Chosen of the Gods (closed for BernadetteRochelle)

[Nouh_Bdee]

Chosen of the Gods (closed for BernadetteRochele)

Caelish picked up his leather bracer from the bench, and strapped the simple piece of leather, cord, and iron to his lean, medium-brown arm. It wouldn’t protect from anything much stronger than a glancing blow, but it was only there in case something got past his shield, anyway. He adjusted it to make sure it wouldn’t cover the bright purple tattoo on his hand and wrist. The counterpart on his opposite palm had no such concern. It was a good thing, too. That sword saved his life a few months ago when he found himself cornered by two Rikunos. He stood, lifted the flap, and stepped down from the carriage.

He kept his chin up. Tarillis, god of authority and justice, had chosen him as Champion. If any of the priests of Tarillis thought it strange that the god of authority and justice would violate a norm like this, they didn’t mention it. Caelish, himself, wasn’t worried about it. He was sure it made sense to the gods.

It usually went like this: the oracles warn of some dire threat facing the world, one of the gods chooses a Champion to save everyone, the Champion shows up here at the Coral Throne to receive a blessing, and the Champion kills, bargains with, knocks out, or seduces the whatever that was about to wipe out humanity. No one knew how the gods decided which of them would choose the Champion every time. The gods worked it out, and the victor spoke to their Champion to call them to action.

This time, though, there were two Champions. Cybele had chosen hers, and then Tarillis chose Caelish.

The second strange thing about this was that Tarillis never spoke to anyone but the High Priest. Most gods spoke to humans rarely, but they all spoke to their Champions. They did it in different ways, of course. Akhton, obvious deity that he was, used a big, booming voice from the heavens. Bystanders had been known to hear him. Dara, goddess of nature, supposedly whispered in the forest. Likapi wrote in golden-brown letters that appeared on fresh-baked bread. The gods were strange. Cybele probably spelled out her messages in spunk on some whore’s back, for all Caelish knew.

Caelish had found out he was chosen when the High Priest called him into his office. Tarillis had never chosen a Champion before. That was the third strange thing. The other gods all chose Champions occasionally, but not Tarillis.

Caelish set those thoughts aside as he climbed the steps to stand before the Coral Throne. He passed between two of the porous stone columns that ringed the circular audience pit. The sun bear down on him, and as soon as he walked into sight, the people started jeering.

“Usurper!”

“Unchosen!”

They knew Cybele had chosen first. Caelish didn’t care. He would go where Tarillis bid. The seats surrounding the audience chamber were packed with people. For most of them, a Champion receiving their blessing was the only chance they would ever have to hear the voice of a god. Plus, for all their disrespect, they were curious what Tarillis would do to bless his Champion.

Whoever Cybele had chosen wasn’t here yet, so Caelish sat on the stone floor. The wind blew dust past his closely shorn dark brown hair. The sun stung his hazel eyes. Beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. He waited.

 

[BernadetteRochelle]

Mina’s shadow entered the chamber of the Coral Throne just ahead of her and mingled with the native silhouettes, as if they were communicating. Mina came from clerical and warrior stock, hand bred to be the Champion on Cybele the dark mother, Cybele the womb matron, Cybele the butcher of kings. Mina was tall for a woman. In fact, she could count the number of men taller than her that she had met on her fingers and toes and still have a spare or two.

The crowd of commoners who had gathered to witness the Proclamation of the Champion fell into an excited hush as she came into view. In most times of cosmic crisis, the bald Eunuch who served as speaker of all faiths would perform the ritual anointing the champion the gods had decided upon. This time however, the gods’ decision was not unanimous, (or so it was said.)
Mina spotted a man who looked a bit like a Kakari mercenary standing near the throne, the suns rays conspiring with his dark brown hair to hide his face. He was slightly less muscular than Mina and his complexion was a about three shades darker. This must be the “Chosen of Tarillis.”

