The Auction (Part I)
By Ordos Tsceri

Lynnete stood at the podium, elegantly dressed in a flowing green nayu-silk dress that draped and hugged her exquisite figure. The stunning woman commanded the attention of all assembled in the ballroom before her; hundreds of Avalia's most prominent and illustrious gentry. By no coincidence, they were also the richest in this corner of the Empire, which was why the University of Avalia was hosting this charity dinner.

The ball-room in the affluent university had played this role before. The room was grand, with a tall ceiling supported by ornate pillars and marble facades of beautiful women. The walls were decorated with hung tapestries, most were rich and exquisite, if abstract, works of bright reds and strong violets (the university's colors), but some also depicted the trials and struggles of the mythic heroes of the Second Age who founded the school. Great chandeliers of gold illuminated the ballroom with strong electric light (they had been upgraded some thirty years ago, but the job was so thorough and delicate that only the superior quality of the light suggested that the chandeliers weren't using their original pyre candles). The décor was elegant, the dinner had gone off without a hitch. Lynette took a deep breath; now it was time for the auction.

She approached the podium and its microphone. Before she spoke her first word she already commanded the attention of all who were enjoying the evening. Taking a long sweeping account of those present (businessmen, politicians, clerics of the temples, officers in the Imperial army, etc.) she spoke.

"Fine ladies and esteemed gentlemen of the Empire and her honorable neighbors, I thank you for gracing us with your presence this fine evening.

"As you all know, our proud college is a center of all manner of meaningful research. I'm sure you all know of Doctor Allesia who has broken new ground this year with her studies into Entropic Clutch. Her brilliant combination of ancient restorative magic and the newest technological apertures and artifices has yielded the first actual progress we have seen in the struggle of this dread disease. I need not remind you how the disease seems to erode mind, body, and spirit over its long duration until, shriveled and decayed, the poor sufferer finally dies.

"Allesia has recently found a breakthrough. Tonight she labors to publish her paper on the metaphysical dynamics of EC and how it degrades under the proper silarch algorithms." There was a murmuring in the crowd; EC could strike anyone, rich or poor, and had lingered among the people of the Empire for hundreds of years. Any news of possible triumph over this ancient plague was phenomenal.

"This, unfortunately, brings me to the reason we're holding this fund-raiser. The college budget for the year was set last month, and with the current economic problems within the county it will take months for Allesia to receive the funding she will need to pursue this lead as it deserves. While we lobby the central government, we must rely on you, the gracious and caring benefactors of this institution, to help us with our vital studies.

"Of course, while we encourage you to donate out of the goodness of your hearts, we also realize that times are hard all around. For that reason, the student assembly and department of technimagical studies have decided to open this, unprecedented, auction. Gentlemen…"

She took a step to the side and gestured to the string of young women emerging from the curtained rear of the stage. On the opposite side, three robed figures, two male with long white beards and one woman who bore the marks of age, and experience, with pride. The three wizards kept to themselves to the left of Lynette, while the six women approached her.

"Tonight, these six gorgeous and generous ladies have volunteered to be permanently transformed into pieces of art to be auctioned off. The proceeds will go entirely to funding our good Doctor Allesia's research."

The crowd gasped. People were turned into 'art' with distressing frequency in parts of the Empire, but never around here, never permanently, and very seldom willingly. It had taken a lot of effort to find these six, and some had required much convincing to volunteer. In times past citizens had been forcibly transformed by social superiors, but the Empire had seen to it that such things became very rare. The opportunity to own a piece that had once been a living, breathing woman was a once in a lifetime event these days. The opportunity to own one who volunteered willingly in public, and thus carried absolutely no risk of a heavy Imperial judicial purge, was considerably rarer than that.

"Alice, Jaina, Jenny, Boethia, Elizabeth, and Valerie have agreed to this, and have each signed the appropriate waivers. These shall be delivered along with the lady to the winning bidder. Each lot shall be auctioned in turn, but please note that Jaina and Elizabeth have stipulated that they be sold as a single item. After the bidding is complete, the winner may stipulate to our three wizards here exactly what form they would like their lot."

