier... Any suggestions there?" Dominic asked the general room.

Asher spoke up, "I believe you're correct about the runes. As for specialities among the men, it is common for those with minor earth magic abilities to be placed in the passes. It assists in preparing the walls and dealing with invaders. There should be files on the men."

Watching as the other people in the room continued to discuss training schedules and plans for attack Halen had the opportunity to think on the past few days and all that had happened. It was during this reflection that a he felt a heated gaze, filled with dislike and malice, settle on him, one which quickly vanished when he looked around. Seeing that the Dominic and the Major were collecting their notes he surmised that the meeting was at an end for the day. Moving to stand by Ajax, Halen leaned against the wall while the guard spoke quickly and quietly. "We will have three days to prepare the men for the attack, the storm should be mostly dissipated by that point. Tactics in the afternoon after their basic drills and magic in the morning for
several hours. Several runes are to be added to the guard's weapons to increase their effectiveness." He finished. Halen gave him an appreciative glance at being informed of what he had missed when zoned out.

Halen and Ajax turned when they sensed another presence. Asher had come to join them, smiling. "I was wondering if we could sit down and begin discussing the basics of pyromancy immediately. I want a firm grasp on all the basics to assist the men."

"Of course Asher, it would be no problem. Just let me retrieve my belongings and then I can start," he said. Asher nodded and after saying farewell to Ajax they left to the stables. There the two men retrieved their packs before Asher lead them to an empty room near the keep's gate. "A room set aside for lower level leaders to talk. It should suit our purposes." The Loupi said.

Halen sat at the small table as Asher went to the door, a soldier saluted him before handing over a ream of paper. The older man returned to Halen and set the papers down after reading the first page. "This is a basic overview of each soldiers abilities, but the front page is a summary of magic users." As the man passed over the page he had been holding, Halen had a chance to view the numbers. The pages listed a total of thirty-two persons at the base, only twenty-one were soldiers with an additional three officers or higher. Of those twenty-four only six had any skills with fire magic while an additional four and three had knowledge of earth and force. Setting down the paper Halen rubbed his face, debating what to do. "We need to make sure the fire users can coat their weapons in flame, the force and earth need enough skill to enhance their blows to shatter the constructs."

Asher nodded in agreement. He was well versed in magic and even he could see how the fight would need to play out. "Well, I said I wanted to learn. I've taught more than one apprentice, and lead quite a few classes for the young ones. Shall we begin?"

Looking at the other man Halen went over the basics. "I'm assuming you know the basics, will and knowledge, some focus and intent when channelling power." He said, to which the silver Loupi nodded. "Then show me what you can do so I know where to start," Halen said, not knowing how skilled the other man was. Asher smiled gently and held up his hand. He focused for a moment before a spark materialized above his palm. Slowly that spark grew until it was a flickering flame. Asher placed his palms together and then drew them apart leaving a bar of flames connecting them. The Loupi took a deep breath, then thrust his hands forward, causing the bar of flame to fly forward in a wave of immolation. Halen's eyes tracked the wave of death across the wall till it left a decent scorch mark on the wall. For a moment Halen, criticized the wave 'til he realized that Asher had forgone the full power in exchange for a follow up of two decent sized fireballs.

Finally, the fire dimmed, and Asher stood there, breath coming just a bit faster than before.Halen took this time to critique his abilities. "Quite impressive. Sadly given the short length of time we have, anything I teach you would unlikely be usable the time the battle is to come. I have no doubt that your skills are as well, if not more practised in several fields, and given that we need focus on only a few subjects in the coming days, a full assessment of your skill would have to wait until we have more time." Halen spoke, knowing that the man was at the level where only higher difficulty spells would be of use for him to learn at this point. "That being said, the soldiers here will doubtlessly need some training, and they should be able to pick up a spell or three in the time we have."

"We have about an hour. I have a spell I've been studying Would you look it over and offer some advice?"

Agreeing, the two men sat down, Asher told him of the spell he had been studying for some time, Halen replying with his own theories as to the spells inner workings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Time SKIP~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~POV Shift~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aaron sighed heavily as he tapped his foot against the cold stone courtyard. He worked not to swing around and give the bird up to the wall behind him. Veri was sitting up there, probably smirking from the shadows, watching. Aaron had known he was going to have to participate in the classes the king's guest was conducting. He had actually been a bit excited until Veri reminded him of the time he blew himself up... and suggested he would be watching the show.

Aaron worked to suppress the second sigh. This was going to be exciting! If he said it enough he would forget Veri's words. Thankfully, the dragon the king was boning captured the crowd's attention. "Hello gentlemen and lady," Here, Halen nodded to the only woman in the crowd. She was at the front of the crowd. "You all know why you're here, so let's get to it. For the next hour, you will be working on the most basic exercise in pyromancy. This is to get you back into the swing of things, both our memory and your energy." Halen opened his palm and ignited the spark. Asher strode forward to continue, "Halen, myself, and my apprentice," He nodded to Ishmael who huffed, "Will be walking amongst you to assist. To start, you may find it easier to mix some memories and emotions to sharpen your will. Personally," Asher opened his own palm with a flame, "I tend to remember a warm hearth on a winter night. Safety. Protection. Warmth. Now begin."

