Fred's Trials: Prelude
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 13066
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Fred was taken to a room within the main temple complex. A woman was
waiting there for him, but to
his surprise he found four men there as well. The men were obviously under
the authority of the woman,
but they were dressed as servants, not as slaves. Fred had assumed that
all the men of Aqualaria toiled as
workers, were used as manual labor. He soon came to discover that this was
not exactly how things
worked and that Aqualarian society was more complex than being just a case
of female slave masters and
male slaves.
"Prepare him," the woman commanded and the four men obeyed. Fred was cleaned and given freshly washed clothing. It was explained that he needed to be made presentable before he would be allowed to face the Trials. The Atha'den feared that the Elementals would be offended if Fred was offered to them without being purified in the proper manner. But since Fred was a man, the maidens of the Temple could not be expected to attend to him and so these four men of the Hecive had been brought in to serve him instead. Satisfied that the Hecive servant men were attending to Fred correctly, the woman left them alone. The four men were filled with an excitement that Fred most definitely did not share. He knew that the Trials were certainly designed to kill him, and yet these men seemed so pleased about what was going to happen. Didn't they have any sympathy for him, for a fellow man? Or was he just as much an enemy to the men of Aqualaria as he was to the women? But from what Fred had witnessed so far, being a man in Aqualaria was tantamount to being a crime, and so as far as Fred was concerned these men were collaborators and beneath his contempt. But then one of the men whispered to him, "We are so proud of you." And another added, "No man ever has been allowed to stand where you will." There was a fierce pride in their voices and a touch of wonder. But why? The she-warriors and their Elementals were setting him up to die. What honor was there in that? Unless... was the Trial more than just a death sentence? Fred asked the men to explain to him what exactly was going on. The servant men only now began to realize that Fred had no idea or appreciation for the incredible commotion he was causing. The fact that he, a man, had been chosen for the Trials was unprecedented. But in order for Fred to understand the situation, he needed to know how Aqualarian society worked. And so, as the servant men prepared him, they spoke of their country and of the women who ruled it. ... The Aqualarians were made up of four castes, two for women and two for men. The females were divided between the Atha'den and the Hira'dos, the males into the Hecives and the Sevines. The Hecives were domesticated males; most of them had been born in Aqualaria and were content, even proud, of their place within the matriarchal society. They were raised to be obedient and few, if any, ever broke from that obedience. The Sevines were the slaves, men captured from the outlying regions to labor in the mines and other works of the Aqualarians. The Sevines were also used as breeding stock. They were much more robust then the Hecives. The Hecives though were perfectly suited for the general needs of the Hira'dos and had far greater freedom within Aqualaria then Fred had thought possible. The Hira'dos made up the majority of the women of Aqualaria. They were the artisans and the traders and the civil servants. The Atha'den were the warriors and the priests; they were the overlords. And they were also immortal. Their immortality was a gift from the Elementals, but in order to keep it the Atha'den had to keep themselves apart from men, Hecive and Sevine alike. As such, the ranks of the Atha'den only increased when members of the Hira'dos chose to face the Trials. If they survived they then became members of the Atha'den and gained immortality. But less then one out of a hundred who made the attempt ever overcame all four Trials. The Trials were the ultimate test for the women of Aqualaria and most paid the ultimate price for facing them. But the prize was greater then life itself, for not only was it life eternal but it was a divine right in which the gods themselves embraced and honored those that survived. And so it came as no surprise that the women of Aqualaria resented the decision to allow Fred to stand before the Elementals. To face the gods of Aqualaria presumed that one was worthy, and how could a man ever be worthy to stand where only women were allowed.
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WolfRun
9/12/2000 12:59:43 PM
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