She paused here to let that sink in. The guests were discussing this surprising turn of events amongst themselves. She could see some that looked outraged, yet no one actually stood up and left the ballroom. Many more looked anxious, Lynette hoped they were racking their minds to figure out how much they had free to spend in their various investments, accounts, and enterprises. Most were still recovering from the surprise when Lynette decided to move on.

"Alice Zelia, if you would, please tell the audience about yourself."

Alice, a stunning woman with curled waist long blonde hair strode up to the front of the stage. A blue sash tide into a bow on her waist held her form-hugging lavender robe to her. The robe fell to her sandals, but barely covered her perky breasts. She had a cute, almost innocent look to her face accentuated by her large, deep blue eyes.

Alice took a microphone Lynette handed her and turned to the crowd, "Thank you. Well… my name is Alice Zelia. I've been studying at the university for three years, majoring in literary analysis. Well, two years ago I came upon a book, Ellasius DeStella, about a woman trapped inside a tree growing over the body of her fallen lover. It isn't a terribly good piece, but it left me panting…" Alice blushed at the memory and brought her hand up to her mouth for a moment. "Well, it made me realize something. I had always been… excited about not being able to move… about being in public and immobile… the aliometer in my rudimentary metaphysics class used to be a woman, transformed into the bronze instrument centuries ago… I found myself staring at her for hours, fantasizing about what it would feel like…"

She giggled for a split instant, and continued, "I've always been painfully shy, but this has always been such a fantasy for me, when I heard about this auction I couldn't sign up fast enough!" At this point, she pulled one end of the ribbon sash and the piece of azure cloth fell away from her, just like her robe. There was a collective gasp from the audience as she displayed her full body, brilliantly smooth skin gently curving over suggestive hips and smooth shaven sex before a halo of golden curls framed her naked chest and navel. Her breasts bobbed slightly as she moved one graceful hand around her flank while the other seemed to self-consciously inch closer to her clit.

"Well, here I am! Eh..." she was smiling broadly at the assembled, with some mix of excitement, embarrassment, and nervousness… and she was enjoying every second of it. "My only request is that I be seen… somewhere public would be perfect, but anyplace where people will look at me constantly… oh…" her one hand had finally found its target, but she quickly pulled it back to modestly cover her guilty smile. She took a courtesy and nodded at Lynette.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, that's lot one. Shall I start the bidding at two-thousand lorins?"

A half dozen hands rose into the air, but they were all trumped by a voice from the rear of the room calling out "three-thousand!" It was quickly countered by a woman who yelled "five-thousand!" Lynette smiled at the bidding war, and stood by quietly until it petered off at 25,000 lorins, more than a peasant could expect to earn in two lifetimes. All the while, Alice had been less and less success keeping her wandering hand away from her womanhood. "Will anyone beat 25,000?" After a short pause she continued, "Sold! Now, my good sir, would you please come up and direct the shaping?" With a slight hesitancy, a man in the garb of the Merhcant's Guild walked up to the stage. "Now, what is your name, my generous patron?" Lynette asked.

"Gregor, Gregor DeLath." He said, with a slight current of embarrassment. Lynette knew that the winners might prefer to remain anonymous, but she also knew that people would pay more, and perhaps the volunteers would remain more enthusiastic, if they could see the transformation. That was the big reason she chose Alice to go first; of all the girls she was the one who wanted this most, and could communicate that the most honestly and effectively. If her transformation went off in front of the audience without a hitch, if she could keep this Gregor calm, then the buyers would become more bold and adventurous with their money.

The naked Alice led Gregor over to the right side of the stage to the three wizards. She was all but bouncing in excitement by now. "So," Lynette asked, "What'll it be?"
"Well… well, the guild headquarters is redecorating… and a statue, one like you" he said gesturing to Alice, "would be the perfect centerpiece of our new lobby. The guildhall is never empty, and where I think you should go, people will be admiring you daily for… well, for as long as the Merchant's Guild is around." Alice was all but squeeling in delight, so Lynette asked "I see… and just what kind of statue would you like?"

