~Bleep! – Encyclopaedia entry added: Skadi - Slaaneshi High Demon (weakened).
Slaaneshi High Daemon desires to forge a contract. Player can discuss terms and enforce those terms using the Contracts, Summons, Familiars and Pets section of the GAO.
~Bleep! – Player Erik unlocked feature: Contracts, Summons, Familiars and Pets overview.
CSFP allows Player to manage and monitor non-player beings falling under the CSFP criteria. Once entered into the CSFP, subjugated beings are bound to the Player, cannot cause harm to the Player and must abide by the agreed upon terms of any established contracts.
Sacrifices and offerings required for upholding Contracts are separate and parallel to worship of the Player’s chosen Deity.
Using this as a reference, Erik decided it was safe enough to enter into a contract with Skadi. Of course, depending on the agreed upon terms and conditions.
While they waited for Sven to bring back Scaldar as a precaution, Erik, Sigrun and Skadi sat down at a table in the hall. Once seated, they started going over possible contents for the Contract and Erik was careful not to carelessly agree to anything. Who knew what would and wouldn’t be accepted as a contract full of loopholes?
The basics of the Contract would be that Erik supplied Skadi with souls as nourishment for her Daemonic power and form to recover while she would provide Erik with counsel, secrets and whatever else she could provide. Her fear of being thrown back into the Chaos Wastes very clearly exceeded her unwillingness to enter into essentially a master-servant contract.
And when Scaldar arrived and was filled in on the situation, he nodded in favour of Erik entering into the contract, saying it was a good and rare opportunity. With enough time and investment, he further added, Skadi could prove to be an invaluable asset to Erik’s future. Especially since it was incredibly rare for High Daemons to descend and remain in a physical form on the Mortal planes.
In the end, with Scaldar overseeing things from the side to prevent Skadi from pulling any tricks in the wording of the Contract, the master-servant pact was struck.
Erik would provide Skadi with a set amount of souls every month to feed her and in exchange Skadi would become a loyal retainer that acted in his best interests.
~Bleep! – Player Erik established a Contract with Slaaneshi High Daemoness Skadi (true name: Qhonnith).
Adding Skadi to CSFP. Calculating received bonuses and contract stipulations.
Finished! Check GAO screen for changes or CSFP screen for CSFP management.
“What the fuck is this?!” – A surprised scream erupted from the newly contracted Skadi.
Erik already had a hunch that Skadi might learn or see something after entering the Contract with him, so he wasn’t surprised but Sigrun, Sven and Scaldar were puzzled. He had made sure in advance that she couldn’t share his secrets, just in case this happened.
“Ah, it seems you can see some of the things I can see. Good, that actually makes some things a lot easier.”
“What is… no, before that! Who are you? What are you? This… this is insane! Even in the Chaos Wastes this is unheard of! This… box is describing everything about me!”
“Yes indeed it does. I can only see some of those things about you but for now I’ll just say that it is something very powerful and very beneficial to both of us.”
Perhaps feeling a little disgruntled at being left out, Sigrun mixed into the conversation.
“What are you two talking about?”
“Ehm… eh…” – Erik was lost for words. He had anticipated Skadi seeing part of the GAO, but he hadn’t thought far enough ahead to deal with Sigrun and others being present and asking questions.
Rapidly trying to come up with something, he finally decided on ‘telling the truth but not quite the full truth and yet not a lie either’. Which seemed to satisfy Sigrun for now, although Erik could still see questions in her gaze.
“So you’re saying you can see certain things and this helps you grow stronger?”
“Yes, something like that.”
“Alright… but we’re not done with this conversation yet.”
Feeling a slight foreboding, Erik simply nodded at his girlfriend’s threatening statement. But before he could feel relieved at dodging a bullet for now, Sigrun dropped another bomb.
“And you-” She said as she turned to Skadi, “You may now be tied to Erik, but we are also going to have a talk, just the two of us!”