Throughout her very long life, Cybele had heard theologians argue over the number and nature of the gods. Some said there were 4, others 1, or thirteen times thirteen. For the past two millennia, most scholars and layfolk alike generally agreed that there were 13 or 14. Tarillis was a relative newcomer to the pantheon and was said to be notoriously tight-lipped, perhaps even aloof. He performed no miracles, answered no prayers in any obvious way, and never sent a clear visitation, leading many to believe that he was at least partially fictitious. The breadfruit that hurtled from the huddled onlookers and collided with the stranger’s head seemed to punctuate this religious controversy.

“Unchosen!” Came a chant from the alcoves filled to bursting with commoners.

“Idolater!”

“Fake!

Soon. other voices grew in discordant counterpoint.

“Long live the Chosen of Tarillis!”

“Blessed be the Champion!”

Mina could spot the formation of a riot a hectare away and the stuttering Eunuch would have no sway over this crowd. Mina strode up to the strange man, sizing him up. She used her stature as well as her ceremonial top that completely exposed her breasts to make as commanding a presence as possible. “I for one welcome this challenger, may gods or mortals decide who the true champion is!”

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Caelish heard the voice of Cybele’s Champion. He agreed with her decision to quiet the unrest in the arena. As Chosen of Tarillis, Caelish would have been happy to enforce order if the crowd had gotten out of hand, but this day held more pressing concerns.

Caelish saw the woman standing next to the Speaker of All Faiths. It wasn’t until he stood that he noticed how tall she was. From here, she looked almost a hand and a half taller than Caelish himself. Clad in her ceremonial top, her tanned skin shone under the bright sun. Hopefully Cybele offered those breasts some divine protection, because that armor wasn’t going to give them any.

That must be Mina, thought Caelish. He’d heard of her. Granted unnaturally long life by the goddess of motherhood, fertility, and war, the woman was thousands of years old, and fearsome. Caelish wasn’t afraid. He’d been alive just less than thirty years, but he served the god of justice, and justice would see him through.

He approached her, highlighting the difference in their height. The eunuch was stunned into silence by the presence of the two Champions, so Caelish addressed him directly.

“What news of the Champion’s task?”

He saw Mina glare at him in more interest than anger, and it took the man a moment to answer.

“None yet, Champion...s. We all await the voices of the gods.”

Caelish nodded. “Then I will wait.” He sat back down on the ground, closer this time to Mina and the eunuch. At least the crowd had stopped throwing breadfruit, for now.

They didn’t have long to wait, as Cybele’s voice drifted in from the heavens. Her voice was simultaneously a husky whisper, inches from the ear, and a shout of climax heard through a doorway. The hundred-breasted goddess could hardly have driven the crowd to more arousal if she’d appeared in physical form.

“I see the god of authority has followed through on his unlawful usurpation of my right as victor.”

A lesser servant of Tarillis would have felt scolded, but Caelish had more faith than that.

The goddess hummed, sending a tingle through Caelish’s groin.

“Luckily for him, like my champion I welcome the competition. Let whichever of you will prevail be blessed as the true Champion!”Her more warlike side emerged as her voice raised in volume, but the fear sweeping through the crowd did not dampen the men’s erections. Caelish could see several of them begin stroking themselves through their robes.

Her introduction apparently complete, Cybele addressed her Champion directly. “Mina!”

 

[BernadetteRochelle]

“What news of the Champion’s task?” Boldly queried the young man. Mina felt a warm affection for his pluck followed by a stern pang for having such a thought. He was not her enemy, whatever THAT might be had yet to be revealed, but he WAS standing between her and this enemy. An enemy that her god, The Great and Terrible, the 100-breasted, the Precursor of Worlds had demanded that’s she and she alone dispatch. But even in opposing her he could provide aide, she thought finally. For steel sharpens steel and this was a man of iron at the least.

