by Shelby Stone
Chapter Six
Dusk began to fall. The three of them walked back to the river, this time to a ferryboat landing that she had not noticed before. Torches shoved into the riverbank lit the path to the waters’ edge. They were ferried over with a small party of adult Roughs that had converged at the riverbank the same time they had. Some stared at her, but she thought that was to be expected since she was different in appearance from them.
They seemed to have merry-making on their minds. Some women had flower garlands around their neck. Others wore braided headbands made of dried golden wheat shafts. She noticed a few of them carried drums and flutes.
A rising moon cast a wash of silvery light over them. Roughs from the northern side of the river arrived in wagons. These were circled around the perimeter of the campground, their horses tied to oak trees.
Keera enjoyed hearing the sounds of chirping night insects and the river's gurgles and slaps along the banks of the Roane. They had to pick their path through troughs dug in the land. Deep indentations, wide enough for a wagon, were cut around the grounds in concentric circles. Their walk consisted of hiking up then down the grooves, though it was not difficult.
Once they arrived, she saw that early arrivals were already seated on rugs and unrolled mats. Perhaps in the best spots, she thought. As with any outdoor amusement, people wanted the best unobstructed views. Behind them were crude permanent wooden bleachers and a third ring was made up of people sitting in wagons. The center stage, for lack of a better term, was a flattened area of clay earth. It was approximately two hundred feet in diameter. A platform had been set up, though Keera had no idea what for. A huge pile of firewood had been erected, in a pyramid shape.
Nodrahh separated from her and Seljuk to go to a group of wagons. It appeared he wanted to meet some of the early arrivals. Since Keera had no idea what a fertility festival would be for the Roughs, she anticipated an unusual evening amongst them.
It took about forty minutes for everyone to finally arrive and be settled. Keera and Seljuk were seated in the innermost area on rugs other Roughs provided for them.
At first, everyone had an air of gaiety about them, but it seemed to change to a more somber mood. Chattering among the crowd died down when an elder, silver-headed Rough approached the platform. By this time, the teenage Rough boys and girls had torched the pyramid of wood and a great blaze began. The flames leapt high and yellow, illuminating the wonder on the faces of the seated Roughs.
The silver-haired shaman stepped up on the platform. Unlike the others, he was robed in a white gown and held a cane of white wood. He had a leather bag tied to his waist. As the flames subsided a bit, he reached into the bag and took out a handful of what appeared to be dried green moss and threw it onto the fire. The moss flared up quickly and emitted a sweet smoke.
The shaman—if that was what he truly was—began to tell stories. They were from the days when Roughs were just people in society, neither good nor bad. They had originally begun in different countries and continents around the world. He continued to tell how FemGov had captured many of them, luring some from the childhoods of poverty and starvation. The FemGov leaders had promised them food, clothing, and education in exchange for studying their bodies. It sounded like a fine trade off until years later when they realized what they had subjected themselves to. They were no more than a breeding program, implemented to cull and extract and distill what had been their individual strengths and weaknesses. Each race of people had originally been unique. Aborigines, Eskimos, Swedes, Finns, Germans, Moroccans. There were many races around the world and FemGov intended to get chromosome extracts from each of them.
It was not until three generations had passed that the test subjects figured out what was happening. By then, it was too late. FemGov had taken over world politics and there was no going back. The Roughs had been condensed into what the female rulers wanted—a strong, sturdy race intended to be workers. There would be no leaders, entertainers, or athletes. They would be workers, plain and simple. The Rough race would be the oxen for the politicians. Then to further enhance the strength of the Roughs, women managed to extricate DNA from the Cro-Magnon man from museum bones and skeletons and used it in their test-tube breeding programs. The result was an exceptionally strong man, with heavy bones and coarse features. Their skin color, through the creative laboratory breeding process, came out tan. Their eyes were always dark brown.
The shaman finished his tale telling how the government had shoved the Roughs into the outskirts of society and forced them to do their bidding. They had no rights and were herded into communes and farms to live out their lives working for menial wages. Even their sexual wants were originally controlled in the Regional Breeding Warehouses.