Aaron held his hands before him while trying to remember his old lessons. All guards and soldiers were trained in basic magic, but very few pursued the study beyond the basics. Focusing on a memory of a roaring fire he channelled his magic between his open palms. Feeling the heat warming his hand, excitement surged through him. Responding to the high emotions the heat grew, flaring larger and shooting out of control. With a yelp, he jumped back, the flames dying as the emotions changed and the fuel for the flames died.

Silence filled the courtyard and Aaron could feel eyes locked on him. Looking around he saw every soldier with their eyes fixed on him. Asher was shaking his head and muttering while Halen grinned at him. Most annoying, he knew that Veri was chuckling from somewhere nearby at the display. Feeling a hand clamp on his shoulder he looked to see Halen standing closer. "A good start." the dragon said. "But next time, don't fear the flame. Control it." He finished, giving him an encouraging smile. Aaron nodded, glad Halen was being so supportive. As he prepared, he spied Asher assisting another guard who appeared to be having the exact opposite problem as him. He closed his eyes and tried to make use of the idea the Court Mage had suggested. He felt his palm warm, and he smiled when he opened his eyes to see a substantial ball of flame. It flickered and snapped, volatile and almost angry. Halen smiled, "Control will be an issue, but I'd say you have potential." He said with a nod before moving to another soldier. Over his shoulder, he called. "Now, work on control."

Aaron did as ordered, trying to hold the orb of fire steady, pushing power into the warmth and then taking it out. Over and over he varied the energy of the flame, watching it grow and shrink. He heard other guards and soldiers practising around him, some giving cries of alarm as they made the same mistake as he, others groaning from failure and rarely, a sound that meant someone had progressed.

The men seemed enthusiastic about their work and progressed at a steady pace. Seeing that the majority of the soldiers, had their exercise in hand, Asher beckoned Halen over. "I believe my apprentice was working on a mid-tier spell. Would you mind terribly assisting?"

Looking at the striped man who was watching a nervous solder practice, Halen nodded to Asher and walked over to the apprentice mage. Nodding to the soldier, Halen spoke to Ishmael. "Your master tells me your working on a spell that may prove useful, why don't ya show me and I can give some pointers?" Ishmael looked up at Halen, repressing an
eye roll.

"That's correct. I heard about the fire trap spell and thought it might be tactically advantageous. It's been going well." Halen detected a slight hint of something in the Hu's voice. Ignoring it, Halen smiled at the man.

"You're not wrong. Would you care to show me?" Ishmael smiled and waved his hand down at the ground, where a circle of runes scrawled itself into the earth. Halen mumbled under his breath as he traced the runes with his eyes. He was just about to congratulate the apprentice on his success until his eyes locked onto a single rune.

"MOVE!" Halen jumped back, but Ishmael was not so lucky. The rune exploded, showering the area in soot and dirt. Ishmael stood there, his front darkened with the remnants of the unfortunate experiment.

Halen sat sprawled back on the ground, glad to have avoided the misfire. Looking at the cloud of ash and smoke that had draw everyone's attention, Halen conjured a small gust of wind that dispersed it. Ishmal's once orange fur was covered in black soot, sprawled back on the ground and coughing from the smoke. Halen moved to help the man up as he stopped coughing, but was met with a glare when he offered a hand. The Hu stood on shaky feet, giving the occasional cough. "Are you ok?" Halen asked. "The activation trigger was unstable. It's a good thing that it was underpowered of you could have been seared rather than just covered in soot." He said, clearly concerned.

A vein pulsating on Ishmael's brow. "Thank. You. I appreciate the input. I'll go look at the book again." He said with a huff, brushing off some of the soot and moving back towards the keep. The eyes of everyone in the courtyard following his movement.

Halen looked at the retreating mage, not knowing what he had done to offend. Looking towards Asher who had a concerned look on his face Halen nodded. The man looked grateful before taking off after the younger man. Halen turned to face the assembled soldiers and spoke up. "Some excitement today, but you're not done! Back to work! You're not leaving this yard until you can hold a flame for five minutes without it faltering." He shouted, trying to get the men back on task.

The soldier's compiled relatively swiftly, not wanting to disappoint their commanding officers. Aaron was still holding the flaming ball in his hand, and the flames had quieted somewhat, though they still writhed, like Veri some nights ago. The Loupi found that if he slowly worked to remove emotion from the equation, it helped. He flagged down Halen and asked softly, "Control is coming but do you have any suggestions?"

"Focus on the feeling of the energy being fed into the flame. What does it feel like when you remove the emotional trigger? Focus on that feeling and work with that. Having to call upon an emotion is a good way to trigger it at first, but is not reliable in combat." The dragon lectured.

