Life and Times of a Priestess: Ch.6: The Priestess Meets Another General (Part 2: Ravelleon -Section 3)

Section 3

 

    “What I do, I do in the cause of Prancir and the world, for justice and progress.  I seek not to harm you or your family.  When did you come to Dalos?”

 

     “I came here a year ago”.

 

   “Why did you come here?” he asked.

 

    “I came because I was tired of my life in Shanla, I wanted to see the rest of the world,” she said.  “And did you find what you wanted,” he asked.

 

     “I liked Dalos.  It was a great city until you attacked it and burned so much of it down and enslaved its people.  But it was only to be the beginning of my travels.  I had seen many places on my way here from Shanla but there is much more”.

 

    “What made you tire of Shanla, to make you wish to travel?” he asked.  She began to be surprised at the depth of his questions.  A short while ago he had seemed bigoted and stuck in his views.  Now he seemed eager to find out more about her.  He seemed to understand that a woman likes to talk of her own life and her plans for the future.  She would not have expected so much patience or interest from a Prancirian Soldier, although Paul in his own lodgings had also shown such interest.

 

    “I was limited by my life as a Priestess, the repetition of the same ceremonies, the same people, the same repeated petty conversations.  I needed to change my life.  I knew I could travel and that in so doing I would find out about the world”.

 

     “You see your life in Shanla was not good for you, you needed culture perhaps or a husband?” he posed critical questions.  She saw that he was going to use her own dissatisfactions with her Pirionite life as justifications for the Vanmarian conquests.  She could see how his mind was working.  Even so she felt no reason to hide the truth.  The truth could only make him understand better what Pirion was.  If he knew what it really was he might not want to suppress it any more.  The hope was naïve, she knew, but truthful answers could do no harm.

 

    “Yes I wanted more culture.  I liked reading.  I wanted to read more and find out about other places like Prancir and Vanmandria, and understand their histories and the way their people lived.  I was tired of living with people, even though I loved them, who had no knowledge or interest in these things.  Many people in Shanla were not even interested.  They had not even heard of the war.”

 

      “So you travelled north to Dalos, and you found the people different here?” he asked, seemingly very interested.

 

    “The people in Dalos are not really different.  Some of them are of different race and appearance than in Shanla but culturally they are the same.  All of Pirion shares a culture and a way of life.  The big difference here was that the people here knew that not far away were the occupied territories.  They had all heard of the fall of Jumillos and they were afraid it could happen to them. Naturally they were made interested in Vanmar and foreigners and were asking questions about their enemies and debating why the war had come about.  That certainly made them more interesting to me.  They valued what they had more than the people in Shanla who did not even know that their pleasant lives were threatened.  In Dalos they knew what they were fighting for.  At first the war was a long way away and then suddenly you came with your army and we had to fight.

 

     “When did you become a Priestess?” Ravelleon asked.

 

    “I was sixteen years old, almost seventeen.  My mother considered I was ready, and I wanted to”.

 

     “You did not consider other alternatives?  In Vanmar a young girl like you continues to live with her parents until she finds a suitable husband.  Only when married does she leave the protection of her parents although she may find work away from home.  You could surely have become a house servant or a nurse in hospital perhaps, rather than become a Priestess”, he said.

 

      She detected his distaste for the work of a priestess, and although she knew there was no similar livelihood in Vanmar she could not understand why he considered it a lowly status.  “In Pirion a Priestess has a high status,” she said.  “Many of us aspire to be Priestesses as children, although it is not for everyone.  Men become Priests also.  There are many Priests although not so many as Priestesses.  The other alternatives were not so attractive to me.  The work of servants is limited to the houses of important people but I do not consider that kind of work to be exciting.  Life would be dull.  As Priestesses we do many tasks which a servant would.  We do not only administer to sexual needs and perform ceremonies.  You suggested nursing in hospitals.  Well we administer to all the needs of the sick.  Besides worshipping with them, many of our tasks are concerned with nursing and caring for the sick.  There are specialist nurses and of course we have many doctors, many of whom are women.  But those tasks did not appeal to me at that time.  I do not wish to be such an expert on medical matters, but as a Priestess I could take part in some medical care.”

