0 comments/ 26068 views/ 4 favorites Ceremony Ch. 01 By: kurtrellians Dianorla opened the door to the temple by pushing the door inwards with her body weight. It was dark outside now and she had been alone as she walked around the temple complex. She needed to be on her own sometimes. The only way to achieve complete privacy at the temple complex was to walk in the dark when no one could see her. In the daytime there were always people about. But now it was the time for the regular evening celebration in the Temple. Two hours after sundown was the time. As a priestess of the Goddess of Life she was called to observe and participate on a rotating basis in this rite. She guessed there might be a long evening ahead before she could rest again. She enjoyed her life as a Priestess normally but there were times as tonight when she would have liked merely to rest. She felt it was perhaps a minor insult to the Goddess for a priestess to enter the ceremony with her mind not entirely at one with the events, but she had chosen her vocation and was thus duty bound to perform it. There was no purpose in complaining. The priesthood allowed plenty of time for relaxation. She must seek to participate with open and clear mind, and must try not to allow selfish thoughts to enter her mind. To resist the Goddess, even mentally, was a sin against her and was supposed to dilute the effect of this ceremony, which was to celebrate life and encourage the Goddess to continue to give life to all the millions of people across the Empire. Dianorla did not worry unduly about her thoughts remaining constant. Her thoughts had wandered often and she had often held wrong thoughts about the other people engaged in the ceremony and she had never been punished by the High Priests and Priestesses, or by the Goddess herself. It had been as if they could not see what was inside her mind. Few people thought that the Goddess was anything more than an ideal, the personification of a set of beliefs and ideas about how to live and practice your life. In some ceremonies resistant thoughts were encouraged, even induced in order to create the effect which the ceremony required. However Dianorla felt that she should make an effort to be at one with the ceremony. It was a powerful ceremony and it was not always easy to achieve oneness. Dianorla had frequently been enraptured by it and fully taken up in its power and vitality. She had enjoyed those times when she had felt swept up by the celebration, and those times when she was bored and disinterested had been dull for her. So she always attempted to make the most of the event regardless of her mood. It was better for her. As the door slid open the smell of incense and that other smell of human sweat which could never be entirely hidden in the temple, assailed her. A stately soft music emanated from behind the altar, producing an atmosphere of concentration and serious intent. Other priestesses were arriving in groups through other doors. There would be three hundred of them tonight at this ceremony, their purple gowns tied at the waist, feet barefoot. A low babble of conversation existed as they came down through the aisles and pillars into the semicircular centre of the temple. They stood finally in rows on the steps of the temple in between the leather skinned seats and tables, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Dianorla took her place among them on the second row at the right hand side. She was close to the circle which increased her chances of being picked. She reprimanded herself for not placing herself further back, but it would not look good to the High Priestesses or the other Priestesses to be seen attempting to determine her own position. They were supposed to follow the flow of Priestesses and end wherever they found themselves, naturally. In any case she was not sure whether she wanted to participate directly or not. If she did not she may find the ceremony boring and even risked falling asleep. If she did participate she sometimes could not enter the mood these days and desired a rest from such activities. The music became more lively and stirring by degrees. The louder voices subsided as the Priestesses took up their positions. High Priestesses Carorna and Karesa came to the bare leather altar and stood before it wearing their colourful overgarments, covered in the ancient runes of magic. They wore crowned hairpieces and ornate jewellery from all over the Empire. These formidable and powerful women were far more than priestesses. They were magic wielders for the Goddess in this provincial region called Sharlan, of the great Empire of Shalirion. Many regarded them as sorceresses, although in her few years as a priesthood initiate, Dianorla had never known them to exercise anything that she would have called magic. The most she had seen from them, or other High Priestesses, had been to summon rainfall during a period of water shortage some years before. They also appeared to have great skill in maintaining the erections of men during ceremonies when nature was insufficient to keep them aroused. She had seen both of them, and others, imploring the Goddess with magic when men were losing their confidence and without recourse to the natural stimulation of visual treats. These were magic skills to be sure but of an ordinary sort. She had seen no real evidence that the Goddess was any more than an ideal, or that powerful magic of world changing importance existed. Carorna was the elder and therefore most senior of the two and she it was who began to speak the Incantations of Life which had been chosen. These instructed the communicants that the benefits of life