The Girl With No Name Ch 12

Chapter Twelve – The Fruits of Hubris

Towards the end of May, Jadranka accompanied her classmates on an expedition into the wild territories to study and identify rock deposits and land formations along the northern mountains. Some of the places she already had seen when she was a Follower. The freedom of the open country beckoned her, reminding her of the previous year when she ran about the woods in the nude. Without thinking about what she was doing, she took off her dress and folded it into her saddlebag. None of her classmates even considered doing such a thing. Instead they stared at her with bewildered expressions, wondering why she would want to act like a penitent or a collared criminal. Jadranka, who had assumed a completely rebellious frame of mind, defiantly responded:

"This is what I'm accustomed to and what I believe. I am in the Realm of Nature and therefore my body must be liberated in the sun. I have spent nine months cooped up in an uncomfortable dress and locked away in my bed-chamber. Now I plan to enjoy this realm the Ancients have granted me."

Jadranka's statement and desire to rebel against her classmates had just committed her to spending three weeks as the only naked person in a large expedition of well-dressed elitist students. The others felt uncomfortable talking to her, so she spent most of the trip working and making observations by herself. She regretted taking off her clothes without checking to see if any of her classmates would do the same, but she was convinced that to humbly get dressed again and conform to the group would make her look even more foolish than she looked already. She tried to convince herself that she was determined to make a statement to defend the customs of the Followers of the Ancients, especially to the classmates who knew she had been a member of the Cult.

Well...let them see the freedom we enjoyed...

Whenever she was working alone, away from disapproving glances of her stuffy classmates, Jadranka did enjoy being naked; feeling the sun and mountain breezes on her uncovered body after having spent the last nine months cooped up in university buildings. She satisfied her desire to run in the nude across open fields and jump along the rocks. She loved plunging into cold streams, not having to do anything more than taking off her shoes.

She was enjoying being naked outdoors so much that her thoughts returned to her counterfeit penance collar. She'd like to put it on, but she'd have to leave Sebérnekt Ris and go where no one knew her.

Leave Sebérnekt Ris. Why not? As long as she had her collar, she could go where she wanted and was assured of having meals and places to sleep from the Danubian Church. The collar carried with it a huge range of restrictions and limited what she could do, but in some ways it would give her much more freedom than she currently had. It would be nice to just wander and explore; not having to worry about schedules, professors' demands, and passing the next exam.

Jadranka wondered where she could go. She couldn't go back to any of the towns she had visited over the previous three years, nor did she have any desire to do so. She had been almost everywhere between the Rika Chorna river and the northern mountains, with an important exception. She had not yet seen the nation's capitol, Danúbikt Móskt. That would be perfect. She'd travel there as a collared stranger, rely on the hospitality of the Danubian Church, and see all the wonderful sites that city had to offer.

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The trip into the mountains had socially isolated Jadranka and gave her a bad attitude about her classmates. Her soul burned with resentment over having to conform to a multitude of small-minded people whose intellect obviously did not match hers. The more she pondered feeling alienated from the others, the more she was convinced she needed to get away for a while and see something not related to university life. So, she'd put on her penance collar and go traveling. Her original plan was to leave Sebérnekt Ris at the beginning of July and return in the middle of August. She'd explore the capitol and the surrounding areas, satisfy her curiosity, and hopefully, after two months of relative freedom, come back with a better attitude about pursuing second year of classes.

Perhaps two months of wandering would have satisfied the craving she had for freedom. Unfortunately, Jadranka's craving for freedom was matched by her desire to wield power and influence over others. As the third anniversary of her departure from Rika Héckt-nemát came and went, she bitterly remembered that day on the pillory and the powerless existence she had endured when living with her family. She still felt powerless in Sebérnekt Ris; constantly following the orders of professors and military instructors. Although her circumstances and living conditions had greatly improved over the past three years, she remained completely unable to control anything going on around her.

She knew she was more intelligent than most people in the Duchy, so why should she settle for spending her life taking orders? Shouldn't she lead instead of follow? It was galling to think that, as an elder among the Followers, she could have led, regardless of the fact she was a woman. That option no longer was available.

Jadranka walked by the local cathedral and noticed a Priestess administering blessings and leading a group of worshippers dressed in black prayer robes. She hadn't given much thought to the Danubian Church as a possible Path in Life, but she knew Priestesses had as much power over their parishioners as their husbands. She thought about that haughty seminary student Starívktaki Móskt. Undoubtedly, at that very moment her first mentor was enjoying exercising power over her community.

Of course...I hadn't really thought about it, but I can join the Danubian Church, become a Priestess, and find my place in society. I will be powerful and reign above others. I'll put on the black dress and no man will dare disobey me. That's where I will find my Path in Life...as a Priestess.