Aaron closed his eyes and continued to draw back his emotions, trying to reach the zen state he occasionally touched in combat. As he sank down, he realized the energy was in the rough shape of a riptide. However, bits and pieces flew off at random times. He began to explain this to the dragon as he tried to enforce his will on the energy he was imagining. Slowly, bit by bit, the whirlpool stabilized. When Aaron looked down at the ball of flames, it was nearly perfect. He grew excited, wanting to leap for joy, which caused the fire to blossom outward in a small explosion.

Grinning at the man, Halen was pleased that the man was making progress. "Not bad, still have to work on separating your emotions from magic when casting, but keep
working at it." He said with a smile and a nod. Moving over to the next soldier in the lineup, he compared Aaron's progress and that of several other men and women around them to what he had expected. Several were clearly ahead of what he had planned, but others still struggled with even the most basics steps.

As Halen worked with those men who struggled, several of them had wished to be pryomancers and that had taken a toll, Asher pursued Ishmael as the younger Ikati stalked into the fort. The Hu finally stopped in a long, deserted corridor where he leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths. "Something you want to talk about Apprentice?"

Ishmael took a deep breath. "It shouldn't be this hard. It's a simple rune trap. I've done them before. It shouldn't be this fucking hard." Ishmael's voice dropped low at the final thought. Asher simply shook his head.

"You know as well as I do that you're a cryomancer first. Just like most of our kind. Did you think pyromancy would be easy? I struggled with it. You will as well." Ishmael gave his teacher a disgusted look, then gave a sigh.

"You're right. I should know that. And I should give our new friend less of a hard time. My pride got the better of me." Asher raised an eyebrow at that.

"A hard time? You didn't seem to harsh back there."

Ishmael shook his head. "I didn't say anything, but I was cussing him out in my head. Felt like he was making fun of me when my own spell blew me up." he sighs. "He's very accomplished and I find myself envious." Asher chuckled.

"I know the feeling. There have been a few mages who have had talents I don't. Goddess knows I was jealous. Though in regard to the newcomer it is not just his magical talent I envy." Ishmael gave Asher a confused look. The snow-white Loupi smirked, "He's not bad to look at is he?" Ishmael felt his jaw drop and his cheeks heat.

"MASTER!" he exclaimed. Asher laughed openly now as his apprentice fought to suppress such images.

"Come, let us get back my friend," Asher said as he led his apprentice back down the hall. After several seconds, he gave a final quip. "I hear he's sharing the king's bed as well." Ishmael's face burned as he gave a wordless shout, covering his ears.

Back outside Halen was internally groaning at the two soldiers in front of him, all but they had managed to finish the most basic of exercises. Looking at the rest of the men he called out instructions to end the day. To the two that had not made progress he told them to practice for another thirty minutes before returning to their regular duties. The men seemed put out by being singled out, but when they saw the court mage and his apprentice exit the building, quickly complied. Seeing the master and apprentice deep in conversation, Halen moved back into the keep, wandering the labyrinth of hallways.

He peeked into some of the doors he came across. Some looked long abandoned, dust coating the surface, having been left untouched by the small force that occupied the fort. Others were clearly well used, training halls, meeting rooms, bathing chambers, even one room that held an obstacle course. In one corner of the fort, he found a decrepit library, a high up window that was left open long ago had allowed snow to collect in the room. Small snow drifts had formed around tables and against the shelves. Despite the lack of care and being left to the elements, some of
the books on the shelves seemed to be in a readable condition. Others were clearly destroyed beyond all recognition.

Making note of the room for later, Halen continued his exploration. The keep was much larger than expected, clearly having been carved into the side of the mountain. Moving further into the keep he noticed that the level of care decreased, some hallways were collapsed, blocking the way further into the twisting passages.

Halen briefly considered clearing the area. Enough earth and fire magic would do the trick. But he shook his head. Better to have Asher and the others with him before he began rearranging the decor. He walked further into the fort, mapping the twisting corridors in his head until he heard the sound of running water. Striding forward, Halen came to a door, larger than the others. Opening it, Halen saw a large pool of water. On the far wall was an open sluice with a waterfall-like effect. Approaching the water, Halen held out a hand and collected some water in his hand. Spring water. It was all it could be. Turning his head, Halen noticed a grate to allow the water to pass.

He looked around the chamber, and noticing the unlit torches along the walls, and ignited them with a wave of his hand. The firelight illuminated well-worn stone slabs around the edge of the pool. On the rim were several sets of runes, almost matching those in Ajax's bath. Peering into the crystal clear water he saw that several stone blocks had been arranged to form benches. Enjoying the calm feeling and not wanting to leave, Halen removed his boots and let his feet dangle in the surprisingly warm water. For some time the Naga-Ra sat there, enjoying the peace, contemplating all that had happened since leaving home all those years ago. He came out of his musings sometime later, realizing that he had probably spent more time wandering than intended. Slipping on his boots, Halen dashed back towards the parts of the keep still in use before coming across someone he knew.

