The city of Vela is very beautiful, gleaming brilliantly white against a background of dark verdure on the hills behind it. The buildings are immaculately white and the streets are spotlessly clean, a very pale grey in colour.

The city is very ancient. The inhabitants claim that it is 10,000 years old. Yet no building, no structure of any kind in the city shows any evidence of age. It could have been built yesterday, yet it has stood since time immemorial. And, it has stood unchanged. No building has ever been razed and no new building has been constructed in thousands of years.

This having been said, it is necessary to add that Vela has a very sinister reputation. Although Vela exports elsewhere unknown perfumes, priceless jewelry, and textiles of unparalleled fineness, most merchants shun it.

The waterfront with its piers, warehouses, cranes and drays lies outside the city wall which is 40 cubits high and has but one gate, heavily guarded and facing the harbour. Some captains refuse to allow their men to pass that gate.

That spotless cleanliness is achieved by terrible means. The city of Vela is girt about with fearsome spells to assure its safety, changelessness, and absolute cleanliness. Those captains who do allow their men to enter the city warn them NEVER to spit onto the street, blow their noses onto the street, piss in alleys or onto walls or in any way deface or defile anything in the city. Punishment will be swift, sure, and horrible.

Tales are told of a sailor who ran screaming out of the gate, incoherent and utterly mad, who never regained his right mind. There was an eye-witness account of a sailor who claimed that it was all shit and swore that he'd spit on the street and return.

His friends gathered outside the gate to watch him stride down the middle of the street, turn to face the gate, hawk, and spit a gob of mucus into the middle of the spotless pavement. Instantly, he was enveloped in blinding white-hot fire [known to the natives as "venge-fire"] which consumed his body to fine dust.

Lest even that defile the street, a dust-devil arose on the spot, raising the sailor's ashes high into the air where an offshore wind dispersed them over the harbour. His shipmates ran screaming back to the ship where they cowered trembling and whimpering for several days.

Why then, would anyone want to go ashore in such a horrible place ?

Because, for anyone willing to abide by the rules, laws, and customs, Vela

offered everything a tired, bored, thirsty, lustful sailor could possibly ask.

The wine shops sold exquisitely delicious, fragrant, powerfully intoxicating wines like nothing the sailors had ever tasted before. The brothels were prepared to gratify any taste, however perverse, that any man might desire to satisfy.

They offered women of rare and exotic beauty, boys with the bodies of gods, men of inexhaustible virility, eunuchs who would submit to anything, dominatrices, torturers, ANYTHING one could ask.

Drugs were to be had which could bring about unimaginably beautiful and unforgettable dreams, or could endow a man with more than human sexual prowess, or make him, in his own mind, King of the World.

There were strange and wonderful things to be bought there, erotic paintings and sculptures, aphrodisiacs, perfumes so strangely fragrant that they might have come from another world, lacquer work, leather, embroidered and brocaded fabrics, and jewelry of unearthly splendour.

The merchants, winesellers, and procurers of Vela accepted the money of all nations. If it were in the form of precious metal coinage, it would be accorded the same value as Velan currency of the same weight. For those who scrupulously followed the rules, then, Vela could be a wondrous place to visit.

The natives, of course, having lived with these restrictions and constraints since infancy, had no fear of them. Proper behaviour was second nature to them. There was, however, one place in Vela which even they shunned: the Secret City. This was a circular area of about 10 square nautical miles in the centre of the city and separated from it by

a dazzlingly white porcelain wall.

In this wall there was but one gate, guarded by giants about six cubits tall. None were ever seen to pass this gate. Speculation was rampant about the dwellers in the Secret City, but no man ever saw them. Although Vela was supposedly ruled by a council of nine Archons, many suspected that the real power lay behind the porcelain wall, and that the spells which had preserved the city unchanged for so many millennia originated there.

However, if the men of Vela dreaded the mysterious beings in the Secret City, what they feared far more was the Night-gelder. The population of Vela had always averaged 100,000 +or- 3 . It was maintained within these narrow limits by draconian ancient laws, but, even more, much more, by the Night-gelder.

No one knows who or what the Night-gelder is. Every married couple knows that they are to have no more than two children, enough to replace themselves. Husbands seek to avoid a third pregnancy by withdrawal, but accidents happen and, when they do, the husband receives a visit from the Night-gelder.

For example, Mantris and Farilla had two offspring, a boy and a girl. One night, ejaculation came upon Mantris before he expected it. Farilla douched herself, and on the next morning, Mantris went to the temple of Ning, the fertility god, and prayed that she not conceive. Apparently, Ning disapproved of such prayers which sought to thwart his purpose.

