Side Story: Planewalker (Patreon)

Side story 3! For the time, we are between Arc 2/3. This is a glimpse into the mind of Geneva about her summoning and subsequent contract with Lou.

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Geneva watched her summoner as the human girl, Lourianne Tome, bent over a table, happily scribbling away while she told stories of her home.

Having a successful career as a planewalker was difficult. Too many gravitated toward the extremes, either playing too cautiously to avoid being taken advantage of or taking advantage of others. The key to benefiting from the many realms lied in subtlety. To appear small, to leave behind shallow footprints, and to reap your rewards quietly.

Succubi were adept at playing to other creatures’ desires, but Geneva had learned that more important than catering to her summoner’s lust, she had to subvert their fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of something more powerful than them. Fear of their inability to control that power.

In the first moment when she crossed realms, and they laid eyes upon her, fully realizing the creature they’d summoned, she had a breath to pick a form to assuage their fear. When she stepped into the smoky room that reminded her so much of her home, and she saw the wide-eyed girl outside of the circle, she had a moment to compose a form to assuage the fear she could feel radiating from her.

In less than a second, Geneva took in every detail. The girl’s somewhat sloppy appearance and nerves though she tried to hide it with a straight spine, the intricate detail of the circle, her age, and the beautiful and surprising appearance of the elf seated at a table in the corner of the room.

In the next moment, she was changing. It was all guesswork but certain things held true across a broad spectrum. Most people were at ease when they held some sort of physical advantage over another. That normally translated to height but could also be muscle mass or something more obscure or culture specific such as the length of their fingers. She hedged her bets, creating a form that was both shorter than the summoner with the appearance of soft and supple limbs.

Young, human females had two prominent instincts, she found. The reproduction and the mothering instinct. Both could be catered to with a pretty, youthful face and that thought guided her as she constructed her face.

The circle showed research. Research meant expectation. If she showed an appearance that contrasted with what her summoner expected, their confidence would crumble before they exchanged a word. Therefore, she took the form of a thrall, as she had many times before.

Last, was the “flare”. The special trait that entranced them, that made their interest spike and their curiosity fester. What made their focus shatter and their inhibitions quiver.

Humans put importance on the eyes. Once, a summoner told her the eyes were windows into the soul. A powerful stare could shake the will of the bravest hero. She spent extra time crafting her eyes, a few extra fractions of a second.

There were hundreds of shapeshifters across the realms. Geneva considered herself more of an artist of the flesh than a master caster of the physical affinity. Her body was her canvas, each form a masterpiece. It was the cornerstone of her power and she couldn’t help the dose of pride she felt hearing the girl squeal in delight as she revealed her latest work.

The summoner’s fear conquered, now came time to plan her fall.

As if she would allow herself to be manipulated by a little girl that hadn’t lived so much as a century. Lourianne seemed a sweet, tiptoeing around and catering to the feelings of a being she’d, for all intents and purposes, enslaved. For that, Geneva wouldn’t treat her too harshly once she broke her mind.

Really, she couldn’t help herself. There were too many treasures to be claimed to be shackled to a naïve summoner. And no one could expect her to control herself with such a delicious feast so close by.

That had been the greatest surprise of her life. Hiding in human skin was a creature that tasted of the stars. Geneva never knew a being of such exquisite mana existed. A single bite was enough to give her struggling mana core enough of a jolt to kickstart her refining process.

Once a creature reached a coefficient near 800, refining their core with ambient mana became more difficult. The mana in their core condensed and they needed purer sources to continue cultivating their core. It was one of the main reasons Geneva became a planewalker, as Burning Earth lacked the water essence she needed to advance.

Different realms contained different concentrations of the nine affinities. The Silver Ocean realm contained an abundance of ambient water mana. The Abyss realm held a dangerous concentration of null mana. Higher beings walked the Celestial Steps and Eternal Hell burned hotter than her home.

Lourianne was far better than that. Whatever…it was, it’s body was made of the purest concentration of mana she’d ever tasted or cultivated. Every affinity, all at once. If she could dine to her heart’s content, she’d transcend every succubus in history.

And become one step closer to the majesty of the Guardian.

There were many obstacles in her way. She conquered her summoner’s fear but waged an ongoing war with her suspicion. Despite her clueless expression, Lourianne was fully knowledgeable on the temptation of her species and properly wary of them. She refused to so much as touch Geneva without consideration, reigning in the lust Geneva could practically feel licking her when her summoner watched her.  She needed to get the girl accustomed to her. Close enough to trigger one significant event, to create a chink in that armor.

It didn’t matter what it was as all emotions could be used as a weapon in skilled hands. She preferred desire as it was so easily to turn want into need and need into greed, until the summoner would do anything for a little more.

Perhaps she could invoke her into losing her temper. From the small time they’d spent together, she already knew Lourianne was sensitive to the treatment and perception of planewalkers. If she broke down the girl’s inhibitions and stoked her temper, her summoner would give an order she’d regret. Geneva, unable to refuse, would transform from the scary succubus into the pitiful victim.

Regret bred guilt. Powerful guilt bred contempt and self-loathing. A fractured ego that needed the validation of the wronged party to stay together, making her summoner desperate to please her.

Or maybe she would cultivate the girl’s curiosity. Lure her with tales of amazing beings and priceless treasures to one of the more dangerous planes. Talk her into summoning a creature who could shatter the poor girl’s mind with a thought and took pleasure in destroying foolish summoners. She could not be ordered by someone whose most complex mental exertions amounted to twitching their fingers.

So many options…

But there were also dangers. One specific danger.

