Tales of Pulkritude - Vol 2 - A History

Now I feel I should tell you about our world as it is today. We are one of five cities in the islands, and, so far as is commonly known, in the world. The city, itself, is walled. Farms outside the walls are mostly worked by eunuch slaves, who have little value other than their labor, so if the farms are raided, little is lost. Food from the farms is stored in the city.

We are always at war with the other cities, but not necessarily fighting them. Since we live on the large island of Haawaayee, Pele lives on our island. When Gaia is angry, only human sacrifices will appease her. Only when she's had enough will she allow her daughter, Pele, to slumber again.

The primary method to obtain sacrifices is through war. Gaia is particular. Eunuchs, who have already given all Gaia requires, cannot be used. A sacrifice must be intact and of a pleasing appearance. Children are acceptable, even boys, as long as they are intact. Generally, sacrifices are chosen from warriors captured in battle. Warriors are always, of course, women. It would be dishonorable to use eunuchs. They function strictly as bearers to transport weapons and equipment to the battlefield.

A battle follows rules that have been in effect far as long as anyone can member. The purpose, after all, is not to annihilate our foe, but to capture sacrifices. Wars are usually only fought when there is pressing need for large numbers of sacrifices, such as when Pele erupts. Occasional sacrifices can usually be obtained through raids. Although we use eunuchs for most outside work. few women wish to spend their lives imprisoned behind the walls. Any adult woman captured is sacrificed. A female child may be sacrificed. or integrated into our city, depending upon her age and her beauty.

Our city has the highest standard for beauty of all the cities. Female children of our city are evaluated by the High Priestess after reaching puberty and sacrificed to Gaia if they don't meet her standards. Male children are evaluated at about age ten, prior to reaching puberty. A number of them, who are not likely to meet standards, are castrated at that time. The ones that are allowed to reach puberty are evaluated yearly until they reach age fourteen. It is then determined whether they are suitable for breeding. If they fail to meet standards, they are generally castrated immediately and put to work as slaves , although, on occasion, some are sacrificed intact to Gaia. All shorn testicles are offered to Gaia. Only the most beautiful people are allowed to procreate. It’s from the beauty of our citizens that the city got its name.

All male children are taking immediately after birth to one of three compounds in the heart of the city. Removing them immediately helps prevent any attachment being formed for them by the mother, and lessens the possibility that they will be infected. As I’ve stated elsewhere, the only way that boys can mature past puberty, is to separate them from all contact with women. Then, when sexually mature, they can be bred to as many different women as possible. We use three different compounds. Earlier in our history we just had one. Despite all precautions taken, Gaia’s’ curse on men spread throughout the compound. All pubescent boys died! By the time the first ones came down with the curse, it was too late to save them by castration. Hundreds of boys of breeding age were lost, and it was years before we were able to resume our normal breeding program. Now, if the curse spreads to a compound, we only lose the pubescent boys in that compound.

Each compound has an inner wall and an outer wall. There is an expanse of open ground between walls. A child is delivered to a gate in the outer wall by a eunuch that works in the city. It is taken by a eunuch that lives his life between the two walls. He delivers the child to a eunuch that lives, and has always lived in the inner compound. The eunuchs in the inner compound are eunuchs that were castrated before they reached puberty. Their sole responsibility is the maintenance of the inner compound and the care and upbringing of the boys that have been delivered to their care. A close record is kept of all boys who enter the compound. Each boy’s scrotum is tattooed with a unique symbol identical to that on a tag placed around his neck. Whenever that boy leaves the compound, whether alive or dead, the tag is matched to the tattoo. If the eunuchs of the inner compound failed to deliver a boy by his fourteenth birthday, there would be hell to pay. If a boy is castrated before his fourteenth birthday and remains to serve in the compound, then his scrotum is matched to the tag.

All work in the city is done by eunuchs that were castrated after puberty, whether or not they were first breeders. Women raise their girl children, train as warriors, or serve in various civil and military offices. Women oversee all work done in the cities and on the farms by the eunuchs, liberally applying the whip to the back of any malingerer. The Queen’s executioner is, of course, a woman. Her clientele is exclusively eunuchs. Any woman deserving death is sacrificed to Gaia. She begins by cutting off the penis. The abdomen is then sliced open and the organs removed, one at a time, until all is left it a still beating heart, which she rips out and holds aloft. The head is placed on a pole as a reminder to the other slaves.

The fiercest of warriors is the “Sacred Band.” They are women who fight side by side with their lovers. When not fighting, these women live together, raising their girl children jointly. Both are considered to be the mother of the child, no matter which one actually gave birth. They usually breed at the same time, often to the same boy.

Although most love relationships is between women, occasionally a woman will become infatuated with a beautiful eunuch. Although, they no longer have testicles, many can still perform. It’s not the type of relationship that is condoned, but most people look the other way.

This ends the introduction to both the history of the ancient world and a brief overview of our present day society. From now on, I’ll tell the stories from individual perspectives, beginning with my own.