The Flower Brides of the Cruel Emperor Tzon-Chon

 The Flower-Brides of the Cruel Emperor Tzon-Chon

-an Orange Sun/Far-Tomorrows fiction by

Maxx Feral

"Oooh...!" the soft voice gasped....

"You... are an unannounced visitor?"

The woman was standing with her musical instrument in the Forbidden Gardens of one of the many Forbidden Palaces where the Cruel Emperor kept court.  He was rumored to be staying in the palace at this time.

"I am here to see the Emperor..." the man said, standing with his curved Asian sword and wearing a jet black skin tight uniform that shimmered as it created a bubble of counter information.  He should be invisible to any human or mechanical eye.

"Ooohhh...." the beautiful woman said again...  "I was reading from an ancient text while playing an ancient tune.  We are privileged here for the Emperor Tzon Chon has forbidden these works to the rest of his kingdom lest they distract from simple labor or confuse the mind with unnecessary thoughts."

She started playing again and singing...

"Please, woman, I must be on my way..."

"I fear our Emperor might find me to have been rude to a guest for he must have given you permission to enter this garden.  Only a few save he is allowed to even be in our presence?"

"Sisters?  Let us dance and sing for this man!"

She started playing and as if from the many exotic and unique plants in this vast garden a dozen or more women of incredible beauty emerged and danced and sang all around the visitor.  The first woman gave her musical instrument to another who pulled its two strings expertly as she embraced the visitor not caring his sword was still drawn.

"You wouldn't hurt us? Have we displeased you?  Would you hurt innocent women whom the Emperor honored to spend their flowering years pleasing him?  Would you have their families shamed with dishonor and slowly cut apart in front of their village to shame them?  You would not want us used like disposable girls to have many embryos put into our wombs then be cut open so dozens of several week spawn spill out for his soup of immortality?"

"Please...  I have urgent business and must see your Emperor..." he said but she held with great strength as he tried to push past.

"You wouldn't want this innocent but beautiful woman to have been found not pleasing to any guest of great honor in Tzon-Chon's garden?  To see us put to agonies or have our families killed in front of us?  He rarely sends men such as yourself to us but has assured us to tell them they are not a threat to him or his ego no matter their manhood...?

They started to try to undo his outfit, ignoring some sparks as the connections in the meta-material that resembled a silk Ninjustu outfit of ages past were disrupted.  Several women were now holding him and caressing him, pulling off his clothing to reveal a not unattractive man of Greater Kathay.  He noticed his sword had been removed from his hand and now a woman was caressing and sucking on his fingers.

"I must see the Emperor.  I shall speak no ill of you.  The Emperor's wrath will not be an issue after I ..."

"Assassinate him?" the first woman said with a smile and still an expression of love to his face.  "All who are in this garden without permission are considered Assassins and so we are ordered to assume as such..."

She split open as did her sisters or fellow pleasure women.  

From almost invisible creases on their bodies the Emperor's Flower Women expanded into their true selves; Monstrous plant/animal hybrids!  Their beautiful exteriors burst to reveal razor sharp leaves and thick tendrils full of fangs that were hollow to drain blood.

The Assassin had but half a scream before he was enveloped by them...

-----

Later the Emperor was holding a torn bit of the Assassin's metatmaterial stealth clothing and his sword.  The Minister of War was prostrating himself trembling and begging for mercy.

"Calm yourself and be a Man.  I shall not slay you on this day despite your loss of composure for a brief second.  I know full well how many you slay almost daily before they even reach inside the wall of my palaces.  My concubines hold a special place in my heart but I do understand your frustration."

The concubines were all lined up in front of him, fanning themselves, swaying, giving looks of innocent seduction.  They had wrapped themselves back into their feminine, pleasing appearance and even their robes were petals that they had grown.  Save bangles and other jewelry they were entirely camouflaged plant/animal hybrids created to serve and protect the Emperor.

