• Sign up or login, and you'll have full access to opportunities of forum.

The Gods’ Edicts Part XII - A Heathen is Crucified

Go to CruxDreams.com
-Epilogue-

The day before Nihlufar’s crucifixion:

High Priestess Anjela strode into the throne room of King Niro. She saw the King sat on his throne, many steps above a middle-aged man with close cut black hair and a finely trimmed beard that had a few strands of white in it, his armor clean and his red cape lined with gold embroidery.

Commander Arjun Dorvar, Master of The City Guard, turned and nodded respectfully at her. She nodded back with a kind smile; she liked Commander Dorvar. He was one of the few men in the city who could look her in the eyes and not be drawn to her voluptuous chest, very alluringly on display in her tight, white dress that was customary for the Sisters of Suffering.

High Priestess Anjela got near to him and then bowed before King Niro, getting to her knees and leaning forward so that her head was parallel to the ground, her stunning cleavage on full display for the King to ogle. She knew that by law, given her station, she only was required to get on one knee and bring her head down before the King. But she knew that King Niro enjoyed her extra supplication, and she readily gave it to appease the supreme ruler of the Sacred Realm.

She often remembered watching her predecessor’s crucifixions. The previous ruler of the Realm, King Titus, had publicly crucified all three of his daughters after learning that they were plotting treason against him. That had been the first crucifixion Anjela had ever witnessed, and she remembered the three princesses writhing nude on their crosses. Not long after that, it was found that their treason had been a ruse, concocted by the High Priestess Vera, who was summarily tortured and crucified before the entire city.

Anjela had been in training to take the Oaths of the Sisters of Suffering, but after Vera’s betrayal, the Sisters were disbanded as a sanctioned order. Anjela had studied as a cleric’s aid for the smaller temples in the city.

But after King Niro’s ascent to the throne, in the wake of the revelation of Queen Lucie of Avondalae’s assassination of King Titus, the Sisters of Suffering had been reformed and put under the leadership of High Priestess Kagney.

Anjela had revered High Priestess Kagney, who was young but pious, smart and ambitious. A personification of purity and the supremacy of their Sacred Realm and their holy Gods.

But then something shocking happened to her…
 
Anjela remembered thanking the Gods that they had given their Realm a worthy successor in King Niro. For his ascent to the throne was marked not only by his honorable and just crucifixion of the false Queen and her sister, but also by his reinstating of the Sisters of Suffering.

Anjela had been one of the first to swear the oaths under the new High Priestess Kagney, but not long after that, a mass crucifixion was orchestrated by her for the King in honor of the Festival of Bountiful Harvest. Numerous slaves were selected to suffer the cross in a game to honor the Gods.

As Anjela had watched and reveled with the city, things took an unexpected turn. King Niro had Kagney and two other senior Priestess strip nude on stage and pleasure him. Then he had all three of them crucified alongside the sacrificial slaves. Anjela had been shocked! She was selected to become the new High Priestess, and King Niro had said that the Gods moved him to crucify the three Priestesses to honor them.

Anjela knew that the King was ordained by the Gods, so despite her shock at it and her admiration of Kagney, she had never questioned it, even if she did not enjoy the memory of seeing her mentor struggling naked and splattered in cum on a cross for days until she perished.

But as of late, King Niro had begun to make her wonder what the Gods were doing by having him as Their ruler of the Sacred Realm.

As she stood from her unnecessarily long bow, feeling the King’s eyes staring at her breasts as she rose, she saw that he had a slave girl by his side with a tray of food and a large flagon of wine.

It’s not yet midday and he is already in his cups she thought as she smiled at the King. He grows more sluggish and unpredictable by the month.

“Thank you for coming, High Priestess.” He said just a little too loudly, confirming her assessment of how much wine he had had.

“An honor to be before you, as always my King.” She nodded at Commander Dorvar. “I heard that there was an incident yesterday?”

“Indeed.” Commander Dorvar said solemnly. The King motioned for him to proceed with the report. “Yesterday a report was filed with a squad of my men that someone had committed Heresy and spoken Blasphemy. The culprit was a woman studying at the Scholar’s Institute. They arrested her and she is in custody in the dungeons.”

“Well done.” The King said as he took a generous swig from his wine glass. “Why is this important enough to come to me?”

