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Subject: {ASSM} New Age Dawning 10 (Ff rom fantasy viol blood)
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Standard disclaimers apply; this story may or may not contain, in any
given part, graphic depictions of lesbianism, homosexuality, group sex,
bdsm, underage (teen) sex, magic, occultism, violence, and biting 
sarcasm.  If you're underage, or if for any other reason it's illegal 
for you to read this, or you're disturbed by the content, please don't 
read it.

Archived at http://pandora.pele.cx, and we've got a web-forum at
http://playground.pele.cx/forums as well, for discussion of both
Pandora and our other stories. 

Comments *greatly* appreciated.

Enjoy,

Velvet
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The old man looked up at Rhishandri imploringly. "Please... I can serve
you. I can spread your name, build a temple to your glory. There will be
sacrifices-- whatever you want."

She sneered at him. "Why would I want that?" she asked, but Adara noticed
the tiny, almost imperceptible widening of her eyes at the word
'sacrifices'.

The wizard seemed baffled by the question. "I... isn't that what all gods
want? I thought... it would give you power?"

"How would _I_ know?" she snapped.

"I... you..." The wizard was obviously at a loss. "Whatever you wish, then,
Lady," he said, finally. "If you don't wish sacrifices, how would you have
us serve you? What do you demand of your worshipers?"

Rhishandri was looking angry again, and the old hedge wizard cringed back
in fear. Before she could say anything, though, the man from the stable
spoke unprompted for the first time. "Death. She feeds on death, death and
blood. I have seen it." She turned to face him, snarling, and he didn't
flinch. He just tilted his head back, exposing his throat, his eyes never
leaving her, his face never losing its calm, accepting demeanor.

Adara cocked her head thoughtfully and lay a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"You know, Rhi, he could be right," she said quietly, and Rhishandri's
shoulders drew inwards.

She looked very young, right then— young and lost and afraid. "It...
it fits with what the bastard likely intended for me," she said hesitantly.
"But... to be a god of death, of blood... what possible good could I be?
What could I do but spread misery across the world? Better, then, had I
fallen with my perverted creator."

"Sometimes, Lady, death can be a mercy," Conor said, very quietly. "And how
you use the power you gain from it... well, that would be up to you,
wouldn't it now?"

Adara glanced at him, wondering if he were conscious of slipping out of his
normal dialect, but could spare it no more thought than that right then. It
was a dangerous moment; she knew, beyond a doubt, that the girl was on the
edge of suicidal. It would take almost nothing to push her beyond it. So
she chose her words with care, and accompanied them with a gentle hand laid
against Rhi's cheek. "Imagine if there was no death-- if people just got
older, weaker, sicker, but could never die," she said softly, looking down
into the frightened green eyes.

Rhishandri bit her lower lip, tiny fangs raking across the soft pink flesh,
and Adara could see the confusion and conflict within her reflected in her
eyes. She was watching as understanding dawned, and saw the tenuous hope it
brought as the girl nodded almost reluctantly. "I... see, I think. But...
what about the real god of death, then?" she asked faintly. "How could I
be... that... when Kirath already exists?" She swallowed hard, going a bit
pale-- few were ever comfortable speaking of the Lord of Crows, for it was
said that he heard every mention and favored those who did so with his
personal attentions.

Adara had no answer for her, having little knowledge of gods and, up to
now, even less interest in them.

The wizard, though, despite his obvious fear, seemed determined to serve
her in any way he could... even if that meant giving her answers she
requested but did not truly want to hear. "Goddess, I... I am not sure...
not sure that he still does. Or any of the others. Please, Lady, you may be
the only one left."

She glanced upwards as if expecting a lightning bolt to spear through the
ramshackle roof. "You speak dangerous words, wizard!" she hissed.

He nodded, clasping his old hands together in an attempt to stop their
trembling. "Yes, Goddess, but I swear to you, I believe and fear them to be
true. My brother... my brother was a Healer. He worshiped Javat, and was
granted great miracles of healing. B-but th-then..." His voice quavered as
she looked at him, and he had to lick dry lips before he could continue.
"Then they just stopped; his prayers were not answered, no matter how he
begged or what offerings he made. He... he turned to other gods, hoping to
regain his lost power, but none answered." He bowed his head, his eyes
fixed on the floor. "He took his own life in grief," he whispered,
"believing that some great catastrophe had befallen them all. Other priests
have done the same, or worse, these past months. People have destroyed
temples, too, and stoned 'false' priests in the street. The gods answer no
more, Lady, none of them."

