Sufrunya
Life is pain, pain is pleasure, so embrace life.
Disclaimer: adult themes, sex, kink, torture, pregnancy, pain, religious fanatism, sometimes all of it combined. Proceed with caution, Subscriber Container are in place. Mentions of said topics will occur when needed. You were warned. Otherwise have fun. :)
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Overview
Urgh, don't talk to me about Sufrunya. Those are fanatics. Kinky, horny, desperate, dangerous fanatics with a plan. They know more about pain than these scientists in the Spiral. And their god is a dangerous, dark, powerful one. I would rather have a misunderstanding with Underlings before I would visit this kinky kingdom again.
Sufrunya is a relatively middle-sized kingdom blocking the path from Acresea to the north and all other trading routes. That is not on purpose, it just happened in the past. But the Spiritfarer and the ruling cult has made a deal which is still valid, even after all those centuries.
What is stated in the contract? Well, it is a very long, very exhaustive proclamation to give Acresea and the Spiritfarer open borders, a non-aggression-pact, a pact which allows the Spiritfarer to operate within the Borders of Sufrunya without limits. If it is not including murder or literal demon summonings, the Spiritfarer can do whatever they want. Or just Palorma, since she is the last of the Spiritfarer.
The cult has only two assigned buildings in Sufrunya: the Devote Institute and the Divine Body Monastery.
Kalt, kald, cold or... cult?
The cult of the Divine Body emerged shortly after the founding of Sufrunya and preached the teachings and the will of Pelinos, the genderless god of the Divine Body. They were given power, they were given magic and the might to construct the rules and to form the government. You can't go into politics if you aren't in the cult. And to get into the cult you have to study their teachings for seven years until your final ordeal.
As it is tradition the cult uses seven cultists as the council and ruler. Seven because it is tradition and because there can't be a stalemate with even numbers. There is no veto, no neutral position and only one position (the eight which is more like an honoary position) which can vote if one chooses not to vote or to vote neutral. There has to be a decision. This eight position is called Holy Dice. It came from "the dies are cast" and so they chose that name.
The tasks of each council member varies. Normally there is no static position, the positions are fluid and are assigned/filled as needed. The tasks varies between counting coins and doing finances over religious care to the design and crafting of new adult toys and mechanisms.
The council oversees the Devote Institute, see to their teachings, their equipment, the well-being of pupils and teachers alike. The moment a priest/priestess is assigned the position of a council member, they start to hear the voice of Pelinos like a whisper in the wind or loud as thunder if directly addressed. Because of how this works the teachings of Pelinos are always like they had written them themself.
"What if somebody hears new words from Pelinos and tries to re-write them in a way that alters the course of the kingdom?""Frankly? They get their arse ripped wide open.""Yeah, but what happens?""That wasn't a figure of speech. It happened twice in the history of Sufrunya. They altered the words and suddenly started to hover two meters above ground. Their clothes were ripped to shreds and then they got torn apart, very slowly, starting from the bottom. I think there is a painting in the basement from the last time it happened.""Uff, then I would go into the Spiral before betraying Pelinos."
To live in Sufrunya you don't have to be in the cult. You can live there as a normal citizen. You can work what you want, you can eat what you want, you can love who you want. There are only two rules in Sufrunya regarding the life outside of the cult: don't interfere with their affairs and don't leave the cult.
Depending on how you want to leave the cult there are three options the council has implemented. The first one is death in any form they deem fit, depending on various factors.
The second option is a darker and more secret one: you will be imprisoned somewhere in the kingdom to become a breeder to secure the supply of children and new citizens. Those parentless children are coming into their idea of an orphange before they hopefully get adopted. If not, they become cultists as their parents did.
The third and last option is that the leaving cultist can still live inside the community, but besides getting food and services, is being shunned. This includes relationships, taverns, merchants and trade in general. Shunned ex-cultist aren't even allowed to communicate to other ex-cultists in any form, not even smoke signs. Those people have to wear brilliant white while being in public, so other lawful citizens can identify them within a second.