“None yet, Champion..s.” Uttered the flustered eunuch. The Speaker of all Gods needed only a sliver of a cold glare from Mina to remember to use the plural form. “We all await the voices of the gods.”

“Then I will wait.” Said the man. “Oh, foolish follower of a god of order.” Though Mina. The most casual initiate into the Secrets of Cybele knew the wisdom on action, of frenzy. Fight, run, kill, heal, dink, dance, fuck, ANYTHING but wait.

That was when Mina's head began to rush like the first clenching flutter of climax, her skin goosepimpling and her knees going weak. Before the goddess’ voice echoed through the chamber, Mina’s eyes had already shrunk to the size of pinpricks. Had she been able to tell, she would have noticed that two eggs were released from her Fallopian tubes as THAT VOICE crashed through the Rift Between Realms.

“Luckily for him, like my champion I welcome the competition. Let whichever of you will prevail be blessed as the true Champion!” Mina smiled blissfully as her goddess’ words caressed her from without and within. Her stomach began to tighten, her muscles twitching in a flood of adrenaline.
“Mina!” You and this pretender will be subjected to tests of my tripartite nature. You will fight to near-death, you will seek to protect a sacred beast, and you will make love in front of the gods themselves. Whoever triumphs in two or more of these tasks. Let SHE be declared the uncontested chosen.”

And then she was gone. The aching loss of a broken love affair mingled with the cascades of oxytcsin of a first time in the dead of night in the dead of summer. No one who stood could speak, none could move. The air was ebbing electric fire. That’s was when Mina threw a right hook at the stranger’s head. “What may I call you, besides vanquished?” she laughed.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Caelish rolled to his side to avoid Mina’s strike. Cybele might as well be the god of chaos. He landed in a crouch, holding up a finger for Mina to wait.

Cybele’s words created a dissonance in Caelish’s head. Oh, her voice quickened his pulse and stiffened his cock just like all the other men present. But her words were confusing. A challenge before the task? That was not how it was done. Of course, it had never been necessary before. Plus, after Tarillis’ own unprecedented decision to appoint a competing Champion, it’s not like Caelish could object, especially not to a god.

He heard Mina’s question, but he waited just an extra beat or two to give Tarillis a chance to respond. Of course, he didn’t.

The lean, well-built man stood up and nodded to Cybele’s Champion, patting his chest with one hand. “I’m Caelish.” He ignored her insult, boast, whatever it was. He knew Mina would only goad him further if he gave her the satisfaction.

He stepped back, creating distance between himself and the war god’s favored. A man of action to his core, he saw no further reason to delay.

He decided to pretend her preemptive punch hadn’t happened. “Shall we begin our first test?”

He dropped into the centered, grounded stance of his preferred form of martial arts, holding out his open hands, ready to respond to any attacks that came his way from the giant woman standing on the other side of the Coral Throne.

 

[BernadetteRochelle]

"Shall we begin our first test?" Called out Caelish as he planted his feet and squared off his stance. Mina wasn't sure if she preferred his cockiness or the fact that it would soon be dash to bits. Mina growled as she charged, swinging wildly with both hands. Caelish dodged her blow easily, as was her intention. Her short, curly blonde hair bobbed in the damp breeze as she readjusted her position, thrusting her legs forward in a sweeping motion. The fine deer leather leggins she wore slid fluidly over the sea-kissed stone slabs she and her opponent were standing on.

Caelish's legs were swept out beneath him sending him flying onto his back. Proving that her musculature was no hindrance to her agility, Mina mounted Caelish and began raining blows to his head. "Mistress Cybele must have had a particularly strong effect on this one" Mina thought as she felt something firm pressed against her upper thigh as she sat astride Caelish's hips. Mina performed a back flip and sensually ran her tongue over her knuckles, letting a finger catch her dexterous, punk tongue.

