The Cloister

Maraxza –The Cloister

Maraxza, an exotic alien planet in a distant, unknown part of the universe. The inhabitants are passionate, sensual and hedonistic, driven by the need for love, sex or power. These pursuits are the instigation of many stories.

This is one of them...

Mezdalyn takes a moment to watch the second sunrise of the magenta sky above her, a pleasing sight for the yellow eyes of the young cloister-servant as she pauses from her duties in the temple gardens. Wearing only sandals, a small idol of Ra'Tuu she wears around her neck and a thin stringed loincloth which only covers her sacred seal, Mezdalyn rejoices at the warm rays of the two suns on her azure skin.

Mezdalyn possesses long firm legs and arms with fully-rounded breasts, a narrow waist and firmly shaped buttocks, credited to diet and daily exercise she partakes with the Priestesses.

"Thank you, Ra'Tuu." Mezdalyn whispers, softly stroking her long black hair with both hands.

Mezdalyn remembers growing up her womb-mother would tell her how their land-god Ra'Tuu would protect her people, the Cetomians, from predators like scourges-bugs, dirt-seekers and Skruzzan raiders as well as destructive forces of nature such as plasma winds, ice storms and lava geysers, how Ra'tuu created lush fertile lands from once barren and desolate wasteland so her people can grow husk-wheat and fruits to feed from.

When entering her eighteenth cycle, Mezdalyn joined the Cloister of the Priestesses of the Temple of the land-god Ra'Tuu for the honor to serve with the Priestesses who gave of themselves to Ra'Tuu and maybe one day be chosen to serve their land-god herself. Now in her fourth cycle as a cloister-servant, Mezdalyn has been content with her duties.

"Mezdalyn." A voice from behind Mezdalyn calls out. Turning around to the direction of the voice, she sees a Cetomian with long emerald green-haired in a white robe walking to her.

"Yes, Priestess Ktari." Mezdalyn replies.

The two blue-skinned women give each other a brief greeting kiss, a common custom among the Cetomians.

"High-Priestess Sura wants to see you at the south courtyard." Ktari informs.

"Thank you, Ktari." Says Mezdalyn.

Mezdalyn gives Ktari a parting kiss and begins to make her way to the temple. Passing the small red-leaf trees, following the path lined with pinkstar flowers to the white stone-craved idol of Ra'Tuu, centered in a beautifully landscaped courtyard on the mountainside overlooking the crimson waters of the South Ocean.

In a short distance down the mountainside from Mezdalyn is a small grouping of cloister-servants sits facing a small wooden platform. Centered on the platform is a

craft-pole

, a smooth stone-craved pole use to train the sacred Crafts of Embracing to first cycle cloister-servants.

High-Priestess Sura stands near the cloister-servants as they take turns practicing the

body-spiral

technique on the craft-pole. As a high-priestess, Sura wears a vermilion hooded robe with gold trim, as well as an idol of Ra'Tuu around her neck.

"That will be all for the day, my daughters." Says the high-priestess. "May Ru'Tuu praise you all."

"As we praise Ru'Tuu." The cloister-servants all say at once with precision then walks pass Mezdalyn as she approaches Sura. Customary to Mezdalyn, she crosses her open palms on her chest and bows her head down to Sura.

"You have summoned me, High-Priestess?" inquires Mezdalyn.

"Yes, Mezdalyn." Answers Sura. "You may look up."

Mezdalyn takes her sight up from the sponge-moss covered grounds to Sura as she pulls down her hood, revealing her long, shimmering violet hair. It becomes more visual pleasing for Mezdalyn as Sura opens her sacred (but often stifling) robe to feel the cooling air on her magnificent body.

Mezdalyn watches in awe of the fifty-seven cycles-old high-priestess uncovering her firm shoulders to further expose her sultry skin as she breathes deeply. Even though Cetomian women can stay as physically alluring in their seventieth or eightieth cycle, Mezdalyn ponders if she will ever be as beautiful at Sura's age or of the other high-priestesses.

"Come walk with me." Sura holds out her hand to Mezdalyn with a smile.

Taking Sura's hand, Mezdalyn is led down a beaten path down towards the crimson ocean. The path leads to a wooden dock over the crimson ocean. Sura completely removes her robe, letting it fall on the deck floor. Mezdalyn takes a moment to admire Sura's naked physique as she removes her sandals, walks to the edge to the dock and gracefully dives into the waiting waters below her.

Waiting for Sura to rise to the surface, Mezdalyn begins to wonder the purpose of this meeting, rather it justifies her absence in her duties at the temple gardens. Surely, no one has taken grievance with her, to the best of her knowledge the priestesses have always been pleased with Mezdalyn's work and her studies in the Crafts and has always got along with the other cloister-servants.

