Post by Rémy nó Orchis on Apr 5, 2011 19:57:58 GMT -5
I was going to the temple.
Of Kushiel.
To get lashed.
Well, I wasn't just going to get lashed, I was actually going to... How did one say that? Give penance? Offer penance? I was going to confess to Lord Kushiel. Normally I would probably have gone to the temple of Naamah, but I thought that, since Adelaide was an acolyte in Kushiel's temple, it seemed that much more fitting.
I had been moping ever since the fiasco with Adelaide in the Orchis garden, which was very un-Orchis of me. I hadn't had an assignation since; indeed, I hadn't really even left my room or my bed. I looked horrible, I realized today. And so I bathed, dressed, and with resolve in my heart, made for the temple of Kushiel.
I was nervous as all hells when I arrived and seeing the individual in the bronze mask only made me more so. Licking my lips, I cleared my throat a bit. "I am here to make confession," I said quietly. The bronze mask nodded and the priest-- or priestess-- beckoned for me to follow. I was led into what looked to be a bathing chamber, but it was a shallow pool. Another priest waited with what looked to be a rather large ladle or some such in his or her hand. "Strip," I was ordered, and so I did. Boots, breeches, shirt. I'd dressed light.
"Kneel," Was then ordered of me and at the priest's gesture at the pool, I crouched gracefully and knelt abeyanté in the lukewarm water. The individual with the ladle dipped it into the water and poured it over my head once, twice, thrice and I was shivering a bit by the time it was done.
"Stand." I stood. "Dress and come." I blinked.
"May I simply stay unclothed?" I asked quietly, humility in my voice and my head bowed. "I would go before the Mighty Lord Kushiel unadorned as a slave to his master." I had no idea where the words had come from, but they fit. The bronze face nodded and beckoned, and so it was that I walked, mother-naked and damp, to the main chamber.
It was warm here; hot, really. The bronze statue of Lord Kushiel loomed and my eyes widened at the sheer... enormity of what I was about to do. I was an Orchis; I had never before been flogged. I had read that one was supposed to toss incense onto the brazier and so I did. My bag of coins, I had left with the first priest. Or priestess. It was impossible to tell, but that was the point. I was led to the whipping post and asked, "Is it your will to offer penance?" Suddenly a bit scared, I nodded and swallowed hard before I found my voice.
"Yes, it is my will to offer penance." My voice only cracked once. I didn't care by that point. I was gently pushed down into a kneeling position and my wrists were fastened to the post. As scared as I was, I knew what I was doing was right, and that it had to be done. What I had said to Adelaide in the Orchis garden had been unfair of me and uncalled-for. I'd missed her terribly since then, and cursed myself quite often for my stupidity. I realized that there was someone holding a flogger in front of me and I didn't know what I was supposed to do, so I simply nodded. I must have done the right thing, because the individual moved out of my line of sight.
The first blow stung like the seven hells and as I was unprepared for it, my yelp of surprised pain echoed throughout the chamber. Another lash, and another, and another. Gods, this hurt! Tears welled unbidden in my eyes, splashed hotly down my face to drip onto the flagstones and soak in. "My Lord Kushiel---Aah! My Lady Naamah," I cried out as the flogger fell over and over, "I beg of you, please forgive me my thoughtless words to her, my--AHH! My careless mindset, my selfish ideas! Please aid me in my self-control that I-- AARRRGHH! That I may better serve you!"
Of Kushiel.
To get lashed.
Well, I wasn't just going to get lashed, I was actually going to... How did one say that? Give penance? Offer penance? I was going to confess to Lord Kushiel. Normally I would probably have gone to the temple of Naamah, but I thought that, since Adelaide was an acolyte in Kushiel's temple, it seemed that much more fitting.
I had been moping ever since the fiasco with Adelaide in the Orchis garden, which was very un-Orchis of me. I hadn't had an assignation since; indeed, I hadn't really even left my room or my bed. I looked horrible, I realized today. And so I bathed, dressed, and with resolve in my heart, made for the temple of Kushiel.
I was nervous as all hells when I arrived and seeing the individual in the bronze mask only made me more so. Licking my lips, I cleared my throat a bit. "I am here to make confession," I said quietly. The bronze mask nodded and the priest-- or priestess-- beckoned for me to follow. I was led into what looked to be a bathing chamber, but it was a shallow pool. Another priest waited with what looked to be a rather large ladle or some such in his or her hand. "Strip," I was ordered, and so I did. Boots, breeches, shirt. I'd dressed light.
"Kneel," Was then ordered of me and at the priest's gesture at the pool, I crouched gracefully and knelt abeyanté in the lukewarm water. The individual with the ladle dipped it into the water and poured it over my head once, twice, thrice and I was shivering a bit by the time it was done.
"Stand." I stood. "Dress and come." I blinked.
"May I simply stay unclothed?" I asked quietly, humility in my voice and my head bowed. "I would go before the Mighty Lord Kushiel unadorned as a slave to his master." I had no idea where the words had come from, but they fit. The bronze face nodded and beckoned, and so it was that I walked, mother-naked and damp, to the main chamber.
It was warm here; hot, really. The bronze statue of Lord Kushiel loomed and my eyes widened at the sheer... enormity of what I was about to do. I was an Orchis; I had never before been flogged. I had read that one was supposed to toss incense onto the brazier and so I did. My bag of coins, I had left with the first priest. Or priestess. It was impossible to tell, but that was the point. I was led to the whipping post and asked, "Is it your will to offer penance?" Suddenly a bit scared, I nodded and swallowed hard before I found my voice.
"Yes, it is my will to offer penance." My voice only cracked once. I didn't care by that point. I was gently pushed down into a kneeling position and my wrists were fastened to the post. As scared as I was, I knew what I was doing was right, and that it had to be done. What I had said to Adelaide in the Orchis garden had been unfair of me and uncalled-for. I'd missed her terribly since then, and cursed myself quite often for my stupidity. I realized that there was someone holding a flogger in front of me and I didn't know what I was supposed to do, so I simply nodded. I must have done the right thing, because the individual moved out of my line of sight.
The first blow stung like the seven hells and as I was unprepared for it, my yelp of surprised pain echoed throughout the chamber. Another lash, and another, and another. Gods, this hurt! Tears welled unbidden in my eyes, splashed hotly down my face to drip onto the flagstones and soak in. "My Lord Kushiel---Aah! My Lady Naamah," I cried out as the flogger fell over and over, "I beg of you, please forgive me my thoughtless words to her, my--AHH! My careless mindset, my selfish ideas! Please aid me in my self-control that I-- AARRRGHH! That I may better serve you!"