Farilla missed her next menstrual period and Mantris trembled with fear of the vengeance of the Night Gelder. He purchased bolts for the doors and window-shutters and another bolt for the bedroom door.

The morning after he had taken these precautions, Mantris awoke and was surprised to see that he lacked the morning erection with which he had awakened daily since he was twelve years old. Disturbed, he reached under the covers to feel his private parts and screamed.

This woke Farilla and, when he had cast aside the covers, she screamed also when she beheld that his scrotum was flat and empty. Carefully he felt his scrotum and groins. There were no severed cords to be found, no evidence, indeed, there had ever been testicles.

The effects of his mysterious castration manifested themselves with unnatural swiftness. He was already completely impotent when he awoke. That morning, he shaved for the last time in his life. Four days later, the rest of his body, except for his head, was hairless and he had breasts as large as Farilla's.

And, then there was Zuthor, a young man about town who confined his frequent amorous exploits to married women. He assumed that, if he gave a married woman her third child, her husband would be blamed, and the Night-gelder would visit him.

If 'twere but her second, her husband would be cheated of his second chance to impregnate her, but the child would not be a bastard inasmuch as all children born to a married woman were legitimate. This was true legally, but laws were of no concern to the Night-gelder.

After a night of drinking, gambling, and swiving, Zuthor walked home in the darkness. The streets of Vela are not lighted and those who need to be abroad after dark usually carry lanterns, or employ the services of guides who carry large lanterns with from 3 to 5 candles.

(At one time, this service had been performed by link-boys carrying pine torches, but after a few had been consumed by the Venge-fire for allowing drops of burning pine-pitch to fall onto the street, the boys sought other forms of employment.)

The night was lit by the half-moon and bright enough for Zuthor to find his way easily. Fearing no harm, he took a short-cut through a dark alley. Near the middle of the alley, he felt faint and, suddenly, a deep sleep fell upon him. When he awoke, he wondered if he had drunk too much, though it did not seem to him that he had.

Arrived at his home, he stripped down for bed while standing before a full-length silver mirror, a very expensive luxury which gratified his vanity. Suddenly, Zuthor gasped and moved closer to the mirror. He lifted his virile member and gave a cry of dismay, for, behind it, he beheld only a crumpled empty scrotum. He realized that, during his

syncope in the alley, he had been visited by the Night-gelder !

The Night-gelder had more than one string to its bow, however. Though most of its castrations were painless, even unnoticeable to the victims, the fate of the forcible rapist was very different.

No sooner was penetration achieved than the testicles of the rapist bursted with great violence, causing him unimaginable excruciating agony. Impotence, loss of over half of his muscular strength, and feminisation of the body occurred instantly.

The shock of this injury prostrated the rapist for days. His victim, on the other hand, was surprised and gratified to find that, if a virgin, she remained a virgin despite the attack.

Therefore, sea captains made sure that their men knew the Velan word for NO ! which was "OT!" Of course, not all captains knew this. Especially, pirates who had never visited Vela before and saw in it a bird of rare plumage, ripe for the plucking, received a rude awakening.

Bronzebeard, the pirate had heard vague rumours about Vela, describing it as mysterious, dangerous, and VERY rich. Mystery just lent spice to adventure and danger was his meat and drink. Thus it was that Bronzebeard's ship, the Messenger of Death, sailed boldly into the harbour of Vela one summer day and , unopposed, tied up at the pier.

By chance, there were no merchant vessels there on that day. The waterfront was almost deserted inasmuch as Vela had never had a navy.

The archons depended, perhaps too heavily, on the fearsome and powerful spells which defended the city.

Before going ashore, Captain Bronzebeard examined the city carefully from the steersman's position. His attention was immediately captured by the white porcelain wall within the city. Surely, this marked the outer boundary of the Acropolis and it was logical to assume that the treasury would be within its precinct.

Both the outer and inner city walls appeared to be poorly guarded.

Bronzebeard gathered together 18 of his fiercest boldest fighting men for a lightning raid upon the acropolis. The gate in the porcelain wall faced that in the city wall. They could charge up the broad avenue from the waterfront into the city before anyone could stop them.

The plant was put into action immediately. The guards at the city gate made no effort to interfere, nor did the giants who guarded the gate in the porcelain wall. They stepped back and made no effort to impede the pirates' impetuous charge. Bronzebeard attributed this to wise yielding to force majeur. 9:1 odds were not very favourable.

No sooner had the pirates all passed the gate when 13 of them were engulfed in dark swirling clouds from which were heard horrible screams followed by ominous silence. The clouds retreated into the secret city leaving 13 withered dessicated mummies in pirate clothing on the pavement, scarcely to be recognised as the men who had charged into the

secret city minutes before.

