Silently, a shadow in the moonlight, she slithered through the gnarled cypress trees with leafy fingers brushing her sleek nakedness.  She tasted textured darkness on her tongue, forking the air, searching.  She tasted the deep eternal dampness and lush foliage, the dark rich soil below.  The forest was alive, breathing, beating with the life-blood of many creatures.  These things she felt in low vibrations through her belly.  The silence—deaf and mute—absorbed her passing.

She moved from dark to darkness.  A patch of fog leaving no trace.  The presence of small creatures moving in the night, she sensed the nervousness of their scent.  She proceeded with agonizing slowness, her spine bending lithely, her scaly belly crawling over the rough bark.  Her hungry pupils were dilated and devouring reflective eyes of amber.  She paused, her body still, coiled, waiting.  Closer, closer, their furry bodies scurried, their whiskers trembling with fear.

Suddenly, she made her strike, catching the creature in her jaws, sliding her coils around the squirming body, slowly squeezing the life from its tiny beating heart.  Her jaws opened wide and she swallowed it whole, slowly digesting the body of another.  Her abdomen stretched, swelled, split wide and her live young slithered out of her onto the jungle floor.  She was the first.  And from her all the creeping, crawling creatures sprang.  She lay down in the soil and the forest slowly digested her...  Earth to earth....'

Alethea awoke, linens tangled around her naked limbs dampened by the humidity.  The dream clung to her in the darkness.  She stirred, smoothing her hands over her breasts and stomach.  She had the sensation that her flesh was still as smooth as scales. 

"O..." she breathed.  She writhed around in the covers trying to catch the beautiful transcendence she had felt in the dream.  The visions were always the same.  She'd been possessed by them for as long as she could remember.  Always the seeking and the swallowing of the creature live and then the end where she gave birth and her feeling of oneness with the Great Mother; the feeling of renewing the cycle, the beginning and the end.  The Priestess had told her that it was a prophecy that she had a destiny to fulfill.  And from a young age she had been groomed for the ritual celebration, ‘The Festival of the Snake' that would begin this very day.  She lay for a moment with fearful anticipation thinking of the ancient rites that had occurred only once in every fifty years.  To be chosen was both a burden and a privilege. 

She had lived her entire life in exile upon the mountains high above her valley of origin below where the Sea Pressed Upon the Land With One Thousand Arms.  The only people she'd experienced contact with were the sacred eunuchs who served the Snake Goddess and the Priestess herself.  Although well cultured and tutored in the teachings of her people, the ancient mythos and histories, she knew nothing of human relationships or the intimacy shared between lovers.  She was both a virgin physically and socially.  All that would change tonight however.

Alethea untangled herself from the linens and reluctantly got up from bed.  From the entrance to the cave she could see the sky outside was already bruised purple and beginning to blush with the approaching dawn.  She would have only these few moments to herself before her escort would arrive and take her to begin preparations for the sacred festival tonight, after which she would belong to the people.

She lit a single candle sitting in pink shell, splashed cool water over her face, neck and breasts, her hands smoothing over the curves of her young feminine body.  As she dried herself she stood in front of the large mirror cast of bronze and polished to a deep sheen.  Her hair was black and fell loose to her waist in swooping waves.  Her amber eyes where shaped like almonds, her skin the color of unripened olives and her lips as red and sweet as a pomegranate.  She studied the design that had been painstakingly tattooed upon her flesh over the course of the previous year.  It was exquisite artistry and covered nearly one third of her body in green, gold and black flowering swirls of color.

The head of the snake was diamond shaped and began just under her collar bone, its forked tongue snaking over to circle her left breast.  Its body slid back over her shoulder and down her back to round her waist, curving under her flat belly and along her hip where it disappeared under her curving ass and between her thighs.  The tail coiled around her left leg to the ankle where it emerged upon the top of her foot in an s-shape. 

Although she had been told of her great beauty by her faithful worshipers she had seen no other female besides the Priestess who was aged and wrinkled beyond her years.  She had no-one to compare her image to.  She desired to be found pleasing by her people and embraced by them.  Her heart pounded at the thought of the young men and women who would swarm to meet her and of the legendary orgiastic pleasures that were the essence of the festival itself.  While she had been told of these pleasures from the eunuchs whose testicles and penis had both been removed leaving an opening similar to a vagina that was used for sexual purposes, she had never seen a man's ‘horn' or been privileged to be manipulated by one.  It sent shivers of curious pleasure through the core of her sex.

