As the dark elves watched, a tiny ball of orange light appeared above Anton's palm and began to grow oblong in shape until taking the form of a semi-transparent handle. As Anton took hold of the glowing orange handle it became solid, lengthened again and became a thin riding crop style of whip.
Fiona's eyes widened as Anton flicked the triangle shaped leather flap at the end of the whip under her chin and forced her to lift her head and look into his eyes.
"I'll give you one chance to guess what color my aura is" he said as he gave her a mocking grin "I hope for your sake your not colorblind!"
"...It's, it's orange!" declared the dark elf "Right!?"
"Hm, lucky guess" mumbled Anton in a playful tone as he let the whip fall from his hand. The thin riding crop immediately began to melt away into nothing as soon as it lost it's contact with him.
"Anyways, getting back to the point" said Anton as he leaned back in his chair "A dark elf's immunity to bindings isn't limited to just the bindings curses in the dominion class of magic. They're also immune to demonic binding curses as well as familiar contracts. In essence, they just can't be bound at all. It's an ingrained natural immunity that they all carry, including you two. You girls may very well be the worst examples of dark elves that I've ever seen. But you're still dark elves nonetheless"
Fiona grimaced at the insult while Kianna merely continued to listen intently.
"This immunity only flows one way though. A dark elf may not be able to be bound to another person but another person can be bound to a dark elf" explained Anton "And as we've talked about already, being bound to a dark elf is so naturally easy that any person with a submissive enough nature could become bound to one by being influenced by their auras, listening to them speak or if submissive enough, simply being near them. In other words a dark elf doesn't necessarily even need a anchored curse to enslave someone, they can do it naturally. This is what they are, they're a natural "ruling class" species that was built to control others. And this immunity was put in place so that no one could ever turn the tables and take control of them. This is another factor that sets the dark elves apart from most of the other races and makes them so potentially dangerous. Since they have this immunity, the threat of being enslaved doesn't exist for them. And as such they don't face the same consequences, and they don't have the same incentives to play nice and follow the rules in the same way most other people do. This is why so many of them are more prone to engage in criminal activities. ...And it can actually be pretty hard for them to keep themselves from being arrogant about this"
"Well yeah! It's not like that doesn't makes sense!" mumbled Fiona as she nodded thoughtfully.
"...Wait, hold on!" exclaimed Kianna as she tilted her head and cocked one of her ears in curiosity "What would happen if a dark elf wanted to be enslaved though? Couldn't she just let the binding spells work on her?"
"No, that wouldn't work" said Anton as he shook his head "Your immunity isn't based from a skill or ability that you can control. It's a natural part of you, and you can't just turn it off"
"So how did you do it then!? Or are we even really enslaved!? Or are you just saying we are!? Because I think that you definitely fucked with me!" exclaimed Fiona as she wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her shoulders "But I sure as Hell don't feel like I'm your slave!"
"Oh, you definitely are. If you weren't then you could take that collar off" explained Anton "I'm not sure just how obedient you've become, if at all. It's possible, very unlikely, but possible that you could disobey my commands. Though even if you could that wouldn't change whether or not you're enslaved to me. It would just give me a reason to discipline you"
Fiona grimaced angrily while Kianna's face became thoughtful.
"As for how. Well. We have to go back to the blood gems for that" explained Anton "They really are the catalyst behind everything"
The dark elves quickly glanced at each others gems before looking back at Anton.
"You see, as I explained before, the dark elves immunity only flows one way. They can't become bound to another but another can be bound to them. And this is what these collars are designed to exploit" explained Anton "What do you two know about familiars?"
"Familiars?" repeated Kianna "They're like a pet animal that's been enslaved, right?"