should be taken up by them and passed on to everyone in the world so that all could reap the harvest of a full and beneficial life. The words were familiar. They had been written in the Books many centuries before and passed down for study and reference in the ceremonies of Temples all over Shalirion. Dianorla had heard them before many times even though the High Priestesses often chose different incantations. As far as Dianorla could remember they all said much the same things. Her periods of study had finished some years before so she was no longer as familiar with them as she used to be. After so many years of ceremonies the excitement and interest of youth waned somewhat and she and other Priestesses she had confided in began to think other thoughts while the words were spoken. Dianorla thought about Carorna as she spoke. Did the words hold meaning for her? She certainly made them sound as if the words meant much for her but she had been a High Priestess for many years and had repeated these lines many times. How could these lines be of renewed interest to her every time she undertook the ceremony? She wondered how old Carorna was. Probably nearing sixty years. Her face was lined although still attractive and her body was fleshy and saggy in places although again still healthy and fit. Dianorla had noticed that she participated less in the ceremony these days than she had used to. In the past she remembered Carorna had regularly participated with great vigour worthy of a High Priestess of the Goddess. Karesa was a much younger High Priestess, only recently promoted from among the ranks of the more privileged priestesses. Dianorla could not recall seeing her officiate at this particular ceremony before but she probably had at those which Dianorla had not had to attend. Karesa was a slim tall woman with blonde hair and a beautiful face. She certainly had the mark of a great High Priestess on her. Dianorla admired her and, like many other Priestesses she knew, wished that she could be more like Karesa and could be elevated to the position of High Priestess one day. Dianorla never expected that she would ever be elevated in that way. Her own recent feelings of reluctance, her need for quiet lonely walks after dark made her realise that she was unsuitable. She was sure that the High Priesthood would surely realise she was not as devoted to the Goddess as she would need to be to be elevated. They would never allow a doubter to become a magic wielder. "It is time to say more of the ceremony we are about to perform," spoke the austere Carorna, in a departure from the normal form of this ceremony. "Most of you have come here in the expectation that our worship of the Goddess is for the continuing peace and fulfilment of our town and its region, and for the continuing prosperity of the Empire. If only that were our sole need. There is a new urgency in our ceremonies, which was not expected, but is becoming necessary for the protection of our Empire and our whole way of life. The barbarian kingdoms of Animar have become jealous of the territories of the Empire. Their leaders have formed a pact, and have launched a huge fleet of ships against us, carrying the largest army ever mustered against us. Two months ago they have landed in the north near Cromilil and along a wide stretch of coast all the way towards Vedalis. Their armies are led by the Kings Guthelm the Conqueror of Grumandor, Charlerion the Magnificent of Pelancir, and others. They have with them their own dark sorcerors, some from the distant East who may have sorceries we are unaware of. These sorcerors are led by Valdark the Impaler, who uses the pain of his tortured victims to create dark magic of the most fearful and appalling kind. They have told lies about us to their own peoples, and to other races in order to encourage them in their war effort against us. They have brought to their banners treacherous Goblin hordes from the mountainous regions of Animar and the lands to the East, the greedy Dwarves of the East, and Dark Elves under the perverse influence of self corrupted leaders. These dark forces have taken much territory. Cromilil and Bricas have been sacked and almost all their populations brutally killed. By now probably ancient Chiniss, Faldas, and Riarcan are encircled, maybe almost lost as I speak. This is the largest and most brutal invasion our Empire has ever suffered. Virtually all the forces of Animar and beyond to the East are involved in this. Our leaders have tried to meet with representatives of the horde but they are not interested in peace and will not even meet. They threaten to defeat us entirely. Never has our Empire been at such risk, all our lives are at risk. We have slowed their advance now that we understand better what forces assail us, but so far we have no prospect of defeating them. Our spies have begun to gather more information and we are beginning to ask those questions which we need to answer. The invaders want many different rewards as far as we can tell; lands for settlement; pillage and wealth; rape; slaves; many appear to view the act of killing as an end in themselves. One of our best chances is to encourage them to fight each other. They are so greedy they have begun to do just that, which may possibly save us, but if they act as one we can hardly resist. "It has been decided that we must ask the Goddess to help us. Only by her magic can we save ourselves and defeat the greatest enemy we have ever endured. The Goddess has protected us through the ages. All of our ceremonies have woven the threads of magic which have given us quiet and fulfilled lives, filled with the wholesome love of