Heavy winds buffeted the withered temple, pelting the wooden structure with a fierce rain that grew in intensity by the minute. The hooded occupant ignored the violent weather, even when the wood surrounding them creaked and groaned in protest. At the center of the dimly lit chapel stood the statue of a goddess, the likeness of which had long ago been worn away by the elements. The stone was cracked and rugged due to ages of neglect, but within the hall the last remnants of its power could still be felt. The woman doffed her hood and glanced up at the blank face, peering into the stone void. She took a knee before the blank-faced statue and clasped her gloved hands together, soft purple eyes sliding shut. In her moment of prayer, a crack of thunder punctured the temple, echoing harshly off the stone walls. She could feel her body absorbing the energy, a peculiar warmth spreading throughout her core and to her extremities. The force was overwhelming, and she clenched her teeth just to bare it, but within seconds the sensation subsided. She slowly climbed to her feet and clutched the statue for support, panting for breath. A violent knock upon the heavy wooden door that separated her from the outside world drew her attention, and with a final glance at the empty stone face, she withdrew from chapel.
"What has happened?" she asked loudly over the roaring storm.
"Commander Cid of the Royal Aegis has arrived Princess. He brings news from King Beren," replied one of her Knights, similarly shouting over the harsh conditions battering the temple.
Princess Lia donned her hood once more, more so to conceal the concern that crept into her face than to protect herself from the unrelenting rain. She immediately set down the cliffside path, flanked on both sides by a handful of her most trusted guards from the Royal Aegis. The inky darkness of the night would occasionally be set ablaze by a tendril of lightning that pierced the clouded sky, briefly illuminating the raging sea that crashed upon the cliffs beside them. In one of those brief moments, far below their current position, Lia could make out a royal vessel moored on the beach. Within a few minutes of following the worn path, the entourage eventually plunged into a forest, leaving the derelict temple behind to fend for itself. It didn't take long for the Princess and her group to come upon Cid's makeshift camp, as they spotted the fire from afar. She passed through a platoon of Cid's guards that gave way to her, opening a path to reveal the Commander himself who stood a head taller or more than everyone in the vicinity.
"Greetings Princess," said Cid, his head bowing slightly to acknowledge her.
"Greetings Commander. What business is urgent enough for my father to send you to me personally?"
Cid straightened up, backlit by the crackling campfire, casting his gaze down upon the Princess. Between the imposing height, slick platinum blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and the stones of emerald that served as his eyes, Cid was quite the sight to behold. Even his pointed ears, adorned with muted black piercings, were interesting to study and gaze upon. The ornate plate armor he wore, ashen black and trimmed with gold, clanked as he turned away for a moment to retrieve a scroll of parchment from one of his men. He turned back toward the Princess and extended it toward her, the royal seal unbroken. Lia took it and broke the seal at once, surprised to find her father's familiar handwriting instead of that of the court scribe.
"This can't be," Lia muttered seconds later, looking up at Cid as she absentmindedly closed the scroll.
"I'm afraid it's true Princess, the Orc Warchief sends warning of impending conflict. We have heard whispers that his son already moves against us. I'm to return you safely to Meidell at once," Cid replied.
"But my pilgrimage has only just started! I should see it through before returning to my father's side," Lia shot back while encroaching upon Cid's personal space, her purple hues beginning to glow.
"Were you successful in acquiring the blessing from the temple here, Princess?"
Lia stood down and studied her hands, the gloves soaked through and weighed down by the rain. But behind the fabric she could feel the energy from the temple statue crawling across her flesh, imbuing her with a power that would take time to harness, let alone control. It was important for her, now more than ever, to see this journey through, to find greater strength with which she could defend her father's kingdom. But the risk was too great for her own safety. Cid observed her come to terms with both her newfound gift and the situation at hand, raising a gauntlet into the air for all to see.
"The King will be pleased to hear this my Lady. Let us set sail at once."
As if on cue the small army of men surrounding them jumped into action, breaking down the temporary camp as quickly as it had sprung up during Lia's time sequestered away in the temple. Minutes later their entire force was on the march toward the dark beach, leaving nothing behind on the island but smoldering embers.
---
The vessel shuddered amidst the violent swells of the sea, routinely tossing the ship's crew and the elven army about the decks and cabins. Somewhere up above her Lia imagined Cid was busy setting course for Meidell, capital city of the Ashilan Kingdom. With a sigh of relief, she reclined within the wooden basin, grateful for the peace granted by her private cabin and the steamed water she now resided in. A small, dull mirror was affixed to the rim of the tub opposite of her and she peered into it, searching for answers. The reflection of a fair skinned half-breed looked back, with ears that weren't so pointed as her father's, a slender nose that hung over a pair of delicate lips and a set of purple hued eyes that were as attractive as they were mystifying, all of which was shrouded in a cloak of shoulder length tresses the color of a raven's feather.
Lia moved past examining her own features quickly but her unwavering gaze remained on her reflection, instead pondering the gravity of the situation laid out before her. War would soon ravage her lands and there would be no telling how severe the casualties could be by the time she made it home; it had taken a full cycle of the moon just to reach the island they found themselves retreating from, and now they traveled through inclement weather which would assuredly slow them down. Still deep in thought, she began to scrub her body with the perfumed water which smelled of vanilla, a deep frown furrowing her brow.
After the bath Lia found herself studying an old map of the kingdom by candlelight, clad only in a black silk robe that fell open as she bent over the wooden desk. The map was hard to read, what with the frayed text and folded lines obscuring the features, but she searched diligently for what seemed like a half hour or more. Eventually she traced a slender finger over a piece of land she estimated would be roughly near the area they would soon pass by. The land was remote, a secluded mass at the far edge of the kingdom she was unfamiliar with, a place so seldom visited even by merchants it possessed no name. The only geographical feature of note was a range of mountains that was surrounded on every side by dense forest. The forest bordered the Red Desert to the East, the official boundary limit of the Ashilan Kingdom highlighted by the bold dashed line that separated safety on one side and danger on the other.
She straightened up and pondered her options, curling her fingers into a fist. It wouldn't do much good to return home in a time of war as weak as she was, there was still so much more to learn. Lia focused her eyes on her clenched fist, watching as her fingertips dug deeply into the palm, to the point where the nails began to break skin. She focused her mind on a common object stowed deep down in her satchel across the room, one that was uninteresting and found in everyday life. A pained grunt pushed through gritted teeth as her fist began to glow with a dull green hue, and just as soon as the color appeared it vanished. Lia gingerly uncurled her fingers and found a malformed quill within her palm, a misshapen and off-color utensil that soon crumbled into a small pile of dirt. She brushed her hands together with a sigh and a shake of the head, unimpressed even with her first effort. There was more to learn than she thought.
A knock at the door interrupted Lia's musings. She fastened the robe around her torso and swept across the room, opening the door herself to reveal a pair of knights flanking a burly deckhand. The strange human's expression of curiosity quickly morphed into that of apprehension as he instantly realized who she was. Lia looked both of her knights in the eyes before stepping aside in the doorway, offering the strange man an encouraging nod into her cabin. He responded without word and crossed the threshold into his Princess' chambers, the door to which she closed behind them after her men took up station outside of it.
"My Lady," the man started as he turned on his heel to face her, but he was cut off as Lia placed a slender finger on his lips.
With her free hand Lia loosened the sash that bound the robe to her torso, and she watched as the man's eyes broke away from her own and slid down her front to delight in her nudity. He openly ogled her bare breasts, and Lia invited him to touch them rather than stand idly by, taking one of his large hands in her own and relocating it to her chest. His calloused fingers found purchase on her soft body and he began to knead her ample breast in circles, her supple skin brushing up against the rough creases of his palm. Lia cooed for him as he squashed her breast repeatedly, and then trailed the finger that had silenced him before down to his groin, outlining the growing erection that tented his trousers. She watched as the last vestiges of trepidation drained from his gaze, and he lurched forward to embrace her with a desperate kiss.
His hunger for her was laid bare as their lips crashed together, their tongues danced fervently, and her fingers curled around his aching desire. She couldn't recall exactly when she'd snuck inside of his waistband, but she was glad she did, as his cock overflowed her palm, and it was all she could do to wrap her slender fingers around his width. She stroked him with the same energy he groped her with, and the man grunted his contentment into her mouth. Lia responded by playfully chewing on his lip and swirling a delicate fingertip on the underside of his swollen member, eliciting a gasp from the deckhand. She could feel a thin stream of his arousal coating her knuckles, a small grin sneaking into her lips as the man was starting to melt within her grasp. She broke away from his embrace to relieve him of his trousers properly, and after he stepped out of them, she grabbed him around the base and slowly walked him over to her bed.
Lia faced away from the stranger and playfully disrobed, watching over her shoulder his eyes that traveled her body from head to toe and back as all her skin was revealed to him. She pirouetted slowly and sank to her knees, one leg before the other, her eyes focused intensely on his as her hand once again gripped him by the base. She tested his mettle with a curious lick, her tongue finding the head of his cock without breaking their stare, her purple hues slanted and unwavering. A shockwave ripped through the man, and it was all he could do to remain upright within her clutches. She drew him into her mouth at an excruciatingly slow pace, torturing him with an elongated tease that eventually broke him, his eyes diverting to one of the walls of her cabin. Inwardly Lia smirked, but she was only just beginning.
The Princess displaced the buildup of saliva in her mouth when she suddenly and violently slammed the stranger into her throat, drawing a loud moan from the man who was fighting an unwinnable battle. Thin streams of warm saliva oozed from the corners of her mouth and splattered on the wood floor beneath them. She retreated until he was vacated from her throat and replaced where her mouth had been with her hand, lightly stroking the soaked shaft within her clenched fist. Lia repeated the process, opening her greedy mouth to this strange man over and over again, each recurrence seeing her gouge herself on his erection faster and with increased force. The man's hips were swinging to meet her face by this point, and she responded by wrapping her free arm around his waist, pulling him even closer as he did so.