Alethea heard the sound of sandaled feet upon the stones outside the entrance to the cave.  Her entourage had come to collect her.  She slipped on a simple white tunic that fastened on her right shoulder leaving her left breast bared, then belted it around her slim waist.

Dion, a young eunuch with a dark lock of hair hanging from one side of his shaved head entered her room, his head bowed and eyes lowered in respect. 

"Maiden Alethea?  If you will come with us, the preparations await."

Alethea hesitated suddenly paralyzed with fear.  Sensing her discomfort Dion raised his eyes and smiled.  Taking Alethea by the hand he whispered, "Do not let your fear consume you, Maiden.  All the pleasures that are your destiny await."  He held her for a moment then added, "Come...  You are under my sworn protection...  I would rather be torn limb from limb by the great Minotaur than allow any harm to come to the one who I adore and worship."

Alethea sighed, "Thank you Dion.  You have attended me well with your friendship and loyalty."

Dion lead Alethea into the early morning mists. There, several other eunuchs awaited.  They cloaked Alethea in a fine fabric that covered her from head to foot with only her eyes visible. The escort then began the laborious trek down the mountainside to the valley below and onward to where the Sea Pressed Upon the Land With One Thousand Arms.

The valley was lush and wild with wind blowing through the trees.  It was here where the Oracle lived and the Great Metropolis had been built.  Alethea was awestruck by the multitude of sounds, smells, and sights of the city.  It was so much more than either Dion or the others could have described with fairness.  The pandemonium of the people's voices, of mules ee-hawing, of the dogs barking,  an assault on her ears after the silence of the mountain she had always known.  The air was alive with the aromas of flatbreads cooking over open hearths, of steamed fish and shellfish.  Even the saltwater smell of the sea was stronger here as it swept under her garments and kissed her flesh. 

Through the slit in the fabric she could see the Sacred Way to the Temple of the Moon lined with structures and the throng of people who had come to see the Sacred Virgin's procession.  The women were dressed in colorful skirts and metal corsets that lifted their breasts and left them bared.  They were creatures of dark beauty, ravishing beyond words.  The men were dressed only in light loin-cloths which bulged with their manroot, their bronzed torsos bared.  Alethea felt dizzied by the bustle of activity.

She studied the men closely, noting their powerful limbs, their hard jaws stubbled with coarse hair or fully bearded, the thick patch of curling hair upon their chests.  She had never seen hair on a man's chest or face before, for the eunuchs shaved all their hair save the lock upon their heads.  It looked very savage and she felt a deep warmth flood her sex.  Her heart thumped against her chest and she gasped.

"What is it, Maiden Alethea?"  Asked Dion beside her.

"The men..."  Alethea whispered, "They have grown animal fur upon their chests and chins!  They look very much to me like savage beasts!  I am sure they would eat me just as soon as look at me!"

"Ahhh..." chuckled the eunuch, "It is true these men are much more... fierce, than you are used to seeing.  But, rest assured, their lips and teeth upon you would be most pleasurable."

Alethea bit her lip.  What is true then?  Did they mean to eat her like some sort of sacrifice?!  She shuddered at the thought.

Soon however, she became too engrossed by the splendor of the Great Metropolis to allow her fears to vex her.  Ahead the Temple of the Moon loomed, sitting high upon a limestone hill dominating the city.  It consisted of several step-like stone terraces built one upon the other spilling lush foliage and blossoms onto the grand stairway.  The temple itself was rectangular with a six-columned portico and sat before the inner courtyard under a gabled, tiled roof.  The marble walls were richly ornamented with colorful frescoes depicting scenes of the Goddess, the Moon, Her worshipers, and Her sacred snakes. 

As Alethea approached she could see the huge slab of marble that was the sacred Altar in front of the temple and behind it the statue of the Goddess Herself.  The statue was the most divine structure she had ever beheld.  Carved almost entirely of ivory, She stood ten feet tall, the head of which was carved from a single piece of blue-gray serpentine, Her lavish robes covered with gold leaf.  Both arms raised and twined with the bodies of snakes whose heads pointed to the sky in worship of the Sun and the Moon.  The Snake Goddess' worship was centered around the ever-changing cycles of Nature and its opposing poles that made the balance of Life.  Of day and night, the Moon and the Sun, the Earth and the Sky, the transformation of Seasons, and of Death and Rebirth.  She also symbolized fertility and untamed nature.  In front of Her an astonishing array of seated female figures carved of marble played harps or held drinking cups in their hands raised in Her honor.

