Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Chapter 28: The Order of Sisterly Love



   Liry wondered how she was still alive.  After mercilessly whipping her
for what had seemed like an eternity to Liry, the guards had just thrown
her out of town the way she was.  Without any money or even a shred of
clothing on her body.  A beggar she was now.  Scum.  Two-legged vermin that
was probably better off dead.  Liry had picked up rags from a dead body to
at least cover her crotch and her breasts.  But the wounds on her ass still
had hurt so bad that she hardly had been able to walk.  Liry had spent
hours lying on the side of the road in agony, trying to find some sleep. 
But not only the pain in her whipped butt cheeks had kept her awake.  She
also hadn't been able to get the picture of her wife's horrible death out
of her mind.

   The thought that she would never again hold her beloved Elza in her arms
again had been tormenting her.  And one night another realization had
struck her.  It was something that Elza herself had said not too long
before her demise.  Elza was in hell now.  There could be no doubt about
it. A human girl who had a child with a demon...  If there ever had been a
sin worthy of eternal punishment, then this was one.

   Liry had thought for a while that she would go insane over this thought.
It was so cruel, so incredibly unfair.  And there was no way in which she
ever would be able to help her condemned wife.  This made Liry forget the
hunger and the cold she felt when sleeping under the open sky.  It even
made her forget the pain she suffered because of the punishment she had
received herself.  Liry wanted to die, she just wanted to cease to exist so
that she wouldn't have to bear this horrible certainty anymore.

   But then another realization came to her.  If she would die now, she
would go to hell herself.  She would suffer endless torment, just like her
wife.  Although she might have hated life, she absolutely didn't want that
to happen.  Even if continuing to live just meant to delay the inevitable.
Even if the outcome would be the very same.  Right now she didn't want to
fall into a flaming abyss with no return.  Liry wanted to live.

   Night had just fallen, but she couldn't lie down anymore.  She felt
hunger and she felt thirst.  Liry got up and started walking, then running.
Her ass still hurt, but surely that was negligible pain in comparison to
the flames of hell.  Liry had no aim.  There was no place for her to go
anymore.  She had been banished from Nargath for all her life.  The guards
were advised to kill her if she tried to enter the town.  And the same
thing would probably also happen to her in other places if people found out
who she was.  Still, Liry kept running into the night, unsure herself what
she was searching for.  This was the state of mind that the devils wanted
to see the humans in.  Precipitate, hopeless, desperate.  It made them
chuckle in amusement down the in the fiery pits.

   Liry kept running for a while, but finally exhaustion got the better of
her.  The last thought in her mind was: I don't want to die yet, not before
I have payed this world back for what it did to me...



   Liry woke up to the voice of a girl who was probably the same age as
her. When Liry managed to open her eyes she saw that the girl was actually
quite pretty.  She wore a simple white nun's habit that didn't cover her
long hazel hair though.  She smiled at Liry.  "Good morning, sister!  You
look like you need to drink something...  Can you stand up?" Liry wasn't
too sure what was going on, but since this woman seemed to be trying to
help her, she nodded and got up.  She was actually quite weak-kneed, but
the hazel girl supported her so that she didn't collapse.

   Liry was surprised to see that there was actually quite a number of
people around.  She was pretty sure that they hadn't been here when she had
fallen asleep, so they must have gathered here in the gray of dawn.  Some
of the people seemed to be nuns, just like the girl who had helped Liry up,
but most of them were scum who lived on the street.  They all crowded
around a campfire with a big kettle of soup.  One after another, each one
of the beggars received a steaming bowl of soup.  Most of them were starved
and in desperate need of some food.  So was Liry.  Only smelling the soup
was enough to make her drool uncontrollably.

   The eyes of the girl who guided Liry fell on the wounds on her backside.
"Oh my, who did such a terrible thing to you?" Liry winced.  This was the
first conversation she had since the terrible happenings in Nargath.  She
obviously couldn't tell this girl the truth about what had happened.  So
Liry just shook her head.  "It's...  You don't want to know." The girl
tilted her head to one side.  "Hm?  Well, whoever it was, you are safe now.
The Order of Sisterly Love won't allow anyone to harm you." Liry seriously
doubted that they would've been able to hold off the people who had hurt
her, but she appreciated the gesture.  She hadn't heard of this order
before, but she assumed that it was one of the many mendicant orders who
devoted their life to help the poor.