Coming around the corner, Halen almost crashed into the Bao guard he
was escorted by, Veri if he recalled. He leaned to the left, avoiding the Bao and held a hand out, catching himself on the wall. "Hello again Veri. Can I help you?"

The Bao chuckled, "I was wandering around, thinking. I didn't expect to find you. How did training go?" Halen simply smiled.

"We both know you were watching. Aaron is talented. He and Dominic have that in common." The Bao chuckled again at being caught. Then nodded.

"I'm glad. Speaking of the king, he was looking for you." Halen blinked then nodded, offering his thanks. He followed the corridors back the way he came.

Moving through the passages at a more sedated pace, Halen wandered until he recognized the meeting room from earlier that day. Outside of which stood Dominic, Ajax, the Major and Asher. Approaching the four men quietly, he overheard what they were discussing. Plans for training over the next few days. Ajax's eyes locked on him, and the two men nodded to each other. He stood there, leaning against a wall while waiting for the conversation to finish.

"Gentlemen, I believe we have a good idea of how the next few days will go. Perhaps we should take dinner for now. We can continue this with some good food." Dominic was giving Asher and the Major a charming smile and both smiled back. "Shall we have dinner here," the king continued, "or adjourn to one of the staterooms?"

"Here," the Major answered, "I believe here is best. We were more concerned with preparing the men than some of the rooms." The major seemed upset with that statement. Dominic nodded as the major continued, "The kitchen
should be just about done. They will put something together for us and it should be here soon." The men returned to the council room, Dominic, Ajax, Asher, Ishmael, the Major, and Halen.

Once in, The major and Ajax began a chat about the men. Dominic listened calmly before breaking in, "Since we are on the topic, why don't we go over what we know about this little mission of ours. Major?" The man stood and began to speak.

"As it stands the fort has thirty-two men. One is currently resting from the scouting mission. Your majesty brought 12 soldiers, as well as the guild head, their apprentice, and our visitor. Overall we have forty-seven able-bodied men at our disposal. Of those men the magic capable number..." Here, the major trailed off, clearly unsure of the exact number. Thankfully Asher seamlessly took over, used to such talks from the guild.

"Six men with potential for fire magic, Four with any training in earth magic, and three with a talent for force magic. A surprising number, but I suppose it's to be suspected so close to the border." Dominic and Ajax both nodded at the comment as Asher continued. "Those numbers do not include me, Ishmael, your majesty, or Halen. So overall we have seventeen people to rely on for magic. However, as I assume the four of us will be included in the direct assault we can't be counted." Here Asher paused.

Dominic smiled and spoke, "Good. Good, and you are correct about the assault. Before we get to the magic users, how are the Fort's stores?" Both Ajax and the Major straightened. The major began first.

"The weapons are all accounted for, and the men have been warned to do maintenance. Food is a bit low, but we should be receiving a resupply tomorrow. The smithy is supplied and ready to make repairs." When the major finished the short report,
Dominic turned to Ajax.

"Mostly accurate. Smithy is a bit low on metal for my taste but it's up to military expectations." Ajax gave the major an appraising glance. "He's good." The major flushed, especially when the king smiled and nodded brightly. The king then turned to the mages in the room.

"And the training?" Asher smiled and began.

"The force and earth users are progressing well. They have a firm grasp on the tactics expected of them. I had them go through the basic exercises then progressed up through several spells. As for the fire users..." Asher turned to Halen.

"Most of them have progressed quite well, or at very least, a passable degree for lower level spells. I'll start on teaching them some more basics in the morning. There are two who have some issues with the basic exercises, so I shall evaluate them in the morning." He said. Thinking that he had reported all of the relevant information. "Oh, Aaron in particular shows promise, so I intend to give him a bit more attention if everything goes well." He considered for a moment. "Major, how long have you had this position?"

The major seemed caught off guard at the question but answered slightly defensively, "Approximately four months, though I have held other positions of similar value." Halen smiled.

"I mean no offence, and I'm not questioning your ability. I was exploring the deeper parts of the keep after training. This place is much bigger then I imagined. There are entire unused wings. It seems to have been carved into the mountain. Several passages are collapsed, rooms left open to the elements.
If you wished you could expand it. The earth users could fortify the space. There is even a large bathing area like at the capital. It appears to be fed from the snow on the mountain.

The major and the King both wore expressions of surprised. While the king seemed to be considering, the major was staring downward in shame. It was clear that he felt responsible. The king then began to chuckle. "I recall my father's intention to expand and repair some of the more ancient forts. They had been around for longer than living memory. This must be one of them. The damage is probably over a hundred years old. Asher, can you use this to assist in the training of the force and earth users?"

Asher nodded. "Indeed, it works well. And it provides options should we need a larger force later."

