Talla's Temple Ch. 01

As she stood alone before the gates of the Temple, surveying that which she was about to enter, Talla brushed loose strands of dirty hair out of her eyes and took a deep breath to steady her quivering nerves. The walls of the Temple were light brown and stretched hundreds of metres to each side of her. Atop them, some ten metres over her head, were statues. Many were of nude men and women: intricately detailed portraits of those who had been famous throughout the history of the Temple and the surrounding town of Gern. Others were sculptures of shapes and devices for which she had no names. Funny angled things, strangely shaped things. She wanted to know what those things were. The answers were waiting for her in the Temple.

She eyed the three steps leading up to the open gate, wide enough for six or seven women to walk abreast, beside which two women stood at attention, one on each side of the gate. They wore leather armour that, as far as Talla knew, was ceremonial. There weren't any wars, were there? She decided that there would be more than two guards if there were.

Her own clothing was ragged and a faded brown colour. Well-worn sandals clung precariously to her feet. Not at all like the Temple women in their well cut, tailored dresses of varying colours. She would see them wandering through the town, watching with envy as they darted by. Most only came into town at night and she had only caught the merest glimpses of their long, muscular legs, their heavy breasts, the flash of beautiful features and long hair. None had ever stopped to talk to a fawning little girl like her. And now she was supposed to enter the Temple and reside there with them.

She took another deep breath and eyed the guards who were studiously ignoring her. Through small gaps in the armour they wore, Talla could see hints of orange clothing. What were they wearing underneath? More of the same tailored clothing?

Realizing that she was simply delaying the inevitable, something that the child she no longer was would do, she walked up the three steps and stood before them. The two women immediately lowered and crossed their spears to block Talla's path. The one on her left said sharply, "What is it you wish?"

"I have come of age," said Talla, speaking the words as she had been taught, "and I wish entrance to the Temple."

It was a law and an avoidable fact of life. Upon her eighteenth birthday she was required to join the Temple and begin her service to the Goddess and the town, whatever that might entail. No one could enter earlier or, for that matter, later.

"Speak your name."

"I am Talla," she replied continuing the ceremony, "daughter of Kain out of Mih'lan."

"Enter Talla, and welcome."

The two guard women raised their wooden spears and Talla, taking a deep breath, walked through the gate. Beyond the gateway, she glanced upwards as she passed through the spread legs of a statue of the founding Goddess of the Temple. It was a fabulous, thirty-metre tall bronze statue, the breasts and aureola rendered in stunning detail. Her hair even seemed to flow though she knew it was metal. The spread of the legs allowed those passing under her to see a hint of the goddess's genitals through the articulately sculpted pubic hair. So pretty, Talla thought, compared to my bald ...

Talla finished her deep breath and continued through the gate. There was a sharp tingle that went through her spine. She was departing the world of her childhood, of low buildings and thatched roofs, of men and their toils, of poor clothing, of ... of all sorts of things. She was entering a world of brightness, of architecture, of women. The Temple meant tall buildings. It meant an end to her relationships with younger girls in her dormitory. She would have sisters now; age mates.

The gate opened on to a small, uncovered courtyard where a few men and women milled around. They were speaking to one another in serious tones. Work tones, Talla recognized. The men were there to find out what construction needed to be done or what crops needed to be sewn and reaped. The women were telling them what was needed. She looked carefully. No woman wore more than a single colour. Some wore skirts of varying lengths. Some appeared to be wearing nothing but underwear. On their upper bodies some wore what amounted to a pair of triangular cloths strung over their breasts while others wore shirts. But none wore more than a single colour.

"Talla?" a woman's voice called to her.

Talla twisted around to search out for whomever called her. She had summoned up her courage to enter the gate and now found herself lost, unsure how to proceed. She found the woman who had called her. A pretty woman with long blonde hair and largish breasts. She wore orange clothing. It was the skimpiest combination Talla had seen: she wore triangular cloths over her breasts, but only a small, snug pair of underwear over her lower body.

"I'm Sara," the woman said, "and my job is handling new girls entering the Temple."

"Oh, good."

"Now come with me and we'll get you cleaned up."

Well, Talla thought, I'm in.

