New Valis

Charlotte Valis Stories

Chapter 2: Unknown Fortune

Kate Tomes, Reporter for AKC News

The world was dark, humid and odorous as the young news anchor felt her way through the gloom. Her mind was working feverishly to put together the past few hours. She had been watching Lisa perform real magic, potent destructive magic. She remembered asking more questions about the demands, then being elevated up into the sky. There were thousands of them, people from all over the city in a vortex of panic and fear. After that, her perception failed her; she couldn't make out anything beyond the occasional screeching person who flew past her. There was a voice, loud, powerful. It spoke of...luck. Then there was darkness, the sudden impact into something spongy and then waking up in the dark. 

Kate was making her way towards a sliver of light in the distance, never had the turn of phrase walk into the light felt more appropriate as she stumbled over what felt like people, most of which were not moving, occasionally one would grunt in pain but otherwise it was an eerie silence in the darkness. There was a man ahead. He too, was moving towards the light. She could tell as he occasionally stepped in front of it, silhouetting himself. Kate picked up her pace a bit. Occasionally her foot would land on what was clearly a face, a disconcerting feeling, especially when there was no moan of a complaint. She reached the man ahead, reaching to touch him as she approached.

"Hey, You, Do you know where we are?"

She called out as the man slapped her hand away and shook his head, there wasn't enough light to tell expressions or body language, so she took his rebuke and followed behind him as he continued towards the light. As the pair finally reached the beam of light, they stared upwards, nothing, just a bright spot projecting a thin stream of light into their dark expanse. 

"What do you suppose is up there?"

Kate said now she could see the man looking as scared as she felt. He shook his head and brought a finger to his lips, gesturing for her to silence. The motion annoyed her, she put her hands on her hips and glared at the scared looking man, she was about to berate him when his hand covered her face. He swung around and gripped her into an embrace. She struggled as he whispered into her ear.

"Be quiet. I saw a large hand taking people from this place not too long ago. Do you want to be snatched!"

The warning was enough to make her stop struggling as the man released her. She looked again up towards the light, not seeing anything. Turning back to the man she dropped into a whisper;

"Wouldn't it be better than being stuck wherever we are? I'd hate to alarm you, but I think we're surrounded by dead people..."

The man met her stare, and the two stood in silence for a long moment. The light wavered briefly as something passed across the top of the light shaft. Both of them stared up. Kate felt butterflies in her stomach as she hesitated and then called out.

"Hey! Anyone Up there! Hey! Help! Help!"

The man jumped on her, pinning her to the ground with a painful bump, his hands wrapping around her mouth as he pinned her down. He snarled at her but said nothing as he brought his knee around to try and choke her. Kate tried to scream, his hand firmly between her teeth now as she tried to bite down. He grunted in pain but didn't back off as she felt pressure building on her throat. Her whole body convulsed violently as she fought to free herself from the man's pin.

She felt herself get light-headed as he suddenly vanished.

"OH, THERE ARE TWO MORE HERE"

A loud feminine voice declared as two huge fingers wrapped around Kate's chest and lifted her skywards. As the world became a rush of vibrant light and colour, her saviour dropped her roughly onto an open palm, her assailant next to her as a large girl looked down on them, she could have been no older than twenty with large hazel eyes, a curious smile and curly brown hair. The man next to her avoided meeting her eyes as the large woman poked at him with her finger. Kate looked around, there were others, all women, wandering around a field of black. She saw a blonde girl holding two people by their legs as she slid them into a pouch on her belt. Quickly turning to her own captor, she felt an urgency to get answers before she suffered a similar fate.

"Who are you? Where are we? What are you going to do with us?"

The woman smiled as she plucked the man from her palm with her fingers and lowered him down towards her waist, Kate rushed to the edge of her fleshy platform to watch the man being dropped into an open pouch, others already inside. Rolling back to look up at what would normally be a sweet face, she felt a rush of panic. She stood, finding balance tricky as she stared up into the huge hazel eyes as they refocused on her. The large fingers appeared again to pin her down as the large woman spoke.

"I am Acolyte Danielle. I am collecting survivors before these panties are properly washed by the Slaves. You are in the Temple of the Goddess. We are going to examine and sort you. Your future here depends on our judgement."

Kate looked around; there must have been a hundred of these Acolytes across the vast black expanse. Panties...the scale was unimaginable as she struggled to see the edges forget the shape. Where was she, What had happened, the questions just kept coming as she felt a solid grip on her calf, Danielle was apparently done talking, and it was now time for her to be pouched. There was a flash of pain as she was lifted and lowered into the Acolytes belt pouch.

Danielle Thomas, Acolyte of Valis

Tying the last pouch closed Dani stretched, feeling accomplished as she gently tapped the three full pouches hanging from her beltline. The soft silk surface of the Goddesses discarded underwear was pleasant under her feet as she took large strides towards the hemline. She was trying to move in as few steps as possible as not to squash any survivors that may be pushing their way to the edges. She had found all of her survivors in the exposed folds of the crotch area, the most densely packed area. Reaching the edge of the massive silk surface, Dani swivelled her belt around, so the pouches were behind her as she climbed the long ladder up and out of the cleaning chamber. The pouches bounced lightly against her rear as she climbed, a feeling she very much enjoyed. 