The king smiled and turned back to the others. "Excellent. Now, you mentioned a bath?" Halen nodded. "You must show me and Ajax. I'd love a bath. Perhaps the major can join us." The king gave a smirk at the last comment.

Grinning at what Dominic had implied, and spying Ajax grinning from behind the King, Halen grinned. "Of course, I can show you there after dinner should you want." He said, getting a smile from the twosome while the Major gulped. "Of course, I may leave you there for a time, there were a few rooms I wanted to look at as well." He finished, thinking about the shameful state of the library.

Asher chuckled at the poor major's predicament as his apprentice stared into his bowl, refusing to make eye contact. The food arrived shortly thereafter, and they all sat relaxed over some well-made bread and meat. The room was mostly quiet, with the occasional bit of conversation breaking in. Asher even revealed a bottle of whiskey he had brought with him, and the others all took a glass, save the
king, who mainly prefered wine.

Once the food had been demolished, and the mages had said goodnight the king smiled gently, "I believe you were gonna show us something, my friend?" As he spoke he placed a hand on the major's leg and stroked his thumb. The major stiffened slightly and felt his flesh heat beneath his fur.

Standing, Halen led the men out of the dining hall and back through the paths he had taken earlier that day. Given that he wasn't exploring every nook he came across, the party arrived outside the natural pool chamber in less than ten minutes. Opening the door, everyone followed him in as Halen ignited the torches with a wave of his hand. "Here's the room. There are some stone benches in the spring and appear to be some old oils left here." Gesturing to one of the few intact shelves along the side of the room. Turning to the slightly astonished group, he smirked. "So, do you have any more need for me this evening?"

The king smiles and slides an arm around the Naga-Ra's waist, kissing him slowly for a few moments. "You could join us." He said playfully.

"Well, I could stay for a quick bath." He said as Ajax slid up behind him. He could feel the major gazing at the three men. Glancing at the man, he saw that he was shifting uncomfortably, trying and failing to hide his glances. The king slid away, allowing Ajax to cuddle and neck the poor man from behind as he inspected the runes near the door. With a smile he scratched a few lines, tuning them and then pushed mana forward. The sound of stone grinding on stone was heard and the waterfall and the grate closed, allowing the pool to settle. Several lights blossomed beneath the water as it turned opaque and steam began to fill the room. Dominic pressed a spot on the wall and a small cubby opened, into which he began tossing his things.

Ajax slid
his hands down Halen's front, grabbing the hem of his shirt...thing. He chuckled. "How do you get this goddess damned thing off?!"

Chucking at the guard's frustration, Halen pulsed his magic slightly, undoing the charm on the garments and letting the knots holding on be undone, the fabric and leather quickly fell away, his gloves joining it on the floor moments later. Now shirtless, the scaled man reached forward to remove Ajax's armour. The dark leather flopped back onto the ground as the two now shirtless males embrace, their hands/paws rubbing against the other's back. Halen enjoyed the silky fur rubbing against his skin while Ajax basked in the warmth that Halen's body radiated. The clattering of metal drew their attention.

"And where are you going, Sebastian?" Halen and Ajax turned their heads to see the king, bare-chested, smirking at the Major, Sebastian, who had his back turned and was heading towards the door.

"Ummmmm" Sebastion cleared his throat. "I-i thought maybe I...that you all would like some privacy and...um." Halen fought down a chuckle at the major's stammering like a child found with their arm in the cookie jar.

"If I didn't want you here, would I have brought you along?" The king challenged while sliding between the retreating Loupi and the door. "I was thinking maybe you would like to join us even," he said as he advanced on the now retreating military man. Ajax gave Halen a silent grin and motioned towards Sebastian who was backing up straight towards them. The Bao released Halen and stalked forward until Sebastian crashed into him. Then the Bao encircled him with his powerful Arms.

"You wouldn't refuse the king now would you," Ajax purred before licking a stripe up Sebastian's neck. The captured Loupi moaned at the treatment, as Dominic soon pressed against his
front.

"We'd all be glad to have you unless you disagree Halen?" Dominic turned to the Naga-Ra wanting to be sure he was in agreement.

He shrugged at Dominic's question. "I have no issue with it. Although given earlier, I'm not sure if the Major wishes for me to be here for this," he said. Remembering the displeased look that the major and several soldiers shot him earlier that day. "If not, then I can return in several hours to bath, there are several things I could do in the meantime," he said, grabbing his robe top that had fallen to the floor and moving into the brown furred man's sight.

"What?! No that's not...I don't want you to think...." The major sighed. "I was a bit....jealous. You seemed to have all the answers, and you're not from here. It wasn't pleasant having to admit we needed help. I thought you were planning to swoop in and fix it. But you've been working with the men. Thank you."

