Traveller Probo

Holding Tatae close was like holding the Michelin Man and his initial reaction was to be frivolous. But her distress was not to be belittled, so Michael responded cautiously. “Why do you think Wicks will die Tatae? What’s wrong?” he asked.

Tatae just shook her head and remained in his embrace as she wiped her tears and runny nose onto his chest. She gave a sniff and then pushed herself away to stand before the altar.

“When I was a girl, I became learned in the ways of the sacred lore. My mother taught me, as you know,” Tatae explained quietly. Michael simply nodded, knowing to remain silent. “There was much to learn: the ways of the plants, of the birds and the animals who live in the forest, and of the sacred trees and the voices of the Gods and Goddesses. My way was the way of the Goddesses and, like my mother, mine was a sacred calling. Even then, I had heard the voices of the Goddesses many times, so I was to seek solitude in the forest, sometimes for a whole summer season. None knew if I lived or died until I emerged from the forest, a wild child. The villagers feared me and the monks hated me, that was until they sought the secrets of the herbs. I and my mother lived in the village but were not of the village, for we were of the sacred folk and the old ways.”

Tatae turned to Michael and gestured to the altar, and her voice took on a sing-song cadence and she raised her arms,

“This is a sacred place but you are safe and have nothing to fear.

The spirits of the forest and the Gods and Goddesses guard this place,

But you are safe and have nothing to fear.

You are my consort, my love, my husband by the holy rites,

You are safe and have nothing to fear.

Come to me,

For you are safe and have nothing to fear”

Michael recognised the recitation of an old verse as if it was some kind of spell and he remained still, allowing her to continue. She stood, head bowed as her long hair framed her face and almost touched the ground.

She raised her head to face him.

“I first came here when I started to bleed as a woman. I lay on the altar and the men of lore gathered. Their leader took me and there was hope that he would leave his seed in me but after we returned to the village, we learned that his seed didn’t take. This was tried every moon for one year but his seed still didn’t take and those heavy in the lore, those who served the Gods and Goddesses, knew it was a sign that his was not the seed for me. When I reached the age of marriage, it was decided that I should marry the monk’s way and take a husband, to see if his seed would take. But it didn’t take. Poor Aelle was taken by Ingui, also called Freyr. One of his creatures gored him, so much did they disapprove of his seed in me.”

Tatae paused and looked at Michael, her amber eyes warm and adoring. “Then you came and killed the followers of Ingui. The hunters say it was Ingui himself who ran crying from you that day. You brought the beast’s great head to Thegn Godric and then, before your journey of trials, we became one. Now your seed has taken and even your world came to protect our baby girl.”

Michael held out his hand to his wife. Tatae had never even alluded to her shamanic path and he was quietly shocked to realise how greatly she must have suffered. She often implied hardships and deprivations, of following a spiritual path that would be recognised by many in the 21st Century as child abuse. He was shaken to hear that his wife had relinquished her youthful virginity in a religious rite of passage.

What was past was past but sometimes he would rather not know.

“Where are the holy men now?” he asked. “Have I seen them?”

Tatae looked grim as she gently ran her fingers over the carved figure of a naked man with antlers. “No my love. I don’t see them, not anymore. The men can be strange at times. Most live away from people. Some lived in other villages but the rise of the Christ God has seen many of them leave.” Tatae appeared reluctant to explain further, so he left it there. “Come, let’s build a fire,” she ordered briskly and they went to the stream to gather from the heaps of old driftwood. Before long, a fire burned and the shallow cavern became surprisingly warm and cosy. Tatae sat on her blanket, snuggled into her husband’s arms as she silently contemplated the altar. Michael saw her mood and thought it best not to intrude.

As if confirming a decision, Tatae stood and gestured, “Come, my husband. We have a final sacred act that must be done.” She led him to the altar where they stood, their hands joined over the ancient carved rock. Michael had an image of a youthful Tatae spread, naked, on the altar as she had sex with another man or men and decided he didn’t like to be here. As if reading his thoughts, Tatae watched him quietly. She reached into her pouch, selected a wafer-thin piece of dried material and popped it into her mouth. He had seen her do this on occasions of spiritual significance and he raised his eyebrows in a silent query.

“Please trust me, my love. This is important to me and to the Goddesses,” she explained quietly. “You are my love and the one of whom the Goddesses approve.” She chewed and swallowed, suddenly nervous. They had ritually made love in some pretty odd places, even in front his wife’s acolytes, so he no longer questioned her requests. Not all rituals involved sex but it was an important part of what Tatae taught were of the old-ways, of the forest and the Goddesses. He couldn’t help but imagine that if a similar set of beliefs and rituals were advocated in modern 21st Century society, most young men would become devoutly religious.

Tatae knelt at the opposite side of the altar and held his hand tightly as the sliver of dried mushroom took effect, for she began to tremble and perspire. Michael had a sudden concern for their child and the effects any drugs might have on the growing body and brain but trusted that Tatae knew best. She began to chant quietly, calling the Goddesses of Eostre and Freya to give heed and bear witness. Her eyes rolled, her pretty face took on a look of unease, when suddenly she relaxed and closed her eyes, head bowed. As she looked up, Tatae’s eyes had dilated to black holes surrounded by but a rim of bright gold. Her skin was almost translucent, the dusting of freckles over her nose now most noticeable. Something was happening that Michael failed to understand, something he couldn’t explain.

“Now! It must be now!” Tatae uttered and she tore at her clothes. Knowing what was required of him, Michael joined her. The blazing fire had warmed the hollow so the act of discarding their clothes left them comfortable. As she stood naked, Michael was suddenly taken with thin how Tatae had become. Though she had gained weight after their scare with the baby, she still looked slender enough that a good wind would blow her away. Yet a strength radiated as she smoothly positioned a blanket over the cold, lichen-covered altar. She reclined on the blanket, her bulbous belly uppermost and as she raised her knees, she opened pinkly.

Whether by accident or design, she was at the perfect height for their joining. After only moments, Tatae writhed and then screamed in ecstasy. Michael blinked, unsure. Even though in the act of love, he had zoned out for a moment. They remained joined, Tatae’s head hanging over the other side of the altar, her hair brushing the floor of the cavern as her arms were stretched back, her eyes closed and her pink nipples taut. Their child moved in her tummy and he immediately feared his mad thrusting had hurt his daughter. By her look, Tatae was anything but uncomfortable. She writhed in pleasure, like a cat, her ankles locked about Michael’s bottom as he was pulled in deeply.

He eventually removed his grip from her hips and, as he moved, Tatae looked up in surprise and bewilderment. Michael was freezing, his back chill, when only a moment before the fire blazed. He looked around in surprise to see the bright bonfire now only a bed of coals. Had it only been minutes? It felt like it had only been minutes, that it should still be morning, yet the angle of the sun showed it to be afternoon, with the pale orb in its rapid, winter descent.

Tatae stared a moment, bewildered but Michael knew they had to move. The remainder of the visitors were to leave today, before nightfall, and he should be there. The Generals and Colonel Grant would not be impressed. How had they lost half the day having sex on an ancient stone altar? As they moved apart, Tatae suddenly shivered, so he helped her to dress before he threw on his own clothes.

Still shivering, they made their way from the misty gully. It would take another hour before they arrived back to the glade where the Area of Convergence and the guests from his old home would be waiting.