"What kind?"

"Doros, Antarliagus, and Xelieth here are the three most senior wizards in this city, each skilled with magical alteration. You could have Alice here in marble, or bronze, crystal, almost anything you could think of."

The merchant paused for a moment. "A marble centerpiece would finish the lobby nicely… but the guild can hire someone to make a marble statue… no, turn the… turn Alice into a true masterpiece! A figure made of pure crystal!"

Alice gasped, rather visibly aroused at the idea. "If you're sure, tell her what pose you want and let's begin" Lynette said.

"Oh, I'm sure… Um..."

"Guide my pose with your hands, Gregor" Alice said, eagerly smiling still. "It would make things more efficient," Lynette offered.

"Oh. A, alright…" the merchant began to tug and gently position Alice, hesitant at first, but with growing confidence at his subjects willingness. First he tried posing her in a classical stance, but thought better of it after a minute. He worked to have Alice standing confidently, legs spread just enough to show her full sex clearly, her right hand fingering herself (much to Alice's delight) and her right in an expansive, welcoming gesture. She hid her grin to offer the closed-lips smile Gregor asked, and he stood back, admiring the woman and her pose.

"Now, if you would be so kind," he said to Lynette. She gave a nod and the three wizards went to work. She turned to the captivated audience and spoke, "First, our good wizards will use a paralysis spell, to help with the pose. Transformation of the type we're working here would be all but impossible without one." One of the hooded wizards spoke some eldritch, unknowable sound and a small flash of green light erupted from his hands. The tell-tale rising and falling of Alice's abdomen suddenly stopped, as did all her miniscule movements.

"It is well known that some transformations can be exceedingly painful, but worry not about such dark matters, my good patrons. Our wizards will be working with the Ahun'jal School, deep and sophisticated spells handed to us by the most wizened of ancients."

Alice found she could still move her eyes, and darted them over at Lynette. She had wanted this, but now that she'd passed the final safeguard she was having second thoughts. She knew it was too late now; she couldn't break the paralysis if she tried, and soon… soon her desire would be fulfilled. Soon, no, already, she had made the last movements, spoken the last words she ever would. The thought filled her with excitement and terror.

"This is very deep, very powerful magic. The spell is designed to be pleasurable to the recipient, and the way it works and both bound flesh and spirit… well, three times in the last two hundred years someone has labored to break such a petrifaction. All the three times the subject demanded to be turned back, each time wishing to return to the sensitivity, the peace, and the arousal they perpetually felt within their confines."

At that point, the three wizards, arranged in a triangle around Alice, began to unleash the enchantments they had been conjuring and weaving. Alice felt it hit her like bucket of warm water, washing over her. There was a calmness, a serenity, a secure feeling in the warmth that washed over her.

As she grew acclimated to this new calm, an eruption from between her legs hit her. She could just barely see with what movement remained in her eyes a bright glow coming from her sex, faltering and recovering and growing ever stronger. The arousal she felt was unlike anything she had known before, although that wasn't all that much. She added I'm never going to know what it feels like to have sex with a boy to the list of doubts haunting her just before the glow spread to her thighs. The feeling grew stronger, until all of a sudden she realized she couldn't feel her vagina.

A second eruption, this time from her chest, over her heart caught her attention. The same feeling she had when the glow claimed her womanhood was magnified a dozen times as the light shone through her chest and abdomen. As it spread to her breasts and shoulders the numbness became even more frightening. Did I just volunteer to spend eternity as a feelingless piece of glass? She thought in terror.


She could hear the audience gasp in awe at the sight. Before their eyes, a young woman was changing from luscious, nubile flesh into transparent crystal. Where the effect had gone the people in the audience could see straight through, though distorted and bent in the glamour of the crystal that trapped and magnified the light.