Rhishandri stared at him, her expression wavering between shocked disbelief
and horror, but Adara's mind was following a different path entirely. If
the priests— _all_ of the priests— were suddenly powerless,
then most likely the gods were, indeed, gone. Dead.  Gods didn't just
_die._ If they were dead, then something had killed them. Something that
could kill ancient, powerful gods could likely wipe the floor with one
scared, inexperienced baby goddess! A chill ran down her spine and she
frowned. "What could kill all the gods?" she asked harshly, not expecting
any useful answer, but unable to stop herself from asking.

The wizard shook his head. "I don't know that they were killed," he said.
"Perhaps they just abandoned us. Perhaps their time had simply passed. Or
perhaps they are trapped somewhere. But... here _She_ is, alive and real."
He turned worshipful eyes to Rhishandri, his voice taking on a tone of awe.
"The most important thing in the world."

The object of his devotion shook her head and frowned irritably. "I'm still
not sure I believe any of this. Perhaps you're just insane. Do whatever you
want, I don't care."

"What if it's true, Rhi?" Adara asked quietly.

"I... I don't know." She looked up at Adara miserably. "I don't know what I
should do. Should I tell him to build a temple and... and.... kill.....
people...... for....... me--" Her words came slower and slower, until they
broke off entirely as she closed her eyes and shuddered, and Adara could
see her pulse beating frantically at her throat. Rhi shook her head, and
when she opened her eyes they were tinged with gold. "Just because I
_might_ be some sort of... of goddess?"

Adara wondered again if the girl could ever learn to accept her new nature,
and tried to think of some way to make it easier for her. "Well... must
they be _killed_ for you?" she asked thoughtfully. "Or if... what if they
were already dying, only now it's blessed by your priests and... made
quicker and cleaner. You make their passing more comfortable, and in
exchange, their deaths are dedicated to you." It seemed like a reasonable
enough suggestion. She would certainly prefer a fast death to a painful,
lingering illness.

"I don't _know!_ 'More comfortable'? The people I've ... fed from... they
didn't die _comfortably._ The violence seemed to... to enhance it." Rhi
looked down, blushing. "I don't understand what happened with... that last
man," she whispered, so that only Adara could hear, then looked up and
raised her voice again. "And what if I get _nothing_ from some... priest, I
guess... doing something far from me? Then their lives are wasted."

Adara looked down at her, thinking of the last attacker, the one whose
death-- and the effect it had-- seemed to disturb the girl the most, even
though she hadn't touched him at all herself. "Actually," she said, slowly,
"If you feed on blood _and_ death... how does it feel when you feed on my
blood?"

Another blush, bright this time, and Rhi licked her lips nervously. "Good.
Very good. Satisfying. It doesn't give the... the 'rush' that death does,
but it's still... intense."

"So if you combine that with death, then of course it's better."

Rhishandri looked up at her, frowning slightly. "So... death alone might
also... satisfy me? I guess that's possible," she said thoughtfully. "But
I'm not sure how to test it, though."

"It worked when I killed the man for you in the stable," Adara said. "And
there was no violence there. Admittedly, it _could_ have been the _way_ I
killed him, but...." Her voice trailed off and she shrugged.

Rhishandri blushed again, ducking her head and hiding behind the fall of
her hair. "But if someone is dying, anyway, then would there actually be
any life to... ah... 'take'? This is so confusing. I don't... I don't like
being this way. But I don't want to die, either." She looked up at Adara
pleadingly for a moment, and then turned her face away, her eyes filled
with shame. "If it's their lives or mine, I choose theirs. I guess that
makes me a dark god."

"I don't see why."

Rhi glanced at her, then quickly looked away again. "I'll kill to survive.
I value my own life more than others... most others. And I... I will enjoy
it. I already have. Nothing has ever felt so good as their deaths."