Smirking at the man, Halen stepped forward letting the robe fall to the ground and stood chest to chest with the soldier. "So..... You wouldn't mind if I did this?" A hand moved up the side of the plate mail, finding a buckle and undoing the armour. Another buckle followed, then with two more, the top fell off of the Major, Ajax moved to take it to the side of the room with the rest of their clothing. A thin white undershirt clung to the man's torso that Halen quickly stripped him of. He admired the difference between the two shirtless Loupi in the room. While Dominic was thick, massive muscle, Sebastian was even more impressive. The king, he was more built for agility, but Sebastian was built to deliver a devastating strike with his longsword in a manner similar to Ajax. His chocolate brown fur did little to hide the impressively muscular build, all the while his bushy tail was wagging around behind the man.

"N-No sir," Sebastian stuttered, and Halen chuckled at the honorific.

"Then how about we go enjoy?" Halen tossed his top into another cubby, before stripping and storing the rest. Then he backed up slowly, Walking down into the pool. At that, Ajax growled deep in his throat, as he unfastened Sebastian's lower gear. It fell with a clatter, and the Bao snatched the hem of the major's brown pants, kneeling as he pulled them down. He grabbed Sebastian's hips and pressed his tongue between those cheeks, licking from taint to top. The sudden action shocked him as the major startled and moaned, falling forward into the king who chuckled.

"Ajax, be a good boy and take the major to Halen. I think he needs to apologize properly. Make Halen feel more welcome." Ajax nodded and tossed off his clothes as he stood, holding one of Sebastian's arms behind his back and wrapping the other paw around his throat, marching him towards the pol.

"You've insulted a visiting dignitary major. We can't have a diplomatic incident can we?"

"N-No, sir. I'll fix it. I'll do anything, sir." The bao chuckled at the Loupi's promise.

Halen watched the others interact with a smirk on his face and felt his cock rise at the major's promise. Seeing the way Ajax manhandled him, made him eager for what was to come. Standing in the warm water it lapped against the bottom of his ass, his cock standing out above the calm water. "Why don't you join me in here Major? I'm a bit lonely in the pool," he said while gesturing to the wide open waters.

Sebastian felt himself lifted by the king's personal guard, walked over to the pool and set down. He gulped at the odd feeling of being physically pushed around by another man, a rare experience for him given his own impressive physique. Craning his head around, he glanced at Ajax and the king, both men smirking at him, the king giving him a wave to move forward. Gulping, lowering his gaze and hardening his nerves, Sebastian approached the smirking visitor, excited and worried about what the man may ask him to do. A hand against his chest had him looking up, his gaze was captured by a pair of glowing, purple eyes that practically radiated magic. He was paralyzed when solid arms wrapped around him, the scales rubbing along his fur. His nose was pressed into the other's neck where Halen's scent invaded his nose.

Sebastian felt Halen trail his nose up his neck, shivering as the smell of spices and ice intensified. Halen trailed up his jaw, till they were face to face. With a smirk, Halen pressed forward kissing Sebastian passionately, dominating his mouth. The Loupi moaned and shuddered. The Naga-Ra continued for several seconds before, pulling back and whispering, "Kneel."

Halen watched with no small amount of thrill as the muscular man dropped to his knees before him, the man's nose level his with his bobbing cock. "Why don't you give my bone a lick?" Which was followed by a groan when Sebastian's rough tongue dragged along the bottom of his cock. Every swipe of the tongue had him biting back a groan, his heavy balls churning in the warm water. His attention was drawn when he heard the water disturbed. He saw Ajax slipping into the pool, the Bao's 10-inch, monstrously thick shaft quickly inflating. Looking down at the man slobbering over his shaft he had an idea. "Lift your hips Major, and I think you can try to take a bit more now." The Loupi's mouth closed around his shaft as his hips moved up out of the water revealing his muscular butt.

On all fours, head and ass just above water, Sebastian worked Halen's cock deeper into his mouth as he felt two warm hands caress his ass. Ajax parted those soft brown cheeks and began to massage
the outer ring of muscles. Slowly he worked a finger into the Major as Halen took hold of his head and began to thrust down his throat. Sebastian moaned as he felt his defences breached. He hadn't had a lot of partners in his life, and he'd never bottomed before, but the firm way the men were handling him made his skin flush and his mind go fuzzy.

Looking down at the man between himself and Ajax, Halen could see the desire in the other's eyes. His cock throbbed in the man's eager throat, pre-cum spurting into his mouth. He could see Ajax working a finger into the major's hole, the wincing on his face indicating that he wasn't familiar with the feeling. A hard thrust had the soldier swallow his cock up to the knot, holding it there, Halen moaned as the throat massaged his flesh. Seeing Ajax thrusting two fingers into the hole, he redoubled his efforts on the man's throat, wanting to distract the man who clearly was not an experienced bottom.

Still on dry land, Dominic sat on a low bench enjoying the show before him. He always loved watching Ajax prepare someone to get fucked. The fact that the sexy dragon was ravaging the major's throat only made it better. Watching how his wings unfurled in pleasure and his core flexed from the thrusting action made desire pool within him. He had long ago shed his pants, his 10.5-inch cock was being lazily stroked. Wanting to enjoy the show for as long as possible.

