The Chronicles of Slave Nano No. 01

The sounds from them were not just wails and groans but real words calling out with pleas to be brought back into Her presence. "Goddess, please take me back. Goddess I have been punished and repent, please forgive me. Goddess, please end this torture, my life means nothing without Your presence." These, and many other agonised pleas were called out to me as I felt my body descend rapidly into a hell that I did not want to contemplate. I was in a nightmare, lost in the realm of rejection and isolation as I felt my body crash into nothingness.

I did not know how long I was lost in this vision. I remembered recovering my consciousness, physically exhausted, dizzy and nauseous. I tentatively opened my eyes. I was back in the ante chamber laid out on the sleek marble floor. I think I understood. I believed I had made the right decision to partake of the elixir. I was meant to see this vision of what might happen to me if my mission failed. I knew I had to seize the moment now.

I was not physically or mentally ready to pass through the final door but I did not want to miss the one opportunity that I might have. I stood in front of the black quartz gate. I took a deep breath to ready myself for whatever I might find on the other side. I held the two crystals together. Silently, secretly, the black gate slid down into the ground. I had three seconds. One....two....three. I quickly stepped through and turned round quickly to see the black gate slide back up again.

I heard laughs and voices. I quickly hid behind a marble pillar to take stock and review my predicament. I had entered what must be the inner sanctum of the temple of the Goddesses. The place had been desecrated by the supporters of the new religion, but it was clear what a magnificent place it must have been. I was in a huge square hall within which there was a large circle of marble pillars supporting a vaulted ceiling covered in flaking gold leaf. The decorations I had seen up to now had been plain etchings in marble. This chamber was painted with brightly coloured frescoes depicting the Goddesses, Goddesses in their animal forms and images from the natural world that they command. The frescoes were now faded and peeling in places but when it was still in the realm of the Goddesses this chamber must have been a wondrous place.

As I glanced around the pillar into the centre of the chamber I saw them, the objects of my mission, the thirteen young Goddess acolytes. They were all naked, chained up by their wrists and ankles, spread-eagled between two marble pillars in a semicircle within the inner chamber. The signs of their ordeal were evident, as they all had bruises and cuts, but despite that their beauty and luminous presence was still evident.

Then, I saw a sight that sickened and angered me to the core. There was one of the Goddesses laid on the floor being held down by guards dressed in tabards with the red cross of the Knights Templar being desecrated and entered by one of the guards. I heard her gentle pleas ignored as the heretic forced himself into her to the sound of the laughs and taunts of the other men. There must have been nearly twenty guards there, each waiting for their turn to abuse and torment the young girl.

There was no way that I could overcome them on my own, even if I had a weapon, which I did not. I turned back round to hide myself behind the marble pillar and to reflect on my next course of action. The only advantage I had was one of secrecy. None of the guards would have realised that their defences had been breached and that there was a stranger amongst them. It would be foolhardy to take them all in a frontal assault so a more cunning strategy was needed.

I took the bandage from my head and placed the amethyst and the two pieces of crystal carefully in my bag as I knew that I would need them again if I ever I got the chance to escape from this place with the Goddesses. I had to take the hard choice to leave the thirteen novices for now and put my plan into effect. I sneaked from behind the pillars and into a passage that led me away from the inner sanctum. I knew where I wanted to find. I was looking for the refectory and the kitchens and after winding my way carefully through the passages in the domestic quarters I soon found them. This was no modern kitchen though. There was a huge table in the middle, a fireplace with a roaring fire and huge cooking vessels. This was where the food for the whole temple was prepared. This is where cunning, persuasion and boldness would be needed.

I openly strode into the kitchen. The five men working there all looked up and stared at me.

"Hello, my name is Nano. I am a servant of the Constantinople chapter of the Knights Templar. I have been summoned here to help in the kitchens."

One of the men, presumably the head chef gazed intently and suspiciously at me.

"I'm the head chef and I haven't asked for any help here."

Had my brazen openness worked or would I be found out? Then, the man relaxed a little.

