Life and Times of a Priestess: Ch.6: The Priestess Meets Another General (Part 2: Ravelleon -Section 2)

Section 2

    “When will the war be finished?  I do not think you will be able to conquer the rest of Pirion.” Sitting here with one of the conquerors, and at his mercy her words sounded weak and unconvincing. As a prisoner of the Prancirians she was not sure she was convinced by them herself.  If she could not convince herself how could she expect to convince the General who knew his own power and knew far better than she what his army was capable of.

     “Don’t mislead yourself Danella,” he said gently. “The nations of Vanmar will destroy Pirion once and for all.  Your old way of life has gone for good.  It cannot return.  Instead I suggest you look to the future.  You will experience a new world.  Pirion will grow richer and more cultured under our rule, particularly those areas under the rule of Prancir.  You will learn to appreciate many things which you were not even aware of in the Empire of the Goddess.”

      She felt embittered by his dismissal of old Pirion.  Could he really believe the Empire of the Goddess had nothing of value to teach the young nations of the north.  “What do you have to teach us.  All I see are the acts of war and the economics of greed,” she said.  He looked surprised at her use of such long Prancirian words, as if he would not have expected a citizen of Pirion to know about such things as economics, and less so a woman.  But it pleased her at least, that she could be having a dialogue with a General at the heart of power.  She would like to think it meant that he could value the conversation of important matters even with a captured woman of a defeated Empire.  She knew the Vanmarians were a male dominated society, having never known the Goddess.  Important matters were often kept from women, unless they had position.  Men made the rules and women obeyed.  She had learned these things from the books of General Polad, and she found the echoes of them in “The Homecoming” to confirm them.

    She should feel privileged that the General was willing to conduct such a conversation with her, even if he refused to accept any weaknesses in his own beliefs and opinions.  However, she knew he was really doing this because she was an attractive woman.  She could not understand why he did not ask her to take her clothes off by now.  He answered her questions as if she were a child to be listened to patiently, and then instructed, but he showed little sign of taking her views seriously.  His Prancirian upbringing surely gave him the sexual reserve which denied him the expression of his foremost desires.  Instead he would play with her in other ways so he could ‘enjoy’ her company without breaking the rules he held himself to.

     It was not that she objected to talking this way.  This kind of conversation fascinated her. It was a welcome relief after years of petty conversations with other Priestesses.  She flourished in the climate of a thinking person’s conversation.  She had loved General Polad for his knowledge and his mind, his respect for her.  In the climate of war she had enjoyed far reaching conversations with other Priestesses and particularly with Sreela.  With Paul who had loaned her  ‘The Homecoming’, she had been able to talk widely with him for part of their evening.  Ravelleon was of the same kind, she thought, although more committed and extreme in his opinions.  She had the feeling that Ravelleon wanted her body but would not allow himself until after he had entertained and dined her in other ways, whereas with Paul the sex came sooner and was often the prelude for the sharing of ideas.

     Danella was about to begin to explain what she felt were some of the weaknesses of Prancirian society as she understood it so far, and to explain the strengths of Pirion, but Ravelleon began to change his tack.  “Perhaps I should not be boring you with my strong views,” he retracted.

     “You’re not boring me, General.  Your views are interesting, even if I do not agree with them all”.

     “In Prancir we men try not to overtax our ladies with dry and weighty matters. We attempt to entertain our ladies.  It is called chivalry”.

    “Where are you from?” he went on, carrying the conversation into new territory, finding out more about herself.  It seemed that in Prancir as well as in Pirion the adept man knew that women liked to talk about themselves.

    “Shanla”, she replied.  When he looked as if he did not know of it she said, “It is a long way south in Pirion.  I thought you would have hard of it if you intend to conquer all Pirion.”

     He smiled, “I admit, madam.  I have not heard of it”.

     “I hope you will decide not to go there.  If you have not heard of it there is some hope for it.” She wondered whether she was becoming too critical again, but he seemed happy for her to disagree and to counter him.  He had some humour and seemed to enjoy her opposition.

    “I promise you,” he promised, “when we do go to Shanla I will ensure that no great harm comes to its people.  You have parents there?” He smiled as he spoke as if he accepted he would not be in Shanla soon.

    “Yes, I have not seen them since I left.  My mother and my father are teachers.  I have sent and received letters from them while here in Dalos, but of course nothing since the conquest”.

    “You must miss them very much,” he said showing an attitude of concern which seemed genuine, but nonetheless was hypocritical given that he was the reason for the enforced separation.

    “It is kind of you to be sorry for me but you are the person who has separated me from them.  You have done this to me.”  Again she felt able to criticise him.  She knew it was unwise to risk angering him, but her instincts told her that she personally had no reason to fear this man.  Indeed she could probably say what she wanted to him.  She knew enough of men to be confident of them.  Very few men did not have respect for her.  She knew she was an attractive woman.  In Pirion it had given her power and confidence since puberty because experience had proved the power of her body.  Now in conquered Dalos that power continued to work over the soldiers who visited.  If anything she was more confident of her sexual power here because the Prancirian solders came to the Priestesses starved of sex and unsatiated, whereas the males of Pirion had as much as they could wish for.  When a man was interested in a woman and knew that a woman was available to him there was little a woman could do to anger him.  Men in the frenzy of battle were different.  In that situation they were afraid for their own lives and in anger for their fallen comrades.  She had feared the Pranciarians in combat and in the immediate aftermath of conquest.  Now things had settled down in Dalos there was little to fear from them in the dormitory and in their own lodgings.  The officers and it seemed particularly a General like Ravelleon did not wish to be angry in their relaxation time.  They wanted one thing above all, the treasures that women could give.