Illeriel stretched and yawned, the motion sensuous with long practice and ending in a throaty purr. She sat up on her elbows and one of her bed thralls placed pillows behind her until she could sit comfortably against them. She nodded at one of the door guards and the thing practically buckled at the knees at her attention. The other guard reacted to the lapse with precise efficency. It kicked the awestruck maiden in the shin and forced it to stand properly. Illeriel idly extended her senses and noted that it was one of the succubi she had created in her recent acquisition of the Kingdom of Ferrin. The thing had barely been in her service a week and her steward had assigned it to her throne room? She sighed and every thrall in the room quivered. Fine. She would deal with her steward later. For now, she reached out with her will and the door was opened by the guards on the outside of the door.

An elven woman and a human man hurried into the room. Before they got too close, she examined them. Ahh, unrequited love. It made people so easy to turn to her purposes. Even now, at the edge of Illeriel’s aura, he was glancing at his companion. She was gazing at Illeriel, trying to remember why she was here. When they were approximately 20 feet from the foot of her bed, she sent an overwhelming pulse of lust through the room. Her bed thralls, long broken, moaned and began frantically pleasuring each other. The two adventurers both fell to their knees, cheeks flushed and panting.

“You have something for me?”

“Yes, Goddess!” The woman fumbled in her pack but was stopped by the man.

“Empress Illeriel, surely something this unique and powerful deserves a boon in return. Your emissaries said that a request would be granted to whoever brought the item to you.”

Illeriel was a little impressed, despite herself. She’d used her aura at half-strength, but that was still usually enough to have most people around their levels quivering with need at her feet.

“Of course,” She leaned forward, arms resting on a twitching thrall. “What boon would you ask?”

“I want to be one of your lieutenants! I want to be a succubus like you!” The elf burst out. Then, she seemed to remember who she was speaking to and lowered her head. “Goddess”

“Oh? How delightful.” Illeriel was surprised but would certainly grant the request. She had expected a request for riches. The woman seemed the type. In any case, willing converts were always easier to deal with than the unwilling, and she had a very particular position to fill. She turned to the other supplicant. “And what is it you desire?”

“I- I want you to make Tanya love me!” Tanya, kneeling beside him, looked over, horrified and not a little disgusted.

“Hmm… interesting,” Not really, but things were less likely to get messy if she pretended this wasn’t what half her supplicants sought. “Before we get to that, I remember hearing about your little group. Weren’t there three of you?”

The two adventurers paled a little, and Tanya now had her forehead pressed into the ground.

“We had no idea!” Tanya trembled

“She was a… She was a null, Empress.” Her fingertips raked across the back of the thrall over her lap. Her immaculate nails - now seeming more like claws - raked blood from it and it moaned.

“You associated with a null?” Her words were a dangerous purr, and the thrall currently cleaning the floor tried to hide behind a statue of her Goddess.

“Not knowingly, Goddess! She told us that she had a boyfriend back home!” Tanya babbled. “I thought I heard her masturbating a couple of times too! When we found out I tried to kill her myself!”

Illeriel glanced at one of the guards that had accompanied the pair. The guard’s long lavender tail twitched, and she gave a motion that was halfway between a nod and a shrug. Illeriel tried to cool her temper, but only succeeded in turning it into an icy fury. She hated nulls. That said, she also needed what they had, and one of them might have been smart enough to hide it and only bring a map.

“Fine.” She ground out. Idly, she noticed another grinding sensation. Her claws had cut deeply into the thrall on her lap. Irritated, she rolled her eyes at an attendant, who scampered off to find one of Illeriel’s pet healers. Again. Once the thing had been pushed off the bed, she looked up.

“Empress?” Both adventurers looked nervous, but clearly for different reasons. Tanya had slowly been edging away from her companion.

“I will grant the request of whoever gives me the relic.”

Instantly, the human was scrabbling after the elf. She had lunged forward to try to cross the twenty feet or so between her and Illeria, but he caught her by the foot. The succubus just glanced at the newly-arrived healer and waved at the bed-thrall now bleeding out on the floor. He blanched and knelt to minister to its wounds. Healing light spread from his hands and the wounds were gone in seconds. She noted the quality of his work with approval. He, too, had been a new acquisition and she was pleased to see his reputation as a master healer was matched by his skill. He would not have made an attractive bed-thrall and he had only chosen to advance in his Life Mage trait. Compared to his level 80 in Life Mage, he was barely level 5 in his Human trait and a pathetic level two in Singer. She couldn’t even have converted him, as Succubi could not gain Mage traits. Still, his speed and skill at healing injuries was acceptable. A pity. She was feeling peckish.

She turned her attention back to the desperate scuffle at the foot of her bed. The human was trying to claw his way up Tanya, and she was holding a shining silver orb out across the bed. Illeriel languidly slipped her violet legs across the white silk sheets and touched it with a toe.

You have found a Relic! Relic Type: Unique trait. As you were a Template Seed during the last Renewal, you may bind this relic to your species. Would you like to bind this Relic to the first succubi on the next System World? [Yes] [No]

She mentally selected [Yes] and the orb disintegrated into ribbons of shimmering light that dove beneath her skin. Attention no longer divided, Tanya turned and kicked her attacker in the groin.

“GET FUCKED, JOE” She screamed in his face. Joe, whimpering in falsetto, crumpled to the ground. Illeriel waved at the healer and he scampered over to the distressed man. Tanya turned to kneel before her Goddess, face flushed with exhilaration.

“Well done.”

“Really? I mean, it was just a kick to the balls” Tanya blushed deeply at her Goddess’ praise.

“Hmmm? Oh. That. He was an idiot. You don’t tell someone you’re going to enslave their will until after they’re committed.”

“Um, what?”

“I was talking about the orb. You have done very well! This will ensure that the next world to be embraced by the system will be mine.”

The woman blushed deeply.

“Goddess? One relic can do all that?”

Normally, she wouldn’t have answered the question, but she was in a good mood. Besides, the subtle web of chains she was weaving for Tanya’s mind would take time to create. An explanation would fill the time and distract the adventurer nicely.

“Oh, no child. One relic is just an advantage. Not overwhelming, but enough. Of course, I don’t have just one.”

“How many have you taken?” The woman’s gaze was worshipful, and the succubus gave her a flirty wink.

“A lady never gives a number. But… All of them, or close enough to make no difference.”

Worshipful and now awestruck. Although that may have just been the corset of her power that she was currently weaving around the elf’s mind.

“Wow, you are truly all-powerful!”

“Oh yes, but I do like to share with those who are worthy and loyal,” Illeriel held out a hand to accept the swirling blue orb being held out by a thrall. She set the next piece of control in place over Tanya’s mind, making her every word an inviolable command. “Once you have been remade, you will use this Relic.”

The woman shuddered a little with the force of her Goddess’ will and looked up at her. When the final piece of Illeriel’s control snapped into place, the adventurer smiled beatifically.

“Yes please, Goddess!”

If Illeriel had been capable of doing such a thing, she would have been sweating. Control that deep, subtle, and intricate had not been necessary for a decade, and it taxed even her reserves of stolen willpower. Well, there was a sniveling snack at the foot of her bed, even if she would have to share with her new toy. Oh well. At least she would get to enjoy making a new succubus.

“You’re ready.” With a predatory grin, Empress Illeriel wrapped her hand around the intangible leash deep inside the elf’s mind. She pulled the former adventurer close, and pushed Tanya’s face into the insatiable heat between her violet thighs.