Mezdalyn surmises perhaps the high-priestess is just in need of companionship. Mezdalyn has always received high praise by the priestesses she would spend the night in their chambers demonstrating the Crafts of Embracing with them. But ponders why Sura specifically asked for her when she could have selected any of the other cloister-servants with her at the time.

Finally, Sura ascends to the surface, flinging her long wet hair aside. As Sura begins to treed water, she looks up to Mezdalyn still standing of the dock, uncertain on what to do.

"Well." Says Sura. "Are you just going to let me swim here alone?"

"Please excuse my rudeness, High-Priestess." Mezdalyn apologizes. "But I have to tend to my duties."

"And why must you tend to your sacred duties." Sura questions.

"For the gratitude we give to Ra'Tuu." Mezdalyn answers, somewhat confused of Sura's question.

"Gratitude for what?" Sura asks.

Mezdalyn is unsure of the questions brought to her by her high-priestess for a few seconds, but retains her focus to the answers taught to her.

"Gratitude for the land we live on, for the food we are given, for the peace and love we can enjoy..."

"Yes, yes." Sura interrupts. "We taught you of gratitude, Mezdalyn, and you've learnt it well. But what have you learned about appreciation?"

Mezdalyn is hesitant to answer. She wonders if her devotion to Ra'Tuu and the priestesses are being questioned. But she then realizes such an inquisition would most likely take place behind the closed doors of the Temple's meeting chamber rather than out in the open on the dock.

"Do you appreciate the warmth of the two suns above you? Do you appreciate the smell of a pinkstar? Do you appreciate the taste of a ripe sandpeach? Do you appreciate the warmth of a Cetomian sister as you both embrace each other?" Sura inquires.

"Of course, I do." Answers Mezdalyn. "Why do you ask me these questions?"

"To know if you understand appreciation." Answers Sura. "Because if you can't understand appreciation, how can you express gratitude?"

Sura's words give some clarity to Mezdalyn's confusion. She always thought by putting her needs aside and devoting herself to serving the Priestesses, she was honoring their land-god. To her realization, Mezdalyn had not understood the extent of Ra'Tuu's benevolence. Surely, Ra'Tuu would not take any offence if she indulges herself with a pleasant swim in the company of a Cetomian sister.

Finding joy in her enlightenment, Mezdalyn slips her sandals off her feet as she pulls her loincloth down her beautifully-shaped legs. Wearing only her sigil necklace, Mezdalyn walks to the edge of the dock. She looks to Sura, still trending water. Sura smiles as she enjoys the sight of the uncovered and smooth skin of the cloister-servant's sacred seal.

Mezdalyn springs her legs to propel her off the dock and dives into the waters below her. Submerged in water, Mezdalyn swims deeper to explore the new realm under the South Ocean. To her delight, she sees a lone swifter-trout, perhaps lost and searching for its school.

Looking around, Mezdalyn sees Sura swimming to her, hopefully wishing to join her in her voyage of this new underwater world as she swims further down.

The surrounding waters slowly get darker as the two azure-skinned swimmers continue to descend to the cerulean sand covered ocean floor. They spot a school of algae-feeders searching for kelp-webs to eat. Mezdalyn and Sura watches in amusement as algae-feeders scurry to a discovered and uneaten kelp-web but the victory is tragically brief as the two naked sea-explorers witness in horror the algae-feeders got swiftly consumed by a charging

blood-waker

.

The situation immediately goes from pleasant to terrifying for Mezdalyn as she watches the obsidian black-skinned blood-waker hurtles pass her and Sura with its long razor-fins. She hopes this dangerous and vicious monster of the South Ocean hasn't noticed them or has satisfied its colossal hunger from its last meal. That hope is dashed for the terrified Mezdalyn as she sees the ruby red eyes of the blood-waker preying directly to her and Sura.

Opening its mouth the blood-waker reveals its three-layered grinder-teeth, preparing to feast on the two Cetomians females. Suddenly a long purple tentacle bursts upward from the sandy ocean floor and quickly wraps around the blood-waker's jaw. Three more tentacles spurt from the ocean floor and restrain the blood-waker. Unable to pull free, the blood-waker lets out a roar in primal rage which startles Mezdalyn, causing her to lose focus on holding her breath.

Sura quickly grabs hold of Mezdalyn's arm and begins to swim upward while Mezdalyn watches the blood-waker thrashing to break free of the tightening hold of the tentacles pulling it down. As the once-terrifying underwater monster is forced down to the ocean floor, it lets out another roar louder than before.

