Bondage and Other Tales

Nothing terrible happened.

In fact, just the opposite: we found ourselves in a meadow teeming with wildflowers in a brilliant rainbow of colour more diverse than I had ever seen. The sunlight was comfortably warm, with just a hint of a breeze carrying the sweet scent of the flowers and the soporific buzzing of bees and the songs of birds.

Near the gate was a sort of pavilion, an eight-sided wooden roof supported by narrow poles. Encircling it was a low ridge, no more than ankle-height, and within the ground sloped gently downward like a shallow bowl. A considerable collection of large square cushions in bright colours lay scattered around it, and several women of varied ages and colouring were lounging in what certainly looked like great comfort, sharing a platter of fruits and two bottles of something. One dark young woman in bright beaded clothing was playing a stringed instrument and singing.

One woman stood up and strolled towards us with unhurried, confident strides. I’d guess her to be in her mid-thirties, pleasantly curved and very healthy, her long black hair braided into many plaits pinned in elaborate loops; her simple white dress left her arms bare but fell to mid-calf, a gorgeous contrast to skin the deep red-brown of a fresh chestnut. Bright bead earrings dangled from her ears, her only jewellery except a narrow hammered-gold choker. Her eyes were a startling light amber, and her smile showed in them as well.

“Hello,” she greeted us. “Welcome to the Omphalos.” She patted Rav’s neck. “Will you join us for the evening meal and stay the night?”

“Um... thank you,” I said, too startled to hide it. “We aren’t intruding?”

“Of course not. If the Gate allows you through, then you are welcome here. I’m Astrenna.”

“I’m Keva. This is Sylvael.”

“And these lovely lads?”

Sylvael brightened. “That’s Rav, but actually Eravethion, and the other one is Jem, but really Hajemuriat.”

“Noble names to carry, with the legacy of the Great Kings of Nesak.”

Sylvael actually went speechless. I was pretty sure no one had ever immediately placed the source of the names like that—history professors generally had no interest in the names of our horses, and no one else was likely to recall the Kings.

“They deserve it,” I said. “They’re not great builders or leaders, but they’re brave and gentle and they work hard.”

“And they’re well-cared for in return. We have a pasture where they can join a few others, and your wagon will be safe anywhere you like. Come, I’ll show you.” Smiling, she beckoned, and began to walk in the approximate direction of a cluster of low buildings.

Syl and I traded looks, and both jumped out of the caravan. Honestly, the horses would follow Syl like a pair of loyal dogs, so we wouldn’t even need to lead them.

“You like ancient history too?” Sylvael asked.

“I like stories,” Astrenna said. “Many of us do. Not so much the details of what happened on what date and how many died in that battle or this, but the experiences of those involved. The passion of the Great Kings who chose to end a long war and build a literal bridge between their nations as a monument to a lasting peace, and the lifetime of devotion to that ideal that went into maintaining that against all the forces that prospered from the war and wanted it to resume. The courage and compassion of their wives, each the sister of the other, in travelling to the heart of a nation that had been an enemy for so long, and each standing between husband and brother as a living bridge. We prefer the... human experience, if you like, the individual rather than the aggregate.”

“We heard a story,” I said cautiously. “About a temple here to the goddess who created the world.”

Astrenna chuckled. “Don’t most faiths claim that the deity they follow was the true creator? Who’s to say which is right? Maybe they all are, and that’s as close as we can get to understanding it. There is no temple here, in the sense of a holy building where worshippers conduct rituals of any sort. This is simply a community in which we all do our best to live in the way we believe our goddess wishes us to live.”

“There are cats everywhere,” Sylvael said suddenly. “I keep seeing them in the grass.”

Leave it to Syl to notice that.

“Yes, there are,” Astrenna agreed. “There are other animals of various kinds around, we welcome them, but of course there are cats in a cat goddess’ sanctuary.”

“A cat goddess created the world?” Sylvael said. “Um, I don’t mean to be disrespectful or anything, I’m just curious.”

Apparently Enzaneth knew much less about the Omphalos than he thought. His notes had made no mention of felines.

“Curiosity is one of the traits Aumret encourages, which should perhaps not be a surprise for a cat. But why not a feline creator? Have you ever watched how devoted cats are as mothers?” She laughed. “Or perhaps she created the world as a toy for her to play with, or so there would be someone to admire her.” She gestured ahead and to one side. “There’s the pasture.”

Conversation largely paused while we parked the wagon and unharnessed the horses, then led them in Astrenna’s wake to the gate of a large enclosed hillside of lush green grass and clover with a few spreading trees; the lower end of the slope extended into a river, and the upper end had clear ground around large jutting rocks. Within the pasture were a number of assorted beasts, from a pair of small shaggy ponies to a single great draught horse and a riding horse, a donkey, a handful of goats with half a dozen kids between them, and a trio of brown milk cows, each with a calf at her side. We released Jem and Rav to join them. Sun, shade, food, water, space, company... they’d be happy.

The two cobs trotted out into the pasture, and Jem promptly dropped heavily to the ground to roll. He always did that, no matter how careful we were that nothing on his harness was irritating his back. Rav snorted and lowered his head to inspect the available fodder, then strolled over to introduce himself to one of the ponies.

“They look like they’ll be content enough,” I said, hanging the harness on its hooks on the outside of the caravan, under the overhanging roof, and tucking oiled canvas over it to make sure it stayed dry if it rained.

