Black Sky Legion

by LurkingEvil

Having played the DMMO-RPG for almost as long as they have been married, gamer couple Lurk and Harmony log in on the last day of YGGDRASIL. They reminisce one final time in their guild hall. Little do they know how thin the veil between worlds really is. Thrust into a new land far from Muspelheim, how will they shape it?

13. Her Champions

Author's Notes: I did not mean for this chapter to take so long! I also did not mean for it to be my longest chapter to date.

I blame all the butt sex. Lots and lots of butt sex.

Oh yes! Warning: This chapter contains butt sex.

***BSL***

It was on the grassy fields of the third floor that Harmony contemplated The Citadel. Specifically her husband's work with the floors preceding hers. He always took his self-imposed duty of The Citadel's protection so seriously. At the time it had just been to protect the real money they had put into a virtual place full of virtual items. Not for the first, and certainly not last time, she was grateful for his almost fanatic dedication.

If anyone were to enter The Citadel as an enemy, having managed to brute force, pick, or magic their way through the formidable front door, they would be greeted by a grueling slog.

Only guild members could freely teleport within The Citadel. And only those coded with permissions could use the teleportation network. No item could be stolen by nefarious parties in order to exploit The Citadel without facing the trials designed. Far more guilds fell from being taken apart from the inside than being assaulted from the outside. Any attack had to be done the hard way. Even the door itself had been designed to require maximum resource investment on behalf of an attacker in exchange for minimal upkeep on behalf of The Citadel. There were stronger ones to be sure. Lurk had toured a few himself. Clever gatehouses and murder hole designs.

Yet it was a point of balance, and Lurk had other ideas on how to allocate the limited resources of the time.

The Alpha and Omega Bunkers were the first floors Lurk had taken to customizing. In fact it had at first been a feverish effort on his part to safeguard the spoils of Black Sky Legion's victory. Those had been hectic days. Burn Dungeons were hotly contested targets. Unprepared guilds would take them, only to have their new bases stolen out from underneath by enterprising PVP guilds. Sharks who scented blood in the water and easy loot.

Alpha was meant to dissuade casual raids with extreme prejudice. A common tactic was to hire as many trash mercenaries as possible and use them to brute force exploitable guild bases. A cheap defense was a few Tenth Tier magical traps and nothing else. Level twenty summons absorbed single target traps just as well as level ninety mercenaries. Alpha's floor was designed to shred anything not a max level tank player. The hard turns and barricades gave quite a bit of trouble to the rudimentary artificial intelligence of summons or mercenary NPCs.

Lurk had coded the Demi-Claw squads to fall back and regroup if enemies crossed certain thresholds to concentrate their firepower the further an intruder got. Another point of trial, error, and theory that had tested Lurk's patience with YGGDRASIL's creation tools. The same roadblocks that stumped enemy AI also fouled the floor's own protectors. Of particular challenge was getting the Sharpshooters to pathfind through side passages that could be used relocate squads and sealed as needed. At work he would daydream about new and inventive designs, scribbling code or floorplans into the margins of whatever scrap paper he could find.

At a glance, the narrow concrete corridors and chokepoints were a bedlam of razorwire, spike barricades. Yet there was a method to the madness. Armored pillboxes watched over the longer stretches with Type Fifty machine guns. All of the hardened fortifications were constructed so that they offered no cover from the back. Meaning that any enemy would find little to no defense as they moved towards the Alpha Bunker itself. Every step had to be paid for with blood or consumables. The devs of YGGDRASIL were expected to create fun and fair challenges while Lurk was under no such contract.

Although the Type Ninety-Nine rifle could only do chip damage to a level one-hundred player, an entire division of Sharpshooters stood ready on both of the first two floors. They operated the mounted weaponry and were given coding to use rifle grenades or satchel charges if the enemy moved up too fast. And they were far from the only threat. [Implosion] mines with delayed triggers were one of the nastier surprises, configured to detonate just after a group had passed the trigger radius.

Of course they were not the only traditional traps. Shotgun turrets were tucked into angled slits so they fired into the backs of attackers. Drop ceilings that hid banks Type Fifty sentry guns to rain lead down from above. Such defenses were expensive to operate and maintain. Back when all three members of Black Sky were on and farming, it was a negligible cost to ensure their base was guarded. Then times changed and much of the floor's systems were suspended to save on upkeep.

With the Alpha Bunker itself the final bastion. A nest of firing slits and hardened concrete. The first floor opened up in a last stretch to the finish line to the next level of The Citadel. And in shielded alcoves or behind sunken barricades, Hellhammers sat, waiting to unleash their promised rage.

Lurk had tested the floor himself numerous times as different tactics evolved over his time as a dedicated player. Coming at it as an enemy, looking for loopholes or paths of lesser resistance that could be exploited. He had mapped out almost every step and consulted many forums on the best approach for direct assault on underground guild bases, reverse engineering successful raiding strategy.

When he had first told Harmony about his plans, she had been... Admittedly a bit skeptical of how much he could do with limited pools of data points. A bit too nosy for her own good while Lurk was offline, she had turned on the defenses to target her and had been initially unimpressed. Then she had taken a shrieker shell from a Hellhammer to the chest and reassessed her assumptions.

There were still a few slapdash workarounds for the problem. YGGDRASIL boasted tens of thousands of spells and numerous jobs with their own unique class abilities. Although temperamental, the best ways that Lurk had found to circumnavigate the worst of it were Ethereal spells, traits, and enchantments. Mixed with dedicated magic resistance to shore up the penalties from using anything classified as Ethereal. Mask of the Abyss let him approximate the effect through his testing. Or the tankiest of tank builds.

And for everything else, there were the floor Guardians.

Before Skitharix and Phage. Before Legion and the Leviathan. Before Nox and Crisis, there was Wrath and Ruin.

Alpha and Omega. Commando and Sniper. Much more advanced behavior options could be used for floor Guardians. They stalked the first floor together and were coded with conditions under which to fall back. Never one without the other. If either of the Deathclaw sisters took too much damage, or enough in too short a time, they would relocated to Alpha. Then if that fell, they had the entire second floor and Omega to use as well.

Being the next level down, Lurk had substantially more data points to play with. Omega was designed as a final stand with the entrance to the third floor located directly underneath. Anyone wishing to make it that far would have to crack into a fortification so encrusted with weapon emplacements that it seemed more like barnacles on the underside of a ship. While Wrath was an independent force, Ruin existed to turn the Bunkers into singularities of firepower. Siegebreaker and Artillery Master meant her presence boosted either fortification to strongholds of obscene destructive might.

Through Wrath and Ruin, Lurk's finger was on every trigger of every Sharpshooter. His eye through iron and scope alike. As he was a Cleric through the Gun Kata, they were his Castellans of the Tetragrammaton. His love of symmetry in design showed even in his NPC creations.

Lurk had equipped the Sharpshooters with their armor and weapons en masse. Not the Deathclaw twins. Deusvore and Absolution Through Ordinance. Two of Lurk's finest guns. Given to NPCs back when data crystals that could be used for Divine class anything were traded on the YGGDRASIL black market for a month of his real world paycheck. Two Autoloader rings. Worth their weight in Celestial Uranium to every Gunner. Again, given freely.

More than the Alpha and Omega Bunkers themselves, Wrath and Ruin were Lurk's mark in the sand. His red line drawn.

Being extensions of will, those thousands of guns when fired declared his intent that no enemy would breach what his wife and best friend had built together. What they had shed blood, sweat, and tears to earn. And if somehow an enemy were to make it through, they would not do so without terrible cost.

Harmony and Woodsolution both had trusted Lurk to create their first line of defense. Through that responsibility and honor, he wrought their hold with the three things he knew the best.

Steel, strategy, and a whole lot of guns.

Looking at the staircase hovering incongruously unsupported from the illusory barrier of the third floor, Harmony could almost imagine seeing Lurk standing there, facing out with his talons planted firmly. The crest on the back of his coat proud and stalwart in his vigil. Her memories flitted down the halls of Alpha and Omega, certain that she was forgetting many of the nuances Lurk had worked in. A grin steadily peeled her lips back as she recalled the numerous attempts to raid The Citadel and the often hilarious results that would follow.

With her Chameleon hide racials and Commando class, Wrath was usually the last thing an intruder never saw. Especially in those early days when cheap Relic tier armor loadouts were all the rage. She boasted the highest kill count of players among the Guardians by a broad factor. Ruin had the most after Wrath, and Phage just behind the other Deathclaw. For a short but entertaining interval, Lurk had posted Phage just around the first bend of the Alpha floor for a few days upon creating her. After reviewing combat logs of the intruders she annihilated while he built the sixth floor, he moved her to the personal Darksteel fortress and joked that leaving her there just would not have been fair to the raiders.

Despite being only a three person guild in a hidden volcanic grotto on one of the harshest hellscapes in all the nine worlds, The Citadel had been subjected to hundreds of raid attempts. Even if few were ever credible threats. Most of the time it was groups of six or less trying to land an easy payday. Some raiders were smart, sending in one party member with death insurance and a few mercenaries to scout so as to decide whether the base was worth the effort.

Some, through ignorance, arrogance, or genuine stupidity, were the opposite.

An amusing quirk of the floor or area Guardians in particular, was their ability to loot dropped gear from their kills.

One particularly flavorful player had died to Wrath on the first floor so many times they had gradually lost most of their valuable gear to her. At least ten times the same person tried and failed. On their final run the player dropped a [Message] item just inside The Citadel's doors and then walked in completely unarmed so they could die and respawn back in Muspelheim's central hub.

Being the first to log on after the savagely determined but woefully under prepared raider had finished and left most, if not all of his Legendary gear along with the note, Harmony had been immediately alerted to The Citadel's doors being breached. First she found Wrath loaded with the person's gear, then the [Message]. The content of the note was a vitriolic rant of such passionate rage as to include personal death threats for each of the 'cheating hacking cheats' who had clearly been in collusion with a Game Master to create such a broken, unfair base defense.

Naturally, Harmony, Lurk, and Woodsolution found this so funny they had first reported the player, then hung the note in the Hall of Memories in its own Shrine of Salty Tears. Although due to privacy law they never found out for certain if the player had been banned, but the Game Master they had given a copy of the message to had taken one look at it and immediately raised the level of their ticket submission.

Another dozen memories threatened to peel her away from what she had originally gone to the third floor to do. Harmony turned away from the staircase to look over her domain. Her creation. Wondering if what she had built would be good enough in the coming days.

Would she be good enough in the coming days?

Not for the first, and certainly not last time, she was grateful that Lurk had transferred with her. She shuddered to consider being alone in such a situation. Would she have made the same decisions? And if not, would they have been the right ones? However, more than it hurt to consider being left behind, her heart ached at the idea of Lurk on his own. It was not a scenario she wanted to countenance.

Instead she turned her thoughts outward, traced back through time, and gauged how many players Legion had killed in their defense. She wondered if he remembered any. If that experience would make him a better fighter in the world they had found themselves in. Despite her husband's best efforts, some raiders did invariably make it through and tested Legion's mettle. And by extension, Harmony's floor design as well as its protectors. If an attacker did manage to surmount Alpha and Omega, Wrath and Ruin, through skill, luck, or numbers, they would find themselves in the midst of the Eternal War of the third floor.

Given that Alpha and Omega was the anvil, then the Eternal War was the hammer poised to fall and shatter any battered enemy that dared to tread.

The Eternal War was so named because the fighting never ceased. Blocks of Silver Knights in different formations moved against each other. Metal heels dug in while formations of the spearmen clashed. Everything from the tips of the winged spears, tower shields, and helms of the Silver Knights themselves glinted in the light cast from a great sun clock gradually creeping across an artificial blue sky. Mild rolling hills covered with durable green grass took up the majority. Mossy boulders were sparingly sprinkled across the hills. A few patches of dirt were scattered here and there to reflect the constant motion of the Eternal War.

After much deliberation, Harmony had decided to go with the ancient battlefield theme of groves with old weapons stuck in the ground instead of trees. Red and orange Fire Lilies from Muspelheim grew between rusted swords, broken polearms, and tattered banners with designs she had lifted from some of her favorite dungeons. Much like the Mystic's Reef, the aesthetic was mostly for cosmetic purposes and to provide enemies next to no cover.

Legion was the cornerstone. The linchpin of the Eternal War. His build culminated fully when he was surrounded by Silver Knights. On his own floor, he could cast buffs that affected every suit of Living Armor.

Warpriest. Tactician. Crusader. Shield Lord.

He turned the individually humble spearmen into colossi. His skills were in a way, an evocation of Harmony's past. In her early days, she had used Tactician and Crusader. With soldier mercenaries and various summons she could anchor the front line quite effectively. Unfortunately in the higher level raids and dungeons, the build offered diminishing returns. There were limits on how many minions Harmony could control out in the game world. And when her most powerful summons could be mowed down by raid bosses faster than she could conjure them, she had set aside the levels with the traditional suicide by world edge into the infinite void.

Granted the time she spent had not been without reward. Harmony learned valuable lessons in what worked and what did not. Much of the strength of her build still relied on buffs. She was a support tank after all. If the healing offered by High Priestess was not as good as it was, Harmony would have chosen Warpriest instead. As much fun as she had layering protective spells onto small groups of summons, ten level ninety NPCs did not have the same presence in battle as two level one-hundred players with the same buffs. Not by a mile. Level disparity in YGGDRASIL had been a common complaint.

The third floor did not have the same restrictions. Legion could support thousands of Silver Knights. Certain force multipliers from the Tactician skill tree such as [Indomitable] and [Hold The Line] gave increasing benefit the more Silver Knights that were affected. If any foe braved the kill zones of Alpha and Omega and still wished to pursue their attack, they would not face the third floor piecemeal. In order to break through to the fourth floor, the entire army of Silver Knights had to be defeated. Phalanxes peeled back layer by layer.

Two pervading enchantments existed on the floor, [Gravity Well], which prevented flying in any form. Second was [Dimensional Lock], blocking any use of teleportation aside from the guild item or teleporter pad. Whether magical, racial or otherwise, any entity wishing to traverse down to the Leviathan's floor would have to it the hard way. It was a fairly common occurrence in higher level dungeon raids. Several other floors of The Citadel had [Dimensional Lock]. Yet only the third had [Gravity Well] too. What gave the magic potency was the fact that it targeted both allies and enemies. By the rules governing guild base construction, making its effect universal allocated the extra resources towards enhancing the effective influence. Harmony had decided the trade off more than worth it. No point in having a floor with melee users if a foe could just fly straight over.

The first two floors blunted blades, stalled momentum, and shredded NPCs. The third floor took advantage of this by applying specific combat restrictions. Enemies were forced into brutal attrition. Ground was not gained by heavy tank builds. Not in any meaningful time frame. Only mana intensive spells or fragile damage dealers could overcome the multiplicative force of Legion's defensive buffs.

As Harmony contemplated her work, it was hard to ignore Legion as the hulking suit of Living Armor pranced like a kid at recess. He was putting his troops through their best parade maneuvers. Every wing on every helm had been polished to a stunning shine. Their creator was on their floor, and every step the huge blocks of spearmen took was in sync. Harmony was quite proud of the trophies that Legion had earned himself. One of his rings had come from a raiding party which had made it that far.

After that day in Orza with the hostile Silver Barons and the Wyrms, Harmony had felt a restless itch in her arms. It had been demonstrated quite clearly that she needed to be prepared to fight too. Lurk had taken to using his suddenly real firearms with a grace and gusto that Harmony envied. Her magic had come to her easily enough. Yet if the need arose, she was unsure if she could trust herself with her avatar's physical skills. She had talked with Lurk about her concerns and he had offered the simple solution of going and practicing. As always he was encouraging, urging her to get comfortable with her abilities at her own pace to see how the transition had changed them.

Harmony's first idea was to get Legion to help.

Even without the practical benefits, just asking was worthwhile to her because of how happy it made him. He had nearly jumped straight up in the air when she had requested his help practicing. Then of course he had sprinted off down the halls of The Citadel to get his floor into tip top condition.

Harmony could no longer hide her emotions behind a face that did not work. And she was glad for it, wearing a grin a mile wide as she followed her creation. That magic, that joy of seeing The Citadel alive and moving had only grown in the time she had spent with its inhabitants.

