Editor's note: this submission contains scenes of non-consensual or reluctant sexual situations.
*
Hello there folks, and thanks for checking out my story!
While this is not my first foray into the world of erotic storytelling, it is my first time wrestling with this particular subgenre (i.e. the harem-style fantasy epic). I struggled a bit to settle on a posting category, as this tale spans several in terms of its theming (e.g. romance, nonhuman, mind control, and nonconsent). But I do try and keep the content balanced and I believe that the sci-fi/fantasy subsection fits best overall. So, here we are.
BTW, if you have any constructive criticism for me, I would love to hear from you. I know not all authors on this site are open to being bashed, but I'm here (at least in part) to get better and I can't do that without feedback. So please, have at it! I promise you, I can take it and will be immensely grateful for any insight you can provide. If there seems to be interest in the storyline, I'll begin releasing chapters in regular intervals. I do have a decent amount of additional content already finished, but it still needs to be polished and I was getting impatient to post, lol.
Disclaimer:
All characters depicted in sexual situations are 18+. And noncon, while great in the context of a fantasy, is never okay outside of that context. Remember that in real life, consent should be informed, enthusiastic, and ongoing.
******
Terin strode up to the entryway and paused. It was massive, bordered on either side by hulking iron doors that would have required at least five men on each side to open them. It had also been enchanted and with no expense spared. There wasn't any magic flowing in his veins, but Terin had inherited the sight from his mother and could see the subtle glow of protection spells shimmering just beyond the perimeter of the throne room. Or, well, one of them. There was a much larger throne room on the ground floor where Lord Vareill would hold court, but when there was need for a more intimate audience, this one was more convenient.
"State your business!" one of the guards suddenly barked, and he did not sound at all inviting. "Come on, be quick about it!"
As if I'd have made it through the castle walls without an invitation
, Terin thought, internally rolling his eyes.
Though I suppose it
does
get boring standing at attention all day...
In all fairness, Terin was a monster of a man—over six feet tall and heavily muscled, with short messy brown hair and intense hazel eyes. There was a heavy pack on his back with an attached crossbow and a series of grappling hooks dangling from his belt. Dressed in iron-plated leather armor and equipped with both a longsword and a fixed dagger, he knew exactly how intimidating he must look, especially to a couple of rosy-cheeked royal guards. They'd likely never been outside the castle walls or been involved in live combat, so it was only natural for them to be on high alert.
I wonder...
Terin glanced over at his recruiter and now escort, but the dark-eyed Thaddeus remained eerily silent. Royalty had all kinds of weird rules for their servants and apparently, none were permitted to speak inside or immediately outside the throne room without explicit permission. To disobey was to be beaten within an inch of your life. It didn't matter where you went in the world, the blue bloods were a universally barbaric breed—far more barbaric than anyone wearing fine silks and feasting on golden plates had any right to be. If he could have gotten away with it, Terin would have happily spent his entire life as far away from even the faintest whiff of royalty as he could possibly manage, but one does need to get paid if one hopes to eat.
"State your business!" the first guard repeated. "
Now!
"
"Are you deaf?" the second guard hissed, and now Terin was getting annoyed. "State your business,
immediately!
"
"Oh, uh...I'm Terin? Terin Laiess of the Northern Massif?" Terin replied, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. "I've been told that you have a bit of an infestation?"
"Ah yes, the monster hunter!" the first guard cried, and Terin thought he saw the man relax his shoulders ever so slightly. "Come right this way, sir. Lord Vareill has been expecting you."
Sir?
Terin thought, smirking.
That was quick.
The men parted and then stepped aside, allowing Terin to pass through the doorway and into the room on the other side. It had been a rainy week and gray, desolate light filtered in through the windows, casting its eerie glow over the stone floor. Sconces had been set between them, but the room was largely illuminated by a massive fireplace that took up the entire far wall. You could burn ten men alive at once inside of it and if the stories were true, Lord Vareill had done so on more than one occasion. Even at a distance, Terin could feel the heat singeing his skin and instantly knew that it was a power play. Lord Vareill was a fire mage and it was impossible to deny his authority when standing in that place, watching him sit only a few feet from the flames unburdened by the heat and without so much as a drop of sweat trickling from his brow. Even though they were hardly more than a grouping of silhouettes, Terin could also make out servants in wait behind him and there were at least a half-dozen gorgeous women lounging on colored pillows by his feet, some wearing chains and others wearing nothing at all.
To shield so many from the heat...
Terin thought, awestruck.
