Chapter 10: Defining Dominance

  Time: 25:36, Day: Purigaz, Week: 3, Month: K?rgoyde, Year: 36651

  “You can let go of my tail now, there's no more Caw's. Not in this part of the forest anyway.” Grim said gruffly, agitation and something else laced in his voice.

  Ayanna didn't hear him or realize that he had stopped walking. Her face flushed, and her eyes focused on his tail as she held it tight and her mind wandered in a lovesick fan girl kind of way, until she ran into his back and fell flat on her butt.

  “What the fuck, man? You could've warned me.” Ayanna said, her wings fluttering as she stood up rubbing her butt.

  “I told you to let go, but you were lost in your fantasies.” Grim said gruffly, his fur bristled as he looked around, seemingly scanning for something.

  Ayanna came up beside him, looking at what seemed to be the edge of the marsh under a night sky. There was something dragging through the swamp water, along the coast. Ayanna couldn't make out more than just a silhouette and maybe a dark grey appendage.

  “It's an Ash Wrought making its pilgrimage to the Weeping Vale. Don't get in its way, it may seem like an amalgamation of corpses but each of those corpses retains a portion of the magic it had when it was alive.” Grim said, bowing his head slightly and closing his eyes as the Ash Wrought crossed in front of them.

  Ayanna couldn't help but look up at the thing. Up close she could clearly see that it was in fact a collection of corpses, all with hollowed eye sockets and mouths agape. She could make out a few Owlbears, Imps, a few Elves, an Orc, and a Hydra, the rest were hidden by the contrast of the night sky. For something so big, Ayanna was surprised that it didn't make a sound.

  The towering Ash Wrought, took a few minutes to cross in front of them and disappear further into the marsh. At one point Grim had to cover his nose as the scent of death and decay became overwhelming. Ayanna was too memorized by the spectacle to even bother covering her nose.

  “WOW!” Ayanna let out, after it was finally far gone enough for her to no longer see, “Does that happen every night? Or was this some sort of special occasion? Or what?” Ayanna took flight, hovering a few feet off the ground as she bombarded Grim with questions.

  “Not every night, and you should know how Wrought are born. Isn't Weeping Vale in Salem Kingdom?” Grim crossed his arms, an irritated look on his face.

  “Maybe it's common knowledge for most citizens of Salem Kingdom, but if it wasn't magic or training, then I was either in the dungeon or being beaten.” Ayanna said, continuing to look down the path the Ash Wrought took.

  Grim stifled his agitation, his expression softening as he looked at her.

  “Gods Syren, how could you treat your own daughter like she was just a tool.” Grim thought, his eyes glowing red and his aura flaring out a few feet around him.

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  “F-fuck! L-let m-m-me g-go!” Ayanna struggled to remain on her hands and knees, her wings and tail pinned to the ground around her. She could barely look up at him, but she could tell he was lost in thought.

  “Why does it feel so familiar?” She couldn’t help but think as she struggled.

  “Is this what would have happened if I had given in and impregnated her? She didn't seem to have a problem raising Leona and Lilith properly, but they don't have Dharmic lineage. Is a Nephalem’s heart really that powerful?” Grim thought, his mind miles away from the situation.

  Ayanna clawed at the ground, struggling, feeling as if she was going to pop. She let out a pained high pitched scream.

  Grim snapped back to the moment, crouching down and extending his claws. His aura subsided, and his eyes returned to their sapphire blue as looked around for the threat. He cocked his head to the side in confusion as his gaze landed on Ayanna.

  She was breathing heavily and sweating through the dress Elluraine had given her.

  “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?” Ayanna shouted, catching her breath.

  “What was what for? Why are you on your hands and knees?” Grim leaned to the side to take a good look at her pronounced buttocks as she steadied herself on her hands and knees.

  “You and your damned aura! At least warn me!” Ayanna said, blushing as she felt his eyes devouring her.

  “Yea, I'll try to be more careful. In my defense, Elluraine is really the only person I've been around for the past few hundred years.” Grim looked away from her, his arms crossed, ears flat on his head, and his tail still.

  Ayanna slowly stood up, every muscle in her body screaming for rest.

  “It's fine, I shouldn't have been so close. You were the one thing mother didn't mind me learning about, although her words never matched the stories but there's a plethora about the effects of your aura and even a fancy name.” Ayanna brushed herself off with a smile, and politely took a few steps back.

  “Oh, a fancy name for it?” Grim brought his gaze back to her, his ears standing back up and his tail betraying his curious excitement.

  “Beast God's Dominance, said to force any and all to their knees. It can drain you of your strength, Essence, and sanity if you go against the Beast God.” Ayanna put her hands on her hips as she recited text that she had read hundreds of times.

  “Wow, I didn't realize I had been studied that in depth. Left some things out though.” Grim couldn't help but stand straight, his tail swaying excitedly as she repeated information she had studied. Oddly enough it made her both blush and smile wide.

  “Left out what?” Ayanna's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

  “The fact that my aura suppresses all other auras used on me, which is why none of your Succubus abilities could ever work on me.” Grim laughed heartily.

  “That actually makes sense. Your aura is one of domination so why would it allow you to be overtaken by another's aura.” Ayanna took a pensive stance, her wings fluttering as she seemed to step up onto the air, pacing as she muttered to herself.

  Grim was intrigued with this side of her, and couldn't help but watch. His tail swayed in rhythm with her pacing. A soft smile crossed his face, one he probably didn't even know he had.

  “So then, what about magic? There's a plethora of Succubus spells that would still probably work on you, right?” Ayanna stopped looking at him quizzically.

  “Succubus spells?” Grim tilted his head to the side, he wasn't very well versed in racial magics but he also had never heard of a Succubus spell.

  “Yea, kinda like sex magic.” The look in Ayanna's eyes was both predatory and lust filled.

  Grim took a minute, studying Ayanna, her smile widened and she crossed her arms, pushing her breasts up.

  “Are you really trying to seduce me?” Grim asks, a happy, cautious smile on his face.

  “Depends, is it working?” Ayanna asked, slowly making her way across the air to him.

  “Nope. You should focus all that energy on figuring out the whole Nephalem thing.” Grim's words were harsh, but the warm feeling filling his being was betrayed by the erratic movements of his tail.

  “What a shame,” Ayanna hung her head, coming back to the ground, and shrugging, “You're right though,” she sighed her shoulders heavy, “I should be my whole self, and not hide behind some title.” Her gaze went to the sky, as she lost herself in thought about what a Nephalem truly is.

  — The Curator’s Notes —

  you feel the shift tonight?