Even as she waited atop the hill near the staircase up to the second floor, having a long, personal contemplation, she was not alone. To her left and one step back, Crisis was scribbling his thoughts into his new notebook.

She was beginning to grow accustomed to Crisis following her around almost everywhere. In one respect, his presence made her take their situation more seriously, acting as she thought a queen should. Nox spent so much time literally inside of Lurk's shadow that Harmony would not have been surprised to find the darker half of Corona Nox had set up a bedroom in there. At first she felt bad dragging Crisis around wherever her feet took her in The Citadel. Her own discontent at inaction while Lurk put together strategy and battle plan helped pour gasoline on her desire to hone herself.

Yet, Crisis never complained. Even when Harmony had given him the notebook and a little magic quill for communicating, he had only gazed at her with wide eyes and hugged the gift as if it were made of Angel Dust and Mermaid Dreams.

His unconditional affection and joy at such a simple gift that was meant to help him stabbed knives of guilt deep into Harmony's soul. In that pain, she knew Lurk's torment as far as Phage was concerned a little better. When making Nox and Crisis, she had to pick a drawback since Crisis had a higher karma score. Out of her choices from the list, 'mute' seemed like the least debilitating option. Which did not make that decision any less horrid now that Crisis was a living, thinking being.

One of the first questions she had for him after giving him the notebook had been if he disliked how he had been made. Even though they had to be written down, Crisis had responded in his own words that there was nothing he would ever change. Not talking made him feel as though it gave him a mysterious charm, and forcing his brother to translate all the time never grew tiresome. Most importantly, it was how Harmony had made him. For that reason alone she could have made him a slug and he would gladly eat flowers in the Arboretum.

Surrounded by her own creations, happiness bubbled in her stomach.

One subtle detail Harmony had noted that Lurk was still far behind on was the little quirks in behavior exhibited thus far by the Guardians. Legion was especially animated, pumping his fist into the air and gesturing with his shield as the Silver Knights went through their marching formations.

She stole a quick glance back at her personal escort.

Although she had not given Crisis his notebook with the intention of testing his behavioral freedom, the outcome was a galaxy apart from what she expected. The first time she saw him jotting down words outside of talking to her, Harmony had not thought much of it. When he buried his nose in the pages a second time, she had asked him about it. Poor Crisis had nearly been frightened out of his skin. Even so, he had given her the notebook without question. Inside was the last thing Harmony expected.

Poetry of all things!

A limerick jotted into the margins of already used pages. Stanzas secreted along nearly untenable edges of paper. Harmony called them wonderful, simply delighted to find that he enjoyed writing poetry. That he even had likes or dislikes of his own beyond the feeble NPC menu. Once she gave the notebook back, he had furiously wrote a plea for her forgiveness for daring to use her gift for anything other than its intended purpose. She had laughed, hugged him, and told him to use it for whatever he wanted.

Tools for setting Guardian behavior once upon a time had been a spaghetti code that she distinctly remembered Lurk calling: 'Like stapling a face onto a Roomba'. YGGDRASIL devs had once famously been outed by their player base when it was found they had stolen AI pathing code directly from another company. One that indeed, made robotic vacuums. It was not entirely due to competition that the servers had been shut down, after all.

Back in the game, Harmony had personally encountered the restrictions of the artificial systems governing the NPCs more than once.

Now that was gone, and every living being in The Citadel had a mind of their own. What could any of them do with the gift of thought? How far did that free will extend? From the smallest Lamia maid, to the Forgemother herself, what new possibilities opened with the dawning of a new world? Even though the conditions were not perfect, Harmony held out the belief that she and Lurk had transferred not for themselves, but to breathe life into their creations, one and all. She had no proof, save for the sliver of a voice in her heart of hearts that still believed the universe could be kind.

For his part, Legion could not recall a time he had ever been happier. Except perhaps earlier when Harmony had wished him a good morning. His Fair Lady, Creator, Goddess, wanted to spar. Wanted to practice with him. With him!

When the last cohort finished its march, Legion jogged up to Harmony's overlook. He gave a bow, complete with a flourishing flick of his wrist. The Living Armor followed this up by planting his fists on his hips and turning his helmet so he was in profile with the blocks of knights framed behind him.

Once she was done clapping, Harmony felt it only right to compliment the hard work she saw.

"Wonderful, Legion! Everyone looked amazing. I had almost forgotten how many flags there were for the different cohorts."

"Thank you, Lady Harmony! We live by your approval." With a snap of his heels, Legion turned and addressed his soldiers. "Until Black Sky comes!"

"For Black Sky!" Came the reply, accompanied by the stomp of several thousand boots with an equal clattering of spears. They held their parade stance until Legion dismissed them. Having done their duty, the Silver Knights broke off into groups as they normally did in the Eternal War.

Executing a quick turn, Legion held out an arm to usher Harmony to their next destination. Legion led his Fiery Lady to a bowl depression set between some hills with ample room to move and fight. Silver Knights crowded around the hills, jockeying to catch a glimpse of their Creator. None had the gall to approach too near while Crisis stuck closely to his Lady's heel.

Joints popping and Grand Alliance rattling, Harmony began with a few simple warmups. Just stretching. Feeling out how weightless her whole body seemed. Grand Alliance was as light as a feather. She expected the full plate to be restrictive. However the Divine Class armor was precisely fitted to her body, the joints of the armor moving freely no matter how she twisted. She recalled Lurk mentioning that actual medieval armor did not bind up the user as most believed it did. Just like most things in The Citadel, her husband had gone overboard researching ancient warfare for the sake of accurate recreation.

Even though it was wholly unnecessary, Legion stretched too. Connections creaked and groaned as his joints protested the strain. Overall it sounded as though a few dozen metal cans were in furious competition with one another.

Twirling Ebony and Ivory up into her grasp, Harmony was a bit unsure of how to begin.

"So, uh, could we just start slow?"

"Of course! You needn't ask, Fair Lady. I am here to help, however you may require it." Legion would have accommodated his Lady if she had told him to stand still and act like a training dummy. He could tell that she was out of sorts. As though the power of her own muscles was unfamiliar. So he moved slowly for her, just holding up his shield as a boxing partner would.

Her first honest swing landed her squarely on her ass. She put too much power and underestimated how close she was, her axe going wide. Trying to correct herself with her tail only succeeded in turning her the wrong way. End result being her armored backside hitting the dirt.

"Are you alright, my Lady?" Legion asked, imminently concerned.

"Ha ha!" Harmony laughed off her own clumsiness and got back on her feet. "This feels so strange. Like the training wheels have come off."

"My Lady?" Legion cocked his head quizzically, red crest waving.

Harmony held her arms out straight, waggling her fingers along the handles of Ebony and Ivory. Concentrating, she tried to control the swing of one arm and ended up going twice as far as she intended.

"How would I describe it? Before I guess you could say it was like I was wearing an extra suit of armor on top of everything that was packed full of pillows. And now it's gone. Imagine getting hit and never really feeling it. Or hitting something and there isn't the weight that's supposed to be there. I guess it's just easier to move, but harder to control."

Planting the end of his axe into the ground, Legion let out a long 'Hm'. He brushed a gauntlet back across his helmet plume.

"Balance is key! But it is a simple matter. If your muscles are suddenly too touchy, you just need to find your balance again. With control, comes balance. Begin your swing with all your strength." Legion held up his shield and heaved it overhand and brought its edge within a hair of his upright axe before arresting its momentum. "Then stop it as soon as you can. Find that point of control."

The fingers of her right hand tightened around her axe. Harmony concentrated as she clenched, taking note of how her muscles coiled and tendons strained. Keeping herself taut, she moved through the action of her swing slowly. Back. Bicep. Forearm. Wrist. Piecing together her reach and limits. Once she felt more acquainted with herself she did just as Legion had suggested, bringing her weapon down from its overhead position with as much strength as she could, then arresting the momentum. Harmony almost ended her second attempt at using her weapon in the dirt too. However, her third was a bit better. And so was the fourth. So on until she reached for the point of control that Legion spoke of.

I deny doubt. I reject doubt. It has no place in my heart. It has no hold on me.

Hardening her resolve, seizing upon the desire to strike, she swung her axe again. Ivory hit Legion's shield dead center, and Harmony could not have faked her smile even if she had wanted to. Her sparring partner moved his round shield, encouraging her to continue, stepping to make her move to keep up. With every strike, Harmony's confidence grew. Muscles that she had both never used and trained relentlessly remembered themselves. Her game time in YGGDRASIL near the end had gone a fair measure beyond ten-thousand hours in total.

Muscle memory was there, embedded and begging for release. Bone wrapped in tendon and sinew, red fibers rich with blood and nerve that were hers to command. They just needed to be reminded. YGGDRASIL could not hijack control of a player's avatar. There were movement assistance in many ways, yet if one truly wanted to be a contender in the world of melee abilities, a player had to physically perform the action necessary for the skill to activate.

"C'mon, Legion, it's not very good practice if I'm the only one attacking." Harmony insisted after a few minutes, having at least found her footing.

"Ha! Right you are, Lady."

Legion came low with a sweep. Harmony moved her feet, dodging outside the arc of his swing, then jumped back with both weapons raised overhand. Ebony and Ivory glowed as Double Strike activated. A triumphant gong echoed off the hills as Legion lifted his shield to take the hit. The blades of her weapons made solid contact. Ebony and Ivory buzzed in Harmony's hands in the wake of her blow. On each wrist, a golden bracelet of [Fury Plates] shined.

Naturally, Legion celebrated her success before she could. He turned in a circle, raising his axe towards the eager Silver Knights.

"Behold the might of our Creator! Hear how her strength is so like music!"

Claps, whistles, and hoots of encouragement poured from the eager onlookers while Crisis gave her a thumbs up.

"Come, come, my great maker. I know there's more in you than that!" Legion knocked the flat blade of his larger axe against his even heavier shield.

Moves Harmony had not used in years came back one after another. Sometimes it seemed like her body knew better than she did, chaining her strikes together, smoothly flowing from one attack to another. Shifting her stance as she did so. Never letting up. Of the three members of Black Sky, Harmony was no slouch when it came to builds either. And it was not just the dual-wielding perks that had drawn her to Wyvern Berserker. Only available certain races, the class boasted a very unique way of tanking. Each successful blow resulted in stacks of the unusual [Fury Plates] buff.

The faster she attacked, the stronger her defenses became. Of course it was not without risk. [Fury Plates] had a limited duration, and if Harmony missed, the stacks would decrease accordingly. She was aided by her Crucible ring, an item meant to double up very select armor skills. Due to the Crucible ring's wording, its effects extended to the [Fury Plates] passive. Being incredibly broken and a blatant exploit of a loophole, it let her compete with the really stupidly cheesy tactics that plagued YGGDRASIL's player versus player scenarios. A more cumulative secret of her build resided within her Scalebound racials, but she would get to that once she had a firmer grasp on the basics once more.

Scintillating armored bracelets crawled up her forearms as her defenses grew stronger.

Legion brought his rear leg forward, using the turn of his body to add momentum as he propelled his axe down. The angle of the attack would have made it awkward to block, so Harmony side stepped out of the way. Faster than his bulk should have allowed, Legion used the motion of his axe to transition into a forward step and brought the broad face of his shield squarely into her. Instinctively, she crossed her arms in front of herself. Her vambraces slapped against her chest as the shield bash sent her boots skidding back in the dirt. She almost remained upright, but at the end of her slide she lost her balance and ended up with her butt on the ground once again.

Instead of just standing back up, Harmony got her feet underneath herself and shot forward. Ebony and Ivory rang out. Metallic peals of increasing frequency and intensity heralded the growing storm of their duel. She knew Legion was holding back. His blows thus far had been with exaggerated slowness. Forcing herself to push through the unfamiliarity, the newness, the hesitation, Harmony probed around, below, and above the steel wall she had come against. Ratcheting her limbs under greater tension, the Wyvern Berserker trusted herself with more and more strength.

In retaliation, Legion brought his axe straight down in a cleaving blow. The weight of the strike was apparent in the contortion of the Warpriest's plates. Knowing the avatar she inhabited was strong was one thing. Actually taking and repelling a heavy blow from Legion was another. Harmony had no idea how much actual momentum she was going to try and stop. Based on what she knew of normal humans in the world, she had no doubt that her old self attempting the same would have had a result similar to a fly trying to defeat a windshield.

There was no time to think. Only act.

Harmony crossed Ebony and Ivory above her and caught the descending weapon in the crook formed by her own. As soon as the edges made contact, a shockwave rippled out from the point, flattening grass and buffeting the Silver Knights. It was the first time the business ends of both warrior's tools hit each other. Legion nearly lost his grip as his weapon rebounded off the monochrome axes as though he had been kicked by Sleipnir himself. The Warpriest shuddered as his chest and arm buzzing from the kinetic energy passing through him.

"How cunning! A [Force] enchantment, Lady Harmony? Your skill as a creator finds its way into every battle! How could any foe ever measure up to such ingenuity?"

Harmony blushed and hid the shame at what she felt as unwarranted praise by giving Ebony and Ivory a whirl. It seemed a lifetime ago that she had made them. They were the first items she had crafted with the bonuses offered by the Forgemother and had served her faithfully for years.

"C'mon, Legion, don't leave me hanging." The Wyvern Berserker quickly diverted attention back to their sparring.

At last in the tempo of the match, Harmony began one of her longer combos. Her stance turned, pulling her left foot back, keeping a high guard. She began, slashing vertically down with her forward weapon. To the Silver Knights the sound of axe on shield was like music. After that blow she twisted her body, spinning around to hit first with her left axe, then her right. One. One-two. Even if the Warpriest wished to counter at the Wyvern Berserker's exposed back, her ability activating made her accelerate too quickly. Another spin, this time with both axes coming together to strike at the same time. Just as she executed her final spin, the edges of her blades began to glow, leaving behind a streak of light in the wake of their passage.

Whirling Strike.

Unprepared for just how much punch his Lady had, Legion was sent flying up the hill through the crowd of Silver Knights. A proud red plume quickly reappeared over the crest of the hill as the Guardians returned. His soldiers slapped him on the back and arms in congratulation.

"Oh my goodness, Legion, I'm so sorry!"

"Ha! Ha! Why would you ever be sorry my lady! What a magnificent strike! This is the language of warriors, and it is my greatest honor to share even a singly blow with the great Queen Harmony! The Aegis of Muspelheim herself."

They squared up again. Although it would end up being her peak as the tide of the match turned. The sudden success had her second guessing herself as Legion seemed a lot faster than Harmony remembered. It was not that she was slow. Far from it. The tricky part on her side was she often over-compensated. She would move too soon, missing her counter attack and getting demolished by Legion's follow up. Then she would try and time herself slower and end up dodging too late.

Consequently, the problem was that the

With shield and axe, Legion controlled her center line, forcing her to move where he wanted and gradually wearing down her defenses.

[Fury Plates] dissolved under each successive hit by Legion, and each poor retort with Ebony and Ivory.

In a calculated move, Legion focused more on dodging Harmony's attacks and only used his axe when there was a solid opening. Normally, Harmony would cast pyromancy spells to keep pressure on her opponent and thereby keep her [Fury Plates] topped up. Guilt at possibly hurting her creation kept her from doing so. She tried to remember the last time she had faced such an intelligent opponent.

Harmony grew frustrated, then took a silly risk as her last [Fury Plates] shattered. Legion came in low, just like the sweep she had dodged earlier. This time she went in, hopping over the larger axe. Legion pulled his weapon tightly in to increase the speed of his turn and brought the edge of his shield slamming into Harmony's stomach. Grand Alliance mitigated much of the damage. However, Harmony still was body-checked mid air by an oncoming train. So after she fell into an undignified heap, she got up with a groan and a distinct ache.

"Lady Harmony, I thought... I thought you would dodge and I..." Poor Legion was nearly beside himself as he rushed to her side and helped his Fair Lady to her feet.

"Oh, Legion, you're fine. That was a good hit. I had forgotten about that move of yours. Let me cast something I should have before we started." She downplayed the hit, and while her armor had protected her, the plate rubbing against bruised midriff let her know the degree of blunt trauma she had received.

"[Crown Of Ishkala]."

