Penthesilea's Wish [Vol.1]

Chapter Forty-four

(The ancient region of Colchis, east of the Black Sea, 1245 BCE)

On the first mid-summer evening which would ceremoniously initiate the "Nights of the Stallions" festival, Penthesilea lay in her tent with her cousin, Harmothoe. Both young women were understandably nervous. An encampment in the forest had been created for the purposes of this annual event, dating back many generations.

Harmothoe was also Penthesilea's age, born of the same reproductive rite, nineteen years before. Their mothers were naturally Amazons and fathers members of tribesmen from other nomadic cultures which roamed menacingly east and west of the Black Sea. The festivals each year usually featured between twenty to forty young women from the 'Daughters of the Moon' and almost twice that number male "guests." To a few like Penthesilea and Harmothoe, the experience was to be totally new, while the rest had participated in the rites before. Almost half of the women in attendance that summer had bore children once or several times from previous festivals. Their own young children—all girls in the society, now ranged in ages from two years to well into their teens.

Penthesilea and Harmothoe were in their tent awaiting the darkness when the first night of the ritual would get underway. They had previously spent the better part of the day sumptuously dinning in an atmosphere of calm with their 'Sisters' and watching the men compete in a clearing of felled trees. This area had been prepared for the purpose of such demonstrations, at the edge of the small tent city erected by the women days before. It was to be when total darkness arrived and the fires were burning at their brightest that the women would emerge from these leather dwellings to the hypnotic beating of drums and stand on one side of a great line of burning logs. The men, and potential 'lovers' at the event, would soon after line up on the other side and wait for them.

Under the protocol of these rites, one by one, each female would run forward and choose her mate or mates for that evening. This selection was done in accordance of their age, with the youngest of the ''Daughters of the Moon'' having their first pick of the men, on up to the oldest and most experienced women in attendance. It was naturally the latter portion of these women who would chose more than one partner to follow them into their tents amid the laughter and shouts of bravado of all in attendance.

Six "new" girls had come to the festival that year like Penthesilea and Harmothoe, and all had been born from the same celebrated union of just such a festival attended by their mothers. Hushed and excited conversations had taken place all afternoon among these girls at the gathering of men's exhibitions as to which single warrior they would choose that evening in the light of the fires. Among all the other women, these younger 'Sisters' were particularly energetic and animated as they had earlier huddled together in camaraderie, famous for their lot.

Penthesilea and her sister 'Daughters of the Moon' were all nevertheless no strangers to sexual pleasure, as it was taught to them early in their teens for their understanding and to involve themselves with it alone when ever they wished. The act of intercourse with a male, however, was totally unknown to these six previously, and all, including the bold Penthesilea—princess and best warrior among them, had both a strong curiosity and unsettling trepidation about it.

Their anxiety for this first night was expected, as they had been instructed since an early age that the initial evening of these eleven nights would probably be the most unsavory of all. And yet, as they faced the experience with courage and a sense of duty, they also knew that these rites of reproduction could offer the intense pleasure they expected and had also been taught.

Soon the sound of drums began outside the clearing with the fires. The girls made ready their temporary domiciles, two Amazons to a tent—for their continued safety and tenacious companionship. There was a final glance into their bronze polished hand mirrors, objects considered mystical and transformative. These mirrors were the personal property of each girl, made for them at puberty by their own mothers. The smooth circular surfaces were adorned with a stylized, carved bone handle of animal designs. They were lovingly rendered, individually expressing the personality of each girl. Earrings and bracelets, worn by each, were checked in these small reflecting devices to vet their attractiveness. Each also made certain their hair was brushed out fully and sensually one last time.

This concern for appearance was not for the benefit of the men, however entirely. It was rather for the memorable images of each other on this important occasion, to which the young women would later share with the other members of the clan. And even during the festival the younger participants would take part in a loud and boisterous discussion each morning to share their individual experiences, for better or worse, from the night before. This remembrance and sharing of these details was essential for a later savoring of the festivities, but it was also for the future instruction and advice to the others, particularly the girls who awaited their coming of age and listened to these reports with interest.

Every woman standing before the firelight that evening understood the gravity of 'Nights of the Stallion' and its sacred importance as a rite of passage—perhaps the most important in a young Amazon's life. Penthesilea and her young friends prepared themselves to step out into the night and display their radiant beauty in the light of the fires. Theirs would be a night of some pain, some pleasure, and a rare, sensual dance with their lethal enemies. Ironically this was for the for the sake of their survival and the perpetuation of a history that would one day see their very existence only as only a myth.

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