Chapter 4: Tommy’s Manhood Ceremony

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The Next Morning…

Slave Quarters...

Everyone woke up, stretching out as they yawned. As per usual, they stepped out of the slave quarters, Master Egad waiting for them with Symon, Mick, Xen, Fox, Marcus, Krystal, Anthony, and Alak’ai, all in bathrobes.

“Good morning, everyone.” Egad said. “Did all of you sleep well?”

Everyone voiced agreement with a yes.

“Did you sleep well, Master?” Jet asked.

“I slept great.” Egad answered, nuzzling Jet and giving him a kiss as they locked lips for a few moments, Jet letting out a satisfied murr. “Plus, as all of you know, today is a special day for a certain coven brother.”

“That it is.” Zhal said, nuzzling Tommy as he embraced him from behind. “Today is the day of Tommy’s Manhood Ceremony. The day he will begin to learn how to use his psychic abilities.”

“Yeah.” Tommy said as he snuggled against Zhal. “Ever since I started to feel everyone’s thoughts and feelings a few weeks ago, my father and master have set up a meeting with some of the Sepharthian priests back home with Master’s help. I’m looking forward to seeing the temple on Sepharth.”

“Indeed. So am I.” Egad said with a smile. “I always had wondered what Sepharth’s landscape looks like. I’m looking forward to this little getaway. Well, we had better get ready to go. I’ve already had Foxtail-1 fueled up, stocked with supplies, and had extras of all our outfits packed up. All we have to do is get showered and dressed.”

“I’m so excited for you, Tommy.” Bishop said proudly, he, Gareth and Damion giving their kin kisses on the cheek. “This is going to be a grand day for us all.”

With that, everyone walked down the hall to the bath house.

# # # # # #

Foxtail-1

Orbit of Sepharth – Four Hours Later…

Chaos and Mick put the ship in a standby orbit as Xen looked over the sensors, pin-pointing the location of the Aryndo temple in the Hozub’ul Mountains near one of the polar ice caps on the Southern Continent.

“The temple is located about 2 kilometers from the mountain’s summit.” Xen said.

“Too bad we can’t take a shuttlecraft down there. The upper Atmosphere is charged with ionic turbulence.” Chaos sighed from the pilot’s station as he and Mick prepped the ship for a planet-side landing.

“Yep, but at least we’ve done this before.” Mick said from the co-pilot’s seat as they went through the landing prep sequence. “Powering down FTL Engines… FTL Drive is off-line. How close do you want to land to the temple, uncle?”

“No more than 150 meters.” Egad said. “Just enough distance for a short walk.”

“Got it.” Mick said as he input the calculations into the navigational computer. “I’ve found a level patch of stable ground on the sensors… Landing trajectory has been plotted. Standing by to adjust Centrifugal Dampeners to match the planet’s gravity.”

“Systems secured for landing. Seat Belt light is active in the cabin… Cabin reports all passengers are buckled in and secure.” Chaos reported. “Sublight engines are configured for atmospheric flight. We’re ready to land the ship, Master.”

Egad leaned back in his seat, everyone buckled in. “Put her down, Chaos.”

Chaos smiled warmly, maneuvering Foxtail-1 on the precalculated landing path. “We’re on the glide trajectory… Altitude, 100 kilometers, speed is 10,000 kph.”

The ship’s frame started to slightly vibrate for a few moments as they entered the upper layers, cutting through some thick clouds. “We’re encountering some ionic turbulence, beginning to compensate…” Mick said.

The shaking worsened for a few seconds before settling back down as one of the ODN nodes popped in one of the walls due to feedback from the ionic turbulence, sending out a small shower of sparks. Thankfully, no one was near it.

“We’ve got a minor discharge in one of the lateral relays!” Xen reported. “I’m re-routing the ODN conduit… Re-route complete. We’ll be alright, the damage is minimal. We’ll be able to patch it up before we leave.”

“20 Kilometers from the landing site. We should be able to see it now…” Chaos reported.

The clouds parted outside the transparent metal windows of the cockpit’s canopy. The icy, snow-covered peaks of the Hozub’ul mountains came into view, revealing the ancient stone structure of the Aryndo temple as Foxtail-1 flew in through a mild snowstorm. Chaos engaged the maneuvering thrusters, and activated the VTOL landing propulsion turbines. Foxtail-1 slowed down to a crawl as it hovered over the landing site.

