Recounting of the Tannit Ritual

INTRODUCTION

To you, the illustrious reader: the following pages record, for the first time, a near-full recounting of the Tannit Ritual of the Massylii people of Numidia. How, you ask, did this come to be? I, the historian Titus Patavius, had longed to understand the mysterious practices of the Numidians, whose religion and history are shrouded in mystery. For centuries we have known precious little, aside from happenstance meetings in the desert between Numidian traders and our soldiers.

In the last year, I came to know of the writings of Domitia of Damascus, a noblewoman who passed away some three years ago. Her final wishes that her diaries be given to a learned historian, who could do his best to investigate and promulgate the information therein. These diaries were sent to me, and their contents were shocking. They included a full recounting of Domitia's experience in captivity under the Massylii, written by her own hand.

It is of the blessings of history that Domitia was extremely detailed in her writings, not sparing details from the salacious aspects of her role in the sexual rituals of her captors. Another blessing was that Domitia somehow managed to obtain the writings of the priestess that oversaw the ritual; the High Priestess Tanina. I do not know how this came to be, but it appears that Domitia learned the Massylii language and writing, somehow acquired the priestess's writings, and was able to translate it into Latin for my own research.

Domitia's writing repeatedly referred to one Valerius of Ravenna. I was quite fortunate to find that Valerius was still alive, now aged in his Ravenna estate. He welcomed me to his household, and for three days he recounted what he could still remember from his time under captivity with Domitia.

With these three accounts: Domitia of Damascus, Valerius of Ravenna, and the Massylii Priestess Tannit, I constructed the summarized retelling below. There will be much analysis to follow in future volumes.

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THE RECOUNTING

Valerius and Domitia, in both of their writings, recall being young and utterly infatuated with each other. They were the offspring of Roman senators, and as such, were destined for a life of comfort. The business of their fathers would take them around the Empire, and one such journey was to the African frontier, where their fathers were to inspect the military camp of Lambaesis.

The two lovers, whenever a moment could be spared, would make up some excuse to abandon their servants and find hiding places to shower affection upon each other. The empty plains of frontier offered no shortage of places to conceal themselves from the prying eyes of their households and guards.

One such evening, Domitia told her father that she was going for a stroll around the camp to pick olives growing wildly in the area. She found Valerius sitting behind a rock a quarter mile away, as they planned. He kissed her deeply.

His eyes were excited. "I found something!" he said, pointing to the distance. Domitia saw nothing, but let herself be pulled along.

And then she saw what Valerius was referring to; a small cave entrance into a rocky outcropping. She smiled at him. This was perfect; a place where they could hide and be totally unseen from prying eyes. She thought wickedly about the possibilities.

She walked first into the cave, and he followed. As they entered, she remembered feeling that the cave air was strangely sweet and fresh; it was not stale in the slightest. Also curious was that despite proceeding through the cave, there seemed to be a steady inflow of light through various pores in the walls; there was little need for them to light a torch.

They came to a cave room that was almost a perfect circle; another curiosity in Domitia's mind. At the center was a smoothly polished platform of rock, almost shaped like a bed. Domitia grinned and sat down on it, tapping her hand on the rock next to her to invite Valerius in.

Valerius smiled and sat down. He leaned over and kissed her. She loved the taste of his lips; it excited her. The added risk of their secret excursions also titillated her to no end. Typically their kisses were chaste, with innocent pressings of their lips. But now, for some reason, Domitia felt compelled to use her tongue. Valerius was surprised, but welcomed her tongue against his. She awkwardly remembered not knowing exactly what to do, but likewise felt that the experience was enjoyable.

In Domitia's telling, says that Valerius held himself as a noble, high-minded individual, who was pure of spirit and mind. Domitia would figuratively swoon over this image, as though Valerius was a noble warrior in a folk tale. However, this would often cause some conflict in their secret excursions. After some minutes of kissing and gentle touching, Valerius would often extricate himself, as though too much contact would be morally unsound for a true noble. Domitia would smile in understanding, loving his performance of restraint.

