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Book One: Asuragiari

Addendum: Education

Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)

Edith tilted her head back, allowing the warm morning sunshine to wash over her muzzle, which was scattered with untimely, minute flecks of grey. She did not feel her age with the, as yet, weak sun beaming. Sitting on a raised stone wall that served as a temporary seat, the nude Canaan dog swung her legs giddily, bare heels thumping the light stone as if she had reverted to her puppy years. The building to her rear was low set, consisting of one level with access to the flat roof. It was subsequently the location in which she had finally fallen into a languid stupor of sexual satisfaction when the sun was brightening the landscape. Barely slept, her hair was unkempt and her body ached with glowing exertion.

She had never felt so whole, so alive.

"I see you are enjoying the sunshine."

A pair of large paws with hard fingertips landed on her shoulders and Edith breathed out slowly, leaning back against the stallion's broad chest. Imran, a fine palomino steed with a beautifully kept mane and tail - a far cry from her husband's grooming - massaged her shoulders gently, fingers moving in soothing circles.

"I am." Edith suppressed a yawn. "I needed to think for a while."

"About what?"

Imran's voice was comforting and his touch even more so. Edith turned her muzzle, casting her eyes along the muscled lines of his chest. She had become very well acquainted with that chest the previous night. The stallion had taken a shine to her and persisted in taking her to what was classed as his private home, despite more often than not entertaining various furs from Sodom. He was an open, welcoming figure.

He was well hung too.

Edith shook her head, regaining her sensibility. The sun was getting stronger and she blinked to clear sun spots from her vision. She had left her sleeping mat and the warm bodies of bed mates for the bright morning, only to think. Her family was the most important commodity in the world for her and could not be replaced by any number of furs. Where were her daughters? Her sister, Ansha... Where was Ansha?

"I came here with my husband to look for my sister," she said at last, speaking very slowly and perhaps overly plainly. "I am still worried for her, Imran. I will not rest until I have seen her with my own eyes." Imran's paws tightened marginally on her shoulders.

"What?" Edith pushed away from Imran, jumping off the wall and whirling about. "What is it? Have you seen her? Have you seen Ansha?"

"No, I'm afraid," Imran shook his head sadly, sorry to disappoint the eager canine. "It's difficult to keep track of our people at any time - even more so during our festivals."

Edith's ears drooped and she rubbed her arm, struck by a sudden self-consciousness. Imran hastened over the wall in response to her distress, cream hooves clattering against the like-coloured stone.

"Please, do not be saddened." The stallion wrapped one arm around Edith's waist. "I assure you, she is fine. Ansha is likely better than fine, if you take our revelry into consideration."

Imran chuckled lightly, squeezing his arm around her waist, though she was unresponsive. He tried again.

"You should not be discouraged," he nuzzled the top of her head, snuffing up wisps of unruly hair. "I'm sure she'll turn up. You must be tired after last night. Are you sure that you would not like to return to the sleeping quarters?"

"No... No, I am fine, thank you," Edith said more strongly, standing up tall. "I feel more awake than ever before. Well, since I've been with Lot, that is. It's simply that my daughters are still with him - my husband the coward!"

Edith's lips twitched in memory of a snarl that she might have once given Ansha after one of her rebellious nights. Pinning his ears back anxiously, Imran backed away, tail swishing.

"I'll have the one of the servants bring you water and something to eat," he said with a small smile. "You must be hungry. But, please, rest assured - we'll have a search party out for your family this morn. We can start at the inn where Raguel was found."

"Wait!" Edith yelped as Imran turned away laboriously, appearing sore after the night before. Catching her voice, he halted mid-stride and looked back over his shoulder, uncertainty in his eyes.

"Mm?"

"I have questions!" Edith's eyes flashed, forgotten fire stirred by unbridled lust. She felt that she had finally stepped into her own body, like Ansha had done all those years ago. Edith had been sleeping while Ansha lived.