“Extending landing struts… Executing Centrifugal Dampener adjustments, matching settings to planet’s gravity.” Mick said, flipping the switches to deploy the landing gear and pressing some inputs on a LCD control screen to adjust the Centrifugal Diffusers.

“Here we go…” Chaos slowly and carefully brought Foxtail-1 down to ground, the ship lazily hovering down to the landing site. A few moments later, everyone felt the mild feedback as the ship made touchdown.

“Disengaging Sublight and VTOL engines, securing thruster exhaust… We’re down.” Chaos reported.

“Good job, Chaos.” Egad complimented with a smile.

# # # #

Aryndo Temple Interior - Rites Chamber

Thirty Minutes Later…

Tommy, Bishop, and Gareth walked into the Rites Chamber, dressed in nothing but small loincloths that did little to cover their bodies. The rest of the Coven were present with the monks, dressed in ceremonial togas. In the center of the chamber was a large water pool, comparable to two combined Olympic swimming pools. The water was warmed by what appeared to be heat-radiating crystals and light-emitting gems scattered in the bottom of the pool as small clouds of steam hovered on the surface.

Tommy walked up near the pool with his parents, where a group of monks waited with the temple’s elders in a semi-circle. The Elders and a few of the senior monks were dressed in loincloths as well, while the rest wore their traditional monk robes. The monks and elders had pots of body paints, colored green, red, and gold. There was also a variety of brushes and a small vat of ritual body oil that would aid with the application of the body paint, as well as a bowl filled with beads and metal-fiber necklace string and wire.

Tommy stood in front of the elders and monks, who then surrounded him in a circle. Tommy then removed his loincloth, Bishop and Gareth gently slathering Tommy’s body with the oil. The monks each retrieved a brush, dipping it one of the body paints. They began to inscribe the ancient runes of passage onto Tommy’s body. The ritual was not rushed, everyone taking their time as they covered Tommy’s body with painted runes. After that was done, Tommy’s entire body was adorned in the painted runes. They all then stepped over to the heated pool, the monks then began to offer a chanting prayer in their native language, Egad and the coven listening with small hearing-aid size translators attached to their ears.

“Ardarros, eternal guardian of the sacred realm of Wreblazor…” The Elders spoke. “We pray to you and your Five Paragons of Drozehin, asking thee to see this individual before thee no longer as a child, but as a man. May you sever his recognition as a child, and embrace him with your love as these paints are washed away.”

“May you receive his devotion, and grant him your blessing for a bright future, filled with love and care from those that care for him now. As well as for those that may care for him in the future, and for those he cares for. May Satqiel, Ezequiel, Turiel, Ramiel, and Seraphiel bless this individual, and see him through into manhood. Ardarros, may you bless this young man with a future of love, and freedom from evil. Ser’jen.”

With that, the monks bowed. Bishop and Gareth then walked with Tommy over to the pool. Tommy walked down the stairs into the pool with his parents, the three becoming submerged up to their necks. They all took a breath, and dove underneath the water, swimming into the deeper end. The body paints began to flake off of Tommy’s body, symbolizing his transition to adulthood. Tommy now had to look through the gems, and select one for his ceremonial Aryndo necklace. He selected one that was colored a fiery ruby red, a contrast to Bishop’s gem which was a deep ocean-like sapphire blue.

Tommy retrieved the gem, separating it from the rest as he pulled it out from the crystalline casings that it was surrounded by. Bishop and Gareth smiled at Tommy, Bishop gently stroking a hand across Tommy’s face down to his shoulder with one hand. Both parents then hugged Tommy for a few moments underwater, proud of their son. They then swam up to the surface, taking a deep breath of air, and treaded water as they swam back over to the stairs. They walked up the stairs, and out of the pool.

Tommy presented his chosen gem to the elders. They nodded, and wrapped the ruby in gold wire, leaving a loop for the string. They held a torch underneath the ruby for a few moments to harden the wire, then quenched it by dipping it into a bucket of water. After the hardening had complete, they strung a metal necklace string through the loop, attaching a variety of colored beads onto the string. One senior monk attached a set of clasps to the ends, and sealed them with a short breath of fire. Then, after it had cooled, they put the necklace on Tommy.

“Tommy Jaren, you have ended your journey as a boy.” The elders spoke. “From this moment on, you now begin your journey as a man. Ser’jen.”