The cult of the Divine Body is, not typical for a cult or a religion in Koria, one without blood rituals. They have their teachings, they have their kinky lessons with ropes and paddles, with needles and piercings, but none of those have blood as an ingredient. Which is a fresh thought if one considers other cults and religions like the Silver Elves.
(Un)Holy Design
In terms of style the dresses, robes, trousers, shirts and whatever a cultist wants to wear are designed to provide easy access to the reproduction organs or to get rid of the clothes alltogether. Normally a cultist wears various layers of clothing, common combination is underwear, normal clothes and a robe or a dress. One of the teachings of Pelinos is not to withhold your lust, so the clothing is designed to no get in the way. And by the way, the first teaching of Pelinos is consent. Sexual assault results often in a harsh punishment, exil or death.
The cults dress code represents the roles and the status of each cultist inside the cult, ranging from the pupils to the council and the Holy Dice.
Pupils are the lowest rank in terms of clothing. They have much to learn and to bear the last ordeal before ascending to a fully fledged cultist. Their clothing is entirely coloured in various shades of red, sometimes with a pinch of black in it. A few female designs use even a white cloth to wrap the breasts and draw the gaze to them, but that is the exception. Deviation from the dress code results in kinky punishment in every way the teacher deems it fit.
Once a pupil ascends during the last ordeal - and lives afterwards - they can get rid of their red clothes and start to wear black. The design can vary or be the same, only the colour changes. Jewelry, ornaments and other pretty things are allowed as long as the clothes are still in the black colour spectrum. Grey also counts.
White on the other side of the colour spectrum is reserved for shunned ex-cultists and is not to wear in the public if one is still a cultist. Hankerchiefs don't count.
Blue clothes in every design are assigned to the teachers or teaching roles. They tend to have pockets inside their clothes, even the female ones. They got the idea and the designs from the matriarchal kingdom Vraitha.
Purple as the last colour is only worn by the council members. The Holy Dice wears black clothes as a normal cultist, but if they are acting as the Holy Dice, they wear a purple shoulder throw like a gugel. Mostly in the councils chamber or in their office.
That is not all. To show their dedication to the kingdom, the cult, and to Pelinos, a lot of people decide to wear either very revealing clothes in terms of design (cleavage, bulge, you get the point) or transparent to show off what they offer. There is no official competition who wears the thinnest thread, but there can be certain people who wear clothing so thin they could go naked. Which is not forbidden and not frowned upon.
Cult Buildings
The cult ownes two major buildings which are build at the foot of the mountains of the Daveldare Mountain range: the Devot Institute and the Divine Body Monastery.
Devote Institute
The Devot Institute itself is the school/academy of the cultists. It is named that way because a) the teachers teaches the pupils devotion and resolve and b) you have to be devot at the beginning to be a leader. At least they think so. In this building they get teached. Here they sleep, eat and ffffffff... make love, give birth or die. To be fair, there is not much dying inside the Institute.
In terms of design the building is four storeys tall, has a huge basement and is eight rooms thick. Each one of the four hallways has a room on either side, so 4x2 = 8. It has a normal roof, walls made out of black and grey stone and one heavy wooden door as the main entrance. It looks like a normal building, even from the inside. Until you look inside the bedrooms, shelves or books.
Divine Body Monastery
The monastery itself is around five hundred meters away from the Institute to the west of the Daveldare Mountain range. It is a bit more elongated and the skeletal genderless body of Pelinos graces the main entrance with a huge statue. The door lies between their legs. You see what they did there?
The walls are made with intricate patterns which serve no other purpose than to look pretty. But on the inside it is way different. Normal sized and oversized statues of naked men and women grace the hallways, murals depicting lessons, tapestries show couples, orgies or interesting scenes from the history of the monastery.
The main hall is outfitted relatively simple. A few long desks with chairs and benches and a larger desk for the council and the Holy Dice. But if one looks at the floor they see murals of beautiful naked people, chiseled into the stone, looking longingly at the eaters.