Jadranka didn't give much thought to the rigorous instruction that apprentices for the Danubian Clergy had to endure in their seminaries. She was convinced the education she already had obtained would allow her to bypass much of the training the Church ordinarily gave its Apprentices. After-all, she was educated and much smarter than most people, and surly the Prophets would understand that the Creator had sent her to assume a special place among the Clergy.

The obsession took over Jadranka's thoughts and filled her soul with hubris. For the first time since thinking that simply owning a nice dress would allow her to ingratiate her way into her hometown's elite society, her ambitions became detached from reality. If she wanted personal freedom, she certainly would not find it in the conformist culture of the Danubian Church. Yes, Priestesses did work alongside their husbands as equals and could command any civilian man, but the only power they exercised was carrying out the orders of the Prophets in Danúbikt Móskt. A large portion of the training Clergy members received in the seminary was to ensure they carried out the will of the Church, and not their own will.

Had Jadranka bothered to talk to the Priestess, her illusions about using the Church to wield power would not have survived the conversation. Subconsciously, she was aware of that. She also knew the Priestess would be very angry at the thought of a university student wanting to become an apprentice in the seminary to pursue her own desires and not those of the Creator and Prophets. From the very beginning Jadranka would have to lie to conceal her motives for joining the Clergy.

Another illusion that would not have survived a conversation with a Clergy member would have been the timing of her plans. If she had wanted to enter the seminary that year, she would have needed to make the arrangements in April. Already it was July. Jadranka was aware of the schedule, but had convinced herself that her knowledge was so extensive that she could join the 1753 class with no problem.

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Jadranka understood, before going anywhere, she needed to talk to Dean Fítoreckt. However, he had become increasingly withdrawn and not very approachable. She already knew that he was very old, but until recently his features had not shown their age. By the summer of 1753, it seemed that most of the life had gone out of him. The cunning and determined man she had known over the past year had faded away, leaving behind a soul that had overstayed its time among the Realm of the Living. Dean Fítoreckt didn't seem to want to do much anymore: he contented himself spending hours standing at the window of the dean's office staring vacantly into the distance. She noticed he always stared east, towards the mountains and the former home of the now-defunct Cult of the Ancients.

Perhaps he should have been satisfied with everything he had been able to accomplish: running a respected university, dissolving a doomed religion with a minimal number of deaths, assuring the safety and the continuing relevance of the remaining Followers, avenging Babáckt Yaga and her group of elders, and routing the Cult's enemies from one of their most important strongholds.

None of that mattered nearly as much as knowing he was the final leader, the custodian forced to oversee the demise of an institution that had been part of his nation's soul for 5000 years. Now everyone he cared about was dead or in hiding. Only he remained, a forlorn old man (probably the oldest person on the planet) standing alone at his window, staring out at a world where his existence no longer had any purpose. The dean knew his Path in Life had ended, even if his time in the Realm of the Living had not. Like a ghost at daybreak, he was fading in silence.

No, thought Jadranka, there's no point in trying to talk to him. That man is already dead. And when he holds up his mirror, what will remain to keep me connected to the university? Who in Sebérnekt Ris can I rely upon to help me find an acceptable Path in Life?

I don't belong here. I deserve better than anything this university can offer me. I will join the Clergy, and from there I will fulfill my Path in Life.

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During her final weeks in Sebérnekt Ris, the student didn't talk to anyone at the university. She ate alone, during hours the other students were least likely to be in the dining hall. She avoided the library and the bathhouse, so her classmates were not sure if she was even still on campus.

She left the campus for several days to wander around the hills overlooking the waterfall and the cliffs that protected the Duchy's northern border. As a true child of nature, she wore no clothing, not even shoes, and filled her stomach with mushrooms and berries.

Her path crossed with a squad of Royal Guards patrolling the border. They were bewildered by the site of a naked wild girl in the forest. When the leader asked her what she was doing, she signaled that she would be willing to have sex with him, and with all of the men, if they so desired. She had not had sex with anyone since April, and suddenly the desire hit her full-force. She didn't know the soldiers, so she didn't see any harm in satisfying both herself and them. When darkness fell and the men set up camp, she stayed with them and shared a meal.

She slept briefly, but then woke up thinking: what am I doing? I'm not acting like a Follower: I'm acting like a common harlot. I need to stop this. I need to leave Sebérnekt Ris before I go mad. I need to pursue my Path in Life.

So, with no words of goodbye to the sleeping soldiers, she left them. She carefully made her way along the trails with nothing more than moonlight to illuminate her route. At sunrise she found her dress and returned to the university.

She returned to the bathhouse to clean up and change into a fresh outfit. When she exited, one of her professors confronted her.

"Student Jadranka, you were away from the compound for five days. Did you ask anyone for permission to leave, or permission to go up into the hills?"

"No, Professor, I did not."

"Well, at least you're not dishonoring yourself with a lie. You do understand the consequences of an unauthorized absence from the university."

"Yes, Professor."

"You are an upperclassman. You need to be setting an example, and instead you go running off, like some boy who's just had his head shaved! Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"No, Professor, I don't."