Coming over the top of the long climb the Acolyte turned, from this vantage she could see her friends still working below, and see the whole shape of the panties, slightly crumpled but mostly spread out before her like a rich dark ocean of silk. Bringing her pouches back around to her front, she approached the cleaning rooms checkpoint, a large athletic girl, ten times the size of Danielle sitting with her leg across the exit to the area. This woman was an Adept, Direct superior to the Acolytes. Dani stood straight and waited to be addressed by her superior.

    "Finished Already Acolyte? Very well, Head to the sorting chamber and then take the rest of the day off to study."

Dani blushed at the offer of time off as she bowed to Yvonne and started walking towards the huge woman's feet, as she approached, Yvonne moved her leg back to let her pass. The power in her leg was a scary thing for Dani to consider as she slipped between the foot and the chamber wall. As Dani turned to cross the slave market, her sense of superiority returned as the slaves barely touched her knees, the small inferior working class that attended the needs of the temple. The different sizes and scales on display were always wondrous to Dani as she considered the tiny people in her pouches, these poor individuals must have been less than dust to the Goddess while she was abusing them, yet to her, they were small finger tall figures. 

As she entered the sorting chamber, she slid into her usual seat and unhooked her pouches. She was dropping them on the table before her. Dani carefully moved the three bowls from the other side of the table before her as she emptied each pouch into its own bowl. The tiny people within screamed and yelped as they tumbled into the bowls. A quick inspection revealed that they had all survived the trip, which was always a relief as she tapped the small bell on the end of her table. A small slave girl appeared with a glass of water and Dani took the beverage gratefully, lifting it to her lips for a refresh. As she placed the glass back down, she gently ran her finger around the rim of each bowl, knocking back the various escape attempts and giggling and the ensuing tumble. A few minutes of silent play later, Feena finally arrived at the table. Sorting had to be performed by two Acolytes, so Dani had to be patient and wait for a second to finish her collection. 

    "Took ya long enough Fi, were you being picky again?"

Dani giggled as she watched her friend filling her bowls, The dark-haired girl shook her head in annoyance as she poked at a few of her catches. 

    "Nothing special here today, One day. I'll find a priestess, and she'll get me out of this mess."

Her friend said with a defeated tone, Dani could sympathise although she had given up hope of finding a priestess a long time ago. If one of the women she had found became a Priestess, it was not uncommon for them to take the Acolyte who found them into the larger scales with them as a servant. Dani selected her first male and dropped him in the middle, and Fi barely looked up as she passed judgement,

    "Slave"

It was a solid choice. The man had some muscle to him. Dani nodded her head in agreement and dropped him through a hole in the table to the side. Fi put a similar male in the middle and the process repeated. They would always go through the men first. There were only two places for them, Slave or Disposable. Neither of them knew where the disposable ones went, only that they were the ones deemed unworthy of being useful slaves. 

Finally, they got the women; it was tradition to start with the older, less desirable ones first and save the 'best girls' for the end to allow discussion. Once again, the first groups ended up in the Slave or Disposable category. Then Feena placed a beautiful brunette girl between them. Dani leaned down to inspect her closely. 

"She is pretty, Strip girl!"

She commanded as the small girl removed the tattered clothing she was wearing. Dani nodded in approval, then carefully said something she could regret if she were countered. 

"Adept"

She said, very slowly as Fi's eyes glinted. Her friend clearly agreed but was hesitant. She nodded her approval, and this time very carefully offered her outstretched palm towards the small woman. The woman looked up at both of them with confusion as she stepped up on to the offered hand.   Fi gently placed her into a box and whispered something down to her softly, Dani knew Fi would now have to get the girl approved to be an Adept, a useful ally to have should the girl be accepted. Dani looked down at her final girl, an attractive blonde in a tattered blue dress, she sighed as she took her up, the woman looked beaten half to death, but she was the best she had. As Feena looked at her the woman's lips curled into a grin,

    "Jeez Dani, did you beat her down in the chase?" 

She said with a giggle, tapping her bell three times in quick succession. Dani gasped a little as she reached for Fi's tapping fingers.

    "Really? That's two days rations for a single dose. You should at least let me do it!"

Fi waved her friend off as another Acolyte appeared with a box, Feena signed her name on the offered pad and took the box. Placing the box on the table, she popped it open and took out the tiny vial of liquid, putting it on the ground near Dani's final woman.

    "It's Goddess Saliva. It will heal you up, Drink it before I change my mind."

She said to the small woman before turning a smile back to Dani, who was nodding her head in thanks.

    "I know you've given up, but I've not given up on you!"

She said with a grin as the two girls took each other's hand, watching the small blonde woman drinking from the comically large bottle. The effect was instant, as it always was, the Goddesses spit washed the wounds and imperfections from the small woman, cleaning her as she tried to drink it. Once the small girl had finished, she looked healthy and fresh, Dani gasped a little at the stunning change. Feena smirked as she leaned down to inspect her.