"Well, nobody tells me anything about what goes on here anyway. All kinds of secret and funny goings on here, I tell you. Well, we can always do with more hands, I suppose you can come and help us prepare lunch for everyone".

I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I was in the kitchen and accepted as a helper, now I just had to bide my time. Lunch? My progress through the gates had obviously taken me all night and the best part of the next morning.

I was set the task of chopping vegetables and cuts of meat for a hug vat of broth that was being made for lunch. This work was perfect for my purpose. I worked hard and dutifully so as not to attract any suspicion. Then I chose my moment. I waited until all the other men had stopped for a coffee and had their backs turned.

Use the tools that the Goddesses have provided for you! I went into my bag packed full of the black berries from the Belladonna that I had picked from the courtyard garden in the moonlight. Deadly nightshade, named so for very good reasons, it is one of the most toxic plants on the earth. I emptied all of the berries into the vat of broth, hundreds of them. I just hope there were enough there to wreak the devastation amongst the guards and priests here that I needed to complete my task. I went to join the other men for a drink and let the deadly broth stew.

I sat talking to the other kitchen hands, being vague about my background. In fact, the knowledge given to me of the Knights Templar and their purpose quite impressed the men and helped me to win their confidence. One of the Knights Templar guards entered the kitchen. He was wearing the white tabard with the large red cross on its chest.

"Hey, you men, what are you lounging about for. We've had a hard morning fucking one of the young so-called Goddesses and we're all starving. When's lunch going to be ready?"

His eyes fell on me.

"Who's he?" he asked.

"He's called Nano, sent by Constantinople to help in the kitchens," replied the head chef.

The guard looked suspicious. He saw my bag on the floor and something drew him towards it. I had not drawn the strings at the top tightly together. Perhaps he saw a brief glimpse of the amethyst or the crystal key-locks, but whatever it was, his curiosity had been aroused. You fool Slave Nano. So near and so ingenious only to be undone by such an idiotic piece of carelessness. The Goddesses would punish me for this incompetence if I ever got out of this situation with my life.

"Grab him now! We have an intruder. He is in league with our enemies!"

I had failed in my task. I felt desolate and defeated. I was stretched out on a rack, my limbs strained to their limit and aching. The contents of my bag, the amethyst, the crystals, the tools and potions for neutralising the seed implanted in the wombs of the thirteen Goddesses laid strewn across a table. My only slight hope was that all evidence of the Belladonna had been emptied into the broth. To have come so far and be undone by my own carelessness. There were two guards sat in the room. Stood before me was a priest or interrogator. He was wearing a monk's habit and had a large silver cross around his neck.

"Make this easy on yourself. Tell me where these Goddesses are hiding."

"I know nothing of any Goddesses. I entered here on my own initiative out of curiosity to find out what this place is for," I replied.

"I know that you are lying. Amethyst, crystals, these are all symbols of the pagan Goddess worshippers. You cannot deceive me. I know that you have entered through the secret gates, no man could do that without assistance. We have tried to unravel the secrets of those gates ourselves for years with no success. No passing stranger could possibly have done that without powerful allies."

"I know of nothing of the whereabouts of any of the Goddesses of whom you speak."

I knew in my heart that I must never reveal the whereabouts of Goddess Nemesis or my knowledge of the Wolf Goddess.

"You will reveal your secrets to me. I am skilled and practised in the arts of torture. When these implements of pain and death are used on you, then you will talk. Guards, help me remove this miscreant from the rack."

I was taken off the rack and dragged into another instrument of torture, which I recognised as an iron maiden. The inquisitor laughed at my plight.

"Where are your Goddesses now to save you? I see you recognise this instrument of torture, an iron maiden, an iron box with blades fitted into the door. When the door closes the blades dig into you. They are contrived so they will not penetrate any of your vital organs but will give you a long lingering death by slow bleeding or asphyxiation. Used by the inquisitors of the church to symbolically inject the Christian religion into their victims. There is no escape for you now. Confess to me and come over to us, betray your Goddess now or you will suffer a slow and painful death".

I was terrified. I could see no escape. I could see the sharp blades protruding from the door of the metal box. But, I knew I had to resist, I knew I had to suffer this long and painful end rather than betray Goddess Nemesis.

I looked my interrogator in the eye, "I know of no Goddesses," I said.

I awaited my fate with trepidation, the slamming of the door, the penetration of the blades into my body and then the slow wait for death to release me. Then, one of the guards said something that made my ears prick up with attention and anticipation.

"I don't know what the cooks put in the broth today, it was delicious, but I tell you what, it's made me feel really strange," said one of the guards.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, I feel all dizzy and I've awful stomach cramps," replied the other guard.

The eyes of the priest interrogator widened in the realisation of what was happening to them.

"We have been tricked, we have been undone. This spy has poisoned us," he said pointing an accusing finger at me. "The foul pagan Goddesses have infiltrated us."

Then he groaned collapsing on all fours onto the floor grasping at his stomach. One guard was staggering in a daze, the second guard had fallen onto the floor his body already in a fit of convulsions until he stiffened and went quiet. The interrogator was on the floor in paroxysms, still trying to spit out curses at me. His final act was to try and reach out for the door of the iron maiden and close it on me. He summoned every last part of his strength and pushed the door. I could see the door close gently in on me, the blades heading straight for me. I felt them push against me, some of them with enough force to penetrate my skin. I was lucky though, the inquisitor did not have the strength to close the door tightly against me.

Then it went quiet as finally all three laid on the floor dead. The Belladonna had done its deadly work. I could only hope that the broth had been eaten by everybody in the temple and that the site before me was being repeated all over the marble palace.

I realised now that I faced a serious dilemma. My plan to incapacitate all of the guards appeared to have worked effectively, but I was still left trapped and padlocked in the iron maiden, the implements that I needed to complete my mission now scattered over the floor. I believed that there was only one option open to me and that was to invoke the aid of the Wolf Goddess. "Dea lupis, mihi vene, me adiuve". I chanted out the invocation that she had given me and prayed that she would respond and rescue me from my plight.

I looked up and there she was in front of me. Her yellow eyes glinted and her sharp teeth appeared to be spread into grin. She stepped forward, pushed open the door of the iron maiden with her snout and breathed onto the padlocks that chained me in there. They immediately broke and fell to the floor. I pushed the door open wider and felt a rush of exhilaration at being freed and having another chance to complete my mission.

"Oh Wolf Goddess, Goddess of the waxing moon, thank you for my release," I exclaimed.

The Wolf Goddess looked up at me. "Well done, Slave Nano. You have shown much fortitude and ingenuity to get to this position. But be wary, remember that your carelessness was nearly your undoing and that without my aid you would have been trapped. You have shown some bravery and cleverness, your use of the deadly nightshade that had been placed in the garden by the Goddesses for you to use was well conceived and executed. But beware complacency Slave Nano. Your task is far from complete and there will be other ordeals that you must face. You are still able to call on me one more time, but remember I cannot intervene in challenges that test your own faith. I must go now and leave you to your fate. Be brave and true Slave Nano."

I picked up sets of keys for shackles of the young acolytes from the guard room and proceeded cautiously through the passages of the domestic quarters towards the ceremonial chamber in the centre of the temple. All along the way I saw dead guards strewn on the marble floors. An eerie silence permeated the whole place and there was no sign of any life. Soon, I had reached the inner sanctum again. I stood in the chamber before the thirteen Goddess novices chained to the pillars. I had the keys to all of their shackles in my hand. And, I could still summon the Wolf Goddess to my aid one more time. I felt a rush of excitement as I sensed that victory was in my grasp and that the release of the young women was in hand.

Then, I heard a voice from behind me. I turned around. In the throes of my anticipation at the successful completion of my mission I had overlooked this person. An old man in a monk's habit with a large silver cross hanging from his neck was hunched on the floor against the wall. His face was almost impenetrable from underneath his hood. I could only see wisps of grey hair from under his hood and his hooked nose. Then, he looked up and his eyes, stunningly bright and alert for a man of his age, caught mine. If this was the only heretic from the new religion remaining in the temple then even I should have no difficulty in overwhelming him and completing my task. Or, so I thought, until his weasel words started to resonate through the chamber.

"Congratulations, my young friend, you have done well. I applaud your courage and cunning in overwhelming the foot soldiers of Christ. Your Goddess mistresses have chosen the protagonist for their mission wisely and prepared him well. I have never known the gold, silver, crystal and quartz gates to be penetrated before yet you have managed to pass through all four. You must have subtle powers behind you."

His voice was clear, slow and seductive. I found myself being drawn in. The old man stood up awkwardly clasping a wood staff to help support him and shuffled slowly to stand by my side never once turning his sharp gaze away from me. He grasped by arm for support.

"I bear you no ill will, my friend. You have justly earned the moment of your triumph. But listen to me, my son, don't you see what I can offer you, all of these thirteen Goddesses could be yours to use how you desire. It is in your power to have them. You are so close to greatness and you no longer need the succour and support of the Goddesses to aid you. We are the only two men left remaining in this temple and I will not stand in your way if you wish to take them.

"Look at them. They are still helpless, they would do anything for you if you released them, they would succumb to you and serve and worship you for the rest of your days. What need of you of the pagan rites of the divine feminine that you profess to believe in when you could possess thirteen Goddesses of your very own and rule over them."

Somewhere in my sub conscious I was aware that I was being lured into a trap, but the voice of the old man was so calmly seductive, so composed and rational that everything he said seemed to make sense. His silky tones were bewitching me. Part of me realised that I had let down my guard and had permitted his powers of persuasion to take hold of me. Another part of me realised that I was being tricked and that by delaying the release of the Goddesses by just a moment I had proffered him the opportunity to bewitch me. My pride at having destroyed the guards and entered the inner sanctum of the chamber unopposed had made me underestimate him and now I had paid the price. My mind was in conflict, torn between resistance and his seductive temptation.

He grasped my face with his hand and turned it around the semi-circle of marble columns making me gaze at each of the thirteen naked Goddesses chained to the pillars. They were all gagged and none were able to call out any warnings to me or to break the spell of the aged monk's voice. Some were barely conscious and hardly noticed the drama unfolding before them, but a few were aware. They watched the scene unfold with trepidation as they observed my will struggle against the temptations laid before me.

"Look upon them, my son. All of that soft naked flesh could be yours, it is in your command, not I nor any Goddess could prevent you. These are thirteen of the most stunning and powerful women in the world, selected for their beauty, their presence and spirituality to be trained as Goddesses and they could be yours until the end of time. They may have been used over zealously by my disciples but I have ensured that nothing has been done to them that would permanently damage their beauty.

"Imagine them restored, cleaned up, bathed in rose water, their delectable bodies perfumed with the finest scents from the orient. Just think, as they touch your face with their soft hands, as they caress your body, as their gentle fingers arouse your sexual feelings. Feel the touch of their scented hair as it brushes against your naked body whilst they run their hands all over you. Until, finally, their fingers gently brush against your thigh, then your balls and then ultimately touch your cock.

"What man could resist such attention? Especially a man such as yourself whose sexual feelings have been kept controlled by your Goddess, who is only allowed relief at somebody else's behest. All of that suppressed sexuality that must have built up inside you whilst you have been worshipping your Goddesses will be released."

By now my head was reeling, the two competing forces warring in my mind. All of my training at the hands of Goddess Nemesis was being put to its ultimate test, all the years of devoted servitude and selfless devotion to a higher cause, the worship of the sacred feminine, reaching a final climax.

I could feel the stirrings in my loins, I could sense the first signs of gentle swelling in my cock. I knew that if I allowed myself to get an erection I would be defeated. I knew that I could not call on the Wolf Goddess to aid me, her instructions were quite clear, she could not rescue me from the temptations of my own mind. This was a struggle I had to endure and overcome by myself. I strained every sinew of my body and mind to hold back the emerging tumescence in my cock. However, there was more to come.