The Offering to the Gods

Twenty thousand years ago.

A smell of sulfur mixes with the perfumes of the forest. In the distance, above the treetops, from a tall, dark mountain thick, gray smoke comes out, mixing with the black clouds of an approaching rain. Blue lightning lights up the sky every now and then.

In this forest, there is a clearing and, in the middle, a well, at the bottom of which is a crystal-clear, tourmaline-colored lake. Small waterfalls fall into the well from above.

Inside the well, the sunlight illuminates a polished stone altar on a small beach. Next to it are two figures with ritual paintings for the offerings.

One of these figures is a young woman dressed in a small feather skirt, with her breasts showing, painted ochre. On her head is a headdress with colored feathers and some geometric designs tattooed on her cheeks.

The other figure is a man wearing a headdress with black and red feathers that go down to the middle of his back. His chest is painted red and his arms are tattooed with the faces of a jaguar and a falcon. In his right hand, he holds a dark-colored stone dagger.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Thunder rumbles in the background. The sound of bird wings flying is heard.

"We offered five virgins and Asqar wasn't satisfied."

"I'm not a virgin, you know I'm not."

"Asqar doesn't want a virgin."

"No! Why me? There are others like me, why?"

"He chose you, he revealed it to me in a dream two moons ago."

"It's never been like that before. It was always the virgins who fulfilled Asqar's wishes. The rituals never change, this god are only satisfied with the blood of virgins."

"Not this time. He wants you, but not as a sacrifice."

"No! How then?"

The priest takes two steps and stops in front of the young woman. He is taller than her. The two stare at each other.

"Asqar asked for your pleasure."

The young woman opens her mouth and doesn't seem to believe what she's hearing.

"He doesn't want blood to calm himself down, he wants the pleasure of a woman? And why didn't he choose Vikaia, she's the priestess, I'm nobody."

"It was the dream I had, Tamur. That's what he told me in my dream. Or would you rather die?"

"Of course not! Better that than losing your heart. But you're sure it was him. Asqar? It couldn't have been Iskar, doesn't that sound like the call of a volcano?"

She bit her lip, and display a cynical smile on her face.

"You don't know anything about the gods. If I said it was Asqar, it's because I know who spoke to me. Don't you dare doubt it!"

"I'm not doubting it, Ketrus. I just thought it was strange. Iskar ordered the same thing at the spring party. And I did, didn't I?"

"And we had the best harvest of the last few springs, didn't we?"

"But it was for Iskar! You know I give myself to Iskar. You know I dedicate myself to him. My body pulses for him."

"I know. I saw it."

"More than you saw Ketrus. You possessed me."

"But it was in Iskar's name. You know that the greatest sacrifice is always mine. I am the slave of the gods."

"Slave! I saw you."

"Saw what?"

"Yesterday. You naked on the rock of the Sun. Your ceremonial rod pointing up and you teasing yourself until you spew the sacred seed."

"Are you watching me, Tamur? You have no right to spy on a priest of Earth. That is an offense punishable by death."

"I wasn't watching you, Ketrus. It was a coincidence, I went to fetch water from Quetana's moat. It's not my fault that you were stimulating yourself. I thought sacred seed could only be poured in the temple and inside a woman."

She laughs, sensually, with her hand on her waist and one of her knees slightly bent. Ketrus has an angry expression on his face, his eyes glittering, his mouth in a forced laugh.

"This is a serious moment. It was necessary to appease Asqar's anger. Asqar didn't break in half, spewing his anger into lava, because I stopped him. If it hadn't been for my sacrifice yesterday, our world would have turned to ashes."

"A priest cannot pour out his seed like other men, wetting the ground. It is only in a woman's womb that you can deposit the sacred seed. Like you did with me in the spring."

"You don't know the spirit world, girl. Don't question me, the gods speak through my mouth. Not yours."

"But they weren't there yesterday. I didn't hear any of the sacred words you use in your rituals. Your seed mixed with the stone, wetting even your hand. And you spoke my name while stimulating yourself. Something that only ordinary men do when they're interested in one of us".

"How do you know?"

"We all know, Ketrus! We all know how they get when they're interested in a woman, but not a priest like you. Never outside a ritual, it's the law. "

A deafening noise is heard. The waters of the pond stir. Tamur feels the warm earth beneath her feet. The vibration rises from the ground through her legs.

"And now, Ketrus, what will it be? Will Asqar calm down? Iskar won't be happy to hear that one of his devotees has given herself to another god. Do the gods make deals like we do?"

The young woman is transfigured. With a sensual gait, Tamur leans against the altar, undoes the knot of her feather skirt and undresses in front of the priest. A vagina, a tiny slit, medium-sized breasts with hard nipples on display.

The priest stares in awe at the dark clouds that pass quickly over the top of the well.

"There's no more time, the gods are furious. Asqar won't be satisfied with your offer."

"But Iskar will be. Iskar will be pleased to know that you have possessed me again. I feel inside me, my body is on fire, Ketrus."

"Forget Iskar, woman. Our problem is much bigger, they are going to kill us. Asqar has gotten out of control.”

"I can't forget Iskar. I warned you, when he takes me over I can't control myself. I need you, Ketrus, even more after yesterday."

"You crazy woman, don't you understand that we're going to die. There won't be anyone left?"

"You're a man of little faith, Ketrus. Iskar is bigger than Asqar, he's bigger than everyone. Except the one who nobody knows, but who knows everything."

"How do you know about the nameless one? Who told you the secret?"

"The gods don't just talk to the priests. I know, I feel."

"That's a lie, girl! It's evil speaking through you."

Three bolts of lightning streak the sky beneath the well. Thunder rumbles in succession. A gale invades the well, stirring up the water and the leaves of the sambai trees.

Tamur lies down on the stone, spreads her legs and shows her naked vulva to the priest of the Earth. Her mysteries exposed to the desires of the gods.

"Come, Ketrus. Fill me with your seed. It's our destiny, can't you read the signs? Iskar knows what he's doing."

The sands of the beach warm up again. Waves rise in the lagoon. The priest grasps the young woman's thighs, opens them and slides the ceremonial rod into her moist vagina.

"Aaaahh! Yes Ketrus, like this. Open me up, fuck me hungry. Isn't that what Iskar ordered you yesterday?Aaahh!"

"The sky is going to catch fire. The world will end. Aaaahh! You're as hot as Asqar. Your womb will melt me Tamur!"

A deafening explosion that never ends. The earth shakes in terror, the crystalline waters turn dark. And a storm of stones and ashes invades the well.