She followed Sara out of the courtyard and through a maze of sandy brown walls, tapestries and conversing people. She noticed that the further they went, the more women there were and the less men until, very quickly, it became the case that there were only women. She felt like she stuck out in her drab brown rags.

"Where are we going?" she asked Sara.

"To the baths," Sara answered.

Shortly she found herself inside a building with a giant rectangular pool inside it. In the corners were smaller pools, big enough to hold five or six women each. Women, who were all naked as far as Talla could tell, were either swimming or simply floating on their backs. A light steam rose off the water to the high ceiling. There were spaces in it through which sunlight streamed and strategically placed frosted panes of glass let sunlight pass in through the walls. Glass was rare on the outside of the Temple and most windows were simply squarish holes in the wall with wooden doors on them. All along the walls of this great room were torch mounts. It was meant to be used all day and night.

"Here we are," Sara said and clapped her hands, "Ada, Meena! Duties!"

From the main pool, two skinny young swimmers climbed out. Talla noticed with a glance that their breasts were small, although one had a chest marginally larger than Talla's flat one. Neither had any pubic hair to speak of. That made Talla feel better. Her clothing made her feel pathetic as it was. She didn't need well developed naked women to rub it in.

Each picked up a pile of white clothing from the wooden racks at the edge of the pool, presumably having shed that clothing to go swimming. With a quick fastening, they both donned knee length white skirts and white tops that were much like Sara's in shape. Smiling, they came to meet Sara and Talla.

"Don't bother with your clothes," Sara told them, "This is Talla and she needs to be bathed." Sara pointed to a small pool in the nearest corner of the giant room.

Without hesitation, both Ada and Meena undid their clothing and let it drop to the floor. "Hi, I'm Ada," one of them said to Talla. The other girl, the one with the barely developed breasts, introduced herself as Meena. Talla thought they might be a year older than her, but she couldn't be sure.

"You'll want to get rid of that stuff," Ada said, gesturing to Talla's clothing. At first she had been worried about being naked with all of these people around. But she suddenly felt that her brown rags made her stand out more than nudity would. With a sigh, she loosened the ties on her shirt and lifted it over her head to reveal her flat chest and a pair of nipples that were almost the same colour as the rest of her breasts. She stepped out of her sandals and then undid the clasp on her skirt, letting it fall to the ground. Between her legs grew not a single strand of hair. She looked out at the pool where some women floated on their backs and she could see the soft, thick hair that grew between their legs.

She touched herself, feeling only the sweat on her bare mound. Well, no matter, Ada and Meena looked the same as she.

Ada and Meena led her to the small bathing area. Meena carried her clothing. Beside the pool was a small pipe coming out of the wall. "Stand here," Ada said, pointing to a spot under the outlet of the pipe. She pulled a lever on the wall and hot water began to sprinkle over Talla's naked body. Her eyes widened in shock. They didn't have this on the outside. What luxury!

Meanwhile, Ada and Meena lathered up their hands with soap. Meena kicked the lever to stop the water flow and they began washing Talla.

"I remember my first real shower," Ada said, "It was just two weeks ago. I can't imagine living without it now."

They washed her upper body, front and back, first. As the water evaporated, Talla felt her little nipples harden. She hoped the soap hid that from prying eyes. It certainly couldn't be hidden from Meena's or Ada's hands. She reminded herself that these two eager girls were no different from her.

They rinsed her off with more hot water and made her sit on the end of a small bench. Then they washed her from her toes upwards.

"Open your legs," Meena said softly, "It's okay, we're all sisters here. There's no need to be afraid."

Ada smiled and giggled, "I remember when they washed me. I was so scared."

Talla cautiously opened her legs. Meena put her hands on Talla's knees and pushed them open until her legs were almost diametrically opposed.

"Now lie on your back."

Talla's heart rate increased as she nervously obeyed. The bench was cold against her skin and she felt very vulnerable. She felt Meena's hands slide up the inside of her thighs as Ada flipped the lever to pour water over her genitals. Meena massaged her gently and opened her lips, sliding a single along the little nub that Talla herself massaged whenever she felt the need. It felt nice.

"You'll want to keep yourself clean," Ada said, "Especially once you start Serving. It's important to your health."