Then the two spreading areas finally touched, at the same time the effect reached her face. The numbness stopped. She could feel, but not in the sense she was used to. Before her body had been a biological machine, a million working, moving, hollow and flowing parts. Now she was just solid crystal. As the effect curved over her lips she finally realized what was different, she no longer felt individual parts of her body, as such, since there were no individual parts. She just felt it all, being. Every smooth surface, every curve, every inch of crystal was tight, rigid, and perfect. The sensitivity was amazing, she could feel the air ever so slightly circulating around her, she could feel the floor beneath her crystal feet, she could feel her still real hair draped over her shoulders and back.

It felt amazing.

Finally, the change inched to completion after what must have been minutes, but what felt like eternity. Her head became solid crystal, and Alice was amazed. Her head had always been the center of her being when she was human, now that she was a statue, she had none for everything was her center. Every feeling, every slight draft of air, the constant but noticeable pressure of her weight on the floor, it all registered with a vibrancy she never before realized was possible.

And then she felt the light. When the transformation completed the very top of her head and the last bits of her flowing hair, she felt it. It cascaded through her, it bounced and curved through every inch of her interior, collecting and running through her, sparkling and shinning. Screw sex! Poor girls, they'll never know how this feels!

Everything was calm, but at the same time unbelievably sensual. Alice tried to flex herself, but of course she found she couldn't move. But she could think, and she could feel. The light was by far the best caress she had ever known, and even the tiniest feeling of movement in the air around her forever naked form was exhilarating in its intimacy.

The audience saw a statue. It was glorious. Its beauty of shape and elegance were unmatched by any but the most gifted sculptors. The inviting countenance on its transparent face was delicate beyond measure. Even greater, the light shimmered and sparkled and danced within her. She was beautiful.

The other girls stared at their former comrade, their thoughts mixed fascination, dread, envy, fear, and yearning. Lynette spoke to the merchant's guildsman, "There you go. One remarkably life-like crystal statue. We'll have it packed up and delivered to wherever you'd like. Please, we have a man backstage ready to fill out shipping details." As she said this, a team of well groomed and well muscled men came in from behind the curtain. After marveling at the crystal statue Alice had become for a moment, they began working out the best way to move her. One of them was able to levitate Alice onto a wheeled platform. Once there, the four movers and the merchant proceeded very cautiously back through the curtain. "Careful. Don't break her!" Lynette jokingly added as they disappeared behind the curtain.

"Alright, we're off to a great start. Now for Lot Two, Boethia" she turned her head to the group of volunteers and the tall, dark haired woman dressed in a black tube-top and miniskirt walked to the edge of the stage. She had an enduring beauty, not delicate or particularly striking but profoundly pretty in a soft, endearing way. She had a sway in her walk, but she had comparatively small breasts and hips, as though she had never quite grown into her body. She took a curtsy.

"Well… it's just something of an obsession of mine… but I've always wanted to be something pretty. Something nice that people would see and be happy about. It's always been rather silly, but it's always been in my mind, especially when I found myself alone. When I heard what was being done here, well, I just leapt at the chance. So, here I am." She bashfully curtsied again.

"Shall we start the bidding at two thousand Lorins?"

The bidding for Boethia was much more focused than it had been on Alice. A young woman, very likely a well to do student of the university accompanied by three servants, bid first and bid often. It was a quick affair, once it became evident that this very well to do lady was so intent on her prize, all but the most ambitious buyers backed off.

"Sold to the good young lady for 35,000 florins!" Lynette declared after a short bidding war. Boethia looked surprised as her buyer walked up to the stage, amidst some applause from the gathered crowd. The woman was richly dressed, elegant and with all the bearing and beauty of a wealthy, most proper upbringing.

"My lady, would you mind telling the crowd who you are and what are your plans for Boethia here?"

The buyer took a curtsey towards the crowd, "my name is Jasmine, I attend this fine university and I've had a number of classes with good Boethia here," she nodded towards the blushing girl. "I've always thought Boethia was beautiful, and I must admit I've always been a bit envious of her for it. But then I thought of something magnificent! Can you turn Boethia into a dress?"

