Aedra Chronicles - Preparations

The suns were high in the sky when Aedra finally spotted the city. The buildings themselves weren't much to look at, but just beyond them lay the turquoise sea. The heat made the air shimmer, and overall, the scene was quite pleasant. This would be an acceptable place to spend a few weeks, or perhaps the winter. She had certainly had enough of the North for a lifetime.

She continued on the road until she came to a small river. Dismounting from her sorrel steed, she began her ritual without haste or apprehension. Over the years, she had discovered the power of first impressions. Besides that, these would likely be some of her last private moments for the foreseeable future. Though Aedra was fine with this, one can ultimately only pour out from a full flask. It was time to refresh her spirit and focus her magic.

After running her fingers gently through Endellion's mane and along her smooth back, she left the horse to enjoy some feed and water and walked along the riverbank until she found a suitable, shady spot. Laying down a linen blanket, she set down her belongings and began to untie the leather straps of her boots. She would have to trade them in for something more climate-appropriate in town, though perhaps she would hold on to them a bit longer. It is rather easy to become attached to a pair of boots that have seen as much as these.

She set them gingerly aside, and removed her cowl, freeing her wavy brown hair to flow down just below her shoulder blades. She breathed in and closed her eyes, feeling her power begin to stir. As she exhaled, she removed her riding pants and tunic, damp from the perspiration of the day. Last, and with great deliberation, she slid her undergarments gently off her body, touching her skin in places and ways that were purely indulgent. Though her clothes now lay at her feet, she continued to trace her hips, her stomach, her breasts, her neck as though she might have missed something.

"Slowly," the magic inside her purred. She breathed in deeply again, arching and moving her hips gently. The air must be explored, the stillness joined. Her fingertips ran up her body and stretched into the sky, as if that was the only way to keep them from being too hasty. Gently, she lowered her arms, opened her eyes, and stepped purposefully into the river. The heat was such that even a cool stream descending from the mountains would not startle. The water ran between her toes and over her feet, up her ankles, embracing her thighs. She stopped to let it splash up between her legs, learning from the gentleness, the playful movement, the unexpected sensations.

Aedra ran the tips of her fingers through the water and began encircling her body again. She placed drops of cool water behind her ears, at the base of her neck, on the tops of her shoulders. She traced her nipple, and watched as it hardened, learning from the vulnerability, the capacity to transform. Teasing herself in circles, she finally allowed a small moan to escape her mouth. The water pulsed ever so slightly, intrigued by this new and unexpected presence.

Quite suddenly, she plunged her body under the surface and re-emerged on her back. Though the river flowed, it seemed to part around her so that she remained calmly fixed beside her belongings on the bank. It might have been seconds or hours that she lay there, completely at peace, before resuming her exploration of body and spirit. Standing in water up to her collarbone now, she allowed the current to hold and caress her once more. It held her firmly as her hands worked down through her hair, past her ribcage, over her bellybutton and between her soft lips. Deliberately slowing her movements once again, a single finger ran slowly back and forth, and around her labia. Back, forth, and around. It circled, tested, and pressed with pure curiosity before continuing further towards her clitoris. Controlling her body's instant reaction, she breathed even more deeply as her left hand wandered towards her breast. As skin met skin and her thumb ran over her hardened nipple, a wave went forth from her body that was unrelated to the river's current.

Her right hand ceased its teasing and moved inside of her, aided by the eager ebb and flow of the stream, which seemed to rush ever fast, even as Aedra remained in place. She allowed pleasure to radiate from the center of her body, the sweetness tactile and purely hers. She cried out softly again and again, as her hands found all of the places that needed a gentle embrace or a firm force. She alternated shallow and deep plunges, and her left hand moved down to massage all the places where her legs met her upper body. At last she couldn't think at all, and she surrendered to the sensations and intensifying motion. As her pleasure peaked to its final height, a torrent of water rushed forward, and she allowed it to submerge her once more. Suspended in the water, Aedra felt her magic spreading through her body, out to her fingers and toes and up to the top of her head and ends of her hair. Rising out of the water, the moisture from her hair dripping down her body, she lay down on the blanket and watched as the sun slowly evaporated each droplet from her skin. Her eyes closed and she allowed herself to slip into a dream.