The escort lead Alethea up the huge stone steps of the temple and into the courtyard.  Awaiting her at the wall of doors under the archway were several women who were Daughters of the Moon.  The temple was sacred and only the Daughters were permitted entrance: the Priestess, her brothel of sacred concubines, the servant maids, and the Chosen Virgin.  The eunuchs were not granted passage inside.

"Go Maiden.  You are in the hands of the Goddess now." whispered Dion as he urged her forward.  "I will see you tonight."  Even though she smiled bravely tears flooded Alethea's eyes as she entered the temple full of strangers.

An immense arcade opened before her with rows of pillared arches.  To one side lay the sacred baths from which rose a cloud of perfumed steam.  To the otherside lay the apse, a small semicircular recess with a vaulted roof which held the private altar of worship.  In the center, the roof opened up over a sunny courtyard with potted fruit trees, carved benches or marble, drinking fountains and statues that sprouting clean cool water from their breasts and genitalia.  An intricate mosaic tile was inlayed upon the floor.  The walls here were also artistically frescoed with undulating contours and swirling colors suggesting the movement of birds amid swaying foliage.

The Daughters gathered excitedly around the Maiden.  She was the Chosen One, the Sacred Virgin whom the Goddess adored.  Their voices were like the enlivened chirping of birds as they disrobed Alethea.  A collective gasp was uttered once Alethea stood naked before them.

"Ah, Maiden!  You are everything the Great Mother could want and more." exclaimed a young maiden perhaps Alethea's age named Ophelia. 

"Magnificent!" declared Lydia, a voluptuous matron with wide hips and large pear-shaped breasts. "You will be the cherished jewel of the festival, worthy of the Goddess' pleasures!"

The woman fawned upon her, touching her hair, smoothing the skin on her arm, turning her for all to see.  They traced the lines of the snake upon her body and told her of her great beauty.  Alethea felt an uncomfortable stirring deep inside of her, but at the same time was flattered by so much attention.  She could not help but smile.

Ophelia and Lydia, along with two other Daughters lead Alethea into the bath.  There they helped her into the steaming waters full of flower petals and proceeded to bathe her with a sea sponge.  Alethea fell into a dreamlike euphoria as they lathered her luxurious hair and massaged the soil and sweat from her limbs.  Their hands were sure and soothing as they moved gracefully over her curves.  Soon after they dried her with soft linen then laid her down to oil and anoint her body.

An ache began to pulse between Alethea's legs as Ophelia hands moved there and rubbed her genitals with warm, fragrant oils.  Lydia stood above her massaging her torso, the woman's soft full breasts falling forward to brush Alethea's cheek.  Shortly, she became aware that the women's manipulations had turned from anointing to worship.  They kissed the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet. Their tongues adored her body and their mouths followed the length of the snake up and down and around.

One woman spread apart her legs and slowly lapped at her sweet nectar while another sucked her fingertips.  Ophelia sensually massaged Alethea's breasts then began flicking her nipple with her tongue.  She felt a silent, incredible desire move through her like the slow sultry movement of the snake in her dreams.  Her lips were slightly parted and a breath escaped her in a slow hiss between her teeth.  She'd felt similar yearnings before, of something deep inside of her that she herself could not fulfill.  Those yearnings had again emerged, but now they raged like a storm inside of her.  Yet she didn't want it to stop.  All she wanted was to feel this wonderful pressure building inside of her until she burst.

Lydia was kissing her face, her neck and tickling her earlobes with her soft pink tongue.  Her mouth closed over Alethea's in warm wet kisses.  She nibbled her lips and sucked them slowly then poked her tongue into Alethea's mouth.  The sensations were driving her wild with abandon.  Alethea could no longer remain passive as she reached up and wove her fingers through Lydia's soft silky hair.  The woman's supple breasts fell forward into Alethea's face and she grasped them hungrily sucking a large dark nipple into her mouth.  The pleasure in her sex was mounting and she felt as if one hundred lips and fingertips and hands moved over her, exploring every inch.  Suddenly the pressure burst out of her like a dam breaking and Alethea quivered helplessly overcome by her own orgasmic rush of divine euphoria.  Afterwards she fell into a deep sleep as the woman sponge-bathed the sweat and juices from her body.

