Back to Chapter 4
Chapter Five � "The Bloody One"
There was an interruption of Danka's studies from the end of September
until the end of October. The Church staff, like everyone else in the
country, had to put forth all of their energy into harvesting and
preserving food for the winter. The men hauled bushels of firewood and
charcoal, along with fruit, vegetables, and vinegar to the women's
residence throughout the month. The women toiled to convert fruit into
preserves and pickle as many vegetables as possible. Danka was familiar
with the fall harvest routine, but it was nice to have a large
well-supplied kitchen as a workspace and decent food and seasonings as
ingredients.
In the middle of October Danka received a nickname from the Temple's top
Clergywoman.
Among the students and penitents, she was the only one that had no
qualms about slaughtering animals. Danka's lack of sympathy towards
livestock served her well in a household of squeamish companions: every
time someone showed up with an animal the others were very happy to turn
over the task of killing it to the newcomer. Chickens, rabbits, sheep,
pigs...it didn't matter. The young peasant was quick with the knife or
the cleaver and the animal was dead before it had a chance to realize
what was happening.
Danka received her nickname on an occasion when the Senior Priestess
visited the residence, immediately after she had killed and gutted three
pigs. The penitent was a savage sight at the moment, standing with a
large knife and her body and face completely covered with blood. She immediately knelt,
but the Priestess was so amused that she ordered her to stand up and
return to work.
From that moment, Danka was known as "the bloody one" instead of "the
new visitor". Receiving an identity from the Senior Priestess was an
important accomplishment, because it demonstrated that the Clergy
members had fully accepted the new penitent as a member of their
community. She was not "new" anymore. The danger of anyone questioning
her Public Penance had long passed.
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The coming winter became more of a hardship for the penitents as
November passed and the weather became increasingly colder. The seminary
students put on their dresses, but the penitents did not have that
option. No matter how cold it was outside, they were prohibited from
wearing any clothing. In theory the restriction included shoes, but in
reality none of the Clergy were so cold-hearted that they would force
penitents to walk around in the snow with no protection for their feet.
Danka still had her boots and for the first time in four months was
allowed to put them on.
Danka's world shrunk considerably after the first snowstorm. She and the
other penitents spent as much time as possible in the kitchen, the only
warm spot in their residence. The only other place to go was the study
room, which had a fireplace. So...when she was not working, Danka read
the books that the seminary student had assigned.
"The bloody one's" lessons resumed after the fall food-preserving rush
had ended. The seminary student was as determined to teach as the
penitent was to learn. She had mastered basic reading, so now it was
time to move on to calligraphy, arithmetic, and the use of the abacus.
During December, the penitent's mornings were split between the three
topics. She enjoyed arithmetic and learning the abacus, but hated
calligraphy. Her clumsy hands rebelled against the art of fine writing,
so the penitent decided to ignore writing and concentrate on math. By
the end of the year Danka had mastered adding and subtracting.
The seminary student was not pleased. She was determined to force the
penitent to learn how to write cursive, because Danubians did not
consider a person was truly literate without having that skill. She came
up with a plan to force Danka, on her own, to want to switch over from
writing block-letters to formal script. The winter solstice and new year
were approaching, along with Christmas. (The Old Believers were not
enthusiastic about celebrating Christmas, but there also were True
Believers living in Star�vktaki M�skt, so the Temple included Christmas
in the December celebrations to keep everyone happy.) The multiple
celebrations meant that lots of hymns and announcements had to be
written on parchment and passed around. The seminary student volunteered
to write out a portion of the announcements and tasked "the bloody one"
to assist. Danka was directed to write page after page of lyrics. For
several days she struggled to keep up writing in her usual block
letters. Certainly her ability and comfort writing block letters
increased with all that practice, but she was unable to keep pace with
anyone else. She regretted not having learned calligraphy as she watched
the seminary student and her companions write out page after page with
relative ease. As Danka labored in frustration, the trainee glanced at
her with an expression that clearly stated: "Now you can see why knowing
how to write is important. This time, I'm not going to offer to teach
you. When you are ready, you will have to ask."
Finally Danka did break down and asked to restart the calligraphy
instruction. While the change of attitude was too late to help her
during the preparation for the December festivities, she was determined
that the following year she would not have to go through the
embarrassment again.