Adara shrugged. "I killed to survive earlier. Conor here has done it on a
regular basis, too-- that's what being a soldier is all about."

"If someone is trying to kill _you,_ I understand. But the men who were
helpless were no danger to me."

Reaching out, Adara cupped her chin and gently turned Rhi's face to look at
her. "They forfeited their lives when they attacked us. They knew they
could die when they did it."

Her lower lip trembled, but Rhishandri met her eyes without trying to look
away. "I don't know what I think about that, yet," she admitted softly, and
Adara watched as she took a deep breath and her jaw firmed with new
determination. "But it's my problem, and I'll learn to deal with it. If I
have to kill to live, I'll do it."

Adara smiled slightly, relieved. "Good." Making that decision to live was
the important part. Once that was made, everything else became easier. It
wouldn't happen instantly, but the girl would come to accept her new life.
It would take a bit of time, but Adara would see that she had it. She
wasn't entirely sure how and why or even exactly when it had come to matter
that much to her, but it had. _Hmm, perhaps..._ She ran her thumb softly
over Rhi's lips before letting go of her chin and turning to face the old
man, a bemused look on her face. "You called me 'priestess', didn't you?"

He nodded. "Yes. Given the bond between the two of you, it is the only term
that's suitable."

Beside her, Rhishandri winced. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... to...
whatever I did to do it," the girl said guiltily, and Adara shook her head.

"It's fine. I'm just... surprised. Not your typical candidate."

The kneeling man spoke again, his tone soft, "You killed for her."

Adara cocked her head thoughtfully. "I did. That it then?"

"It could be," the wizard said hesitantly. "If her power stems from death,
then killing for her would be an act of worship, equaled only by dying for
her. If you were also the first to... feed her... and she truly is new,
then that could very well create such a bond, particularly if she finds
your company pleasing."

"More pleasing than _yours!"_ Rhishandri hissed, her cheeks bright with
embarrassment and anger. "I fed first on the bastard who made me. I feel no
such bond for _him,_ I assure you!"

"He's dead, though, darlin'," Conor said soothingly. "Not makin' any
sacrifices to anyone, now is he?"

Her nose wrinkled in distaste, and she shrugged. "Whatever. How do I free
her from it then?"

"Do you need to?" Adara asked.

"Don't you _want_ me to?"

Adara shrugged. "Not really."

Rhishandri stared up at her in shock. "Why not?"

That was a good question. She wasn't entirely sure, herself. She just...
didn't want her to. It wasn't something she would ever have said she'd
accept willingly, but now that it was already done, she found that she
didn't mind in the least. She could give no logical answer for that,
though, so she just shrugged again. "It's not hurting me."

The girl wasn't that easily satisfied, however. "It's an invasion, an
imposition," she insisted indignantly. "What if it hurts you? He said I
could... could drain you, somehow. I could hurt you."

"You haven't so far." Adara gave her a little smile. "Besides, I'm sure
that being linked to a goddess has its benefits."

The wizard was nodding rapidly. "Oh yes. It could. It should. But it means
that her enemies are yours, as well."

Adara grinned, shrugging once more. "It's probably too late to avoid that,
anyway. Besides, I couldn't just desert her."

Rhishandri stared at her, frowning, obviously wondering but not quite
asking, 'why not?' The wizard didn't notice, though, as he continued, "In
any event, such things cannot be undone, not without the death of one or
the other. That's how my brother realized his god was dead; he was able to
offer his oath to another."

"That's that, then," Adara said firmly, and Rhishandri looked guiltily at
the floor.

"I'll do whatever I can to ensure that you do not suffer for it," the girl
said softly. "One act of kindness shouldn't be repaid by a life of
slavery."

Adara looked down at her with one eyebrow raised. "I don't exactly feel
like a slave."

Rhi jerked her head towards the man kneeling in the corner. "_He_ does. And
I don't know how it happened, so I don't know how to stop it."

"That's easy," Adara said, with a grin. "He said he'd do _anything_ if you
spared him, and you accepted."

Rhishandri looked up at her, surprised. "That simple?"