Upon use, a crown of ivory antlers with golden cracks manifested, the circular talisman hovering between Harmony's horns. Crimson drops of blood purled up the branches and dripped upwards into the sky to evaporate. She took a moment to catch her wind back as the regenerative spell did its work and the pain receded.

Only unlocked by putting points into a healing class, the spell originated from her Scarlet Drake racial. According to the lore attached to the Tenth Tier spell, Ishkala was a dragon goddess of life and had been wedded to a human that had ascended to become the god of war. Just as most stories with deities involved, the war god was betrayed by his two jealous brothers, stabbed in the back by the very knife the man had used to claim godhood with even his name taken upon death.

Driven into an inconsolable rage in grief at the death of her husband, Ishkala had confronted the killers, goading them into slaying her with the dead war god's own blade. They obliged the widow's request and ran her through. Unbeknownst to the traitorous brothers, Ishkala's blood mixed with what still stained the blade. This perversion of war and nature ripped the life from the murderers. Vengeance was done, and at a terrible cost. The injury would be eternal. Ishkala's own power regenerated the wound just as her husband's essence kept it from ever closing. Tainted, the blood itself would try and escape her.

Irrevocably corrupted, the red goddess would walk the realms with her sanguine crown. Ever wounded. Eternally bleeding.

Harmony always loved that story. It reminded her of the game Echo of Damnation. There had been an alluringly indelible quality to the dark tone of the game. A captivating take on hopelessness that had never dulled Harmony to the silent character of the game, trudging on in the face of that melancholy towards an ultimate end that was never shown to the player. It was up to the individual to determine if their avatar made it to the light. The promised green country beyond all the grey.

Scarlet Drake's background texts and lore, with all the misery and woe, put Harmony at ease in much the same way. A cathartic escape from a poisoned world doing its best to snuff out her spirit. Her fire.

What the spell actually did was add a substantial pool of health that drip fed into her own as she took damage. Once the regeneration limit was reached the spell would dissipate though it had no set duration unlike most healing over time magic. Using instant healing spells was quite costly MP wise, so the longer Harmony got a fight to drag on, the better she fared. More than once she had overcome numerical odds because of her [Fury Plates] buying her enough time to use repeated castings of [Crown Of Ishkala], effectively multiplying the effective health of her avatar. Much like Legion, her physical damage output was rather abysmal comparatively. She was a front line tank first and foremost. Being Heteromorphic, it was easy to max out her base health and defense stats.

[Crown Of Ishkala]'s effect was laughable compared to [Ishkala's Blood Rain], but Super Tier was a bit overkill for a bruised stomach.

Breathing easier, Harmony hooked Ebony and Ivory on her belt.

"Thank you so much, Legion. That really helped me a lot. I think I'm still really out of practice though. I need to work on more technique. Need to remember." She had worked up a good sweat, and was expecting to be much more sore. Never in her human life had she fought so hard. Ever. Once, Lurk had convinced her to swing around some practice swords in their apartment. Although it had been fun, her arms and legs had burned for days afterward. Despite giving and recieving hits beyond mortal ken, her muscles were awake and ready for more. Some tenderness permeated her calves, yet nothing debilitating.

"Nonsense! You are the steel flower of The Citadel! The ever-burning flame. You are the best of us, Lady Harmony." Legion put away his weapons and bowed low in deference to his maker.

"You're sweet, Legion, but admit I am kind of rusty." Harmony twirled a lock of her crimson hair, tail curling dejectedly.

"Lady, you're as rusty as I am." He chuckled, and made her feel a little better.

A tap on Harmony's shoulder caused her to turn.

Crisis stood, his hands clasped together before him in hope, silently beseeching.

"Crisis! Hi, buddy, what is it?" Harmony felt guilty that he had just stood there watching her and Legion fight.

Crisis patted the blade sheathed on his hip, bowing his head and putting himself at her mercy. Even though Harmony wanted to stop and take a break after ending her bout in disappointment, she could not turn down the puppy dog eyes Crisis was giving her.

"I can't say no to that." She sighed, then gave a laugh and drew her weapons once more. Legion moved off to one side to give them space and cheer with the Silver Knights.

While his brother, Nox, could flit through darkness and shadow, Crisis had been made by Harmony to be a foil to that power. Master Fencer. Arch-Paladin. Seraph. Both brothers shared their Ashen Blood racial. Where Nox had been given the Abyssal side of the Ashen, Crisis was given the Celestial side. Individually, they were forces to be reckoned with. Complimentary builds that covered each other just as Lurk and Harmony did. Together through their racial, if either of them fell, they could become one. Corona Nox.

Harmony would be facing her half of the Guardian Overseer.

Crisis drew his longsword and toothed parrying dagger. As if he were winding a spring, Crisis moved with steady purpose, raising his blades into a hanging high guard. Harmony started slow, just as she had before, prowling the perimeter of the depression. Crisis did not.

His first strike came high and fast. So did the next one. And the one after. The clangs and [Force] augmented booms of their clash made it clear their engagement would be a much higher tempo.

A rhythm built between the two. Between creator and creation.

Whereas with Legion, Harmony had been the primary aggressor, here Crisis took the lead with his agility. He slowly probed Harmony's defenses, flicking his sword forward as would a serpent with its fangs. Ebony and Ivory were not always quick enough for her to deflect the attacks. Occasionally a playful jab would make it through, ringing against Grand Alliance. Crisis was not going to go on her as easily as Legion had. He knew what she needed.

Coming at her from different angles, he moved around her as he did so, forcing her to keep her feet shifting. Crisis came high, then low. Conserving her movement, Harmony used the power of Ebony and Ivory's force enchantment to buy herself space. Although far from common, [Force] was not the only weapon enhancement that existed and Harmony had made sure to set up the parrying dagger as off-hand defense to not activate often unfair powers. Harmony deflected a straight thrust of his longsword up, only for Crisis to lock her opposing axe with the sword-breaker teeth of his dagger while he shifted the grip of his longsword and brought the lower half of the blade hard into the gorget of Grand Alliance. A few of her [Fury Plates] shattered off her arm as Crisis retreated just as quickly before she could retaliate.

"Remind me not to underestimate you." Harmony concluded with a fierce grin. Sparring with Legion had made her feel uncontrollably fast. Now with Crisis, she was struggling to keep up. As a Crusader and Shield Lord, Legion was a metal mountain, an avalanche of axe and shield that seemed slow at a distance until one was swept up by its weight and breadth. Although strong, thunder was always slower than lightning.

Without words to answer, Crisis gave a sincere and honest bow at his Lady's praise.

Gradually, not just combos, but stances returned to Harmony as well. Crisis continued his steady pace and his constant probing of Harmony's defenses made her remember where and how to hold Ebony and Ivory. She had to pull up her big girl panties and strap on her tryhard boots that brought her back to those frenetic days of nonstop combat. If Harmony wanted to play YGGDRASIL to its fullest, she had to deal with all the good and bad that went along with the one of a kind game.

True to form, Crisis demonstrated a mastery of parry and riposte. Harmony could not just chop away with her axes and hope for the best. She had to choose her moments, lest she overreach and be punished handily for it. Even with all that preparation, she still had to contend with the Seraph's own trademark passive. With a feint of her own, the Wyvern Berserker got through Crisis' guard and rammed into a glittering sword of white glass that stopped her short of her target. The extra blade cracked and shattered in a brilliant display accompanied by a melodious chime.

If Legion was a reflection of Harmony's early game skills, then Crisis mirrored her later choices.

[Swordsnare] was a more active defensive skill than [Fury Plates] was, and worked as an arguably more valuable damage mitigation rather than just defensive points to burn.

Crisis jabbed low, then mid, and when his arm gave away his intent to go high, Harmony moved her weapons up only for Crisis to feint his attack. The tip of his blade rapped against her tasset three times before she bring an axe low enough to fend him off. Intelligence had graced an already formidable NPC with the intuition and planning to match any human. However, the Wyvern Berserker was not without her tricks. She had spent her fair share of time in the dueling arenas of Midgard. Adaptation helped separate the warriors from the chaff.

Harmony bided her time, building up her stacks of [Fury Plates] and presenting an opening to draw Crisis in. He would take the bait offered and Harmony would punish him in response, receiving a blow on her regenerating armor to deal one of her own even if it ultimately resulted in being stalled by [Swordsnare]. It reminded her to be patient under pressure. Wyvern Berserker was not about blind aggression. Though many short-sighted players had lamented the uselessness of a class they did not understand on online forums. So many that could not understand that Wyvern Berserker was meant as a stepping stone to other abilities.

After one especially fearsome clash that saw Ebony and Ivory cleaving through the white glass of [Swordsnare], Harmony's wrists flashed and her [Fury Plates] turned red.

Breaking away for a moment, Harmony stopped to consider whether she should or not...

"Fuck it." She mumbled half a second later. "Hey, Crisis, do you mind if I do something real fast?"

Emphatically, her Guardian bobbed his head, excited to see what his Lady was going to do.

While technically considered a different slot, the gauntlets of her Grand Alliance ensemble were one of many items enchanted to speed up charging her Scalebound ability. [Fury Plates] had a stack limit. Once reached, her gauntlets would pull that otherwise wasted potential into energizing the core power of that racial. Reaching inside, Harmony hovered between excitement and trepidation. Inside that fiery core of her being, a dragon stirred. All it needed was the right words.

"[Apex Shift]."

Its limbs unfurled to encompass her own. To bind her in scales, give her the breath of true life, and wrap her in a dragon's embrace.

Harmony was enveloped in a glow for less than a blink before her Scalebound armor was revealed. There was no lengthy transformation needed or specifically, any period of vulnerability. One of many reasons Harmony liked it. Not much of a battle skill if it took as long as a Super Tier spell to use after all. She stood as a weapon of war, head to tail in sleek crimson armor. Distinctly organic looking, [Apex Shit] subsumed Grand Alliance, building protection on top of her Divine gear.

A helmet wrought into a draconic muzzle made her visage reflect her true aspect while framing the red slits of her eyes. Her hair spilled out of the back of the helmet in a cascade of crimson. The [Crown of Ishkala] hovered between horns that turned as red as the blood from the crown. Her tail grew longer, thicker, and terminated in a blade with a wicked inward curve. When not in use, her wings doubled as extra armor. They could not be fully retracted as she could in her normal form. Instead the segmented panels draped about her like a cloak, thumbs locked together below her throat.

Harmony cracked her neck, rolled her shoulders, then twirled her axes. She felt her armor as her skin, moving and stretching with her. Flexible hide under ripples of scale and bone as hard as any Relic Iron or Darksteel. Static charge rippled down her limbs in waves of visible red current traveling between raised segments of the armor.

After the transition to the new world, she lacked context. Initially her new body had felt just like her old. At least on the surface. Sure, her senses were sharper, but she had at least grown familiar with the proportions of her avatar after spending twelve years on and off inside the digital manifestation. Then she began to understand the scope of what she had become. If before she was behind the controls of a fighter jet, now she hand her hands on the flight stick of an SR-71 Blackbird. Even then, the comparison was hardly fair.

"I hope you're ready, Crisis." A rumbling like a furnace undercut her voice. So energized she was fit to burst, Harmony was glad of both her warmup with Legion and the open space provided by the third floor. She raised Ebony and Ivory as her tail carved furrows in the ground.

Crisis spoke louder with his actions than he ever could with words.

His sword came straight across, chopping towards Harmony's middle with blistering speed. Even as her mind recognized how much her Guardian must had been holding back, her body moved in response. In a reverse stoke of Ebony and Ivory she caught the blade with the spike of her axes. Unable to overcome the strength of the lock, Crisis lunged forward with his parrying dagger only to have his wrist caught. Harmony had released her hold on one of her weapons to grab the incoming counter. Ivory scraped against the longsword as Ebony hung on by the hook of its edge. Using her greater strength, she flung the Seraph over her shoulder with the warrior skill Hip Throw. Her loose axe was flung high.

Harmony leaped before Crisis had even landed, grabbing Ebony mid-air as she did so to bring both of her axes down towards Crisis in a Leaping Strike.

The Fencing Master in Crisis would not be so easily defeated. He was already up, slashing at an angle that forced Harmony to abandon her leap and smack away his sword lest she take the blow directly. Divine Class items, especially weapons, always rang out with such defined clarity. With the temporary strength and agility boost provided by [Apex Shift], she could keep up with Crisis and then some. Harmony did not let the quick counter dissuade her, altering the vector of her assault by using the built in [Flash Step] in her armor. She appeared behind the Seraph and only his [Swordsnare] kept him from taking an axe to the back of his own armor.

One strategy she had developed for fighting other melee users was to charge up her [Apex Shift], exhaust all the special mana reserves for the unique abilities she could only use in that form as quickly as she could. Because if she reverted, then charged up [Apex Shit] again, it would refresh all of the temporary mana. However this was not the time to be unleashing an unhealthy amount of [Banefire]. This contest was about physical skill, not actually killing each other. So the innate bonuses to strength and speed were more than enough.

The pace of their sparring match increased accordingly.

It was her turn to go on the offensive, shifting the tides and raining down blow after blow. This was her. This was who Harmony had become. And always was too. The warrior queen. Moving. Leaping. Striking. Chaining together abilities and combos. Acting as a pivot upon which the battle balanced at her behest.

Crisis broke away to gain some space and Harmony did not immediately pursue. She adjusted her stance. Left foot forward, and her left axe held downward in line with her leg. Then she moved her opposite axe into a hanging right hold. Harmony wanted to second guess herself, but she pushed away the doubt and let her muscle memory settle her into just the right pose. With the stance held, it took just under one second for the ephemeral red tracing of Zeal to form around her weapons. Then all she had to do was let go.

Because of the speed imparted by her Heteromorphic racial form along with the agility boost provided by Zeal, afterimages of her arms were burned in the air as the Wyvern Berserker ability let her land six strikes as fast as she would execute two.

To his credit, Crisis parried two axe swings before his longsword was deflected too far by [Force] from him to effectively bring it to bear. [Swordsnare] manifested in a further three glass swords appearing and breaking into pieces. Despite his effort and abilities, the sixth hit made it through, nailing Crisis in the side of the head. His helmet took most of the impact but was knocked off. He had to roll with the blow, letting momentum carry him to the ground then correcting his backward tumble to stand back up.

Crisis snapped his gaze forward, holding his sword and dagger at the ready.

Even as he made ready for his Lady's next attack, he watched her Scalebound armor evaporate. Harmony hooked Ebony and Ivory on her belt and trotted forward to his aid.

"Crisis, are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't think I would hit you that hard." She looked him over and reached up to touch near the small gash below his temple. [Warmth] from her racials was enough to heal the minuscule scratch she had inflicted on her Guardian. She now understand how bad Legion felt from injuring her. Although he had no voice to speak, Crisis sheathed his blades, put his fingers near his lips and extended a flat palm in her direction which included a smile that put a gleam in his eyes. He laid his soul bare for her, to tell her that not having a voice was not an inconvenience for him because there were not enough words to express his devotion.

A bit overwhelmed and at a loss for words herself, Harmony bent down and retrieved Crisis' helmet. She fixed the pointed helm like a mother hen preening her chick. She took a step back to make sure it was on his head straight then lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Funnily enough, the Scarlet Dragoness was actually just a hair taller than the Guardian. Crisis was momentarily staggered by his Lady's strength, yet managed to keep his feet.

"Thank you, Crisis." She hummed as he hugged her back.

A boisterous suit of Living Armor somersaulted down the hill before grabbing up Crisis and Harmony into a metal embrace that easily engulfed them both.

"Haha! Yes! I love hugging!" Legion shouted over the applause of the Silver Knights at witnessing the might of the mythical Lady Harmony herself. "You two were magnificent! Thank you, Crisis for your assistance. I know you feel as I do. Honored to have been made by the greatest warrior to have ever lived!"

Harmony shrieked with laughter as Legion swung her and Crisis around like they were toys. An epiphany alighted within her heart in that moment as a dove would a branch.

Family.

Back in the old world, Lurk and Woodsolution had been her only family. The one she had chosen. Then and there, she realized that the most wonderful thing about coming to the new world was not the magic or flying. Those were nice, to be sure. Now she had a new family. One that knew only unconditional love, loyalty, and devotion. She was convinced of the rightness of staying that final day when the servers went down. Once the old world died, her duty became to be there for the new life within The Citadel.

