The morning of the trials dawned clear and hot, the insects buzzing in the depths of the jungle as we came out of our huts. The captives were sitting under the overhang of the corral, sheltering from the rapidly rising sun. Armed with whips, the captive-trainers entered the corral, speaking in Common.
"On your feet!" Kela shouted, snapping her whip in the direction of the captives. The captives slowly complied. I noticed that my captive seemed even slower than most in lifting himself to his feet. He glanced over to where I was standing and glared at me malevolently.
"Today you shall prove what kind of men you are." Kela continued. "Should you be deemed worthy, you may yet live. Should you not, you will die. It is simple, do as you are told and you will not be punished."
A smaller man, with light brown hair and flashing green eyes spoke up. "Why is it you think we will do what it is you ask?" He demanded.
"I do not ask. And because you will suffer and die if you do not." Maylee, the other trainer, countered. She quickly flicked her whip at him, slashing the skin of his face and leaving a bloody scratch. The man cried out and grabbed at his cheek.
"Arturus!" I heard Leonidas cry out to the disciplined captive. The other men jumped back and looked wildly from one trainer to the other as if expecting another assault.
"Now, out into the compound with you!" Maylee demanded, moving to walk in front of the group while Kela brought up the rear.
The men filed out and then stood before us naked. We had been saved the trouble of disrobing the men as they had been bathing when we captured them. My mother and aunt walked majestically out of the central temple to stand before the men.
"Kneel! Kneel before greatness!" Kela shouted, slashing at the dirt in front of the men with her whip. The men dropped to their knees without further command, having learned the lesson of the whip rather quickly.
The Chieftess looked appraisingly at the men and nodded her head, while the High Priestess raised her hand and said a benediction invoking the favor of the Mother Goddess. The men were then permitted to stand as Maylee and Kela explained the trials. The men were to be made aroused and then they were to remain in that state without either going flaccid or loosing their juices during the course of the day. The men looked around at the hungry-eyed women dressed only in skirts made of animal skins surrounding them and it seemed as if comprehension began to dawn in their eyes. Amazons were not just a myth, and they were our captives.
Five older women, ones who could no longer breed, stepped forward. They would suck the men to full arousal as they were in no danger of being cursed with barrenness should they swallow the seed of an over-eager captive. The women knelt in front of the men, tugging on the sacred rods and slowly sucking them into their mouths. The other four captives groaned in appreciation as the women worked their mouths on them, but my captive seemed oblivious to the rising of his rod as he looked around at the crowd surrounding him.
When the five captives were at full erection, the women stepped back. Leonidas looked impressive standing there, several hands taller than his fellows and his sacred rod jutting out proudly, gleaming in the early sun. I felt a slow heat begin in my loins as I looked at him.
Maylee and Kela moved forward again, other women coming behind with racks for the men to be tied to. Each rack looked like a large "X" and the captives were quickly bound at hands and feet to the racks placed behind them. The women then tied binding fiber around the base of each man's sacred rod then around the neck of the sack dangling below. Leonidas grunted as Ameeni yanked the fiber tight around him. She was still annoyed that he had shrugged off the effects of the sleeping fluid so quickly.
The purpose of the trials was to ensure that the children the Amazons took from the captives' loins were strong and hardy. Life in the Amazon encampment was joyful but hard, and the children of the Amazons had to be able to hunt and forage, fight and kill. The Mother Goddess would bless the mating of the Amazons with those who were strong and virile, granting to the Amazon a girl child.
Danella approached carrying thin bamboo canes. Grinning wickedly, she began to strike at the first captive. She started out strking him lightly on the thighs and gradually increased in force, moving up his body. After a short time the man was grunting and twisting in his bonds. Thin red lines began to appear on his torso as Danella continued with her test. Finally, he cried out as the pain became too much to bear. Danella smiled grimly, smacking at his still-erect sacred rod with her switch. The man gasped and yelped in shock and pain, his rod seeming to deflate somewhat in the face of the punishment it received.
Maylee jumped forward and yanked on his rod with one hand, shouting that he must not let his rod waver. The man moaned as her hand worked him, bringing him back to full erection. Maylee stepped back, releasing the captive's stiffened rod from her grasp.
Danella, in the meantime had moved on to the next captive, treating his body to the same torture. Each successive captive had to be manually stimulated after the caning to bring their rods back to full hardness. Even Leonidas' impressive-looking rod seemed to wilt in the face of Danella's enthusiastic striping.
After Danella was finished she stepped back, discarding the last of her now-broken canes. The captives hung in their bonds, gasping and sweating, red lines criscrossing their torsos.
The High Priestess approached next, carrying five net bags filled with river stones. The bags were tied to each captive's dangling sack with several thin pieces of binding fiber, stretching the captive's sack. This appeared to cause most of the captives some discomfort as the weight pulled on them.
More stones were added, one to each captive's bag until the second captive, the one called Arturus, cried out. No more stones were added to his bag, but it was left dangling and he moaned and cried out as his body trembled and caused the bag to shift.
Each captive was pushed to his limit with the stones, and soon we had a line of five trembling males who moaned and sobbed as the weights attached to them swung and moved. But to their credit, none of the sacred rods even drooped.
Next, the High Priestess approached from the temple with ten slivers of ivory. I stepped forward with the other four captors and picked up a pair of slivers and approached the captives. As I got nearer Leonidas I saw him watching me through slitted eyes. I moved up close to Leonidas and felt his sacred rod rubbing against my belly.
On a command from the High Priestess we each pierced the left nipple of our captive with an ivory sliver. Leonidas groaned and threw his head back. I felt his sacred rod throbbing against my belly and a slight spurt of wetness where it touched me. The High Priestess gave the order and we pierced our captives' other nipple. Again Leonidas groaned and I felt his hips move slightly, pushing his rod into closer contact with my skin.