   Before long, Liry received a bowl of soup and immediately began to slurp
it down hastily.  The nun watched her with concern.  "Not so fast, you will
burn your tongue!" But Liry didn't care about her tongue getting burned as
long as her belly was filled up.  It was the first food she had received in
days and it tasted so good that she could've cried of joy.  She was quickly
finished with the bowl.  Liry wanted to ask for another one, but she saw
that there was already hardly enough soup in the kettle to feed all of the
many people in need.

   She handed the nun the empty bowl.  "Thanks..." The hazel girl smiled
all over.  "You are very welcome, sister.  By the way, my name is Niea."
Liry wondered if this cheerful girl was so friendly with all the beggars.
"I'm...  Liry." she responded.  Of course, Liry had considered giving her a
false name, but what could a simple nun like her possibly know?  Still, she
watched Niea's reaction to the name very closely.  "Nice to meet you, Liry!
Oh...  please allow me to treat that wounds of yours.  They must be very
painful and if they get infected, you may even die!" Liry had no
objections. The way she was right now, she couldn't even sit down.

   Niea led her to a small tent.  Inside, she asked Liry to expose her
lower half.  Liry didn't mind showing the girl her ass and cock.  What did
it matter to a mere beggar whether she was seen?  Niea put a blanket on the
floor and asked Liry to lie down on her stomach.  Then she started to
carefully clean Liry's wounds.  Most of them were on her ass cheeks, but
some of the whiplashes had also hit her thighs and her lower back.  Niea
was very gentle as she performed this humbling task.

   Without looking back, Liry said: "You seem to know what you're doing. 
Did you receive some medical training in your order?" Niea laughed loud and
cheerfully.  "No, no!  Nothing like that.  It's just...  I guess I have a
lot of experience in treating wounds like this." She continued her task for
a while in silence, then Niea continued: "My mother was a very... 
quick-tempered person.  We were a total of nine sisters and she didn't have
a lot of patience with us.  If one of us angered her, she received a
beating with the bullwhip.  So I ended up doing 'this' a lot to my
sisters." Liry realized that her own childhood had been a breeze in
comparison to what this girl had had to suffer.  "That's horrible.  Was
there no one to help you and your sisters?"

   Liry shook her head.  There was no more cheer in her voice.  "Help us?
Our neighbors laughed when they saw our mother whipping us until we were
bleeding...  while being completely naked and begging for mercy.  I'm sure
some of them got off on our crying." Liry hadn't expected this nun to use
such strong words.  Niea obviously was still very bitter about what her
mother had done to her and her sisters.  "So...  you ended up running away
from home?" Niea shook her head.  "Two of my sisters tried to run away.  A
guard picked them up and brought them back home.  Mother literally beat
both of them to death.  In her eyes, if they didn't want to live with her,
they had no right to live at all.  No one ever prosecuted her.  She also
sold another three of my sisters into slavery because she claimed that they
were unruly children.  I haven't seen them ever since."

   Niea treated Liry's ass in silence for a while.  Liry had begun to like
her a little.  If anything, the stories of her sad past made Liry forget
about her own tragic fate for the moment.  "So..." Niea interrupter her. 
"You want to know how the story ends?  Alright, but it's not a pretty
ending.  My mother used to have affairs with random people every once in a
while.  Once she got involved with a soldier from a foreign country.  It
seems like they ended up getting into a fight.  The soldier raped my mother
and then castrated her with her sword.  When people found her, she had
already bled to death.  So I was free to leave.  And after a little while I
joined the Order of Sisterly Love."