She paused. The following year...was she planning to still be with the
Temple that far into the future? So...what would the following year
bring for "the bloody one"...the girl with the knife...the outcast...the
former peasant...? Where would her Path in Life take her?
----------
The new year came and went. The final round of religious festivities was
followed by several feasts that offered "the bloody one" the chance to
try several foods she had never tasted before, including imported nuts,
dates and figs. There was endless singing, poetry readings, and
listening to music. For the first time in her life, Danka actually had
fun during the end-of-the-year holidays.
Considering her alternatives, she began the new year under seemingly
ideal circumstances: she was well-fed, living in a safe place, and
rapidly making up for her deficient upbringing. The final task of
learning how to write cursive was daunting and hugely frustrating, but
she forced herself to push forward, knowing that her mentor had gone
through great effort to obtain parchment and ink for her practices. The
winter passed with her sequestered in the reading room, painfully
writing over paper that already was covered many times over with letters
from previous practices, or working on the new mathematical topics of
multiplication and division.
When she was not practicing, Danka was reading. She now had the ability
to read directly from the holy books of the Danubian Church. She
memorized some Psalms from the Christian Old Testament, as well as key
passages from the Book of the Ancients and the Book of the True Path.
She could read the text from hymns, which helped her during the Temple's
singing practices. In March, Danka's mentor handed her a book that
described all of the important places in the Duchy, including areas in
Lower Danubia that had been lost to the Ottoman Empire. Danka didn't
have a clue what the Ottoman Empire was, so the apprentice handed her
another book about Danubia's history. Now, this truly was amazing, being
able to learn about different times and different places without
actually going there.
The descriptions of cities like Dan�bikt M�skt, Sumy Ris, and Rika
Chorna made "the bloody one" anxious to see them. They sounded like
fascinating places, with all those people and stuff to look at.
----------
"The bloody one" didn't think about how quickly nine months had gone by
until her mentor started talking about the upcoming celebration of the
March equinox. She tasked the penitent with producing copies of the
Senior Priest's sermon, along with hymns and various announcements
related to the day's events. Danka was reluctant to assume such an
important task with her writing skills still not completely developed,
but the student responded: "You will serve the Creator as I have
instructed, I will be satisfied with your work, and that's the end of
it. Why learn if you're not planning to use your skills to serve the
Creator?"
So, for several days, Danka slowly and laboriously copied the text as
instructed. She didn't produce her copies at a fast pace, but that was
not a concern for her mentor. When she finished, the student looked over
the sheets and congratulated Danka.
"You are now literate. You can read and write. Your Path in Life will
demand that you work on your skills and improve, but my part is
finished." Then she added: "We will go before the Senior Priest. I want
to show him that you have completed this portion of your Path in Life."
A few minutes later, Danka nervously knelt beside her mentor in front of
several Clergy members. When the two women knelt upright, the student
handed her ward's papers to the Senior Priest. After examining them, he
addressed "the bloody one".
"You declare before the Creator these papers are the product of your
efforts?"
"Yes, Senior Priest. It is my handwriting."
The Priest handed the penitent a copy of the Book of the True Path and
instructed her to read several paragraphs he chose at random. Danka
complied and read aloud. He directed his attention to his student.
"You have done well, Apprentice. Your student is indeed literate and you
have pleased the Creator and the Church with this tasking. You may
consider it completed."
"Thank you, Senior Priest."
"The bloody one" now understood the trainee's motive for teaching her
was not completely altruistic. As part of the requirements for taking
vows, all Danubian Clergy apprentices were required to teach at least
one completely illiterate person how to read and write.
When they left the Temple, the apprentice noted Danka's disillusioned
expression. She understood why the penitent would be upset, upon
realizing it was not out of friendship that she had spent so much time
teaching her. The apprentice also knew how, as a future Priestess, she
needed to respond.
"Penitent, you will understand that whatever emotion you felt for me was
displaced. I am not the one who gave you the opportunity to read. That
opportunity came from the Creator. I was merely the Creator's instrument
to fulfill the Divine Purpose in your Path in Life. If you wish to
express gratitude, you should go into the Temple and give thanks to the
Creator."