Frozen on the faces of the mummies were expressions of unspeakable horror, upon beholding which, Bronzebeard and the other 5 survivors fled through the gate even faster than they had entered, screaming and nearly deranged by their experience. They neither stopped nor slackened their pace until they were safe again upon the deck of the Messenger of Death.

Thus did Bronzebeard learn how Vela was really defended. So shaken were he and his companions that it was some time before they even noticed an old man in a hooded blue robe standing a pace from the foot of the gangplank. He called up to them, very courteously, "May I come aboard ?"

"Yes." replied Bronzebeard, not trusting himself to say more yet.

"I am Akraos, the senior archon of Vela." announced the old man. "You would have been better advised to seek information about the city before attacking it. None of us dares to pass the gate in the porcelain wall or to enter the secret city. From your reduced numbers and your expressions of horror, it is clear that you have learned why.

I can and willingly shall tell you all that you wish to know about Vela.

Though you are pirates, you are welcome to visit our wine shops and brothels, if you behave yourselves and pay for your pleasures. Do the city no harm and its terrible guardians will do you no further harm."

Bronzebeard, looking over the shorter archon's head noted brilliant fires in the secret city. He pointed toward them and asked "What is that?"

The archon looked over his shoulder and replied. " That is the Venge-fire, consuming the remains of your dead companions to prevent them from defiling the streets.

It is lit by no man and spares none who defile any part of the city in any way, as by spitting on the street or pissing against a wall. Thus has the city been kept immaculately clean for 10,000 years. Soon whirlwinds will carry away the ashes of your men and drop them into the sea."

"I believe that we shall forego the pleasures of your wine shops and brothels. This city is too perilous."

"I can well understand that." replied Akraos "but, if I may, I should like to explain to you how our city became such a place of horrors. I believe that five of you returned from the secret city. Therefore, I know that there were originally eighteen of you.

The secret city is ruled by thirteen vampires, not bloodsuckers, but beings who take a man's vitality and his life expectancy from him. This attack on your men means they they will not lure any of us into their lair for probably another half century. They are sated with stolen life. They do not belong there. They have taken over the secret city and made a prisoner under house arrest of Velaġ, the Genius Loci.

He it is by whose will this city was built by the men of old and he it is who created its protective spells. The Venge-fire and the Night-gelder (of whom you shall hear more later, if you are willing) are his creatures, but he has no control over them, because his will is thwarted by the vampires.

Who then, are the vampires and whence do they come ? They were once mortal men who were so avid of immortality that they would sacrifice their humanity to get it. They learned to achieve it by stealing lives. They have even less power over the Venge-fire than does the Genius Loci. It is the one thing they fear, and it is loose and responsible only to itself.

The population of Vela has always been between 99,997 and 100,003 . To maintain it within these limits, Velaġ created the Night-gelder whose function it is to castrate men who beget more than two offspring, begetters of bastards, adulterers, and rapists.

So secret, painlessly, and surreptitiously are all but the rapists castrated by night that they often are not aware until the next day that

they are eunuchs. Not so the rapists.

Before a rapist can complete the act, whenever or wherever it may be, his manly glands burst with such violence, pain, and shock that he is very likely to fall dead on the spot. If he should survive, of course, he will always wish that he had not.

Sometimes, however, being responsible, like the Venge-fire, only to itself, and not controlled by the Genius Loci, the Night-gelder will castrate in their sleep men who merely intend to commit adultery or rape and mean to do nothing to prevent conception.

Now you know what the perils of Vela are. Its pleasures are also very great, but undeniably, attended with risk."

"I thank you, Akraos." responded Captain Bronzebeard. "I shall tell my men as much of what you have told me as they should know for their own protection, and leave it to their own judgement whether they wish to go ashore. We cannot depart until the onshore wind subsides, so we must stay here until tomorrow morning.

As for myself, I had rather leave my lust unsatisfied than chance the loss of my manhood. " However, lust drives men to do things which they know better than to do. Bronzebeard and his men had been deprived for too long of sexual release for prudence or discretion to restrain them.

All went ashore, even though aware of the danger, burning with no-longer-to-be-denied lust. First, though, they visited the wine shops where they partook of the heady powerful wines of Vela. As agreed, they paid for their refreshment which proved less expensive than they had anticipated.

In the Tropics, a man can raise a fierce thirst and they slaked it generously. The wines of Vela are more than mildly aphrodisiacal, exactly what Bronzebeard and his men did not need. Throwing discretion to the winds, they accosted women and girls on the streets, exposing themselves

(for they wore nothing under their tunics) and soliciting sex.