   What a bizarre and horrifying conclusion.  It reminded Niu of things
that had happened around her in the recent past...  Niea clapped her hands
merrily.  "All done!  I still wouldn't advise you to sit down, but it
should be a little more comfortable." Liry looked at the neat bandage in
which her ass was covered.  "Thank you..." Liry muttered.  Niea grinned,
already brushing away the dark thoughts her narration had invoked.  "Like I
said, you're welcome, sister.  Say, Liry...  You don't even have any
clothes to wear.  What do you think about the following suggestion: I give
you one of our order's habits to wear and you stay with the order for a
month.  Then you can decide whether you want to join permanently or go your
own ways again." Staying with people that would provide her with food,
clothes and shelter sounded like a good idea to Liry, no matter who they
were.  So she agreed.



   Two weeks had passed since Liry had began traveling with the Order of
Sisterly Love.  So far, everything was going fine.  Although her mental
health was still anything but fine, she had regained some strength and
confidence.  The group she was traveling with had about twenty people and
all of the nuns were very religious.  Liry never had been very interested
in religion and since she had already accepted that she would go to hell,
she also didn't plan on getting involved with it.  Because of this, her
relationship with the members of the order didn't become too affectionate.

   Liry's knowledge about religion was good enough though to understand
that the goddess who this order worshiped wasn't a being that resided in
High Heavens.  This was also the reason why the order stayed away from all
towns and only visited the smallest of villages in which no authority could
take notice of them.  When Liry had asked Niea whether they were a part of
the Divine Syndicate, the nun had been quite taken aback that Liry had
grouped them with such a vicious organization.  Their goddess, who they
only called 'The gracious Mother' was all about love and compassion, unlike
the Syndicate which strived for political influence, profit and
world-domination.  At least that was what Niea said.  Liry wondered whether
they didn't dare to utter their goddess' name because of reverence or
because it was a name that would get them into trouble if the wrong people
heard it.

   One thing that Liry couldn't deny was that this order really helped the
poor people.  The nuns did their best to provide those who starved with
food and care for the sick wherever they went.  They especially paid
attention to children, who were said to be the gracious mother's favored
beings.  The order even picked up orphans and took them with them.  The
little girls didn't have to wear nuns' habits and were called 'apprentices
for the gracious mother's love'.  Other than helping out with the nuns'
work from time to time, the girls were free to do what they want, as long
as they stayed with the group.  They were quite a cheerful bunch of girls.
Niea often sang songs together with them while they wandered from village
to village.

   Niea probably would've been a good mother, but the order's rule forbid
all sexual relationships.  According to Niea, the nuns' love belonged to
the gracious mother only, which ruled out even masturbation.  Liry was told
that she also had to follow this rule as long as she wore the habit.  She
didn't have a hard time doing so.  Ever since the death of her wife, Liry
hadn't felt any sexual desire.

   Liry also participated in the order's charitable activities, but she
wasn't very ambitious about it.  She soon found a way though in which she
could be helpful to the order.  Liry wasn't sure where they got it from,
but the order seemed to have a small amount of money that they used to buy
the simple goods they needed for their activities- food, cloth and herbs
that they could use to brew medicine.  Liry had been brought up as the
daughter of a merchant, so she knew exactly how to get these things for the
smallest price possible.  She quickly became the order's purchaser.  Liry
tried to persuade Niea that the order should start trading with goods they
picked up on their journeys, but Niea decidedly refused.  The order was
about love, not about making money.

   Liry even began to enjoy the times when she visited the markets, looked
for goods and bartered away.  It had a very nostalgic feeling to it.  By
now, it seemed like a distant dream to Liry that she once had lived in a
giant mansion with dozens of servants.  She tried to think of it as little
as possible.

   One evening when Liry was sitting apart from the group with her head
leaned against a wooden fence, one of the little girls walked up to her. 
Her name was Sei and she was eight years old.  The order had picked up the
girl with the blue eyes and the blond braids only a few days ago.  Sei had
been traveling with her mother, but the woman had been very poor and also
sick.  A nun had talked her into giving Sei into the order's care.  In
return, they had given her food and medicine.  It was almost extortion.