After some convincing, Legion put Crisis and Harmony down. Although she had intended on having a bath after her practice, Harmony's adrenaline still surged. With the taste of [Apex Shift] still tingling on the tip of her tongue, she was ready for more. Instead of concluding her session on the third floor, Harmony considered what else her duty might demand of her.

So amid much excited talk and a massive crowd of Silver Knights that trailed after them, Harmony went to her own version of a shooting range.

In an area that had long been burned clean of grass, several large standing stones bore the scorch marks of pyromancy past. Harmony had to have somewhere to test her spells after all. She had stretched her legs with physical skills. Now it was the time for her true strength to shine. High Priestess. Wyvern Berserker. Slayer. Scalebound. Now it was time for the Scarlet Drake and Aegis of Muspelheim to take center stage as she took up position at a safe distance from her targets. Behind her, the whole of the third floor waited for their Lady to bare the soul of their homeland.

Magic had come far more naturally to the Queen of Black Sky than swinging around an axe. When she had asked Lurk about his, he had described his magic as potential. Bullets loaded in a magazine. Powder waiting to be ignited. Detonating cord ready to be measured. Clockwork logic to spend towards desired outcomes and other esoteric, difficult to follow talk from her forgets-to-use-smaller-words-for-his-sometimes-derpy-wife husband.

Hers was a flame. It had always been flame. Fire. Life of the heart. Kindling for the soul. In almost every game she played, Harmony pursued flame. Pyromancy. Flamethrowers. Molotovs. Firebombs. YGGDRASIL had put fire at her fingertips. Harmony took a deep breath and felt the flame breathe with her. Lighter than air. Warm. What was once a button and some pretty lights was thought and desire that manifested into heat. If she concentrated, a smoldering core lived in her chest in time with the beat of her own heart.

Reaching into that center, she pulled out the sun.

Harmony started with the simplest spell imaginable. First Tier. The lowest of the low. The stuff of every child's wizarding fantasy. Every pyromancer began in the same place. A spell as timeless as man's fascination with fire itself.

"[Fireball]."

In Harmony's hands, the spell was anything but simple. Flexing her slim draconic fingers around the raw orb of flame, Harmony wondered if it would hurt her without fire immunity. Burning liquid dripped between her red and gold scaled digits. The spell was essentially weightless in her palm, being more energy so dense it coalesced into liquid flame. When she clutched it tightly, there was solidity beneath its surface. Cocking her arm back as if about to pitch a baseball, she lined up her shot with the closest standing stone. She did not have to be a good throw either. Once it left her palm, the gesture of the toss was enough to send the [Fireball] towards her chosen target.

Just before impact, the projectile detonated in a spectacular diffusive explosion. The solid whump was a deeply gratifying accompaniment. Molten flame splattered all over the stone monolith as only the surface fuel of the spell had been bled off by its ignition. As the standing stone kept burning, Harmony's heart fluttered with a dangerously enticing thrill. She knew that fire behaved differently from the game. That much was already clear. Being the one to start it gave the pyromaniac in her way too many ideas.

She lobbed a few more, [Fireball] nearly being free for her to cast. Aegis of Muspelheim gave her pyromancy the molten effects, but the Ebonheart ring made the standing stones burn and burn and burn. Damage over time meant little if the duration was worth the price of ignition. Flashing with the fire spreading nearby, the rings snagged her attention. Lurk had not been the only one to farm Heart of Muspelheim raid for a specific item, with the rough cut obsidian Ebonheart ring resting between Wreathfire and Crucible as proof of that. Harmony held up her hands to admire the burning stones between splayed fingers with the glittering precious metals and enchanted jewels framing the bonfire.

Just as Lurk did, Harmony wore the Temporal ring for protection against time magic. Hydra for immunity against instant death. And rather than a Soulbound, she just had an insurance ring to make it so if she died in the game world she would lose nothing of value. Those were her six rings formed the basic loadout that she kept equipped at all times. The other four fingers she left open for different scenarios. During an event in the twilight years of the game, she had won a large pack of the cash shop item which let avatars exceed the default ring limits and had indulged herself with item combinations.

Watching her targets burn made Harmony realize why Lurk spent so much leisure time in his shooting range. Getting into that old mindset was painfully easy. Assess, and attack.

"[Rebuke]."

Power with a word and a gesture. One standing stone, still burning, had its upper half pulverized into chunks of stone shrapnel. Completely invisible and instantaneous, the spell was the ranged version of [Force]. Little direct damage, especially to higher level entities, yet the stun it inflicted was far too good for such a quick cast.

"[Cindervines]."

The roots of the shattered World Tree that ran through Muspelheim answered the call of its protectors. Ever-burning, the roots groaned, the splits in the wood glowing from inner fire as they constricted another monolith and crumbled it to rubble.

"[Magma Spear]."

Harmony commanded the blood of goddesses and the earth. Melted stone which flowed in rivers through the veins of the worlds punctured through the ground and bored holes through the standing stones before falling away.

"[Lava Axe]."

One of her most visually impressive Ninth Tier, the spell acted exactly as one would expect. An axe of exaggerated size manifested out of the fires still burning. Its surface ebbed and flowed with all the dangerously enticing beauty that real lava possessed. Again with terrible ease, Harmony made reality bend to her will, targeting the largest monolith still standing. The standing stone in question was split down the middle, its bisected halves falling away with the core of the monument resembling smooth glass from the heat imparted by the cut.

Of the many spells in her repertoire, these were some of her favorites. Ones she had always had on her quick select bar. Especially spells that helped control or corral her opponent. What they also did was help to extend her [Fury Plates]. Even her pyromancy was full of spells that served towards the Wyvern Berserker ability. A hit with [Lava Axe], [Cindervines], or [Magma Spear] gave her just as many stacks of protection as a full melee combo did.

"Go on, Lady Harmony! Give us another!" Nearly bouncing, Legion shouted encouragement that was soon echoed by the Silver Knights.

Despite Harmony's smile and wave being sheepish, she could not well begin a show and not have a finale. Exploring her magic reminded her that there was a higher order.

Super Tier.

Stepping eagerly, the Scarlet Dragoness sprinted slowly down to the blackened edge of the area where the standing stones were re-forming themselves so they could be used again. Up close they were much larger, only pouring more gasoline on her urge to see them truly burn.

A few drops of trepidation gave her pause until they evaporated before

"[Creation Began With Flame]."

Glyphs rose from the ground around her feet, said to be the old bindings of the original flame. They sprouted, then themselves burned. Unraveling symbols rose from the pyre of the greater wards that were blackened and charred as flakes of ash. She let the summoning run its course, until a modest blaze flowered into existence before the Aegis of Muspelheim. It did not burn with yellow, or even blue. Its glow was pure white, leeching the color from all the surroundings. It hovered just out of reach as it grew larger, shedding sparks which lazily floated down like drifting flakes of snow hot enough to burn the world.

The intensity of the light bleaching her surroundings made the other fires from her earlier spell seem dim as a starless midnight. Color so raw that even Legion had to shield the eye slit of his helmet. Only Crisis was bright enough on his own to look directly at his Lady's radiance.

From Harmony's open hand, a small arcane circle appeared, then zipped up to wrap around the growing fragment of creation. As soon as the band was in place, the magic crushed it tight, compacting the unruly plasma with additional bands until the whole thing more resembled an aperture of a celestial body. Etheric flame bloomed in fits and starts beyond the bounds of its containment, but for the most part stabilized into a palm sized package.

As far as Super Tier was concerned, the casting time was quite short. Little over twenty seconds. Twenty-two, in fact, as Harmony counted. Within the context of the dizzying heights of that Tier, [Creation Began With Flame] was simple in effect too. Rather than some of the truly bombastic pyromancy associated with Super Tier, all it did was enhance the next fire spell or ability used. Only more Super Tier was off limits to the effect. After long and arduous testing and experimentation, Harmony had come to the conclusion that the one shot buff was only worth using on one specific thing.

Aegis Of Muspelheim's penultimate class ability.

"[Scorched Earth]."

For a moment there was dark as the white-hot light of creation went out. Until Harmony began to glow in its place. Every blade of grass within a dozen feet of her that had survived until that point dissolved into powdered ash. The ground cracked under her, buckling beneath the weight and heat. The surfaces of the standing stones within the radius of her class ability started to glow with heat and soon ran like hot wax. Sharp cracks resounded as the stones bowed and their structure buckled, the softened sides unable to support the mass of the monoliths above. As they fell, those that came into contact with the boundary of Harmony's domain fully melted. Though not a drop of molten rock touched her, sloughing off like summer rain.

Silver Knights whispered in awe, honored that they were there to witness their Lady's fire. In years past, some had seen her use the ability once during her tests. They told their shield brothers how any foe who did not had perfect resistance to fire would burn to cinder just by Queen Harmony's presence alone. Poison resistance was one of the most common. Fire resistance was a close second. But fire immunity? Nearly unheard of.

Augmenting her class ability with Super Tier took setup that was usually untenable in a duel. Opportunity to use the combination on other players had only come up under quite specific circumstances. And each time Lurk and Woodsolution had been glad to have been on Harmony's side. Its power had been what inspired Lurk to design the defense mechanism of the treasury.

As easy to dismiss as it was to call upon, Harmony ended her buffs and turned her arms over, marveling at how Grand Alliance remained untouched by her power. Content that her practice had been both worthwhile and fruitful, she trotted up the hill to talk with Legion more.

However there was one slight problem.

Just because she could not be hurt by fire, did not mean she was immune to sweating. More due to her exertions raising her temperature than the pyromancy. As she moved and shifted a bit, feeling tracks of liquid trickle down her back and her undergarments mushed against intimate areas in a way that told her it was time for a bath.

***BSL***

Gloriously, splendidly, wonderfully detached from all worldly concerns, Harmony floated languidly along in one of The Citadels smaller, but no less impressive baths.

More like an Olympic pool sized hot tub, wisps of steam flowed across the surface of the water. After washing away the worst of the grime and caked on salt from dried layers of sweat, Harmony swam on her back to relax. Bubbles drifted around her from where she had lathered herself with a bar of lavender soap and sandalwood oil.

Idly, her hand traced down her stomach, entranced by how relaxed and loose she felt, her fingers idly played with the scales peppering her southerly regions. Pulling her tightly folded petals to one side, she moaned as the warm water kissed her nethers. From the elbow down, she resembled Lurk in his more draconic aspect. Smooth scales adorned the back of her hands and forearm, with most of the rest being red hued hide. Unlike Lurk, she was not hindered by sharp claws and finger pads. Hers just looked sharp, yet good thing for her flower, were not in danger of damaging anything.

Dipping two fingers into the channel of her sex, she was greeted by a salacious amount of lubrication. Sliding down between the lips, her tunnel tried to suck her fingers right in as wetness poured from her honeypot. Other than regularly soaked panties whenever Lurk teased her, Harmony had yet to encounter any annoyances from getting so aroused so easily. Maybe the gold rings and rubies dangling from her breasts were in flavor text about her racial she did not remember. Having such an erotic body definitely had its perks.

When they had woken up that morning, Harmony had bent over for Lurk's plowing pleasure. As he more often than not did when mounting her, he rubbed her sensitive tailhole, making her shiver and clench while he slammed the far wall of her sex.

Already indulging herself in a bit of decadent deviance, Harmony decided to do the same in the bath. Her tail stiffened as she reached her other hand around the base of her extra appendage. Just running the tip of her finger around the guarded hole sent jolts to the rest of her feminine core. So acutely pleasurable it almost hurt, she slicked her two fingers up and down the length of her puffy slit before settling on her nub. Harmony pulled back her hood and set the bundle of nerves carefully between her digits.

Rubbing herself on both sides made her scaly toes clench and her abdomen grew tighter. Tail shivering, Harmony spread her legs and pushed herder with her fingers. Normally she was reserved, climaxing in demure, ladylike ways. Nope, not this time. She was by herself so could wreck her delicates if she damn well pleased. Which is precisely what she did, pushing hard as she came and letting out a healthy deluge of aureate cum. Clenching her eyes shut and bucking her hips, Harmony rode out the waves of pleasure as release crashed through her. Gradually her pussy eased down from her climax, still occasionally twitching and leaking, staining her fingers. Need pulsed through her, making her spine tingle in the come down. Though she was only left partially satisfied, her butt yearning for something preferably thick and male buried in it.

Although playing with herself had been a fun distraction, it was time to get out.

Attention to detail when it came to authentic recreation meant there was a small rinsing bath of slightly cooler water just a step away from the main pool.

Even while rinsing and cooling off Harmony still felt a bit amorous. Twisting tendrils of desire wound their way up her thighs and down her stomach to sit heavily in that heavenly knot of libido and hormones that was her scaly womb. Getting herself off had been a nice exercise in relaxation after her actual exercise with Crisis and Legion. However, what she really wanted was a nice hard cock filling her. Just the idea of Lurk breathing heavily in her ear while his manhood stretched her womanly depths was enough to make Harmony's golden dew bead up along her slit.

Since Lurk was a hot-blooded male, all she really had to do was wear something revealing and flag her tail. Hell, sometimes just blowing warm air across his neck was enough to provoke him. There were times Harmony did this even if she herself was not horny. She just enjoyed being desired. And how he desired her. The craving in her chalice moved up to warm her heart as well. Wringing the water out of her hair, Harmony contemplated what she could do that would be special. On one hand, she was fairly certain that Lurk would be happy with any measure of surprise sex. On the other, she wanted to know what would really get him going. Hit just those right buttons.

Stepping out of the rinsing pool, Harmony plucked a fresh cotton towel from a nearby tray and began to towel off while her passive heat dried her voluminous hair.

So how to decide? Well, her experiences with Legion and Crisis had given her further insight into how the temperament of the creator affected the inhabitants of The Citadel. Tastes and humor had been imprinted in one way or another. So then, she wondered if the maids knew what Lurk would enjoy since they were mostly created by him? It was worth a shot. At least she could get a second opinion and maybe a little ego stroking.

"Is anybody there?" Harmony called out. As she had quickly discovered in The Citadel, there was always one of the Lamias waiting outside whatever bath she chose.

Quick as a flash, not one but three of the maids slithered into view. They approached to within a respectful distance and bowed.

"You called, great Lady of The Citadel? What service do you require?" Implored the middle one.

"I'm not taking you three away from anything, am I?" Harmony quietly admired the striking color palettes of the three. One was a shimmering green, the second had mostly white scales with pink rose speckles, while the third bore a remarkable black and orange piebald pattern.

The maids all gasped at the thought.

"Never, Fair Lady! We were just finishing with our cleaning duties before heading off to practice." The middle of the trio did not have visible piercings like the other two. Instead, colorful floral tattoos wrapped her arms from fingertip to shoulder.

"Practice?"

"Terribly sorry once more, Fair Lady. We're the musicians for the throne room. I'm Flora! I play the piano!"

"It is a great honor, Madame, I am Citrouille. I am the harper of our group. But-but-but! My friends call me Pumpkin!" Stammered the black and orange piebald Lamia. Citrouille had longer ears and a trio of hoops through her lower lip.

"Hm," Harmony pondered Citrouille for a moment. "Haven't I seen you with Nox once or twice?" Harmony thought the pibald Lamia seemed familiar. She remembered how cute snakebite lip rings were on a Lamia.

Citrouille's face went bright cherry red at the mention of Nox. Flora snagged the tip of her sister's long ear and spoke teasingly close enough for her breath to tickle Citrouille's nape.

"Puuumpkin, Lady Harmony no doubt knows all about your salacious affairs with our High Lord's shadow. I watched him pull down your top the last time." Flora slipped two fingers down the front of her sister's uniform and almost popped Citrouelle's breasts out before the pibald Lamia swatted Flora away.

"I refuse to speak of that-" Citrouille's speech devolved into a stream of french expletives. "I have caught that charlatan 'fooling around' with miss Silkeena, a Corsair, three Demi-Claws at the same time, and at least two of the Arboretum Nymphs. And probably more!"

Last of the bunch, the tan speckled Lamia peaked through a curtain of blonde hair.

