Written Wonderland

Trevor kept his eyes on the ground and eventually closed them. The sounds--the crackle of flames from the torches and the fire under the cauldrons, the wind through the trees, and the subtle sounds of people shifting and breathing around him--engaged him plenty as he flexed his pectoral muscles against the ropes, humming with what he was sure was a drunk sort of smile on his face.

But, when he heard the sounds of the second length of rope hit the sheet in front of him, chills shook through Trevor. He was about to lose access to his hands. He remembered Kade's concern about the long-term nature of this bondage, but Trevor had waved him off as best he could. Now, though, he curled his fingers, nervous. Still, this couldn't be anything worse than he had endured with the goddess.

Before he could think about it further, Kade was slipping loops of rope up Trevor's arms and over his shoulders. The sensation pulled Trevor down deeper into the sensations of it all again, and his knees wavered momentarily, and he held back a moan of satisfaction.

That done, Kade softly said, "There is no shame in kneeling, should you need to. Better to kneel than to fall. Do you understand?"

Trevor's cock twitched, probably from the proximity of Kade to his ear, and his lip curled a little, feeling a little condescended to. But, he supposed he understood. His knees did feel shaky, and he would need to stand for all the rest of the volunteers to go through similar processes. Should he kneel now? But, no, he wanted to get through at least this part standing.

"I understand," he said, looking back slightly toward Kade.

"I understand," Trevor said, looking back slightly toward Serio. That was the last piece that Serio needed to fully let go of his concern, and he eagerly tightened the knot, pulling Trevor's shoulders back. It wasn't quite harsh--or at least, that was not Serio's intention--but he did want to jostle Trevor just slightly, help him sink back down into bliss.

He let the loops loosen a bit as he staged the next knot, checking on the tension before he created the next set of loops. As delightful as drama was, he didn't want to force the arms back very far in the actual tie, certainly not with how muscular Trevor was and how long he might be in this. Once the next set of loops were ready, Serio gently guided Trevor's arms through them, one and then the other. He spent a moment tracing his fingers beneath each set of loops, checking the tension again and ensuring they were placed in a way that seemed harmonious with Trevor's body.

"Do you feel any tingling?" Serio asked, once again close to Trevor's ear. If he wasn't mistaken, the soldier seemed to enjoy the proximity, and Serio was delighted to oblige.

Kade pulled tightly on the rope behind Trevor's back, and his arms swung a little wildly. Trevor managed to keep his balance even though his head started swimming in what he could really only describe as... bliss. Like, the quiet moments after he had just ejaculated. Gods, except his cock still ached.

Twitch.

Trevor watched helplessly as a drop of cum dripped off his cock. Great.

Kade methodically checked and loosened the loops around Trevor's shoulders a little, for which Trevor was incredibly grateful. He wasn't sure how long he would have lasted if Kade had tightened them all the way. But, gods, the coarse rope felt good over his shoulder muscles, and he flexed into them a little, a half-grin sloppy on his face.

Next to Trevor's ear, Kade asked, "Do you feel any tingling?"

"No," Trevor said breathlessly, swaying a little toward Kade. Gods, Trevor wanted to fuck something.

Serio was delighted as he watched Trevor flex his shoulders beneath the rope, swaying back toward Serio as he spoke.

"No," Trevor answered breathlessly. Serio felt temptation rising to touch this soldier more intimately, to lead him in a dance yet further down into bliss. But he and Trevor had only negotiated rope, and that had been quite on purpose. Serio kept his gaze down as he tied the next knot in the sleeve, but his awareness widened to remind himself of all the many eyes that were on them. It was already one thing for a captain to adorn a soldier as a tribute to an ally, albeit unconventionally naked as he was--it would be quite another for Serio to showcase his own lusts for the army to see. This wasn't about him, and even if Trevor would have liked for Serio to touch him more intimately than the rope demanded, surely it was just as well to send that longing with him to the goddess.

So, remaining businesslike it was, insofar as any of this counted in the first place. Serio slid the next set of loops up Trevor's arms and secured their placement and tension, and then did the same with the next. Each time, he relished the moment he tightened the knot, watching Trevor's body react to the climbing loss of movement each new set of loops enacted.

"If you do start to feel tingling, or any loss of feeling," Serio said, his voice sulty in Trevor's ear, "I want you to tell someone--whoever you can. It would be a shame for no one else to know."

