Prologue: The Darkening

***PALAVUS IRONROD – Grand Temple of Aros, Central Ekistair***

The gleaming marble halls of the Grand Temple were alive with music and laughter as Paladins and Servants, Priests and Priestesses and citizens of the city all celebrated as one. Palavus grinned widely as he strode through the vast chamber, watching his brethren rejoice, for as of yesterday, the War had been won. Large Sunstones lined the massive room with its towering arched ceilings and fluted stone columns, filling the space with a warm, homely glow and illuminating the multitudes of naked bodies writhing on massive beds and lounges, or cavorting in the many expansive bathing pools. This chamber was one of dozens in the Temple, and many of the others were today being used for the same purpose as this one.

Under the roof of a Temple, all races were welcome, and today, all squabbles and disagreements had fallen to the wayside. Ebony Dark Elves and stout Dwarves, mighty Orcs and towering Giants, High Elves and Humans all mixed together in an orgy of love and passion. Palavus was smiling for another reason, however, for he saw more than just a room full of folk engaged in sexual abandon; he saw lasting peace between these cultures for the foreseeable future.

Armas Dorne – the First Paladin – had spent his long life forging the treaty of the Seven Kingdoms, spending years with each kingdom before finally bringing them to agree to peace. Dorne had done the impossible, by all counts, and the years after were a time of growth and abundance in Ekistair. As with any neighbouring nations, however, squabbles did occasionally break out, but the Order of Aros was always there to help smooth things out.

To defeat the dark forces, the Seven Kingdoms had, for the first time, worked as one against a common foe, and Palavus believed they would remember if for a long time to come.

Hands reached out, playfully grabbing at Palavus’ legs as he passed a pool. A slender Human woman, a busty Dwarf and a statuesque she-Orc – all of them naked and beautiful – were beckoning him to join them, but he politely declined. He would join the party soon enough, but there was someone he wanted to see first; Darius Sunblade, Palavus’ former apprentice.

In an act of highest courage and bravery, Darius had led the final charge against Morgeth the Corruptor, shattering enemy lines and sending the Demoness fleeing. Palavus could not have felt prouder; he had many sons the world over, and he considered Darius to be one of them.

Young Sunblade deserved congratulating, if Palavus could find him. He either hadn’t returned from the forward camp yet, or he was keeping his Gift suppressed for some reason. Scanning the mass of nude bodies, Palavus looked for someone that might know the whereabouts of Darius. Despite his resolve to wait until after he’d congratulated his former apprentice to join in the fun, he felt himself growing hard watching the hedonistic displays unfolding in the vast chamber.

On a nearby silk-covered lounge, a tremendously busty Tar’elda - a High Elf – was lying back with her generous, pale thighs spread wide while a slender, ebony Mor’elda - a Dark Elf – patiently slid his long phallus into her bald pussy. By the High Elf’s golden-haired head, a stocky Dwarf stood, his eyes closed in pleasure as the Elf lovingly suckled his fat cock. Palavus almost laughed out loud; he never thought he’d see the day when a High Elf fucked a Dark Elf or a Dwarf, and to see her doing both together was near unfathomable, yet that was the power of Aros. He could bring folk together, cultivate love when before there had been only hate.

On one of the huge beds, a stunning, fourteen or fifteen-foot Giantess lay back, her fair skin contrasting sharply with the silky jet-black tresses that splayed out around her head. She was moaning in pleasure; a deep yet pleasingly feminine rumble as a brawny nine-foot Orc knelt between her wide, creamy thighs and slotted his enormous cock into her waiting pussy. She took him easily, of course; Noroth women were used to much bigger. As Palavus watched, he felt his cock twitch as he imagined being in the Orc’s position. He’d fucked a Giantess or two before, and they certainly provided for a great deal of fun.

One of his brethren, a broad-shouldered Paladin named Bennet, climbed atop the Giantess and straddled her chest. Bennet had obviously used his Grace to enhance the size of his member, for no man that Palavus knew possessed a cock that hung past his knees! Slapping the thick slab of meat down, Bennet gathered up as much of the Noroth’s mountainous tits as he could and pushed them together around his shaft before beginning to pump his hips, fucking the vast cavern of pale flesh.

Well, no point asking Bennet if he’d seen Sunblade; the man was obviously preoccupied. Moving through the crowds, and politely declining offers he received here and there, Palavus finally sensed someone who may be of help. Delya, a beautiful, slender fellow Paladin he knew well was standing nearby, bent at the waist and bracing herself on one of the thick marble columns. A dark-haired Tar’elda was behind her, grasping her hips and pulling her back against him as he fucked her in a steady rhythm. They were both naked, as was most everybody, and Delya’s firm breasts swung beneath her with each thrust of the Elf’s hips.

She must have sensed his approach, for she turned to face him, resting her cheek on an outstretched arm. Her palms were flat against the column, her elbows locked, and even as she addressed Palavus, she continued meeting her lover’s thrusts with her tight ass. “Well, good evening, Palavus!” She purred, groaning as the Elf slapped her creamy buttock.

“Hello, Delya,” Palavus greeted the sexy Paladin with a wink.

“Come to join the fun?” She asked hopefully, her eyes wandering down to where his cock tented the front of his diaphanous robe. The traditional garment that members of the Order of Aros wore was never intended for modesty, and the filmy material left nothing to the imagination.

“Soon, my love,” Palavus promised, giving a friendly nod to the High Elf, who returned it before bringing his gaze back to where his cock was sliding in and out of Delya’s tight pussy. “For now, I’m looking for Darius. I can’t sense him anywhere.”

Delya thought for a moment, all the while her buttocks continued to slap against the Elf’s pelvis. “Haven’t seen him since the War was declared won,” she mused, her voice hitching every time the Elf slammed home. “He must be here; he surely wouldn’t still be at the forward camp?”

“Might be,” Palavus said, stroking his mustaches. “You know what he’s like, lass. All duty and honour and such. Probably wants to hunt down all the scattered darkspawn himself.”

Delya’s laugh tinkled, but it was interrupted by a particularly solid thrust. “Oh! Yes, that’s it!” The slender beauty cried. “Fuck my tight pussy with your big Elf cock!” After a moment, she came back to Palavus. “I’m sure he’ll return soon enough, Palavus. Why don’t you relax and have some fun? I’m sure there are plenty of women here who could use some of the famous Ironrod!”

Palavus sighed. Something nagged at him, a feeling that there was something slightly off. Shouldn’t Darius Sunblade, the hero of the age, be home by now? Surely, it didn’t take longer than three days to leave the forward camp. But then, perhaps Palavus had been so long at war that he’d forgotten how to relax. “Maybe you’re right, lass,” he conceded. “He’s probably just laying low. Poor bastard’s probably exhausted.”

Suddenly a pair of slim arms snaked around his chest from behind, and a soft pair of lips pressed against his ear, sending pleasant tingles throughout his entire body. “If you think you’re going one more minute without fucking me, Palavus Ironrod, you’re deeply mistaken.”

Palavus grinned, for he’d known who it was before she’d even touched him. Reaching back with both hands, he found a well-rounded pair of hips that he squeezed fondly. “There are some things a man can deny, and some that he can’t, Amina.” Delya gave him a wink before he turned from her to face the High Priestess Amina, a woman that had captured Palavus’ heart the moment he’d laid eyes on her.