the Goddess. As the centuries have turned the magic has become natural to us, so much so that we have hardly needed to appeal to the depths and the heights of our souls. That time is gone now. To save ourselves we must make a huge magic, to counter the forces of evil which assail us. We must remember that our enemies have their own sorcerors and wizards, who will use all the magic they can bend to their will to bring misery to us all. Their magic is also powerful. They will doubtless also attempt to appeal to the Goddess, although the Goddess has never lent her magic to evil in the past." "This ceremony will follow the usual traditional forms," said Karesa, speaking for the first time in this communion. "However there is a difference. The invasion brings urgency to our actions, and this is a ceremony in which we can produce real power, summoning the Goddess to our aid. The feelings you experience here as you participate, and even as you observe will be the fuel to light our efforts. Carorna and I, and Taregir will be directing the flow of psychic energy to fellow priests and priestesses in the North. It will be used to rebuild shattered lives, to contain the foreign magics, to turn the hearts of the invaders, and to sweep back the enemies. I ask you to clear your minds of daily troubles, to concentrate upon the great task at hand. Give yourselves fully to the feelings and joys of our communal celebration, hold nothing back. Truly believe in the Goddess. It is in producing powerful feelings we can produce great power, which may save all our lives. There is much effort ahead of us. In our period of greatest risk you will all be called upon to produce healing and magic more frequently than before. We will hold these ceremonies and all others which may produce what we need, and the aid of the Goddess, as often as we may." Dianorla was astounded at this bleak news. There was much she did not know, had never even guessed. Why had she known nothing of this invasion? Had any of the ordinary priestesses and priests known? Looking around she could sense the hushed shock amongst them, and sense the sudden interest generated by this shattering news. But looking at the reaction in the faces, perhaps there were some who had heard rumours of these events in the distant north. She had heard of Animar the continent. She knew it lay northward, far across the sea, but she knew little of its geography or exactly how far away it was. Few of the people of Shalirion had ever been there. These things were not important in the education of a priestess. She was more interested in these matters than most of the priestesses around her and yet she had no idea that the Empire might be close to collapse. Nothing had been said to her ears in Sharlan. The worship of the Goddess was all, the provision of the comforts of life and the raising of new generations. Nothing else seemed important here. Her head began to fill with questions. She had rarely felt there to be much magic involved in these ceremonies. Perhaps that was why her belief in the Goddess had become so rational and distant. She was amazed to hear the declarations of these High Priestesses which implied a strong belief in all the words of the books, and even regarded the magic of the Goddess as possibly the only way of saving the Empire, and implicitly all their lives. They actually seemed to genuinely believe in everything they said. Karesa now announced the entrance of the male worshippers. Loudly she proclaimed that this evening the male worshippers came from the farmlands to the north of the city. They were farmers who harvested the food or kept the animals. She announced that many of these men would soon be marching northwards to join the battles for the defence of the Empire. They were dressed in red tunics. Two hundred of them filed forward and positioned themselves, standing on the circle before the altar, below the Priestesses. There was no obvious reaction to this news from the men themselves as they came in. Presumably they had all been told about the war and their part in it some time previously. Many of these were tall men with large muscles, variously long and short haired. It was time for the High Priest to appear. He it was who officiated over the High Priestesses and everyone present. Taregir was his name, a powerful driven man, one of the most committed High Priests ever to rule in this Temple at least. Taregir appeared in his purple vestments and his High Priest's crown behind the altar on the steps which went upwards. He it was who would choose from among the males which one should be the Giver of the Seed in this ceremony. He came down from above and swiftly strolled around amongst the males in the circle. He walked amongst all of them. Before long he had selected a man, tall, slim, not overly muscular but attractive, from amongst the farmers. Male Priests came forward from the back to escort the chosen man to the altar. Although privileged he was effectively their prisoner now. He had been chosen and must perform his responsibilities to the Goddess. By tradition the Priests would stand nearby to ensure he did not escape. Dianorla had often wondered why this was necessary. No man selected had ever wanted to escape from their duty in any ceremony to the Goddess which she had ever seen. Why should they? It was an act of pride, an honour which most men never achieved in their lives, to be chosen in such a large ceremony. She had been told that in the past, many centuries before, sometimes the chosen had been unwilling and priests as guards had been necessary to perform the act. She had queried her teachers more closely, asking why they had