"Very well. You're aware that you'll have to go before a discipline hearing. I'd imagine, since you've so thoroughly disappointed the standards we'd expect from an upperclassman, you'll not receive much leniency. But, before I gather the others, perhaps it would help if you'd tell me why you were in the hills alone. What were you doing there?"

"I was fucking soldiers, Professor. I fucked an entire squad of them. That's what I was doing, if you really need to know."

The professor was stunned by the young woman's vulgar language and defiant confession. Speaking in such a disrespectful manner would add to her punishment. Not only did her words shock him, but also the fact they were coming from the mouth of an upper-classman who, until that moment, he had considered one of his most promising students. He felt betrayed, considering the effort and time he had invested making sure she could advance through his course material as quickly as possible.

"Student Jadranka! Have you gone mad? You're already facing a switching and several months of the collar! What are you trying to do, be expelled from the university?"

"My name is Danka, Professor. Danka Síluckt. Student Jadranka is a false name for me. And you won't need to trouble yourself with your stupid discipline hearing and you won't need to expel me from the university. I'm leaving on my own."

With that Danka turned away from the professor, which was another act of disrespect. A student never turned away from a faculty member until being formally dismissed. The professor was shocked and infuriated, but there was nothing he could do. The worst thing he could threaten her with was expulsion from the university, but the girl had already decided to expel herself. He said nothing more, but would have to report the incident to Dean Fítoreckt.

Danka returned to her room in a very strange and destructive mood. Ordinarily she would have been horrified by what she had just done. However, her frustration with university life and her delusions of importance made her feel completely liberated at the moment. She had taken control! Those professors no longer had any authority over her! She was Danka, not Jadranka, and no longer subject to university restrictions!

Her bucket already was packed. She always kept her most important belongings in it, precisely in the event she needed to flee and only had time to grab one item. She thought about what to do about her dress. It belonged to the university, so she'd leave it. She threw it on her bed and put on her boots.

Students and professors stared at Danka as she walked out of the university. She was naked except for a pair of peasant's work boots. The only item she carried with her was a battered swill-bucket. She left without saying goodbye to anyone, even Dean Fítoreckt. She walked through the busy streets of Sebérnekt Ris during mid-day. She drew attention, being naked but not wearing a collar. Normally nakedness was a symbol of either shame or humility, but Danka's gait and expression displayed neither. Her attitude seemed to be: yes, I'm naked. I am displaying myself to you, in the manner of the Old World. There is nothing you can do to stop me.

Danka continued her trek southwards until she reached a grove of trees concealing a trench that was part of the city's defensive fortifications. Making sure no one was watching at that moment, she went into the trees, put on her penance collar, re-emerged as a penitent, and returned to the road.

She had been walking south for an hour when a farmer passed by, driving a wagon loaded with barrels of salted meat for the capitol. He asked the penitent if she would like a ride. She gratefully accepted, and with that the Path in Life she had led in as a university student Sebérnekt Ris came to an end.

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By the time Danka left Sebérnekt Ris, almost all the men from the squad of soldiers with whom she had shared the previous night were dead. Only one badly injured Guard remained alive to relate what had happened.

The squad woke up to find the strange naked girl of the forest had completely vanished. As they packed up and departed their camp, they chatted about her, wondering who she was and where she could have gone. They had been travelling for an hour when they ran into a patrol of foreign soldiers. The two groups immediately engaged in combat. It was a routine border skirmish, although it had been several years since a foreign patrol had ventured so far south into the Duchy's territory. Two Danubians were killed immediately from the foreigners' musket fire, but the survivors quickly retreated into the trees and deployed their crossbows. The skirmish continued the rest of the morning, as the Danubians crept up to the foreigners, fired their crossbows, and fled, hoping to lure their enemies into ambushes. The foreign commander was familiar with Danubian tactics and prevented his men from sacrificing themselves among the trees. So...the two squads simply continued shooting at each other. Every so often a foreigner fell to a crossbow bolt or a Danubian fell to a musket ball.

By noon all of the Danubians were dead or badly wounded and only three foreigners survived. The noise of the musket fire had alerted another squad of Danubians who spent nearly an hour trying to locate the source of the combat noise. They arrived in time to kill the three remaining foreigners, but too late to do anything to help their comrades.

The second squad found only one survivor who was not mortally wounded. They took him to Sebérnekt Ris, where the doctors managed to save his life. However, one of his legs had to be amputated. After he recovered, the man requested not to be discharged from the Royal Guards. Since he no longer could walk, was re-assigned as a sentry to one of the cannon batteries.

The crippled guard spent many nights looking north into enemy territory and thinking about the strange naked forest girl who had seduced his unit the night before their deaths. He wondered if she was a disguised witch who had brought a curse upon the squad. The story and speculation about the seductress circulated among the Royal Guards. Over the years it became a favorite topic for songs and tall tales to help the cannon crews pass their long, boring hours watching the border.