Besides the gracious sized offices of logistics, government and military, the monastery has a giant bathhouse build inside the monastery. The bathhouse is fueled with the water from a spring near the mountains foot. It is divided into one large basin for everyone and in six private areas. Each of those private areas has something which resembles a shower and a basin made out of stone which easily fits four people. These basins are designed to provide enough space to have loud fun in a lot of positions with up to the aforementioned four people. Those can be pre-booked. If one enters the bathhouse, they consent to be seen, to be witnessed and to be spoken too.
Public Bathhouse of Sufrunya by CrazyEddie via Midjourney
In the rear of the monastery they have craftspeople and labs for designing new toys, new rooms, clothes, concoctions, or alchemic substances/lotions like lubricants or massage oils.
Teachings & Classes
Teachings
The first teaching of Pelinos is consent. It is the rule which can't be broken. If you do and your partner is not consenting, your punishment can even stretch out into your afterlife.
The second teaching is to ensure the safety of your partner. That also includes unwanted pregnancy, known sexual diseases or have choke them too hard. Having a safeword and to listen to it is also included in this teaching.
Last, but not least is the third teaching which talks about having a safe environment. That means e.g. not to copulate inside a ruin which can collapse any second or an active volcano. But it also cares for the people outside of cultist activities such as public sex where everybody can see anything which violates the first teaching.
Classes
The education of a cultist from the beginning to their last ordeal spans over seven (7) years. From the first lesson to their last day they have to learn, to study and to pass exams. Of course the education can last longer than seven years, but the rule are seven years. Since the place is called Devot Institute and the aspiring cultists are loyal, everyone does their best and their worst to not fail any exam.
Classes are as follows:
History
Education
Math
Chemistry/Alchemy
Languages
Magical theory
Biology
C&C
How to get magic
Once a cultist has passed all exams and is cleared for being a cultist, they have to give birth. Why do they have to give birth? Because the cultist belief that Pelinos only gives them access to magic when they have reached the peak of pleasure and pain. Pleasure is done relatively easily, but the peak of pain can't be reached by ropes, paddles or penetration. Alchemy and chemistry can provide a certain amount of enhanced pain, but nothing is so pure in shared pain than the wondrous nature of life during childbirth.
The other reason is to ensure the growth of the cult and the kingdom itself, so every birth is a win for everyone. The parents can even decide if they want to keep the child or to give it into the adoption cycle, which ultimately leads to another cultist.
Woman can give birth, that is for sure, but how can a man give birth? The short answer is, they can't. So both get runes painted on their bodies with temporary ink, so they can share the pain. The man gets to experience the entire pregnancy including swollen belly, hormonal changes, strange food cravings and so on. Later down the line during childbirth he experiences the the full force, the contractions, the pain, and even the feeling of the child leaving the body.
Pregnant Couple by CrazyEddie via Midjourney
Image of a pregnant couple! Proceed with caution!
What about gay couples, so man/man or woman/woman? For gay men they can provide their sperm and impregnate a woman artificially and then experience the birth with the runes and everything just like a hetero couple. For lesbian couples they can choose between laying with a man or artificial fertilisation. And then they can share the pregnancy and the pain as the hetero couple. In case of different cycles the scholars have solutions like syncing the cycles or forcing the pregnancy.
Once the child is delivered and the pain subsides, Pelinos gives them access to the magic they desire. Some of the women even heal themselves to walk again, get their child or just walk away as a newborn cultist. Which is the third reason for this painful procedure.
"You know you don't need to withhold the connection to the magic, right?""Yes, but they want it that way. It hurts me to see them in so much pain, but they belief in that way."
Outside of the cult
Outside of the cult people have normal lifes. Merchants, craftspeople, workers, and the occasionally shunned ex-cultist. There are missionaries who are travelling through the lands and spread the word of Pelinos. Sometimes standing, sometimes laying, but always with pure intentions and a pure moaning heart.
It can be that they have business with the cult like paper maker, ink maker, lumberjacks, miners or traders where they get their special dresses and such.
This also means, that the normal citizens are... well, quite normal. They might be a bit more open-minded in terms of sex, relationships (monogamy vs. polyamoury for example) and kind touches, but they are not as open as the cultists with their physical charms. Meaning, they don't wear clothes that reveal that much or not as much as the cultist clothes.