been unwilling, but most teachers did not understand why themselves. "It was a long time ago," they would say, "Nobody knows." One had told her that she believed that in the distant past enemy prisoners from the wars had been used in the ceremony and they had not appreciated what was being done for them. They had believed they were being led to torture or death and therefore tried to resist. "Who knows," said that instructor, "Maybe they were tortured and killed in those days." It had been an incredible thing for a Priestess Instructor to suggest, not a part of the planned training for Priestesses. The Instructor had said, "Of course I don't know that. I'm only guessing. It isn't something you need to worry about." Dianorla found herself to be curious about the past. These were questions which she would like to answer, but no one ever told her anything and perhaps no one really knew. Those days, if it had been true, had been centuries ago. The Priests took the man to the leather skinned altar and laid him upon it, then retreated a few steps downwards at the four corners. The man looked towards the other farmers as he lay waiting. The High Priest then consulted the High Priestesses to ask them to choose attendants and a Priestess to carry out her duty. After a brief word the High Priestesses walked down outside the circle and amongst the waiting Priestesses to select the four attendants. Carorna and Karesa were to choose two each. Carorna went to the left and quickly chose two, chosen often for their pleasing looks although not necessarily so. Ordinary Priestesses did not know the basis on which the High Priestesses would make their decision. Karesa took her time, she was a relatively new High Priestess and still relished her power. She saw great meaning in the choice evidently. She chose a girl from the front row, a pretty slim, small dark haired girl. Dianorla waited placidly while Karesa passed her a first time. When she began to approach a second time she began to feel nervous that it would be her. If she was chosen it would be a great honour. She had done it twice before in this ceremony so it did not worry her in any way. It had meant a great deal to her on both occasions but now this evening she was not really in the mood and wished not to be chosen. It would mean standing there in front of all these people for a long time and she would be sure to be chosen by one of the male worshippers if she was chosen as an attendant. Karesa looked directly into her eyes as she came past a second time as if weighing up her beauty. She was surely being considered. Karesa moved on again to the priestess standing next to her. She felt relief but mixed with a certain dread that perhaps Karesa would turn back for her. That would be a great honour, which no Priestess could expect to achieve in their life, although many did. But she did not wish to tonight. Please let it not be me, she actually began to pray to the Goddess, and wished now that she had managed to hide herself on the back row. Suddenly Karesa stepped back to her and laid her hand on her shoulder. "You are chosen." She had been chosen as attendant after all, but she could now feel some relief that at least she was not being asked to officiate. Being an attendant was at least an easy function, a supporting role. She had been chosen and there was nothing she could do. She would have to place herself in a better state of mind. Ceremony Ch. 01 She followed Karesa and the other girl to the altar. It was time to prepare the 'Giver'. She and the other three attendants stood at each corner of the altar and reached forward to take away the Giver's tunic. One girl opened the sash to reveal his chest. The slim dark haired girl unfastened his tunic belt and they lifted him slightly to pull off the lower part of the tunic off his legs, revealing his penis. The other two girls slid the top of his tunic off his arms and gently lowered him back to the surface. He was a nice looking man, about mid thirties she guessed. Still she felt no inspiration. Now it was their turn. They turned to face their audience and each pulled the sash, which opened their gowns at the same moment, revealing their breasts and genitals. Then they took their arms out and fully naked before an audience of over seven hundred they handed the gowns to each of the Priests who folded and placed them on the floor. Then they turned as they had been trained back to the Giver. It now remained to find out who would officiate. Normally the High Priestesses would descend together to choose a Priestess. On this occasion, as was sometimes the case, Carorna and Karesa remained near the altar so one of them had decided to officiate. As might be expected recently it was Karesa and not Carorna who stepped forward to ask the Priests to remove her overgarments, hairpieces, crown and jewellery and her robe. She was naked before them all and her body was beautiful even to a woman. Her breasts were firm, not too large or small, she was slim and fit, tall, her skin smooth and her genital area shaven. With poise and aware of the effect the display would have on the males she began to dance sensuously around the altar as the music became louder. Her arms graced around her body as she swayed and swirled, her blonde hair dancing around her. The 'Giver' watched in awe as did the male worshippers. Then she stood behind the altar and began to massage the Giver slowly and sensuously. At a nod from Karesa the attendants were expected to help at this stage. All laid their hands lightly on the part of his body which was nearest, being careful not to get in the way of the High Priestess who leaned forward and began