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After the Daemon situation was resolved, Scaldar left for his own home to complete whatever he had been in the middle of. Erik, Sigrun, Sven and Skadi returned to exploring Erik’s estate and made a few discoveries.
On a stand next to the huge bed, a finely crafted shortsword was presented. Skadi explained it was a weapon imbued with her power and that it would be best if Erik were to hold on to it.
The grip snugly fit in Erik’s hand, no rough edges or awkward protrusions that caused discomfort when holding the sword. It had a large, half-moon shaped pommel inlaid with gold and silver wire. The crossguard included a knuckle bow, a strip of metal that followed along the handle and provided some extra protection for the hand. And finally the sword itself was roughly 80cm long with a broad blade ending in a shark-fin shaped tip. It looked the most like some falchions from the 13th century or a one-handed Kriegsmesser, optimised for hacking and cutting in conjunction with a shield or as a back-up weapon.
The most striking feature of the blade was the clear contrast of swirling lines in the steel. It was a Damascus pattern but apart from the well-known silver and black, there was also a swirl of purple mixed into the blade.
Erik was quite pleased with the new weapon and immediately hung it on his hip, ready to draw if or when he found himself without his Greatsword or about-to-be-finished Halberd.
The second thing they found was beyond the dark silk curtains Skadi had approached from. Behind it another storeroom filled with luxuries was presented, bolts of fine silks, casks of famous wines and even more of the soft furs strewn about in the bedroom. There was even a large stockpile of differently coloured candles and incense sticks, with questionable effects.
But beyond this treasure trove a set of stairs led down into a cellar. And the walls were full of cells while at the end of the underground tunnel was an open space with a large altar to Slaanesh.
It became obvious what the purpose of this place was when Erik saw the rows of strung up bodies and the neatly cleaned torture tools as well as various contraptions that could either be used in some extreme SM plays or as torture devices.
After all, Slaanesh is the God of Pleasure and Torture, which in the end are just two sides of the same coin. A duality that was found in all Chaos Gods where a ‘good’ point was mirrored with a ‘bad’ point like how Khorne is both the God of mindless Rage and of Honour.
“When I was bound to Yrret, this is where he performed the rites and sacrifices to empower me, however I suppose we won’t be needing this place a lot, considering our new Contract, right Darling?”
After finishing the Contract, obtaining a first understanding of her new situation and after seeing Sigrun stick close to Erik and giving her cautious looks, Skadi had started referring to Erik as Darling. Most likely as a way of teasing Sigrun and probably to try and ingratiate herself with Erik.
At first the new form of address had sent a shiver down Erik’s spine but after listening to it for the entire afternoon, he had already gotten used to it. Sigrun however, could only grind her teeth in slight annoyance for now.
‘Just a Daemoness, just you wait and see! Mom was right, given the current situation I really should act faster and not let Erik dangle around like a fatty piece of meat! Thralls, whatever. A Slaaneshi Daemoness, fine! All these cannot be direct competition but if other unmarried girls start eyeing him I might have a problem!’
And as the party moved back into the hall, she steeled her resolve to find an appropriate time to approach Erik.
So what are we talking about here, a herald, a Keeper?
I'll mostly refer to her as a High Daemoness for simplicity, but I suppose she would be closest to a Herald. Her role is pretty minimal at first (mostly focusing around the pleasure aspect of Slaanesh) but as Erik grows in power she will get more jobs to do as well.
(I think Sigrun, Skadi and 1 maybe 2 others will be actually important for more than a couple chapters. Others will probably be 1arc plot devices and/or put a checkmark on the harem-collection list.)
@Macrendil-Ysmir A word of advice, don't make Skaldi a major demon. Beings of this power do not submit to mortals. At best, they are allies in a service-for-service spirit.
@Alcyon I am aware. I'm aiming for Skadi to be a strong demon that is practically at rock bottom and is now tightly bound to her new mortal form.