by Prax Venter
“The Star Scale Circlet,” Sinjen said. He turned to face Mark and his girls. “The princess has heard this story many times but the rest of you probably have not. The circlet is a sacred artifact last worn by the legendary hero, Meka. It was she who defended the empire during the Colossi Wars and led our people to victory. It is said that her shield withstood crushing forces that would have erased other naga, but her devotion to her people filled her with a sense of purpose so intense that she drew the attention of a powerful guardian spirit who dwells among the stars above.”
He paused and looked into Vale's violet eyes. “It is said that only one with absolute devotion to protecting others will be able to fully utilize the artifact's power.”
Mark smiled. “I have no doubt Vale fits that description. What does the artifact do?”
“If Vale truly is worthy, you'll see in just a moment,” he said, flipping a hidden switch at the base of the statue with his tail.
The front pane of glass smoothly slid into the stone floor, granting access to the statue and the artifact. War Master Senjin reached up and carefully removed the metal ring from the statue. The giant naga handled the artifact with reverence, and Mark felt a wave of fear and panic crash into him from Vale's direction.
He looked over to her and saw her beautiful, violet eyes tight with concern. This was a big deal for her. Mark considered saying something to encourage her, maybe bringing up the time she threw herself into dragon flame to protect her friends. As Senjin turned to Vale with the artifact, Mark even considered using his enhancing powers on her will to defend, like he had done when she was hit with the giant, arctic fox's fear ability.
He almost did, but something in the back of his mind told him that she needed to pass this test on her own.
Vale's old master presented her with the circlet, his arms outstretched, and she looked down on an artifact of legend she had been told stories about as a child. Something changed within her and Mark could feel her determination gain momentum. She took a deep breath and delicately took the metal band.
Vale looked around at the ones she had vowed to protect. Everyone gave a quiet nod, even Senjin. With a deep breath she reached up and placed the circlet on her head. Mark expected fireworks, or a glow, or... something. But nothing happened. Vale closed her vivid eyes, bowed her head, and he feared the worst.
She reached up with one hand and tapped the gem at the center of the artifact with two fingers. Instantly, shimmering black scales materialized from the top of the circlet, covered her hair and raced down the back of her neck. Vale held up one of her arms, staring in awe as the midnight scales enveloped her arm, her hand, and then each finger. The material followed her every move as it grew to cover her from head to tail. All that was left exposed was her face, from below the circlet to just below her lower lip. Even her long ears were covered by the extremely flexible and skintight scale armor.
Vale let out a short, melodic laugh looked down at her bottom half. She tried to undulate across the floor, weaving her tail back and forth seemed to be surprised that she could move freely, even with her contact to the ground severed by the armor.
She looked up, her sharp eyebrows arched and a smile covering her face. The black scales enveloping the contours of her body held glints of light similar to the inside of the gem at her forehead. She looked ethereal. She looked damned formidable.
“Holy shit, Vale!” Mark said. “This new armor is amazing!”
“It's so pretty...” Roo said, her own black eyes sparking as she watched Vale test her range of motion. The heavily armored giant naga reached both arms over her head in a straining stretch. The cosmic scales constantly adjusted to her movements and acted like a second skin. Mark also noticed that the magic armor seemed to lift her giant breasts up a bit higher than normal and kept them swinging and bouncing as she moved.
Ahnix looked over at Roo. “Shoot her in the hand.”
“Hang on a moment,” Senjin said his dark eyebrows pulling down.
Vale grinned, moved a few yards away from the group and stopped by the back wall of the stone hallway. She held out one of her armored hands and spread her fingers wide.
“Do it.” she said.
Roo didn't hesitate and launched a three-foot sewing needle right into the middle of Vale's outstretched hand. The sharp object struck the dark scales and bounced off, pushing Vale's hand backward slightly from the impact. The needle spun in the air and then clattered to the floor.
“Nice,” Mark said, finally understanding why Vale wanted to come back home.