   The bright and curious girl was interested in Liry for some reason. 
Liry looked at her, but could hardly open her eyes since the setting sun
was dazzling her.  She was only two years younger than Princess
Endolefinia...  "What is it, kid?" The girl had her hands folded.  "I
wanted to ask if you will play with me, Liry." Liry had to chuckle.  In the
old days, no little runt would have dared to address her this casually. 
Not that it mattered.  "I'm not very good at playing with children, I'm
afraid.  You should ask Niea." The girl didn't accept that as an excuse. 
"Don't you have children yourself?"

   Liry had to laugh for the first time in quite a while.  "Children?  How
old do you think I am, brat?" Sei looked at her as if she tried to measure
her age.  "Hmm...  Eighteen?" Well, that wasn't too bad of a guess.  "I'm
sixteen." Sei still looked at Liry curiously.  The number obviously didn't
matter much to her.  "So you don't have children?" Liry sighed.  "Well... I
have a friend that's very childish if that counts.  In a way she actually
still is a child, I guess." Sei sat down on the fence next to Liry and
dangled her legs.  "A friend?  One of the nuns?" Liry shook her head. 
"No...  I think she's the last person in this world who would qualify for
membership in this order." Sei looked at her seriously, trying to
comprehend what Liry just said.  "Why?  Is she too fat to wear the habit?"
Liry grinned.  "Well...  Some parts of her certainly are." - "Which parts?
Her butt?" Among others.

   Liry bobbed up and Sei jumped from the fence in sync.  "Alright.  I'll
teach you a game, but you'll need to be able to count to twenty-one to play
it.  Can you do that?" Sei nodded.  And even if she didn't, she certainly
would try her hardest to learn it...



   When Liry woke up two nights later, she immediately knew that something
was wrong.  It probably was around midnight and all the people seemed to be
missing from the order's camp.  In the distance Liry could faintly hear
weird chanting.  She quickly dressed and got out of her bed.  Really, all
the tents were deserted.  They had set up their camp far away from the next
village, in the vicinity of a big forest.  Liry saw that there were lights
in the forest.  It was the same direction from where the chanting came. 
Her instincts told her that she should probably get away from both the
forest and the camp as quickly as possible, but her curiosity gained the
upper hand.

   Liry armed herself with a kitchen knife that was usually used to peel
potatoes.  Then she walked towards the lights in the forest.  On her way,
she recognized some of the chanting voices as those of nuns of the order.
The strange song in a language Liry never had heard before sent shivers
down her spine.  Finally, Liry reached a rise from which she could see a
big clearing.  There, the bizarre ceremony took place.

   All of the order's members were assembled here.  They stood in a big
circle.  Some of them had torches that lit up the night so Liry could see
clearly what was going on.  In the middle of the circle stood a single nun
that wore a red habit.  Liry had hardly ever seen her talking before and
nothing had ever hinted at her having a special position, but she was
clearly the leader of this ceremony.  In her hands, she had a long bloody
dagger.  Before her on the forest floor lay three dead children, naked,
with their throats slit.  Sacrifices for the gracious mother?  She suddenly
didn't seem that gracious anymore.

   Other nuns in the circle were holding more naked children.  The girls
were blindfolded, but they clearly knew what was going to happen to them.
So that's why they had been picking up children left and right.  Already,
the next girl was led towards the middle of the circle.  Without
hesitation, the nun in the red habit ripped off the child's blindfold and
then cut her throat open.  "Offer your love to the gracious mother!" The
girl let out one final stertorous scream while her bright red blood
splattered all over the forest floor.  Then she just dropped dead. 
Meanwhile, the nuns continued their eerie chanting.

   Another two children were sacrificed in quick succession.  It turned
Liry's stomach to watch it, but she couldn't avert her eyes from this
horrific spectacle.  The nun in the red habit dug her fingers into the
blood-soaked soil and smeared it all over her face.  She raised her arms
towards the night sky.  "Gracious mother!  Blood-red avenger of the fallen
heavens!  Spirit of the murderous night!  Let your name be known throughout
the heretic lands: Our goddess, Natras!" The name was like a crack of
thunder.  Even Liry could feel the ice-cold grasp on her heart.  The nun's
voice became ecstatic.  "Let your love rape the earth!" The other nuns
joined in.  "Let her love rape the earth!"