There was a collective gasp from the audience, but the three great magi just looked at each other for a moment and then nodded their heads. Boethia was blushing madly at the notion. One of them spoke, "It's doable. It's the same general transformation as the crystal statue, but just a dress would be wasting a lot of material. Would our gracious lady object to a fuller outfit, to make use of more of our good donor?"

"Ah! Yes, yes, that would be brilliant!"

"Anything specific, Jasmine?"

"She should be something formal, something that would not be out of place at the most exalted of occasions, but still something I can take dancing. Please use your imaginations, I'm quite afraid I couldn't do Boethia justice with mine."

The three mages went to confer with each other while Lynette spoke into her microphone, "now this promises to be interesting. Does this sound good to you, Boethia?"

"Oh, oh yes. It sounds… very exciting…"

Jasmine walked over to Boethia, much to Lynette's surprise. She put her delicate hand on Boethia's cheek and moved close to the girl, almost brushing her breasts against Boethia's. "You'll be excellent." She whispered to Boethia, "you'll be beautiful. Thank you." She leaned forward and gently kissed Boethia on the cheek.

What doubt remained in Boethia vanished at her touch. The audience could see her stand firmer, less nervous and more anxious when the beautiful young aristocrat moved away and the three magi moved towards her. This is it, she thought, time to be beautiful.

The magi were more flashy this time. Wreaths of violet mage-light erupted from their hands and moved over the girl. Her clothing vanished instantly, leaving her pretty form open for all to see, but only for an instant. She began to twirl, spinning around first on her foot and then above the floor all together. Boethia had no control over the movement, but paid it no mind; she was enthralled to the feeling of magic tingling down her limbs, exciting her secret places, but also, as she was realizing, with the idea of being worn by the gorgeous and charming Jasmine.

Time seemed to slow down during the change. Boethia was awash in contentment and pleasure for what seemed hours before she noticed the first physical change. Her foot, tingling and awash in the violet mage-light, began to feel more caught up in the twirl. Her foot felt detached, all of a sudden. She could still feel it, but it was different. All of a sudden it didn't sway to the movement of the spiraling magic, it was rigid, it was solid. Her legs, what else she could feel of them, were separate from them.

Her feet fell through the magic, landing on the ground. She could feel them, but she couldn't move them. Her legs distracted her from the oddity of this new sensation; they felt awash in delight and movement, and the feeling spread. It moved up her thighs and spread around her, invigorating and energizing places she had never felt before. The instant the sensation caught her sex she felt a draft, down her inside. She looked down.

Within the spiral of the magi's magic, her legs had become silky black cloth. They had spread around to form the hem of a black dress, fluttering within the wind. She could see the transition, the creamy white flesh of her waist changing into flawless smooth cloth inch by inch. Where the transformation touched things felt different, eerily fantastic, but she found she had no control.

The change accelerated. She breathed in deeply only to find that she could no longer breath. The cloth raced up her chest and breasts, turning their outline into firm, supportive cloth while her cleavage folded into itself, revealing that she was hollow. She could feel the dress her body had become, she could feel the movement of the air both outside and inside her, in all its sensual, arousing glory. Her hands felt detached, just as her as her feet had, but soon she could feel the delicious emptiness and softness there too.

Finally the transformation reached her head. The sensual experience was overwhelming, as though every portion of her was being caressed, whispered to, all manner of wonderful things. She closed her eyes and found she could not open them again, but didn't particularly care. She felt, instead. She could feel the mass of her head being pulled apart, as it folded and shrank unto itself. There was a heaviness at either end of her head, and another one at the top.

For an instant she lingered there, gloriously aware of the emptiness within her black silken frame. Then the spell finished, and she plummeted to the ground. The black dress that was once Boethia fell into a heap on the floor. Boethia could feel what was once her thighs rubbing against her waist and breasts in impossible ways, her feet directly underneath her hips, her head… kind of off to the side somewhere. She tried to get up, out of reflex, but found herself powerless. She lay there, a crumpled dress on the floor, unable to move or speak and fully realizing the implications of what she had agreed to.
I hope I don't get wrinkled here.