“I’m sure they will be. Three of our community members adore horses of all kinds. Once they realize that your beauties are here to make friends with, they’ll arrive to do so. Shall I show you to a place you can consider your own for as long as you’re here?”

“As long as we’re here?” I repeated, as we fell into step behind Astrenna again.

“We like having friendly visitors. You’re welcome to simply spend the night and go on in the morning, or you can stay as long as you wish. The core tenet of our community is pleasure in moderation. We believe that Aumret experiences what her children experience, and we do our best to offer her positive sensations and emotions. We do so in moderation because the experience of being unwell from lack of self-care or from excess is not pleasant, and because it is unpleasant for others to be around someone who does not take care of themself.”

“So because health and cleanliness are pleasant, they’re goals,” I said. “What kind of positive sensations and emotions?” If curiosity was considered a good thing, I might as well make use of it to try find out what we were up against.

“What are things that people enjoy? Friendship, music, stories, animal friends, good food, sex, books, clothing, dancing under the moon, lying in the sun, watching the stars, cuddling... if it feels good and does no harm, we encourage our community to do it and to immerse themselves entirely in the moment. And we learn, the longer we are here, that it is safe to tell each other what we want to experience or what we need to feel happy, and to help each other achieve that. Honesty can be difficult, with oneself and with others, but we value it highly.” She shrugged. “Thus we all try to contribute to necessary chores, so we can all spend as much time as possible on inventing and experiencing something enjoyable for the goddess.”

“That sounds so much nicer than most of the religions we’ve run into,” Sylvael said. “Everyone just trying to be happy and healthy, and make everyone else happy and healthy.”

“Essentially, yes. And many of us find entertaining friendly guests to be highly enjoyable.” She sounded amused, but I didn’t pick up anything threatening in it. “So you can consider yourselves welcome for a night, a month, a year... whatever suits you. You may be invited to join in on a wide variety of activities, anything I mentioned and more, but you can decline without offence. Any such invitation simply opens a door. Stepping through it is your own choice. We would prefer that you not take offence at invitations, however, since they are never meant in that spirit.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” I said. “Syl and I are married. And generally manage to keep each other pretty satisfied. But we’re not very likely to get upset about invitations.”

I made a mental note to keep an eye on Sylvael. I wasn’t so possessive that I’d be upset if I found her having sex with someone else, but I didn’t want anyone taking advantage of her. I wasn’t sure she’d even be interested in sex in her current form: all she’d wanted last night was a lot of cuddling. I certainly didn’t want someone who didn’t know the whole story to lure her, even with all good intentions, into something that would be too much for Syl to process. Besides, this all sounded charmingly sweet and innocent, but far too much that looks good is rotten beneath.

Astrenna simply nodded. “Love is always something we honour and celebrate.”

“Those buildings are from all different eras and cultures,” Sylvael said. I was sure she’d heard everything, but social behaviour was just less interesting than architecture.

“We’ve had people join us from many times and places,” Astrenna said, switching subjects without missing a beat. “With many different passions and skills. Our hot springs keep the climate moderate, so we don’t need to plan for deep winter.”

The pale limestone building she showed us to was long. The upper floor was set back and had a balcony running the full length, with many doors onto it; there were corresponding doors along the lower floor. There were a lot of glazed windows, too.

Astrenna opened one of the lower doors, one with at least four symbols painted on it; two of them I recognized as numbers in different scripts, one of them “16” for certain and the other might have been the same. She beckoned us in. “This one is currently unoccupied. Please, consider it your own.”

The far wall was at least twenty feet away, and had more windows and another door; everything within, from the polished wooden floor scattered with rugs to the hangings on the stone walls to the furniture, had clearly been chosen to be comfortable to the body and enjoyable to the eye.

Each door had a small opening in the bottom centre, with overlapped thick fabric covering it on both the inside face and the outside. The would probably keep drafts out quite effectively, but the cats Sylvael had noticed would have access to everything.

That seemed consistent with being in the sacred sanctuary of a cat goddess.

Sylvael ventured up the flight of stairs against one interior wall, and came back eyes wide. “That’s the biggest bed I’ve ever seen.”

“Lots of room for company,” Astrenna chuckled. “There are basic facilities for hygiene here,” she gestured to a door under the stairs, “but there’s a proper bathhouse out the other door and a short distance. The pink granite building. One of them, at least. One is the bathhouse, the other is the kitchen and dining hall. You’re welcome to explore if you like. Very little, other than private apartments, is off-limits, except where safety is an issue—the medicine cupboards in the infirmary, for example. The rooms in the white-and-black marble building do lock, so those using the rooms can be certain they are not interrupted. Some community members enjoy complex sensual pleasures, in which an interruption could pose a physical or emotional risk.”

“Sometimes it’s good to know you won’t have any interruptions,” I said. “It makes it easier to get into the moment.”

“You understand, then. That’s good. The bells ring before meals. There is generally someone in the kitchen who can help with a snack at other times.” Astrenna smiled. “Our community is welcoming, although some are of course more outgoing than others. You really have no need of a guide here. Make use of the facilities, socialize, explore, bring anything you wish from your wagon here... anything that gives you pleasure. I’ll see you at the evening meal.” She inclined her head in a gentle sort of bow, and walked away, leaving us alone in the gorgeous apartment.