"I'm... Uh... My name-I mean... I'm Cream. I play the cello. I'm sorry, you're just so beautiful, Fair Lady. I've always dreamed of seeing you. Not... Just in a towel, but, I mean! Not that I wouldn't mind seeing you naked I-I-I just... Always saw you... From... Afar." Cream's voice was softer than goose down and sweeter than Forbidden Honey.

Inadvertently, Harmony glanced down at Cream's chest. She had the largest bust of all four of them and it made her wonder how many of the Lamia's names and appearances were randomized and how much was purposeful on Lurk's part. Or in the case of Cream and Pumpkin, if he had just been hungry at the time. Likely the extra detail came from them being the musicians for the throne room.

"Cream, you're lucky the cooks don't use you instead of condensed milk because of how sweet you can be." Flora giggled.

"So, girls, I need your help with something, if you don't mind. I want to surprise Lurk with something sexy. Really I just need a second opinion on some outfits I bought in Kadusia." Harmony had thoroughly dried off, so dropped her towel. She was given over to being coy or bashful around Lurk, but had few qualms about nudity in front of other women. Reaching into her inventory, she pulled out sets of underwear.

"My Lady, can I ask something?" Poor Flora's ears were flushed with heat. Her expression puckered as if she had just bitten into a raw lemon.

"Of course." Harmony beamed.

"Do your piercings make your breasts too sensitive sometimes?" The maid in question pulled down the front of her uniform. Adorning the smallest bosom of the trio, silver barbells held the Lamia's buds snug.

"Those are so cute!" Harmony exclaimed. She looked down at herself, lifting her bosom and lightly tugging on the rubies dangling from the rings. "Should I do something different? I never knew I would like these, but Lurk absolutely loves them. Sometimes it's a bit too much when Lurk touches them, which is all the time. But I don't dislike it."

"Men and boys are all the same. Give them something to play with and they turn into putty." Noted Citrouille. Harmony and the girls all laughed at the truth of it.

"But what should I use? I like those barbells." Tapping her foot in contemplation, Harmony did not think she had anything else. Without question, Flora reached to pull out her own before Harmony stopped her.

"No, no, no! You don't have to do that. I don't want yours, silly. My goodness."

"I think gold is best suited to you, Lady Harmony. I might have just the thing." Flora produced a pair of barbells with wrought golden roses on either side. They were small so they would frame Harmony's buds rather than overshadow them, like complimentary jewels to the centerpiece of a ring.

"Those are perfect!" Harmony's tail swished behind her. Though as soon as she took them and looked down at herself, she had second thoughts. Could she just use magic to equip them? What if they did not fit right? Her poor nipples nearly shriveled at the thought.

"So, could one of you maybe help me with these? Magic is different in this world, so I don't want to accidentally do something wrong with my boobs."

"It would be my honor, Lady Harmony! I help the others with their own from time to time."

Flora worked quickly, her touch was gentle as could be. Harmony shivered when the golden hoops were pulled free and gooseflesh broke out over her breasts at the strange empty feeling before dainty fingers slipped the barbells into place and screwed the roses together on either side. Flora slithered back to admire her work and the three maids all cooed at the beauty of their Fair Lady.

"Since... We... Um, I mean... Since we're asking... Can I ask you something, Fair Lady?" With a mouse squeak of shyness, Cream buried her face in her hands. Lurk's traits had definitely made their way into this one whether he knew it or not. He used the same tone and manners whenever Harmony teased him about sex. The virile male could tease her all day long, but as soon as she turned the tables he became timid as could be.

"Yeah, yeah! Please! I love learning more about all of you."

Three tails gave delighted waves.

"Well, I have a piercing I wanted to ask you about too, except..." The maid trailed off and reached down to worry at the hem of her skirt. Cream dipped her head so her silver hair shielded her eyes.

"You can tell us, sister." Citrouille encouraged.

"Hm!" The shy Lamia cried, unable to speak as she lifted her uniform. The champagne and vanilla scales of her snake half joined to the smooth skin of her belly. Since the Lamias could not functionally accommodate normal underwear, her bare sex was exposed. A pale slit with just a sliver of pink sat at the junction of the maid's hips. At the top of the tightly pursed petals a steel ball caught the light. A polished ring hung through the sphere with three polished pink pearls dangling in a line. The pearls were tucked into the Lamia's delicates. Her feminine petals held the little treasures like an actual flower folded around jewels would.

"Wow," Harmony gasped. "That's beautiful." She crouched down to get a better look.

"Cream, I can't believe you've kept such a secret from your sisters." Flora spoke as she and Citrouille lowered themselves on their coils on either side of Cream.

"I was t-t-too shy to talk about it." Although she shut her eyes tightly, Cream kept her skirt hiked up so Harmony could see.

Wanting a closer examination herself, Flora placed her hands on either side of Cream's vulva and parted the Lamia's lower lips. Though she squirmed and weakly protested, Cream did not pull away. A curved silver barbell was vertically pierced through the hood of her own pearl. Because she was spread and the hood pulled back, the actual pearls that dangled from the top barbell ring rested alongside her nub.

"That's incredible, dear Cream." Citrouille spoke with admiration, then worry. "Does that hurt at all? Is that why you've been so insatiable with Lord Koh lately?"

"No, no, no, nothing like that. It doesn't stimulate me on its own. Not usually, at least. But when Koh and I... It makes me... Ah... Feel better. That's all. Not like Croquette, anyway. Hers... Have you ever heard her ringing?"

"I always assumed she had bells under her shawl like... Oh. Oh my. So she has... Down there... With a bell?" Citrouille's eyes went wide while she was caught between amusement and sympathy.

"She told me that when she moved and it rings it... Pulls and... Flora, that's sensitive!"

Flora giggled as she let go of the dangling pearls.

"I would never get that myself. It's beautiful, don't get me wrong. I love body jewelry, but big needles near my girly bits makes me a smidge uncomfortable down there." Harmony reached up and fiddled with two of her earrings. Her human ears had been jungle gyms of hoops and had given her Scalebound avatar a few accessories as well. Lurk had no doubt been influenced by his wife in all things when adding little flairs to the maids. Just as Harmony had new adult additions, so too did the Lamia maids.

"I'm terribly sorry for our selfishness, Fair Lady." Cream winced as she smoothed her skirt back down. "We were supposed to help you."

"Well, anyway I was thinking about surprising Lurk with anal sex and-

"Yes, do that!" All three responded in unison.

"I mean, I'd love to do that, it's just we've never managed before? Lurk is very-" Harmony measured out a length with her hands that had the Lamias staring. "Proportionate." She finished.

"I might know just the thing, Fair Lady!" Cream exclaimed, producing a round glass flask that seemed familiar. "I heard from one of the mighty Corsairs about this. I guess they have a lot of... Need for such things."

Taking the flask, Harmony swirled the thick gel inside.

"We've used the rose oil from Loam, and it's pretty nice. Is this other stuff any good?"

"Oh it's simply the best, my Lady! I have three more bottles if you need them. It makes mating so smooth that your partner just glides right in. And it also does this wonderful thing where you can stretch without any discomfort. I think it would be perfect for you, Fair Lady." Obviously a bit too distracted, the Lamia gazed at something far away as she bunched up her skirt in her hands. "Why, with it, I could take all that Lord Koh had to give."

Even though she did not get what the maid was implying at first, Harmony smirked, wondering if the poor thing was about to start drooling in lust.

"Sister! You were able to fit both of Lord Koh's members?" Flora gasped.

"Wait, Koh has two cocks?" Harmony sputtered.

"You didn't know, Fair Lady? You created him as a Naga."

"Ah. Well. Help me pick some clothes, would you?"

Nodding eagerly, the three Lamias squealed in feminine delight as Harmony laid out the options. Panties were flung. Bra shapes were compared. Quibbling over material was had. Then lastly, after some deliberation of the various pieces of lingerie she had bought with Queen Ismeena, decisions were made.

First was a pair of black crotchless panties. Unlike some designs, these were more subtle. There was not a large gap to leave her delicates exposed, rather just a slit in the underwear that followed her own. This kept the secret of the lingerie intact until she spread herself. Lurk could just dip right into her with the sexy black lace to cradle him the whole way in. The underwear sat beneath her tail, but her preposterously loose short shorts had their own slit in the back that her tail slipped into. Aside from being obscenely comfortable, the red shorts had the added bonus of pulling tight if she bent over. With the crotch of the article hugging closely to Harmony's mound as she did so. Both Queen Ismeena and the tailor had been quite impressed at both the material choice and sexy fun functionality of the short shorts.

A very well fitted matching bra went with the panties, courtesy of a magically gifted tailor that could adjust garments with a spell. The black cups were cut so that the top of her areola peaked through the fine lace lining the cups. It also lifted and squeezed her bosom a touch. Just enough to accentuate her bust and pronounce her cleavage. Over that went a baggy tank top that matched the shorts.

"I need to drop a subtle hint to Lurk that I want him balls deep in my butt. Hm... Subtle. Oh! I know what he'll get." In a flash, flourish, and a touch of magic, Harmony shaped a dark pink sapphire into a butt plug. Popping open the flask of lube, she poured a generous dollop of the clear gel and got to work.

Raising her tail, she pulled her shorts aside for easy access and slipped the tip of her new toy into the slit of her panties. Heavy lube smeared over her guarded ring of muscle. Applying pressure until the pink sapphire spread her luscious haunches, she felt no discomfort just as promised. Whilst trying to work in the bulbous head of the toy, Harmony worried that she had made it too large as her rear opened wider and wider. Until she pushed just a bit harder and the largest part popped into her butt. Letting out a surprised gasp, her rear clenched at the sudden penetration. Throbbing in excitement, her tailhole settled on the tapered stem of the toy as the round base held it snugly in place.

Flora, Cream, and Pumpkin were all stunned to silence as they watched their Fair Lady bend over and insert the plug. Harmony bounced up, giggling and shaking her haunches at the delightful pressure on her insides.

"Oh I can't wait to see his face." Harmony announced before setting off, occasionally stopping to clench and feel the toy move with her.

After picking their jaws up off the floor, the three Lamias followed.

***BSL***

Lurk's slit pupils darted across an ever-growing, living map of the continent. His coat was draped over chair beside him, and his tail periodically twitched like a great cat on the hunt as he stood studying the map table.

It was an enchanted, scale model that expanded as members of Black Sky Legion explored the world around them. Small flags representing each of the Caliber Court were scattered across the board. The map could be used to zoom in on one specific area, rendering cities in stunning detail, or pulled back for a total view. Exploration had been a large part of the old game, so cartography tools ranged from the simple, to the complex.

On the ninth floor, the 'war room' as Lurk called it, had gone through the most renovations since their arrival into the new world. It was one of many rooms which opened from the branching halls of the throne room. As he started using the war room's map increasingly often, it gradually became a center of his daily operations in The Citadel. Neatly fulfilling a needed space to coordinate and plan their larger strategy. The room was a project Lurk had abandoned once. Its utility faded with Lurk's own interest in YGGDRASIL. While the uniquely enchantment of the table could only be made and used in a guild hall, it still had limitations.

While certainly impressive when it had been filled by the lava rivers and crags of Muspelheim, no one of Black Sky had ever needed to use it. Muspelheim was their home. They spent so many hours scouring its seemingly boundless miles, all three knew many secrets of the land that could not be found on any forum or guide. That did not appear on any map. Green grottoes. Crystal labyrinths hidden beneath volcanoes. Glitched out pockets of the Glowing Sea where the radiation had no effect.

When he had come to the war room the first time after the transfer, he had been greeted by the map table frozen in the last instant of the game. A snapshot of a world that had been left behind. Its lava rivers had stopped flowing. Storms frozen. And if one were to zoom in far enough, monsters could still be seen. No longer did the Fire Lily fields sway from the gusts of passing Wyverns. The Primal Fire Elementals all slept. And the central city sat more like a toy model, moored by its massive chains to the mainland, the streets no longer filled by the ambient music of Muspelheim.

Lurk could not bring himself to erase the table, and was grateful for the Forgemother making a fresh one, tuned to the new world. The old table had been moved to its better home in the Hall of Memories. The man who found himself king made sure to keep at least one reminder close by. Soot lay sleeping, curled around a small pile of Skuld's Favor. From the Valkyrie's Downfall expansion, Skuld was Muspelheim's quest giver. Her coins bore the symbol of that chapter of YGGDRASIL's history with Muspelheim's nature giving the currency their unique red cracks. Valkyrie's Nanite Oath hummed on his finger whenever his claw strayed too close to Skuld's tokens.

Leaning against the unfinished border, he pondered what dragons may lay beyond its edges. As Lurk rubbed a claw in idle thought along his jaw, a messenger ghoul arrived. A portal opening and closing as the ghoul settled on a standing perch with a rasp of metal feathers. The undead raven delivered its message with articulate clarity.

"High Lord, The watchtower construction team report that the foundation for the first concrete tower will begin pouring tomorrow."

At Lurk's behest, Skitharix had crafted many more messenger ghouls to ferry orders and reports directly to and from the war room. The undead ravens themselves were a one-time investment of MP and resources whereas [Message] itself was not. Just like [Gate], the portals that the messenger ghouls operated through could not fail and had no limit on distance. The Forgemother had given her assurance that they could be tied into the teleportation network of The Citadel to give them the same ease of access as the Guardians. Two overhead perches that extended the length of the room were crowded with the creatures as Lurk had made the mistake of not specifying exactly how many he wanted before the first batch arrived.

"Excellent. Tell the construction team to let Nox or I know if they hit any problems that might slow them down." Lurk's attention shifted to the mountains around The Citadel as he gave his order.

Just as the first ghoul departed, another arrived to take its place.

"High Lord, temporary watchtower teams have counted five new bandit attempts today. All neutralized without incident. Continued increase in number is not in line with estimates."

Running his tongue across his teeth, Lurk rubbed his jaw harder.

"Hm, they're still trying after all this time. Tell the temporary watchtower team to coordinate with hunting squads. I want the next few groups who try to be captured alive."

A flap of razor pinions, a flash, and the ghoul was off.

Holding out an arm brought one of the many ravens waiting overhead down to him.

"Please tell Skitharix to expect some guests that I want questioned. Bandit attacks are not slowing down and I want to know why. Tell him I am instructing his Flayer squads on the surface to bring in the next bunch who attack our watchtowers alive."

The many eyes painstakingly etched into the armored bird flashed as the ghoul bowed, then sped off to its assignment. However, there was still one more bird waiting to deliver its correspondence.

"High Lord, the Frighteningly Beautiful and Ever Deadly Phage the Untouchable wishes to propose and discuss an idea for war games at your earliest convenience. Also because she wants to sit down and have a meal together. And that I not tell you that part."

Snorting back laughter, Lurk took a moment to compose himself before responding.

"Tell her I'd love to hear all about it. That sounds like a tomorrow around lunch time sort of thing, if you could pass that along."

Another flash, and the message was away on metal wings.

The doors to the war room were left open for the many comings and goings of ghouls and the occasional Corsair runner. He had sent Nox to check with Wrath and Ruin about setting up gun emplacements for the outer defenses being built and was expecting the Guardian back soon. So when three Lamia heads peaked in, Lurk looked over just in time to see Harmony saunter in. The maids all whispered and giggled to one another as the Queen pranced right up to her King.

"Hello, sweetheart. Everything okay? How did practice with Legion go?" Lurk nuzzled Harmony's cheek. "Mm, you smell nice." Rubbing his nose into the fluffy mess of red hair, Lurk exhaled tension he did not realize he had been carrying.

"It went really well. I think I'll do more tomorrow." Harmony gave a quick sniff of her own, detecting something else below the cleaning oil and gunpowder that permeated Lurk's clothing. "Did you light some incense? Reminds me of clove."

"It's nice that old items have actual uses now. I don't remember the name of it, but it helps me concentrate." Lurk deflected, before turning the conversation away from a potentially difficult topic.

Sweeping out an arm, he indicated the many unfinished edges of the map.

"Things are still a bit of mess right now, but we're making progress. Fives is in it for the long haul. Incredible how far the Coalition armies travel to go to war. Grendel has mostly skirted the edges of the mountains but is starting to make headway northward."

Even as he talked, one claw idly played with Harmony's hair.