The Commander grimaced and answered. “Well, shortly after she was arrested, a man approached some of my soldiers patrolling the streets. He demanded that they free the girl and release her into his custody immediately. That she was the daughter of a Sultan of Ashar and under protection as she traveled abroad. The man was aggressive in his demands to my soldiers and they drew swords. He was killed, although he slew five of my men before being slain.”

Anjela’s mind took in every detail of the Commander’s report, working to serve her King with a solution to this complicated diplomatic nightmare. Ashar was not an ally of the Realm, per se, but it was an important trading partner with many nations that they bordered. Not a nation that it would benefit them to aggrieve.

But as her mind churned over diplomatic solutions, the King grunted and shrugged. “So she is traveling all the way from Ashar, and her protector killed my soldiers and is now dead?”

“That is an accurate summation, your Highness, yes.” The Commander said.

The King took another sip of wine and licked his lips.

Anjela took the opportunity to try to steer things in a more logical path. “Have we verified the man’s claims? What does the girl say? Did she carry a letter of protection from the rulers of Ashar?”

The King looked bored by her questions, but Commander Dorvar nodded, pulling out a scroll from his satchel. It had some blood splattered on it but it bore the seal of the Arch Sultan of Ashar. He handed it to her and she read it quickly and urgently.

Anjela shook her head and turned to the King. “Your Highness, this girl is a daughter of a Sultan, and this scroll bears the Arch Sultan’s seal. We must return her immediately to Ashar, her protector’s death can be justified, but for a crime unrecognized in their lands, I fear—”

The King raised his hand to quiet her and she stopped speaking immediately, a vision of Kagney nailed to the cross flashing across her mind.

The King looked at the Commander and asked “What was her crime again?”
 
“Blaspheming, your Highness.” The Commander said. “A student said that she spoke words against the Gods and said she was unbeliever. My men have not spoken to anyone at the Institute since, should we send them to ascertain her exact words?”

“No.” The King said with a dismissive wave. “She spoke ill of our Gods. She is a heathen. Crucify her.”

High Priestess Anjela and Commander Dorvar shared a momentary look of wide eyed incredulity, but just between each other.

“Your Grace,” Anjela said with a demure bow, letting her chest bounce just slightly as she spoke to try to glean extra favor with the King. “If she is put to death, word will eventually reach Ashar, and that could lead to—”

“I care not.” The King said, taking another gulp of wine. “The Gods’ Edicts are clear on the punishment for blasphemy. Crucify her.”

Commander Dorvar nodded and said “By your will, Your Highness.”

High Priestess Anjela bowed low and said “It shall be done, your Grace. The Gods will be praised, under your sacred rule.”

The King clapped his hands together and said “Thank you.”

Her and the Commander took their leave.

In the hallway outside of the throne room, Anjela’s mind reeled at the King’s folly. His impulsiveness. She could not do anything for the foreign girl who would be crucified. But she could try to do something about King Niro. Something to make sure that the Sacred Realm was empowered and protected, so that it could continue to be a vessel of the Gods’ glorious dominion in the world. Something that she would need to pray about throughly.

But one thing was clear to her now. King Niro was no longer fit to rule…
 
Now the story is completed, I copied every paragraph and saved in a textfile for future re-reading.
 
This was a great read.I really enjoyed following Nihlufar’s journey from this:
BA7219A1-5E42-4F65-AFC0-2B116DA43D22.jpeg

To this:
C98F2743-B1C7-4419-9206-0933E65C37B2.jpeg

Your story telling through her eyes was quite vivid and well done, though I might’ve liked a little bit more time looking into her mindset once crucified, perhaps some more interaction with her fellow condemned. You did such a great job getting us to this point!

Thank you @Illara for sharing your work and thanks to @settantuno for helping to make your story come to life so vividly!!!
 
Blue said:
This was a great read.I really enjoyed following Nihlufar’s journey from this:
View attachment 1523890

To this:
View attachment 1523892

Your story telling through her eyes was quite vivid and well done, though I might’ve liked a little bit more time looking into her mindset once crucified, perhaps some more interaction with her fellow condemned. You did such a great job getting us to this point!

Thank you @Illara for sharing your work and thanks to @settantuno for helping to make your story come to life so vividly!!!
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! I appreciate the kind words and insightful feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed it! And @settantuno ’an artwork was phenomenal, as always, truly elevated the story!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom