Originally Posted by
Guilty_Spark
War of Lust Part Two
Prologue
I haven?t thought of a name for the world I have created yet. But for now we can call it the Continent. This is a late medieval setting with no advanced technology. Dominating the center of this land are the wide plains of grass and beasts. Small city-states dot this land, but no one city has conquered others to form an empire. Living away from the cities are nomads who travel following the herds of horses and bison in temporary villages. To the west of these grasslands is a dense jungle that extends from the edge of the plains to the coast. Only a few cities exist on the border between the tropical forest and sea, as the jungle is filled with savage beasts and tribes of feral orcs that sometimes raid beyond their borders. To the south stretches a broad desert of sand dunes and blistering sun. But civilization has thrived here in the hidden pockets of greenery and water that dot this hot land. It?s people are dark skinned and proud of their heritage, and are know as fierce warriors. To the north of the plains a wall of forested mountains rise above the plains. A great tectonic plate causes the mountains to rise out of the plain like a wall of shields, with only a few passes that can be traversed in the summer. From these peaks great rivers cascade down in waterfalls of melted snow to spread across the plains like great fingers. In this wild land savage men, orcs, and large beasts roam the wilds. Hunting each other and occasionally raiding south in the summer when the snows melt. To the east are rolling hills and valleys with rivers running through them towards the eastern sea. These men are civilized but are more cruel and often wage war on their rivals, which include the people of the plains. The temples in this world do not have worldly domain, but instead seek to mold the minds and will of the people towards their goddess. So instead of ruling a vast state, followers of Mysha would advise or be invited to mediate between rulers or rival parties seeking to promote unity. Mysha has great sway over the central plains, jungle cities of the west, and the warriors of the south. But the east and north is under the sway of the followers of Lilith. They drive the people their to increase their lust for pleasure, power, and conflict. Often both temples send disciples to try and convert towns and cities of their rivals, causing a never ending war between the rival worshipers to be hidden from public view. Both sides are committed to the utter destruction of the other, and no mercy is shown to any rival disciples that is captured and defeated. With each city and person who worships their Goddess sending them power, both sides hope to eventually grant enough might to their chosen deity to have one overthrow and devour their eternal rival and all her followers.
Chapter 1
Kev had been born in a village of the northern plains, where the mountains rose up as a natural bulwark to clearly separate the boundaries of the civilized lands of the plain, and the wild reaches of the northern mountains and evergreen forests. Growing up the son of a horse breeders, he often roamed the plains with the herds of his village. Participating in the chase of wild herds of horses and taming of bucking stallions of which the plains were famous for. His village had little desire to permanently settle, and they were not hindered by the surrounding cities who wished to trade for their wonderful horses. As such, Kev was never really brought up particularly religiously and had never meet a follower of Mysha. His spurt of growth during his teens and strong even features started to attract the attention of most of the girls of the village. Of fair skin darkened by a lifetime of sun while traveling the great central plains, his brown hair and hazel eyes had always sparkled with the wanderlust for new horizons. This eventually led him to leave family and home to strike out to make his own destiny, much to the dismay of several of the young women he left behind.
After a few years of traveling and minor adventures he found himself at the very center of the plains at the grand city of Sunspire. At the heart of the city a great tower rose above the plains as if reaching for the sun. Beneath the shadow of this magnificent monument to the people of the plains, was the largest temple to the Goddess Mysha on the continent. When Kev eyes first glimpsed the golden coronet of the tower above the horizon, he felt a strange compulsion that grew stronger the closer to the city he approached. Now able to see the shining white marble of the city walls and buildings, topped with tiles and shingles in a riot of colors that dazzled the eye after the endless sea of green grass he had spent his whole life navigating. Entering the great gates his feet lead him without thought down winding cobble streets filled with a collection of people from the entire continent who sole purpose seemed to be to have him buy something from them. Before even thinking of finding an inn to stable his horse and find a place to turn in for the night, he found himself shrouded in the long shadow of the tower. He was drawn deeper and deeper into the maze of streets, leaving the courtyard markets and passing between the larger buildings of the soldiers and government towards the center of the city. When he saw the great domed temple at the base of the tower the compulsion became overwhelming. He approached the great open doors where a stream of petitioners were waiting patiently and chatting together, he strode past them to a group of priests in robes who talked at the top of the wide stairs. One of the priests seemed to straighten as if he heard a voice calling his name, and turned towards Kev who strode up the stairs towards him. Stopping in front of the priest Kev found his voice speaking his sudden compulsion, ?I have been called to serve our Goddess, will you show me the way?? Kev suddenly knew with every fiber of his being that this was his ultimate purpose, it was only the golden light of the tower that had illuminated his desire for the first time. The priest responded, ?As I was called and shown the way, I shall now show you.? Thus began the years of training that Kev would receive at the temple in Sunspire.
Several other initiates were training along with Kev. Bella was a fellow initiate who had been born in the deserts of the south her dark skin, hair, and eyes proclaiming her proud heritage of fierce warriors for all to see. Kev and Bella trained with all manner of fellow students and teachers, male and female, priests and priestess, or visiting warrior paladins. All were trained in the art of meditation and mediation. One of the important roles of a follower of Mysha was to promote unity and love between not only married couples or lovers, but indeed entire villages or cities. The hard earned skills of a sword and shield were acquired though nicks and scars on hands, or bruises that faded over time. All disciples of Mysha had to be trained to survive any situation, as the calling to serve and spread her worship often lead to the most dangerous of places. And most importantly the acolytes trained to learn the erotic arts and magic of their deity. These skills would be constantly tested and expanded upon, and the long years of study was by no means tedious to the willing acolytes. While both Bella and Kev trained with multiple partners, they found an attraction to each other that was complemented by their similar personalities. Both were bold and decisive, often during their?training? sessions they would often lose themselves in the struggle to dominate the other. These playful bouts continued until the end of their time at the temple and initiation as a full fledged priest and priestess of Mysha. It was then that Bella learned that her people needed her in the southern deserts, while Kev was being sent to the western coast and the natural harbor of Zakar deep in the western jungle. After spending an entire day and night in unrestrained passion, they promised to stay in touch in the future and fondly parted ways.
It was at the great port of the city-state of Zakar at the jungles edge where he had met a fellow priestess of Mysha assigned to the temple called Kara. Who?s small freckled build with blond pixie hair, vibrant energy, and laughing blue eyes had swept up his heart and soul like the strong summer winds that blew across the central plains. Her free spirit and constant teasing flustered and excited even the temple trained Kev. Beneath this sweet veneer Kara also had a deep sexual drive. When he was with her Kev often imagined himself as a man astride a small raft during a hurricane at sea, just trying to keep his head above the waves. And while she may have been his physical opposite, he found a wholeness of spirit with her by his side. While Kev continued to stay in touch with Bella and inform her of his growing feelings towards Kara, he eventually married Kara with the full blessing of Bella who had never really wanted to settle down. The head priests of Mysha welcomed unions between their followers, as they knew it brought both closer to their Goddess and sent her more power. For several years Kev and Kara lived in the jungles of the west, and Kev found his wanderlust a thing of the past while in her arms.
But eventually the bliss came to an end. While protecting a village from a feral orc raid out of the jungle, Kara was struck down by an arrow to the throat. Her death crushed Kev, and for several months he remained in mourning in Zakar. When Bella found out she wrote to him constantly trying to raise his spirits. Without Kara to anchor his wanderlust, Kev asked for an assignment to the savage north lands near his birthplace. During the summer he trekked across the open mountain pass and into the wilderness, to forge a new community of followers to the worship of Mysha.
I think I am going to stop there. That should be enough world building for one writing session. The next part will pick up a few years later after Kev has successfully brought some civilization to the northern passes. But this incursion and progress has not gone unnoticed. The next part will set the stage of the Kev?s battle with a follower of Lilith. This was a much more detailed introduction to the protagonist than the previous battle, but I had no idea this many ideas were in my head until now. It is fun to try and piece together the sources of my inspiration, as it seems to be a huge patchwork quilt of different novels or stories I have read during my life. Who knew?
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