Marriage and divorces are handled pretty easily. Love and desire can change over time, so a divorce, even when it is inside a poly-marriage, is handled pretty well and quick by the authorities. A marriage is done in front of the entire council and can be done without a huge party or with it. The place and the style of the wedding varies depending on the couples choice.
To be devot
How does people outside the cult worship Pelinos? Do they have other gods beside them? Yes, they might have, but their one god above all is the god of pleasure and pain. They don't have to worship Pelinos, but the cult hasn't built - or even allowed - other places of worship in Sufrunyas Seeding, the capital of Sufrunya. You can worship in your own home who you want - preferably Penlinos and your significant other on your knees - but in public and in the community hall you worship Penlinos. Also on your knees, but we get to that.
As the cult demands in their school, they also demand it outside of it: be devot before you can lead. That can be leading yourself into a good and pleasureable life, a family leader, or a business leader. So if you worship Penlios in the city, you go to one of the community halls.
Those are made out of wood and stone to look like the inside of Penlios, which means the hall looks like a huge ribcage from the inside. The wood is either birch or got bleached. Candles with red flames to look like the crest are illuminating the inside, a few artifical cracks are exchanging the air. The halls are always open for silent worshipping, but four times a day - usually every six hours - a cultist holds the communion.
The communion itself is really calm. The worshippers can come as they like in a clothing of their choice. The cultist - depending on sex and preference - wears whatever they like. Could be one of their long robes or transparent lingerie or nothing at all. Which is a rare case, but it happens.
At the first part the praying is held in silence and in solitude kneeling on narrow benches before the huge statue of the genderless skeleton of Penlios towering over the altar in the back. The prayers can vary, from asking for advice over actual worship to...whatever you like. It doesn't has to be connected to bodily pleasures, so pray for whatever you want. But do it in silence, kneeling in front of your god, reminded of your small, mortal existence. This is what devot means.
Part two of the communion is a cuddle party. Well, it is some kind of re-connecting with the community. Normally everyone tries to attend, but it is not mandatory. Right before the altar people come together to hug, maybe kiss - oi, with consent! -, exchange a few words or just vanish into one of the enclosed corners for more private words. Sometimes the leading cultist joins in, but they observe most of the time so make sure that the teachings of Penilos, especially the first and second. They ensure the enforcement of the third teaching, to ensure a safe environment.
On the road
There are a lot of smaller and larger roads and paths in Sufrunya and surrounding it, connecting (smaller) cities and villages. Which is to say, that Sufrunya is not a wealthy kingdom like Vraitha or Hulwar. They have their fair share, but there are still poor people, but with belief in their heart. For those who believe pilgrims and cultists had set up places of worship.
One of those places is a small community hall, not larger than a tavern, where you can rest, drink, eat, and get a coat for the road free of charge. Donations are not expected, but always welcome. Doesn't have to be money, it can also be some service or help like cleaning or cooking.
The other thing built are the small altars which consists of a statue of Penilos, a lot of hooks on the three surrounding walls and a ceiling. There people can search for protection before the weather like snow and heavy rain and, if they are in need, can take one of the coats which are hopefully hanging on the hooks. You are not obliged to donate a spare coat, but it would be very nice of you and who knows, maybe you need one in the hopefully far away future?
A Cults Perception
Since the Cult of Penilos is not a hidden organisation, they are known outside Sufrunya, even to the public. But there are also opinions from outside the cult, from their own civilians.
From the inside
Outside of the cult citizens have a normal life. There are people who have loose connections to the cult like scribes, merchants, clerks, craftsmen, you name it. Some of those engage in various relationships including bodily activities. Most of them by chance, but it happens.
But there are citizens who have nothing do to with the cult itself. Prejudice and superstition are part of it, but some people just can't get arsed to get in touch with the cult. Of course the dark and heavy topics are a thing people discuss and think of dark, body-and-mind-altering techniques of an even darker god. Which is the reason a gros of the population acknowledges the power of the cult, but doesn't interact with them, not even in the community halls. Those people try to avoid the cult as much as they can.
"Don't engage with the cult, child. They drag you into their carnage and unholy connections, obliterate your soul. You want to have an afterlife, do you?"