 

      “Don’t you see, you Priestesses are being used in Pirion as prostitutes” .  He waited as if this word were enough to describe her chosen status as being the worst life she could have chosen.  “You are used for the pleasure of the men of Pirion, dominated and controlled.  Don’t any of you want more out of life than that.”  Again they had come to a difference of views.  But they both knew it did not matter.  They would start again later on, on a different topic and begin by hearing each other and end by disagreeing. They came from opposite societies.  Danella knew she could not change Ravelleon easily.  Ravelleon believed that he had the higher viewpoint and that he could change Danella’s opinion.  But he was not so blinkered that he believed he could change her in one night.

 

     “As Priestesses we give ourselves for the pleasure of men, but also for our own benefit.  We call it worship.  It is loving, invigorating and uplifting”.

 

     “It is unnatural and sordid.  You are denying yourself the chance to have a family, to find a husband who will love and care for you” he said.

 

    “We can leave the Priesthood if we wish Ravelleon.  There is no force involved, although I will admit that there were times when I did not wish to live the full life of a Priestess, or would have liked to reduce the tasks a Priestess performs.  No society is perfect.  I am sure you will admit that your own society is far from perfect.  Why do you fight wars?  Why do the Prancirians and the Vanmandrians sometimes fight each other?  Why are you here in a foreign land imprisoning and killing, far from your precious wives and families?” she asked.

 

     “I do admit that we are not perfect.  We have many problems,” he said .

 

    “You accuse Pirion of forcing its Priestesses to a life of worship, but you Prancirians have put us to doing something of the same, communing, as we call it.  Making love, as you call it, with your own soldiers.  You say you would change Pirion and end the Priesthood but you have continued it in a different form here in Dalos.  I do not ask for you to stop what we do.  We do what we are familiar with and if we are to be prisoners we are content for the present time to continue this.  But you say we are dominated and controlled.  You dominate and control us here far more than we were controlled under Pirion.  Your own government in this city keeps us as Priestesses, and are we free?” she asked.

 

     “This is only temporary”, said Ravelleon.  “When we soldiers have passed through and the war is finished normality will return.  The people, your people and mine will return to normal tasks”.

 

     “So you will save us from being Priestesses by conquering and killing.  But for a while we must continue for the sole pleasure of your soldiers as a reward for the killing.  But when the war stops we will be forced to do something else, not this, and you will have saved us”.  She allowed her sarcasm to surface.  It felt good to be able to criticise the Prancirians to their face without fear for herself.  She sensed that Ravelleon understood her criticism and felt it personally.  She wasn’t sure that he felt any sorrow for the dead or the prisoners, but he did disapprove of allowing the Priestesses to continue their work.

 

     “I admit” he said, “That we fight to rid Pirion of its Priesthood, and in a sense we allow it to continue under occupation.  We are not a perfect society and this is a war.  I consider it a price of war which will end after the war.  Already we dissuade our soldiers from abusing you by charging them”.

 

      He had entered onto another issue which Danella had meant to comment on.  “General you are benefiting from our work.  You are charging your own soldiers and making money for yourselves.  I wonder how much of it goes into your own hands. It must amount to a lot of money.  You are getting rich on this continuation of the Priesthood.  You are benefiting in more ways than the men of Pirion”.

 

     The General seemed uncomfortable at this revelation of her knowledge.  It was as if he had not expected a Priestess of Pirion to understand so much.  His face seemed suddenly ill at ease, and he countered her a little quickly.  “I do not accept money for personal gain.  We must charge the troops so they recognise  they have no right to maltreat you, and to remind them that their families and wives need the money they earn and that wasting it on the pleasures of moments is not sensible.  A price on the act of pleasure allows them to recognise this”.

 

     The meal was finished.  She had talked enough about her own past and about Pirion. She had questioned him about Dumis, about his home town, and about his wife.  They had stayed at the table for some time while they drank more wine and talked about  smaller matters. She felt a rising tension. Time was advancing.  There was a clock on the wall and it was getting late.  They had been talking for a long time now and she began to feel drained.  What more was there to say.  He knew much about her now, and she had learned something less about him.  She wanted to progress to the bedroom and complete this night’s liaison.  Then she would be able to sleep.  She began to think that perhaps he intended her to stay the whole night.  It would soon be past her normal ‘working hours’, the expression which the guards used at the dormitory.  She had not been told anything about staying all night and had originally assumed not, but now she was not so sure.  It would become clear soon.  She looked forward either way to an end to conversation and a warmer more natural companionship.  She looked forward to his flesh.  He had a powerful beautiful face, and his frame was well proportioned if a little short.  A handsome face suggested well toned muscles and smooth skin.  She looked forward to their taking time with each other which was not usual in the crowded dormitory.