Second Day (2 of 5)
Breaking the Breaker: Zudaeshi tightens her hold on the Masters through veiled threats and forced hospitality, parading her absolute power over their families and futures
‘Breaking the Breaker’ Content Warning: Erotic Horror
Story contains graphic depictions of violence, non-consensual sex, psychological manipulation, power imbalance, humiliation, dehumanization, and other dark, disturbing themes.
This story invites reflection on what happens to the mind under sustained horror, how identity reshapes itself around trauma, and what traces of agency persist when autonomy has been stripped away.
Proceed with extreme caution.
Zudaeshi lifts some food from her plate and offers it to Mulsae, who sucks the food off the chopsticks as if he were a lazy Master being hand fed by the Harmonarch. Garrick snickers. Deryn gives Garrick a withering glare. Garrick scoffs in return.
"Boys, boys!" Zudaeshi coos, "Do behave." Deryn and Garrick turn their faces back to their plates.
She offers the next bite to Damion. He is disgusted to get so close to those vicious nails, but he wills himself forward, schooling every muscle not to flinch as her nails brush his lip.
"We shall have a gathering tonight to celebrate the beginning of my reign," she announces.
"The Water Sanctum is missing a delegation," she turns to Mulsae, "I shall remedy that. I've already invited the steward, Saeroth, to bring a small retinue this evening," she waves a hand, "Besides, I have much to speak with Saeroth about." Damion is surprised, but Mulsae merely nods.
They eat in silence. Zudaeshi shares a few bites of food with Mulsae and Damion, but eats most of the meal herself. She had not received extra portion sizes to account for the two extra mouths to feed.
Once Zudaeshi finishes her meal she stands and announces, "You shall each be escorted back to your rooms. We shall have lunch all together with your delegations, and then have a gathering this evening."
Her shoes clack on the floor as she walks through the room and out the large double doors. The sound slowly fades away as she walks down the hallway.
The Masters eye each other.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Ground Master Dalenna," Marsh Master Selune says sympathetically. The other Masters mumble their sympathies.
Dalenna stands and kneels by the second man who was executed. She tucks his head in her lap and caresses his hair.
“Water carry you,” Dalenna begins.
“Mountain hold you,” Selune and Deryn join in.
“... Thunder guide you, Wind lift you,” All of the Masters join into the prayer.
“... Flame warm you, Ground cradle you, Marsh cleanse you, Heaven welcome you. No fear, no hunger, no shadow at your gate.” They all end with a moment of silence and their heads bowed.
Mulsae stands so Damion follows suit. Mulsae walks over to him and puts a protective hand on Damion's back.
A guard snags Selune's elbow and drags her out the door. Followed by Garrick being snagged by another guard.
A guard walks up behind Dalenna and roughly pulls up on her arm, dragging her to her feet and causing her brother-in-law's head to fall onto the floor with a loud crack. Dalenna gasps a sob at the sound and can be seen crying as she is dragged out of the room.
A guard comes for Mulsae and Damion. He grabs Mulsae's elbow and drags him out of the room and Damion obediently follows.
They are taken back to their room. The guard opens the door and tosses Mulsae inside and Damion skips and swiftly pops inside before growing ire from the guard. The guard slams the door shut and the lock loudly clicks closed.
Mulsae falls to his knees in a crack. Damion is at his side instantly, "Mulsae, are you okay?"
Mulsae sucks in a slow breath, then says, “Kneel in front of the fire. Warm your wings.”
Damion blinks at him. But then does what he was ordered to. He kneels in front of the fire so his wings can be warmed. Just the way he enjoys it.
Mulsae falls forward onto his hands and breathes deeply. His head falls limp between his shoulders. Eventually he gathers enough strength to stand up. He stumbles to Damion and points at him, "Stay," then continues on and stumbles into the bathing chamber. He tries to slam the door shut, but it just bangs against the broken jam and rebounds back open.
After a few moments Damion can hear a loud wet sniffle from the bathing chamber. Damion's heart breaks open. Mulsae is suffering and he can't do anything to help. He's been ordered to stay and kneel here. But even if he hadn't been given an order, there's nothing he can do to help Mulsae. He's been rebuffing all his attempts. Mulsae even specifically said that Damion is being a burden with all his attempts to help. He sighs. He wishes there was something he could do.
Damion listens to the crackling fire as he waits. He hears more sniffling and choked sobs from the bathing chamber. But he doesn't go to him. He waits. Perhaps if he is good, if Mulsae thinks he's a good boy, then perhaps this could help him feel better.
Damion continues to wait, and then the door to the room suddenly clicks unlocked. The door opens and in walks a Windborne with long white feathered wings, a Ferralai artisan. He's carrying a leather bag and is followed by two soldiers.
The Ferralai speaks in a deep voice, "I'm here to see Mulsae. Are you Mulsae?" he narrows his eyes at Damion, "No, you must be the other one. Your nipples are already pierced. Where is Mulsae?"
With all the grace of a Sanctum Master in his element, Mulsae strolls out of the bathing chamber. "I am Mulsae," he says in confidence. His face is dry, but his swollen nose and red rimmed eyes betray the tears that were flowing just moments ago.
"The Harmonarch has ordered that your nipples be pierced," the Ferralai announces. He gestures towards a chair, "Sit there."
Mulsae sits with grace. The Ferralai takes out various supplies and lays them upon the small low table next to Mulsae. He swabs Mulsae's nipples, makes small marks of ink on his skin, then studies the positioning a moment before deciding to continue. He takes a needle and pushes it through the skin in one inked mark and out through the other inked mark. He then leads the jewelry through the fresh hole and screws the ring shut. He repeats the same with the other nipple.