By now, the men had reduced Sebastian to a whimpering mess. While the stretching in his ass was a bit uncomfortable, his mind was focused almost purely on pleasuring the men. He redoubles his efforts on Halen's cock, slurping down the pre that flowed down his throat. Eventually he heard Ajax say, "He's ready." Then the warm cock in his mouth was removed, causing him to whine softly. Halen only chuckled and directed him to grab the edge of the pool.

Halen moved behind the exposed man, enjoying the view of drenched fur clinging to flawless muscle. He ran a hand over the mans back, tracing his spine, around the tail and ghosted a finger over the
prepared hole. Hearing a whimper he smirked. "Like that? How long has it been since you were last taken like a bitch." He teased. "N-never" was the stuttered reply, causing him to freeze for a moment before his grin grew. "Well, in that case, more need to make this memorable." With that, his cock head pressed against the opening, grabbing the man's hips, he slowly pushed forward, growing pressure letting his cock pop past the tight ring of muscle. "Shit, tight boy." He hissed, slowly applying more pressure as his cock sank into the warmth. Stopping every few moments to let him adjust, after several minutes, only his knot was left outside of the vice-like hole.

"Hope you like this." He heard before the feeling of the massive invader being drawn out, the major groaning as he was left empty. That empty feeling didn't last long as the cock pistoned back inside, drawing a slutty moan from his panting lips. "Oh like that major?"

Sebastian was beyond words so merely nodded his head and moaned. Halen began a slow rhythm of thrusts, plundering the major at a gentle, teasing pace. Sebastian began to rock his body with the thrusts, forcing Halen's cock deeper with each thrust. "P-please. More" he groaned. Halen smirked and pressed himself closer as his pace picked up. Soon he was pistoning rapidly, driving his cock into the wrecked hole.

At the same time, Ajax slipped behind Halen, allowing his cock to rub between those pale, clenched hips. Leaning in the Bao whispered, "Mind if I have a bit of fun?"

Halen's response was to flex his hole, letting the Baos cockhead rub against the opening. "Of course," he muttered, thrusting into the man before him all the while. Each thrust driving his knot hard against the man's hole and loving the sounds that the major made when he gave a particularly hard thrust. Groaning when he felt Ajax slip half his shaft into his slick passage, Halen gave the other man a particularly hard thrust and held it when the cock slid deeper into him and arms wrapped around his chest, the silky fur rubbing against his
back and wings. Ajax moaned as his cock slipped into that familiar heat, he wrapped arms around Halen's shoulders and leaned in. Halen tossed an arm up, wrapping it around Ajax's neck. He pistoned his hips back and forth, first driving his cock into the major before backing up and feeling Ajax's cock fill him up.

After Halen's knot had slapped against Sebastian's hole several times he whimpered, "Please. Please knot me sir." Halen chuckled as he gave a sharp thrust.

"Is that what you want?"

Sebastian nodded and moaned, "Please sir. You've shown me I'm a knot hungry slut. I need it."

Halen chuckled, "Maybe, but you need to earn it. Isn't that right?" At the last portion, Halen's gaze wandered up to Dominic who had been striding forward.

"That's right. And since that mouth almost caused an incident, let's put it to better use." At that, he sat down between Sebastian's arms and grabbed the back of the Loupi's head. He pressed the major down until his cock was completely engulfed. He slowly began to fuck Sebastian's throat as Halen continued to wreck his hole.

The entire situation was beginning to drive Halen over the edge, his cock was being gripped by a former virgin while his own hole was being ravaged by Ajax's monstrously wide shaft. Dominic was spit roasting the major with him while the man in question was begging for his knot. A hard thrust from Ajax had Halen thrusting forward even harder than normal, his cock being buried entirely and the hole straining slightly as his knot pressed against it. Over and over his prostate was abused by the guard and his own cock began to
penetrate the man below him. He could feel his balls drawing up, preparing to empty his molten seed into the man below him.

After one particularly harsh thrust, Sebastian felt his whole body seize up. His skin burned as he unloaded balls into the water around them. Moaning around the king, he felt the cocks in both holes twitch as he clamped down on Halen. The King moaned and poured several spurts of cum down the major's throat, who swallowed obediently without being told. Halen's knot slammed against his hole but didn't breach him to his disappointment, volley after volley of cum burned through him for the first time, and he hoped not the last. The warmth pooling deep inside of him. He could hear Ajax grunting, imagining that Halen was receiving the same treatment as he was, slightly envious of the man getting to fuck and get fucked at the same time. That envy died quickly when a hand wrapped around his arm, pulling him up and away from the king's cock. His head was turned by another hand and a pair of soft lips met his. Halen licking his lips, messy with cum lingering from the king's load.

