Well once again I have the great joy to be working with the artist  dbdand my friend  ruco

I have been for some time asked to go into more detail about the "makeup" of the community I as Thetral reside in. The roles of Pets, Servants, guards and so on, I have thought about for some time. I have come up with many broad concepts, that my pet Ruco has kindly helped to flesh out in much more detail. Of course, I know that many of you enjoy my much more titulating works, and that this one is perhaps less sensual than others.

I hope you may all still take the time to read through the bit of World Building I have attached. I know for those out there seeking new stories or fantasies with me or in my little 'community' this may be rather helpful in terms of knowing how such a community works day to day.

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THETRALS COMMUNITY

The Hierarchy of Thetrals Hive:’
One of the Questions Thetral has a great deal of is simply “How many pets does she have? And what do they all day?” Well, for that we come to Chapter Three. An overview of the ‘Staff’ for lack of a better word. To begin we shall list them in five prime categories:

Guards:
Servants:
Pets:
Sacrifices:
Thralls:

One may notice the word “Slave” appears nowhere on the list. For reasons I shall go into in a bit, to be blunt, Thetral does not, and would not ever keep “slaves” It is simply not her style, at least not anymore.
Long ago in her past, in her less ‘civilized’ days she did such things as forced enslavement to those she saw as playthings. But these days she’s far more refined.
Another note in regards to the way all staff are treated, anyone who “works” for Thetral enters into a sort of legal contract (with some exceptions). Being both Dragon AND Demon, laws and rules are VERY important.
Therefore, Anyone working for her does so with the understanding that at anytime they can be asked to offer their body as “Food” for her various sexual hungers. However this does NOT mean they will be ’consumed’.
Indeed, the top three slots, Guard, Servant and Pet are strictly forbidden to be consumed (once again with exceptions). And guaranteed various protections both from Thetral and from abuse from others.
Part of a good ‘work environment’ is to be safe in the knowledge that, while your employer at any time may wish to molest and drain a bit of your life force; She will never out right “kill” you.


GAURDS:
If there was a ranking to her staff, one could imagine Guards at the top. Not in terms of being any more ‘important’, but in terms of being a very selective subset of her Community. Thetral as a rule is very, very selective about who she lets watch over her and her community.
Guards fill a very diverse role in Thetrals business. One might imagine that a creature of Thetrals power doesn’t really need a Guard. This is… mostly… correct. But she does require strong people who obey her without hesitation and whose loyalty to her can never be questioned.
For the most part, there are two types of Guards, those that work inside her Lair, and those that work outside.

For those that work inside, Thetral likes to employ very large and imposing people and, almost all of them are females. Typically Thetral chooses strong minded and rebellious females as her guards; ones that have had to work hard against oppression and injustice, and as a result live their lives mindful of what it is like to be weak and by extension, mindful of those they protect.
The Guards that work inside her lair are actually more a Police than anything else. They ensure the other ’staff’ behaves properly and with respect to one another. After all, the other staff (with some exceptions) are all still free minded and free willed sapient beings. Disputes among them are inevitable, and the Guards keep the peace and act as a very basic police force for small matters that do not warrant Thetrals direct attention.

For those that work outside the Lair, Thetral has a very wide range she uses, from young to old, male and female. Mostly they DO Have to be in good physical shape as well, each one is expected to hold their own in a fight but does not need to be the towering hulks of muscle her inner guards are.
The role of the outer Guard is to be the Eyes and Ears of Thetral. They spy and watch the tribes around her. They track the complicated political network of treaties, alliances and infighting between those that Thetral concerns herself with.
They give her vital information that often helps to feed the belief that Thetral “Can see or hear anyone with mystical powers!” This is belief she loves to encourage.

Of course Guards themselves must be head accountable, usually by Thetral herself. Because they are typically female, they have a habit of demanding sexual pleasure from the often-younger male staff. Of course they must be treated with Respect. While a Pet or Servant may be used in a sexually “demanding” fashion (especially by the more aggressive female guards) it must be done willingly. No means NO, and anyone Thetral finds who has abused or worse, outright raped a Pet will be HARSHLY dealt with.


SERVANTS:
Every establishment and every enterprise, no matter how lofty or opulent, requires those to do what amounts to “Grunt work” Her servants are often just that, people with talent who serve her needs. They can be any sex and any age. The ONLY thing Thetral cares about for this class, is simply that they have a powerful or creative mind that can be used for her needs.

Thetral is, as might be obvious, a creature of dualities. She believes in, and sees, two sides to all things. One aspect where this is reflected is in her staff and their duties. Thetrals Lair is much more than the mindless sex palace some see it to be. (though they are not totally wrong…)
Due to Thetrals long term plans, she requires people that think and have strong minds.
She needs Scribes for copying old books and making new ones.
She needs tutors to teach and spread knowledge.
She needs those of creative minds, Artists, Musicians, Poets and more to spread culture and the better parts of civilization. Especially those parts with indoor plumbing.
Most of these people work within her Lair, creating fine works that she ‘exports’ to tribes and peoples she feels sorely need new ideas, or to have their old ideas questions.
Many of these people do what might be considered ‘lofty’ work. And Thetral, always one to curb excessive Pride and Hubris has tailored the work staff so that no one among her group is ever left ‘idle’ or feeling that certain work is beneath them.