"Present your weapon, Caelish." Mina said perhaps a bit too smugly. "Let's give you some incentive. If you can draw first blood, I will owe you a boon after our combat is through and you have tasted utter, humiliating defeat.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Caelish hated that this woman had made him have an erection. Worse, it was while she was beating his face in. She was arrogant and uncontrolled. Tarillis hated anything uncontrolled. Unrestrained chaos went against everything the god of law and authority stood for.

It’s just a physical reaction, he told himself. It’s just those slim, muscular legs rubbing you through your pants. It doesn’t mean you’re attracted to her.

He shook his head to clear most of his thoughts and a little of the blood. She’d swept his legs skillfully. He would have to be more wary of her superior reach in the future.

“No,” he answered.

He stood up slowly, feeling a little punch-drunk. After seeing Mina’s reaction, he explained. “I’ll not draw against an unarmed opponent.”

That didn’t mean he didn’t plan to beat her to a pulp, though. He charged, and she reached out her arms to catch him. He was ready, lowering himself into a slide on his thick, leather pants. He slid past her feet, and sprung up onto her back.

The warrior woman reached back, grabbing Caelish by the straps lashed across his back and chest. She threw him forward, but underestimated both the strength of his grip and the weight of his body. He held on to her shoulders, and she found herself tumbling over Tarillis’s Champion, sent rolling across the stony ground.

 

[BernadetteRochelle]

"No. I’ll not draw against an unarmed opponent.” Caelish said. How noble and utterly foolish, Mina thought. The man was stubborn, handsome, a half-way descent warrior, and noble, but stubborn. By now, the Speaker had fled to the crowds where he was placing wagers on the winner of this initial skirmish. Not that Mina heard or cared, but the odds were heavily in her favor.

A groan erupted from the common folk as Caelish grappled Mina from behind and sent her forward, over his shoulder. Her tailbone hit the stones first, knocking the wind out of her lungs and sending a stinging pain up through her back. Curse me for a damned pup! Mina’s mind admonished her. Taken in by such a basic maneuver. “Who said anything about myself being unarmed? Taunted Mina. “Cybele will fill my hands with my weapons when I call for them. But for now…”

Mina leapt from her awkwardly seated position, adjusting her breasts so they were back on display as her goddess commanded during ceremonial occasions. Cybele’s champion lunged, jabbing Tarillis’ in the gut, doubling him over. A smattering of elbows to the back of his neck sent Caelish’s head spinning. “You enjoy rules, do you boy? The Divine Bitch cares nothing for rules.” She mocked, kneeing him sharply in the groin.

As the man crumpled to his knees, Mina laughed tauntingly. With a flourish of her strong, supple hands two massive scythes appeared in her tanned palms. “Once more I offer you a boon if you can manage to draw first blood.” She leaned against a column and baited him toward her with a come-hither finger waggle. She would risk toying with him one more time to see if she needed to take the warrior seriously. It was a risk she would immediately regret making making.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

“The Divine Bitch.” Such disrespect for her own goddess. And, the deity courts it! Expects it! Tarillis would have had Caelish excommunicated for such words, if not killed outright. At least, he thought so. It was hard to think while taking such a pummelling. He struggled to get to his feet. The woman hit harder than even a body as taut and toned as hers had any right to.

Mina summoned her divine weapons. Offering him her boon once more, she wagged her finger toward him, holding two massive scythes. Caelish stood on unsteady feet and walked toward her. The woman must have thought he was delirious, strolling so casually. She swung her scythes down to teach him caution, one after the other. Caelish twitched the muscles in his left wrist, just so. A shield of purple light appeared on the back of his left hand, blocking Mina’s first strike.

He moved quickly now, stepping inside her second strike before swinging his right arm and twitching the muscles in his right hand. In his palm appeared a sword of that same purple light. His swing missed her torso, but made a shallow cut in the left thigh of Cybele’s Champion.

Caelish had drawn first blood.

