The Emperor and the Temple Ch. 06

Soon after she returned from Teshka, Lady Beshara travelled to her estate in the hills above Magara, two days east of Ephirum. She told her brother the Emperor that she wished to inspect vineyards in the region with a view to investment, but in fact she had very different plans. Nestled discreetly in the hillside above her villa, hidden from prying eyes by trees and rocky outcrops, there was a large building resembling a stable, surrounded by high walls. Beshara, and those who knew of it or worked within it's compound, referred to it simply as 'Ahirik', roughly translated as 'the Barn'. And indeed, the place had once been a simple agricultural structure, used for the storage of equipment and livestock. But on closer inspection, it was clear that it had recently been painstakingly and expensively modified for an entirely different purpose. Ahirik was much on Lady Beshara's mind in the weeks after Teshka and it was there that she rushed, just two days after she arrived in Ephirum.

The idea of Ahirik had come to Beshara many years earlier, after an evening spent with her friend and fellow widow, Lady Shireen of Saradis. As the wine flowed, and the hour grew late, the two women had become ever more open, sharing their desires, their dreams, their fantasies and, ultimately, their frustrations.

"Beshara, do you never get lonely? Do you never get bored?" asked Shireen.

"Rarely. I am kept busy by my various enterprises." she replied.

"Of course," Shireen said. "But not all can be so lucky. This Empire produces widows like a farmer produces bushels of wheat. With every new campaign and with every battle, more great men of Ephirum die. And their wealth and status is passed to us; their widows. We are everywhere, with our gold and our boredom and our frustration. We trip on each other in the street. We choke on each other in the market. The law forbids us from remarrying and, anyway, where would we find a good man to have us as we age, growing plumper in body and more wrinkled in face?"

The two women sat in silence for a few moments, and then Shireen asked brazenly, "Tell me, does your access to so much enslaved flesh help with your frustration?"

"I have tried," sighed Beshara, understanding her friend's meaning. "Once or twice, with a pretty boy taken from the pen. But I found it to be a cold and unsatisfying experience."

"Yes, yes, I can understand that. It is very different for a wealthy man of Ephirum of course. He can take a girl from the market and enjoy her in his bed that very night. Use his belt or his shoe to subdue her. And all he cares about is the fullness of her bosom, the firmness of her rump. When he is done he has little interest in her. For a woman it is different. For a start a male slave, likely taken in battle, may be wild and untamed. We must think of our safety. But there is more to it than just that. A woman needs to be entertained in more than just one way. She needs to feel respect, she needs to feel that the boy before her values her, is deeply loyal to her. Yes, I know he would be just a slave, but still it is important. A woman wants to see love in the eyes of the boy she takes to her bed. She wants to be obeyed, yes, but even more she wants to be adored. I'll warrant you got none of that when you plucked pretty ones from your cages, did you Beshara?"

"No I did not, Shireen. And neither did they even know the basic art of bringing bodily pleasure to a woman. Tell me, if such boys as you describe were available, discreetly of course, if they could be purchased_____"

"You would have to fight me for them!"

"And how much would such specimens be worth?"

"Ha, please Beshara. We are rich women and we are discussing our happiness. I hardly think gold is the issue. And there are many like us in the Empire, Beshara. Think on it!"

And so she did.

****

Beshara's early experiments at Ahirik were less than successful. She hired a local woman named Aysuna to help her as a handler. Aysuna had worked for Beshara before, many years earlier, when her slaving business was in its infancy (for the enterprise had started in Magara itself, before its operations grew across the Empire). Aysuna had always impressed in those days, being one of the few female handlers who could work comfortably with enslaved males, controlling them and preparing them for sale. Back then the task had been simple; break them, transport them, display them in the market, pass them to their new owners and collect payment. Off they would go in chains, to a mine or farm or quarry or galley - for it was rare for slaves to be kept in the homes of citizens in those days. Most of the routine handling was carried out by men. They were little more than thugs - recruited from villages in the region - and damaged merchandise was commonplace. But Beshara began to value Aysuna's more subtle approach to the task. Why whip when you can cajole? Why threaten when reason can be used? Not that Aysuna was soft or sentimental - she was a fearsome whip mistress when the need arose. And finally the Emperor granted exclusive slaving rights to Beshara in the conquered regions, causing her business to grow, and along with it her wealth. But she kept Aysuna close, relying upon her ever-growing expertise and judgement.

And so it was to Aysuna that Beshara turned for help in founding Ahirik. They started with four boys, taken from the pens after the conquest of Bazan. But their methods were crude - either too harsh or too kind, a perfect balance seemingly impossible to achieve. At one point Beshara took a boy to her bedchamber only to have him cower in the corner the whole night. On another occasion, a boy was more pleasing, rubbing her back with oils at her direction, until she fell asleep and woke to find the shutters open and the boy gone. He had made good his escape - even the dogs could not find him. Eventually, she began to despair and told Aysuna that they should give up on the endeavour.

"We have failed, my dear. A noble attempt, but the widows of Ephirum must remain frustrated, or continue to seduce each other's sons when opportunities arise, or become secret entertainment for the husbands of their friends. Let them do what they will. There is enough gold to be had selling ordinary captives to farmers. But do not worry, Aysuna, you shall be well rewarded for your efforts here."

But Aysuna was not yet ready to accept defeat and pleaded to be allowed to continue.

"Just spare me another six boys, My Lady! Let me choose them! We have been seeking a balance between pleasure and pain, a balance between fear and love. But I now know that no such balance exists. That is our mistake. There can be only absolute fear and absolute love, coexisting within each boy. I see that now. I would experiment further if you will allow it. Leave me here and I will send news of success before the year is out."

And so Beshara left Aysuna at Ahirik with the six boys she requested and went back to her house in Ephirum. And indeed she thought very little of that stable on the hill above her villa, having long since come to the opinion that its purpose could not be achieved. But then, just six moons later, Aysuna sent a boy to her with a letter requesting she 'try him' and offer her opinions. He was a pretty young man of the Bazani, muscular and strong, with perhaps twenty summers. In her bedchamber that night, he knelt naked in a most appealing manner, asking her how he could be pleasing. Reverential, submissive and obedient, but not overtly terrorized, he sweetly asked her if she was going to be his 'forever Mistress', his eyes suggesting he wanted the answer to be yes. When she casually picked up her slave whip, he assumed a punishment position, pushing his rump up to receive strokes as his lips sought her shoe. He asked only to be told of his offence, so that he could be sure not to repeat it. But there had been no offence - he was near perfect - and she did not beat him. And when she put him to work between her legs that night, he performed with selfless enthusiasm. She kept him with her in the bed until morning, it having been many moons since she slept with a warm body beside her. She decided to keep him. Ahirik's first graduate would not be sold.

What was Aysuna's secret? How did she achieve such success? The full answer has been lost to history, but a few details are known. In their first days at Ahirik, the boys would be worked hard in the fields, kept in chains, denied sleep, humiliated and brutalized by male overseers. It was a living hell, designed to break the spirit of even the most resilient prisoner. At an appropriate time, after perhaps two weeks, a training mistress would come for each boy. She would make a fuss of him, express horror at the conditions he was being kept in, berate his tormentors, hold him to her bosom, kiss him and finally take him to her chambers. There she would nurse him back to strength, wash him, tend to wounds inflicted by the brutal guards, share her food and wine with him and allow him to rest in her arms. At some point, during these few days, she would take offence from the boy's actions or words towards her. The slight might be real, but more likely it would be invented - it matters not. He would be returned to the fields, this time the conditions even more harsh, the guards even more cruel. And then, after perhaps two or three days, she would come to him again. She has reconsidered. By his boorish and ungrateful behaviour he has shown himself unfit to be her friend. But she will take him on as a slave!

Training begins in earnest. Still she is loving, but now more forceful, insistent that he learn his lessons. He has become dependent on her, in awe of her. He loves her but she hurts him. It is for his own good and he is grateful. If he does not learn to be pleasing then how can he be kept from the fields? Through his pain, he thanks her.

They spend hours each day in a square training room - a high-backed chair for her, a rug for him, a cane in her hand, a leather collar around his neck, and a frame for restraint, should severe correction be required. By night he serves in her bedchamber, bringing pleasure to her. She guides him in this, and he becomes proficient.

Beyond that, little is known. Some say Aysuna was a witch - that she used the dark arts at Ahirik. Others, perhaps familiar with the Temple of the Goddess, argue that she must have discovered a potent strain of suf herb and used it to intoxicate and condition the boys. Or they have said simply that the Goddess was with Aysuna, and with the boys that came to her. Perhaps the Goddess is with you, reader. If you are a boy, have you never felt the urge to go to a woman's feet? To serve her and please her? If you are a woman of experience, has a boy never displayed a desire to worship, obey and adore you?

It is known that Aysuna recruited and trained more women to help her at Ahirik, perhaps thirty or more at its peak. News began to spread among the wealthy ladies of Ephirum and other cities of the Empire. Lady Shireen was an early customer - of course - taking two boys at first, and a third the following year. And Beshara's niece Kailyn, who had grown bored with the self-centered, privileged young men who typically came to woo her, famously acquired two graduates. Some buyers wished to remain anonymous and would send agents to select and purchase a boy for them. Others would come personally, and a room was created where they could spend some time with boys of interest, to determine their qualities and check for compatibility. Of course, influential men of the Empire learned of Ahirik and were appalled. But what could they do? Beshara was the Emperor's sister after all, and there was no law against the selling of slaves to a citizen, male or female. And within two years, the operation became highly profitable for Beshara and for Aysuna, who received a generous cut. But it was always limited by the availability of suitable boys, for neither woman was prepared to lower her standards in the quest for higher output. As a result, demand grew and the price stayed high.

****

It was late afternoon when Beshara arrived in Magara. She had her carriage take her directly to Ahirik, where Aysuna greeted her, surprised but joyful. As the women drank wine together, Beshara said, "Aysuna, I have exciting news from my brother. I cannot wait to share it with you, but first tell me; how are things here?"

"Very good Beshara. We have twenty four boys under training. All are progressing well. At this moment ten are in the training rooms with their mistresses and the rest are exercising. Come and see!"

The women walked to a window overlooking a large courtyard. Four boys were working with heavy weighted balls under the watchful eye of a training mistress (for toned and well-muscled males are pleasing to future owners). The others were formed into two teams, playing a game with a leather ball, while their trainers sat together at the side, sometimes watching and encouraging the boys, sometimes talking among themselves.

"This is a pleasant time for our ladies," said Aysuna, "An opportunity for them to enjoy each other's company, while their boys are well occupied."

"What is the game that they play?" asked Beshara.

"Each team must take the ball and reach the far side of the courtyard, while the other tries to stop them."

"It looks very rough," she said, wincing as a boy was knocked to the ground, spilling the ball in the dirt where it was pounced upon by his opponents. "Do they not get hurt?"

"Rarely, and they enjoy themselves very much. The game was invented by one of our training mistresses. She changes the rules frequently to keep them on their toes. Would you like to view a training room?"

"Indeed," replied Beshara.

The training rooms could be monitored discreetly through slots in the long wall of Aysuna's office, each fitted with a sliding cover. She first darkened the office by closing shutters across its windows and then said to Beshara, "They will be unable to see us, but our view will be clear. Which room? You choose!"

"Third from the right."

Aysuna slid the cover aside and the two women stared through the slot. Inside the room, a boy knelt on the rug before his seated mistress, naked save for his thick leather collar. He was large and very dark, superbly muscled, shaved smooth but for the short black curly hair on his head. 'He is from the lands far south of Karthig,' thought Beshara to herself. 'There is no doubt. A fine, exotic specimen indeed.' The boy had been lightly oiled by his mistress, and his body appeared shiny in the flickering candlelight of the windowless room.

"What do you think of him?" whispered Aysuna.

"He is superb!"

And then Beshara turned her attention to the boy's trainer.

"She wears the veil," she said. "Is she devout?"

"Perhaps. I do not ask too many questions of our ladies, but she is from the province of Nejid, where it is the custom. And I believe she values discretion perhaps more than most of our ladies. Her husband is a wealthy trader of Magara, frequently away in foreign lands, and this is how she chooses to amuse herself in his absence. Needless to say, he would be horrified. She is one of our finest volunteers. Her name is Zineb - see, it is written on her boy's collar."

"She has beautiful eyes," commented Beshara. "Perhaps accentuated by the veil."

"Indeed. And they really come alive when she trains a boy. Look, she has him practice his positions."

As they watched, the boy adopted Ahirik's six basic positions of submission one by one, responding to discrete hand signals from his Mistress.

"He is well trained indeed." Beshara said.

"Wait! She has seen an imperfection. Look!"

As they watched, Zineb took her cane and tapped the inside of the boys left knee several times. He adjusted, but she waved her hand at him dismissively and rose to her feet. The watchers could not hear her words, but the boy adopted a punishment position in front of her, torso pressed down, back arched, rump raised and angled upwards. They heard a characteristic swish as the cane was applied twice to his buttocks.

"Oh, those were cruel strokes!", exclaimed Beshara. "But he held his form well, even though you could clearly see he was agonized by them. I'll warrant he would not be able to hold for a third time."

"Let us see shall we," said Aysuna, and she spoke through the slot. "Zineb, another stroke if you please!"

Zineb, looked startled for a moment, realising for the first time that she was being observed. But she recovered her composure quickly and replied, "Yes Head Mistress." She delivered the third stroke and this time the boy flinched. His right knee raised from the rug for a second or two and his buttocks clenched. His shoulders lifted slightly from the floor. From his lips emerged a gasp and the single word 'Mistress!'

"Ha!", said Beshara. "I told you."

Zineb, her eyes full of concern, came to the slot in the wall and whispered urgently, "Head Mistress, if he is to be punished further I will need to move him to the frame and properly restrain him. But he has not been disobedient for many weeks."

"I am sorry, Zineb, I will not interfere again. Please proceed as you see fit."

And with that, Zineb returned to her chair and had her boy rest his head on her lap while she consoled him, all the time reminding him of the significance and importance of ritual positions."

"She is marvelous." said Beshara.

"Indeed. And what of the boy?"

"Magnificent! Why, I have half a mind____"

"Let me stop you there My Lady!", said Aysuna, laughing. "He is already sold! His training ends in two days, at which time he will be collected by Lady Defne of Izma. She was here last week for viewings and chose this boy."

"Lady Defne? Let me think. Yes, Defne, wife of Lord Karem. He commands a legion does he not?"

"The Dragon Legion, Lady Beshara. They are gone and Karem with them."

"But...but...last week? Her husband is barely cold in the ground!"

Beshara stared at Aysuna in shock for a few seconds and then, spontaneously, both women burst into laughter.

"Oh, Aysuna! With Ahirik we have created a monster!"

"Shush My Lady, the training room slot is still open!"

They looked through again and noticed that Zineb now held her boy's head in her hands as she spoke lovingly to him. Tears were streaming down his face.

"The boy weeps," said Aysuna. "I think I know why. Come, put your ear to the slot so that you can hear!"

The women touched foreheads as they shared the small hole, straining to hear the words from within. It was Zineb who spoke, "...you knew the time would come, my pet. And there are still two days in which you can please me. We will make them special, you and I, shall we not? And, my pet, your new Mistress is a wonderful lady. I had the chance to sit with her and tell her about you. She is very excited to take you to her fine house. Do not cry, my pet!....."

"This is normal," whispered Aysuna. The boys become devoted to their trainers, dependent upon them, unable to contemplate a life without them. But we have certain techniques by which these feelings can be transferred to their new owners. Here, let us give Zineb her privacy. Some ladies find this the most difficult part of training,"

Aysuna, closed the slot and turned to Beshara, "Now, what is the exciting news you have for me?"

"I will tell you Aysuna, but first there is a matter of concern we must discuss. Tell me, where do we find new boys for training these days?"

"Well, some are still taken from your pens, Beshara. But not many. And we have an agent who attends the markets in the east and who understands our special requirements. She goes as far as Sumera and Birkuk. And then there is the slave trader, Musa. He operates within this very province. Again, he appears to well understand our needs."