"You said you were a representative of one of the seven magistrates that governs this city," Edith continued, maintaining fierce eye contact with the stallion, who turned to face her. "I want to know about my home. Please," she said more gently, her muzzle softening. "My mother died when my sister and I were born. My father was Akkadian. I don't know anything about Sodom, beyond my experience of last night."

Imran brushed his forelock aside and nodded as she spoke, stance relaxed and arms hanging loosely at his sides. Edith held her breath, foreseeing denial once again.

"Seeing as the festivities will carry on throughout the morning," Imran considered, head tilted in an absurdly comical fashion. "I have time to spare. But allow me to recruit the search party and the servant, so we may converse over the morning meal."

"Thank you," Edith whispered, exhaling her held breath in a rush. "You don't know what that means to me."

Imran considered her.

"I think I do. Now - come."

Satisfied for the time being, Edith followed close upon Imran's heels, his taut buttocks a tantalising temptation. Edith licked her lips and shook herself, knowing that there would be plenty more males and females for her to satisfy her withheld lusts with. She did not only have to have one male any more. Things were different. Her whole life was going to be different!

Imran led her into the area where food was prepared, seemingly unwilling to bother with the issue of having the servants set up the receiving room with all the finery that was drawn on to impress guests. Quiet meals were more Edith's style, which was one scrap of information he had coaxed from her during the night. He hoped to learn more about her over the course of her stay, if she chose to remain within Sodom's walls. Murmuring quietly to two servants, Imran directed one out the door while the other, a harried looking ibex with a female's dainty, short horns, darted in and out of the pantry, arms overloaded with supplies.

Edith watched in fascination as the single ibex brought out a low table and two padded cushions, placing them before the table with a murmur of apology, though Edith could not fathom what he was apologising for. The ibex servant tucked her hair behind her large ears with rounded tips and rested four large bowls on the table, filled to the brim with ripe fruits, vegetables and soft, freshly baked bed. Hurriedly dropping some earthenware pots of spreadable flavour on the table, the ibex dashed through to the cooking area where the sound of a fire crackled in the hearth.

"Please," Imran gestured to the prepared table. "Sit. The warm food will be prepared soon. We are early this morning."

Awkwardly, Edith set herself on the cushion, legs angled to the side and ankles crossed femininely, conscious of her larger shape taking up more space than the toned equine's muscle. Arabian horses were dainty in their way, however, so Edith convinced herself that she should not feel embarrassed. It was not as if every fur in Sodom was perfectly shaped to the ideal figure of every potential mate, after all. She happened to like her shape but Lot had made many a comment, even with his bulbous belly. It did things to a female fur's confidence at times.

Oblivious to her thoughts, Imran seated himself cross-legged on the opposite cushion, reaching immediately for the fruit, which glistened with moisture; it had been kept cool in the cellar of his home, as were all perishables. Sometimes, the only bearable place - in terms of heat and comfort - in his abode was the cellar, as dark as it was. Biting into the soft, sweet fruit, Imran's eyes fell half-lidded in pleasure at the succulent flesh. He was an equine to enjoy the finer tastes in life.

"Now," he murmured, swallowing his mouthful of fruit. "What would you like to know of the city?"

"Who are our people?" Edith pounced upon opportunity, ignoring the food. "We didn't not come from here, did we? The people of Sodom?"

Imran nodded his affirmation.

"Correct. The citizens of Sodom - well, most - came from Marad, which is a Sumerian city. Or," he took a breath, "at least it was a Sumerian city. So much changes. Do you know that Sumerian cities were thought to each have a divine protector, a guardian if you will?"

"No..." Edith struggled to remember, brow furrowing in concentration. Imran patiently selected some vegetables, allowing her adequate time. There was no rush.

"No...yes... I believe I know some guardians," she said at last. "What has this to do with Marad?"

"It has everything to do with Marad, Edith," Imran nodded. "Marad had the divine guardianship of Inanna."

Edith recognised that name and caught her breath: a suitable association for Sodom...

"Concerning Marad, it was a wild, orgiastic city in comparison to the other major Sumerian cities, quite an oddity. The behaviour of our people was mildly tolerated by Ur Nammu, for the most part. It was when Sargon and the rest of the Akkadians came and conquered Sumer that life became increasingly difficult."