to kiss the different parts of his body. The High Priestess's hands moved all over the body savouring him then draping her own body over his stiffening penis. Then when she saw he was ready she took his member in her mouth and began to suck it slowly. The man was excited. The naked attendants and the beautiful High Priestess ministering to him were enough to overcome the nervousness he must have felt and the pressure of performing in front of all these people. It was something many Priestesses could never get used to, Dianorla herself included. It appeared however that Karesa was not one of those. As she took him in her mouth her body continued to move, conscious of her audience. Even Dianorla, who was becoming less interested in the acts of sex recently, felt swept up in her enthusiasm. She could have reached out and touched Karesa's body and kissed it right now. Even she felt a sudden desire to put her fingers to Karesa's genitals and kiss her golden flanks. That of course would not be permitted in this ceremony, unless the urgency for the Goddess's powers which Carorna had explained, was now to cause a change in their practice. She did not dare. There were ceremonies which demanded the priestesses to serve each other, or other women from outside the temples. Dianorla hoped despite herself, that one day soon she might be able to do that with Karesa in one of those ceremonies. She wondered at herself for these thoughts, which were surely stronger in her than usual. The music had been softening while the sexual preparations were being made. Now it finished leaving the circle quiet except for the sexual noises which would be made on the altar. Karesa took her mouth up towards the Giver's motioning Dianorla to take his ample penis in her mouth. Dutifully she leaned forward and began to lick his salty erection. It was nicely hard. This part of the ceremonial was designed to keep the Giver hardened by reminding him that the attendants were there with him also. She passed it to the girl on the left who did the same and then the other two. Now it was time for Karesa to mount the Giver. Karesa climbed onto the altar, standing in her glorious nakedness. Then lowering herself until she was kneeling, straddling the man. Grasping his excited member she heaved herself over it until she had fully taken it and began slowly, and then faster, to ride upon it. The man appeared excited as he gazed up at her and began to thrust his own hips to meet hers. His hands grasped her legs and reached for her breasts. The attendants behind him stroked his face and chest as he lay in pleasure, his body dedicated to the Goddess. Karesa began to moan as she ground her body into his. Dianorla knew this was part of the performance. Karesa was playing to her audience and also she wanted to bring the Giver to orgasm. Her animalism would excite the man and her performance would be seen to be effective. Too often in the public arena the Giver would become nervous and lose his hardness. It was the duty of the officiate and her attendants to encourage the Giver as much as possible. When the Giver lost his power there were many ways in which his power might be returned. There was no reason why the ceremony should not last a long time. If the ceremony continued for a long time a signal from the officiate could set in motion the following stages where the audience became participants. It was not a problem to the Priesthood or the Goddess. However it was to be preferred if the Giver's seed could be exuded earlier and the ceremony be continued sooner. Karesa's style appeared to be to bring the Giver to a powerful and early conclusion. That would have suited Dianorla. She was tired from the exertions of the day and sought solitude in her own bed. However, given the news from the north, and the exhortation of Karesa in her earlier instructions for the celebrants to commit themselves fully to this communion, she doubted that this ceremony would finish soon. Karesa began to masturbate herself as she jostled more clumsily upon the Giver, and her moaning grew louder. The Giver's moaning could also be heard around the circle, softer than the High Priestess's. She began to cry out louder as she became more excited. Dianorla, behind the High Priestess, could see that her excitement was becoming very genuine, although she could not see her face. It seemed to Dianorla that there was an echo to the moaning of both the Receiver and the Giver, which she had never noticed before in this hall. As their sexual arousal became more intense the echo became louder until it exceeded the celebrants. Dianorla, close by, was surrounded by it, and touched by it. Although she was not being stimulated by any hand she found that she was highly excited. Her legs were wet with her own juices. Her nipples tightened, striving for the touch of some stranger's hand. She was possessed by the desire to satisfy her body's demand. As Dianorla watched the scene before her she saw that the slim dark haired attendant next to her had surrendered to the echoing call. She frigged her pretty vulva shamelessly with one hand, her hips moving by instinct for all the watchers to see, while her free hand continued to minister to the Giver. Even as Dianorla watched the girl shook as an orgasm wrenched through her, and a small dribble of wetness sped down her leg. The girl tottered unsteadily at the climax, but somehow managed to stay. Her cries joined the echo and were repeated as it spun around the hall. The girl's face struggled to master control. Dianorla could sense that the girl was afraid of reprimand now that consciousness returned, but although Dianorla still resisted