Cooking, cleaning, scrubbing the floors, polishing the furniture, and of course tending to Thetrals ‘personal’ needs are all tasks that at some point EVERYONE under her care must perform. The high scribe who copies priceless works of literature one day, may find himself scrubbing crusty dishes the next.
Thetrals Lair has grown quite expansive over the many years, and there is a lot of work to do. Most of these Servants live in common rooms, ‘Barracks’ of sorts where each is allotted a certain amount of personal space for themselves and their belongings. The servants of course do have time off for themselves, for vacations when they feel they need it.


PETS:
And now we get to the cast that I am sure many have wanted to find out about the most. ‘Pets’
Unlike much of her staff, where Thetral prizes diversity and the inner mind instead of the outer body, Thetral ‘pets’ are just that, Pets.
Like her personal guard, they are a very select, very respected class to both pamper and be pampered. Almost all her pets are male; tend to be young, and highly submissive and subservient. Their “Role” Is primarily to provide sexual pleasure and comfort to Thetral as well as being her primary source of “food” for when she wants to feed.
Also unlike much of her other workers, her Pets tend to live within Thetral’s ‘Inner sanctum’ or the area of Thetral’s lair designed and set aside as Thetral’s own private living area. This by no way means they are forced to stay in such seclusion. They are allowed to move freely, only that their personal living quarters are apart from those of the rest of the community.

Part of the ‘duty’ of a Pet, is that when not in service to their Mistress, that they most look after and take care of their own spaces. Many workers are not typically allowed within Thetral ‘Inner Sanctum’ and as such, many of the mundane daily duties are divided up among her Pets. (This is often a rude surprise for certain individuals who mistakenly think being a ‘Pet’ means endlessly lounging in Luxury without working at all)

When it comes to a Pets own sexual desires and needs, while they are sworn to service their Mistress and her pleasures, they are also free to have relationship with themselves and others. Indeed it is often encouraged by Thetral for them to form relationships so that they have others they can give themselves to, especially for non-sexual needs or activities.


SACRIFICES:
These are a, complicated, class of Thetrals domain… One might think that they are Thetral greatest pleasure, since they involve the complete consumptions of one's Life force as well as Physical body; a truly decadent meal and experience. However, as with so much of her world, Thetrals views on these have changed.

Back in the Dawn of Thetrals life and history, when sapient races of her world were far more primitive than they are now, the concept of the “Virgin Sacrifice” was as ancient as time and practice by many tribes. It was a very easy way to demand the respect from the primitive tribes in exchange for Thetrals gifts and knowledge.
A tribe of spear wielding primitives would send off a young boy (it took FOREVER to convince the tribes to send MALE offerings instead of always sending females…) and know that in doing so, the barbarians in their lands would diminish, and they would often get useful iron tools near their temple.
But as stated, times change. The practice of a Sacrifice is one that Thetral would like to move past. Not for any person reason, she still loves the thrill of totally consuming another life more than any other sexual pleasure… But… She also knows that for the societies she is fostering to truly flourish, such ‘barbaric’ practices must eventually be done away with.

There are of course, always loopholes…

These days, Thetral discourages anyone practice sacrifices, indeed if she finds a village or tribe doing so, she will put forth a great amount of effort to change such religious practices. The exception to this, is that she will accept “volunteers”.
While she does cherish all life, she will accept the will of others that wish to end it… Stories of a great “Dragon that gave gifts and paradise to ancient sacrifices” persist through the lands, and from time to time her guards will find a wanderer in her forest, seeking to end their own life in a pleasurable way.
Sometimes they offer themselves up in the hopes she will give gifts to their people., sometimes they are dying of some disease and wish to end the suffering, and sometimes, they are tired of life and seek solace in the next life.
Whatever the reason, Thetral will make considerations of these rare cases and, if she feels circumstances warrant it, will grant them their desire and give them the “paradise” they seek.


THRALLS:
A bit of history is required before going into just what ‘Thralls’ are and their use within the Lair…

One of the oldest and often most necessary of ‘Duties’ Thetral has performed, is the simple policing of her lands. Thinning out bandits, thieves, pirates, barbarians, and anyone else threatening the stability of her Grand Experiment. In the past she would do this herself, though these days she has a large force of Guards, her own private Police Force to hunt these people.
Often such people are savage beasts with no thoughts of morals, and like beasts need to be ‘Put Down’. Usually this is down out in the wild, but, sometimes these Thugs are captured for another purpose. To be turned in Thralls.

As stated, Thetral despite appearances highly values life. And taking the life of another is something she does not do lightly. Indeed to “kill” is something that she teaches in many of her works is something done only in dire situations. When it comes to crime and punishment, the notion of a “Death Penalty” is one she very much does not believe in.
However…

For certain individuals she deems beyond redemption and beyond civilization, she has an ‘end’ for them that ensures they will never harm another living soul, without all the mess of killing a young healthy, and possibly useful body. She will “Mind Wipe” their personality. Thetrals powers of the mind are used seldom these days, but in such cases as she deems needed, she can “consume” and destroy the mind of such a person.

All memories, all experiences, and most importantly, all personality traits are removed PERMANENTLY. The person is effectively “Killed” and ceases to exist.

What is left in their place, is a simple minded and highly obedient “Thrall”. A Drone like worker who will obey virtually any order (as long as it does not harm or injury them). Thralls despite what some might think, are NOT treated as mindless things. The mind wipe is considered a final chance at a new life. Often a new personality may emerge in Thrall, and if it is nurtured and educated, may eventually lead to a new life.
Thetral keeps very few Thralls, both because she finds the process of the Mind Wipe distasteful, and they tend to unnerve others. But they are very ‘useful’ are sometimes used when dealing with some of Thetrals more unscrupulous business partners.