It was an instruction Serio had given Trevor when they'd spoken earlier today, but it bore worth repeating in this state. Earlier, he had framed it more in terms of the risks it would represent to Trevor. He hoped now that he was able to frame it in a more pleasurable way--to hint that others would want to know about Trevor's state. Granted, there hadn't been a chance to brief the other volunteers on what that might mean for Trevor, or what should be done about it, but, should Evan or the goddess be ever be unavailable, Serio at least didn't want Trevor to be alone in his experience. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Serio found himself silently sending a prayer to the goddess--please, don't let him be all alone in this state.

Without waiting for Trevor to respond, Serio tied off the last of the rope securing the soldier's wrists together, perhaps also securing his prayer within the knot itself. The rest of the knots in Trevor's sleeve would all be able to loosen with effort, but this final knot was secure, pulling the rest taut and undeniably binding Trevor to the mercy of someone outside of himself. Discomfort stirred within Serio's core, a flare of protectiveness urging him to untie the knot or else not to let Trevor out of his reach, but he swallowed it down--perhaps all too practicedly. At least there was one more check-in to complete.

"You are securely bound." Serio stated softly in Trevor's ear. "Is there anything you would like me to adjust before I give you into the priestess' care?"

Trevor almost felt drowsy as Kade tied yet more loops around Trevor's arms, pulling them tighter and closer together with every cinch. Every tug pushed Trevor deeper down into his own experience of his own sensations. As a breeze blew across his body--wet from the wash and the oil--he shivered and felt all the rope around him at once. This time, he did let out an audible moan as his head tilted a little toward one side. Gods, how was he supposed to wait through the rest of the ceremony to get to the goddess? He wanted to be with her now. He wanted her to see him like this. But, he supposed this was part of proving himself a worthy offering--he had to endure the wait.

"If you do start to feel tingling, or any loss of feeling," Kade said, his voice velvety in Trevor's ear, "I want you to tell someone--whoever you can. It would be a shame for no one else to know."

Trevor furrowed his brow at Kade's last remark, not really understanding what the captain meant, but he nodded obediently. Kade made what felt like one final knot in the rope and let go of Trevor.

"You are securely bound," Kade said privately to him. As though Trevor had any doubt. "Is there anything you would like me to adjust before I give you into the priestess' care?"

Trevor did his best to pull himself up out of whatever pit he had fallen into in order to assess his arms. There was no numbness or tingling, even when he strained against the restraints. He moved his head from side to side, and there was a bit of skin being pinched under one side of the original scaffolding. He was tempted not to say something. After all, it probably wasn't going to cause nerve damage, and Trevor had no desire to make Kade look in any way incompetent. But Kade's warnings made Trevor a little over-anxious about it.

"The rope on the left side. Could you pull it a little away from my neck?" Trevor said quietly with some difficulty.

Serio watched patiently as Trevor tensed and released his muscles, moving his head subtly from side to side. He was glad that the soldier was genuinely assessing himself. He also stepped around Trevor slowly, checking his own work from multiple angles while he waited for Trevor's reply.

"The rope on the left side," Trevor finally said with some difficulty, "Could you pull it a little away from my neck?"

Serio smiled, pleased and relieved that the solder was able to identify something. Honestly, that was often more reassuring than someone identifying nothing at all. Serio gently ran his fingers underneath the rope in question, readjusting its position and redistributing the tension across Trevor's skin.

"Very good," he nearly purred. "Anything else?"

Kade adjusted the rope deftly and did not seem too put off by Trevor's request.

"Very good," Kade said. "Anything else?"

Trevor shook his head. "It's impressive." He thought about saying more, but he decided he would leave it at that. He was already beginning to slip into whatever rope intoxication kept pulling him in.

--

The priestess watched with guarded interest as the first offering worked toward his gift to the goddess. She certainly approved of Kade's handiwork--he was offering the proper amount of respect to the matter, she thought. And given how taken the offering seemed to be with the process, Tehlunae imagined that the goddess would be quite pleased with it all. When Kade nodded to her, signaling that he had finished, the priestess instructed Trevor to stand near her again. Methodically, she bent toward one of the buckets with the clay and drew a sigil on Trevor's right thigh, curving swoops followed by two slashes aimed in opposite directions. Stepping back from him slightly, she turned and presented him to the gathered crowed.