When Alethea awoke she lay upon a huge marble slab in the inner chamber of the Priestess. Fragrant herbs hung in small pouches upon the walls and incense burned in small saucers.  In the center of the room an open hearth smoldered, upon which sat a kettle of steaming water that the Priestess used to sterilize her tools.  Strange masks passed down from the ancients adorned the walls.

The Priestess entered the room, her long scarlet robes flowing behind her.  Her skin was bronzed by the sun, her eyes wise and hazel, were creased by smile-lines.  Her hair was shorn to her scalp.  She removed her robe and cleansed her body with water and flower petals.  Her body was richly ornamented with spiraling tattoos of the Earth Mother.  She wore a large hoop ring in her nose and on her biceps snake arm-bands made of gold. 

The Priestess gathered her tools from the pot of steaming water and lay them out on a linen cloth beside Alethea.

"Relax, dear child."  The Priestess' voice was gentle and soothing. Mumbling the words to begin the ritual she lifted a sharp instrument from the linen.  She began pricking Alethea's skin around her breast with the sharp instrument, occasionally dipping it into a nearby pot of color. 

A rush of endorphin's coursed through Alethea's body.  Each pin prick tingled upon her nerve endings.  Her nipples grew hard and a moist heat flushed her private region.  She had become addicted to the rush of pain and pleasure that accompanied the tattooing process.  She was disappointed that this would be her last session with the snake now complete, for she had come to savor it.

Finished with the last of the tattoo the Priestess picked up another instrument.  It was as long and thin as a wire with a sharp point on the end.  She threaded a gold ring onto the dull end of the tool.  She pulled Alethea's nipple between her thumb and finger and quickly pierced through the thick dark areola.

Alethea sucked in a quick breath.  The pain was sharp and more penetrating than the tattoo needle.  Her sex spasmed with the shock.  As the Priestess expertly threaded the gold hoop through her nipple the pain subsided.  This procedure was repeated in her other nipple and then the Priestess moved to between her legs.

Alethea had been feeling anxious about the next piercing which would go through the hood of her clitoris.  She knew this area to be sensitive and if stimulated properly could bring her great pleasure.  It could also bring her great pain.  She was not sure she would be able to tolerate the affliction there.

Again, the Priestess pinched the hood of her flesh and quickly drove the needle through.  Alethea felt an intense explosion as a purple swirling madness enveloped her.  She felt herself falling into the void of darkness, but then was aroused by a pungent herb that the Priestess held over her nose.  The Priestess quickly threaded another gold hoop through the piercing then sponged the blood from the punctures with water and healing herbs.

Promptly afterwards, the Daughters of the Moon, Ophelia, Lydia and the others came to collect her.  It was nearing the time of the Great Feast and as the women adorned her with jewels and coiled her dark hair Alethea realized she'd not eaten all day and was famished.  Although fasting had become a part of her ritual of sacrifice to the Goddess, the day's events had taken their toll upon her.

Soon she could hear the sounds of flutes and lyres and voices singing outside of the temple.  Her concern for her hunger faded as she thought about the festival and adventures to come.  She thought of the men with their chests furred like animals' and their man-roots as large as bulls' horns.

"What is it Maiden?" asked Ophelia, seeing the worry color Alethea's features.

"I am afraid." she said simply.

"What causes you fear, little one?" asked Lydia, concern in her eyes.

"I fear the man's tool of pleasure.  I fear I will not be able to fit it inside of me... there...  I don't know how to use it!"

"As do all young virgins.  Fear not my child.  A man's tool will prick for an instant, then there will be much pleasure.  Surely one who has endured the sacred markings of the Goddess will find no pain in a man's root.  It is made after all of flesh and blood and its edge is blunt!" Lydia said shaking her head and smiling.

"Yes Maiden!  Just wait until you feel a man's horn up inside of you, entering you in all of your sacred places.  The most blessed feeling of fullness and completeness.  It is breath-taking!  It will give you pleasure the same as a woman does, but it will be much different." spoke Ophelia passionately.

