All the Power

Tetenia had arrived on His Supremacy's Sacred Estate. She was His 244th concubine.

The Sacred Estate was located on The Sacred Isle, formerly known as Pentash. It was an island renowned for its physical beauty and pleasant, temperate climate, across a small sea from the heartland of the Trasian Empire, towards the southern edge of the same continent that contained Nordland.

The Estate itself was massive, practically the size of a small Nordish province. Surrounding a long, narrow, lake, about two miles wide at its widest point in the middle and about ten miles long, it was ringed by a series of pleasant hills. On the lake's southeastern corner, it fed into a river that led to the city of New Cortium - the largest on the Isle and the headquarters of His Surepmacy's Sacred Orders. The southern shore of the lake gave way to a grassland, a vast empty space at the back of which were three massive temples dedicated to His Supremacy - the Temple Grounds. The northern shore of the lake was dominated by the main section of His Sacred Palace, which ran the entire length of the shore, hugging a cliff overlooking the lake. On the eastern and western shores were vast pleasure gardens in the northern half of the lake, while the southern half contained the palaces of the ten Queen Priestesses.

The concubines' quarters - where Tetenia now lived - were near the lake's southwestern corner. They consisted of four colonnaded, two-story, apartment buildings, each with 100 units (not all were occupied), surrounded by gardens. Each unit had five rooms - a large living and dining area, a large bedroom for the concubine, a kitchen, a bedroom shared by the concubines' servants, and a shrine to His Supremacy. The shrine was at the center of each apartment, and consisted of a marble floor and, at the back, a life-size golden statue of His Supremacy, usually called His Likeness.

The apartments, and the grounds surrounding them, were, all in all, quite pleasant.

Each of His 244 concubines had four servants - two female and two male. The female servants were Blessed Servants, as were most of the women who worked on the Sacred Estate.

There were, of course, certain rules that concubines (and Queen Priestesses) had to follow.

They each issued several sets of two-piece underwear, made from the finest cloths. These sets - as they were generally called - were very comfortable, possibly the most comfortable clothes Tetenia had ever worn. But they were not allowed to wear anything else, unless it was quite cold (a rarity on the Estate).

When He summoned them into His Sacred Presence, they had to remove the sets and travel to and from His presence fully nude. They also had to appear before Him within one hour of being summoned, or risk punishment as His Supremacy's discretion.

They were limited in their personal effects, and were not given money - although the latter was offset by periodic gifts of monetary holdings from His Supremacy, which were often very large. Most concubines were quite well-off after awhile, and the Queen Priestesses were wealthier than most kings.

Concubines and Queen Priestesses were also not permitted to have any sexual contact with anyone other than His Supremacy, unless He gave them permission. They were not permitted to masturbate, unless He gave them persmission. This permission was generally given only when He wished to view such things for His own entertainment or arousal.

***

The most important duty of a concubine, of course, was to serve and please His Supremacy.

The second-most important duty was to perform the Ceremony of Full Worship. It was for this that Tetenia was now kneeling in front of the His Supremacy's Likeness at the shrine in her quarters, palms sweaty at the thought of performing the Ceremony for the first time.

The Likeness was made of solid gold. It depicted His Supremacy, nude, sitting on a chair with His legs spread. Likenesses like these existed in His temples and shrines throughout the world, and Tetenia had seen them before. But what she didn't notice was the cock. The Likeness had a fully-erect, life-size version of His Supremacy's cock - the phallus. Tetenia was kneeling, staring up at it, thinking of when His Supremacy shoved His actual cock in her mouth.

Ellesa, one of Tetenia's Blessed Servants, was kneeling beside her. Tetenia was hesitant to begin. She looked up at the phallus, and then looked down. She began the incantation.

"It is my duty to serve and please His Supremacy at all moments of all days," Tetenia said, kneeling before the Likeness, head bowed. "As I am not worthy of serving and pleasing Him, I kneel before His Sacred Likeness to perform my duty of worship. I will humbly worship His Likeness to demonstrate my devotion to serving and pleasing Him. There does not exist enough praise to properly honor His Supremacy's greatness, and I am unworthy of worshipping His Sacred Likeness, but this is all I can do. I will forever be ashamed of my unworthiness, and I meekly beg that He may accept my worshipful devotion."

