The crowd silently watches you. Butterflies flap their wings wildly in your stomach and your skin feels warm. You're nervous. You're trembling. And yet, you're also excited. Although you don't know what's about to happen, you know that it signifies your ascension from a trainee to a full-fledged servus.
A man walks out onto the stage and stands in front of you. He removes your black cloak, the symbol of your trainee status. You now stand in the center of the amphitheater completely naked. Your nipples harden in the cool breeze. The man turns to face the crowd, your black cloak raised in one of his hands. "Naked does she present herself," he bellows.
"Naked does she present herself," the crowd echoes back. The man turns to face you again, tossing the cloak aside. He places a hand on your shoulder and pushes you down to your knees. "On her knees does she offer herself!"
Again, the crowd echoes him. The man walks behind you and parts your legs. You feel cold metal shackles clasp around your ankles. He steps in front of you, a pillory designed for your head and wrists in hand. The intimidating wooden contraption is affixed to you in a matter of seconds. He pushes your torso down so that your face is only a few inches from the stage floor and your rear is up in the air. "In bondage does she find her freedom!"
"In bondage does she find her freedom!"
The man disappears behind you once again. "The girl now exists on the cusp of ascension. She will now recite the creed with pleasure whilst receiving the painful kiss of the whip, for pleasure and pain dance together in aeternum."
You take a deep breath to steady yourself. Sure, you have been whipped before, but never in front of so many people. Never in ceremony. You feel so exposed. Your skin is so sensitive to everything around it. Your heart pounds like a drum in your chest. But you're determined to do this - to do this correctly, and reach that higher place for yourself.
"Begin," the man bellows. You open your mouth to speak, but the whip comes down on your arse with almost cruel force. A pained yelp bursts from your lips and echoes around you. You grit your teeth. "He is Master, I am slave," you begin. The whip comes down again and you bite into your lip to hold back a scream. "He is owner," another lash causes you to cry out. "I-I am owned." The whip comes down three more times. Tears are now streaming from your eyes. Your breathing is shaky, erratic. "H-H-His...will...is everything." Another three lashes. Another agonized cry from your lips. "Mine...is...nothing..." You can barely breathe. You inhale deeply and another crack of the whip knocks the wind out of you. Quickly, you manage to catch your breath. "He is t-to be pleased and I-I a-am to please." The man starts swinging the whip at your ass with wild abandon, not giving you a second to think of anything but the pain. "Why is this!?" You grit your teeth in and steel yourself. The pain is cruel, more intense than any beating you had received before it. "FOR I AM A SLAVE!"