"But is it really as big as a bull's horn?  How could something so large fit into my tiny hole?"

"The size of a man's member varies, but yes, many are as large as a bull's horn and larger.  Don't worry.  You will accommodate their largeness.  If a baby can fit through your sacred cave then a man's tool most certainly can."  Lydia reassured her.

"Once I have seen them for myself I will be convinced."  Alethea said, but she still had her misgivings.

The huge grove behind the Temple was lit with hundreds of torches planted into the ground or hanging from the branches of trees.  Music played and the people danced or feasted from the tables heaped with steamed mussels and oysters, cheeses, breads, and drank of the sacred wine.  Others stood in groups laughing and merry-making.  All became silent as the great horn sounded announcing the unveiling of the Sacred Virgin.

Down the processional stairway first came the Daughters of the Moon carrying sacred instruments of music followed by the Priestess and finally Alethea adorned only in gold jewelry.  Her hair was elaborately plaited and bejewelled and she wore a golden mask of the Moon upon her face.  In each hand she carried the sacred staff of the Snake.  Her skin was richly oiled so it shone like polished bronze and the snake upon her flesh seemed to writhe with the movement of her muscles.  The train of women moved through the throng of kneeling people to the center of the grove where a mighty evergreen stood in worship of the Goddess.  The tree was decorated with wreathes of violets and pomegranate seeds which symbolized the blood of resurrection through the bleeding of the Great Mother. Only Alethea and the Priestess approached the sacred tree.  The Daughters of the Moon knelt down before the them continuing to play their sacred music.  Ophelia set down a large woven basket that she had been carrying.

"Oh Great Mother, Goddess Moon Who Sways the Waters of the Deep, Creator of all Creatures Who Slither and Creep, Shifter of Seasons," the Priestess began, addressing the Great Mother by all of her titles, "we thank You for Your generous nature and for the abundance of Your love, for making our fields fertile and lush, and our fruit trees blossom.  For making our waters rich with fish, and our skies thick with fowl.  We praise You in name of The Moon, who changes the Seasons and the tides.  We praise You in name of the Holy Snake who gives eternal life through Death and Rebirth.  We ask that You continue to grant us Your divine blessing of fruitfulness, so that we your faithful Daughters may bear children and prosper."

The Priestess opened the woven basket and proceeded to pull out of it seven poisonous snakes.  She then draped them upon Alethea who held her breath and stayed perfectly still, praying silently to the Goddess.

"We ask that You find the Chosen One, the Sacred Virgin and Maiden of Your Womb worthy of Your love and praise, for she was made in the beauty of Your likeness, so she could walk as Your Sacred Daughter, divine among us, and be fertile and multiply with Your blessing."

The snakes slithered over Alethea's flesh, curling around her neck, between her legs.  They slithered over the tattoo, their colors becoming one with it.  One glided through her hair and curled in front of her forehead to turn and look her directly in the eye.  She felt no fear now.  Only the power of the Goddess protecting her and rushing in her veins.  The snake's tongue flicked out to taste her and she slipped her tongue out to meet it.

The music became feverish with finger-drums and flutes and tambourines.  The crowd began to chant along with the Daughters of the Moon and the Priestess' prayers rose to a passionate pitch.  Alethea could no longer hear the words of the Priestess, only chanted singing, the wild barbaric clashing of cymbals, droning horns, thundering drums, and screaming flutes.  The people undulated to the erratic rhythm lost in an ecstatic frenzy of worship.

Alethea swayed in a deep trance, her body arching and contorting with the sound of the music.  The heady scent of the midnight pine filled her senses and she swooned.  She felt an infinite rapture with the mysteries and madness of the chaos of the night.  Overhead the full moon's face gleamed brilliantly and as Alethea gazed at it she saw the face of the Goddess smiling down at her.  She felt a sudden overwhelming love and devotion for the Goddess and her lips moved silently with the chant. 

The Priestess circled her, dancing as the music continued to spiral.
"Under Your eyes, Great Mother,  initiate this child into all of Your mysteries; spill her from Your Womb, as we honor You, take her blood as Your blessing, Your sacred fluid of resurrection, Death and Rebirth."

