As Tak left her bed chamber, Hanja could not resist slipping her hand under his tunic and between his thighs, squeezing and causing him to stumble. Tak walked down the hall with the sound of her playful laughter ringing in his ears.
****
Hanja's worries about Tak were not eased by the scene that greeted her in the Temple courtyard later that morning as she made her way to the Ceremony of Giving. A trembling Temple boy was being restrained naked on the frame of repentance at the foot of the statue of the Prophet. A small, curious group of priestesses had gathered. Public punishment was rare in the Temple and discipline, when needed, was usually a more private matter between each priestess and the boy serving her.
Perplexed, Hanja enquired into the nature of the boy's poor conduct and was met with shrugs. "They say disobedience, but I do not know the details." said a Priestess. "His night-mistress did not find him to be compliant." whispered another. "What did she ask of him?"..." Can she not control a boy without this fuss? Look at the poor thing!"
Hanja recognized the boy as one who had served in her bed-chamber some weeks before. A kitchen boy, if she remembered correctly, quiet but likeable and well capable of performing his night duties. She saw the Priestess of the Shrine removing her heavy gown, exposing bare arms and shoulders above her Temple breastplate. A five-foot rattan cane had been sent for and was being brought to her by a novice priestess striding across the courtyard. When the boy on the frame saw it his legs appeared to buckle beneath him but he was held up by the wrist restraints and thick leather straps around his thighs. A wheel was turned and the frame changed shape, lifting him into the air and pushing his buttocks upwards and out, spreading his legs and positioning him perfectly to receive the kiss of the cane. Hanja could hear him sobbing now as the Shrine Priestess took position behind him.
"I'm glad he is not serving in my bed-chamber tonight." said a priestess callously, and there was some laughter. Hanja had no desire to witness what followed. She turned and walked into the Temple.
****
The Ceremony of Giving is perhaps the oldest of rituals performed within the Temple. Indeed, it is described in the Book of the Prophet as a means by which the very first woman, in the Garden at the beginning of time, enabled her males to give thanks to their Goddess. In the era of the Temple, it provides an opportunity for free, unmarried men of the City to humble themselves before the Goddess in Her Temple and gift a part of themselves to Her. Male slaves of female owners, and married males - who will have taken the Oath of Obedience to their wives during the marriage ceremony - are exempt from this obligation. Their service to the Goddess is considered to be fulfilled through devotion to their mistresses and wives. Otherwise, adult males are required to attend a Ceremony of Giving four times a year. A chaste period of two weeks prior to the ceremony is required.
The short ceremony has attendees leave their clothing in the Temple vestibule and kneel naked on the dirt floor before the altar; thighs spread, open and exposed to the Goddess.
That morning, Priestess Hanja, in heavy hooded robe, addressed the gathering of about four hundred males, leading them through prayers in worship of the Goddess and mantras reinforcing submission and obedience to Her. As she approached the climax of the Ceremony - known as the 'Giving' - Hanja noticed increasing signs of arousal in many of the worshipers kneeling before her. She stood before the altar, raised her arms and cried, "Behold the body of the Goddess, manifest in Her Priestess!"
Hanja threw open the robe to expose her body clad only in Temple breastplate and baltea, barely preserving her modesty.
"Begin the Giving! Praise the Goddess!" she cried, glaring down at the assembled throng, seeking eye contact with as many as possible.
In unison, the males began to stimulate themselves as they gazed upon Hanja's beauty; the beauty of their Goddess made real in the body of the Priestess. The first cry of 'Praise Goddess!' came almost immediately from a younger man in the second row. 'It is always the young ones.' thought Hanja to herself as she scowled at the shamed worshipper. Soon there were more shouts, but the most experienced males controlled their arousal, regulating their response with strength of grip and speed of movement, making the most of their pleasure, extending it and waiting for Hanja to call a conclusion to the Giving.
Hanja found herself thinking again about Tak. Perhaps she should have punished him properly for his obscenity the night before. He claimed to understand his sin, and the Goddess is forgiving to those who repent, but strokes from her cane would have reminded him of the importance of piety when in the presence of Priestesses of the Temple. She wondered how she would feel if it were Tak splayed on the frame of repentance, the Shrine Priestess preparing herself behind him. Would she be able to stand it? No. She knew that she should have severely disciplined Tak there and then, quelling any chance that he would repeat his error before a less-forgiving mistress. 'If anyone is going to hurt dear Tak, let it be me,' she thought to herself 'for at least he will know it is done with love'. She thought again of the poor boy that morning, spread naked like a piece of meat on the frame in front of all those priestesses. She shuddered. And then another, more corrupt, thought entered her mind; what would it be like if Tak did hold her in his arms?
The shock of her sinful thoughts, and another cry of 'Praise Goddess!' brought Hanja back to the present. How long had she been daydreaming? Too long! She saw males in the front row staring frantically at her, desperation in their eyes, and she struck the altar gong quickly. A crescendo of "Praise Goddess!" followed, deafening in the confines of the Temple. Hanja glared at the males in disgust as, twitching and grunting, they spread their seed over the dirt of the Temple floor. Quickly she closed her robe around her, turned, and left the altar.
****
In the afternoon after the Ceremony of Giving, Garden Boys Tak and his best friend Nikah were tasked with moving the seeded dirt from the Temple floor to the Gardens for use in the suf-herb beds. Having moved the soil across the Temple courtyard in barrows, replacing it with fresh dirt, the two boys stood side by side, naked in the late summer sun, shoveling the dirt onto the beds.
"Do you think this makes any difference to the suf-herb?" Tak asked Nikah.
Nikah shrugged, "Ask a priestess!"
"I am not asking," Tak replied, jokingly. "The answer is probably in some text or scripture we are supposed to have read."
Nikah tried to throw a shovel of the seeded dirt over his friend, but Tak was too quick.
"Hey, be careful with that!" Tak shouted. "You animal! How do you not get beaten half to death by a priestess every night? It is beyond me!"