----------
The equinox celebrations included the annual Blessing of the Crop Seed,
in which all of the nearby farmers brought in a portion of the seed they
wanted to plant for an official blessing from the Senior Priest. The
event also was an opportunity for the Church to pass out experimental
seeds, both for plants which had been cross-bred and for imported plants
that were entirely new. The Church maintained several experimental farms
around the Duchy where penitents and apprentices worked with
plant-breeders to find better crops and farming techniques for the
country's farmers.
The experiments incorporated an important part of the Old Believers'
theology. The Creator had prepared the Earth for humans long before
giving life to the Ancients, who were the ancestors of humanity. The
Ancients were all-knowing, but their descendents rebelled against them
and the Destroyer forced the younger generation to forget everything
they had learned from their parents. The Creator recalled all of the
Ancients to the Realm of the Afterlife. The Creator then commanded it
would be up to the humans left on the planet to recover that lost
knowledge, to learn how the Earth worked and how best to live in it. As
a result, the Danubian Church was much more open to scientific discovery
than its counterparts in the rest of Europe. To the Danubian Church,
every new understanding of how a scientific process worked brought
humanity closer to the Knowledge of the Ancients and ultimate
redemption. Crop experimentations that resulted in better food were
especially important for recovering what was lost in "humanity's great
rebellion".
The return of warm weather also meant the return of the male penitents,
most of whom had wintered with their families. Leading them was a very
handsome, and very pompous young man dressed in new clothing and riding
a horse. Danka noted the apprentice's disapproving look when the young
man knelt in front of the Senior Priest. More shocking was a very faint
hiss, so quiet that only Danka could hear it. It was very obvious the
trainee did not like him.
The apprentice later explained the young man was the son of the Senior
Priest and that his name was Bagat�rckt. "He's traveled all
over...Vienna, Warsaw, Florence, Berlin... and in one of those foreign
cities the Destroyer broke his soul. That man is lustful, proud, and
greedy. He's everything we are not supposed to be. The Senior Priest is
a fine man, but the Destroyer blinds him every time he is around
Bagat�rckt."
"Bagat�rckt didn't study for the Priesthood?"
"He can't. The children of Clergy members cannot become Clergy
themselves. That protects us from the vices of the nobility and keeps
the Church open for everyone, not just a few favored families. When you
behold a dishonored tool of Destroyer like Bagat�rckt, you can
understand that policy is wise, very wise indeed. Bagat�rckt would bring
the Destroyer into the heart of the Temple if he could take vows."
"You...you really hate him, Apprentice?"
"I do. We are not supposed to hate, but I hope the Creator understands
that my hatred of Bagat�rckt is quite justified."
----------
As the weather became warmer, the apprentices put away their dresses and
resumed their summer-time lives of constant nudity. The exception was
Danka's mentor. Her dress was in sorrowful condition, but she kept
wearing it. The same was true for her fianc�: his robe was threadbare
and torn, but he did not seem worried about preserving it for another
winter.
The reason became obvious when the apprentice cheerfully announced that
she and her fianc� were getting married on the last day of April. The
very next day Danka's mentor and her husband would be ordained as Clergy
members. (May 1st was the traditional day that the Danubian Church
ordained Priests and Priestesses, while June 21st was the traditional
day new apprentices entered seminary studies.)
----------
The wedding was simple and humble, as demanded by Danubian Church
protocol. The only people present were the Senior Priest and his wife.
The couple was married in their apprentice outfits: there was no special
dress for the apprentice. The only other person present was Danka, who
the apprentice had selected to hold a bouquet of flowers and her wedding
jewelry. The couple exchanged vows on their knees. They stood up and
Danka handed the traditional Danubian marriage jewelry to the groom: a
silver ring, a silver necklace, and a silver hairpiece. The new husband
took the items one-by-one and placed them on his wife and clergy
partner. The entire affair was over in less than half an hour. The
couple disappeared for the rest of the day to consummate their marriage.