She barely felt the gash on the inside of her arm as the Priestess slashed her flesh.  The blood poured into a sacred bowl the Priestess held.  Alethea, dizzied by the loss of blood, fell into the arms of worshipers as the snakes slithered off her.  She began spiraling around and round, her long neck arched, head back, eyes cast heavenward.  Her blood splattered the tree as she spun faster in the tremendous excitement of holy ecstasy. Meanwhile, the bowl of blood was diluted with wine a thousand times and gold goblets were filled and passed from lip to lip.

The Daughters of the Moon and the eunuchs who worshiped the Snake Goddess were also raised to the music and whirled around in rapt delirium.  They slashed their bodies with knives and spattered the sacred tree with the flowing of their blood.  The divine rapture spread like a wave through the people, their veins throbbing with the music, their senses saturated by the sight and smell of the blood.  A few men where driven to crazed sexual and holy abandon.  They grabbed knives from the eunuchs and castrated themselves, offering their severed members up to the Goddess.

Everywhere, bodies slick with blood and sweat were writhing in the acts of passion.  Tongues and horns of passion probing secret honey caves and sweet mouths.  Limbs entwined and men mounted women and eunuchs alike.  Some women where mounted from the front and behind by multiple men, filling every one of their sacred holes with the horns of love.  Other men were being mounted from behind as they too knew the pleasure of a man themselves.  Women's faces plunging between childbearing thighs and mouths swallowing the juice that flowed from manroots, tongues tonguing every dark cave, hands fondling breasts. 

Alethea saw all of this for one instant before she was laid upon the sacred altar of pine needles by the eunuchs.  Two men had been chosen to deflower her.  They approached the altar, both dark and swarthy, their bodies a profusion of wild curling hair.  They were large men and towered over her.  Alethea quivered in anticipation.

The first leaned over her and lifted the golden moon-mask from her pretty face.  His hungry mouth crushed hers as his tongue slithered like a snake inside her mouth.  She felt the weight of him bear down upon her.  The mouth of the other was suckling her breast, his fingers tracing the lines of her tattoo. The wild intensity and savagery of the men's passions were so different from the women, yet she found it equally as pleasuring.  The pandemonium from the crowd roared to a fevered pitch as they watched. 

The lips of the other moved to suck from her slashed wound as the first reared over her and opened his loincloth to reveal his tool.  It was enormous.  Far larger than a bull's horn she was sure.  He pressed it against her honey cave.  Then his manroot slid up inside of her, swiftly breaking the barrier of her maidenhead to kiss her womb.  The pain for a moment was terrible, unlike anything she had ever felt.  Soon however, the pain turned to pleasure as the man moved his flesh inside of her, filling her like a serpent would, opening her wide, and planting her upon his root.

The second man now cradling her head in his lap pressed the head of his monster against her lips.  Alethea writhed in ecstasy, licking the salt from the slitted head.  The snake began to fill her mouth and she sucked it deep and let it push down her throat.  She rocked to and fro being ravaged from both ends.  Wave after wave of orgasmic pleasure swept through her.  Salt and foam and cream exploded inside of her mouth and she drank her fill.  Soon after, the root in her womb throbbed and pulsed and spurted its hot angry seed deep into her soil.

Midnight came and went and as the dawn approached Alethea lay in the arms of Dion.  They had found each other sometime during the night and set out as a couple to ravage and be ravaged.  A thrill swept through her as she remembered how the men had used him like a woman, lifting his sacred robes and filling him from behind.  He had sucked their roots with such skill and passion.  It had been easy to see which sex he preferred.  He had showed her how to swallow all of a man's root into her throat, and to tickle their hairy sacs with her tongue's tip.  Alethea's heart still beat with the night's excitement and her mind raced with the memory of the countless lovers she had enjoyed.  Surely the seed of one hundred men lay deep inside of her.  She knew this was good, for now she would be fruitful and multiply and join the women in the Temple.  There, she could continue her favors to the Goddess, enjoying the pleasures she had discovered this day on a regular basis.  She knew too that she would begin the sacred teachings of the Goddess through the Priestess' guidance and one day she would be Priestess over the Festival of the Snake herself.

With her expectations put to rest she curled into Dion's side and listened to his deep, peaceful breaths.  As the tangerine sky warmed to the east Alethea too fell into the arms of sleep... 

And into the forests of cypress she slid...