Talla could hear the capital 'S' in Serving and wondered what it was. She shrugged it off as they directed her to stand and turn around.

"We need to do your bum," Ada said.

Talla felt quite vulnerable as they nudged her to lean over the bench so they could wash her. "Just relax, okay?", Meena directed as she spread Talla's cheeks and more water poured between them. They scrubbed her with soap and rinsed her again.

"Good," Ada said, "Now you're clean enough to come in."

Ada stepped in to the small pool and waved Talla in. Talla stepped down gingerly, thankful to get something to cover her modesty. The inside of the small tub had a ledge upon which she could sit was just deep enough that it covered her chest as long as she slouched a little. The temperature was warm and soothing. She began to relax a little and feel a bit less naked. At that point, she saw Meena take her clothing and drop it in a chute next to the pool. Talla's eyes widened in panic. Temporary nudity was one thing, but -

"Don't worry," Ada said as she touched Talla's shoulder reassuringly, "There'll be some new clothes for you. Your old clothes are being burned underneath this bath. It makes the water hot."

The water was warm, but she was suspicious that the fire underneath ran entirely on the discarded clothing of girlhood.

"Excellent!" Meena announced as she slid in to the pool. Talla breathed a sigh of relief. She was quite shocked when Meena took a hold of her waist and slithered down to plant two kisses on her, one on each nipple. No sooner had she backed away then Ada did the same thing. Following that, Ada got up on her knees and stuck her chest out toward Talla.

"Go ahead," Ada said, "kiss them."

Not wanting to offend someone with such a cheery disposition, Talla leaned forward and pressed her lips to each of Ada's nipples. The flesh of her nipples was stiff with the cold, and Talla could feel the hardness of the bones of her ribcage behind it. Next, Meena offered her own somewhat more developed breasts. Her nipples were stiff on Talla's lips as well, but there was softness behind them. Talla pressed her face deeply in to each tiny breast before pulling away.

"There," Ada said, "Now we are sisters."

Had that been a ritual of some kind?

Ada held her hand out between the three of them, with the palm open and faced down. Meena put her hand on top. Following that lead, Talla put her hand over top of Meena's. Ada smiled cheerfully before something caught her eye.

"Sara has your new clothes," she said excitedly, "Try them on."

Unfortunately, Sara had not brought towels. Talla stepped out of the bath, somewhat less shy of her body and took the proffered clothing. "You get a skirt that goes down to your ankles and a bikini top, both white," Sara said. "That's before you're initiated. Later you'll trade in your ankle length skirt for a knee length one like Ada and Meena have. Now I have to go back to the main gate. Ada and Meena will take care of you for today until you're ready for Lessons. Good luck!"

Sara turned and fled the pool room and Talla caught a glimpse of a mature female form. The muscles in her legs and butt were finely developed and well displayed by her underwear which contained almost no material in the back. In a flash she was gone. Fortunately Talla still had her new sisters.

"What now?" she asked them as they all donned their clothes. It clung to their wet skin, allowing their bodies to be plainly visible, but the fabric seemed to be drying quickly. Ada helped Talla adjust her top so the triangles of cloth fit over her chest properly. What had Sara called it? A bikini?

"Now," Meena said as she squeezed water from her hair, "we tell you about the Temple"

"Right now," Ada said as they left the pool room along the same path that Talla had entered it, "you're in the entrance section of the Temple, which is a common area for all women of all different Divisions and Disciplines. Now you remember that the Temple is in the shape of a triangle right?"

Talla nodded, getting the feel of Ada's rhythmic teaching voice.

"Okay. So the Temple is divided up in to three different Divisions. Each of those Divisions gets a triangle that is one fourth of the entire Temple. The Divisions each get one corner."

Talla said, "That leaves a triangle right in the middle?"

"Yes," Meena cut in, "That's the Goddess's domain, although some of it is taken up by this entrance area and the common area. The Goddess's domain is this way. Come on."

They had walked back to the courtyard just inside the main gates. A wide street led straight in to the heart of the Temple. She noted as they walked it that it was the strangest street she had ever seen. For one thing, it contained no doors or windows of any kind. It was flat brown sandstone. For another thing -- it was not a trick of her eyes -- it got wider as it got closer to the domain of the Goddess.

Talla looked at the area in to which they had walked. Another solid sandy brown wall, but this one had black, curvy scribbling painted all over it. There were steps leading up to two ornately carved doors, each engraved with a bronzed carving of a nude woman. The women in these statues stood on their toes with their legs together. Their faces, with eyes closed, were generic and their arms were outstretched. Their breasts were heavy and their pubic hair thick.

"You can't go through those doors unless you have special permission," Meena warned, "The guards would stop you anyway."

Where the guards at the main entrance were ceremonial, these guards were serious. Thick chain mail from head to toe, six women guarded the door, three to each side. Talla wondered at the need for guards but Ada replied before she could ask. "There have been assassination attempts; a long, long time ago."

"Oh."

That explained the curious nature of the street leading to this door. It also explained the slits in the walls above the door.

"Anyway," Meena said, perking up and leading the way back to the main courtyard. "We'll show you where you sleep for now ... until you choose a Discipline."

"A Discipline?"

"Yeah," Ada said, "It works like this. Remember I said that there are three Divisions? Well, each Division has three Disciplines. Each one of them deals with working on a different part of your body."

"Three Divisions, Nine Disciplines?" Talla asked.

"Yes. I joined the Division called Endowment," Meena said proudly. "In Endowment, we work on our breasts."

"Endowment," Talla repeated.

"Right," Meena rhymed off. "If you join Endowment, your quarters will be in the triangle on the right side of Temple when you come in by the main entrance."

"I joined Form," Ada put in. "It's all about muscle building and appearance." She took a breath to contain her excitement, "I completed Initiation and got my first upgrade last week!"

So Ada had only been here slightly longer than Talla. She opened her mouth to ask what an 'upgrade' was, but Meena was already speaking.

"Form," Meena put in, "has its triangle off to the left of the main entrance. The triangle at the back of the Temple belongs to Sweetness. They work on your genitals."

"You mean pussy?" Talla said. She had never heard the word genitals, but it was the only part left.

"That's a vulgar man's word when you use it like that," Ada scolded lightly. "In here, there's a Discipline called Pussy."

"Oh."

"Okay," Meena explained, a little more softly than Ada, "pussy is the hair between your legs, that covers your genitals. One of the Disciplines of Sweetness is devoted to that hair, and it's called Pussy. That's how you use that word in here. Understand?"

Talla nodded.

Meena went on. "The whole of Sweetness is all about bringing pleasure during sex using your genitals. The most important Discipline is Within. That's where you learn how to squeeze a man's ..."

She stopped suddenly, seeing confusion on Talla's face.

"How much do you know about sex?" she asked.

Talla's face probably turned red, "Not much."

"Well, it's enough to say the ability to use the muscles inside your vagina is a very valuable skill. It's the most sought after Discipline."

"Follow," Ada said and twisted around in a flare of white skirt. Meena and Talla tagged along as she led them back through the maze, past the pool building, to a building with rows of beds in it.

"This is where you will sleep," Ada said. It was a long building with tall, skinny windows. The walls were bright white, a contrast to the sandy brown of everything else. The beds, ten on each side of the aisle, were big enough for one person to sleep if that person didn't roll around too much. The bed sheets were also white, as translucent as the curtains that separated each bed from its neighbour. "You can sleep naked," Meena said gleefully, "and you don't have to worry about strangers wandering in. It's so much more comfortable than wearing anything to bed."

"Who is this?" a woman asked.

"Oh, hi Maksa," Ada said to the woman who approached. Then she spoke to Talla, "Maksa is the dorm agent for the Virgin dormitory."

Meena put in, "Maksa, this is Talla."

Talla noticed that Maksa was clad in a yellow bikini top and skirt that was made of strands of yellow grass. It covered her to just below her crotch, but it was so thin that if she moved it was easy to tell that she wore nothing underneath - that and the fact that she had a light fuzz of 'pussy'.

"Hello, Talla," Maksa said in a friendly, welcoming voice. "The sixth bed on the left is untaken. You may have it for your week."

"My week?"

"Yes," Ada put in, "after one week of instruction, you'll do your Initiation, pick a Discipline and move in to one of the triangles. For now you stay here."