Keera sat transfixed. Suddenly everything she learned in Sky City became an outright lie. The educators and her parents twisted everything and told her what they wanted her to know. Things Seljuk had told her earlier made more sense than anything she had heard in her short life. All the documents and photographs she viewed earlier were eye-opening. It had seemed so unbelievably cruel and harsh, but it was true.
As the shaman stepped off his platform, a young Rough carried it away. The shaman then sat on a throne that had been brought from the background. A seated woman began a slow beat on a drum. Its sound was mellow and smooth. Another joined in with a flute.
Then, different women from the circle began to wail. Eye-aye-ooh. Eye-aye-ooh. The simple chant was mesmerizing. At the third syllable, the woman hit the drum for emphasis. Keera saw that the Maypole from the playground had been moved to a new location by Nodrahh. That is why he left us earlier, to supervise its uprooting. The pastel ribbons had been removed.
A naked Rough woman came out of the darkness with a large burlap sack and nimbly scaled the Maypole, using footholds that were cut into the sides. She had thin ropes wrapped around her waist. Once at the top, she drew an object out of the sack and placed it atop the pole. Keera gawked in amazement. The woman had placed an obscenely large paper Mache glans penis on the pole. She dropped the sack to the ground and arranged the pole topper so it was straight and erect. Clinging monkey-like to the pole, she next unwound the ropes from her waist. She clipped them onto rings that were on each side of the penis and let them drop snakelike to the ground below. Then hugging the pole tightly, she began a vulgar hunching motion, as if she was having sex with the pole. The group below roared. Then she skittered down.
Three couples stood and moved into the ring. The males were young and the women more mature. They began a slow sensuous weaving dance. Laughing, they danced around the fire, inhaling the sweet intoxicating smoke. It seemed to numb them mentally.
Keera also felt its effects in her brain. Things began to be a bit fuzzier, colors seemed to meld. She liked the feeling and wished it to continue. She leaned back into Seljuk's arms and relished their warmth, even though the night air wasn't cold.
The Rough men danced closely behind their female partners, holding tightly onto their hips. Their eyes were closed, feeling the rhythm of the drum and the effects of the ale they had drunk before the ceremony began. As they continued dancing in their circle, their clothing dropped to the ground one by one. Sometimes they would pause to pull the ropes and make the penis dance and come to life. Each time they did this, the crowd yelled out its merriment at the spectacle.
Keera also felt the effects of the day's drinking. She wished to rut again. The thought suddenly entered her brain that she must get Seljuk off to himself so she could enjoy him. Suddenly the drummer paused and hit the drum one time.
THUD!
The wailing women and the flutist paused. Three naked women came out of the crowd and approached the pole. Their tan skin looked pale in the moonlight. The Shaman had them position themselves around the pole, their backs to the wood. Then he lashed their arms above their heads with leather cords so they could not move.
The six ring dancers paused to watch. Whether through rubbing their partners�
� asses during the dance or the sensual drum rhythms, each man sported a large root-like erection that mirrored the one Seljuk had earlier in the day. It easily showed that sex was on their minds.
What is next? Keera couldn't tear her eyes from the sight. Her own arousal was building. The women in the crowd clapped their hands sharply. A chant of Ku-Sha—Ku-Sha—Ku-Sha began and rippled through everyone present. Looking up, Keera noticed that the moon had continued its path through the warm spring sky. It was now almost directly overhead. The shaman, perhaps coordinating his entry to the moon's movement, reentered the dancing area to stand next to the pole. His hands were outstretched holding his white cane over his head.
Keera listened to Seljuk's breathing rate increase. She knew he was excited and wished to rut as she did. She moved against him again, feeling his cock stiffen through his clothes. He wrapped his long arms around her and placed his chin into the soft place where her head met her neck. She thought she never felt such a soft touch. Soon his warm breath was feathering her neck and curling up to her ears.
The young women tied to the pole had also been inhaling the smoke of the smoldering mosses. They appeared to be in a trance. The three young men approached the pole and turned their backs to the women so the crowd could appreciate their hard cocks. Sharp yells and yips came from the mouths of the Roughs when they saw the young men eager to breed. The drummer began her beat again. The Shaman circled the pole one last time.