Her eyes discretely moved to the elf in the room. The woman who had been quiet and obliging during the summoning leaned against the wall with the air of a resting predator. Golden-green eyes focused on her with a piercing intensity.

Kierra D’Atainna. While she smelled delicious, the elf was not prey. Geneva didn’t consider herself a fighter. She was much more of a scholar. It just happened that one couldn’t expect to live a long life on Burning Earth without learning self-defense and violence could resolve many issues.

The same could not be said for the green-skinned woman. Throughout her life, she had learned to recognize dangerous individuals. Those she could not cross. Kierra, or “Master”, was a fighter and one such individual she could not cross. She could feel the elf watching her, waiting for an excuse to pounce. Geneva wasn’t sure she could win the engagement, a feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time.

It was as worrying as it was exciting.

She smiled at the elf, widening her eyes and curling her tail about her waist as she ducked her head slightly. Look at me. Small and harmless. Why are you worried about me? I couldn’t hurt a fly.

She received a sharp-toothed expression in return. Do you think you can fool me? I know a predator when I see one. The question is, are you also worthy prey? If I split you open, will the guts an animal spill or will I pull out that strange mass you actually are? How exciting.

Geneva could hear the woman’s violent thoughts. Could almost taste the blood that coated her mind. No, she could not make any hasty moves with this woman around. And she didn’t dare to try and manipulate her with her desires. The elf was nothing but her desires. It would be like trying to manipulate a flame by dousing it with oil.

She quelled her effort to flinch away as the elf pushed off the wall, stalking toward her. Geneva tried to read her intentions but the woman didn’t even know what she was going to do, her mind a roiling mass of emotion interspersed with intense spikes that ranged from provoking her with a backhand across the face to thoughts of cuddling her. This woman is insane.

Geneva admitted she was relieved when her summoner looked up. “Kii, don’t,” the girl whines, getting up. “At least wait until I’ve finished asking my questions before you do…whatever it is you’re thinking of doing.”

The elf pauses her advance, like a hound who’s leash has been yanked by its owner. Then she takes a large step back. “No need for concern, dedia. I wouldn’t break the pet.”

“That sentence justifies my worries,” Lou said, putting down her writing implement and hurrying over. Geneva didn’t resist as she was pulled towards the girl, wrapped in deceptively strong arms. Reflexively, she wove a spell, pushing her magic into her summoner’s body. Melding? The elf is as capable as I thought. One less bargaining chip. “Why are you hanging around anyway? I thought this would be boring for you.”

“On the contrary. The creatures she describes are quite interesting. It would be…fun to see this Burning Earth.”

“Ha! I bet but it’s impossible. You can’t stay on another realm with being contracted.”

Geneva perked up. Perhaps…yes, this will do. “My summoner, that is not quite true.”

She smiled softly. “To be precise, to remain on a separate plane, one needs an anchor. A connection to something native to the realm. For planewalkers, their summoners serve as their anchors but it doesn’t need to be another being. One can tie their mana to an object, or even a place. It is a complex spell but there are planwalkers who do not need summoners as they can bind themselves to a point in an instant.”

Her smile stretched wider as she saw the elf’s eyes light up. Her summoner seemed apprehensive, as she did with all things involving summoning, but her beloved’s enthusiasm swept her away. “What kind of spell?” Lou asked slowly. “What affinity?”

“That’s what’s truly amazing about it. The spell binds the essence of the being. Therefore, it can be used with any affinity. More important is expertise, as the caster has mere moments to enact it.”

“Do you know this spell?” Kierra asked eagerly.

Geneva nodded slowly, conveying a false hesitation. “I’ve seen it. However, it needs to be adapted for every individual. No being is the same, after all.”

“I wonder…will your pure affinity work for something like this?”

Geneva widened her eyes, parting her lips slightly. “I forgot. Yes, Master’s pure affinity means she simply needs to will the spell to take effect. Perhaps with a demonstration, you could do it yourself.”

“Yessss.” Kierra’s hands flexed. “I will be the first Atainna to hunt creatures in other realms.”

“A plane-spanning legend,” Geneva cooed.

“Not even my mother has done something so great.” Her eyes, more gold than green in the light, widened. “I can find the realm of the Great Spirit…” Geneva held back her excitement as the elf trembled, her feet pressing into the ground as if she were ready to take off that very moment.

“Slow down a minute.” Lou’s calm voice interrupted. “You’re at an advantage having the physical affinity but you can’t just go hoping into any realm you want. Just as there are some creatures that can’t survive here, there are places people, or elves I guess, can’t survive. Not to mention, in order to become a planewalker, you need the blessing of the Guardian of Dimensions, something powerful enough to keep a don in check. And there’s no way I’m letting you go alone so we’renot going anywhere anytime soon. Don’t try to talk me out of it! I mean it.”

“So demanding,” the elf purred, sidling up to the girl. With an afterthought, Geneva was pushed aside as Kierra wrapped her arms around Lou. “Taking away something so fun. Very well, my love, but you’ll have to entertain me in the meantime.”

“Ah, wait, wait! I was still in the middle of—”

Her summoner’s words were cut off as her wife stole her lips. Geneva paid rapt attention as Kierra pushed her down, Lou giving token struggles. She read their thoughts, learning their deepest desires, desires she doubted they even knew. All the while, a plan began to form.

I see. Her weakness is loneliness. She craves others. Their presence, their attention, their love. Then I will be beside her. I will make myself indispensable. She will be unable to live without me. Then, I will give the elf the hunt she desires. How unfortunate if she should perish to the fangs of a greater predator in her rampage through the realms. But I will be there for Lou to lean on, kuku.

It would not be fast but if there was one thing the Crimson Flame had learned over her long life, it was patience.