At that moment, Domitia was feeling more daring. Perhaps it was the sense of isolation around them, that any risk she took could not possibly be seen. She pushed Valerius down, and lay next to him. He looked a bit taken aback, but did not resist overly when she kissed him again, embracing him. She pressed her body into him slightly, feeling his warmth. And then she felt something firm against her knee. A daring thought went into her mind. She pressed her knee gently into his hardness. He groaned.

And then he pulled himself away. He shook his head, and opened his eyes, blinking at Domitia, with an expression of confusion, not of scolding. She looked aside, slightly ashamed at her overstepping.

And then Domitia saw them. Domitia and Valerius were being five robed figures, and at their head was a tall, womanly shape with a heavily ornamented mask shielding her face. The mask was made of thickly shaped wood, shining in a golden color, with leaves still standing on its edges. She seemed to be clothed in a type of armor made of the same tangled mass of golden twigs and leaves, which nonetheless hugged tightly to the form of her shapely body.

Domitia and Valerius sat up with a start, but they were caught by two strong figures who were concealed behind them. Their arms were twisted tightly around their backs as they were lifted to their feet.

Domitia recalled Valerius's voice being panicked as he spoke. "Release us, at once! We are the households of Roman senators, we have the emperor's ear at our..."

The armored figure lifted a hand, and Valerius immediately fell silent. Valerius was pulled away from Domitia, to a corner of the room, facing away from her.

The figure then approached Domitia. Her mask was beautifully detailed and imposing. The woman's figure was powerful and strong; Domitia felt herself wanting to shrink away from its presence. The woman's head moved around as though it was searching Domitia's body for something.

The figure then spoke, in heavily accented Latin. "What is your name?"

Domitia did not know how to react, how to answer in a way that would secure her release. "Domitia..." she answered hesitantly. "Domitia of Damascus."

The woman cocked her head. Light glimmered off of her mask. "Domitia of Damascus..." she said, considering. "Domitia, have you consumnated your relationship with this man?"

Domitia almost sputtered in shock at the question. "No! Never!" she answered, almost indignant, like the accusation was cutting deep into her. She did not stop to consider why the question was being asked.

Domitia's shock did not wear off before the woman before her took her hand and pressed it against Domitia's groin, tightly pushing upwards. Domitia gasped at the intrusion and pressure. "What is this... stop this!" she protested.

The woman did not stop. Domitia was held tightly in place, her arms pained. The woman's hand was still but strong against Domitia's groin. Beyond the intrusion, Domitia felt strange, as though the woman's hand was drawing something out of Domitia. The woman was chanting quietly to herself in some other language.

The woman released her hand. She looked up to Domitia. "You tell the truth, Domitia of Damascus. But not all of it." She gestured with her head to Valerius. "You want him."

Domitia's face flushed. Did this woman draw that information out of Domitia with her hand? No, that would be absurd.

Before she could answer, the woman gestured to all of the robed figures, and looked back to Domitia. "The Goddess shall give him to you," she said cryptically. Domitia felt a cloth pressed over her mouth. She cried out before all went black.

***

Valerius's head was foggy as he regained consciousness. He took a deep breath and stale air filled his lungs. He opened his eyes slowly. He recounted to me a dim green light filling the room; he soon realized that they were light shining from the mushrooms growing out of the cave walls. He was perhaps the first Roman man to have seen this magnificent phenomenon, with those most unnatural light blanketing the room.

He then realized, to his woe, that he was chained tightly by his wrists to what seemed to be a broad stalagmite. Domitia was nowhere to be seen; the panic and guilt he must of felt at losing his companion must have been immense. Despite the cold air of the room, he broke out in a cold sweat from anxiety, pulling against his chains to no avail.

And then he saw a dim light at the end of the cavern, accompanied by light footsteps. Into the room strode a tall, proud figure. From a distance the figure's head appeared grotesquely misshapen, with sharp appendages protruding outwards from her head. As the figure neared, Valerius realized it was a woman, with a heavily ornamented mask shielding her face. The mask was made of thickly shaped wood, shining in a golden color, with leaves still standing on its edges. She seemed to be clothed in a type of armor made of the same tangled mass of golden twigs and leaves, which nonetheless hugged tightly to the form of her shapely body.