"The Minister of War was frustrated you left so little evidence.  I will not find fault in you either but if or rather when the next Assassin ventures into your reach please do your best to leave some evidence.  A hand or better yet a head...  It will make his job easier for these Assassins rarely act alone.  There is usually a dozen or more Traitors who do not Praise the Mandate of Heaven and my Glorious Empire of pure order and justice involved behind a single Assassin who will recruit more or in desperation try to sabotage some part of my Red Dragon Kingdom before killing themselves to escape justice.  Even if an Assassin acts alone surely there is someone needing punishment for not being alert and ready to report suspicious behavior.  This material and the sword alone I shall put someone to justice for if I can find who gave or made this for them...

"Rise, Minister of War - do your best to find this Assassin, there are bits of him you can trace on the ground for hopefully his DNA is on the public registry at least.  Look for the real ones, no more confessions encouraged by discomfort or threat of it... I want those that did this or I want to know we did not.  I know you do your best for me.  What I seek is knowledge or the lack of it on this day from you.

And I am sure my concubines forgive the 'stupid flowers' remark?"

They bowed and one came over and kissed him.

"Minister of Propaganda - let the News channels say an intruder was executed by my Minister of war before he reached my inner garden.  No news about my private world is to be leaked.  Offer a reward and forgiveness if someone gives us information that leads to the capture of these Assassins but perhaps simply forgot to mention it?

The minister of Propaganda bowed but the Emperor noted he paused but a moment...

"I mean forgiveness for I am generous on this day.  If an Assassin turns in the others I shall make him a Prefect...of the edge of the burning deserts or the Antarctic re-education colonies...station, reward, Honor...and far away and watched to not be a problem.   If some citizen merely did not notice but remembers sale or possession of illegal materials or a sword and remembers later indeed reward them, I fear some might worry that reporting makes one a suspect...?"

The Minister of Propaganda bowed again and left in haste.

"Good.  All is in order again." said the Cruel Emperor Tzon-Chon and he mounted a golden throne in his Forbidden Garden.  "I shall take some relaxation and celebrate another day where an Assassin was at least thwarted before he got within a hundred paces of my Divine self.  You be about your Duties, Minister of War but if you catch the other Traitors sooner than today just leave note with my Secretaries for I shall not want to be disturbed until tomorrow save the direst of reasons..."

The Flower-Women surrounded the Emperor and danced, played, sang and caressed him.  His Other Ministers and guards grabbed the evidence from the scant remains of the Assassin and respectfully bowed and backed out to seal the door behind thick walls of dark Jade like mortar...

-----

In the "Orange Sun" or "Far-Tomorrows" TTRPG setting there are plenty of monsters and by far most were created by the "Wizard Lords" for petty whims.  Especially the mostly female monsters or "Monster-UUU" in an ancient dialect.

The Cruel Emperor Tzon Chon however is credited with creating the first human-plant hybrid, at least the first one functional outside blobs of tissue in a laboratory.  He did this because while making himself biologically immortal with the technology of the time he allowed no other access to it and grew tired of his concubines and how they'd usually try to kill him or run after decades even before age might have faded their beauty.  Only a few lasted long enough to be retired from his service honorably which he would have rewarded with wealth and status.

Thus he turned to technology to create "Maidens of Flowers" where plant tissue was somehow manipulated into a creature that could mimic an idealized human female.  These beings were alien and their behaviors merely survival for at heart they were plants still.  All they really needed was to roam about his private gardens and would pleasure him or keep him company, reading the ancient poetry and literature that was mostly banned to all but he and his inner circle. 

They also aided in his defense for there were many Assassins sneaking in to try to kill the Emperor they acted as unexpected guards for the sun on their skins was far too little energy and they relied on flesh to keep active as an animal...  Those who were not him nor a few of his trusted inner circle were legitimate prey.  Their delicate feminine appearance quickly folded away into their inner bodies of fast moving leaves and piercing spines that resembled teeth but would drain blood from prey.

Long after his passing they remained for they were plants and designed to regenerate from near total destruction.  There were natural limits on their total numbers to prevent them over-running the world but they did multiply and spread through the world including into the west.  These inspired the "Wizard-Lords" to make their own plant based monsters of mostly female appearance for aesthetics beyond acting as guards to their castles.  Still some of the more ancient and powerful monsters are the "Flower-Women" and the dreaded "True Alarune"...  There are many other plant based "Monster-Uuu" including confusingly "Rose Girls" certainly created by the Wizard-Lords that came long after the Cruel Emperor of course.