The induction into the Priesthood on the following day was much more
elaborate. The families of both the new Priest and the new Priestess
were present, along with the Temple's entire staff and several town
officials. Danka and the other Temple women sang while the new Clergy
members knelt naked for the last time in their lives. They handed over
their tattered apprentice robes for the ritual burning. Once the old
clothing was reduced to ashes, they received a final blessing from the
Senior Priest. Then, the Temple's other Priests and Priestesses brought
out new clothing, a long black robe with golden embroidery for the new
Priest, and a black dress with red trim for the new Priestess. The
clothing totally changed their appearance and how the rest of the world
would see them.
There were several other gifts for the new Clergy members, including new
copies of the Church's holy books, staffs, and ritual cleansing bowls.
The couple would take the items to their new home, but they would remain
property of the Church. Danubian Priests and Priestesses did not own
anything. They were committed to a life free of material possessions and
lived off the generosity of their parishioners.
Immediately after ordainment the new Priest and Priestess would travel
to a provincial village and take over a church from a Priest and
Priestess who were old and whose health was failing. A squad of city
guards showed up with two spare horses and a pack mule to escort the
couple to their new home. "The bloody one" was the last person in the
Temple to say goodbye to the new Priestess. According to protocol, she
now had to kneel, just like she would with any other member of the
Clergy. When the Priestess told her to stand up, Danka couldn't think of
what to say. Finally the Priestess spoke:
"Penitent, the Creator cares much more about you than you realize.
And...I too, am blessed for having known you. Your friendship was a gift
that will stay with me."
The young Priestess did something not common among the Clergy, she
kissed the penitent's hands. She then joined her husband and the guards
as they mounted their horses and disappeared from the penitent's life.
Danka knew that she should have been happy for her mentor, but she was
not. The apprentice had been her only friend in the Temple. The others
had accepted her, but treated her with indifference. She knew that, with
the apprentice out of her life, she'd have to assume the silent and
isolated lifestyle of the other female penitents. She didn't want to
live like that.
----------
Many of the Temple staff noted special goodbye given by the new
Priestess to "the bloody one" and the penitent's teary expression as the
entourage left the Temple. Among them was Bagat�rckt, the Senior
Priest's flamboyant son. He noted how pretty the young penitent was, how
she stood out among the drab women of the Temple. She was the perfect
image of naked innocence, a young woman who clearly had no experience
with men. He wondered if she was a virgin. She certainly looked like
one.
Bagat�rckt's weakness was women. They fascinated him and he wanted to
experience being with as many as possible. He wanted them, desired them,
and momentarily loved each one he had been with. There had been
countless Danubians, along with Poles, Prussians, Florentines,
Austrians, Magyars...all of them lovely...each worthy of a poem or a
song. He collected experiences with women in the same way other men
collect books or antiquities. And from each woman he learned something,
details about the feminine sex that assisted him with his next conquest.
Yes, there had been so many, all of them beautiful, each in her own way.
And now, looking at the naked little penitent kneeling at his father's
Temple, Bagat�rckt knew who was destined to be the next object of his
desires.
Before moving on an intended lover, Bagat�rckt observed her and people
surrounding her to gather as much information as he could. His initial
observations already had provided a lot of information on "the bloody
one". Her nickname and how she got it indicated that she came from a
lower-class background, because the daughters of nobility and guild
members almost never killed farm animals. The girl's behavior during the
departure of the new Priestess was that of a person who had lost her
only friend. (Too bad it had to be with that particular apprentice,
because that might complicate things. However, Bagat�rckt knew the "the
bloody one's" mentor did not like to talk about herself, so it was
unlikely she had divulged much information about their time together.)
It seemed the penitent did not talk much with anyone else in the Temple
and was totally intimidated by the ordained Clergy members.
As he led the male penitents to Temple gardens and conversed with them,
Bagat�rckt picked up more information about "the bloody one". The new
penitent had shown up the previous summer after walking into town from
the west, carrying a bucket with a few apples. Whoever collared her had
not given her any instruction about Church protocol. She was so ignorant
that initially the Clergy were suspicious, but immediately after she arrived,
the apprentice took responsibility for the newcomer and prevented anyone
else from the Temple from interacting with her. Whenever the apprentice
went anywhere, she took "the bloody one" with her. It seemed she enjoyed
going out and getting away from the Temple. She spent the winter
learning how to read, write, do arithmetic, and sing. Prior to showing
up at the Temple she was completely illiterate.