From the outside
From the outside it depends which nation you ask what perception they have of the cult. In the region east from the Spiral up to Chanvilesia they think about Sufrunya and the cult as good trading partners with odd behaviours and an even stranger god. The Garladans might be the only ones who can sympathise to a degree with them.
If you go further west to the Dwarves, the other Humans and Elves, it becomes more cloudy, loaded up with superstition, rumours and dangerous half-knowledge. The three merchant guilds try to avoid to have direct business with the cult. Not because of their pain & pleasure practice, but because of the dark god who is behind this practice. Allegedly Penlios provides them with powerful dark, corrupted magic, builds a strong army to march against the lands of mortals and, after that, to kill (or devour) the rest of the gods.
The Dwarves don't find the way of the cult and Penlios honourable, their food just barely enough, clothing wearable at best and they don't like their gods in comparison to Greybeard, their Father. The Elves have a similar opinion, but the cult opposites the teachings of the Eternals. Not the pleasure-part, more the part of pain. Births are always a joyous occasion and not a necessity to gain access to magic. Children are not a toy. Rumours even state that Penlios and their sister comsume the newborns somehow to gain more power.
"What kind of sick joke is that? They are sick to the bone in their dark rituals, their unholy childbirths and their communions to acquire the ability to cast magic. Unholy. Not right. This is madness like corrupted Witches and their demons."
Kinky Berserkers
Sufrunya has a small army which can be described as standard issue. Archers, spearman, a bit of cavalry. But there are the Berserkers, men and women who deepend their sex education and elevated their pain tolerance to be the heavy hitters of the army. They are dressed in black leather, blackened chainmail or blackened plate armour. A Sufrunya Berserker can tolerate a lot of pain like arrows and deep wounds and sometimes get even aroused by it.
This throws them into a frenzy. It can vary between bloodlust, rage, lust, or everything. Surviving berserkers explain that they want to end the fighting and then find a partner to quench their rage and lust with everything they got.
The Berserkers make only 5% of the entire army, but are the heavy hitters and are only thrown into the fray when the rest of the army is in trouble.
Kinky Tales
"What did they do?""Didn't obey my orders and forgot their homework.""Both?""Yes. And they cheated in the exam.""How do you know?""He wrote that he don't know the answer to that question and she wrote 'me neither'.""Ha... okay, I see." The council member in their purple robe chuckled. "And what are you going to do with them?"The teacher pointed at the male and female student, hanging naked from the ceiling with open legs. "I make them so horny that it hurts and they are not allowed to finish. Those potions are worth their gold.""You're evil.""Thank you."
You can't make this up. At first I thought I had seen everything, even with the Garladans, but when you are in this chamber with this naked man and the woman with the swollen body... runes glowing in red and purple, people chanting, the couple screaming at the same time as they share the full scale of pain during labour. It is not horror, but it is haunting. And for some strange reason everyone seemed to enjoy themself in a very, very twisted way.
The classroom was as quite as ever. But this time the air was thick with anticipation and anxiety. The reason for this sat in the middle of the classroom: a raven-haired slender woman, maybe twenty-five years old, had changed her clothing from the usual red - or red and black - to a red corset with black straps and a white shirt-thing. This white cloth tightly embraced her full chest and left nothing to any form of imagination. And that was the reason of the atmosphere in the room.She altered the assigned appearence which was a disobeyance. Everyone was anticipating punishment, but nobody knew in which way.As the teacher came in, the stern woman with the blue robe looked icely in the direction of the raven-haired pupil. Everyone seemed to clench something, as the teacher took out a few silvery needles, a wooden paddle and a stone strap-on with a harness."It seems", she whispered with a cold voice, "that we have a volunteer for todays lesson. Come forth." The paddle clattered loud onto the hard surface of the teachers desk.As the pupil stood up, I could see the smile on her lips. She had counted on that.
The wedding was set. Xera and Thoria seemed nervous as the two mages prepared the spells they needed. They already had their swords made out of good steel in the hands and would swap them later.
One after one the council members arrived, wearing thin purple robes which revealed everything in the bright sunlight. The lake glittered in the sun like a polished silver plate.