"Lapua's hit a bit of a dead end with the Death Lure. No pun intended. She's in the higher ranks of the Seekers guild and has been using them to search for who may have planted it outside Kadusia, but so far the trail is cold. There is one more place we can look. We've gotten reports from her, Nitro, and Ten Gauge about somewhere called the Meteor Fields. Which, if the rumors are to be believe, is the only place Death Lure could have come from. The Shoggoth which attacked Ten Gauge came from one of these relics too. Apparently there's a substantial market for artifacts that very much seem like they came from YGGDRASIL."

The sliver of the bizarre southern forests had only just begun to form on the table in the last few days.

"According to the word, the Meteor Fields are beyond this huge forest jungle hybrid thing. Mags is on the lookout for locals. I've told her to be extremely cautious in case it means players. Once she gets there, the map should be fill in and we'll get a better idea on what we're dealing with. I've told the others to collect what artifacts they find. Lapua thinks she can leverage her status with the Seekers to get a look at what the Kadusia arcane college might have. Ten Gauge is pulling double duty by taking care of some organized crime problems in Orza. And Nitro thinks he might be able to get himself invited to a poker game hosted by Oxelan ship captains."

"That is all very interesting hun, but did you notice anything about me?" Harmony's tail wagged before she could stop it. Excited chills raced down her back as a result.

"Oh, you do look very cute. But, you always look cute."

A chorus of giggling caused Lurk to look back at the three maids, then to Harmony.

"While I'm glad to hear that, there is a little detail you're missing. God I love how dense you are sometimes."

Harmony had to grab her husband's claws and guide his palms onto her rear. Even then, he still did not fully get the hint. His palms stayed glued to her cheeks, happily engrossed in rubbing her luscious butt until Harmony dragged his claws further. Slipping right into her loose shorts, he brushed the base of her tail until nudging something hard.

"Is that..." Trailing off, the pad of his claw circled the plug in Harmony's rear. A grin a mile wide gradually split his muzzle. Pushing on the toy, his kindling desire was quickly stoked to a bonfire as Harmony moaned at the touch.

"If we go to our room I'll be happy to show you what it is and where it is." Just to make absolutely sure her message was getting across, she pressed her mound against his thigh with a low whine.

Without a moment to lose, Lurk scooped Harmony up into a bridal carry and marched out of the war room. Alternating between laughing and warbling in pleasure, Harmony snaked her tail around Lurk's middle as they quickly moved toward the bedroom. As his pants grew horrendously tight, the draconic man still found a way to nuzzle into the soft hollow of his wife's throat and palm her rear.

Lurk pointed at one of the Lamias. Because of course the musical trio had followed their creators from the war room all the way to the threshold of their private chambers.

"Harmony and I are not to be interrupted. Nox can handle things for a little while. If anyone has any issues, they are to take it up with him."

"Y-y-y-yes, sir, High Lord!" Cream saluted so quickly she nearly bruised her chest.

Shutting the door with his tail, Lurk nearly ran straight over to their large bed and immediately made his own desire known. He got between Harmony's legs and pressed his own needy length against the plush mound, even hidden behind several layers of clothing. She continued to let out cute little sounds as he grinded against her, hot breath and equally hot tongue ravishing behind her ear and the weak spots on her neck.

Tingling in all the best ways, Harmony slipped free and put a hand to her lover's chest.

"You're not allowed to move, mister. You just sit right there, okay?" She purred. First thing she did was yank off his shirt. Running her palms down the burgundy scales of his chest, she reached his waist and unbuckled his pants.

His ridged length sprang free of his boxers and Harmony was reminded why she had such worry about something that large going into her quite small hole. Then she pushed those silly thoughts aside. She had prepared with a warm bath, a butt plug, and seemingly magical anal lube. Just in case Loam's special concoction did not work, she wanted to make sure he was satisfied. She began by trailing a single finger up the pronounced bulge running along the underside of his cock. Every time she bumped a ridge, his length twitched. A drop of clear pre-cum welled up at his tip. Too much of a good thing to waste, she peppered his shaft with kisses before taking the head of his cock between her lips.

Although her mouth was still human-sized, with a bit of practice she had managed to perfect being able to force his length as far as she could without gagging, then corkscrew her tongue the rest of the way. Feeling him twitch in her mouth was one thing. The ache that grew in her jaw as his girth strained her. Running her tongue along his ridges and bobbing up and down. But when the head of Lurk's member throbbed with him rubbing the back of her throat, her sight went fuzzy around the edges as she became faint from the sheer eroticism. She was so worked up from walking around and holding the sapphire plug that she nearly made a mess of her panties then and there.

Pulling back with a gasp, a string of gossamer saliva trailed off her lips for a moment.

Giving a laugh that turned into a flirty giggle, Harmony unhooked her bra and tossed it onto the bed. Pulling her tank top down, she gave Lurk a wonderful showing of her new piercings. Completely hypnotized, he pulled her close and his tongue wrapped around her right nipple, golden roses and all. From the way he pulled and licked, she could tell how riled up he was. While he was playing, she used the chance to liberally slather his length in the gel she had gotten from Cream earlier. She hoped it would work as well on cock as it had on the toy still wedged between her cheeks.

"This is a special lube from Loam that's supposed to be really great for anal. So here's hoping."

Pulling away, she grinned at Lurk's despondent 'Aw, c'mon,' at having titties taken out of reach. Taking a moment to free himself fully from his pants, he kicked them off and sat on the edge of their bed fully naked.

Flagging her tail so high that her shorts nearly wedged right up her slit, they were the next thing to come off. Of course she had to lower her extra appendage to slide the shorts down, yet it gave her the perfect opportunity to hide her treasure from Lurk's prying gaze, then reveal it with a flick of her scaly tail. The base of the pink sapphire butt plug held open the crotchless panties, giving Lurk just a peak of the golden strings of arousal dripping down her thighs.

"That's one of the most beautifully sexy thing I've ever seen."

Hypnotized by the display, Lurk watched in fascination as his Scarlet Dragoness struggled to pop the pink sapphire free of her stubborn hole. Just grabbing hold of the edges was not enough leverage. She had to slide her fingers between the base and her rear to pull. Harmony went weak in the knees for a moment as she stretched herself to the modest plug's widest point and the rest suddenly withdrew. Taking a moment to recover, she clenched her rear at the toe-curling intensity as her butt tried to clamp around nothing. Reaching back between her legs, she grabbed Lurk's slick shaft and dragged it through the channel of her sex. Moaning openly, she humped back against his cock to get it between the lacy opening of her panties and did not care that lube was being smeared all over her nub. She needed just a bit of relief from the pressure pooling below her stomach and ran him up and down her sex before at last lining him up with the real goal.

Lurk held his breath in anticipation as his sexy wife put enough weight down that her plush hole dimpled inward, straining. Before, he could barely squeeze the head of his member into her rear. Yet once his cock began to violate a most tender place, he was quickly engulfed by her luxurious backside.

"Okay, okay. Woah. Hngh!" She groaned. There still was no pain. Only intensity. Intensity like she had the king of all butt plugs straightening out her insides. Her hole throbbed and she clenched, hearing her husband groan in response only made her squeeze more. Tensing and relaxing the muscles helped her adjust to Lurk's girth.

"Holy fuck, honey." Rubbing the erogenous zone right at the base of her tail, Lurk leaned back on the bed to watch Harmony stuff his tool into her rear.

Accidentally putting a bit too much weight down, Harmony sank another few inches. Just because there was no pain, did not mean the stimulation was so intense it seemed painful. She was a sucker for anything to do with butt play. They both knew it was her weakness. Now in her new body, that taboo lust had seemingly been exacerbated. Her sight was unfocused and she was on the verge of drooling.

"You doing alright, hun? Does that hurt at all?" Feeling her tremble, he expected her to pull off of him with how lewdly spread her ass was. Lurk was fairly certain back in the human world there were businesses that specialized in making dragon dildos as large as what he had between his legs.

"This is amazing. There's no pain at all. Fuck. Oh gods. How much of you is that?"

"Well, you're past the head. It's a lot more than you can normally take. You doing okay?"

"Fuck yes I am. I just... Need a second."

Sitting back up, Lurk's claw found her thigh. Tickling the sharp tips along her bare skin, he tried to coax her legs open.

"No, no, baby. Way too sensitive." She complained, squirming as she did so.

"I just want to feel how wet you are, please?"

Though she whined and protested, Harmony leaned into his chest and spread her legs. With well-practiced claws, he spread her outer lips and found even those were slippery with her honey. With the pad of one digit, he knew how to come up from underneath her hood to stroke stiffening nub. His caress was enough to elicit a whimper and a clench of her untended pussy. Taking a deep breath, Harmony began impaling herself further. Lurk's claw making little circles around her clit helped mitigate the intensity coming from her butt. Floating on a rush of euphoria as her tailhole knew no pain or even discomfort, she decided to just keep going. She could not help herself. The idea of Lurk balls deep in her ass had been a fantasy she had entertained for years and it was finally happening.

As her taut butt was dragged over one prominent ridge after another, she fell in love with the stretch in a way she had never been able to manage as a human. Each one that pushed through convinced the dragoness that there was no way she could take any more. With agonizing slowness, her haunches came completely flush with the base of her husband's cock. Every nerve ending sang. Her legs were not under total control as her knees shook. This of course, only made her womb twinge in delight as her pussy tried to milk a length one wall over. Normally, Lurk bottomed out at the end of her tunnel and only rubbed her cervix. Now with the broad tip of his tool buried further than her pussy, the stimulation made her insides constrict so hard it felt as though her clit were in a cushioned vice.

Totally lost, Harmony rubbed her own belly, wanting to feel just how far she had lodged her partner into her guts. Harmony forced her butt to strain around Lurk's wide root, her bottom riding against his crotch. The tip of his cock just barely teased somewhere far inside her that cried out to be rammed into while the ridged cock seemed to be crushing her cunny so tight that her special places were crying out for more. Gasping in want, she lifted up just a bit, wiggled her hips, then pushed down with great strength.

The bolt of lightning which traveled through her abdomen as the tip of Lurk's manhood pounded into her walls coincided with him pushing just right on her love button to make Harmony cum.

Even though her mouth opened, not a sound escaped her. Body seizing from nose to tail, her insides contracted in ripples as waves of orgasm pulsed hot and wet from her core. Lurk wished dearly to pound up into his wife, but held back while she rode out her climax. While she did not squirt or gush, her cunny leaked a continuous stream of her golden juices like a valve had finally opened and all the building pressure was allowed to dribble free. The honey sweet perfume of her sex filled the room.

Harmony sagged back into Lurk's chest, her legs draped over his thighs.

"Wow, dear. I didn't think you'd cum from just that." He marveled, pulling his claw free of her flower with a wet plop. Regarding the tips of his digits that looked to have been brushed in gold leaf, his own manhood pulsed as Harmony's tailhole weakly squeezed his base.

"Me neither."

"Do you want me to finish back here? Or are you too sensitive?" Sliding his claws down luscious thighs, Lurk cupped her cheeks in his palms.

"Yeah baby. You can, absolutely. You wanna cum in my ass, don't you?" Harmony draped her tail over his shoulder.

"You want me to." He countered.

"So?"

Trying not to use her rear like a cocksleeve even though he very much wanted to, Lurk lifted her up and down at the slowest pace he could stand without going insane. It was excruciatingly delightful as his orgasm built and built, never dipping back into the valleys of climax, only heading up. Each time one of his ridges dragged on her hole, they both moaned.

"I'm not gonna last super long, sugar." Just as he said, the male could not maintain such a steady pace, however slow it really was, and not succumb. Slick with the gel, Lurk still knew delightful friction as he continued with his shallow thrusts. Losing himself, he bounced her up and down in his lap for a few deep strokes before slamming all the way and letting loose a torrent of seed. Pulling on her wrists, Lurk came as deep as he could. Impaled on the thickest part, Harmony was subjected to Lurk's girth swelling as he came. Pulse after throbbing pulse traveled down his cock and painted Harmony's insides white. Her walls strained to squeeze down on the intruding manhood. With a heat even the Scarlet Dragoness could feel, thick male essence washed ever deeper.

Even as his breath caught, sweet release rushed through Lurk. His claws massaged her thighs, just enjoying the plush euphoria his member was nestled into. He stayed buried in Harmony's rear until his cock grew softer and he pulled free with a squelch. Not caring even one whit that her freshly filled insides were about to overflow, Harmony fell onto their bed. Flopping onto her belly, Harmony splayed her limbs across the covers in whatever haphazard direction they fell and just throbbed. There was still no pain, yet some soreness persisted in her deeper places that Lurk's cock had newly reached.

What sealed her fate was laying her tail off to one side to give her privates a chance to relax. Though she did groan in discomfort as a heavy bead of cum spilled from her loosened ring of muscle. Her panties were an absolute mess and clung tightly to her cheeks. The lace was soaked through with a combination of gold cum, white cum, and the lube the couple had used.

Drinking in the sight of his wife's well-used and loosened rear, Lurk felt his manhood rise to the challenge. Even though the core of his shaft ached a bit, he was not about to stop it. There was no telling if this was just a one-time miracle, after all. Best to seize upon the chance so neither of them regretted not taking full advantage of the opportunity.

Lurk crawled between his lover's legs and began sliding his shaft between her cheeks.

"Hey darling," He trailed off sheepishly.

"What? What do you want from me?" She asked, full well knowing what he wanted.

"I'm hard again. Could we again... Maybe?"

"Unf. Fine. You're lucky I love you." Giving a weak giggled, she pushed her rear up into the air, happily offering him the chance to mount her.

"And I'm lucky you love anal so much."

"Shut up, and pound my ass before I change my mind." She stated, offering her already once pounded butt and lazily flopped her tail far enough to give him the perfect angle of penetration.

"Alright. I'll go slow. Just tell me if you want me to stop, okay?" Scooting forward, he pushed her legs apart with his knees and lined up his still slick member with her tailhole. Lurk pressed forward, this time marveling at the control he had. Normally, he'd meet unassailable resistance just beyond the head of his cock. Yet there was none. He just kept pushing and although impossibly tight, Harmony's very tiny tailhole kept stretching. Harmony felt her butt flower open once again, and her husband's shaft sink dangerously deep. Her walls were dragged inward as she took several inches. Only his worry for her poor insides made Lurk pause, but his lover only begged for more.

Lurk gradually added pressure keeping a firm grip on the base of his shaft as he sank into wonderful warm red velvet. Once his sword was fully sheathed once again, he did not hold back nearly as much. His length sawed in and out of his lover's butt. Harmony's hole was mercilessly fucked and she loved every second of it. At that moment she could not have cared less about the consequences. No matter how magical the lube was, she knew her ass would be paying the price later, and it would be worth every bit of pain.

Heavenly cushion enveloped him and slapped wetly against his hips with every thrust. Her butt was tight in a different way compared to her pussy. The way her hole stroked his length was a lot of the pleasure. Fighting through the tightness to bury himself in the plush interior just beyond was a delight that he relished. Although not as consistently tight from end to end like her sex, anal had other sensations to offer. It was all about the way her red velvet insides flowered open for him. While soft to be sure, the key was in the give. The marshmallow fluff consistency which surrounded his shaft and enveloped his head was too inviting not to plow and fill.

Once again he gave a few strong thrusts before climaxing, this time ramming the full length of his endowment in and out. His claws gripped her waist, pulling her tightly to him as he spilled his second load into his wife's receptive walls. The male's abdomen nearly cramped as his more feral high tore through him. Crying out as she felt her guts churned into a frothing mess, Harmony clenched the sheets as more virile essence bloated her full rear. She shuddered as she remembered just how much Lurk came in his new body.

Folding underneath the carnal onslaught, she could only lay with her husband's weight atop her as he finished using her hole to relieve his burden. Without losing an inch of penetration, Lurk followed her down, giving a purring growl in satisfaction. He could not help but lustfully respond to the submissive body language of the warm female under him after committing such a trusting and intimate act.

"Oh!" She squeaked as Lurk bucked in the waning peak of his orgasm, making sure to drain every drop into her. Seconds sluggishly ticked by as the two of them panted before Lurk softened enough to pull free again.

"I think I could die happy, right now." Lurk drank in his handiwork, doing his best to permanently ingrain the absolute mess he had made of his wife's butt into his memory.

"Uh-huh." Harmony actually was drooling at this point.

"Did you enjoy that?"