She became aware of her surroundings. It wasn't exactly like seeing, but it seemed to be similar. She saw Jasmine rush towards the stage. She could hear applause from the crowd, but she couldn't help but focus on the eager smile of that beautiful face. In an instant, Jasmine was upon her. Boethia could feel herself being pinched and held by her shoulders as Jasmine picked her up. Pleasure rippled through her as the expanse of her silk body moved, tantalizing every fiber of her being. She would have gasped had she voice to do so when Jasmine draped her over her body, sizing her up.

"She looks like a perfect fit! I must try her on!"

Lynette's voice answered, "You can use the ladies' room to the side of the stage. Hurry, let the good people know how she looks on you!" There was a cheer from the Audience as Jasmine bent down again. Over the sensations of her silken body moving and shivering in delight from every slightest vibration, Boethia felt her hands, folded on top of each other, her feet picked up rubbing together, and the odd pieces of her head gathered into Jasmine's free hand. She couldn't make out what had happened to her, the strange sensations of her appendages overwhelmed at the moment by the movement of her black silk torso as Jasmine carried her, running, to the lavatory.

The landscape passed by in a blur as Boethia struggled to make sense of her new form. No hurry, it's not like it'll be changing any time… well, ever, she thought to herself, just barely forming words over the powerful sensations she was experiencing.

She felt herself hung up on a hook, catching her back and neck. The relative peace lasted only a moment before she felt her left hand picked up and filled. It was unbelievable, the radiant warmth filling her like nothing before, the softness of Jasmine's skin, the rush of movement, erogenous in ways she had never comprehended. It was heightened when she felt her hand pick up her other one, and guided it to identical bliss.

Her feet were next. She could feel Jasmine's warmth through them, engorging them like she did her hands. It was different, her feet had been profoundly ticklish when they were still flesh, and the feeling of caresses carried an exhilarating, almost laughing quality to it.

Finally, she felt the bulk of her being picked up. As she slipped over Jasmine's head she was lost in a tidal wave of ecstasy. Every inch of the woman filled her as no toy or man ever could, until her entire being was draped around her, hugging that wonderful figure, embracing the softness and heat of her body as it filled her, restored her to womanly form. She exulted in being wrapped around such supple figure, such voluptuous breasts with her own, draped over curved hips and dangling across flawless legs.

She barely noticed as the pieces that had once been her head were added. They added in their own unique sensations to the pleasure engulfing her, but they also added clarity. She could see perfectly now, and could hear everything. Jasmine opened the stall she was changing in, leaving her old dress behind, and walked to the mirror. Boethia was incredible. She had become a fluid black dress, hugging her in all the right places, accenting her figure, gliding over her mistress's luscious body with her every move. Her silk body seemed to catch the light, glittering in its perfect blackness. She hugged Jasmine's breasts, clasping the perfect orbs in a gentle caress. Her hands had become elbow length gloves, emerging from under the sleeves of her former-torso to delicately cover Jasmine's hands. She could just barely see that her feet had become similar black high-heals. The strange weight that was once her head was three pieces of jewelry, a pair of matching diamond ear-rings and a simple silver diadem, crowing Jasmine's exultant face, nestled against every single shift of her luxuriant black hair.

I'm gorgeous. The thought shivered down her silken form. She could feel her excitement seep into her wearer, sharing some small portion of her bliss as she glistened in the light. She could feel Jasmine's nipples rising, her breath quickening, her chest and face flushing, and a slight moistness grow between her legs.

Jasmine glided back to the stage, where Boethia could see and hear the audience applaud, far greater than before. She was far too enraptured to think about it, to do anything but bask in the glory of her beauty, and the magnificence of her mistress' touch. As Jasmine sauntered back off to her seat Lynette smiled and proclaimed "Now it's time for Lot Three!"