An Elderian Influx by Lavender Pandy (Patreon)

Many who tremble at the thought of the unknown and fear tales of creatures from the beyond would claim that Elderians managing to pierce the ‘Forbidding’, the protective veil between the Mundane and Elderlands is a rampant problem worthy of all the attention of the Courtian crown.

“The Forbidding is failing! The end is nye!” they would cry, unconcerned that the creatures and beings of the forbidden realm were once a part of their world less than three centuries ago.

Though many of the creatures of ascension are said to have grown powerful and evolved in the mana rich environment of the Elderlands, no one knows for sure what has become of the ascended. The only experience the mundane have with the beings of Elderia are the infrequent invaders who somehow managed to cross over.

Of course it is merely doomsayer’s speak to claim that the Forbidding is failing, and that there is any truth to the notion that catastrophe is on the horizon. The truth is, only truly determined and incredibly lucky Elderians ever managed to make a crossing. An event that is as rare as it is important, for if the peril were truly as ubiquitous as is professed by shivering poltroons then all of Theria would already be lost.

This is not to say that the Elderlands do not house some of the most frighteningly powerful and malignant creatures birthed by the planet of Elcrest. Heaven’s no. Only a fool would deny such a thing. Mana beast, unholy abominations of magic, eldritch monsters, demons, Elderians and even the forsaken Eternians besides; there is much to fear in the Elderlands; but the idea that these beings could return to our world in any mass is truly preposterous. Little is known about the Forbidding, but what is known for a fact, is that the more powerful the being, the more powerful the Forbidding’s resistance to their presence. It is rare for anything so powerful as ‘An Original’ to make it across.

With this said, it can not be denied that more clever Eledrians such as the cubi have made it across from time to time. It is believed their kind has actively been probing for weaknesses and ways to cross the Forbidding since being cast out of the Mundane Lands some odd two-hundred and fifty years ago.

These creatures are not usually able to cross by their will and wits alone. They are bound, all of them, to the Elderlands by the same power that nourishes their ætheric abilities and strengthens their soul bodies. This energy links them to the Elderlands and the Forbidding itself like a tether, there is a constant pull upon their incorporeal being, drawing them back to the Elderlands. This is why such beings need some kind of powerful arcane anchor to maintain their presence beyond the veil, an anchor unfortunately always provided by the foolish denizens of the mundane lands.

As an example, say there is a young Keeper monk, improving his mind and body to discover the limits of his own spiritual energy. He trains to strengthen the connection between his quintessence and the mana around him; enriching the flow and cultivating the æthereal energies of the world.

He however is a reckless sort. Unaware that the deepening of his connection to the flow and the power he is gaining within is making him a beckon to those who hunger for such energies. The kinling draws power in, adding his own energies to it, before releasing it into the world in practiced strikes and arcane artes that grow more powerful every day.

His displays of power are unfocused however and his artes unrefined; the efforts creating unstable manipulations in the flow with catastrophic effects. This continued abuse of the flow can destabilize the flow of mana in a small area, and given the Keeper’s raw talent, and unnatural affinity for the flow, he can affect the world in ways he is not aware of. As he destabilizes the flow on his side of the veil, so too do the clever cubi seek to mirror his efforts.

Though the power required to create such a circuit and temporarily destabilize the veil in order to create a rift is great, and even then the chances would be low, it is a chance that bored cubi would always take for the opportunity to cross over.

They themselves cannot cross over, their influence, their essence, and their will can reach out from across the Forbidding with enough time and focus. They can lend their power to the unwitting Keeper, increasing the strength of his dangerous manipulations. Unaware that the magical whispers and urgings in the back of his mind are thoughts and desires not his own, he carelessly presses his unique abilities too hard and finally disrupts the natural order of things.

In that moment, in that infinitesimal amount of time, he and exceptional, but singular kinling can create the conditions to create a small, otherwise insignificant wound in the fabric that keeps the Forbidding in place. A wound that can be exploited by a careful and clever cubi, should they be present at this rare moment.

Such a tear would not be enough to aid the more powerful of their kin and given the source of the energy that created the fissure, there would be no anchor powerful enough to sustain them on our side, but for a time the two incubi could cross over and appear in our world.

I would say the young monk would be startled, dumbfounded by what he’d done. The amount of his quintessence required to create such an effect would have been draining. So much so, that I doubt that even an exceptional soul would have been able to prevent himself from falling victim to the cubi and their ‘glamor abilities’.

Entranced by ‘the look’, drawn by ‘the voice’, and finally disarmed by ‘the touch’, he would be seduced by their dark beauty. Of course, with little time before the draw of the Forbidding was upon them, they’d seek to grow more powerful in order to resist it’s pull upon them. With little resistance they would defile the young Keeper and feed upon his quintessence; draining every drop they could in effort to increase their time on our side of the veil.

With skill and effort they would tear down the walls of discipline and self control the monk had built up over the years, enthralling him into a lustful toy. Not just a meal to fulfill for their sexual appetites, but a slave to aid them in their quest to remain.

Physical, intimate contact is the best for forming such connections. There’s just something about it that lowers the ‘soul’s defense’ and makes it easier for others to interact with your individual essence. So, they would ravish him. They would fuck the Keeper until he knew nothing but the pleasure of their touch. The taste of their nectar would be a drug he’d be unable to resist, and when his mind and body had been cultivated to their needs, they would have their fill of his essence and replace his will with their own.

Remember though, they are not as wicked or inherently evil as one might think. Depending on your definition of the words. Cubi rarely damage their prey irrevocably, and even more rarely do they kill. They would not leave him a lifeless husk. That is not their ambition. They are genuinely thankful for the fool...

What they will leave him with is a smile, a longing, and a compulsion to do whatever he could to experience their ‘love’ again. In this they will find a willing ally in their efforts to remain. A pawn in their game to stay here and gorge themselves on the denizens of the Mundane Lands.

Thankfully one Keeper, even one as powerful as he, would not be enough to sustain the two in our world for long. Thus the monk can be grateful that remaining was not the aim of the cubi who assailed him. His exposure was minimal, his consumption of their nectar not enough to permanently poison his mind. A bit of fun was all they wished to have, for now.

Such a victim will never quite be the same, though they often recover in a week or so. Unlike those who have been fully enthralled and addicted to the captivating secretions of the creatures, he will not know the unyielding lust such an infliction leaves upon the body and soul. When he awakes, the Elderians and his ordeal will be but a dream. A memory that itches sometimes in the back of his mind. He will be left to retrain himself and his resolve, and æthereal defenses. He will work hard to atone for what he almost unleashed upon the world; seeking never to repeat such mistakes in the past.

For you see, it is not the denizens of the Elderlands the kinlings of Elcrest must worry about, it is those on this side with the power to unleash them. From the foolish who misuse their powers, to the wicked that abuse them. If such a reckoning comes and the Forbidding is breached, it will be the mortal kin that brings about such a calamity; not the failing of the Forbidding.