Bagat�rckt volunteered to escort the female penitents on their outings
to the Temple gardens. The men did the heavy work, but the women were
tasked with maintaining the flowerbeds and collecting the flowers that
decorated the Temple during the summer. He observed "the bloody one" as
she moved among the plants. She seemed sullen and lost in thought.
Obviously she needed some cheering up.
He started slowly, asking "the bloody one" about her work in the garden
and what she thought of it. Unwittingly Danka gave him a lot of
information by responding that Temple work was very light compared with
what she had been used to before leaving home.
"Your home is to the west of here?"
"Yes, Master."
"So...how do you find your life here? Not in the Temple, but in
Star�vktaki M�skt? Does the city please you?"
"Yes, Master."
"Star�vktaki M�skt is a nice city, but I find it small and a bit
restrictive. I've seen other places...had dinner at the Duke's castle,
and visited the lands beyond...to the west."
Bagat�rckt noted the curious look in the penitent's eyes.
"I understand that you find strange places interesting as well, is that
not so?"
"Yes, Master...but I've just read about them. I...I haven't traveled
much."
"That's a pity, because a young person ought to travel. There are so
many things to see. It's sad to see a beautiful young woman like you
pass her life away picking flowers in a garden."
Danka blushed at the thought of being called beautiful by someone as
handsome and sophisticated as the son of the Senior Priest.
"You are beautiful, you know. I hope people have told you that, because
it is true."
The penitent blushed again, because no...no one had told her she was
beautiful. Whether or not it was true, people just didn't say things
like that at the Temple.
"You...you really think so, Master?"
"I truly do. And please...I am not your master. It would greatly please
me if you use my proper name, Bagat�rckt."
"Yes... Bagat�rckt."
"You are a rose in a field of dandelions and daisies. You are a swan
among the ducks. You are a cathedral among the cottages. Yes, that is
the nature of your beauty."
Danka was dumbstruck. Never before had she heard anyone talk like that,
and certainly not to her. Bagat�rckt took note of the girl's expression
and continued:
"You are a gift the Creator has bestowed upon the world, and woe will
come to those who fail to appreciate the Creator's blessing."
The penitent totally forgot about her mentor's hostile reaction when she
first saw Bagat�rckt. In her eyes the man was the nicest one she had
ever met. He certainly knew how to make an ordinary girl feel special.
Who else in Danka's life had ever bothered to do that for her? Before
leaving, he kissed her hand and departed with a promise:
"I will write a poem for you tonight and bring you a present tomorrow."
Bagat�rckt would indeed write a poem from the penitent, although it was
more accurate to say he would plagiarize one for her. The young man had
studied poetry in his spare time and had a supply of poems stored in his
memory that he could use on his conquest of the moment. It didn't take
much to write out someone else's poem on a sheet of parchment with a
couple of name replacements and hand it to some unsuspecting woman or
girl. That night he grabbed 30 sheets of parchment from his father's
study and wrote out 30 different poems that clearly referenced the
penitent. He had not bothered to ask her name, nor did he need to know
it for his intentions. Not knowing her name made the poems sound more
mysterious anyway.
During his time at his father's temple, Bagat�rckt became "the bloody
one's" world. True to his words, he had a poem for her each time he saw
her. And there were presents as well: dates, salted almonds, Turkish
delight. Increasingly he touched her, starting with her hands, then
moving to her arms, shoulders, and back. Danka was so enamored with him
that she never thought of resisting or trying to slow him down.
Bagat�rckt had a specific plan for the penitent. Because she was a
virgin, he wanted to take her somewhere he could truly enjoy the
experience of deflowering her. He did not want a quick tryst on a
hillside or hidden in the woods: he wanted to save the penitent for a
truly special round of sex. He would open her, as a present to himself.
He would be the first man to enjoy her body and was determined that he
would enjoy everything she had to offer. He would indulge his desires
and take away every bit of her innocence. Then, he'd dispose of her,
either by returning her to the Temple or finding some other relatively
safe place to leave her. It wouldn't be the first time he had done that.
Bagat�rckt did not see anything wrong with what he was doing. In his
mind he showed every woman he had been with what it was to have true
sexual pleasure. When he tired of them, always made sure they were left
in a safe place. He knew the apprentice totally hated him, but couldn't
understand why. They had a good time while it lasted and he made sure
that she was safely brought back to the Temple before moving on.