On the third THUD and one last look at the moon's trajectory, he dropped his cane. The men took this as a cue to grab the women's legs and spread them for their lusty pleasures. Each woman gave a loud call, though not a frightened one, Keera noted. Each man took his cock in his hand and inserted it in each accompanying woman's cunt, slowly, and with great ceremony. The crowd cheered and the moonlight fell on the fertility ceremony.
Keera could bear it no more. She stood and removed her clothing. She wanted Seljuk inside her and she knew that he felt the same. He stood and she pulled off his shirt. Then she pulled down his pants and removed his boots. She wanted him naked, now in the moonlight. He stood before her, his cock stiff and proud. She fell to her knees to take him in her mouth. She had never learned this from any book; it just seemed the natural thing for a woman to do. All her FemGov training had been for the man to please the woman, not the other way around. But tonight she just wanted to please Seljuk.
Keera felt Seljuk gasp as she let her warm wet mouth encircle his cock. She took the head in first and then slowly slid her tongue around his length. Keera then pulled his cock out and the warm spring air hit his now moist member. She then mouthed him again, this time taking more of his length. She didn't know if Roughs engaged in oral sex, but she wanted to.
Keera kissed and pulled at his member, teasing him wickedly. She didn't know how much he could bear, but she continued, nevertheless. She had a feeling that the smoky herbs had loosened her inhibitions.
Suddenly, Seljuk pulled her mouth off his cock. He gave no explanation, just gently drew her upright. They stood now and watched the three couples at the poles complete their lusty coupling. As with most young couples, it was over rather quickly. The Shaman had circled around them when they finished and untied the women's hands. Then older women came from the crowd and put robes of cowhides around their shoulders and crowns of mistletoe around their heads. They were led off to the sidelines to relax on woven grass mats.
Others in the crowd had been sexually inflamed by the spectacle. Couples had paired off and were writhing on the ground with no care as to whether or not they were being watched. Some were naked on their blankets. Others squirmed and grunted in the dirt, oblivious to anything around them. Seljuk and Keera watched them for a minute. She noted that most of the men were on top of the women. Some of the heavier and older ones were entering their women from behind, but enjoying it just as much. Age meant nothing in this hot sweaty ceremony. From all appearances, everyone was free to enjoy themselves as they pleased. Yet she saw no one changing partners.
Watching the naked couples copulate excited Keera. It made her feel wild and wicked, emotions she had never experienced before. Or was it really wicked? It was ceremonial, although not traditionally formal. Everyone enjoyed it and no one was harmed by it. It was even a religious ceremony. Participation appeared voluntary. Very old and obviously pregnant women sat in the stands and just watched. Yet they appeared to enjoy the wild goings on by the looks on their faces. She thought of her life so far and shuddered with the concepts of what she would previously have thought “normal.” It was only normal because the adults who raised and schooled her taught her so. She had no idea that sexual freedom—or any sort of freedom—could be so exciting.
She turned to the horizon where Sky City lay. She was too far out in the countryside to see the burning glow now, if it was still aflame. She was not sad, nor was she happy with the early morning disaster. She simply felt a void that was being filled by being with the Roughs, in their company, watching their rituals.
Seljuk led Keera away to some extra rutting mats that were on the outskirts of the ceremony ground. They were wide enough to accommodate two adults and thick enough so that she would not feel the ground or rocks through them while in any position.
She lay on the mat first, positioning herself so he could fit comfortably between her legs. This was what they did this morning and what she would have done with Oman. It was the only position she was familiar with so far. Man on top of woman.
The moon glow surrounding them was perfect for illuminating their actions. Keera gazed up at Seljuk. He bent down to suck on her breasts, beginning at her ribs and working his way upwards to the tips of her nipples. The warm air had swollen them to large velvety pink petals. He lapped his tongue on the first one, and then covered it completely with his mouth. She felt his hand sweeping over her other exposed breast, covering it almost casually. She wanted him to be inside her.