Though they had been taught the meaning of the word "OT !", they ignored it. Shortly, the captain and his crew were all molesting women and girls, though none had yet achieved penetration, for strong drink enhances lust but reduces prowess, and they were having some difficulty in achieving sufficient rigidity.

The Night-gelder's powers were not restricted to one man at a time, though it may never before have had to use them on twenty-one men

simultaneously. However, it was equal to the task. Suddenly, the air was rent by the piercing screams of twenty-one men whose manly glands had bursted.

The lust which they had been seeking to assuage was instantly and permanently quenched as they became eunuchs. Rendered helpless by their intolerable agony, they were easily and quickly disarmed and bound by the men of Vela and carried back aboard their ship.

They would be in no condition to fight for many days and would have lost their taste for it by the time they had regained sufficient strength.

An ancient trireme, the last of Vela's long-unused navy, was brought out into the harbour and rowed ahead of the Messenger of Death which was swiftly unmoored from the bollards on the pier. A line from the trireme was thrown over and made fast to the bowsprit of the Messenger of Death and the pirate ship was towed out of the harbour and the anchor dropped some distance outside the entrance to the harbour.

For the next fortnight, food and medicines were brought out to the pirate ship until its crew were able to man it [or better , perhaps, to

"eunuch" it, considering that none of the crew were men any longer.]

Then, weak and dispirited, they made haste to leave the site of their ruin.

Akraos called a meeting of the Council to discuss and deal with issues

pertinent to the security and welfare of the city. "Archons, it cannot have escaped your notice that the infestation of the secret city by vampires has had dire effects upon the reputation and economy of Vela.

Equally troublesome has been the lack of supervision of those well-intended creatures of the Genius Loci, the Venge-fire and the Night-Gelder, another consequence of the occupation of the secret city by selfish evil beings.

Foreigners shun our city. They will trade with us on the waterfront outside the city, but dare not enter even the outer city. The craft shops, wine shops, and brothels are patronised almost entirely by our own people.

Before mariners and traders fear even to trade with us on the waterfront, steps must be taken to protect visitors. I propose, therefore, that shops and brothels be set up on the waterfront for the convenience and safety of visitors.

For centuries we have tried to conduct business as usual while the vampires drive away customers. ENOUGH ! For centuries, the duties of the Civic Guard have been purely ceremonial. I have work for them to do. Let them earn their salaries henceforth. Starting today, forty heavily armed Civic Guardsmen will guard the gate of the porcelain wall, standing before the giants .

Their duty will be to prevent anyone from entering the secret city, including those ensorcelled and lured thither by the vampires..Only the Venge-fire, which they have no power to hinder, and the Night-Gelder, which they cannot see, may enter the secret city. If any of the vampires should seek to leave the secret city, the Guardsmen will withdraw lest they be destroyed.

Another forty Guardsmen will be deployed before the gate of the outer wall which will be locked except as ordered by the Archons. Individuals with authorisation from the Archons will be permitted to enter through the postern gate.

In short, no foreigners will be permitted to enter the city except by special authorisation of the Archons. This is for their protection. No mortals will be permitted to enter the secret city under any circumstances.

Lastly, let me address a few remarks to the spies of the vampires who are doubtless within earshot. YOU are not immortal. You cannot feed on the life of others. You are both expendable and contemptible. You will no longer be able to report to your masters and, if you are caught trying to slip into the secret city, you will be burned before its gate."

Haste was made to put into effect the intentions of the senior Archon.

Before nightfall, the two gates of the city were guarded by eighty very disgruntled Civic Guardsmen who had theretofore had a sinecure. Construction of buildings, some temporary, some more nearly permenent was begun outside the outer wall of the city to house shops, inns, wine-shops, and brothels.

Meanwhile, the usual waterfront activities were taking place, loading and unloading cargoes to and from merchant vessels and into warehouses. Some of the imported wares were subdivided into smaller, more manageable packages wrapped in burlap.

The wind caught a sheet of burlap carrying it over the city wall and depositing it on the broad avenue connecting the two gates of the city. Seeing this, Akraos hastened to be nearby. When the Venge-fire appeared to consume the litter, he spoke to the Venge-fire as the burlap was burnt to fine ash.

"A word with you Venge-fire. As the senior Archon, I am the vicar in this city of your creator and master, Velaġ, the Genius Loci. You have been denied access to and guidance from the Genius Loci for centuries by the evil vampires who have imprisoned your creator in his own dwelling.

You have done well in carrying out his will as it was made clear to you when last he could address you.

But for the stolen lives of others, the vampires would be mortal. Within their veils of shadow there are human bodies. They are not

indestructible . All of the evil in this beautiful city proceeds from them.

