Order and Chaos

by Tatsurou


Hard Party

Discord smiled to himself as he flowed along the seas surrounding the Shivering Isles, taking in his reflection. He'd grown quite a bit over the years, to the point he was now easily as long as his father was tall at full stretch. His horn and antler had come fully in, though his antler only had two points so far. His frequent excursions and magical exercise had given him a sleek, well muscled physique. As mismatched abominations of nature that never should have existed, he was quite handsome if he did say so himself...especially now that his face had lost the baby fat and he was getting just the fringe of a white beard. He was sure one day it would grow into a full fledged goatee that gave him the perfect "I'm evil!" look, but for now he was happy with the small tuft that gave him the "I'm suave" look, according to the Dark Seducers.

Thinking of the denizens of Dementia, Discord had come to understand why he was drawn more and more to them as his increased physical and emotional maturity had led to the women amongst them making certain offers...offers he surprised himself by refusing. It had surprised them as well, but he hadn't been able to put into words then why he'd refused them. As such, he was now off to talk to the one person he was certain would be able to explain it, or at least allow him to explain it to himself.

Reaching the door that still did not open of its own accord to him, he lifted his eagle talon and knocked. He was soon greeted by a familiar red face. "Hey, Uncle Saggy!"

Sanguine grinned widely. "Hello, Discord. What brings you to knock on my door?"

"I was hoping I could come in finally," Discord explained. "I need to wrap my head around a few things, and I figured your place would be the best place to do so."

Sanguine chuckled softly. "I'm not sure why you think my Realm would be conducive to clear thought..." He paused as a thought struck him. "Then again, one of my Pleasure Pockets might work...still, what I said before stands. Do you know what Debauchery is?"

Discord nodded eagerly. "I do now!" he stated firmly.

Sanguine crossed his arms with a grin. "Alright. Tell me without blushing."

Smirking, Discord snapped his eagle talon, conjuring an image from elsewhere in the Isles. "It's what the Dark Seducers have been driving the Golden Saints crazy with ever since I modded their armor."

Sanguine burst into peals of laughter. "Very clever, young chaos bringer. Come, enter my Realms at will now. I believe I know just the one to take you to for your contemplation." Resting a hand on Discord's shoulder, he guided him through the door.

Discord soon found himself walking down a moonlit path through a dense forest, babbling brooks adding gentle background sound to the scene, as well as gentle mist that rolled amongst the trees. Not far along, a clearing appeared where a long table was laid out, filled with food. "What's this?" Discord asked curiously. "It...doesn't look like anything I'd expected of your Realm."

"Rather than a single Realm, I have several Pleasure Pockets, one for each aspect of Debauchery I represent," Sanguine explained. "This is the Misty Grove, which I use for indulging in gluttony and sloth. Good food and drink in ample quantities, relaxing environment, no rush on anything...I figured this would be the perfect place for you to think and talk." He took a seat at the head of the table.

Smiling, Discord floated into a seat next to him, quickly digging into the repast. "Delicious!" he praised.

"Of course it is," Sanguine allowed as he took a drink. "Who would be gluttonous over food that was sub-par? The culture that would allow such a thing to happen truly has lost its way."

For no apparent reason, Discord coughed out a bald eagle carrying a pair of golden arches. "Imagine that," he agreed innocently.

"Now, whatever gave you the idea for such an interesting...mod, was it?" Sanguine asked curiously. "I must say, I like the taste. Opens opportunities for...all sorts of mischief."

Discord's eating slowed. "Actually, that's...kind of what led to my present...Nocturnal calls it a filly-soft-ice-"

"You know the words, Discord," Sanguine chided. "If you want me to take the issue seriously, you should do the same."

Discord sighed. "Fine," he snapped petulantly. "Ever since I started maturing out of childhood, I've been having weird feelings about the Dark Seducers. When I reached this stage, I figured out what they were when one of them offered to 'make a man out of me'. Didn't take me long to see everything in a new light."

Sanguine chuckled knowingly. "So, how are those dark ladies in bed? I've long had suspicion, but they don't give me the time of day unless Sheogorath is involved and-"

"I wouldn't know, since I said no," Discord mumbled softly, taking a drink from his own mug.

Sanguine blinked. Several times. "I'm sorry, I thought you understood debauchery?"