 

[BernadetteRochelle]

"Fuck!" Mia cursed internally as Caelish's sword sliced through her thigh. Had the blow come in a bit higher on the thigh and closer to the interior, Cyble's champion would be gushing blood uncontrollably. She did not know if her opponent intentionally avoided what would have been a near killing blow. The fact that their respective gods would not allow either of them to dispatch the other confounded her uneasy curiosity. Had she underestimated him, was she overestimating him now, or so much worse, could they truly be a fair match?

"Show no weakness!" Mina scolded herself. "Lucky blow, pup," She mocked her assailant. Mina snaked out her gently rippling arm and dug one of her scythes deep into Caelish's shoulder. Pressing the sole of her high, intricately laced, sandal firmly into the pretender champion's gut, prying him off of her blade.

Caelish winced and windmilled his sword and shield in a flurry of shield bashes and blade swings. None hit. Smiling wickedly, Aria blocked both of Caelish's implements with her own and rammed her head directly into the man's face. Once again, the champion of Tarillis found himself staring at the sky.

Mina pressed the advantage, stomping on Caelish's wrists, disarming him. Cybele's champion dismissed her own blades and wrapped her arms around her opponent's chest and began to squeeze, her middling-sized breasts pressed firmly into Caelish's strong, firm delts. Soon it would be the interloper's turn to be publicly embarrassed. The thought was almost enough to make Mina forget that she owed her opponent a boon, a boon that she had foolishly forgotten to place a single restriction on. "Perhaps he will merely ask to know one of the Mysteries of Cybele that would destroy a male's mind." She thought hopefully.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Caelish’s shoulder burned from the scythe wound. It was going to take a miracle to heal that. He was really reeling, now. Mina effortlessly knocked away the next flurry of his attacks. Tarillis’s Champion was losing this fight, but he wanted to make Mina’s victory hard-won and costly.

Cybele’s Champion picked Caelish up in her strong arms. He felt her soft breasts and hard nipples against the toned muscles of his chest. His arms were pinned to his side. He felt helpless.

He fruitlessly kicked at Mina’s shins, leather boots bouncing off thin deerhide covering long, smooth legs. He worked his neck and body left and right, trying to gain even a tiny amount of flexibility. Nothing worked.

Caelish wasn’t chosen simply for his raw strength, however. He was clever, at least among Tarillis’s followers. He went limp, suddenly relaxing in Mina’s arms. To her credit, she barely relaxed her arms in surprise. It was enough. Adjusting his weight, Caelish slipped down the woman’s body, sliding past modest, but tantalizing curves.

He landed, kneeling on the ground. He sucked in air to replace the oxygen he had lost in Mina’s embrace. Before Mina could react, he flexed the muscles in his right hand, summoning his magical blade. The purple light shot out, piercing the woman’s boot, making her cry out in pain. The next thing he summoned was quite possibly the last of his strength as he stepped forward, ramming his shoulder into Mina’s naked chest. He didn’t even look to see if she fell down. He stood there, taking heaving breaths as muddy sweat dripped down his rippling chest.

 

[BernadetteRochelle]

Mina could taste victory. Tarilliss champion would soon be bowing before the glory of Lady Cybele. Her arms wrapped around him, vicelike and strong. Several possible transitions into crippling holds ran through Mina’s mind as the man struggled in vain to escape. Faster than she had expected Caelish’s body went limp.

Cybele’s champion relaxed just a margin, testing to see if her opponent was unconscious. As he slowly slid down the front of her, his face was temporarily cradle between her bare breasts. A shiver of excitement shot through Minas form as she damned herself for becoming aroused. Cybele the Destroyer, Cybele the Intoxicator, had always taught the inherent eroticism of combat. Just as royal girls often found a thrill dancing, entwined with their partner, hot blood pounding as one in weak parallel of the sexual act, Mina now found such intimacy with the man she was trying to kill, if only temporarily. Cailsh’s lips grazed her nipple as it descended, hardening the nub and further loosening her grip. As Cailish sank to his knees, his face rubbed slowly and gently across Mina’s sex, leaving her gasping.

