### Sex God Saga 30
### The Source
TUESDAY:
Ivory Haven's second floor lounge required minimal furniture shuffling to become a home cinema. Theo got a massive beanbag together with Paris on his left and Fulin on his right who took up as much space as the blond and the black man combined with his legs spread.
Fulin wore shorts, a naked calf pressed against Theo who got to send Paris the joy of this skin contact via the Bond of Favors. It was probably the reason the prince in gold didn't complain about the alpha squeezing them.
Around Theo were the great heroes of the day, sat on cushioned chairs. Keith in white, Ace in black, Coralline in a lime dress, Mira in sweatpants with her bra straps visible under the baggy shirt's collar. Sacred was another one of today's heroes but sat on the ground together with his mentor Godrick.
The second row was filled with senior shamans including both Hierarchs - Greyson White and Brielle Boyd.
Projected onto the wall was Theo, naked obviously, kneeling in a workshop at the Ivory Haven. Under the supervision of unicorn-deer Ascelin, past-Cain practiced going in and out of Theo's demiplane.
"Ever thought you'd be on the big screen, babe?" Paris asked. "Chronicles of Theo."
"The pale hole rises," Fulin said. "Starring, Theo 'the chaste faggot' Travis."
Ace tapped Fulin on the buzzcut from behind. "Keep it down with the slurs in public."
"Hey I'm officially sorta bi for Theo. Pure alpha masc dom tops are still queer."
Coralline shushed him. "Prolog's over. Here comes the inciting incident."
On screen, Sacred was the first one 'entering' Theo with a hand on the naked man's chest, zipping from existence. Keith followed and since he was the one holding the main camera Theo finally got to see what place he was connected to.
On first glance it was a forest of gold and silver. Shrubs and low trees in the color of precious metals filled the view. Little gems sparkled in place of buds and knots. Past-Keith filmed in a circle. The area was framed by slanted alabaster walls, or perhaps smooth mountains, overgrown with vines and moss of gold. The walls' strong slant opened up to a cloudless sky but they unmistakably formed a corridor.
By then Coralline, Mira and Ace had entered and started to report measurements. Mira had brought an Outsider, a rubber ball kobold that bounced around the place on its own accord, looking for Mysterium-related things a human would overlook.
Sacred measured the distance between the alabaster walls and marked their entry spot. There was a diagram on the ground, black stone set into ashy white earth, also somewhat overgrown.
Their journey continued as a group to the crystal Cain had reported a few steps beyond the entry diagram, lightly obscured by metallic vegetation.
The irregular gem was placed on a pedestal and inhabited by a wisp.
The 'movie' continued as the group fought their way through the plants, trying to cause as little damage as possible, chatter staying low and somewhat nervous.
"Anyone else think it's not meant to be a ruin?" Godrick asked.
Keith paused. "Good eye. See those pots? I think all the plant life comes from there. It was made as a pristine place and abandoned so the plants took over."
He resumed and the team made it to the next crystal.
"The crystals are perfectly aligned by the way," real-life Keith said. "One straight shot to the exit."
It took much less time until they found the third crystal and by then, the center of the plane was visible. Some murmurs sprung up in the crowd. Paris was frowning, Fulin leaned in with more attention.
A nine foot goddess slept on a simple stone throne, her hands on a fourth wisp-crystal. She was clad in a white gown flowing over her curvy body supplemented by a loose, red tunic. Her skin was tinted gold, her long hair moving as if drifting underwater.
Mira caught the rubber ball kobold and the group stared for a bit as if revering the goddess. Sometimes, the immense woman's eyes fluttered but she didn't seem to regain consciousness or notice the intruders.
"Not to spoil too much," real-life Keith said, "but second journey in we took an expert fey with us and got confirmation that this god-level entity is firmly asleep but still active, likely a fertility god."
"So she's what gives Theo power?" Brielle asked.
Keith held up his notes. "The crystals seem to be some kind of indicator for her to pour power in. They are spaced exponentially. Assuming the one she touches is at zero and the next one over at one, then number three is at about distance 6.6 from her and the one by the gate at 20. Approximately the powers of Euler's number which lines up with Theo's four 'gears' and how they increase exponentially with the, uh, sensation they, uh, inflict."
Theo checked the noosphere. The men he'd fucked got horny at Keith's mention of his power, including Keith himself. Theo smiled and watched the gang on-screen slowly wander around the goddess.
Paris leaned in to whisper. "Your name was kind of a clue, Theophilius. Shall we share this knowledge?"