Vale slid back to the group and touched the gem on her forehead. The armor began to retract, disappearing one black scale at a time. The entire process took about five seconds. Vale was back to wearing tightly wrapped silks and a relatively innocuous looking band of metal around her head.
- 4 -
Mark and his Enthralled stood with Queen Vicera, and a large number of the royal court on a wooden platform hastily erected for this event. The sun was just above the horizon, and the nearby buildings cast long shadows over the sea of multicolored giant naga gathered to watch Vale perform a promised miracle. The princess was positioned apart from the rest and near the edge of the small platform, her magic circlet on but not activated. About thirty yards away from them was a blob of corruption about the size of a house. It was probably the smallest one Mark had yet to see, and for that he was grateful. They still didn't truly know if Vale could close a tear by herself. The backup plan was for Mark to run up and help finish the job if Vale failed. It wouldn't be nearly as favorable, but the empire could still take credit for the miraculous feat.
Jord gave a young, white scaled naga a nod, indicating it was time to begin. The young naga lifted a mallet and struck a large copper gong, bringing the murmuring crowd to attention.
The queen looked out over her people and began to speak in a loud commanding voice.
“Loyal subjects and citizens of the great Siv'Shyra Empire. Today will be remembered throughout time as the turning point. For too long have these tears in our lands interfered with our lives and infected our world. My daughter, Princess Vale, was sent to search far and wide for a solution and has returned to us much more powerful than when she left. You are gathered here this evening to watch as she wields some of this power and seals this horrible blight before us, restoring what was once here before the cataclysm. After this miraculous feat, she will lead a special team of elite warriors to restore the Crystal Heart and bring peace to the land. Now watch-”
“For the void!” someone shouted, cutting off the queen.
Mark had an instant to notice a cloaked naga on the roof of one of the buildings along the street. He was pulling back a bow and released the arrow, aiming for the queen's head.
Two things happened before the arrow reached its target; Mark instinctively put up a protective bubble around the queen, and Ahnix teleported to the rooftop, behind the assassin.
The crowd began to panic, but when they saw the shimmering magic shell encase the queen and the arrow bounce off, some of them paused.
Ahnix kicked the cloaked giant naga in the back with enough force to send him over the edge and land in a bush below. Mark heard Senjen order the royal guards to drag the naga cultist to the dungeon and then swear under his breath.
Mark let the magic shield drop, and Queen Vicera looked down at him. After she regained some composure, she turned to address the scattering crowd.
“Hold!” she commanded, and Mark could tell she was using some powerful ability to give dominance to her voice. The horde of panicked naga mostly settled down and turned their head back to the queen.
“As I was saying,” She raised an arm and pointed one of her fingers at Ahnix looking down from the rooftop, scanning the area for other threats. The sun was behind her and, standing up on the roof like that, with the sun illuminating her furry edges, the cat-girl looked very much like the alpha predator she was.
The queen continued, “A special team of elite w
arriors has been assembled to take the fight to our enemies!”
Someone in the crowd of gathered naga began clapping, and before long virtually everyone was clapping. After a few moments, the queen held her hand up for silence.
“Now, watch as Princess Vale heals our land.” She nodded to her daughter who answered with a deep bow.
Vale then turned to faced the crowd and shouted, “Star Scale protect me!”
In a quick motion, she tapped the gem in her magic circlet, and the small plates of armor covered her body again in a stunning display. The gathered naga made a unified gasp as the artifact of legend was activated.
Vale started quickly moving forward, towards the tear, before the armor had fully encased her. She didn't hesitate for a moment and plunged her dark, gauntleted hand into the swirling white noise. The stunned crowd took another unified gasp, some shouting, “no!” as they were all well aware that nothing ever came back out of these rips in reality.
Vale had helped Mark close a few tears by now and knew what she was doing. Her hand was in for only a few seconds before the chaos vanished, and Mark felt a small amount of essence enter his body.
Haunting music from a stringed instrument replaced the tenuous silence of the moment, and on the side of the newly restored a dirt road was a red naga that looked like a street musician in a feathered hat. His eyes were closed, focused on playing something Mark thought of as a curved violin.
Nobody moved as the naga finished his melody and an approving frown appeared on Mark's face. He was quite good.
As he played a particular flurry of notes, the red-hued naga opened his eyes and saw hundreds of spectators, and Vale with her cosmic armor, just staring at him. He faltered, and the music came to an end as he awkwardly scrapped his bow across the strings in shock.
The crowd had been brought to the edge of what they could handle and started clapping and cheering at the top of their giant naga lungs. The street musician just blinked stupidly for a moment, took off his hat and then bowed deeply. For him, all of these people had gathered while his eyes were closed.
After the publicity stunt, Mark and his Enthralled met with Queen Vicera one last time in her private quarters. Vale received a standard leather whip to replace her old one from the armory, and now that she was fully armed and armored, it was time to get back to work. From the central keep of the Siv'Shyra Empire, the compass pointed straight north.
Vale's mother whispered something into her daughter's ear, and both of their eyes shot to Mark. A rosy red hue blossomed on the cheeks of his enthralled giant naga, and he had to assume it was about him. Vale looked into her mother's eyes and nodded.
“Thank you for everything, Mother. I will make you proud of me.”
“Just come back alive,” was all the queen said in response.
Mark nodded to Roo, and she summoned the door back to their home in the same spot it opened the first time. Queen Vicera watched as they passed through the door and it closed behind them.
They all went straight to the map room to plot their next move.
“Based on the readings from the Vull and the keep,” Vale said, tracing two lines on the painted surface of the map. “The closest piece should be about here, in Chrysalia.”
Mark looked where she was pointing. The continent was relatively small compared to the other landmasses in this world. There was a large, purple splotch covering most of the large island.
“What can we expect to find in Chrysalia? Either of you been there before?”
Vale responded first, “I remember that the Georath have a stronghold there, but it's not on this map. They aren't allies of the empire, but they don't cause any problems as long as they are left to their studies.”
“I know it's going to be dark soon, but let's just go check it out first. See what we are getting into. Roo can you put us near the northern tip of this big island?” Mark tapped on the map to show what he meant. “If the piece is there, the compass should point back south.”
Roo nodded and held out her hand. The location wasn't specific, so she just quickly picked a place in the general area, and the black door leading out of the house dimension formed out of the floor.
Mark pulled it open, and a wet, rotting stench tickled his nose. It wasn't overpowering, but the smell was hard to ignore. He stepped out onto the sopping wet, purple grass and scanned the immediate area.
Pools of dark water littered the flat landscape, and squat, black trees stood around them in small groups. Drooping vines hung from their twisted branches, and bone-white mushrooms huddled around their wrinkled trunks. Surrounding him were the throaty gurgles of frogs, the irritating whine of tiny insects, and random slurping noises coming from everywhere as if the ground itself was alive- and moving.
But the giant, shimmering dome in the distance is what caught his eye. He made room for his Enthralled to join him in the swamp and checked the compass. It was pointing straight at the mysterious magic dome. It was getting dark, and it was hard to tell without perspective, but the thing had to be hundreds of feet high and at least five miles across.
Mark pointed at it. “This is south, right?”
“Right,” Roo said. “What is it?”
Vale shook her head. “Some kind of magic barrier?”
“No doubt the piece will be inside it,” Ahnix said, dryly.
The last light of the day was dimming into twilight, and nobody wanted to stumble around in this swamp at night.
“Alright. We got what we came for. Let's head back home and get some rest. We will need to check that thing out tomorrow.”
They all retreated into the relatively sterile environment of home. Mark asked Roo join him in the Map Room.
“Can you make changes to the map? Like, put that dome on here?”
Roo bit her puffy lower lip and squinted down at the map.
A thought struck him, and Mark took out the compass, checking the reading while they were in the house dimension. The needle pointed to his left. He turned, putting his back to the velvet-girl, and the needle spun with him, pointing behind him.
“What are you doing?” Roo asked from behind him.
“Testing something.”
Mark walked around the table and noticed that the compass always pointed towards Roo.
He smiled. “Look's like to get to the next piece, we need to go through you.”
She gave him a sweet smile in return then nodded to the table.
Mark saw a new, light-blue, glittery circle like someone spilled paint on the table.
“It's probably not perfect,” she began. “I don't really know how big it was, but-”
“It's perfect, Roo.” Mark stopped her. “This will come in handy as we discover new places and such that are not on this map.”
Her huge grin caused the velvet fabric on her cheeks to bunch up. They walked back out into the central area of their living space, and he saw Vale and Ahnix speaking by the bed. It must have been something dirty as Vale's face was a dark, rosy red.
“Good,” Ahnix said. “Roo, can I speak with you for a moment?”
The cat-girl whispered into Roo's ear for a little while, sharing her secret plan. Mark didn't think it was about what they were going to do to him, but what Ahnix wanted to do to Vale. A smile spread across his face. It was going to be a fun night.
Roo nodded and smiled, and even put one of her velvet hands over her mouth at one point. She turned her masked face to look at Ahnix for confirmation. One side of Ahnix's small mouth curled into a smile, and she nodded.
Mark heard her say, “Very sure.”
Roo shrugged and said, “You're the queen.” the velvet-girl pointed her hand to the floor, and three wooden chairs emerged a few feet in front of Vale.
At that, Ahnix turned her perverse half smile at the giant naga. “Vale, strip out of those fine clothes while we all watch. And I want to see you dance, slowly, while you do it.”
Mark walked up and joined Ahnix and Roo as all three of them sat down a
nd focused on Princess Vale. The naga's face was practically glowing red as she slid some of the silk off of her shoulder, swaying her body back and forth.
All of them had seen her nude many, many times before, but Mark could feel that it was different when she was forced to strip under everyone's rapt attention. Vale wasn't wearing much to begin with so it was going to be a short show, but Mark was enjoying it immensely.
Vale started to get into it more and slowly pulled off the last of the silk wrapped around her top half. Her huge, heavy tits with thick black nipples and silver hoop nipple rings were exposed. She ran her hands over her tight, muscular stomach caressing her smooth, charcoal gray skin.
Then she put her toned arms over her head and began rolling her curved hips in smooth circles like a belly dancer. Her whole torso started to wave back and forth, as her enormous, round breasts bounced around on her rib cage. Vale had a spectacularly muscular stomach, and Mark was mesmerized by her slow, sensual movements. Somehow, she was able to wiggle out of the plate metal skirt draped around her waist, and it slid down her snake half, exposing her huge, meaty vagina. Vale wove back and forth in front of them, leaving her clothes behind her and was now fully nude.
“Good.” Ahnix said, “Now, lay down on the bed.”
“Yes, your grace,” she responded and got on her back on the enormous, soft bed.
“Roo, go use your soft, little ass cheeks to blindfold our naga princess.”
“Of course, your grace.” Roo stood and curtsied to Ahnix before climbing up onto the bed. She was still wearing her black, leather corset, short skirt, and boots, but she didn't have any underwear on so it wasn't a problem. Roo stood on the bed, one high heel to either side of Vale's face, and sat her velvety pussy right down on the naga's lips.
“Roo I want you to use your silky thighs, tight asshole, and supple pussy to make it hard for her to breathe, understand?” Ahnix said, getting up from the chair next to Mark.
Roo nodded, and readjusted herself. She got on her knees and wiggled her butt a little to make sure she thoroughly covered Vale's mouth and nose. Ahnix approached the bed then bent down and licked one of Vale's wrists with the rough part of her tongue. Mark could feel the anticipation radiate out from his enthralled naga. She had no idea what else Ahnix was planning, but she was really getting into this. Mark was too, his penis getting uncomfortably stiff.