Part 6: Discovering the Past
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Chapter 21: New Duties
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The terms of the agreement reached between Atene's ruling council, the Rangatira, and our group's leader, Akenehi, are more demanding than I first thought. In exchange for allowing our group to stay in Atene, and giving Cassandra access to study the ancient murals in the Halls of Ancestors, Drew, Seamus and I are expected to fuck as many eager Elf Maidens as we can manage. That may sound like a man's dream come true, but after only a few days my cock is feeling greatly abused. Fortunately there will be fewer Elf Maidens seeking our cocks once they become pregnant. Which, of course, is exactly what Kahu and the rest of the Rangatira want in order to stem the steady decline in the Atene population.
In my case, I have Cassandra willing to soothe my cock with her delicate tongue and throat. Normally she would expect me to fuck her in return, but she is still recovering from giving birth to Rawiri. Consequently we settle for more gentler intimate acts. In any case, at this time of year, we would need an Elf Maiden in heat to emit the powerful feminine scent without which no Thurnian male can have an erection. One of the two Definas usually performs the service for us, although she too invariably wants to be fucked.
The reproductive biology of Thurnians and elves are an inconvenient limitation on each race. Thurnian women are only fertile for a few weeks each year during the Rutting Season. The pheromones that a woman in heat emits are essential for a Thurnian male to achieve an erection. This limitation undoubtedly reduces the level of violence and aggressive behaviour among males for most of the year, but it has other consequences which are less desirable. Not least of which has been the constant battle for both Thurnian and elven societies to maintain a viable population.
The race my forebears mistakenly labelled 'elves' has a different problem. Female elves are fertile for two or three weeks every month, but their male counterparts have tiny cocks, even when erect. The fertility of elven males is poor, and can be worsened by disease. A decade ago, the Atene males suffered an outbreak of just such a disease which has left them almost infertile. This has decimated the population of Atene in recent years, both from a low birth rate, and an exodus of fertile Elf Maidens to other elven settlements.
A solution to the reproduction problems of both races was accidentally discovered fifty years ago. Thurnian men are able to breed with adult female elves, the ones we call Elf Maidens. However, the resulting child is always a clone of her mother. Consequently, the population of elves within the boundaries of Thurn is entirely female. Only here, outside of Thurnian territory, have Cassandra and I encountered male elves. Atene's male elves have been reluctant to accept the presence of Thurnian men, and they are protective of what they regard as their dominion. Like Thurnian men, eleven males need the scent of a female in heat to achieve an erection. However, unlike Thurnian men, their hormone fuelled aggression is constantly present, and it isn't always under control.
Fortunately, Kahu has made it clear to all concerned that the Rangatira have welcomed Akenehi's mixed group of female elves and Thurnian men and women into the Atene community. Kahu's proclamation hasn't created harmony, but it has at least kept the peace for now. As far as we are aware, Elf Maidens who are bonded in a relationship with an elven male haven't presented themselves to Drew, Seamus or me for sex. Unfortunately, we don't know how to tell if an Elf Maiden is bonded to an elven male, so we are reliant on the honesty of the Maiden. I'm under no illusion that the quickest way to anger an elven male is for one of us to make his bonded mate pregnant.
"I've discovered more about elven bonding," says Cassandra to me as we lie together in our bed. "One of the Atene elves told Aputa that she is bonded to that elven male with the scar on his left cheek."
Akeheni has assigned her daughter Aputa to assist Cassandra as an interpreter. Although our knowledge of the elven language is improving, Cassandra and I can still only hold basic conversations with the Atene elves. As far as we know, only Kahu among the Atene elves can speak any Thurnian.
"Hmm. I know the male you mean. I keep clear of him when I can. I think he'd happily kill us all given half a chance. So what did you learn? Is bonding like our marriage?"
"Not exactly. Male elves are naturally aggressive, and they claim a mate by a combination of intimidation and brute force. If a male desires to bond with a female elf, he first claims the exclusive right to approach her. If no other male contests his claim, then he can approach the female for her consent to bond with him. If she agrees, then she effectively becomes his property."
"That doesn't sound like a very attractive proposition," I muse. "Why would a female even consider such an arrangement?"
