Act 1, Scene1: Symbols

His very first glimpse of Mistress S took his breath away. With a stunning figure, impeccable fetish clothing, and taller than he had expected, even discounting the height of the heels of her boots, her arrival into the waiting room was the first of many peaks to come.

A few matters of prefered etiquette later, par for the course for such a first meeting, he was collared before being made to sit on the ground before her. A rather pleasant and highly erotic conversation ensued to discuss where the day's session would lead them. It was easy to focus on what Mistress S was saying, despite the intense emotions and the mental states storming within him, because beyond her voice, the rest of the universe had the volume turned down.

The Mistress on a chair with him sitting on the ground before her... the collar she had placed around his neck... the twinkle of her gaze... the mischeviousness in her smile... the shiny black clothing she was wearing, both hiding and revealing the form of a goddess... the long black boots that were level with where he was sitting... the racks, tables, toys, and ropes of the space around them... the stainless steel water dog bowl she had filled for him in case he needed to quench his thirst... The symbols around him evoked some of the most powerful imagery his mind had come across and compiled. And yet, here he was, in an environment that would create a brand new set of some of the most vivid experiences, emotions, and images he would ever live through. And here she was, ready to start creating on a new canvass he had brought in just for her.

She was visibly satisfied at the fact that he had few expectations. Likes and dislikes of both parties had already been exchanged, and within the very wide range of possibilities left, he made it clear, in the appropriately humble manner, that he was there to serve, and he was there for her BDSM pleasure and enjoyment. There would be no other purpose to his presence than to have the opportunity to submit to her, whatever she was in the mood for.

* * * * *
The symbols were, and are, ultimately, powerful accessories to the experience. Some of them more important, some of them less; some of them are interchangeable, others are not. All of them can be intoxicatingly erotic in their own way. But it remains that BDSM is about individuals, and that interaction is at the core of what the power exchange is about. In this case, Mistress S' personality, her skills, her experience, her will, her love for what she does, is the real fabric of such an encounter. And power exchange is the pattern. Everthing else is there to accessorize the experience.