Imran frowned and his dished muzzle was briefly obscured by the memories of their collected history, passed down to him from his ancestors. Edith sat perfectly still, trying to absorb this new information.

"I was told, as a youngster, that we travelled for weeks before arriving in this area, back when it was even more desolate," Imran mused, fingers pressed beneath his chin.

"Forgive my interruption," Edith said gently, drawing him back on to the topic at hand. "But, Innana, she is the Goddess of lust and fertility, am I correct? If so, that is most fitting in my mind."

"Ah, I see that you recognise her," Imran smiled, his eyes brightening and ears pricking up. "She is the one. The festival that is continuing over the next few days, what we began last night is dedicated to her. We celebrate the beginning of the summer solstice in her name."

Imran paused once more and Edith contemplated how many pauses the stallion made in conversation. He was a thoughtful sort, but not always a charm to converse with. Rubbing her shoulder, she bumped her drooping but large breasts with an elbow and winced, still unrecovered from the exuberant sexual activity. Oh, how she wanted to experience that again. Considering her location and inclinations, however, she had the distinct feeling that it would not be long before she was able to take another male to bed. Imran leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and focused on the Canaan dog with an intent, blue gaze.

"Do you know of the tale of her ascent from the underworld?"

"No, I am sad to admit," Edith murmured, her muzzle dipping. "I never heard many Sumerian myths during my lifetime. My father only knew of the Akkadian legends."

"It is a good story," Imran settled himself more comfortably upon the cushion, as eager as a foal to tell his tale.

"Inanna once entered the underworld and subsequently became trapped there - oh, thank you Naram!"

A distraction appeared in form of the ibex, who placed another bowl on the table beside one of freshly cooked strips of meat, solely intended for Edith's palate.

"Edith," Imran offered her the bowl. "You must try some of our figs. They are some of the most delicious fruits we have here, though we haven't the luxury of the best sources, so to speak."

Politely, Edith selected two figs from the bowl and bit into one, murring at the taste. The figs were indeed delicious and she polished two off swiftly, soon starting on a third. Imran watched her satisfy her appetite with the enjoyment of a lover and continued with his tale as she ate.

"Now, back to Inanna. She, of course, needed to escape the underworld and, Enki, a god, sought her return," Imran paused to dab juice away from his lips. "The underworld, however, would not allow her to leave without exchanging her for another, as is the price. Inanna searched for her servant, her beauty groomer and her son, hoping that one of them would be willing to take her place. But Inanna did not have the heart to ask such a sacrifice of any of these furs, as they all mourned her disappearance, loving her deeply."

"Finally, she sought out her husband, Dumuzi, who she was surprised to find had not mourned her disappearance to the underworld. This was her point of power. She sent him to the underworld in her place and rose back to Earth as a Goddess. Our festival celebrates her return to the world by the burning of a wooden structure that represents Dumuzi. We burn it in the middle of the city. On the other side of the scale, we burn an effigy of Inanna at the winter solstice. Aside from the burning, which happens at the conclusion of the ceremony, we boast five days of rampant feasting and sexual activity with one another."

"Fascinating," Edith murmured, cupping a pottery drinking vessel between her paws. "But how do you maintain such behaviour? Don't the citizens become jealous and fight? And who in this land raises all the subsequent offspring? You must be overrun with youngsters!"

Imran laughed, the sound musical and light. Edith could not help but smile, ears angled forward expectantly.

"No, no," he reassured her. "Most do not have anything to be jealous over as they have a vast selection of partners at any given time. The sexual acts tend to pacify the males, which is one of the contributing factors in allowing many females to be our high ranking officials. The males that would normally fight their way to the top are generally satisfied and, as such, are willing to abdicate most of their ruling powers. As for the children... If I may be so bold as to ask, how many canines did you sleep with the evening prior?"

"If memory serves me correctly, I don't believe any," Edith blushed, recalling her partners one by one. Imran nodded as if it was exactly the response that he expected.