Valerius could not have known, but this was Tanina, high priestess of the Massylii. To even see her in person was considered a momentous honor for any of the Massylii, but Valerius could only feel terror. Behind her was two women, clothed in plain, shapeless gray robes, with hoods over their heads.

Valerius claimed that he held his resolve and demanded that he be released at once, and that Domitia be returned to him. He claimed that he attempted to intimidate the Massylii by claiming that a legion would be by shortly to rescue them and to put the tribe to the sword. Tanina's account describes otherwise; Valerius was near to tears, struggling against his chains, begging for his and Domitia's lives.

In either case, Valerius described Tanina as unmoving; it seemed clear to him that she did not understand a word of Latin. She simply looked at him without expression until his body calmed against the rock. And then, as he stilled, she approached. Valerius tensed his body, anticipating the worst; perhaps a knife would slip between his ribs, or she would cast a spell and he would burst into flame. He shut his eyes.

And then he felt a sudden tug against his shoulder. Before he could fully understand, he felt air against his chest. His toga had been unfastened, and fell loosely off his shoulder and down his chest and back. Valerius opened his eyes as another tug pulled his toga to the floor, leaving him clothed only in a linen wrap around his waist.

Valerius now saw that one of Tanina's attendants was standing beside her. He watched as Tanina gently grasped the shoulders of the attendant, and pulled outward. Her robe sank to the floor, revealing her lithe, tanned body. Golden chains were wrapped around the attendant's wrists, and above her navel. The straps of her sandals coiled like a snake above her knee. Her breasts protruded proudly, with wide brown nipples. And a highly ornamented iron collar was clapsed tightly around her neck, engraved with strange writing. This was one of Tanina's slaves, a Nubian, who was part of a select few with the honor to participate in the ritual.

Valerius and Tanina differ on how he reacted. Valerius insisted that he turned away, not at all intrigued by the sight of the bejeweled Nubian woman. Tanina describes, with some amusement, how the Roman was slack-jawed at the sight of her. She could tell in his eyes that this was the first fully exposed female form that he had seen. And she could tell by the way his waist wrap shifted, that he was not displeased by the sight of her slave.

Tanina nodded to the Nubian, who approached Valerius, her eyes still downcast. Valerius held his breath as she approached, and watched with puzzlement as she fell to her knees. He recounted thinking that perhaps she had fell ill. But then she began to undo the knot that held up Valerius's waist wrap. The wrap fell silently to his feet.

Valerius is vague about what transpired next. He describes a "ritual of the hands" that took place, one that he could not resist. Tanina, however, provides much more detail.

The "ritual of the hands" is what the Massylii called the "First Blessing." The Nubian slave with both hands, pressed her palms against Valerius's member and scrotum. She then began to hum a whispery tune as she ran her palms up and down with a haunting slowness, her wristbone digging into his shaft. The Nubian began to use her elbows to drive her hands deeper against his member, her humming becoming more clear and audible. Valerius must have taken little time for his member to become engorged.

On one thing, Valerius and Tanina are in agreement. Valerius stood in silent shock and fear as he felt the slave's hands work against him. Tanina recounts, with some sympathy, that this was clearly the first time the Roman had felt a woman's touch against his most sensitive place. He had surely never pleased himself with such skill, and so perhaps he was wondering if that slave was working some dark magic against him.

As Valerius became fully erect, the slave began to alleviate the hard pressure against his member, releasing her hands. His cock sprang upwards. And then the slave began to lightly graze her fingernails against his shaft, pulling her hands towards her, as if she was playing a harp. Valerius bit his lip as his body trembled. The slave continued to graze her fingernails against him, at times gently pushing his shaft to and fro with her fingertips. Such a technique is said to be performed in the brothels of Ravenna, where men seek out the denial of their own pleasure for misanthropic reasons.

Valerius describes the ritual as "an eternity." How long the slave actually teased him is only worth speculation; perhaps for minutes he remained erect, perhaps for an hour, perhaps all night. Tanina recounts that halfway through this treatment his head drew backwards, his breath coming out in a shallow, panicked pace. His cock trembled with anxious desire. The slave began to bring her face close to his cock. She breathed hot breath against him as her fingers continued to graze lightly against him; this sent him to a new level of heightened pleasure and anxiety. Valerius's face was red, his body flushed.