That was when the warrior struck out with his god-gifted blade. Perhaps it was a lucky strike, perhaps a masterful blow, displaying cunning and technique thar rivalled her own power and experience. Either way, the sword stuck center mass on Mina’s foot, sinking diagonally straight to the heel. Mina howled in shock, nearly passing out from the pain. She instantly knew she had lost the use of one leg. With her maneuverability practically gone. Mina summoned her twin scythes once more and drove them down towards the slumped head of Tallis’ champion. Mina laughed and dropped her weapons, embracing the man. “Dread Cybele decreed we would fight to near death and so we both are. I forfeit if my worthy adversary does as well.” There were still two trials ahead she could easily win she told herself.

Suddenly, Cybele’s voice, a voice evoking smokey wine, blood, and musky loins erupted in the hall. The common folk who had begun to shove and scramble for their coin at the unexpected end to their frenzied betting soon began to enter an entirely different kind of frenzy as nearly all of them began to fuck. Mina raised Cailish’s arm in shared victory as moans erupted from all sides.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Drawn into her arms again, in a friendlier way this time, Caelish was reminded of the way her nipple had tasted and of her musk. He put his arms around her and squeezed, not exactly gently but still in camaraderie. Caelish was shocked that the warrior woman offered him a draw. He nodded, unsure if anyone could even tell with the way he was swaying, punch-drunk and gasping for air. Cybele could tell, apparently.

“My Champion does not disappoint, and yet the challenger intrigues. I won’t be the only god paying attention to the rest of the challenges. Rest well, fighters. But, before you go, I would hear the boon my Champion owes.”

Caelish though for a moment. Tarillis taught that fighting fair was for people without authority. The enforcement of the law should always be positioned for maximum advantage. Trickery wasn’t discouraged as dishonorable, but it was taken as a sign of insufficient preparation. Caelish told himself he’d been unable to prepare sufficiently for this fight. Cybele had sprung these challenges on the both of them. Or, at least, on him.

How could he turn this boon he was owed into an advantage in the remaining challenges, so that he was prepared with some advantage. The next task was to guard a sacred beast. If the favor was to come from Cybele herself, he could ask for knowledge of this beast and the threats against it. Alas, it was Mina who owed him a favor. If he asked for all she knew, he may not get anything he could use.

The third challenge was lovemaking. Caelish was not put off by this. His life, his entire being, belonged to Tarillis. Why not his cock as well? Plus, he had to admit that the idea had a certain base appeal to it. Mina was beyond the beauty of a mortal untouched by the gods. She was a work of divine art. He could still taste the salt from her nipple that had passed between his lips.

But what would victory and defeat look like in such a challenge? Surely if he were to please the goddess of fertility he would need to seed her Champion, and likely do so after bringing her as much pleasure as possible. Could that be the task, enough sexual endurance to bring her to pleasure before he found his own? It seemed the most likely thing he could think of. There was one way he could think of to gain an edge in sexual stamina. He just hoped it was the right choice.

That Voice again swept over the battlefield like a blanket of the finest fur, comforting and arousing at once. “You test my patience, mortal. What do you choose?”

Caelish glanced at his adversary, then looked up to face the heavens. “Before we begin our final task, making love in front of the gods, I would have your Champion stroke and suck forth my seed, swallowing it on the challenge field itself.”

 

[BernadetteRochelle]

“Before we begin our final task, making love in front of the gods, I would have your Champion stroke and suck forth my seed, swallowing it on the challenge field itself.” Said Caelish boldly.

“Does he expect me to be shocked, angry?” though Mina. Her goddess taught that nearly every sexual act imaginable was natural and in no way taboo. In fact, when only Cybele worshipers on refrained from performing them in the open out of respect for those of more delicate sensibilities. The Champion of the Goddess of Fertility and war laughed good-naturedly.

But Mina did find it a bit troubling that this man had yet to earn such a gift of pleasure in her eyes. He was not quite her match as a warrior, she felt to romantic love for him, and she was only moderately carnally attracted to the Champion of Tarillis. “I hope he proves himself in the next task.” Though Mina.

Reading her devotee’s mind Dread Cybele, Mother of Battle, Patron of Orgies let out a gentle chuckle. Instantly, Mina and Caelish were knocked prone as wave after wave of gentle orgasms rippled through their bodies. Caelish’s penis jetted several ropes of pearly cum as Mina grunted anticlimactically, yet somehow also melodically.

As Cybele’s influence ebbed from the human’s bodies she continued speaking. “In the valley of Kur, there is an elk, black as jet and faster than thought. This elk is beloved to me and so a greater spirit has sent a troop of man-beasts to slay him. Whoever is found to be most responsible for protecting him shall win the first, and may I remind you as-of-yet ONLY, point in my challenge to bless as the True Champion.”

“Dark Mother, Immaculate Whore, tell us more of this trial.” Begged Mina, regaining her feet as her breath returned to her. But the goddess had withdrawn her presence. Mina glanced at Caelish. In the afterglow of their simultaneous, yet separate, orgasms, she had to admit he looked stronger and more capable than she had first surmised. “Clean yourself up, warrior. I will meet you at the city gates after I have changed into something that would deflect a weapon from my heart.”

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Caelish had barely started recovering from his surprise orgasm when Mina mentioned changing into something that would cover her breasts. He was surprised at how disappointed he felt about that. Not that he had any right to complain. He couldn’t tell if she would miss seeing his muscular chest or thighs, but he was going to cover and protect them during this challenge as well.

He got up to clean himself of blood and dirt, noticing that Cybele had healed and reinvigorated his body while she drained his balls. That was Tarillis’s job, he thought. Nice of her to do, though. After thinking about it, he supposed Tarillis could have healed him without acknowledging it. He would probably never know unless Cybele mentioned it.

He walked out of the arena, briefly glancing at the orgy now raging in the stands. Cybele’s divine erotic force had not been solely focused on the Champions. The continent’s population would grow after today. Caelish, sexually sated, impassionately acknowledged the display as he left the arena.

Stepping into the tent they had erected together that morning, he nodded to Elora, the minor priestess of Tariillis assigned to be the Champion’s assistant. Tarillis never having had a Champion before, she was an earnest bundle of nerves. “A tie is a good result, sir! And you’ll get the point next time, I’m sure!”

He nodded to her. “I need a bath.”

“It’s drawn for you right here, sir. And your leathers are on the bench for you after.” Her cheeks reddened. “Would you...like some assistance, sir?”

He looked at her trim figure in her white robes, trimmed in rich purple ribbons bearing the signs of Tarillis, a scroll and a blade. It was a good thing his needs had just been seen to by the goddess of fertility herself, or he might have taken her up on it, and he needed her to do something else for him instead.

“No. I need the fastest horse you can find, and I need it now.”

 

[BernadetteRochelle]

Mina strode to her tent, the two nearly naked women and two nearly naked men who were her retinue genuflected as she passed. Drawing back the flap, a heavy aroma of incense wafted into her face, sharpening her sense of the present moment, but blunting her awareness of outside distractions. She undressed slowly, feeling the sea air caress her skin, experiencing the heat of the braziers caressing her like lustful tongues of warmth. Cybele’s champion pondered weather or not she should masturbate to refuel her mystic reserves, but thought better of it as her body had already been weakened by combat and the strain of divinely inspired orgasms. Sighing with a pang of regret, Mina ran her hands across her own body, feeling the warm, smooth softness that covered her tight, firm, prominent musculature.