I have every reason to believe that you have the power to destroy them.

Do you have any certain knowledge to the contrary ?"

Akraos himself had no idea whether or how the Venge-fire could answer his question. To his surprise, a deep voice emerged from the amorphous mass of fire. "They have said that they have the power to destroy me and I have never questioned it until now. I have not known what they were, but, if they have the bodies of men, it ought to be possible to consume them.

Nevertheless, not knowing what powers they may have which they could bring to bear upon me, I fear them."

"Do you think that you could destroy one of them if he could be lured out of the secret city ?"

"That would surely put the matter to the test. I am willing to try. When next they seek a victim, restrain him from entering the secret city so that

whichever of them seeks his life must pursue him through the gate. If he is alone, I shall try to consume him."

It might have taken decades before any of the vampires needed to feed again, had it not been that one of the pirates was mortally ill. His vitality was low and his life expectancy was very short.

Only a few months more than two years after the pirate raid, one of the vampires desperately needed to feed again. He mounted a tower and surveyed the city below. On a street no more than 1/4 mile from the gate, he saw a muscular virile-looking young man. Immediately, he placed a geis upon his prey forcing him to come to the secret city whence none so summoned ever returned.

Then, glancing down, the vampire noticed the extra guards before the gate and divined their purpose. They would try to deter the vampire's prey from entering the secret city, but none of them would dare stand up to a hungry vampire. He would rush out and seize his prey.

The young man walked as if in a dream up the deserted avenue leading to the gate in the porcelain wall. As he approached it, the guards called out to him to stop and go back, but he heard them not. Ensorcelled by the vampire's geis, he kept on.

When he reached the guards, they laid hands on him and dragged him away from the gate . They held him back but noted to their horror that the gate was opening. Suddenly, a figure of black cloud and shadow rushed out of the gate toward the enchanted victim.

But, no sooner had the vampire cleared the gate than the Venge-fire appeared before it and between the vampire and his prey. The vampire stopped irresolutely for a moment and then shouted "Get out of my way,

Venge-fire. I command you ! "

"You have no authority or power over me. I answer only to Velaġ." replied the Venge-fire whom no one present had ever heard speak before.

With these words, the Venge-fire took one step forward and enclosed the vampire in a bear hug. For a brief moment, the Venge-fire's brilliance was shrouded in the vampire's veils of cloud and shadow, and then they dissipated.

For an instant, the vampire stood revealed as a wizened, ugly, little man, and then he was engulfed in the fierce white-hot flames of the Venge-fire which swiftly reduced the vampire's body to fine ash which

was carried aloft by a strong updraft into the upper air where the winds dispersed it.

No guardsman sought to hinder the Venge-fire from entering the secret city. All stood in awe as screams reached their ears and pillars of fire rose into the sky and were torn apart and dispersed by the upper-level winds. Twelve times this occurred, and the secret city was cleansed.

There followed a brief period of silence and then, all the beholders were astonished to see a radiant being approaching the gate from the secret city. The Venge-fire preceded it through the gate and withdrew to one side. The radiant figure, glowing like moonlight, passed through the gate and stood before it.

In a powerful musical voice, it spoke. "I am Velaġ, the tutelary god and founder of this city. Long have I been kept under house arrest by the vampires. During this period of enforced inactivity, I have had many opportunities to reflect upon the wisdom of my intention to keep this city immaculate and inviolate, to protect it from change by man and

immune to the ravages of time.

Vela's changelessness is unnatural and has been achieved at the cost of unnecessary human suffering. I have selfishly kept this city unchanged for myself, but it should not be my city but your city. Today, I give this city to you. I now dissolve the spells which have kept this city unchanged for 10,000 years.

Now, it is your responsibility to keep it clean. It is your responsibility to control its population by such means as you see fit to employ. It is now your responsibility to maintain as much of it as you choose to against the ravages of time. No longer is it forbidden to change the city, to build new buildings or remove those which have outlasted their utility.

You need no longer fear the Venge-fire or the Night-gelder. You are free. We have left the secret city and we shall not return. Rejoice in your freedom, but remember that, with it, comes responsibility."

Suddenly, the flames of the Venge-fire went out and in their place stood a handsome red-haired young man with a ruddy complexion, clad in cloth-of-gold. He went to the Genius Loci and stood beside him. On the other side of Velaġ appeared a black-haired man clothed in a skin-tight black garment, the first anyone had ever seen of the Night-gelder.

"Farewell" exclaimed the Genius Loci. "Take good care of your city." With those words, the three figures standing before the gate of the secret city vanished.