"Do you intend to serve the goddess of desire, of shadow, of mist, and of purpose of your own free will?" the crone asked loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Trevor shook his head slightly to clear the intoxication enough to answer. "I do," he said confidently, loudly.

"Then, please, step into this first circle." The priestess nodded to Evan and then bowed her head, indicating that he should do the same as Trevor walked through the two of them, took a deep breath, and stepped over the circle. He then turned back to face the crowd, careful with his balance, as walking without the use of his arms was surprisingly difficult.

The priestess made a small gesture of her hand toward the commander, almost a scooping motion, low and distinct, and the commander understood at once. She looked at her captains, said quickly, "repeat after me," and lifted both of her hands into the air.

"To the goddess," Mizu shouted to the sky.

"To the goddess!" The captains replied.

And then the whole of the gathered crowd shouted, "To the goddess!" after which a chorus of cheers and clapping rang out. The priestess smiled slightly, and Trevor shivered pleasantly in his ropes. He had never felt so worthy of... well, anything. His eyes threatened to water, but he looked down at the ground to stop them before they could flow freely.

"Who will be next to offer themselves to the goddess?" the priestess asked the gathered volunteers.

Nick had been utterly enrapt by the whole process of Trevor's offering, and the cheers to the goddess were moving beyond belief. Tears slid down his cheeks and a few short, laughterous sobs escaped his chest. Chloe rested a hand on his shoulder, and he smiled to her as he wiped his tears away. They were becoming fast friends, which he was grateful for. He even had her to thank for the idea of his offering, and he thought fondly back to the first cool, smooth rock from the river that she had gently slid across his cheek.

"Who will be next to offer themselves to the goddess?" the priestess asked, and Nick felt a pang of excitement in his chest. He looked around, gauging how everyone else fared. There hadn't really been enough time or knowledge about how this would even go to plan any of this out, so he supposed they just had to go with what felt right. Most of the volunteers seemed uncertain still--it had been a bit of a shock to watch Trevor get naked, for one. Nick himself certainly felt nervous about it, but... it would probably be okay. He didn't feel terribly bashful about nakedness all told, though it would be a bit chilly.

With a deep breath to gather his resolve, Nick stepped forward toward the priestess, hugging his small sack of items tight against him.

"I will."

He blushed as he realized he had probably not projected as loudly as he should have, but it seemed clunky to repeat it. Instead he just swallowed and moved toward the priestess, his heartbeat steadily climbing in anticipation.

"I will," said one of the volunteers, a little quietly, coming forward to stand in front of Evan and the priestess holding a small bag in his hands.

"And what will your offering to the goddess be?" the priestess asked this next volunteer solemnly.

"And what will your offering to the goddess be?"

Nick blinked silently for a moment, his mind going inexplicably blank. Or, maybe he was just looking in the wrong place for the answer. He closed his eyes then, taking in a deep breath and letting it out as he continued to hug his bag of objects against him. These were his offering--or, represented his offering? He hadn't thought of how exactly to explain it.

After a moment Nick opened his eyes again, and looked around at the gathered soldiers watching him. Nervousness trembled in his chest, a dizziness tugging at his perception. He wasn't sure he had ever been under so many gazes at once. But, many of these soldiers had personally contributed to Nick's offering. He found those familiar eyes, touching them across the gathering, and in them, he found his answer.

"A collection," he said finally, holding his bag out in front of him as though inviting everyone present to peek inside. He projected a little bit better now, though his voice did warble some with his nervousness. "Moments of intimacy gifted to the goddess through these objects, and me."

Once he finished speaking, Nick looked at the priestess almost as though asking for some kind of confirmation. Not that that really made any sense--she probably knew nothing about his offering before this moment--but she was nonetheless where his eyes tracked as he questioned whether he'd explained it correctly, and, admittedly, a flicker of doubt fluttered in his chest as to whether it was an appropriate offering at all.

Nick had struggled with that doubt creeping in many times throughout the day, but he always landed on, yes, this was how he could best serve the goddess. He closed his eyes again, perhaps wanting to release the priestess from whatever role he'd just put her in, as he reassured himself of the value of his interactions today, of the many tiny prayers that soldiers throughout the army had offered to the goddess through these objects and their touches to skin. Surely, surely, the goddess would at least feel the intentions within them.