Slowly the four men came down from the high of a good afterglow. Dominic smiled and leaned forward, petting Sebastian. "Well done soldier." Slowly Ajax and Halen drew back from their respective lovers, cum spilling out after them. The four slowly sank down to sit on the benches, cuddling and smiling. Eventually, someone grabbed one of the oils and they began to wash. The natives of Terralun took a little longer, with all the fur. Halen finished first, collecting his clothes and departing with a cheek kiss for all three of them.

Halen made his way back to the library from earlier that day. Entering the cold room again he started on his search for whatever secrets it may hold. He closed the windows that were open, while those that were broken were covered with pieces of broken furniture. He swept snow from shelves and cleared it off of what furniture was still intact before moving to the real treasure. Some of the still intact books seemed incredibly old, not quite the age of the palace, but old nonetheless. Taking the first down he saw another copy of the story he had read at the palace, beautifully illustrated, but nothing truly special.

Book after book came off the shelves. Most were damaged beyond recognition, their pages little more than soggy paper with ink stains. Others were in oddly good condition, old but untouched by the elements. It was not until an hour had passed and the moon was in the sky that Halen found something that caught his interest. Less so a book than a journal, written by a soldier stationed here long ago. A passage halfway through caught his interest as he skimmed the pages.

3rd sun after the 4th moon of the year. 15 AF

Over two moons at the new outpost in the mountains, and the deployment only grows odder. Strange creatures wandering the mountains arrive at the outpost, scales and tails, but their skin was without fur. Called themselves something-Ra, the leader seemed like a git, but the commander played nice and ordered rooms for them for a night, invited them for dinner. One of the younger ones (hard to tell, all seem the same age) was a bit more talkative than the rest. Claimed to be pilgrims, but wouldn't say what for. Not my business anyway.

5th sun after the 4th moon of the year. 15 AF

Strangers left yesterday early, seemed like the younger one was down, maybe mad about talking to us? They set out away from the capitol so the commander said to drop the matter. Still, wonder what they are looking for in these freezing excuses for overgrown hills.

8th sun after the 4th moon of the year. 15 AF

Night shift was odd. Saw something glowing in the distance. Partner in the tower claimed not to see it, but I swear I saw something. Commander was notified but I was told that it was probably nothing.

15th sun after the 4th moon of the year. 15 AF

Saw that glow again, bit closer to the keep, but no idea what. Seemed to be flickering a bit. Told the commander and was told to drop it. Still, I want to know what that glow was. Going to set out on my day off to explore the area, show everyone that I'm right.

17th sun after the 4th moon of the year. 15 AF

Just got back from exploring the area. Commander and friends seemed worried that I was going out alone on my day off, but I said not to worry. Now I'm not so sure after what I found. Probably not a good idea to tell them. After setting out it took a handful of hours to reach the site of the glowing. What I found was hard to describe. Ice spikes and spears littered the mountainside, mostly buried in fresh snow from yesterday's blizzard. But there is no doubt that they are new. Some of the exposed stone bore signs of being seared by fire. Odder even, the air was charged, like when my brother was practising magic, but hundreds of time stronger. It hung heavy in the air, making it hard to breathe at times. I stayed for as long as possible, but as the snow fell and signs of whatever happened here were buried I had to turn back. I worry about what happened here but given the feeling in there air. (Here several drops of ink were splattered on the page as if fallen from a quill held paused) The strength of the magic scares me, and to face it would mean death. It's best if I forget about this.

1st sun after the 1st moon of the year. 16 AF

I've been thinking over the past year, and after reading over my journal, I realize that I never saw the glow after that night. I wonder what happened to it? But it's probably for the best if nobody seeks it out.

Halen skimmed the rest of the book, looking for anything more about the Naga-Ra or the glow, but all of the other entries detailed his time at the fort until a year later when he was transferred away and presumably his journal was left behind. Thinking about the entries, he churned over what this could mean. That his people were here millennium ago, that something happened after they were here, and if the two events were related.

Shaking his head he stood, the journal slipped into a pocket as he left the room. The keep now silent, only moonlight to light his path as he walked towards the rooms where his belongings had been placed. He spied some sentries on the walls, but otherwise, not a soul was stirring. Spying an open door near his room he peaked in, seeing Dominic and Ajax cuddled in a massive bed together. The Loupi and Bao with their arms wrapped around each other in an embrace. A memory of the night spent with the two ran through his head, the feeling of being warm and safe between the two men. As quick as it came, along with the desire to join the two in bed, the idea left. Shaking his head he closed the door to give them privacy and moved down the hall to his own room.

The room he found, was cold and dark, the fire in the hearth having died some hours ago. The bed was smaller than he had in the palace, but expecting such a large bed here was ridiculous. He placed the journal in his pack and settled into the cool bed. Halen found the sheets somewhat uncomfortable and the mattress hard, but he had dealt with much worse in the past. He drifted off to sleep slowly, despite his mind racing. The fact that his people had been here before, the mention
of a glow that tickled something buried in his memory and most of all, the sight of Ajax and Dominic together. Knowing that the two were happy and that once this adventure was over, that it was unlikely he would see them again.