Kneeling before a chest intricately carved with Phalluses, Yonis, and skulls, Mina withdrew her armour. First, she donned the bronze wrist guards, then laced up her thigh-high leather boots, affixing the shin guards. Next came the bronze studded leather skirt, black with a thin border of fur at the hem. Then Cybele’s chosen secured her bronze helm, adorned with what appeared to be a horse hair plume. The black tendril of lustrous strands had in fact come from a unicorn. Mina laughed internally at the daft superstition that only virgins could see unicorns. “Ask anyone whose spent a few hours in carnal bliss with one of the beasts how prudish they are.” She tough. Finally, Mina affixed her bronze chest plate. While the metal was forged to provide secure protection from the mightiest of blows, it had been embellished with lines and curves made to give the illusion that it was skin tight. Fake abdominal and breasts, with distinct nipples and areolas that had been modeled after her own flesh.

Satisfied, Mina breathed deeply from the central brazier and mumbled an incoherent chant to her goddess, her eyes rolling back in her head. As the embers died down and she regained her faculties, Mina bowed to a small statue of her Patron and exited the tent. One of the men, wearing nothing but a thing strip of leather covering his member and secured deep within the cleft of his buttocks, brought out a massive war horse for his mistress, never daring to rise his gaze above her calves. “Thank you, Pelius,” Said Mina as she mounted her horse. “You and the others may drink all the alcohol in my tent. When you are drunk out of your minds, fuck each other, kill something if you are so moved, and report any visions from Our Dark Lady that you receive to me when I return.” The two women were already stripping out of their whisper-thin leather bottoms and reaching for wine decanters as Mina rode off to meet her “partner.”

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Caelish rode his new horse hard for hours. Normally it would have taken him deep into the evening to make it past the foothills of the Ro Elahgi mountains, but Elora had done quite well in finding an extremely fast horse. The sun was still an hour or more from setting when he crested the pass and began descending into the Kur valley. Taking in the lush greenery of the valley, fed by the cool mountain water of the Tazeculpa and Scheve rivers, Caelish wondered if Cybele’s jet elk might noy be the only divine beast running across the grassy plains below.

He felt well rested and invigorated after his bath, despite the long hours riding afterward. Elora had almost tempted him to indulge in her company, rubbing her hands over the lines of his abdominal muscles and bulges of his biceps and thighs a bit more than was absolutely necessary to put on his armor, but with the help of Cybele’s divine release he had resisted. The armor didn’t exactly need four hands to don, but Caelish appreciated the woman’s service and he wanted to indulge her a bit.

The large breastplate, as well as the smaller plates that were strapped to his arms and legs, were made of bronze, blackened with soot. The leather that coated it and protected the rest of him was black as well. Only the purple silks, one wrapped around one of his leather chest straps and the other hanging from the top of his helmet, contributed any color to his divinely blessed armor. Of course, the purple of the three tattoos on his arms added color as well. The third gently burned after being added by Tarillis’s chosen artist just before he left for Kur. Caelish prayed once again in thanks for the gift, as he slowed his steed to scan the valley.

There was no sign of Mina yet, thankfully. Time to prepare would give him an advantage in protecting the jet elk. He tied his horse in a small copse of trees and looked for food for himself and the animal. Thankful, there was an overabundance of grain nearby for the horse, and he found a pair of large rodents for himself that he killed while testing out his new tattoo. Then, he found a patch of large, juicy redberries. He left some for his horse and took the rest with him.

The vast sea of grass of the Valley of Kur was dotted with many small islands of trees, and Caelish walked through the thick grain to the thickest wooded area he could find. His plan could easily fail, but if it did then he would just come up with a second. He sat just inside the treeline with his large pile of berries next to him. Tossing a few berries on the ground nearby and launching a few more out into the grass, he held a handful in his palm as he began to meditate. His breathing slowed and he stilled in effort to appear as non-threatening as possible. His awareness of the valley around him heightened, however, as he waited for the divine beast to come to him.