Adara looked to the wizard for confirmation, and he nodded. "People should
be careful what promises they make to real gods. They are forever binding."

The girl sighed. "It would have been better if I'd killed him. Now I don't
know _what_ to do with him. It's creepy, him following me around like a
zombie." She nibbled her lower lip again, her face thoughtful. "I
suppose... he could... stay here. And help the wizard... ah... build a
temple or something. If I told him to. Right?"

"I guess he would," Adara agreed.

The wizard nodded as well. "He'll do whatever you tell him, Lady."

"Fine, then." She turned to the man. "Stay here with the wizard. Help him
build his... my temple. Serve the temple. Let no one discover where we have
gone. Do you understand?"

He nodded. "Yes, goddess. I will do as you command."

She nodded reluctantly, and turned to the wizard, her eyes narrowing. "And
_you_... I'll have your promise, as well, that none shall know where we've
gone through you, on pain of your death."

"You have it, Goddess. I will not betray you."

She glared at him, unsatisfied, but reluctantly accepting.

Adara stared at him for a moment. "Are you offering to become her priest?"
she asked, ignoring Rhishandri's annoyed growl.

"Of course.  She is real.  She is alive.  There's no way I could not
believe, and believing, it's natural to spread that belief."

Adara nodded, slowly. "And priests are the... stand-ins for their god,
yes?"

"In a way. They are the gods' hands and eyes across the world. Conduits for
their powers."

She nodded again. "So if... hmm. Do you have a chicken?" She knew he did.
She'd smelled them as soon as they rode up to the hut, but she didn't
generally advertise her abilities.

"A... chicken?" he asked, confused. "Ah... well, yes, I do, but what does
that have to do with anything?"

"I want to see if it's human blood and human life she needs."

"Oh. I see. I guess... very well," he said nervously. "I'll bring one to
you."

He hurried out, and Rhishandri stared at her like she'd lost her mind.
"What--"

Adara held up a hand, shaking her head. "Wait and see."

The girl frowned, but waited in obedient if somewhat irritable silence
until the wizard returned with chicken tucked under his arm. She watched,
skeptically, as he handed the protesting bird to Adara.

Adara, in turn, handed it to Rhishandri, who took it reluctantly and looked
down at it. The chicken froze, staring up at her with beady eyes. "Try it,"
Adara urged.

"I feel ridiculous," the girl grumbled. "Just kill it, you mean?"

"Try drinking its blood first," Adara suggested.

Rhishandri shrugged and raised the chicken close to her face, closing her
eyes. She opened her mouth, then gagged and turned away. "Ugh. No. Worse
than ale, even."

Adara shrugged. "Just kill it then."

Rhishandri looked down at the chicken again, and sighed. "All right. Sorry,
bird." She moved to kneel by the table and awkwardly pinned the bird
against the wood with one hand and grabbed its head with the other.
Seemingly without effort, the head was ripped off in a spurt of blood. She
gasped loudly, her eyes going wide, and her other hand clenched, her
fingers digging into the body and squeezing. Tiny bones made a cracking,
popping sound as they splintered in her grip, and blood gushed and stained
the white feathers crimson red.

Adara smiled tenderly, recognizing the sensual delectation— very
nearly sexual— on the girl's... no, on the young _goddess'_ face as
blood and pulped flesh oozed from between her tiny fingers. There was a
kind of innocence there, when she lost herself for a moment in the new and
overwhelming sensations— an artless, almost childlike beauty that
crept past all of the mercenary's natural defenses and evoked unfamiliar
stirrings of emotion deep inside her. "Good?" she asked gently, as Rhi's
dark lashes fluttered against her pale cheek.

Dropping the bloody mess to the table, Rhishandri opened eyes swimming with
gold and looked up at Adara. She didn't answer. She didn't have to—
the hungry pleasure on her face answered for her. Unconsciously, still
looking a touch dazed, she licked her fingers, the recoiled in disgust,
wrinkling her nose. "Ick. I need to wash." Her cheeks flushed brighter, and
she ducked her head. "Yes. It wasn't nearly as... much... as a human. More
like a small handful of corn versus a full feast, but it was still there.
It... lacks something, but I think I could live on it, if there were enough
of them, at least for a while."