"Uh-huh."

"Do you love me?"

"Uh-huh."

"Do you want me to get you a towel?"

"Uh-huh."

***BSL***

"We're going to go practice, alright, Cream?" Citrouille smiled as her happiness for Cream far outweighed her jealousy at not being picked.

"Don't have too much fun without us, okay?" Flora giggled as the two Lamias slithered away, leaving their poor sister with the blessing of duty given directly by their High Lord.

Cream could only sigh, overwhelmed by the responsibility placed upon an unworthy maid. She was both unprepared and uncertain about herself. Then she remembered that she had been created by High Lord Lurk himself! Shoulders back. Straight posture. Lastly she collected her coils into a tidy bun beneath her in front of the door to the bedroom of her monarchs. She had a job to do and she was going to do it to the best of her abilities!

The hallway was quiet for a time. Minutes ticked by peacefully until the hour folded over. Most of the other maids had finished with their chores for the day and were likely getting something to eat or relaxing in the baths. During the interim, Cream was left alone with her wandering thoughts. And it was quite difficult to keep those truant inklings from pondering on what was going on beyond the door at her back. Especially since she did not have to work hard to imagine just what her High Lord and Fair Lady were up to.

What would they do first? Cream knew all the details of what Lady Harmony was wearing. Both outside... And inside. Would High Lord Lurk go for her breasts? Pulling down the beautiful lacy cups of her bra, only to see the golden roses? They had looked so stunning on the Fair Lady. Those red pebbled buds held on either side with the detailed blooms, complimenting the golden flecks sprinkled liberally all about the Queen. To Cream, the looseness of the tank top and shorts invited desire.

One of the Lamia's idle hands reached up to her own chest, fondling the endowed bosom so many of her sisters were jealous of.

Would High Lord Lurk then discover the secret of the underwear the Fair Lady had chosen? So cleverly woven to hide the truth only to pull apart along Harmony's crimson slit, so slick with gold? And beneath, the gem plug holding open her butt in a bloom of pink sapphire? Through the crystal, the Fair Lady's taboo hole would be visible to the High Lord's prying eyes. Cream still shuddered with the prideful ecstasy that her great ruler consulted with her and her sisters about what would rile up their High Lord. And that she had witnessed Lady Harmony preparing her body to copulate with the other god of The Citadel was an incalculable treasure of itself.

Lost to her surroundings, Cream's traitorous other hand brushed a little too close to the hem of her skirt and could not resist the pull towards her melting center. The lightest touch of the pearls dangling from her sex sent honeyed shivers down her back to the tip of her tail. Her Lady had called them beautiful, and Cream no longer felt any shame at all in having such a piercing.

Tease after tease meant that Cream was aching for release even before she had assumed her post. She had nearly came just watching Lady Harmony spread her crotchless panties to insert the pink sapphire toy. Cream actually had cum a little when High Lord Lurk's claw had traced his wife's backside and discovered the fact that she had something inside herself, stretching her, warming her up in anticipation of consummating their affection in a most scandalously unorthodox manner.

Her own pink pearl was under merciless assault the entire way from the bathhouse to her guard station. Normally it was not a daily distraction, but since revealing her secret to the Fair Lady, her nub had been stimulated enough to have the barbell rub it further as she moved. Particularly because Flora had toyed with the pearls which dangled down her vulva, moving the piercing from its normal spot where Cream had it tucked. Shameful dew collected on her lower lips, welling up from the teardrop shaped bottom of her sex. Sticky strings connected her vulva to her skirt as she lifted it. Air brushed along her bared pussy, causing a shiver to travel the significant length of the Lamia's back.

Just one touch would not hurt...

Voices echoed down the hall and Cream nearly hit the ceiling in fright. Smoothing down her rumpled skirt, she folded her hands formally just as two Deathclaws came into view. Though not in their full battle rattle, the two still presented an intimidating martial front to the humble maid. The two were discussing watchtower armament and keep placement. Ruin held Soot in her arms, dangling a piece of smoked rawhide the Gunpowder Dragon chewed on as Wrath twirled a bullet between her knuckles.

"Lady Wrath! Lady Ruin! Greetings, great defenders of The Citadel." Cream bowed her head respectfully. Both the Guardians looked quizzically at the maid.

"Yes, we were looking for High Lord Lurk. We expected to find him in the War Room, but he wasn't there." Ruin stroked Soot as the little fireball gnawed on his treat.

"Ah, um, oh, yes, about that... You see High Lord Lurk and Lady Harmony have retired for the moment and I have been given direct instruction from our High Lord that he and the Fair Lady are not to be disturbed under any circumstances. Should any emergency arise, Lord Nox is to handle things in their absence."

Wrath peered quite closely at Cream, her eyes narrowed into slits. The Deathclaw's long tongue flicked out only inches from the vanilla and pink Lamia's face. Instinctively, Cream's daintier forked tongue did the same. Heat rose in her cheeks as she tasted the rich scent clinging to her uniform.

"C'mon, Wrath, let's go down to the firing range. I'm sure Nox will turn up eventually." Ruin scoffed, more in impotence than derision.

Lingering just a minute longer, Wrath pointed to her eyes, then back at Cream before joining her sister. And the two departed.

Thankfully Cream's vigil did not last forever as it was not too long after Wrath and Ruin left that Lurk and Harmony emerged from their bedroom. Looking noticeably satisfied, and disheveled, they spoke of post coital snacking. Lurk thanked Cream for making sure they were undisturbed. The Lamia bowed in deference to her High Lord's kindness. When she glanced up at her Lady, Harmony gave her a wink and a smile before the couple set off toward the dining halls.

Once they too, were out of sight, Cream exhaled a long held breath in relief knowing that she had fulfilled her charge. No doubt her sisters were still practicing. However, before that, she needed to find a secluded corner to take care of the need setting her stomach ablaze. Fortunately, the ninth floor of The Citadel was peppered with alcoves and little sanctuaries.

All she had to do was take the next turn. Just around the corner and-

Two arms rippling with muscle slapped into the wall on either side of her, pinning Cream in place. Thick around her waist, the raw strength of the limbs was not something that the low level maid could overcome. Wrath pushed her chest into the maid, wedging the Lamia between herself and the wall. The Deathclaw was of such stature, that the Lamia shrunk until her breasts pressed against Wrath's belly. A pleased growl rumbled through the imposing Guardian as she grinded on the soft maid.

"Naughty little slinky. What were you doing in front of our High Lord and Lady's room before I came? And where were you going in such a hurry? With such sticky fingers?" Chuckling at Cream's growing blush, Wrath crouched down. Compared to her constitution, the Lamia may as well have been a stuffed toy. Wasting no time, the Deathclaw flipped up the maid's skirt and was stunned for just a moment before an evil grin split her muzzle.

"Pearls on top of a pearl? How scandalous."

"Lady Harmony said they were beautiful"

"Well, she's right. But that means you were showing yourself off in front of the Lady? I really must punish you now." Wrath fully intended on indulging herself. She took a deep breath of the Lamia's glistening sex before burying her muzzle into the plump vulva. Wrath's tongue dove right in, tasting only sweet summer rain and sugar cookies. Cream cried out sharply as her tunnel clamped around its slippery intruder. Thick and prehensile, the tongue probed for the special places within her.

Then the Deathclaw's attention moved up, her tongue delighted by the panoply of textures offered by slipping into Cream's pierced hood. The lower end of the barbell was warmed by the Lamia's delicates and the pearls were a smooth delight. Even the smallest tug on Cream's piercing had the sensitive maid quivering uncontrollably. Clear juices ran freely from the junction of the Lamia's two halves. Wrath used this to bring her to the brink of orgasm with ease.

"Tell me what our Lord and Lady were doing."

"I... I didn't hear anything!"

"Liar," Wrath accused before blowing air over the soaking wet lips. The shock of cold made the Lamia beg for mercy. Cream moaned as Wrath once more buried her snout in the maid's plush sex. She gave the cushion around Cream's generous hips an extra squeeze. With deft workings of her tongue, Wrath got the Lamia within inches of climax before she stopped again. After the fourth time, Cream was quivering, her nub so engorged it hurt. Her petals so puffed up with arousal her crotch felt swollen.

"I'm sorry, Lady Wrath!"

"Then tell me what you know. You wouldn't have been sneaking in a bit of playtime if you hadn't heard or seen something."

"Alright! I'll tell..." As soon as she thought of it, her sex twitched and the Lamia's stomach twisted in knots. "They... I... Lady Harmony asked my sisters and I if High Lord Lurk would enjoy anal sex and I gave her some of the special... Special potion from Loam and then Lady Harmony made a butt plug and..."

"What potion?"

Cream nearly jumped at the sudden demand and produced one of her spare bottles, grateful that she had gotten three of them when she had. The intimacy aid would become quite in demand throughout The Citadel after word spread about the monarchs of Black Sky requesting it.

"Now my special place is needing some attention." Wrath unbuckled her pants and shimmied them down mid-thigh as she toyed with the bottle of lube. "If you do a good job, I'll reward you. But no playing with yourself until I say so." She tapped a claw right above her slit, a slim pink valley peaking from between the tiny hills of her scaly mound. Feminine juices trickled freely and collected into a crystal droplet that hung from her flower like morning dew.

Already low, Cream reached out to tend to the needs of the Deathclaw. Dainty fingers traced Wrath's outer lips, parting the standing Guardian's sex and gathering her natural lubrication. The Lamia worked her sensual touch over and between Wrath's vulva, sliding inward along the delicates towards the bundle of nerves tucked at the very top. To Wrath, the Lamia's skin was so soft, it may as well have been silk. For a while she relaxed and enjoyed the massage on her clit, pleasure swiftly pooling at her entrance. Although pleasant, the Deathclaw wanted something more.

"Lower, silly. Your fingers are too good not to have in me. Here, use this. You can't talk about our Lord and Lady using this to mate and not want a taste." Wrath instructed, giving the maid back her bottle of special gel. Whining as her own pussy cried out for attention, Cream dutifully uncorked the potion and got a generous dollop of the lube. With her digits nice and slick, the Lamia coated Wrath's lips. Feeling the Guardian's lady bits, the Lamia worked her fingers along Wrath's cunny. Those smooth fingers went lower, burying themselves into pursed Deathclaw lips before teasing around her entrance. The Lamia slipped a finger inside of Wrath, then two when the soaking wet walls opened around her digits with ease.

"Ah! Good girl." Moaning freely, Wrath undulated her hips and rested a palm on Cream's head. Her claws sieved through straight silver hair and pushed Cream towards her pussy. "You know how to finish me off." The Deathclaw chirped.

The maid's nose was an inch away from Wrath's own scaly slit. While not as dreamily floral as Cream's, it was not an unpleasant musk. Stronger, and with more of a tartness to it, but appealing all the same. Stretching out her tongue even as she thrust her fingers in and out with louder squelches, Cream parted Wrath's pussy with her free hand and went to work. Her talented appendage wormed under the Deathclaw's hood and lapped against the erect nub hidden there. Swaying her hips and wrapping her tail encouragingly around the maid's, Wrath stood and enjoyed the attention lavished on her. Looking down, she was enraptured watching the demure Cream's lips glued to her delicates.

Wrath went weak in the knees and pressed her scaly slit against the mouth and tongue servicing her as she came hard and fast. Her pussy clamped around the musician's fingers. Cream applied great pressure on the g-spot she had found inside the Deathclaw. The Lamia's tongue circled Wrath's nub and kept the Guardian's orgasm pleasurable throughout even though her tongue threatened to cramp. A shudder of release ran through Wrath's belly, quenching the lusty thirst that had been festering there. Hoping she was finished, Cream pulled her fingers free and rubbed the ache that had settled in her jaw from the vigorous oral she had performed.

"That was wonderful. I feel much better. You have my permission to take care of yourself." Wrath gave Cream a pat on the head. Straightening herself, Wrath buckled her pants and stepped over Cream's coils. Then hummed to herself as she made her way off down the hall.

Unable to even muster up the will to protest, Cream lay in a pile of her own coils until she found the strength to recover. She did not bother to finish herself off. Self-service would only slake so much of the lust which sputtered under the wet blanket of denial.

Ruffled around the edges, uniform askew, and feeling quite clam-jammed, Cream dejectedly slithered towards the maid's common room.

A very large, very long, and very male presence came out of a bedroom just beside the Lamia maid's dorm.

Koh reared up, crossing his arms over his chest as his tongue flickered.

"And just what have you been up to, little Cream? You smell as though someone else has been using one of my favorites."

Oh no. Not again.

Cream thought to herself.

***BSL***

After bailing on her sister and molesting the lovely pink and vanilla Lamia, Wrath had gone off to take a bath. The idea of anal sex was tantalizing to her. The only problem was finding a suitable partner. Emerging fresh from one of the baths wearing nothing but a towel, Wrath considered who might be a suitable candidate to proposition for her pleasure. Perverted ideas floated through her mind. So caught up by thinking about what length and shape of cock would feel the best and who was suitable equipped she paid little attention to her surroundings.

At least until double her weight in solid slabs of coiled muscle constricted around her in the form of Koh.

"What is the meaning of this?" She demanded, wiggling her limbs but unable to overcome the Naga King's strength.

A small, yet important detail was that the head butler had been made before the Caliber Court. Lurk had felt guilty about using so many levels, and wanted Harmony to make more max level NPCs than just Crisis and Legion. So because Lurk had made so many cute Lamias in little french maid outfits, she had decided that the best thing would be to use a hundred of The Citadel's levels on making 'A big snake daddy that fucks all the bitches', in her own words. Although there had never been cause for Koh to use the glaive she had made for him, he was more than capable of going tail to toe with any player.

At the moment, he was using his considerable racial bonuses, and a bit of his own intuition.

"Dearest Cassstellan, if you wanted to know the pleasures enjoyed by our High Lord and Fair Lady, you had but to ask. I know exactly what you were doing in that bath. And since you were so kind as to prepare yourself, I would be happy to ssscratch that itch of yours." Though he normally held it back, a bit of a sibilant tinge slipped into his words.

"I am the Guardian of the Alpha Bunker! And I- mph!"

Koh gagged the Deathclaw with the tip of his tail.

"But we are not on the firssst floor. We are on the grounds entrusted to me by our creators. You have have availed yourself of one of my maids. While this in and of itself is of no concern, you left one of my favorites in quite the sssorry ssstate afterwards. Again, forgivable if not for one crucial detail. One of my duties as head butler is anticipating the needs of any female within The Citadel. And I have been gifted in my making by Lady Harmony herself with the stamina to accomplish thisss."

Wrath's struggles slowed as she glared at the Naga King, his glossy hide shifting with his coils. He leaned down to match her stare with a knowing glint in his slit-pupil eyes.

"If you truly believe you have done no wrong, do not deserve to face reprisal, and do not wish to know the forbidden pleasuresss that our Fair Lady received at behest of the mighty High Lord, whose virility all males assspire, then you have but to sssay ssso. And I shall release you immediately, your transgressions against my maids will be forgiven. But you and I both know full well that you want to be punished."

When she could not even muster a muffled protest to the contrary, Koh smiled.

"Do not fret, Lady Wrath. I will take good care of you." With Wrath tidily bound up in his coils, Koh undulated toward his private quarters. "There is even a special surprise. But I will not spoil the fun."

Carrying on somewhat of a one-sided conversation, Koh made good speed toward his bedroom. In no time at all, Wrath was being hauled through the door like a trussed up prize boar.

In a glance, the Deathclaw took in the key features of the space. A blazing hearth of Evercedar logs consumed one entire wall, casting the whole space in dancing light. The black and white tile in front of the fireplace conducted the warmth nicely as a place for Koh to bask. Koh's most prized possession was a marble chess set in one corner that Harmony had given him in addition to knowledge of the game and how it was played when she had created him. The head butler's quarters had one especially important facet. Rather than a bed, there was a large indentation in the center of the room filled with pillows.

Just as promised there was a surprise waiting for Wrath. Spread loosely across the bed of pillows was a naked Cream. The beauty of her body was on full display. Her vanilla scales blended so nicely with her human half that even the pink champagne of her speckled accents seemed to flow with her conjoined parts. Her silver hair spilled between her generous breasts and slim shoulders, flowing in a shimmering wave as she got up from the lavish pillows.