Mulsae doesn't react. Doesn't move. Only a slight feathering in the muscle of his jaw betrays how he feels.
The Ferralai examines his work closely and from afar. He is content, so he packs up his supplies. He turns and nods to the soldiers waiting at the door. The soldiers guide him out of the room then close and lock the door.
Damion turns to Mulsae, "I'm so sorry--"
"Do not speak," Mulsae interrupts. Damion blinks in shock. He has never been ordered to not speak. He has always been encouraged to speak his mind.
Mulsae stands and goes back into the bathing chamber. Damion can hear him slide against a wall down to the floor. Damion's heart is bleeding for Mulsae.
Damion stays where he is. He'll be a good boy for Mulsae. He won't be a burden. He'll kneel here and wait silently.
The silence is broken by the door's lock clicking and the hinges of the door creak open as a soldier appears in the doorway. "You're summoned for lunch," he says gruffly.
Damion looks towards the door to the bathing chamber waiting for confirmation from Mulsae before standing. Mulsae strides through the doorway, looking ever much like he's the ruler of this palace. His face has cleared, his eyes no longer red rimmed.
Mulsae passes him and merely says, "Damion, heel," as he heads to exit the room. Damion jumps up and follows, shaking out his legs and walking a little dumbly as he does so.
The soldier leads them through hallways that are growing familiar and back into the same grand room with the large double doors they've had their two prior meals already.
The table for seven is still positioned in the center, which is now flanked by two tables for sixteen each. What is also still positioned in the center of the room are the four dead bodies from breakfast. The only change being a sign laid upon them that says 'Traitors'. Dalenna is standing in front of the bodies with her head bowed.
The attendees are milling about the tables looking for their assigned seats and speaking with each other. Mulsae and Damion walk up to the tallest chair, and yes, there are cushions on either side of it with their names on it.
Deryn drifts by Mulsae and says in a low tone, "I'm sorry, Mulsae. Stay strong. We're going to need you," then drifts away. Mulsae has no reaction to the interaction.
Maedor shoulders by Mulsae and gives Damion a big hug as if they're old friends. They haven't seen each other since the Sanctum Masters had freed him eight years ago. Damion awkwardly pats his back.
"Why did you get back together with him," he says in a hushed tone in his ear while still squeezing him, "He's just like his father. Not worth it," he sighs then finally backs up enough to look Damion in the face, "And look where it's gotten you. Trapped," he looks around the room, "Here."
"Cousin," Mulsae drawls, "It is always pleasant to see you."
He peels away from Damion, "Can't say the same about you," he sneers. He steps into Mulsae's space and shoves his finger into his chest, "You've turned into your father. When we were kids," his bottom lip quivers, "When we were kids we promised. We promised each other we would do better than our fathers."
Mulsae gently encloses Maedor's hand with his own, "I've tried, Mae," he says softly.
"Try harder," he sneers then marches away.
"I'm sorry everyone keeps questioning your decisions," Mulsae says to Damion in a hushed tone.
Damion gives a curt nod, "You're easy to hate, Mulsae. And you make it even harder for anyone to see the side of you that's likeable."
A servant's voice fills the room, "The Harmonarch approaches. Please stand at your designated chairs." The attendees shuffle about the room as they go to stand by their chairs. Mulsae and Damion stand by their respective cushions, Mulsae to the right and Damion to the left. Mulsae is next to Garrick and Damion next to Valena.
"Nice piercings," Garrick smirks at Mulsae, who doesn't even react.
Zudaeshi comes strolling into the grand room through the large double doors, her shoes snapping with every step. She walks up through the room to her tall chair, her footsteps the only sound as attendees practically hold their breath afraid of what could set her off.
She stands in front of her tall chair and announces, "Thank you for attending my luncheon. Please, sit. Eat. Enjoy my hospitality." Chairs scraping along the floor echo around the room in a cacophony as everyone moves to sit simultaneously.
Everyone starts eating the meals on their plates, grown cold from the pomp and circumstance prioritizing appearance over quality. Damion eyes Zudaeshi's plate and sees that it doesn't have extra portion sizes. They're going to starve if they continue to be fed this way. She gives a bite of food to both Damion and Mulsae.
"Garrick dear," she runs a finger down his arm, "Have you given it any more thought?"
"No," he says coolly, not removing his eyes from his plate.
Zudaeshi's features grow stern and severe. She clutches her chopsticks so tightly her knuckles turn white. But then she relaxes. She plasters a smile on her face, "I am a patient woman. I see that you need time. I can wait." Garrick grunts.
The Masters eat in silence. The attendees at the other two tables speak to each other in hushed tones, their murmuring fills the room.
Zudaeshi runs her nails through Damion's hair, then turns her head towards Valena, "I've invited your siblings to the party tonight." Valena stills.
"And isn't your mother married to Thunder Master Deryn's brother? I invited them, too." Valena swallows carefully.
"I'd like to host them as my guests for a while. You and your consort need to return tomorrow to run your Sanctum, but you won't miss them, would you? I would like to get to know the flame siblings."
"I hope my family treats you well, Your Radiance," Valena says finally with the epitome of politeness.
"I'm sure they will," she coos.
"Dalenna," she grabs her attention and she turns to face her nervously, "It has come to my attention that you no longer have transportation back to your Sanctum. That is no bother to me. You are welcome to stay here until at which time someone from Ground Sanctum can come and transport you." Dalenna inclines her head in acknowledgement.
"It is common courtesy to thank Your Radiance when she offers you her hospitality," she sighs.
"Thank you, Your Radiance, for your hospitality. It is generous," pipes up Dalenna.
Continue reading: Second Day (3 of 5)
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