"Oh I get what debauchery is," Discord countered. "But..." He sighed. "Well, the Golden Saints, the Dark Seducers...Dad made all of them. They exist because he wants them to. If they upset him, they vanish. To a certain extent, their relationship to me is the same. They don't have a choice in the matter, not really. That offer wasn't so much telling me she wanted to as reminding me I could demand it whenever I wanted...and I felt sick at the very idea. I mean, I'm all for being indiscriminate if that's what you - or I - want to go for...but..." He groped for words.

Sanguine reigned over the darkest aspects of the human psyche, aspects that were common to the psyches of nearly any other type of creature that could think. Not only did that mean he was intimately acquainted with that darkness and what could drive a creature to it, he also could recognize the mores that would prevent a creature from embracing them. Normally, they were what he worked against to lead mortals to his path...but for his nephew, he knew he should only identify it. "It would feel like you were taking advantage of them," he explained.

"Yeah..." Discord confirmed. "That's it. That's the words. I...I don't want to take. I...I want it to be given." He slumped back in his chair. "I feel so...I don't know what I feel! What kind of child of Madness am I that I'm like this?"

"The good kind," a soft, feminine voice spoke from the trees.

Discord nearly leapt to an overhanging branch as Sanguine turned to the figure that entered. "Oh, Vaermina. I forgot you'd scheduled the Grove for the day. If you like, we can take our discussion elsewhere."

"That won't be necessary," Vaermina countered softly, stepping into the grove as her brown robes swished around her. Her pale face glowed in the moonlight as she walked up, her golden eyes soft. "That is, if I may join you?"

After a glance at Discord, Sanguine beckoned her forward. Much to both their surprise, she sat down next to Discord on the long side of the table. "Uh...forgive my confusion," Discord spoke up dubiously, "but...last I checked, you ran from me in fear at the sight of me."

"I apologize for that," Vaermina allowed. "I reign over Dreams and Nightmares...and at times I encounter some prophetic ones. I saw some visions of what you would one day be capable of, and what you would bring to Aurbis...and it terrified me. Seeing how so many of the Daedric Princes were falling under your sway made it even more terrifying. I...acted foolishly."

"Quite alright," Discord responded consolingly. "I am rather terrifying, if I do say so myself. But what changed your mind?"

"My visions implied that, somehow, you would one day be able to alter even the Princes on whim and thought," Vaermina explained. "Patently absurd...but terrifying, especially when I knew nothing of your motivations." She smiled softly. "But now I have heard all I need to know of your motivations...and far from being terrifying, those visions became...beautiful. Visions I want to come to pass."

Sanguine chuckled. "So what was it he said that put you under his sway like the rest of us?"

" 'I don't want to take'," Vaermina quoted. " 'I want it to be given'." She turned to Discord with a warm smile. "For all the power you might have, and how much you enjoy toying with anyone on a lower level than you - which may one day include all of us, if my vision is true - those two sentences show just how much...you care." She slowly reached a hand up to Discord's cheek. "And...if you will allow, I'd like to give you something."

Discord knew his physiology - if it could be called that - was pure manifested magic and chaos energy. He had no blood, no physical heart, no glands. Even knowing this, he found his pulse turning rapid, his cheeks flushing, and his lion paw pads breaking into a sudden nervous sweat at the touch of the Lady of Dreams and Nightmares. "O-o-okay," he stammered out softly.

Smiling, Vaermina leaned in and gently pressed her lips against his.

Mortals spoke of a true kiss as the first step of how two living being might come close to becoming one, and that in a kiss one revealed one's true self. For mortals, this was mere poetry. For Daedra and other beings of that sort, it was much more factual as Discord was discovering. As lips touched, their auras connected, and he found Vaermina's very soul laid bare to him, showing him everything she was beyond any and all changes she might ever make to herself. He saw everything she ever was before, everything she was in the moment, and everything she might yet be. Inside, he knew that she was seeing the same in him...and he found himself enthralled.

After a time, the pair pulled back from each other, Vaermina gasping for air despite not needing to breathe. "Anui-el and Sithis," she swore breathlessly. "The visions barely told a fraction..." She looked into his eyes, her own glowing with fond warmth.

Discord struggled to gain control of himself. "If...if that's what a kiss feels like..." he murmured in wonder. "What...what does..."

"What does it feel like to go further?" Vaermina coached throatily. When Discord nodded, her smile widened. "Perhaps Sanguine can give us some privacy to find out?"

Chuckling softly to himself, Sanguine stood up. "Just clean up before you leave, alright?" he asked hopefully.

"No promises!" Discord called back as the Prince left his own Realm.