Most of these have a "Backup" where there is a seed somewhere about the size of a loaf of bread and it uses the "Root Network" where plants and mushrooms all link and communicate.  If a Plant based monster is destroyed it usually regenerates on the spot within a few months or years.  If there  is exceptional call to kill it - such as 20+ cubic meters of earth dug up and sterilized or a Dragon's fire on the ground the seed waits a decade or longer and sprouts another one.  Over a long interval of centuries they might produce another naturally but this is done to keep them rare by the Genetic Engineers who designed them.  They can also reproduce on command but those commands are long lost.  Biologically immortal these creatures live to live like any plant.  

They will use their skills from seduction to predation to continue their existence.  While most of the Wizard Lord's plant-women are immobile or limited to a set space the Flower-Women are free to move and do so.  They will sometimes be a mistress or seductress and other times appear as a mostly dead tree resembling a woman but with some leaves growing out and stay still for decades.  They rarely attack without good reason for even though they are near impossible to destroy and will grow back if chopped to bits they do not like to do so.  However they can and will split into a terrible plant monster and kill an opponent by ripping flesh and draining fluid.  This they usually do if no one else sees it fearing being seen as a "Monster" and so will often use their slightly better than average strength to fight off an attacker if witnessed.

These beings are greatly feared in the East for even many, MANY thousands of years after the Cruel Emperor's reign they are a dark memory.  In the West they can be prized concubines of Nobility and Rich merchants;  Perfect beautiful women who mostly stand around and be beautiful at day but can play and entertain and then become passionate at night or in private.  They will not fade in beauty and will usually come back if killed.  They do have their own minds and can and do choose to be a mistress or a wanderer or a near inert plant based on their moods and desires.

Note they are intelligent but in a different way.  They can speak and act but must commit to it so they can rarely act suddenly.  When they do speak or converse for too long their tissues heat up and usually they sweat or their eyes water with streaming tears.  This creates an exotic and sympathetic effect but it is merely to protect the special tissues the  plant uses for its brain usually somewhere in the mid-section.  If this is disrupted by stabbing through the plant is usually immobile for a day but returns to look like a beautiful woman in a statuesque pose.

Note also their hair color, clothing and skin are all changeable.  These are modified "Petals" in effect as hair and fingernails are chitin to animals.  They started out appearing as perfectly beautiful eastern women but they have all learned and shared how to appear as such but by Western Standards.  For Western ones they usually embrace the 'flower' aspect allowing recognizable petals to grow from their heads and their dresses leaves and petals as often as appearing as silk and velveteen.  For easier appearance due to the Negative association they are more formal growing silk like cloth petals and strict long black hair though on close inspection the hair is thin long petals but would be flat and wide compared to a human hair.

A cure for a Malady of the Minde - a tale in which the Wytches of the Eros Cult do a good service for a family...

"Mother!  Father!  Enough...  I'm ...sorry (he choked back tears...) but I love Pietor and he will be my partner for life no matter the Increate said we would be both males in this lifetime.  Let the Speaker try to scare us with Dawgma all day.  And if it be I must seek my own fortune, so be it, I shall go to Tipor the coastal city with Pietor.  He is an artist and artisan and I've learned my trade in Wares to be Journeyman so I shan't ask a sovereign coin from you...

"Son..." his father said, "It is that you are the only Male besides me in our household.  The name must continue.  You can just be best friends with Pietor and once in a while ... go camping.  Some men do that and almost every woman has a friend she shares ...secrets... with...?"

"Like Mum and my non relative Aunte Bernicey?"  he said, "I suppose that is who I got my ... nefarious malady from..."

"Siemoen...!  Don't you dare leave this house...!?"
But the lad picked up his already made pack and left the door closing loudly on the way out.