Keera felt the softness of the woven grasses underneath her back. She wanted to squirm and thrust her pussy upon Seljuk, but somehow controlled herself. His black hair fell over his shoulders and dangled down on her stomach while he sucked her breasts. She held his head in her hands, massaging his scalp, kneading him. The size of his body required that she spread her legs very wide. She was already a bit sore from this morning's fucking, but it was not from the size of Seljuk's cock. No, it was from spreading her legs while upon his bed of furs. It was a good soreness, though. It made her feel womanly. She wanted their rut to last longer this time.
Keera thought it was strange how her life was beginning to change. Other than her highly anticipated Awakening Ceremony, she'd had no desire to greet each day. Each was the same as the one before it. Yet, all she knew was here and now, and a naked man was crouched above her.
Seljuk's cock was ready for her, its head barely touching the top of her thighs while he poised above her. His countenance was dark, hairy and naked in the moon glow. Luck had thrust Seljuk into her sterile, drab world. He grasped her ankles and slowly opened her legs.
Seljuk ran his hands up Keera's thighs. She could feel his hands between her downy golden softness touching all her feminine parts. Now he parted her sex lips with his large fingers. She squirmed, though not in fear or anger. He entered her slowly. She let her cunt grab at him, needing him. Just the feel of him easing in made her wild with desire. She thought she would surprise him with boldness, by quickly opening her legs wide. He slipped in quickly. Suddenly his balls were banged up against her ass, hot and close. He was on his hands now, crouched above her. The contrast of their skins pleased her, the tan skin on the pale peach. She glanced down at his hairy groin to see how his cock had disappeared inside her secret dark place. It was good. He began to slide in and out, and the eternal rhythm began. Once again, they were one being.
Suddenly, clouds scudded across the moon, throwing a blanket of darkness over them. Keera moved slightly underneath Seljuk's great weight. Though he was large, he was nimble and sure on top of
a woman. He realized he could be rough with her, but chose not to. He understood the great power that a woman's cunt had over a man's cock. No matter what his size, the man would want to stay inside the woman until the rut was done. The man would not endanger losing the sweetness he had tried to dip his cock into. Experienced women instinctively knew that they were at an advantage.
They shuddered and bucked, wild as animals under the dark skies.
The mat proved too small for their coupling. As Seljuk nestled his cock into her, she locked her legs around his waist. He was startled, but well pleased. He planned an easy entry, not a rough one. Yet it appeared that she wanted it rough and raw this time. He thought she was taking to this bedding better than the young Rough women he had mingled hairs with. He was barely able to thrust into her; she held such a tight lock on him. All he could manage was a finger's worth of cock. They both started to move and once he regained his composure, he pulled her hips back and forth.
He knew once he tasted of Keera, he would no longer want Rough women in his bed.
Seljuk watched as Keera thrashed her head from side to side in slow ecstasy. Seljuk's rhythm kept up until he felt sure she would climax soon. He gave a loud groan and shoved himself further up inside of her. His cock drained into her—four, five, six spurts. The muscles of his back and buttocks shuddered with released sexual tension.
Her legs remained tightly locked around him. As he felt her last spasm dwindle, she slowly let her legs slide down his sides and rub against his calves before her feet dropped weakly to the mat. His passion was spent and hers was also. Slowly his great size began to diminish. He stayed inside her as long as he could until his cock decreased a bit more and slid reluctantly out.
Both of them gasped with their exertion. Seljuk stroked Keera's mussed hair. He bent and kissed her mouth, her lips still hot with passion. She opened her eyes and stared into his with wonderment.
Seljuk rolled off her and lay momentarily weakened on the green mat. He watched as Keera rose up onto one elbow and scanned the scene around her. He saw most of the couples had completed their rutting and were lying still as he and Keera were. They were all drained and sated, totally peaceful. Only a few of the younger couples were still pounding at each other, trying to make the moment last, just a few more minutes more. He stared at them, watching the very same act he had just completed himself. One young man appeared to have an especially large cock, as Seljuk's. The young woman was drawing it in her with slow movements, as though savoring its length. He saw Keera watching them and smiling. Then she turned and snuggled under his arm in contentment.