With that, Tetenia opened her mouth and swallowed the golden likeness of His Supremacy's cock. She moved her mouth up and down the tip and then tried to take the whole thing. She gagged quickly, and decided not to bother yet - she had twenty minutes of Partial Worship before she had to perform Full Worship.

The phallus was the same exact size as His Supremacy's cock, ten inches, and it was even shaped the same. But it tasted odd and metallic - it was made of gold, after all - and it had an impersonal sort of hardness that differed from a real cock. Ellesa had told Tetenia to be careful not to chip a tooth on it. Getting it in her mouth wasn't really a problem, but it felt strange.

Tetenia moved her mouth up and down the shaft, and licked it. She came off the phallus for a second, and licked the side, then swallowed it again. She began bobbing up and down quickly. She was getting into it. It was a golden likeness of His Supremacy. It may not have been Him, but it was a reminder of His power.

She dug herself deeper and began moving up and down fervently, and did so for awhile. Suddenly, Ellesa said "It is time for you to demonstrate your devotion with Full Worship."

Tetenia dived down and gagged on the tip of the golden phallus. She gagged, but forced herself to stay down. Anytime she stopped deepthroating the phallus during the thirty minutes of Full Worship, she would commit an abrogation of Full Worship. Each abrogation required an additional ten minutes of Full Worship as penance. Ellesa was kneeling beside her mostly to count the abrogations.

Keeping the entirety of an enormous golden cock in Tetenia's mouth wasn't easy. She did have to try to avoid hitting her teeth against it. The tip of the phallus hit the back of Tetenia's throat, a cold metallic discomfort against her esophagus. She tried to move her lips around the base as her eyes began to tear.

Thirty minutes of this, she thought? How long has it been already? Is that even possible?

Tetenia's arms began to flail. She moved off the phallus for a second - an abrogation - and then swallowed it whole again. She tried to stay down as long as she could, and moved up and down at the base. When she couldn't do that anymore, she moved up to the tip - another abrogation - then forced herself back down again. The entire phallus was in her mouth. Her neck ached and her throat was sore.

He is everything and I am nothing, Tetenia thought - when she could think. She massaged the base, just like it was His Supremacy Himself. She couldn't breathe. She moved up, but just half a millimeter, to take a breath, then back down.

She choked and came up for air - yet another abrogation - and then deepthroated some more. She desperately wanted to get this right. She kept going.

After some time, Ellesa said "thirty minutes have passed."

Tetenia shot up, off the phallus. She sounded like someone who had just been rescued from drowning. Through heaving breaths, she said the closing incantation: "I am humbled that His Supremacy has seen fit to grant me the great privilege of performing Full Worship on His Sacred Likeness, although I am unworthy of it. I exist to serve and please His Supremacy, and He has generously permitted me to fulfill my only purpose. I know that He is far greater than my pitiful devotion and worship, but I cannot offer anything else. He is everything and I am nothing."

After several minutes, when Tetenia began to breathe normally, she turned to Ellesa. "How many?," she asked.

"Fifty-four abrogations," Ellesa replied.

The shock on Tetenia's face was apparent. "How...what? How much time is that?"

"Five-hundred and forty minutes of Full Worship. Nine hours."

Tetenia just stared at her. "I don't understand..." She thought she had made six or seven abrogations. Maybe eight. Fifty-four seemed unfathomable.

"The entire phallus has to be in your mouth during Full Worship," Ellesa said. "Anytime any part of the phallus is not in your mouth - it could be the smallest bit, could be less than a millimeter - that's an abrogation. Also, anytime the entirety of it is not in your mouth for more than ten seconds, that's another abrogation. So if you're halfway up for fifteen seconds - two abrogations." Ellesa paused, looking at the shock on Tetenia's face. The early months of concubinage were hard, Ellesa knew. "Fifty-four is actually not bad for the first time," she added.

Tetenia was still trying to wrap her mind around. Nine hours? Nine hours doing that? That's all day. This was her life now? It seemed unfathomable.

"I should start soon, huh?," Tetenia asked, sheepishly.

"Yes. Plus the half-hour for this evening's Ceremony." Each concubine and Queen Priestess had to perform the Ceremony of Full Worship for two hours per day - although time in His Sacred Presence counted against this requirement - thus performing Full Worship on the phallus for an hour per day.

