Entering the Wifery
Jana Rosewood looked at the other couples ahead of her and Nelk in the line. Like them, each couple had one person dressed in full ceremonial attire, holding the hand of their completely nude partners. Every few moments, the immense doors ahead opened and one couple stepped through, ready to face the difficult challenges ahead.
No one ever looked back, though from past experiences, Jana knew that there were perhaps a hundred more couples waited behind them. Like her, every nude attendee would have received a summons that morning. She had both dreamt of this, and dreaded it. Every couple would enter and either be accepted, or rejected. The rejected ones would leave by a back door, not knowing if they would ever receive another summons. The couples who were accepted, would live within these walls for a year.
The First Law was very clear, in order to enter the Junior Council every hopeful needed to spend a year at a Wifery. Every city state had one, but this was one of the best in the world. All of her hard work; the years of studying and the relentless pursuit of the skills she would need to enter the political elite of Bhala: it would all be worth naught if she didn't enter, and succeed, in The Wifery.
The First Law, or the Law of Balance, had been written by the first mothers when they colonised Bhala. They had come from a world ravaged by war and strife and had resolved to take precautions. Every person who held public power, was publicly subject to a Master or Mistress.
For Jana, it would be Nelk who acted in the interest of all those she had power over. He would take a sacred oath as soon as they passed through the doors of the Wifery, to subject her to the laws that she would help create and would always defend. In the public sphere, Nelk would hold no direct power over any others. In their lives together, he would have all of the authority. Had Nelk been driven to power like her, he would have needed to find a partner who would agree to dominate him completely. Instead, he preferred the quiet and contemplative life of a writer.
Any complaint of her conduct, from any person, would be brought to him. He would then be duty-bound to punish her if it was justified. At his discretion, that punishment could occur in private or public and could be of any severity that would not cause scaring or maiming. Jana had seen many such punishments and knew that an experienced Master could inflict considerable punishment without leaving the slightest mark. Nelk would have acquired that experience before they graduated from the Wifery.
Nelk was a man of great honour and would never shirk his duty. If he honestly felt that she had earned punishment, or believed that it would be beneficial in any way, she would be punished. Love was a requirement between a couple entering the Wifery - but only to ensure that the commitment demanded of both would be complete. Nelk would dominate her because he loved her, and she wanted to enter the Councils. She would submit to, and forgive, what he inflicted on her because she knew that it was based in love.
Another couple, two men this time, entered the Wifery and the queue stepped forward again. Jana could not help but imagine what might pass between them in the time to come. There was no stigma on Bhala for men, or women, to find love with each other. As long as adults consented, none had anything to say. There were legends that it had not been so on the old world - that fanciful beliefs in omnipresent and vengeful entities had been a pretext to limit love. There was no such thing on Bhala. Belief in law and science were the only ones that were recognised. Some still believed in the old religions and there were rumours that they gathered to discuss the ideas of those belief systems. It was an intellectual exercise reserved for adults. To indoctrinate a child with such ideas was a criminal act, no different from a physical violation of a minor. Most Bhalans considered it worse and applauded the severe penalties that would be applied to such cases.
Another couple, this time a nude man and dressed woman stepped through the door. The one who entered nude was, in all cases, referred to as the wife. Male or female, the title denoted role, not gender. Jana felt Nelk's hand glide over her bottom, his finger tips tracing the crease between her buttocks. "This will be extraordinary." He whispered. "You will make a great elder some day, Jana." She smiled at him, hoping he was correct.
Once through the door, they would meet the mistress of this Wifery, the Lady Sehra. If she determined that Jana was worthy, and Nelk able, she would allow them to begin their journey at the Wifery. Then, with luck and hard work, in a year they would re-emerge. Jana would be led to the city square, where on a dais, Nelk would punish her before the crowds and the elders - a ceremony that would happen every year of their lives together. Should the crowds consider Nelk too gentle, Jana would be refused entry into the Junior Council. Every year, she could lose her place. It was only after fifteen years that she would be permitted to enter the Elder Council.
No one ever looked back, though from past experiences, Jana knew that there were perhaps a hundred more couples waited behind them. Like her, every nude attendee would have received a summons that morning. She had both dreamt of this, and dreaded it. Every couple would enter and either be accepted, or rejected. The rejected ones would leave by a back door, not knowing if they would ever receive another summons. The couples who were accepted, would live within these walls for a year.
The First Law was very clear, in order to enter the Junior Council every hopeful needed to spend a year at a Wifery. Every city state had one, but this was one of the best in the world. All of her hard work; the years of studying and the relentless pursuit of the skills she would need to enter the political elite of Bhala: it would all be worth naught if she didn't enter, and succeed, in The Wifery.
The First Law, or the Law of Balance, had been written by the first mothers when they colonised Bhala. They had come from a world ravaged by war and strife and had resolved to take precautions. Every person who held public power, was publicly subject to a Master or Mistress.
For Jana, it would be Nelk who acted in the interest of all those she had power over. He would take a sacred oath as soon as they passed through the doors of the Wifery, to subject her to the laws that she would help create and would always defend. In the public sphere, Nelk would hold no direct power over any others. In their lives together, he would have all of the authority. Had Nelk been driven to power like her, he would have needed to find a partner who would agree to dominate him completely. Instead, he preferred the quiet and contemplative life of a writer.
Any complaint of her conduct, from any person, would be brought to him. He would then be duty-bound to punish her if it was justified. At his discretion, that punishment could occur in private or public and could be of any severity that would not cause scaring or maiming. Jana had seen many such punishments and knew that an experienced Master could inflict considerable punishment without leaving the slightest mark. Nelk would have acquired that experience before they graduated from the Wifery.
Nelk was a man of great honour and would never shirk his duty. If he honestly felt that she had earned punishment, or believed that it would be beneficial in any way, she would be punished. Love was a requirement between a couple entering the Wifery - but only to ensure that the commitment demanded of both would be complete. Nelk would dominate her because he loved her, and she wanted to enter the Councils. She would submit to, and forgive, what he inflicted on her because she knew that it was based in love.
Another couple, two men this time, entered the Wifery and the queue stepped forward again. Jana could not help but imagine what might pass between them in the time to come. There was no stigma on Bhala for men, or women, to find love with each other. As long as adults consented, none had anything to say. There were legends that it had not been so on the old world - that fanciful beliefs in omnipresent and vengeful entities had been a pretext to limit love. There was no such thing on Bhala. Belief in law and science were the only ones that were recognised. Some still believed in the old religions and there were rumours that they gathered to discuss the ideas of those belief systems. It was an intellectual exercise reserved for adults. To indoctrinate a child with such ideas was a criminal act, no different from a physical violation of a minor. Most Bhalans considered it worse and applauded the severe penalties that would be applied to such cases.
Another couple, this time a nude man and dressed woman stepped through the door. The one who entered nude was, in all cases, referred to as the wife. Male or female, the title denoted role, not gender. Jana felt Nelk's hand glide over her bottom, his finger tips tracing the crease between her buttocks. "This will be extraordinary." He whispered. "You will make a great elder some day, Jana." She smiled at him, hoping he was correct.
Once through the door, they would meet the mistress of this Wifery, the Lady Sehra. If she determined that Jana was worthy, and Nelk able, she would allow them to begin their journey at the Wifery. Then, with luck and hard work, in a year they would re-emerge. Jana would be led to the city square, where on a dais, Nelk would punish her before the crowds and the elders - a ceremony that would happen every year of their lives together. Should the crowds consider Nelk too gentle, Jana would be refused entry into the Junior Council. Every year, she could lose her place. It was only after fifteen years that she would be permitted to enter the Elder Council.