Valerius recounts that at the end, she saw Tanina nod to end the ritual. He does not, however, describe how the ritual ended. Here we turn to Tanina's account.

Tanina took a glass urn and hooked it into the slave's collar, such that the urn floated between the slave's breasts. The slave then, with a mighty gesture, grasped Valerius's cock, and pointed it all the way downwards, such that his cock head sat inside the glass urn. She then pulled downwards with firm, harsh stroke.

Tanina describes Valerius's body quaking as his climax, so long denied, burst forth. His cock pulsed angrily as his seed shot out of his cock in thick, white spurts, splashing against the glass urn and settling at the bottom. The slave kept a tight, firm grasp on his cock as his seed began to fill the urn, not allowing any to splash outside. Valerius's eyes were confused and anxious as he felt his body reacting in ways he never knew possible.

Tanina recounts that the Roman's orgasm was quite impressive to behold. She hypothesized that Romans do not masturbate as much as the Masylii do, which made their climaxes much more productive than she expected. She watched intently as Valerius's seed struck against the urn walls, dripping down to the bottom. As his cock began to soften, the slave began to stroke his cock deliberately, drawing out his pleasure further. Eventually his body was expended, and Valerius sank unconscious against his chains.

From Tanina's recounting, an educated reader can conclude one thing: the ritual was drawing out Valerius's pleasure in order to produce and harvest as much of his semen as possible. Domitia's recounting fills in the reasoning for the harvest.

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Based on Domitia's recounting, she must have woken up at some point during the "ritual of the hands" being performed on Valerius. She describes marvelling at the sight around her. She was lying on a broad, flat rock at the center of what appeared to be a massive underground lake. At the edge of the were the trunks of petrified trees, bent at severe angles over the water. Lights glowed from the lake's depth with a shimmery blue light. Steam rose from its surface, and the water bubbled and churned as though warmed like a cauldron. She dipped a leg into the water; it was warm and deep. She withdrew her foot, cursing that she did not learn how to swim.

And then, through the steam, Domitia saw a sinewy boat approaching. Standing at its head was a woman in golden armor, who Domitia describes in a similar way to Valerius; indeed, this was Tanina. In her hands was a glass urn.

Domitia recalled with amazement that no one was rowing the boat; it seemed to guide itself gently to its destination, resting against the side of the island. The armored priestess stepped onto the island, and Domitia saw her attendants follow behind her. She raised a curious eyebrow at the Nubian, her naked figure exposed aside from her sandals and jewelry.

Tanina recounted that the Roman girl showed little outward fear at her predicament. She stood steadily as Tanina disembarked from the boat, her hands crossed, curiously looking to the Nubian slave.

"Where is Valerius?" she asked quietly.

Tanina regarded her inquisitively. The Roman lad had been reduced to fearful babbling instantly, but here this woman showed little fear of her captive state. Thinking for a moment, she decided to break traditional protocol. She approached Domitia, the urn in her hands. With a nod, she encouraged Domitia to look into it.

Domitia peered inside as Tanina gently turned the urn to and fro, letting the thick white fluid flow from side to side. An image flashed into her head; a string of Valerius's semen stretching across the cave floor. Her eyes grew wide with alarm.

Tanina stepped back as Domitia's face reddened with confusion. The priestess decided to breach protocol further.

"He resisted giving his essence, the best he could," she said in perfect Latin. "He wanted you to be the first to touch him." Domitia said nothing, glaring at the priestess.

"I know how much you desire him," Tanina continued. "We saw your body against him in the portico. You were lovely and strong."

Despite her embarrassment, Domitia recalled feeling absurdly complimented. She had only been applauded for her appearance by Valerius. To be exalted by such a high, beautiful woman, with her statuesque slave, seemed to strike at something deep in her.

"You will be with him, in all the ways you want," Tanina said, in a tone that Domitia did not quite grasp. "But you must do one thing for me." Domitia said nothing, but her face indicated that she was listening.