I best keep my wits about me.
"My lord," Terin greeted, and he took a knee before the throne, being sure to rest his right hand upon his blade in a show of respect. "You have called for me, and I am here."
"Terin Laiess of the Northern Massif," Lord Vareill greeted in turn, and though he did not look up, Terin could hear a smile on the man's lips. "Rise, and step forward. You are a most welcome sight, Monster Hunter."
Terin rose to his feet, but hesitated. He could barely handle the heat from where he stood and the handle of his blade had started to grow warm in his hands, bordering on painful. But then he saw movement from the corner of his eye and realized that Thaddeus was covertly motioning for him to approach. With great trepidation, he took first one step forward, then another, and noticed that the closer he came to the fire the cooler the air seemed. Now, Terin could finally see Lord Vareill from beyond the shadows and knew that the rumors were true. He was a fearsome man with shoulder-length black hair and eyes that were as ominous and red as the flames roaring just behind him. His smiling, angular face was covered in garish scars and even seated he seemed unnaturally tall. Terin watched the fire's reflection as it danced against the shiny black surface of his obsidian throne and took a deep breath to steady himself.
"I have heard you have an infestation," Terin began, stopping as close to the throne as he dared and, though it was cooler now, he could still feel just enough heat to remind of his place. If Lord Vareill were to remove his protection for even a second, he would be incinerated. Trying not to think about it, Terin cleared his throat. "I have also heard that you're willing to pay quite a sum for your salvation."
"Straight to the point I see," Lord Vareill acknowledged, looking a tad disappointed, and a young woman wearing nothing but jewels suddenly stepped forward to offer Terin a goblet of wine. "Won't you drink with me? You've had a long journey. "
"I make merry when my work is done. Not before."
"Patience? From a monster hunter?" Lord Vareill chuckled, and he leaned back in his seat with his own goblet pressed against his lips. "Please forgive me, I am not used to it."
"My lord," Terin groaned. "If you please..."
"Yes, yes...of course," Lord Vareill sighed, waving absentmindedly towards the darkness. Immediately, three strong men emerged and they were dragging a chest between them—one so heavy that the whole floor shook as it made its way over the stone. When they finally knelt before Terin and opened it, he could instantly feel himself stiffen. There were hundreds of gold coins inside and resting atop them all was a heavily enchanted longsword. "I have been told you possess the sight, so I won't have to explain the weapon to you?"
"Why so much?" Terin breathed, hardly able to believe what he was seeing. "And...and
how?
"
The gold alone would allow him to retire somewhere far beyond the Purple Mountains and then Aerinthe, but the longsword was worth at least five times as much and maybe even more. Immediately, he could sense that its magic was both dense and purposeful—the sign of a truly efficient weapon—but it was the way its enchantments all intermingled that most impressed him. Terin could see veins of protection running into culling runes, so that every drop of blood he spilled would be absorbed into the weapon and used to strengthen its integrity. But that was only the longsword's most obvious feature and there were many more, so clouded by the potency of the magic that it would be impossible to make them all out in one sitting.
"My lord," Terin breathed again, forcing his eyes away from the longsword and immediately feeling empty with it gone from his sight. "My lord, it will take weeks for me to fully comprehend a weapon of this power."
"But, given time, you
can
comprehend it?" Lord Vareill asked.
"Yes."
"Then I assume we have a deal?" Lord Vareill pressed, looking a little too eager. "Will you swear your loyalty to me and my people, and be bound by my contract?"
In his youth, Terin would have immediately given Lord Vareill his word, but he was no longer a young man and was not so easily blinded by wealth. He had learned a long time ago to be suspicious of generosity, especially the unprompted sort. If this was the initial offer, it meant that Lord Vareill was prepared to offer more and that frightened Terin in ways that were largely instinctual, but also a useful side effect of his sight.
"What...
exactly
are you infested with?" Terin asked, narrowing his eyes at Lord Vareill, and he saw that the man's cheery disposition had suddenly grown dark. "My lord?"
"We're...not sure," Lord Vareill admitted with a sigh, and he gave Terin a sad little smile. "I offered too much at the start, didn't I?"
"You did," Terin grinned, and they shared an understanding glance. "How many monster hunters did you go through before me?"
"Twelve."
"
Twelve!
"
"At first, we thought we were dealing with a family of vampire," Lord Vareill explained, motioning for more wine and falling back into his throne with a begrudging sigh. "Beautiful, young women were disappearing without a trace into the night. What else could it be? But then...then they started coming