With enough momentum to ascend to the surface, Sura pulls Mezdalyn close to her. Mezdalyn takes hold of Sura's hips to pull herself close to her high-priestess, pressing her breasts against hers. Facing Sura, Mezdalyn's sight is drawn to the tranquility radiating in the yellow eyes of her high-priestess, slowly calming her down. Without a single thought from either woman, their lips meet in a full-mouth kiss. Serenity begins to overtake Mezdalyn until they both finally reach the surface.

The two naked worshippers separate from their hold of each other as they rapidly exhale and inhale. Fully breathing, Sura swims to Mezdalyn, still trying to catch her breath.

"Relax your body." Sura commands as she takes Mezdalyn by her underarms. "Just breathe."

Swimming backwards towards the shore, Sura pulls Mezdalyn, letting her body float as she regains her breathing. Sura continues to tow Mezdalyn until they near the shore. The two nude swimmers crawl to the wet sandy shore and lays down near each other.

"Are you okay?" Sura inquires, leaning on her arm to face Mezdalyn.

"I think so." Mezdalyn answers between gasps, looking to Sura. "I can't believe what just happened." The gasping soon lessens for Mezdalyn, allowing her to continue. "Ever since I was a youngling, I always heard about how there were so few who would actually encounter a blood-waker and survive to tell about it. I remember how afraid I was to go swimming with my mothers because one of those monsters would come and eat me."

"Surely you were aware that would never happen under Ra'Tuu's protection?" Sura queries, placing a assuring hand on Mezdalyn's shoulder.

"Not until I got older and outgrow that silly childhood fear." Mezdalyn answers. "But when I looked into its eyes, I felt like that scared youngling again."

"But then what happened?" Sura reminds as she moves her hand from Mezdalyn's shoulder to between her breasts where she feels her heart beating hard.

"Ra'Tuu saved us." Answers Mezdalyn, taking hold of her sigil, still around her neck. "Because of our land-god, I've seen a blood-waker...and lived."

Sura smiles as she positions herself over Mezdalyn on her hands and knees and lowers her head close to Mezdalyn's lips.

"We have just begun to live." Sura whispers.

Mezdalyn closes her eyes and feels the full lips of her high-priestess pressing against hers. Soon their mouths go wider and their tongues meet and caress each other, thus beginning their

embracing

.

Sura lowers her body on Mezdalyn as she parts her legs. Mezdalyn's reaching hands soon lands on Sura's smooth back and slowly slides down to the toned muscles of her ass. The kissing continues for several passionate minutes until Sura's lips begin kissing Mezdalyn's neck, soon lowering down to the beautifully-shaped breasts.

Mezdalyn gasps with pleasure as she feels Sura's darting tongue on her erected nipple. Enjoying the physical sensations brought to her by her high-priestess, Mezdalyn moves her head back and listens to the splashing sounds of the ocean.

Sura goes further down Mezdalyn's body, leaving a trail of kisses from her breasts, continuing down to her stomach and finally stopping between her thighs where Sura's loving tongue gently caress the bud of Mezdalyn's flower.

As a high-priestess, Sura is expert in the

flower-kiss

, a skill from the Crafts of Embracing where to orally gratify a woman. This technique is used by the priestesses to examine potential followers to determine if their sacred seal within their flower is still intact as well as test their pleasure responses.

The pleasure responses for Mezdalyn intensifies along with her moans as Sura's diddling tongue explores further into the folds of her bliss-source, making Mezdalyn oblivious to the time passing around them. To further accommodate Sura, Mezdalyn lifts her legs to give her high-priestess better access to her seal.

That pleasure-giving continues a few minutes when Sura breaks her oral task to pull Mezdalyn to sit up to give current lover another open-mouth kiss. Without wasting a second, Sura's able fingers take the place of her mouth and resumes pleasuring Mezdalyn's flower. Needing to express her gratitude to her high-priestess, Mezdalyn's hand briefly searches for Sura's flower and plunges two fingers into her love-canal. Mezdalyn does not have to be as gentle when pleasing Sura for being a high-priestess, Sura's sacred seal has long been properly breached.

The kissing and finger-play is quickly replaced as the two lovers engage the

dance of the pearls

, another skill from the Crafts of Embracing, where Sura takes hold of the leg of the reclining Mezdalyn as she connects her eager flower to Mezdalyn's and fervently grinds against each other.

Mezdalyn gazes into Sura's eyes, feeling their emotional bond solidifying as the mounting desires of her body courses over her like the waves of the ocean. Finally, Mezdalyn is overtaken by a surge of sense-shattering pleasure and relishes as much as she can.