"In most cases that description would be pretty accurate. The most commonly seen familiars are usually animals that have been bound to an individual. It is entirely possible to turn a person into a familiar as well but this is rarely seen as a familiar must fully agree to be bound to it's owner. You can not just force someone to become a familiar, the binding can only be done if both parties are willing. Now, people that practice high level magic will generally have at least one familiar but its possible for someone to have dozens of them at once. These familiars can be used as assistants, servants and even guinea pigs for their owners during their spell crafting" explained Anton "But their main reason for being kept is to give the practitioner a second source of mana that they can tap into to preform very high level mana heavy spells. So essentially the familiars act as a living, backup mana battery"
The dark elves once again had become still as they listened to what was being told to them.
"The process of binding a familiar is far different and goes much deeper than your standard slave bindings. This is because a familiar is usually meant to be permanent while a slave is supposed to be left with the options of being traded or sold. This deeper bind is called a "Familiar Contract" and it involves a connection being made between the minds, souls and auras of the familiar and it's owner. This kind of connection gives a much higher level of control to the owner, and if done right the level of control could be so great that the owner could even shift their own consciousness over to the familiar and become one with them. When this is done the owner will be able to see through the familiars eyes and even take over and completely control its body. This connection can go even deeper to the point that the familiars body could become a literal extension of the owners body" explained Anton "Now, like I said before most familiars are usually animals, with the occasional person becoming one if they choose to. Living things are not the only options though. It is also possible to turn certain kinds of items into a familiar as well. Items like suits of armor, crystal balls, playing cards, or even... a gem!"
"...Oh, you fucking bastard!" growled Fiona as she pointed her ears straight back in anger.
"Let me start by saying that you, yourself are not a familiar Fiona!" declared Anton as he smiled at her "But I did use a similar process to a familiar contract on your blood gem. You see, you vicious little dark elf, those blood gems have been bound to you both. And bound to you completely, via your minds, souls and auras in a manner that is again similar to a familiar contract though not exactly the same"
Kianna reached up and lightly took hold of her collar as she listened intently.
"Since those blood gems are made from your own blood, they are technically you, and as such the connections between you and them are as complete as they can possibly be. This is not a case of one being having been bound to another being, but instead, is a case of a being having been bound to itself. This means that essentially those gems are an artificial extension of you and are now as much a part of you as your own limbs are" explained Anton "Now, what this also means is that the bonds between you and the gems won't trigger any kind of response from your immunity. Meaning that the gems can not only be bound to you... but you can apparently be bound back to the gems!"
"...So what your saying is, these gems are part of us now?" questioned Kianna "...But not really?"
"They are a part of you, that is not a part of you" said Anton "Fully connected to your mind, soul and aura through the collars that you're both wearing. But unlike the rest of you, they have no immunities at all! They're a gateway, an open window, a crack in the castle wall. They're completely bound to you, and you are completely bound to them. And an important bit of information that you need to always remember about them, is that your blood is not the only blood that they're made out of!"
"...Oh, you sick son of a bitch!" exclaimed Fiona "You're a part of me now too!?"
"No, I'm a part of the gems!" laughed Anton "But through them I am now connected to you!"
"So is that why I can feel you!" exclaimed Kianna as she tightened her grip on her collar "You're really connected to me now!"
"That's right, what you're feeling is the presence and influence of my blood and aura" explained Anton "And it's that same influence that controls the gems, and via them..."
"Controls us!" finished Fiona as she scowled down at the water and bared her teeth in anger.
"Exactly!" said Anton as he pointed a finger at her "I control the gems, and the gems are now a part of you, so by their extension, I control you... At least I think I do. I should probably test this and make sure..."
The dark elves both had expressions of unease on their faces as they looked at him.
"Test it how!?" exclaimed Fiona "What are you going to do to us!?"
"Girls!" declared Anton as he wrapped them both in his aura "This will be a command and not a request"
The blood gems on the dark elves collars began to glow ominously in reaction to Anton's aura. As he spoke to them the eyes of both of the dark elves went dull and doll-like.
"You are both completely forbidden to ever explain how your collars work. You are not under any circumstances allowed to give this information out unless I have given you permission to do so. If anyone at all ever asks you about the collars, all you can tell them is to come and speak to me" commanded Anton as he looked back and forth from one staring dark elf to the other "Do you understand this?"
"Yes" said the dark elves in unison.