"OK. Let me just get up and stretch my legs for a few minutes."

Tetenia walked outside the shrine, into the living area. Her back, neck and throat were sore. She looked at her sumptuous couch and imagined laying on it, taking a nap. This place was not ostentatious, but all of the things in it were of absurdly high quality. The molding on the wall, the finely carved tables, the plush chairs, the bed that felt like a cloud. The Nordish royal castle was luxurious, but these things were on a whole other level.

The marble on the floor in the shrine. She'd have to spend the rest of the day kneeling on that marble. Mindful of what she had to do, Tetenia went back into the shrine.

***

"Can I give you a little piece of advice?," Ellesa asked Tetenia when she went back before His Likeness.

"Sure."

"Don't be afraid to use this." Ellesa gestured at a bucket beside her.

Tetenia looked confused.

"You were holding back," Ellesa said. "You're going to have to vomit. Don't do it on His Likeness, of course. In the bucket."

Vomit? Tetenia did come close a couple of times. "Does it count as an abrogation if I do that?"

"Well, obviously. Could easily be more than one," Ellesa said. "But..better here than with His Supremacy. You don't want it to happen then." She laughed awkwardly.

This is my life now, Tetenia realized. She desperately wanted to please Him, but he also didn't realize that doing so would involve conversations about vomiting in buckets. She hoped this part of concubinage would end soon, although she had the dim glimmer of an idea that it may not.

With that, trying not to think about it too much, she swallowed the whole of the phallus. She stayed down as long as she could and she didn't hold back. She kept going. Through total exhaustion, through her body and self being sore, she kept going. When she could think, she tried to think about His Supremacy. How she felt with Him, the exhilaration, the feeling like He really was letting her fulfill her highest purpose, the way her self began to disappear with His cock in her mouth and how that somehow made her feel whole.

But sometimes she thought about other things. Home. Nordland. Daymon's generosity, gentleness and intelligence. His Supremacy didn't even act like a person. His overwhelming power was magnetic, intoxicating, unlike anything she had ever experienced, but it wasn't a...personality. It was more like a being, a force, or just plain power. She couldn't, wouldn't, resist Him, but she kind of missed people.

Tetenia vomited a few times, and gagged and choked she had no idea how many times. She lost sight of abrogations and focused on the task at hand. She felt hunger, but couldn't really feel it. She was in pain, a pain unlike any she had experienced before, but she kept going. She had to.

When the nine-and-a-half hours were finally over, Tetenia was beyond exhausted. Her knees, back, throat, head, eyes, elbows, joints, mind - it was all mush. Wobbling, she stood up.

Ellesa rushed to give her a hand. "I..I need to lay down," Tetenia said. Ellesa was tired, too, and sat in a smaller sofa next to the couch. Abrogations could only be counted by Blessed Servants - she and Dacia, Tetenia's other Blessed Servant, would alternate days.

Tetenia laid down, and put her temples on her head. She knew she should eat, but she wasn't ready yet. She closed her eyes for a few minutes.

Finally, Tetenia looked at Ellesa and asked what was on both of their minds. "So...how many abrogations that time?"

"Nine-hundred and thirty nine."

Tetenia looked at Ellesa. Inasmuch as she as capable, she looked shocked again.

"Full Worship done in penance is still Full Worship," Ellesa explained.

Of course it was. Why didn't she think of that? "So...I guess you should tell me how much time," Tetenia said.

"It works out to one-hundred fifty six and a half hours. If you do fourteen hours a day, it's about eleven days."

Eleven days of Full Worship. Plus another hour for ceremony. And who knows how many abrogations that would entail? Worship begets abrogations begets Worship. Who knows how much time this would be? Tetenia remembered how His concubines and Queen Priestesses seemed to be able to deepthroat Him almost non-stop - this was how, she supposed.

Yet those concubines and Queen Priestesses didn't seem like they were suffering. They didn't seem like they were spending fourteen hours a day on their knees with a golden phallus shoved down their throat, every day. They seemed happy. Comfortable, even.

"I'm going to go to Him tomorrow," Tetenia said. "I can do that, right?"

"Yes, you can request absolvance anytime," Ellesa replied. "But you might not want to do it tomorrow."