the strong pull to follow the girl's action, because it was not normally permitted in this stage of the ceremony, she doubted somehow that she would be punished in the current circumstances. A glance beyond the altar gave her sight of Carorna, standing tall and regal, as she surveyed the scene. Carorna stood with her arms uplifted in supplication, eyes focused deeply on all of them, Dianorla included. Carorna's lips moved swiftly, reciting incantations or prayers, directing the energy drawn from the ceremony with an intensity she had rarely achieved in the past. Dianorla could hear that incantations were being spoken, but she could not tell what the words were for. They were drowned by the echoes of moaning and the cries of the girl's orgasm, which still reverberated. Dianorla knew now that she was in the midst of a real magic, which she had never felt before. The ceremony was still familiar, but it felt quite different from any she had experienced before. One of the other attendants, brown haired with a firm stocky body and large breasts, had given in to the overpowering call of sensuality and was now massaging her own quim while she kept a hand, and her eyes, focused on the Giver's outstretched body. The fourth attendant, like Dianorla, was able so far to resist. The girl who had just orgasmed had kept her hand between her legs. Even now her ministrations to herself continued, despite the awareness of wrongdoing which Dianorla had seen on her face. Karesa climbed off the Giver and pulled him up. It was time for her to lie down as the Giver pushed his seed into her. Quickly she exchanged places with him, not wanting him to lose his strength. He mounted her quickly and began to fuck into her quickly and desperately. It was time for Dianorla, the slim dark haired girl and the other attendants to intensify their ministrations to the Giver as he gave himself to the Goddess. They placed their hands on his thrashing body as it moved, on his buttocks and up his shivering back and brushing his arse and testicles as they moved. Karesa began to cry out loudly again, and came in a torrent of breathless, meaningless words. The Giver was very excited, Dianorla could tell. He would not be long now. It was a good ceremony. The Goddess would be very happy and Dianorla's sleep would not be too many hours away, although she found that she was no longer concerned about that any more. The Giver started to shake wildly, uncontrollably. His shaking lasted for some time but it was final. Karesa cried out again under the onslaught and the Giver's seed gushed deep into her belly. He continued to move as his excitement subsided. He stayed upon her while she motioned with her right arm for the next part of the ceremony to begin. Ceremony Ch. 02 Carorna took up the call, "Let the ceremony continue." This was the time when the two hundred male worshippers could choose of the three hundred Priestesses, including the Attendants, a woman to take the part for them of the Goddess and the ceremony would broaden to include most of the worshippers. The four male Priests whose duty to guard the Giver was finished, would also take a Priestess. The High Priestesses were not obliged to participate but usually did. If they wished to they could choose first from among the male worshippers but not the Priests. Carorna indicated that she would participate and quickly went down to the floor of the circle where she selected a tall farmer to be her Giver. She took him back to a table behind the altar. Karesa was under no obligation to participate further and usually the officiate would recover and watch from now on. It appeared that she had decided to remain on the altar and had ordered the "Giver" to minister to her own needs more gently than before. Now he had given up his seed he was no longer required to give more seed but with his hands and his tongue he could be expected to minister to the desires of the officiate if she chose. The High Priest Taregir also had first choice over the Priestesses only if he so desired. Otherwise he must watch from above. He strode forward and chose one of the attendants, the slim dark haired one who had been next to Dianorla. He took her to a table behind the altar. Dianorla was pleased she had not been picked by him. Although she had been picked by him on a number of occasions before she found him forceful and selfish, although it would again have been an honour. She no longer hoped she could avoid being chosen because she had found the first ceremony so powerful. Her arousal was strong and she had resisted, so far, the temptation to masturbate, but the magic in the air, or was it her own unsatiated natural desire, meant that she must participate in the next part of the ceremony, for her relief. It was very unlikely that an attendant already naked and considered attractive would escape the choice of two hundred male worshippers and four priests. If her own excitement was anything to go by the audience must be desperate to participate by now. She wondered if they had been as filled by the wild magic of the ceremony as she had. She assumed that they could not have been unaffected by the scenes she had witnessed or by the magnetic insistence of the echoing sounds. She wondered how many of them might have been overcome, like the two attendants, by the desire to masturbate. She saw that some of the farmers did indeed already have their hands beneath their tunics. Bulges indicated arousal. A few had them revealed and their tunics parted or raised. Attendants often found that they were chosen by male priests because they stood nearby. After Taregir had chosen, the males were free to choose. Always there was a rush as certain males would head for the attendants or for the prettiest Priestesses, but there were more than enough Priestesses for all of them. As the farmers who were here this evening milled around surveying their choice of Priestesses Dianorla remained at the altar, naked. For the farmers this was an exciting event. Rarely would they have the choice of so many Priestesses or be able to take part in an orgy on such a large scale. They came to the Temple at Sharlon only occasionally and were used to smaller ceremonies in the villages where they lived. Priestesses probably visited them regularly to conduct ceremonies but their participation in gatherings at the temple might happen only once in a month, or perhaps two. This particular ceremony was frequently performed by the Priestesses but the different occupations of the area had to wait their turn. The men were usually very excited therefore at the prospect of sexual communion on such a scale. Many of them took some time in selecting their first partner. There would be plenty of Priestesses to choose from and they probably considered that they might as well select a woman who would excite them the most. Others, the young ones who were new to this and awed by the Priestesses might take the first Priestess they could find. Some farmers mounted the steps, approaching. They all had such strong muscular legs under their tunics. Many were tall. Some were good looking, others were average. She was done for, she knew. There was now no chance she would not be picked, she always was. She was too attractive to escape. She would have been foolish to hope that she might. After the first part of the ceremony she did not want to escape. She wanted to be selected. It was surely far better to participate than to watch and grow bored. The priest from the far corner of the altar, a man she knew well called Petrun, approached her also but when he saw the farmers approaching her, he knew he was beaten and went in pursuit perhaps of other less well sought after targets. Three farmers stood before her now. All reached their right hands forward in the ceremonial sign of invitation. It was for her to decide from amongst them now, unless they wished to withdraw. None made a move to give up their invitations although the Priest had done already. Rarely was she passed by. The farmers knew they had a chance of winning her favour, and were prepared to risk a rejection knowing that one of them would have her. Dutifully she surveyed them quickly. The one on the left was a little short and not so good looking in the face. The middle one had very strong legs. She imagined that the bulge in the pants of his tunic denoted his excitement. He was handsome and tall. The third was not quite so good although at any other time she might have chosen his pretty looks. Her choice was easy: the tall one. She pointed at him and took his hand. The others left reluctantly to find another. It was through occasions such as these that she realised her attraction. There were no bench seats available so she waved to the floor and descended to it. She sprawled back on the cool stone and watched him peel off his tunic. His erect member stuck straight out pointing at her. He stepped forward and stood before her, inviting her to grasp his manhood. His hand encircled his shining penis, taking the loose skin over the top of the glans. Leaning forwards her legs wide open astride his, she reached out to grasp him and take him into her mouth. Before she lowered her gaze she had time to take note of his strong shoulders, his lithe smooth body and his muscled thighs. She wrapped the penis gently and played it gently with her tongue, enjoying its size at the same time brushing her hand across his smooth muscled torso. She had done well this evening, she thought. Her earlier lassitude was ameliorated by the pleasure of this fine specimen. He was not just some ordinary looking man, but one who could have been worth saving herself for. Without words - there was no need for them in the midst of a ceremony - his hands drew down from her shoulders to the flesh below her breasts and began to draw her up. She turned over and onto her knees and bent forwards, glancing provocatively behind her to see what he would do, and offered her wide buttocks to him. Instead of bringing his warm penis straight to the flesh which was offered him the man knelt behind her and brought his head closer to her. The farmer held Dianorla's hips, drawing her silky thighs to his hungry mouth. Dianorla held her thighs out, and turned her head to see the farmer as she enjoyed the lapping of the man's soft lips on the most sensitive lips of her sex. His hands were all over her, around her legs, under her bottom. Then to her pleasant surprise a finger was inserted just a little into her anus. She cried out amongst the baying that many men and women all around were giving, and the moaning echo which was again growing in volume, the amalgamation of all the noises which the participants were making. The echo was something beyond normality, persuading her that an immense magical energy was rising from the passion being generated. Soon the farmer raised himself and began to beat her buttocks lightly with his warm extended penis, dribbling little drops of juice on her flesh. She smiled at him provocatively, and wriggled her bottom at him. This was proving to be a far better evening than she had thought, despite the ill news. Somehow the magic of the ceremony was keeping all fears and uncertainty at bay. Her former tiredness was gone completely now and she felt excited by the prospect of being penetrated by him, by any man at last. Her