"I shall pray for him..." said Father Speaker Thomas, the local Agnost Priest.
"What good will that do.  Your Dawgma scared him nothing?"  Simeon's father, Donovam said as his wife held him and wept.

"The Increate has allowed Mankind his Free Will, that is Dawgma.  We speak and interpret his will and counsel men but if there be direct reward for virtue and sure punishment in life for sin then there be no Free Will.  I can give tongues to speak his word, I can smite true enemies but the miracles I am given do not allow me to force one's mind."


A knock on the door and a voice called from the street through the viewing bars, a low soft but powerful feminine voice; "I see your sign say ye be not to be disturbed on this day but I was given word you might need to consult my order...?

"Enter!" Donovam almost shouted,  The door opened and in strode several females in robes that almost covered their strong, voluptuous bodies and shrouded their faces.  They were wrapped for modesty but their curves and especially hips and enormous breasts were neigh bursting the thin soft fabric.   They wore sparse jewelry, sandals advertised their perfect feet and they carried staffs carved into a wooden double phallus cardecus

"Wytches!?  Of the Eros cult!?" Speaker Thomas spat out, "No!  The Church does NOT approve....!"

"You yourself said you can not force free will.  And the Wytches are an option of any free citizen per the treaty...."

"Please...  Your daughters know your craft well and I could find an orphan.  Or we could wait a while?"
"A man must succeed me, Speaker, to carry on my lawful name and I doubt any adult male I could train in my crafts in time could be found.  I know it be a sin to consul the Wytches but I will bear it if need be to protect my household!"

The Agnost excused himself in disgust and walked out the side door to come not near the Wytches who were greeting with kind gestures but of a fleshy kind.  The head witch made an arms out bow and if by will alone the Hausfrau, Donovam's wife was the one to talk to despite it being a matter of defending a Patriarchal issue."

"A quick chat we shall have, Daughter, over obligation and recompensense but we must make reasonable haste...  May I assume the young man running out of the house is the one you wish us to give ... Consul?"


Later - in the forest - the two men were keeping a brisk pace.
"I know these woods well, Siemon, we'll be in HansForge before the moonrise and in a week or so's walk the Coast.  I have coin and hard sausage saved well.  Don't look back, I've shed too many tears also.  Won't it be fun to settle in the coastal city instead of just visiting once every other year and be too busy on business to enjoy oneself?"

They stopped in their tracks seeing a strange green mist...
It wrapped all around them and it was like blackest night had fallen and the only light came from the glowing green mist at their feet!

"Little lost lambs....." a feminine voice cooed.
"Little Sinners..." another spake.
"We are here to cure you..." a third hissed!

"Wycthes!?" Pietor gasped.  Simeoen took front and pulled his short-sword.
"I be of legal age and by guild of Journeyman status...  I may go of my own by right of way and with me..."

He was standing alone in the mist, though shadows of voluptuous ladies seemed to dance around him.
"Ye be young madmen...  Your parents both asked us to cure your sickness of the Mind..."

"No!  I will..." - Simeoen grunted as the short sword was knocked from his arm by an unseen hand.  He could tell that the had had such strength and speed it could have pierced his chest casually if it had wanted to.  Immediately two of the Wytches were holding him and he heard a suppressed scream of his lover Pietor off somewhere in the mists..  "You cute little Sinner!" a Wytch giggled.  She reached into his pants and undid the leather straps to hold his front but her other hand was on his head and held him in paralyzed shock, sparks from her body entering his mind.  Another Wytch had grabbed him by his arms but when her syster had held his mind had moved to his legs, helping her fellow manipulate between his legs.

 

"It is not your fault, little Sinner..." the Wytch cooed, her breath breathing into his from sweet lips and he noticed her curly red and auburn hair - the smiling lips, the short kisses...  "Oh, some perhaps are born your degenerate way, others choose to sin...  But no matter, we are here to help you..."
Simoen gasped as his manhood became full and started quivering.  He noticed again the sweet breath, the kisses, her enormous breasts squeezing against his chest.  Milk squirted when pressed and the warm milk soaked onto his skin through his clothes and seemed to burn.  He'd have tried to fight but his body was held without his will as both Wytches held him and manipulated his body.