Adara nodded and looked at the wizard. "Do you have more chickens?"

He swallowed hard, staring at he mass of red feathers on the table. "Y-yes,
a few," he whispered hoarsely. "But not enough alone, I fear, to feed her
to repletion."

She could see the fear in his eyes and smell it, sharp and slightly rancid,
in the air. The man from the stables, though, seemed to no longer care
whether he lived to serve or was, instead, next on the menu, because he
remained perfectly calm as he tore away a bit of his shirt and wet it from
his water bag. He crawled forward, offering Rhishandri the dampened rag
with a hopeful, eager-to-please expression, and she sighed and took it,
patting him on the head like she might an affectionate puppy. The man
smiled delightedly, uncaring that his own cheek was still sticky with
drying blood, and now his blonde hair had been smeared with more-- his
goddess had acknowledged him, and now he practically glowed with pleasure.

Adara shook her head. "I just want to see if having you feed her, as her
priest, will work as well," she explained gently.

"Oh, I see. Yes, of course." His relief was so clear it was practically
written in blazing letters across his forehead. "I'll return shortly!"

True to his word, he was back almost immediately, carrying a plump black
cockerel. He smiled tremulously at Rhishandri. "Goddess, how do you wish me
to do this?"

She stared at him for a moment, and Adara could see the uncertainty warring
with the hunger in her eyes. Finally, she shook her head. "I have no idea.
Just... kill it." She licked her lips and crossed her arms tightly over her
chest. "In... in such a way that... that it bleeds."

"Wait," Adara said, as he nodded obediently and turned to leave, perhaps to
find a knife.

"Yes?" he asked, hesitating.

"You should have an altar, and you should... do something to be her priest,
first. Some... ritual." She'd be damned if she knew what. She'd never had
any interest in gods, before, and hadn't particularly cared whether they
had any interest in her. If anything, she'd been grateful that they ignored
her-- the old gods had been infamously capricious.

He nodded slowly. "Yes. I see that. My brother shared my home," he said.
"There is an altar... I could dedicate it to her— and dedicate myself
as well— but I don't know how I should do it."

She was spared from answering by the slave who still knelt contentedly at
Rhishandri's side. "Bleed for Her," he said, his voice trembling with
intensity. "Let your blood fall upon the altar in Her name. Blood is life,
and your life is Hers." His eyes held an awed, adoring, worshipful gleam,
and Adara could practically hear the capital letters as he spoke every word
as if it were set in stone. Glancing over at Rhi, Adara saw that she had
her eyes closed again, over cheeks flushed bright red, and was hugging her
arms to her chest even more tightly.

The wizard had gone pale, but nodded. "Yes. That's appropriate. Goddess..."
He hesitated, then knelt on the dirt floor before continuing. "I... I need
your proper name for the dedication."

Rhishandri frowned and opened her eyes, jarred out of her state of pleasant
anticipation. "Can't wizards use a demon's full name to bind it?" she
asked, suspiciously. "Might it not be the same for _me?"_

"But... but your followers must know your name," the old man said
nervously. "How else can they pray to you, sacrifice to you?"

"You have enough of my name," she said sharply. "Rhi. That's enough to
identify me. You know who I am and can picture me. You need no more."

The complacent slave nodded and spoke reassuringly. "She is who She chooses
to be."

The wizard frowned, but when her expression didn't soften, he nodded,
accepting it. He took the chicken and went into a connecting room, closing
the battered door behind him.

Rhishandri looked at Adara uncertainly. "Do you really think this will
work?" she asked.

Adara nodded, but the girl, obviously unconvinced, opened her mouth to say
more. Then she froze, her eyes widening.

"Oh!" Rhi reached out blindly, her hands groping for support. One found the
edge of the table, and Adara caught the other in her own, holding firmly.

"Good?" she asked.

Rhishandri nodded, wide-eyed.

Adara smiled. "Has he killed it yet?"

She started to shake her head, but then gasped and closed her eyes with a
small shudder. When she opened her eyes again, she nodded shakily. "Y-yes.
Just now."

"How was it?"