Absolvance was the only way out of penance: concubines and Queen Priestesses could, at any time, go before His Supremacy and ask for absolvance of penance. Whether or not it was granted was entirely up to Him - sometimes He granted absolvance, sometimes He didn't, and sometimes He granted partial absolvance. But they could ask anytime.

"Why not?," Tetenia asked.

"Because you'll have to do an hour of Full Worship the next day. You'll just be back at square one. You should wait until you can get through an hour without many abrogations, then ask Him for absolvance."

So that's why the concubines she's met so far weren't suffering messes, Tetenia thought. That made sense.

Eleven days, one-hundred-fifty-six hours, on her knees. She tried to steel herself for it, but it was difficult to imagine. She did, however, have one question: "How long does that take?"

Ellesa paused. "It depends."

Depends on what, Tetenia thought to herself. But she decided that the best course of action, at least for now, was probably not to think about it too much. So she didn't ask any further.

***

"They won't stop complaining about it," Lord Winlow said. "The laborers on their lands, camping out. There's tens of thousands of them."

With Sarly disinherited and Daymon no longer in the royal line, the Nordish crown had passed to Henneler. He had been king for barely a week, and was getting caught up.

"But I thought they wanted the magneto-road," Henneler said.

Lord Winlow took a deep breath. "The merchants and local lords in Hessel want it, but of course they're not getting it. The landholders in the countryside are upset about the laborers. The landholders near the new palace are upset, too."

The issue was related to His Supremacy's new palace, in a hilly region in southern Nordland. His Supremacy had recently directed the Sacred Order of Builders to construct palaces for Him in each of the Subject Kingdoms and Imperial Provinces which did not already contain them - including Nordland. A magneto road, an astonishing technology which allowed for very fast movement of goods, troops, and servants - and was a crucial component of His Supremacy's worldwide conquests - was also being constructed to link up to the new palace. Building magneto roads and His awesome palaces required massive labor forces, well into the tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands.

"The laborers have taken up in the large estates, built campsites, even sometimes temporary villages," Winlow said. "Of course they improve the roads and sanitation for the common people, they'll give them food when it's necessary, so they don't mind that much. The common people love His Supremacy. But the landholders say it's interfering with the harvest."

"What am I supposed to do?," Henneler replied. "His Supremacy can claim any land He wishes for His purposes. Haven't they been compensated?"

"Yes, but they say it's not enough."

Henneler turned to Lord Nayris, who ran the Nordish treasury. "We already spend a lot on tribute," Nayris said. "I don't know that we can add to the compensation for these landholders."

Ulsan, the former king, who was advising Henneler, spoke up. "I'd say just ignore this. The road and the palace will be done in a matter of months, then they'll stop complaining. You can't please everyone." Ulsan missed being king sometimes, but he wanted to help his nephew, and he was kind of happy to only have to advise on these sorts of issues.

Henneler rubbed his hand against his temples. "Let's shelve it for now," he said. "What about the merchants in Hessel?" Hessel was southern Nordland's main city, and not far from the route of the magneto road.

"They still want the road. They say it will help trade. But the Guild of Construction doesn't care. Far as they're concerned, the road is being built for the palace, not the city." Bruck - the Nordish capital - was connected to a magneto road, and had prospered for it, one of the upsides of His Supremacy's reign.

"I actually raised this with the Guild, a couple of times," Ulsan said. "They said they'd look into it, but I don't think they really did."

"Couldn't the merchants in Hessel go to His Supremacy themselves?"

"They could," Ulsan said. "But I really don't think He would care about boosting trade in a minor provincial city. And I understand that He thinks of the magneto roads as existing to serve His purposes - any benefit we'd get would be incidental. So He's not going to extend the road to make some local merchants happy."

"It would be pretty pointless," Nayris agreed.

"Well, I can raise it with the Guild again," said Henneler. "Couldn't hurt. Perhaps I could go with the Hesselese merchants myself, to whoever's working on it. Or maybe even someone from the Sacred Order of Servants. Can you look into that for me, Winlow?"

"Sure."

"Thanks." Henneler paused. "Although...wouldn't the landholders be upset that I was helping the people in the city, and not them?"

"Probably," Ulsan said. "But again, you can't please everyone."

"I'd guess if I can do something, that's better than nothing."

The four men looked around the able in agreement. There was an awkward silence. "Nayris, Winlow...could you leave us now?," Henneler asked.