Both women gave away a small surprised scream as the mages conjured their spells and engulfed their feet in a cold, nearly invisible materia. One of them made an affirming gesture.
They were ready and so was the council, which members stepped onto the lakes surface and didn't sank as they have also got the mages spells.
Xera smiled at Thoria who winked at her as both stepped carefully on the water surface and could walk on it. Both wore a skirt, consisting of dozens of silvery and golden straps which reached to the ground. Their golden criss-cross halters engulfed their chests, but showed their backs, necks, shoulders and arms.
The High Dice began to speak, but both women had only eyes for each other and waited on their signal. The High Dice and every council member asked them if they were sure to go into this marriage and they said yes, fourteen times in total.
"May you change your swords." said the High Dice finally. With a relieved and wide grin the women exchanged their swords, crossed their blades with a loud CLANG before they finally embraced each other, kissing, clenching, pressing against the spouse. The attendees of the weeding, sitting at the shore of the lake, erupted in applause and wild screaming.
Council and couple left the surface of the lake and reached the shore. Now the party could begin.
The meaning of the flaming crest which represents Sufrunya is not so easily depicted. The bottom stands for swords or maybe the handle of a precious whip. The side handles (or guard) for embracing arms - at least they say so - and the inner arrow-like tip can mean an arrow itself, the burning desire of men which pierce through resistance or some kind of plug.
The outer flame represents the pain of life, the pain inflicted by others - voluntarily or not - and the desire from outside. The inner flame represents the heart of humans, the burning desire for pleasure, pain and love.
Gods of Sufrunya
Sufrunya has two main gods: Penlios and Ahelia, their sister.
Penlios is the God of Pain & Pleasure, depicted as a genderless skeleton in a robe. Similiar to the Eternal Death, but noticable different. Ahelia is a beautiful goddess with a lot of love in her heart. She cares for all people, for the agriculture, for the craftsmen, for everyone. If a person doesn't follow Penlios, there is a high chance that they follow Ahelia. She resents her sibling with all her being. That raises the question if gods know how they are created.
Penlios... what they do is not a good way. They do it on purpose. They and all the people down there could have it so easy, but no. All the pain, all the rules...
-(precious) metal
-glass from the Alchemy Guild
-potion bottles
-wood
-silk
-various alcoholica
-toys
-medical books
-clothes and their designs
-jewelry
-leatherworks
-harnesses for everyone
-all kinds of lotions
-oils
-potions
-potion recipes
Acquisition
Step 1: Examine basic intelligence paired with beauty (men & women) and no affinity to magic
Step 2: Making contact, handing over an imprinted coin with the crest of the cult and a hole in the middle
Step 3: Bring it in, get to a chosen place with introduction and seduction
Relationship Rules
During the seven years of training the pupils are assigned a partner according to their sexual preferences which they are ordered to stick with. Every pupil has their own room to sleep in, but they are also ordered to explore each other. Body, heart, mind, soul, preferences, likes and dislikes. It is strongly advised by the teachers to tell the truth, to speak about your desires, your wishes, your dreams, even if that includes bathing in a thub of hot chocolate or go on your knees and bark.
Such a partnership isn't seperated under normal circumstances. There can be exceptions like humilation, degradation or outright abuse outside of the safe environments each relationship should have fostered. In that case the relationship is terminated. The victim is reassigned a different partner after a time and the abuser exiled out of Sufrunya and shamed with a burnmark.
But what if the heart desires someone else? Or more than more? The answer to that - at least according to the cults rules - is easy: go for it. No need for heartbreak or love sickness. It is pain, yes, but not a desired one. At least talk it out with your (assigned) partner and you are fine. This can also addressed to the teachers and they try to take that into consideration.
A polyamorous couple of the Cult by CrazyEddie via Midjourney
For cultists it is the same rule: go for it. The only thing they need to remember is, if they have a relationship with a non-cultist, that they don't talk about the rulings, the workings, the people, or their names with their partner. Not even about the rituals or the ways of teaching.
One of Seven
Type
Religious, Cult
Capital
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