"It's no different from Elf Maidens in Thurn agreeing to be part of a man's harem," replies Cassandra. "She gains the protection of the male, and she is no longer pestered by other males for sex. You must remember that male elves are aggressive. Not all sex here is entirely consensual. Seduction and sexual coercion are not uncommon among the Atene community."
"And yet there are plenty of Elf Maidens seeking sex with Drew, Seamus and me," I reply.
"There are twice as many adult females as males, and few males try to bond with more than one female. Some males don't bother bonding and rely on the general pool of unbonded females for sex. Only the strongest males try to build their personal harem. As I said, before they bond, males can be challenged for exclusive rights over a female. Such challenges are often fought to the death. Several of the elves you've been fucking are former bonded females whose male has been killed."
"So the victor of these challenges doesn't claim any bonded females of the loser?"
"Certainly not," replies Cassandra. "A female elf isn't a slave to be passed between owners. She must consent to a bonding, particularly as it gives the male total ownership of her body."
"I still think that sounds like slavery," I muse. "What if the male maltreats his bonded female?"
"Don't confuse the docility shown by a Thurnian elf for an inability to defend herself. However, you are right up to a point. There are no customs or laws that protect a bonded elf from abuse by his or her partner."
"I don't suppose you discovered how to identify a bonded elf?" I ask, still worried about the risk of inadvertently having sex with a bonded Elf Maiden.
"Look for an ear tag. Bonded females wear a small tag with their partner's symbol in the lobe of their left ear. I thought you would have noticed that before."
Perhaps I should have noticed that before, but my eyes rarely stray to that part of an Elf Maiden's anatomy. All elves are attractive by any standard, and the Elf Maidens who have been calling on me for sex are exceptionally beautiful. I draw Cassandra closer for a kiss before my mind wanders too far down the route of comparing the females in my life. We fall asleep in each other's arms.
While I'm spending most of each day fucking Elf Maidens, Cassandra is busy researching the ancient murals in the Halls of Ancestors. She's decided that the trick to understanding the meaning of the murals is to work backwards. Each mural consists of a circular main scene in the centre, with four smaller scenes in the corners. The twelve square murals are clearly in a sequence, although the time gap between each set of five scenes is ambiguous. Each scene is enclosed inside a narrow border of strange symbols. The artists have left their personal mark at the bottom right of each mural, indicating that up to six artists worked on each picture, and most artists worked on multiple scenes. The different combinations of artists' marks confirm that all twelve murals were painted around the same time.
"The main picture in the rightmost mural is the only one that shows both elves and Thurnians in the same scene," says Cassandra as she shows me the mural she has been studying. "This group here are clearly elves, and the group on this side appear to be Thurnians."
"But they aren't the only beings who are depicted," I reply, pointing to a third group of strange looking creatures.
"Hmmm. That's true. That group have longer ears than the elves, and they are much shorter. They also seem to have protruding foreheads."
"A third race, perhaps?" I muse. "We have always assumed that Thurnians and elves are the only two intelligent races on this continent, but what proof do we have that a third race doesn't exist?"
"Surely someone, be they Thurnian or elf, would have encountered one of these beings at some stage," replies Cassandra. "Thurn has written histories going back several centuries, and according to Akenehi, none of elven folklore mentions any encounter with another intelligent race."
"Hmm. That's not necessarily true. Were you never told stories about goblins and orcs when you were a child?"
"Fairy tales! Just because a Thurnian explorer took one look at Akenehi's ancestors and called her race 'elves', doesn't mean that fairy tale creatures exist."
"What if those fairy tales are based on a kernel of truth?" I persist. "Most stories have origins in real life events."
"You have a long way to go to convince me that these so-called orcs and goblins exist," laughs Cassandra.
"Perhaps they don't exist any longer, but they did when this scene was played out."
"We call those creatures the Hrill," says Kahu, who has joined us in the Halls of Ancestors and has overheard our conversation. "They live in caves and warrens far to the south of us. Nasty creatures who hunt in packs. Most wild animals keep clear of them. Fortunately their numbers aren't great and they have never ventured this far north. Like every two-legged species living here, they struggle to avoid extinction."
Cassandra and I look at each other in amazement. Certainly the murals depict scenes that support the idea that these lands are home to multiple races, all sharing some commonality in appearance. But beyond that, the meaning of the scenes in the murals is still unclear. The tower shown in two of the murals at least suggests that Atene is the stage for these scenes.