Simoen screamed as his manhood erupted and kept erupting in a wave of pleasure and pain as the strange magicks from the Wytch's hand burned his brain.  He lost consciousness...

Later, in the Donovam household.  A bed and darkened room.  A dim fire with some books and Pfennig-dreadfuls of questionable lifestyle advocacy burning.  In the room with Simoen were his parents, the Agnost speaker, the Wytch and now Anette, the young woman whom Simoen was betrothed...

"So we've worked with Pietor's household, he'll go to the Pine Mountains and a year's stint in the guards but the unit he's in is strict and there are ... women there?"

"Yes, and thus he will not meet Simeon for quite a while to complicate things.   His parents owed me a lot or we'd be sending our son off but better the bond with Pietor be broken and heal in a normal presence."

"I must take my leave now.  Have the young lady hold his hand.  She should be careful, he'd be the last to hit a woman willfully but might thrash in nightmare.  The spell I cast will take time and better he form a bond to her than chase any woman with newfound passion.  May I assume that as she was matched with him, an excellent one at that besides his malady, you consent with him cohabiting with her?  Excellent.  He may be needy in an obvious way.  Blessings of our God be upon this household..."

"I still oppose this utterly." the Agnost Speaker said to the Father of the household.
"I know it be a Sin, to turn to the Wytches, but I'll risk my judgement to protect my household."
"It is not that," said the priest, "I did not think your household could easily afford the Wytches...  Consulting a Wytch for a fortune is bad, paying for a lesser service is also bad but such a service costs very much...  More than a tradesman even of your good status can easily afford.  Did you...?"

"Suspect them not." said the young woman at Simoen's side, a raven haired lady in a nice tradesperson class dress.  "I took the full price." and she bore her chest with breasts only small in comparison to the Wytches.  The mark of Luna in crescent form and tiny dot of her daughter was upon them, small and almost under the left breast.

As the priest gasped and stared she said - "I was his betrothed.  I'd asked my parents to set me up with him as I had eyes for him since we were children.  We tried to make it work, even ... did things before just to see.  But he only had passion for his male friend.  I paid the price so if you denounce anyone as Apostate it be me!"

The priest held his own staff out, the Cross of the Great Wheel in the Sky with its twelve houses for the drivers of the Age in between its spokes, the cross in the center representing the Great Son.  He tapped her lightly on the head;  "I grant thee lesser Martyr status.  You threatened your soul and status in pure love not greed nor evil.  You must increase your efforts to behave in accordance with universal law but I shall not denounce you for this deed."

The priest bowed and left.  They noted the Wytch was still there.
"What will you ask in exchange...?" she started, covering her bosom up.
The Wytch helped her with her dress and put her hand back on her Beau's as he twisted in uncomfortable dreams.
"Nothing that will hurt another or even embarrass your poor Speaker.  You'd think he only knew of us from fairy tales wanting you to drug the sweet juice at the party and tuck curse-dolls under beds.  We'll only ask mild favors for our order now and again, nothing too taxing nor illegal or any of that.  And we'll check in from time to time to make sure your Husband's malady does not return, it is not a debt but a bond and obligation.  I have many myself and must be off." - and the Witch left the room, leaving a relived set of parents with their 'cured' son and his bride to be.

As she left the door her voice carried, "And you may even bear a Hero of this age amongst your children...!"

---End

---FYI - "Mark of the Wytch" in this far age vs a simple crescent as in the past (and a REH story!)

Luna under its thin atmosphere in the waning period with the rare and either malefic or benign appearance of her 'daughter' a new satellite that's usually invisible.  When the tattoo is done by a Wytch proper, taking some materials and secret techniques it appears as a blue ink but will shine under the moonlight and the dot for the Moon's "Daughter" will sparkle.

-----Note - the two illustration images are cuts of a larger image - which will be in the full book.  A commission by "Gulavisual" for this project - if you wish to see the full image earlier and perhaps more images from this project I have no problem with you logging into his site and signing up to see these and many more erotic and fantasy/science fiction based drawings!