   The nun in the red attire shook all over as she screamed: "So receive
the gracious mother's fucking!" The other nuns turned around and pulled up
their attires so that their naked asses pointed towards the middle of the
circle.  Then each of them got out a gratuitously big wooden dildo and
forced it into her own asshole.  Meanwhile, they were all masturbating
furiously.  So this was what Niea had meant when she had said that their
love belonged to their goddess only.  Liry shuddered.

   The nun in red's trembling body began to undergo transformation.  Her
skin turned into a ghostlike silhouette and her flesh evaporated into red
fog that floated around her.  The nun's face turned into the most hideous,
frightening grimace that Liry had ever seen, with an unnaturally broad
devilish grin that seemed to have been born in the pits of hell itself. 
Long white spines started growing out of her wraithlike body into all
directions...  Liry decided that she had seen enough by far.  She started
running.

   A few minutes later she had reached the order's camp.  There still
didn't seem to be anyone around.  That also meant...  no one to protect the
nuns' money.  Liry knew that it might have been insanity to stay here any
moment longer than necessary, but she had a good idea where the casket with
the order's silver was.  And she would probably need it.

   But before she reached it, Liry stumbled over a naked little girl.  It
was Sei.  Liry was stunned.  "What're you doing here?" She should be dead
by now, Liry thought, but she didn't want to say it.  The girl's eyes
reminded her of those of a hounded animal.  "I ran away when they brought
us into the forest!  I searched for you, but you weren't in your tent!" Sei
would've cried, but she was even too agitated to do that.  "You should've
just run away from here..." Liry mumbled to herself.

   Sei looked at her with begging eyes.  "Take me with you, please!" Liry
shook her head without even considering it.  "No way!  You're on your own
now, kid!" Sei went on her knees before Liry.  Now tears were running over
both her cheeks.  "I beg you, Liry!  I won't be in your way!  I swear!  I
even learned to count to twenty-one!" Liry continued shaking her head.  And
she really needed to get going herself...

   "There you are, Sei!" Niea appeared out of the dark, still sweating all
over from the ecstatic ceremony.  There seemed to be no other nuns around
yet, just her.  "I told you not to run away, didn't I?  Come with me, we
need you for the ceremony." She said that with such a casual voice as if
she was inviting her to join a game in the forest.  Sei wordlessly shook
her head in denial, still kneeling on the ground.  Niea's eyes fell on
Liry. "Oh, you woke up?  There is a very important ceremony going on, so
I'm sorry if I can't explain anything to you right now.  It's for permanent
members of the order only, so...  that's something you can look forward
to." She turned to Sei and grabbed her wrist.  "Now get going already,
little girl."

   She didn't even realize it herself, but now there were tears in Liry's
eyes too.  It happened all the time, to people in all parts of the world.
Just like people suddenly began to hate each other, there also were also
others who suddenly began to care for each other.  Everyone was on their
own in this forsaken world and everyone's life was in vain in the end.  But
until that day came, you had to make a decision.  A decision which people
you wanted to protect and which not.  And when you decided to protect
someone, you better did it with all you had, without ever looking back or
you were nothing but a scumbag.

   Liry rushed forwards and ran the kitchen knife into Niea's side.  It was
supposed to cut only potatoes, but right it cut through human skin, flesh
and entrails pretty well.  Niea slowly turned her head around to Liry while
the blade dug into her innards.  "W-Why, Liry..." Liry gnashed her teeth.
"Oh, just shut the fuck up and die!" She pulled the knife out of Niea's
side, took it with both hands and rammed it into the nun's chest.  Niea was
dead before her body even hit the ground.

   Sei was weeping when she freed herself from the stabbed body.  Liry
glared at her.  "Keep it down!  You can cry all you want tomorrow when
we're in safety.  For now, stick close to me!" Sei didn't need to be told
twice.  She stuck so close to her that Liry nearly stumbled over her
several times.  It didn't take her more than a minute to find the casket.
The key was right next to it.  And the content was quite to Liry's liking.
"A lot more than what I expected." she whispered.  "Now let's get out of
her." Sei nodded.  There was nothing that she would've wanted to do more.