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Roek smiled at her proudly. "You guard him, Priestess. That means learning how to blend, how to slip through crowds, and how to force your way through bodies when there's no other option. I have a year to make sure you're good at it."
"What about Nariana?" someone else asked.
"What about her?" Roek countered.
"Where do you stand on the girl who is getting special treatment?"
Roek chuckled. "Well, if you consider two extra classes to be a privilege, I'm more than happy to offer a self-defense course for all Priests of the Body. As for my feelings on those who have indeterminate marks? I think that it's a sign that our god is once again involved with his priests. I think it means thatourgod is stronger than the others. Most of all, I think that I'm not dumb enough to counter a god's will. I will train any priest to the best of my ability. It's Zeal's place to choose their Path, not mine."
"So," Saval said, taking over again, "let us discuss what will be expected from this class over the course of the year. As many of you have heard, those who chose the Entertainment specialization will have more sessions than the other specialties. No, not all of these will be sexual. You will attend celebrations for the other temples; you will learn how to mingle with people from various economic classes, from high society down to the average citizen of Calseth. No, your sessions won't be with other priests from this temple. It's time you learn how to initiate a session with someone who doesn't expect to get done, get a grade, and go back home."
"We're going to fuck real people?" a guy asked.
Saval chuckled. "Don't get too excited. Anyone off the street can request a session. Some of those will be assigned to you. They could be fat, ugly, starving, or disgusting. They could be beautiful. They could be rich or poor, priests from another temple or peasants from around town. It doesn't matter. As Priests of the Body, your duty is to serve as an extension of Zeal."
"So where does the entertaining come in?" someone else asked.
"In all of it," Saval assured them. "Your assignments will be chosen based on the patron's request. As an example, if someone wanted a dominant and sadist to shame them..." She gestured at me. "Then we have a pairing that would work for that." She smiled at the four of us, then looked back to the class. "Which is why I spoke with each of you before the year started. I know which aspects made you choose this section of your Path. We do take that into consideration, but we will also push your boundaries. I recommend that you find someone else on this Path you're willing to work with, because multiples is a common request. So is flexibility, erotic dance, and pampering."
"What if we change our minds?" a girl asked.
"Then you come and talk to me," Saval told her. "My goal as your instructor isn't to force you to fit into a mold. It's to bring out your strengths. Zeal saw something in each of you. He agreed that this was the Path for you, and now we want to give you the chance to be sure of it. If you feel that you chose the wrong specialization, we can try to catch you up to another class, or we can tailor your education to fit."
The class began to murmur again, students looking at each other and twisting to see those around them. I knew why, though. That attitude was so different from how Oryll had taught us. For him, it had been all about doing it right or suffering. If we couldn't keep up, we could drop to Action. He wanted to wash his hands of any responsibility, which had heaped it all right on us.
"Also," Saval said, "the Priests of the Word are here to make sure your assignments are productive. We don't want to leave the patrons unsatisfied, after all. You will work with various priests in the assignment department. Eventually, you will find a few that you feel most comfortable with. Those will take over your assignment schedule once you have graduated. And so you know, my goal is to see each and every one of you do that.
"But with that said," she went on, "I must warn you about the final exam for this class. It will also be your final grade for your entire initiate training. Each priest and priestess in here will be expected to perform a sexual act under the dome, for the approval of the other Priests of the Body.Theywill be the ones to grade you. Not me. If they do not feel that you are an asset to the temple, you will be dropped to Action and retrained in that Path."
I lifted my hand just above my shoulder. "Uh, Saval?"
"Yes, Nari?"
"Will we get to choose our display?"
She shook her head. "No. It is a lottery. Each of you will draw a partner and an objective from your specialization. That's why it's important for you to learn all the aspects of Entertainment, as well as mastering the expectations of the Path of the Body."
"Shit," Ela breathed. "So we can't just hyper-focus on what we're best at."
That was meant for me, but Saval heard him. "No, Eladehl, you can't. If you want to do nothing but punishing, then you should have selected Control."
"But I'm more than that," he assured her. "My mentor hasn't been trotting me around balls all summer for nothing."
"Exactly," she said. "Each of you is more than one thing. You are Zeal's most obvious way to reach the masses. You are his strongest tools. My goal is to make sure you feel as confident about that as I do. Now come collect a textbook, and then we're done for the day. Tomorrow, we'll start with learning how to be the most impressive Priests this temple has ever seen."
Like everyone else, we stood, but I was feeling pretty good about this. It felt like things were back to normal. Like I was once again serving my god the way I'd always dreamed of.
"Guardians get a book too!" Roek called out. "Organized lines. No pushing, because you don't want to punish your protectors like that."
"I'll get four," Wraythe said as he headed down there. "Meet me in the hall?"
"Can do," Talin assured him. "Desires?" And he gestured to the side like a proper gentleman giving directions.
"Tease," Ela whispered as we walked around him.
Talin just fell in behind us. "Mhm. Gives me an excuse to check out those asses too."
"Yep," I said, "this year is going to be alotmore fun."