"Don't you dare," Theo whispered back. "By the goddess within me, I promise I'd make you regret it."
### ### ###
The cinema audience had broken up into loose circles of conversation all around the second floor. Brielle had carried together a tiny brunch buffet.
Hierarch Greyson White sat down with Theo who was still on the beanbag with some of his boyfriends.
"The whole Lunar Tempest thing is difficult to wrap my head around," the Sunlock said to the Mirrormaven. "And this seems true for the three men in question as well. Callidora has never acted this way but with her gone we can't question her."
"Is it possible," Paris said, "someone put her up to that?"
Greyson's made a face. "Theo was involved in shattering that rosette window vessel meant for a sleep god, so obviously that cult who built it is upset at us, but with a setback this big it would be strange for them to have the resources to turn a long term sanctuary keeper against us."
"But they're the main suspects," Theo said. "And anyone in our group could also be targeted."
Fulin put his hands on Theo's shoulders. "I could go on a whole ramble about how I'm upset no one even told me you almost died and how powerless I felt and how I would have done everything to save you *and* how I will kill everyone who wants to hurt you."
Paris rolled his eyes, rolling his head along with the motion. "And you *did* go on the ramble."
The Primal gave the Stygian an angry glance and drew Theo into a rough kiss.
"Excuse me," Greyson said and left with an amused smile on his lips.
Fulin gripped the blond by the throat as the kiss broke. "I love you. And I will protect you which is how someone manly as fuck says I love you."
"I know big guy," Theo said. "I love you. I also wish you could have done something but-"
"Time to get the fuck married then," Fulin said.
"Uh?"
"Joining of Souls. We're doing this. No more maybes and shit. I want what you and this fucking immortal millionaire have, but Primal flavored. You'd have been immune to scenting if we'd already been soul-joined. I admit that alone wouldn't have saved you but it would have been something."
"So," Theo said, drawn out to sort his thoughts. "Have you talked it over with Mako and Ace?"
Fulin shrugged. "I will. And if you don't want *me* you're joining souls with one of them. Anything to protect your delicious ass."
"Noble," Paris said with too much sarcasm to be serious about that sarcasm.
Keith dropped into the chair Greyson had vacated. Cain was stepping up behind him, holding a plate with one of each of the five flavors of muffin from the buffet, a bite missing from each.
"I welcome Tank's idea," Keith said, "This way you're protected from Stygian biker gangs *and* from Primal would-be kidnappers. Too bad we don't really have a way of stopping the demonic possessions, which has always been the number one issue."
"Except now we know why they don't last forever," Theo said. "Why my possessors get ousted eventually. It's the goddess pushing when she gets roused."
"So if there was a way," Keith said, "to shore up this defense, you'd be set against every major threat. Not sure we can influence the sleeping goddess, though."
"Can't you do a Destined Tie?" Cain asked. "Like Styx and Obsidian said. Armand Noir thinks it should work."
All eyes turned to him, including some nearby senior shamans', to which the slender Ghoul had no visible reaction.
"You..." Keith started. "You talked to *three* muses here, just now, when you were walking around the gallery. Just by... passing their portraits."
"Yup."
"Including Armand Noir, the shadow man, who never speaks without an animal sacrifice. How are you not completely drained?"
"They didn't ask me to pay V."
Keith seemed to choke. "They just gave you intel for *free*?"
A circle was forming around them, chatter going quiet.
Cain shrugged. "I'm half Asian, half magic alien. It's like I'm an intern to them or something. Uh, does anyone want these?"
He handed the plate of muffins directly to Fulin without waiting for an answer and the alpha wolfed them down.
"What is a Destined Tie?" Theo asked. "Before we get totally side-tracked."
Cain pointed at himself. "An Outsider -- and I count as one for this purpose -- enters a pact of venture backed by a god. The Outsider gets to possess the conjurer anytime or use him as a puppet from afar *but* the conjurer can never be taken over by another Outsider again."
"And we didn't know about that?" Theo said with a glance at Keith that he didn't mean to be accusatory.
"It's come up a few times throughout history," Cain said, "but there aren't many use cases. I mean, nobody's gotten serial possessed like you before. Demons only want to fuck you because they get to suck out the goddess's power."
"But to me that's a superpower," Theo said. "I'd be possession-immune, forever. And all it would mean is that you could use me as a puppet, right?"
"Like a merging?" Keith asked. "Like Kenya and Aura?"