    "Thought so, her jacket had the word 'news' on it, Figured she was some public figure, they are normally very attractive, Strip for us would you dear?" 

Dani found herself leaning in keenly to watch her catch removing her clothing, clearly terrified. The woman was still bold enough to meet their eyes, as she had done when she had first been captured. Once she was nude, she even did a sarcastic twirl for her giant audience. She was..perfect. Dani sat back, not sure what to make of it as Fi grinned widely as she spoke.

"Priestess."

 Dani paused before replying, Priestesses were among the largest servants in the Goddesses temple. Only the Goddess and her personal maids were larger. If she proposed a new priestess, she would have to be confirmed by the Goddesses personal staff. She could propose to her to be an Adept...or even a full Sister of the temple without too much blowback, but could she risk proposing a full Priestess. Dani breathed deep as Feena steepled her fingers, amused at the mixed emotions that were flashing across Dani's face. Lowering her face to the small woman, she whispered conspiratorially;

    "What do you say little one, want to go high-risk, high reward or would you settle for middle-management."

The whispers were soft, and the small woman clearly appreciated that she was being asked something instead of being told. The tiny figure put her hands on her hips in an adorable power stance as she squeaked out her reply.

    "I'm down to risk whatever it is. I've nothing to lose and everything to gain."

Dani smirked, the tiny figure showing no way of comprehending just how true that statement was in the current moment.  She offered her open palm to the small woman as she spoke softly.

"Jump on. I'm going to put you forward for a significant role in the temple. If you succeed, remember it was Dani and Feena from 13C that gave you a chance, please?"  

The small girl looked up into her eyes with a mixture of confusion and intrigue, before offering her a small nod of the head. Dani took the affirmation and swallowed hard, placing the tiny girl into a velvet-lined box and placing the lid on top. The two women grinned at each other as they each took their respective box and parted ways. 

Charlotte Valis, Universal Goddess

Watching Lisa work was getting boring, she had been mostly giving lectures for the best part of three hours, and Charlotte didn't feel it needed her attention. Her tablet pinged a notification from the temple, something that needed her attention it seems, Fine, She wasn't doing anything anyway. Flicking through the previous notifications, she had ignored she found one that piqued her interest, A confirmation for a new priestess, not an unusual request, new priestesses were being confirmed all of the time. This one, however, was for a woman she recognised, that had never happened before, Normally if she met someone she wanted to be a priestess, she would just do it, not put her through the system. A smirk played over her lips as she recalled the news broadcast the previous day. This woman had been interviewing Lisa. Fate really had conspired to bring them to a meeting.

Charlotte let her power flow through her as she quickly located this young woman, bringing herself into the small prison, sitting in the corner in the dark. The Goddess, unlike the other prisoner, could see perfectly fine in the absolute dark. She sat and watched as the woman paced, feeling out the walls. Eventually, the inevitable happened, she walked into the sitting Goddess, tripping and falling. The Goddess laughed as she feigned outrage.

    "Do you mind! I'm sitting here! Stupid bimbo!"

The other woman scrambled back away from her, her confused eyes scanning the blackness. Finding her footing again, she stood, still squinting comically hard as she spoke.

    "I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't realise anyone else was in here, how come you were so quiet?"

Charlotte didn't reply, just sat there and watched, She teleported to the other side of the box to watch the woman 'pretend' the stumble back into where she had just been. The woman was throwing out the standard statements of confusion and annoyance as Charlotte watched, finally speaking;

    "Why should I make you a Priestess?"

The casual tone and new direction seemingly stunning the naked woman stumbling around before her. Mortals were so easy to break, Charlotte felt she could break this one with words alone. The pure darkness was too much for this woman, would she really be a worthy priestess. The woman's silence was bothering the Goddess, who felt the need to up the drama. She let her eyes burn purple, illuminating the room and immediately gripping the attention of her subject. With a flash of power, Charlotte reduced the woman down to a comparative inch, mentally dragging her between her feet as she sat with her legs bowed. She now loomed over her, bathing the small woman in purple light as her bare soles towered either side of her.

"WHY SHOULD, I, MAKE, YOU, A, PRIESTESS!"

She said with anger in her tone, the small woman breaking under her words into a defeated pile of tears before her.  Charlotte sneered and began to move her feet slowly together, fully intending to smush the blubbering excuse for life slowly. As her feet tickled the shoulders of the defeated girl, she suddenly stood, bracing the massive soles with her arms as she looked directly into the Goddesses glowing eyes and screamed at her.

    "BECAUSE I DESERVE TO BE! I DESERVE POWER, IF THAT MEANS SERVING YOU, THEN SO BE IT! I DESERVE TO BE A PRIESTESS!"

Charlotte grinned as she brought her feet together, popping the small woman. She had finally made her stand, but the Goddess had already made up her mind. She giggled as she vanished from the dark cell, flopping back into her plush sofa. As she lay there, she felt the familiar tingles, the mangled remains on her sole reforming, regenerating, drawing on her power, a new priestess being born.