Gulavisual's Patreon

The Witches of Eros

A cult in the Far-Tomorrows of immense power and influence, the Witch cult guards secrets and provides services to society in pursuit of its long term goals.  It centers around worship of the Elder God, Eros, once depicted as an infant in an ancient Pantheon of Gods from Man's pre-dawn age now an elder being usually only depicted as a face from an ancient statue and these are often crumbled with age.

Most of their social influence revolves around women, femininity, harvests, festivals and health especially that of women.  They provide many services for free or a trifle, such as advice on harvest, health, cycles of nature and of body, simple potions (non-magical), women's health and services of, fortune telling, fitness and martial arts.  They have little if any official political power but it is said they can whisper into half the ears of all women and influence them greatly so that the beds are burning for men who tend to have the power decide in the way the Witches suggest.  What they ask directly is rarely anything that seems to affect any power structures or economies so officials usually cater to them.

The Greater Path

A Witch of Eros is not just about spooky behavior, sexual feats, transformations, secret rituals in deep elder forests - though that's a good part of it.  A With has a lifelong mission to fulfil long term goals that are secretive to all but the heads of the order and perhaps the God Eros himself.  It seems to be around mostly breeding humanity so that he stays largely human as he was in the past but slowly might be ascending to a transcendant state.

A Witch of Eros thus sometimes needs to explore ruins and wildplaces to collect samples and perhaps enrich herself with treasure for her own comfort and to donate to her order for minor status.  However she is always working on the order's goals - thus she has a steep cost in actions she must perform or face higher ego loss and some power dampening until corrected.  There is always a "Witch Mother" who trained her and can control access to greater ascension in the ranks and greater powers who seems to know her every move and somehow suggests what she needs to do.

There will be tables of suggestions for in dungeon adventure conditions and between adventure missions.  They can't only just relax, play, have sex waiting for the next Dungeon Crawl.

Role-play advantages:

Witches of Eros are a good effective Fighter+Magic User+Cleric combo - powerful both with magic and combat

They get to be "As sexy as they want to be"

Have lots of perks and powers

Disadvantages

High responsibility - so most between adventures are mini-solo adventures to regain ego and if missed have a reduction in ego, even powers until the balance is met.

Set of rules - and tables - on what to do/not do

Hierarchy of power and command - has "Witch Mother" direct line that can control or command

Higher experience/levelup and while the highest levels are certainly in "Epic" category the "Archmages" or free traditional magic users are certainly more powerful.  They need more XP to advance but have more demands so they are challenging but not a long grind to get powerful.

neutral:

Spells are non-"Vancian" meaning can cast more based on other factors (HP, Blood, special rituals or components) than the study, use, forget method but also less flexible.  Note this game tributes back to original source where the limited spells had more flex for focus versus power.  A "Shield" spell could be tweaked to be 10x more powerful say against metals at the cost of being vulnerable to wood or anything else really and it'd be the Mage's gamble to do it.

ONLY female characters to be a Witch of Eros.  Males certainly are part of the "Eros cult" truly anyone bound to them in any way is a welcome part, but plenty of laypersons live their lives with the religion being their background but those with power are women priestesses.  They have Dawgma to not see themselves superior to men, it is a matter of Men's roles and Women's roles.

Role-play tips:

Be mysterious and feminine - 

They have great influence but it is carefully used for some far in the future goal and so care must be taken in each step.

Avoid direct fighting and initiating combat unless it is clearly the right action.  Being able to shape-shift into a warped but pretty hyper feminine powerhouse after a few levels helps said confidence.  Be direct and deadly when force must be used.

You drip sex and sexuality but are not a whore or a slut.

You are a woman's potential best friend and even a man's if they will come to you and be of use to the Cult.  Certainly one they want as an ally and never an enemy.

You also certainly are not without personal desire - and as long as it doesn't hurt the cult and might help it you may indulge - such as a liaison or going on a fun trip with explorers.  On the latter, gold, jewels and artifacts aid personal luxury but sometimes some deep secret is found and it is great status to share it with the Mothers...