As she stood alone before the gates of the Temple, surveying that which she was about to enter, Talla brushed loose strands of dirty hair out of her eyes and took a deep breath to steady her quivering nerves. The walls of the Temple were light brown and stretched hundreds of metres to each side of her. Atop them, some ten metres over her head, were statues. Many were of nude men and women: intricately detailed portraits of those who had been famous throughout the history of the Temple and the surrounding town of Gern. Others were sculptures of shapes and devices for which she had no names. Funny angled things, strangely shaped things. She wanted to know what those things were. The answers were waiting for her in the Temple.
She eyed the three steps leading up to the open gate, wide enough for six or seven women to walk abreast, beside which two women stood at attention, one on each side of the gate. They wore leather armour that, as far as Talla knew, was ceremonial. There weren't any wars, were there? She decided that there would be more than two guards if there were.
Her own clothing was ragged and a faded brown colour. Well-worn sandals clung precariously to her feet. Not at all like the Temple women in their well cut, tailored dresses of varying colours. She would see them wandering through the town, watching with envy as they darted by. Most only came into town at night and she had only caught the merest glimpses of their long, muscular legs, their heavy breasts, the flash of beautiful features and long hair. None had ever stopped to talk to a fawning little girl like her. And now she was supposed to enter the Temple and reside there with them.
She took another deep breath and eyed the guards who were studiously ignoring her. Through small gaps in the armour they wore, Talla could see hints of orange clothing. What were they wearing underneath? More of the same tailored clothing?
Realizing that she was simply delaying the inevitable, something that the child she no longer was would do, she walked up the three steps and stood before them. The two women immediately lowered and crossed their spears to block Talla's path. The one on her left said sharply, "What is it you wish?"
"I have come of age," said Talla, speaking the words as she had been taught, "and I wish entrance to the Temple."
It was a law and an avoidable fact of life. Upon her eighteenth birthday she was required to join the Temple and begin her service to the Goddess and the town, whatever that might entail. No one could enter earlier or, for that matter, later.
"Speak your name."
"I am Talla," she replied continuing the ceremony, "daughter of Kain out of Mih'lan."
"Enter Talla, and welcome."
The two guard women raised their wooden spears and Talla, taking a deep breath, walked through the gate. Beyond the gateway, she glanced upwards as she passed through the spread legs of a statue of the founding Goddess of the Temple. It was a fabulous, thirty-metre tall bronze statue, the breasts and aureola rendered in stunning detail. Her hair even seemed to flow though she knew it was metal. The spread of the legs allowed those passing under her to see a hint of the goddess's genitals through the articulately sculpted pubic hair. So pretty, Talla thought, compared to my bald ...
Talla finished her deep breath and continued through the gate. There was a sharp tingle that went through her spine. She was departing the world of her childhood, of low buildings and thatched roofs, of men and their toils, of poor clothing, of ... of all sorts of things. She was entering a world of brightness, of architecture, of women. The Temple meant tall buildings. It meant an end to her relationships with younger girls in her dormitory. She would have sisters now; age mates.
The gate opened on to a small, uncovered courtyard where a few men and women milled around. They were speaking to one another in serious tones. Work tones, Talla recognized. The men were there to find out what construction needed to be done or what crops needed to be sewn and reaped. The women were telling them what was needed. She looked carefully. No woman wore more than a single colour. Some wore skirts of varying lengths. Some appeared to be wearing nothing but underwear. On their upper bodies some wore what amounted to a pair of triangular cloths strung over their breasts while others wore shirts. But none wore more than a single colour.
"Talla?" a woman's voice called to her.
Talla twisted around to search out for whomever called her. She had summoned up her courage to enter the gate and now found herself lost, unsure how to proceed. She found the woman who had called her. A pretty woman with long blonde hair and largish breasts. She wore orange clothing. It was the skimpiest combination Talla had seen: she wore triangular cloths over her breasts, but only a small, snug pair of underwear over her lower body.
"I'm Sara," the woman said, "and my job is handling new girls entering the Temple."
"Oh, good."
"Now come with me and we'll get you cleaned up."
Well, Talla thought, I'm in.
She followed Sara out of the courtyard and through a maze of sandy brown walls, tapestries and conversing people. She noticed that the further they went, the more women there were and the less men until, very quickly, it became the case that there were only women. She felt like she stuck out in her drab brown rags.
"Where are we going?" she asked Sara.
"To the baths," Sara answered.
Shortly she found herself inside a building with a giant rectangular pool inside it. In the corners were smaller pools, big enough to hold five or six women each. Women, who were all naked as far as Talla could tell, were either swimming or simply floating on their backs. A light steam rose off the water to the high ceiling. There were spaces in it through which sunlight streamed and strategically placed frosted panes of glass let sunlight pass in through the walls. Glass was rare on the outside of the Temple and most windows were simply squarish holes in the wall with wooden doors on them. All along the walls of this great room were torch mounts. It was meant to be used all day and night.
"Here we are," Sara said and clapped her hands, "Ada, Meena! Duties!"
From the main pool, two skinny young swimmers climbed out. Talla noticed with a glance that their breasts were small, although one had a chest marginally larger than Talla's flat one. Neither had any pubic hair to speak of. That made Talla feel better. Her clothing made her feel pathetic as it was. She didn't need well developed naked women to rub it in.
Each picked up a pile of white clothing from the wooden racks at the edge of the pool, presumably having shed that clothing to go swimming. With a quick fastening, they both donned knee length white skirts and white tops that were much like Sara's in shape. Smiling, they came to meet Sara and Talla.
"Don't bother with your clothes," Sara told them, "This is Talla and she needs to be bathed." Sara pointed to a small pool in the nearest corner of the giant room.
Without hesitation, both Ada and Meena undid their clothing and let it drop to the floor. "Hi, I'm Ada," one of them said to Talla. The other girl, the one with the barely developed breasts, introduced herself as Meena. Talla thought they might be a year older than her, but she couldn't be sure.
"You'll want to get rid of that stuff," Ada said, gesturing to Talla's clothing. At first she had been worried about being naked with all of these people around. But she suddenly felt that her brown rags made her stand out more than nudity would. With a sigh, she loosened the ties on her shirt and lifted it over her head to reveal her flat chest and a pair of nipples that were almost the same colour as the rest of her breasts. She stepped out of her sandals and then undid the clasp on her skirt, letting it fall to the ground. Between her legs grew not a single strand of hair. She looked out at the pool where some women floated on their backs and she could see the soft, thick hair that grew between their legs.
She touched herself, feeling only the sweat on her bare mound. Well, no matter, Ada and Meena looked the same as she.
Ada and Meena led her to the small bathing area. Meena carried her clothing. Beside the pool was a small pipe coming out of the wall. "Stand here," Ada said, pointing to a spot under the outlet of the pipe. She pulled a lever on the wall and hot water began to sprinkle over Talla's naked body. Her eyes widened in shock. They didn't have this on the outside. What luxury!
Meanwhile, Ada and Meena lathered up their hands with soap. Meena kicked the lever to stop the water flow and they began washing Talla.
"I remember my first real shower," Ada said, "It was just two weeks ago. I can't imagine living without it now."