sex lips were wide open now aching for more attention. Suddenly his thick penis, which had nestled against her lips, was inside her, pushing deep into her flesh. She took pleasure and sustenance from the general physical occurrences all around them. All around naked farmers and priests lay with naked priestesses, some preferred to stand. Carorna, the High Priestess, unrobed completely to reveal her near sixty year old body, was astride her tall farmer. Dianorla could see the farmer's large penis disappearing into Carorna's groin. Her aged breasts were like empty sacks, and blue veins stood out in her legs, but for all her age she was fit looking. Dianorla could admire the statuesque shape of her body and the undoubted strength of her face. There were some other priestesses here of this age, although many of that age now preferred smaller ceremonies, and were less likely to be selected in the large ones. Carorna's hands upraised as she rode her man, reminiscent of Karesa's earlier ride, but she issued spells and incantations as she moved her body. Were her spells keeping the chosen man's penis strong, or were they drawing and directing the power of the Goddess to the battlefields in the north? Dianorla could not know for sure, but she would not have been surprised if it were both. Certainly it was obvious that Carorna was a centre of power in this ceremony, enabling, directing. As Dianorla enjoyed the sensation of being ploughed and rocked from behind she observed Carorna, and it seemed to her that Carorna grew taller and more forceful in her physical movements as her spells continued. Her body seemed to stretch, wrinkles becoming less, fatty flesh around midriff and upper arms less loose and more shapely, and swellings on her legs reduced. Perhaps it was the magic of the ceremony, thought Dianorla, having effects upon her imagination. Had Carorna ever been old and tired looking? Perhaps Dianorla had been wrong about her before. The man beneath Carorna became wild, his eyes fixed upon breasts, which became larger and fuller by the minute. Carorna's eyes bore into him and she brought one of her arms down to caress him all over his sweating flesh. Carorna's hips thrust faster in response to the man's agitation. He screamed, openly and unashamedly, like someone who is unaware of the presence of others, someone whose soul has been completely freed from the shackles of communal control, like a grown man who has been returned to childhood with all his adult appreciation intact. His legs stretched and shook, confined by hers. His arms gripped her plunging torso, and reached for those magnificent breasts. His shaking went on for some minutes, while his unintelligible screaming was taken up and reverberated in the echo, which combined it with all the other sounds of ecstasy. Carorna's incantation was high pitched and loud now, perhaps a sign of her own approaching orgasm. His shaking and screaming reached a crescendo, stuttered a few times, and went silent, panting. Carorna's seemed to take place fractionally later, as if it had been triggered by his. Her body kept jerking rapidly on his penis. She put her own hand, which had been upraised to the last, to her liquid clitoris, scratching violently. Then a shower of fluid arched out from her over the farmer's chest and stomach, and she collapsed forward and then back, unable to still herself in this outpouring. Her wail was a pure moan then without words. Finally she rested forward, draped over the farmer's inert body, panting loudly. Immediately words of incantation could be heard, fast and loud. Twisting her head to the right Dianorla saw Karesa, the Giver's head licking her between her legs, reciting the words, which reverberated around the hall, and raising her arms. Dianorla panted faster as her own satisfaction increased. Her farmer held his penis as he drew in and out of her vagina. Then he withdrew and quickly turned her over. She gazed into his dark lashed eyes. She could see the fullness of his desire and lust there as he penetrated her again from above. Her hands found his firm testicles and fondled them. Squeezing him harder she lifted her body to meet his thrusts, feeling the largeness of him inside her, vibrating with its own life and touching her everywhere. She cried out as she began to orgasm. Her cries brought on his conclusion too as she was battered by his final lusts. Exhausted from the ceremony Dianorla tied her robe around the waist and followed the other Priestesses from the temple. Another evening's work was finished, but it had been an evening unlike any she had known at the temple. Like everyone she had often enjoyed sexual activities and had been happy to worship the Goddess, but she had never really believed in her existence until now. It had taken war and danger to the people of the Empire for the true power of the Goddess to be revealed. Doubtless the High Priestesses had always used her magic to maintain harmony, but on this night there had been a life threatening cause which demanded her magic to be raised. Now Dianorla had no doubts. She had seen it with her own eyes, heard its strong music, and felt it in the depths of her soul. She hoped that the sexual magic which had been created by participants and observers alike would be enough to turn the tide in this war of survival. She felt reinvigorated. Her existence as a priestess had meaning and purpose. As the restored younger Carorna had said at the end, she could consider that the energy she contributed was as important in saving the Empire as the defence provided by the warriors who withstood the barbarian hordes. What a wonderful way to be able to contribute.