"You... Y-you did it, Lord Koh! I know... You said... But I didn't think that Lady Wrath actually wanted..."

"Looks can be deceiving, little Cream. And you are going to assist me in finishing what Lady Wrath started with you." Sliding his prodigious bulk onto his bed, Koh stripped off his own butler atire and threw it onto a standing wardrobe.

"Yes, Lord Koh."

From his sheath emerged not one, but two cocks. He had not been exaggerating when he had spoken of his Fair Lady's gifts. Wrath's eyes went wide as she caught sight of his endowment. Slim, ribbed heads tapered into thicker shafts. On their own each was a fair specimen, covered in scale-like texture and mottled in his black and white belly coloration. And although they were intimidating in length, they were not overly thick. Unable to tear her eyes away, Wrath's cunny clenched at the idea of him going anywhere under her tail. Even though she knew it was a trick of the burning Evercedar, but she could have sworn that the Naga King's hemipenes were glistening in the light. Not just a mating tool, but a purposefully designed work of sensual art.

Engrossing herself in the tangle of Koh's coils, Cream poured a liberal helping of the gel onto her hands and stroked his shafts. Aided by the lube, her talented hands worked both of the butler's members. Naturally she had to prepare Wrath too, and rubbed the gel into the Deathclaw's tailhole.

"This is what you were really after. Wasn't it, Lady Wrath?" Cream giggled, massaging the tight ring of muscle, teasing Wrath's butt by pushing all around the outside. Whining despondently around Koh's tail, Wrath was ashamed at how readily her body responded as the maid penetrated her rear with two fingers coated in the magical extract. She pushed back, eager for more before she realized what she was doing. It felt especially wonderful when those same fingers which had been so talented in her pussy applied that poise and expertise the Commando's butt. She would never admit that she desperately needed to get laid and had just been taking her frustrations out on the poor maid, but Cream already knew.

After a bit of shuffling Wrath in his coils, Koh had her bent over a thicker segment of his body, tail up and legs spread.

Wrath was inexperienced when it came to anal, so she drifted in a mixture of lustful anticipation and dread. Her heart nearly fluttered with nervous excitement as Cream dragged the tip of a cock down the underside of her tail to catch in the tight hole at the base of the thick appendage. The helpful maid continued to work the serpent-man's tool even as Koh pushed forward into Wrath's butt. Being a Deathclaw, she was a big girl and without too much difficulty, the Naga slipped his ribbed head inside. Beginning with a tortuously slow pace, Koh made sure to increase his depth first. Little thrusts, stimulating her rear with the cunning texture of the single hemipenis he was using. And with each push, he sank a little further, inevitably bringing his groin flush with her athletic haunches.

Caught face down, ass up, tail flagged, and with a deep, feminine need to have something manly so deep inside she could taste it, Wrath cried out in rapture as the Naga bottomed out inside her. He had taken the tip of his tail out of her mouth as the Deathclaw was far from coherent speech at that point. Cream, meanwhile, had a front row seat and enjoyed every inch of it.

"Though it is my duty, I will take great pleasure in this, Lady Wrath. My, my, you are quite warm." Koh spoke with a sibilant curl of amusement to his tone. To further his point, he pressed his hips forward, making sure Wrath knew just how deep the Naga was. However, Koh was actually making a gross understatement. Wrath was not just warm. She was a furnace. A scorching toy tailored to test his self control as the luxurious hole did its best to make him lose all inhibition and breed her. Pound the shape of his cock so deep and hard that she would spend every minute not being speared by his length thinking about how badly she needed it. He would make her belly crave the taste of his cum before he was done.

Dragging his cock back bit by seemingly endless bit, Wrath was left knowing that emptiness before having the sword and every scaly bump along its length pressed back in with one smooth stroke. Each time he hilted, Koh made sure to give an extra push to smack his hips against her own. Wrath's mind went fuzzy around the edges as the slow pace acclimated her insides until her walls ached not with the stretch, but the lack. Experience had taught the head butler many ways of having females begging for the mercy of a good rut before he was done. Tempting though it was to ream Wrath's unruly backside, his lesson would stick if she was the one in the end pleading to have her ass hammered until all she knew was him filling her.

Cream squirmed her way underneath the heavy coil that Wrath was bent over to get unhindered access to the Deathclaw's treasure. While Koh was preoccupied with Wrath's ass, she would have fun with the Deathclaw's defenseless pussy. The maid nuzzled right up to Wrath's neglected slit. Dainty fingers slid along wet petals with the same deftness as cello strings.

"You have a very pretty pussy, Lady Wrath. Since you liked my pearls so much, I have no doubt you would look good with some riiiight here." Cream pulled back Wrath's hood and playfully put pressure at the very top of the other female's pussy. She parted the Deathclaw's softest parts far enough to have the Wrath squirming as her clit was exposed. Grinning, even though it could not be seen, Cream then wrapped her lips around the hooded nub and gave a firm suckle. Knowing just what to do, Cream relentlessly nursed on Wrath's clit in opposing rhythm of the Naga's thrusts until the Deathclaw's bundle of nerves was so swollen it sat erect between the petals.

Then, just as Wrath neared sweet release, Cream did the unthinkable. She pulled back, keeping the Deathclaw's insides exposed, and blew cold air. Wrath bucked so hard in Koh's coils she inadvertently rammed her butt back, burying the Naga's member so deep it stunned her with the intensity of sensations.

"My little Cream, that was positively devious. I felt dear Wrath clamp down so hard I nearly hit a high note myself." Koh's cocks were not just thick, they were long, the more flexible tips able to stimulate the deepest female. At the moment that meant plowing into her egg chamber from the rear. Steadily becoming over-sensitized from Cream's purposeful sucking on her bundle of nerves, Wrath's lower half throbbed as her pussy was scraped from the back while unbearably teased from the front.

"Are you ready for your first gift?" The Naga grasped at Wrath's waist.

"Wait, you're going to cum in me?!" Full of incredulity, Wrath struggled fiercely for a short time before Koh's next words made her freeze.

"Do you want me to stop?" Koh asked, building the pressure he was applying to Wrath's rear. His fingers gripped her waist, drawing her even tighter to him. The Deathclaw's poor hole stretched and stretched yet every extra bit of pressure her butt could take without discomfort because of Loam's special lube just compounded her nerves, driving her mad with desire.

"No! Yes! I mean, don't stop. Please. Please don't stop. I want to feel it, please."

Rather than answer, Koh sawed his lower length in and out of the Deathclaw's hole. His pace grew faster and faster, rocking his captive in his coils. Cream left Wrath's pussy completely just in time to watch Koh to constrict tighter. The cock that was sheathed inside Wrath pulsed as wave upon wave of heavy seed made the manhood twitch. Both Naga and Deathclaw cried out as male essence poured into the female's greedy backside. Koh still lavished in the warm-blooded broodmare draining his length, while Wrath felt a virile cock twitch and spurt cum deep into her ass. Even though it was left out, Koh's other spire dribbled clear fluid across her back.

A lewd slurp accompanied Koh pulling his milky length from Wrath's butt.

With one load of cum oozing into her and Loam's special oil smeared deeply, Koh decided to start the real punishment. Now was the time to fully utilize the gifts the Fair Lady Harmony had given him.

"I wonder what licentious things you've done with some of my other maids. What depraved things have you forced from my lovely ladies? I know just how to deal with a brute." Koh grasped both of his cocks and squeezed them together and lined the pair of spires with Wrath's slightly gaping hole as she dribbled a small amount of seed.

"You can't! I'll tear!" Wrath protested.

"Do not fret, Lady Wrath. Some of my lovelies are quite insatiable, and are no strangers to receiving all of my gifts. Isn't that right, Cream?"

"Yes, Lord Koh." Cream moaned in agreement, her own sex clenching at the pounding she had received not long ago. The Lamia slithered out from underneath Lady Wrath and her head butler to better watch. There would not be much room left for her in a few moments.

"See? If little Cream here can take it, then surely you can. And remember, Lady Harmony gave me many gifts. One of which is anticipating the needs and desire of females. Any female."

Firmly grasping his cocks in one hand and Wrath's tail with his other, Koh snagged her ring of muscle with the tips of his manhood.

"Lord Koh, may I have her mouth?"

"Of course, little Cream." Koh answered with a smile even as he began to sink into Wrath's hole. She had taken such a pounding that the ribbed heads both got in easily. It was from there that the Deathclaw would know the full girth and intimate bumps of Koh's hemipenes when working in tandem.

Cream rested her long body on the red and orange coils of her serpentine partner and was not going to let him have all the fun. Besides, Wrath had a job to finish. Though Cream was not cruel. The Lamia pressed her mouth against Wrath's muzzle with the full intention of making sure the Castellan enjoyed the experience as she did. The maid's slim tongue found Wrath's own. They moaned into each other's kiss. Silken fingertips rubbed the Deathclaw's supple hide around her jaw and eyes, letting the tough Guardian experience all the fine service Cream had to give.

Once she was done exploring the Deathclaw's mouth, Wrath's tongue tingled for more, and was left hanging from her muzzle as Cream pulled away. Freely playing with Wrath's pussy had been absolutely delightful. However, grabbing the Deathclaw by both of her forward curving horns and using her muzzle to climax. A bit too eager to mash her delicates into Wrath's pebbled snout, she bumped her pearl piercing into the Deathclaw's nose. Cream gasped at the contact and a bit of cum leaked from Cream's sex.

"I needed Lord Koh to help me after our encounter, Lady Wrath. He made a wonderful mess in me. But now I want you." The Lamia urged her on.

Wrath's tongue was almost as flexible as a Lamia's and much thicker. That delightful appendage slipped into Cream's wet core with ease. Because of the angle, every time Wrath's tongue dipped into the Lamia's cunny, it dragged along her clit as well. Although she lacked the equipment to force her way down the Deathclaw's throat, Cream still eagerly humped Wrath's face. She gave Koh quite the show, her pillowy breasts bouncing in her vigorous, if clumsy movements.

One shudder was all the warning Wrath got before Cream climaxed. While she did not squirt or gush, the Lamia definitely leaked a copious amount of honey. It was Wrath's turn to discover just how sweet the maid really was. Deep inside, Wrath could indeed taste the mixture of Koh and Cream's union. And to the Deathclaw's depraved delight, the mixed essence had the distinct flavor of actual peaches in heavy cream. As Wrath's jaw was worked, her tongue squeezed by convulsing snake-girl pussy, Koh sank dangerously far into her rear. Bending the Deathclaw's tail further, Koh forced her ass up as the angle of her pelvis tilted to better receive him.

She could no longer think. Aside from shuddering, she had gone limp in Koh's embrace. Her whine rose in pitch as Loam's special concoction did its magic, making her backside slick and pliable. If her mouth had not been so occupied eating out Cream, Wrath would have been drooling. Her stomach felt as though it was going to cramp from the strain. If one of Koh's hemipenes had applied force to Wrath's womb, then two put her chalice in a vice and constricted until she was sure that he was using some form of sex magic to massage her ovaries too.

Beneath her stretched rear, Wrath's sex bloomed open from the thickness she was being forced to accommodate. Pink insides winked out from between neglected petals as indecent amounts of Naga King cock was stuffed into her hot stomach. When Koh at last hilted both hemipenes and his root came flush with Wrath's obscenely stretched hole, the lips of her sex nearly pressed into his lower cock. Only then to be drawn apart and her juices connect them in strings of arousal as he pulled back with a bawdy slurp.

"So warm." Koh himself was also enjoying himself possibly far too much. He started thrusting faster. Deepening his strokes and forced the Deathclaw's slick pillowy walls to strain under the unyielding pleasure of his rods. The scaly texture did its work as well, tugging and dragging along silk belly lining.

Having both of his cocks buried in a single hole was a rare delight for the Naga King. Especially twice in the same day. He maintained a steady pace, taking his time to fuck Wrath up the ass to let out as much as he was worth. Even though he was designed for stamina, not even Koh could resist the exotic delicacy laid before him for long. And he did not fight it, leaning into his climax. Since his members were in such a tight spot, Koh acutely felt his cum travel down his length with each pulsating throb of his own deeper muscles. He had been holding back with one member to an extent. Not the second time. Koh painted Wrath's insides white with cum.

Even though she was a Commando, first of her class, boasting the highest killcount, power unmatched, it was having her ass pounded and filled like a condom that had her over the final edge. Pleasure built alongside the pressure as Wrath did not know what was coming until she was pitched off her cliff into the throes of orgasm. Her tongue slipped free of Cumming purely from the anal double penetration was not at all like when she had Cream get her off in the hall. Heat built up in Wrath's throbbing lower half until she could not distinguish what nerves went to which hole. She only knew that her feminine core was being rammed by two tons of Naga cock.

With her already saturated intestines coming under pressure, Wrath felt full up to her throat. And she loved every second of it.

Only once he was finished, every drop spent into the Deathclaw's butt, did Koh pull back. Wrath had been fucked too loose to do anything other than twitch her tired rear. Her tailhole gaped from the stretch of taking two cocks up her voluptuous ass. Letting out needy whines, she mourned the sudden emptiness that ached more than being full. Warm cum sloshed in her belly and the unexpected shifting of her contents had Wrath curling her tail as she arched her back. Her vuvla was so plumped up with arousal that her intimate pink insides glistened with beaded dew.

"Pl-please. Cum in... Cum in me more. Please. C-cum in me. I'll let you use either hole. Fill me, I beg of you." She moaned, uncaring how desperate she sounded because she was desperate. Presenting her haunches in the primal language of a female begging to be mounted. Wrath felt her rear begin to leak and there was nothing she could do other than hope she was plugged up again soon.

"My dearest Wrath, you do not need to beg help from one of the Fair Lady's champions." Koh purred.

***BSL***

Nox had been searching for Wrath to consult with her about the war map when he happened across a most peculiar sight.

There were at least a dozen Lamia maids all piled on top of each other in front of the door beside their common room. Their tails all twitched back and forth as they spoke in muffled voices. Their collective murmuring, punctuated by giggles bounced down the halls.

"Ladies, please, I'm right here. You can take turns." Nox called out, allowing the steel shod heels of his boots to announce his presence as he threw his arms wide.

As a group, the maids all looked back, saw who it was, and collectively turned their noses up at him before slithering off.

All except for one exceptionally beautiful Lamia with bright emerald coloring and flowered tattoo sleeves. Nox sauntered

"You're Flora. Isn't that right?"

Putting a hand to her lips and giggling, Flora looked up at Nox and blinked her long lashes his way.

"That's right, Lord Nox. I'm honored you know me."

"Of course, darling. It is my business to know."

"Then you must know my sister, Citrouille."

"You mean Pumpki-" Nox was interrupted by a firm, open palmed slap and one final 'hmph' before Flora joined her other sisters in departing.

Naturally he was not upset in the slightest. More impressed by the fact that she had managed to catch him by surprise. This did not stop him from watching her hips sway as she slithered away.

Curious, he looked in through the cracked door to see just what had so many little slinkies all paying such close attention.

"Woah, that's a lot of dick. Oh that's a lot of dick going up that poor girl's ass."

Being the conscientious man he was, Nox set off to go grab an extra large ice pack from the kitchen. No doubt Wrath would be grateful for his thoughtfulness and be willing to share what had led her to such a tantric-intensive encounter.

***BSL***

Author's Notes: Today's vocabulary lesson is Hemipenis, plural, Hemipenes. Noun: Each of the paired male reproductive organs in snakes and lizards.

This wholly unnecessary lesson in both vocabulary and biology is from my needlessly comprehensive knowledge of different animal mating habits, behavior, and reproductive anatomy! Thanks younger me for being an overachiever and taking advanced placement courses even though they did not help me get any credit in literature! I'm sure it will come in handy later when you're writing fantasy snake /
Though it does raise an interesting question.

What kind of tackle do the Sharpshooters have then? An excellent query, those of you who probably wondered! And the answer is that I've not really decided! It's a fun and whimsical setting and I can assign the appropriate genitalia for whatever fetish/kink I feel like indulging in at the time.

Until next time, gentle reader. And until then, stay accurate. And quench your thirst for erotica in the fountain of purposeful porn paradoxically for proving plot points, poignantly provided at no charge. Except maybe some comments. I do looooooove comments.