----------
Bagat�rckt considered himself a man of the Enlightenment, but in reality
he was a dilettante. He dabbled in pseudo-scientific projects and
belonged to various groups of like-minded men around central Europe,
which was an important reason he was traveling so much. During the
summer of 1751 he wanted to travel into the mountains at the northern
edge of the Duchy to explore and search for some special alchemy
ingredients. Specifically he wanted to find and bring back samples of a
rare mushroom that only grew along a single streambed in northern
Danubia. The plant was known as the "the joy of the Ancients" and it was
a unique species of hallucinogenic psilocybin mushroom. By the mid
eighteenth century it already was rare, and botanists believe it later
went extinct around 1820. Bagat�rckt's friends in Vienna doubted the
existence of "the joy of the Ancients", so he wagered a purse of gold
that he could find, preserve, and deliver samples of the unique
hallucinogen.
Bagat�rckt wanted a trustworthy companion who was used to living outside
and dealing with harsh conditions, so his best option was to find a
peasant girl to accompany him on the trip. It was obvious that among the
women of Star�vktaki M�skt, there couldn't have been a better candidate
than "the bloody one". She was pretty (which mattered the most), but she
also understood outdoor life and could do things like cook over an open
fire and handle dead animals. She wasn't close to anyone in the Temple
and it seemed no one in the Temple would greatly miss her if she left.
Also, she admired him (which was only natural and appropriate) and was
willing to do what he told her to do.
After securing two horses, Bagat�rckt's next concern was getting "the
bloody one" out of the Temple. For that, all he needed was the
permission of his father. The Senior Priest acquiesced, as he always did
whenever his son wanted something. Sure...you can take her. Probably
will do her some good to move about...she seems a bit restless anyway.
Bagat�rckt approached the penitent with the happy news; that she'd have
the chance to travel with him and see one of the most beautiful areas of
the Duchy. They would travel to the northern provincial capitol of
Sev�rckt nad Gor�dki and then keep going, into the highlands and the
very edge of the country. He talked about the towering mountains and
waterfalls, thick forests and ancient trees...about a land of mystery
and magic. And she was going to see it.
So, on the first day of June the Senior Priest's son, accompanied by his
favorite Temple penitent, departed Star�vktaki M�skt. They were riding
horses with special Church markings to ward off the Destroyer and
potential attackers. Besides, Danka was still wearing her penance collar
and remained naked, which further discouraged anyone from bothering her
and Bagat�rckt. Danka's collar was another reason Bagat�rckt found her
useful as a traveling companion. Because she didn't know if she'd be
returning to the Temple, Danka took her bucket, along with a copy of the
Book of the Ancients and the items Tuko Orsktackt had given her.
Traveling by horse, Bagat�rckt and his companion embarked on a two-day
journey northward. They traveled through numerous villages and traversed
countless farms and orchards. Bagat�rckt talked endlessly about his
travels, rightfully assuming his companion was eager to hear more about
the outside world and the experiences of a bold adventurer. When they
stopped, he indulged himself kissing her and caressing her body. She was
eager to be touched and eager to give herself to him. She shivered with
pleasure when he fondled her breasts and touched her thighs.
They stopped for lunch and she listened to another poem he had dedicated
to her. She cuddled in his arms and enjoyed the feeling of protection.
As he held her, she imagined being married to the fine man, serving him
and being everything a good wife should be. She'd go with him to all of
those foreign places and do everything to make his life wonderful. She
would strive to be the best wife she could be.
Now she knew why she had to endure so much suffering. The Creator was
testing her and preparing her for best man a woman could possibly have.
She no longer feared the future. She was happy, and she knew that there
would be many more years of happiness with her beloved Bagat�rckt.
----------
Note: "The Bloody One" sounds more
awkward in English than it does in Danubian. The Danubian word for blood
is "grob�ckt". The name "Dekgrob�ckta" would literally translate to "the
woman covered in blood". "Dek" is an affirmative prefix that is widely
used in Danubian and converts many nouns into adjectives. The "a" at the
end of an adjective often converts it to a nickname that describes a
woman or girl.
- Maritza Ortskt-Dukovna -