She looked up at Adara and licked her lips. "Good. The dedication was...
good. The death was very much like when I killed, but the dedication was...
different."

"I imagine. And I think that proves it," Adara said gently.

The wizard staggered out of the other room, pale and shivering, a bandage
around his arm. "Lady?" he whispered hoarsely. "Goddess? I... that was... I
had no idea. Thank you, Lady. Thank you." He staggered over to his cushion
and collapsed upon it, staring dazedly.

Rhishandri just stared at him for a long moment, then sighed softly. "Yes,
it does, doesn't it?" She swallowed hard. "We... we should leave now. He
knows what to do. And... I'll know if something changes, I think. And I
think, too, that if he betrays us, his life is truly forfeit."

Adara nodded and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Yes."

The wizard and the unnamed slave were left alone in the dark, visions of
bloody altars dancing in their heads.

***

Rhishandri rinsed the last of the blood from her hands, then emptied the
bucket and let it back down in the well. Wiping her hands dry on her pants,
she snarled at her skittish dala— which of course, made the animal
even more skittish.

With an irritable sigh, she gathered the reins tightly in her hand and
mounted. She kept the reins short, the animal's head held high until it
calmed and stopped dancing nervously beneath her. "I hate these things,"
she said, as she trotted up to join Adara and Conor. "So. To the mountains,
then?"

Adara gave her a long, searching look. The tone had been too casual, she'd
put too much effort into sounding 'normal'. It was an obvious ploy to avoid
subjects she'd rather not speak of. The slightly pleading look in her
luminous green eyes confirmed it, and Adara hesitated for a moment,
wondering if she should allow her to get away with it. It would do her no
good to hide from her nature. On the other hand, she decided, it would do
even less good to push her; that would only make her feel defensive and
alone. So she shook her head. "First, we go meet that merchant, and have
a... discussion."

Rhishandri frowned. "Why? How could he find us?"

"Doesn't matter." Adara smiled coldly. "He tried to have me killed. I have
a policy of returning the favor."

"Oh. I see. When you put it that way... yes. But didn't he say that the inn
where he's waiting is at the foot of a wizard's tower? The wizard may be
waiting as well."

Adara shrugged. "I doubt it." Wizards rarely, in her experience, did their
own dirty work. He'd be more likely to send someone... or something... to
collect her. He wouldn't leave his safe, secure tower without absolute
necessity. "He might have sent some muscle, but..." She smiled again,
moonlight glinting off of sharp white teeth. "He'll just lose them."

"Oh." Rhishandri licked her lips. "Well then."

The smile widened into a grin. "I'm sure you'd like more... dinner," she
said, watching the girl's face. A human couldn't have spotted the faint
darkening of Rhi's cheeks, but Adara's vision was quite a bit better,
especially in the dark. A human wouldn't have heard Rhi's pulse speed up,
or been able to taste the subtle flavor of her excitement in the air,
either. Her reaction was a good sign. She was looking forward to feeding
her needs, whether she wanted to admit it or not— and Adara fully
intended to make sure she was well fed. The faster she gained strength, the
better. Though... she seemed to gain as much strength, or even more, from
Adara killing _for_ her as she did from doing it personally. Once the
wizard and the ex-kidnapper started making sacrifices for her, that would
help. Eventually, others would dedicate themselves to her, too, and that
would help more. _Hmm... now there's an idea._

"Hey, Conor," she called, looking over her shoulder at him. "Want to be a
priest?" The more priests the better, in her opinion. Why waste even a
single kill when it could so easily be dedicated to her vulnerable little
goddess?

He shook his head, though, and gave her an oddly tight smile. "Not sure I'm
up for that. At least, not yet," he said. "We'll have ta see, eh?"

Adara shrugged and turned back to the trail, outwardly unconcerned, but she
added his response— perfectly understandable, in character, but
still, somehow, 'off'— to the other puzzle pieces. She wasn't
worried, exactly. Her instincts told her the man was no threat to them and
that she could trust him, and she'd never had any reason to doubt them
before. However, those same instincts also told her that he was hiding
something, and she was determined to find out what.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you like this, you might want to take a look at Strange Love, an
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-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
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