Tangle in the Dark - Kassidor

She didn’t like the way this was going. “Exactly what isthis ceremony?”“What you’ve been training for. The head trainer saidyou’re doing pretty well too, except in sex ed, especiallyconsidering that you can’t speak a word of Minoan.”“So that is where we are,” Ava said. “I have no idea whatI’ve been training for,” she said. “I thought it was some kindof dance number, some kind of play or something.”“There’s some of that, it’s an entertaining ceremony andmost people believe in its holiness in this time. The men ofthe countryside bring tribute and watch a little performance,but mainly they offer tribute in exchange for an encounterwith the temple girls in the holy sacrament of sexual union.”“So this isn’t a convent, it’s a whorehouse!? I’m trainingto be a whore?”“The technical meaning of your words is correct, but wedo not say them with such a derogatory tone. To us this is theultimate celebration of life, the promise of fertility, the greatrenewal. We bring our young people together in pleasure inworshiping the Goddess of Life. Most marriages among thebest in our society are made at the temple.”“You expect me...” she couldn’t continue. That soundedtoo much like one of Alan’s religions, yes, the cult of thefertility goddess Tahmote. She wondered if he was in on thisafter all, or if he had copied it into his universe from here. Hemight have known more about this civilization than she did,he studied all the old myths and fables.423