As Mezdalyn regains her wakefulness, Sura lowers herself over Mezdalyn to lay on top of her and kisses her deeply. Mezdalyn tastes her own nectar from the mouth of her high-priestess as her arms wraps around Sura's back and pulls her close. With their legs parted, Sura slowly grinds her flower against Mezdalyn's, causing another rising of coupling delight.

Time passes for the two loving Cetomians in their simple but satisfactory position as their joining bliss-sources takes them close to another sense-surge. Sura arches her back to further the nearing pleasure for both of them. Mezdalyn's hands slides from Sura's back to her ample heaving breasts and caresses the fully-formed flesh-globes. The eyes of Mezdalyn and Sura meet again as they are both simultaneously taken by the rapture of ecstasy within their bodies.

For a second in the bliss of the surge, Mezdalyn gazes further into the eyes of Sura and sees the joy deep within her the same joy Mezdalyn feels within herself and knows they are bonded and from that bond comes love because in that compressed time for Mezdalyn there no past or future only the present where the woman she is embracing is her lover not her high-priestess nor a fellow worshipper of their land-god for no one exists outside her new universe other than herself and Sura her now and only for now life-mate but soon Mezdalyn realizes that the second is nearly over and as much as it hurts her and how much she wishes to stay in this suspended moment with life-mate Sura Mezdalyn knows she is powerless to stop the mighty river that is time and must accept the next moment and the moment after that as she resumes her life hoping for another moment like the one she will leave.

Before their shared bliss could subside, they are consumed by a massive wave of water from the ocean, helplessly flinging them further down the shore but the wave soon dissipates leaving Mezdalyn and Sura washed up on the wet sands of the shore.

On her back with sand in her hair and on her body, Mezdalyn is relived from the sudden but brief shock. She looks around to find Sura near her laying on her front. Sura pushes herself up and moves her sand-littered hair from her face in order to see. Mezdalyn and Sura look at each other blankly for a few seconds then suddenly they both begin to laugh. Mezdalyn sits up as Sura stands up and walks to her, both still laughing.

The laughing stops as Mezdalyn notices something yellowish-white in the wet sand near her. Picking it up and wiping the sand from it, the object is revealed to be a near-triangularly-shaped tooth. Steadying it closer, Mezdalyn deduces the tooth could be from the blood-waker she encountered with Sura.

"It would seem Ra'Tuu has left you a gift." Says Sura.

******

With one sun long set, an evening sun still shines in the magenta sky as Mezdalyn and Sura walk through a field of long orange whisper-grass on their way back to the temple. Mezdalyn is dressed back in her sandals and loincloth with her newly-acquired tooth in her hand while Sura is in her sandals as well but only carries her robe over her arm to enjoy more of the open air on her drying skin.

"Why would Ra'Tuu give me this tooth?" Mezdalyn inquires.

"Perhaps as a reminder." Sura says.

"As what?" Mezdalyn further inquires. "Not to swim too far?"

"Perhaps." Sura smiles as she takes hold of the cloister-servant's hand. "But I would prefer it as a reminder of our time together."

"High-Priestess, why did you send for me?" Mezdalyn asks.

"From all the excitement we had, I completely forgot." Sura explains. "As you know, Priestess Nurcoa is with child and has decided to have her child with her family at her home village and will raise her there."

"Yes. I do." Mezdalyn replies. "I will truly miss her."

"As I'm sure she will miss you." Sura says. "She has recommended that you should take her place with us as a priestess and we have all agreed."

Taken by this pleasant surprise, Mezdalyn stops walking, still holding Sura's hand.

"A priestess?" Blurts Mezdalyn. "High-Priestess, am I ready for such an honor?"

"Do you doubt the wisdom of the Cloister, Mezdalyn?" Sura asks as she turns to face the young cloister-servant. "Do you feel they are wrong to choose you to serve Ra'Tuu with us?"

"No. Of course not." Mezdalyn replies. "I've always hoped to be worthy, but I feel I still have much to learn."

"And you will learn." says Sura. "Being a priestess is a life-long journey of hardships and sacrifices. There will be many challenges waiting for you and not only are you to face them but overcome as well. And when you wonder why you must continue to endure, all you have to is simply look around you."

Mezdalyn does not need to literally look around to know the good she can bring as a priestess. Without the protection of Ra'Tuu, her homeland would never have existed neither would her people or her for that matter. She would never grow up with the love of her mothers, play with the other younglings, experienced her first embracing. Mezdalyn realizes she can keep the peace that her people have enjoyed for so many cycles. She can ensure the younglings now can grow up happy and innocent, protected from the evils outside of the Plenty Fields.