"We have so many different species' here that we can mate as we wish without producing offspring," Imran said with a smile. "It does not always have to mean the birth of a new life. When young are the result of our sexual delights, the mothers and grandmothers raise them collectively. Then the males provide for them."

"As you can expect, there is often uncertainty as to who the father is, so it is considered the duty of the men and women of Sodom to be kind to all youngsters, as everyone here is collectively a child of Sodom."

Edith gasped, dropping her fifth fig and clapped her paws to her muzzle. She had not seen any pups or other youngsters in Sodom but...what if they had been there?

"Goddess! How can pups be raised in such depravity?" Edith shook her head. "Were they at the city centre last night? Did they watch? This is dreadful, I can't believe this... I don't want to imagine -"

"No, no!" Imran jumped in, holding up his paws. "No, there were no youngsters there, Edith, please do not worry yourself. We isolate the young from those old enough to take part in sexual activities, so they do not become old before their time."

Seeing that Edith was calmer, he continued more slowly, relaxing back into his padded cushion.

"During the festivities, the young attend the feasts but are sequestered to the quarters of the elder females. They do not know what is happening and I do not recall being particularly interested in the proceedings when I was a foal. I only wanted to play with my friends in the quiet quarters, as all us young ones were together those nights. We caused no end of trouble for the elders!"

Imran whinnied out a laugh, though Edit watched him cautiously as only a mother could. Her daughters were old enough to partake in the celebrations as she had. Noting her remaining concern, Imran placed one paw on top of hers and Edith tensed, unwilling to withdraw.

"We have very strict laws on the abuse of the young, I will have you know, Edith," he said seriously, eyes imploring her to believe. "Nothing bad happens to the young. And, if it does, those involved are punished severely, but we have not had a case during my lifetime."

Placated over the case of the young furs for the time being, Edith looked suspiciously at Imran's paw, resisting the urge to tug hers away.

"And diseases..." She approached the topic delicately but straight to the point. "How can you possibly prevent them amongst these myriad couplings?"

"The answer is simple," Imran withdrew his paw and clasped both to his chest. "Those that are ill are never allowed to participate, otherwise, well...you know what would occur. We have a rigid set of rules for sexual disease and a mandatory dye marking system for those disallowed. It might seem a bit unfair but they can take single mates, if the other agrees, and they do not lose out from life itself. But we cannot have diseases spread."

"Actually," Imran continued, struck by a sudden thought. "Due to the general lack of outsiders available to mate with our people, restrictions have seldom been imposed. Visitors are seldom assimilated into our culture."

"I see," Edith was not slow on the uptake. "Why then was I allowed to mate yesterday then? I received no such evaluation or test to ensure that I was free of disease."

The servant reappeared with fresh water, a luxury in such a location. Edith drank deeply, letting the cool moisture wash around her mouth. Imran contemplated his answer.

"From what your sister told us before - the officials, I mean - no examination was needed. She told us that you rarely mated with your husband and definitely not any other males or females. My dear Edith, that is simply why we were so excited to see your party upon your arrival. We seldom allow visitors to participate in our ceremonies." Imran chuckled and slipped Edith a conspirator's wink. "The men can become rather rowdy about a male's virgin arse, if I may confide."

Edith's eyes widened as she imagined the males of Sodom crowding her husband's decidedly virgin backside. Lot would have a fit! A reckless giggle bubbled in her throat and she pressed her paw over her lips to quell it. Imran shook his head and pretended to sip his water while she composed herself, shaking with suppressed mirth. When she was calm and able to speak clearly, Edith cast a glance out the open doorway.

"I hope Lot hasn't gone off like a scared puppy and done something ridiculous. It'd be just like him to cause a scene."

"Whatever the circumstance," Imran said solemnly, "he has daughters of Sodom accompanying him. Have faith. It is the summer solstice and Inanna will protect your daughters."

Edith sighed heavily and cast her mind back to their quarters at the inn where her daughters likely lay, still beautifully asleep. Her two lovely daughters. How were they now? She met Imran's eyes and narrowed her gaze, as if daring him to contradict her next words.

"I hope you are right."