Dawn was the traditional time for the worship of the Goddess. As the first rays of sunlight rose over the horizon, two long files of Priestesses and acolytes processed into the inner sanctum of the temple, chanting a hymn of devotion to their beloved Goddess. At the head, the High Priestess strode, arms raised in supplication, to the idol of the Goddess and bowed down before it.

The idol was indeed striking. Nearly seven feet tall, not counting the white marble plinth it rested on, it depicted a nude female figure with long legs, curvy hips and full round breasts with smooth skin of ivory carved in exquisite detail down to the curled strands of her long hair. Certain details were picked out with other precious materials; her eyes were a matched pair of flawless emeralds, gold rings adorned her fingers and hung from her ears. Even her large, perky nipples were a pair of perfectly shaped rubies.

“Goddess! We beseech thee!” The High Priestess called from her prone position. “Accept our worship this day!” As she had countless times before, she prepared to lead the sisters of the temple in the worship of the Goddess.

Just then, there was a loud commotion from the other end of the sanctum. Some sort of scuffle was going on outside. Before the High Priestess could demand to know who was disturbing their worship, the doors of the temple were flung open and a large troop of men in armor rushed in. Around then, women screamed in shock, partly from the sight of the drawn weapons they carried and partly because no man had been allowed in the inner sanctum of the Goddess since its consecration more then 300 years ago.

“What is the meaning of this!” The High Priestess demanded, striding down, imperiously towards the troop of men. She recognized the one leading them, the commander of the Palace Guard.

He responded to her fury with a sneering grin. “By proclamation, worship of the Goddess is now forbidden within the territories of the Empire, all properties of her cult are to be seized and surrendered to the Imperial Treasury and all those who worship her are declared heretics and are to be branded as slaves and sold without delay.”

“By-by whose authority!?!” The High Priestess demanded in outrage, hardly able to spit out the words in her fury.

“By order of the Emperor.” The commander responded, still with a sneer on his face.

“My brother doesn’t have the authority!” She snarled. By ancient tradition, power was shared between siblings. “By what right dares he?”

“Because I can.” A voice spoke from the doors. Her brother, the emperor, strode in like a conqueror. “And because no one can stop me. That is all the right I need.”  

“Brother, I beg you, do not defy the gods!” She responded, plaintively.

“I do not! The God as decreed, he will no longer share power with a lesser deity.” Her brother responded. Just as his sister was High Priestess of the Goddess’ temple, he was in charge of the cult of the God. He grinned. “Just as I will no longer share power any more then the foreign kings and princes do.”

“This is madness! You see your own ambition and imagine it to be the will of god.” His sister responded. “Do not proceed with this folly. The Goddess will strike you down for such blaspheme!”

The Emperor laughed. “We shall see!” Confidently, he pushed past her, brazenly approaching the altar and the idol of the Goddess. Around, the priestesses and acolytes wailed. The High Priestess watched, expecting at any moment a divine bolt of retribution to strike down her traitorous brother for his hubris, but to her shock and horror nothing happened as he set a hand upon the idol.

From his robes, the Emperor produced a short coil of cord, woven from gold thread. “Nothing but the finest for the goddess, yes?” He said, mockingly. More wails rose from the women as he looped the cord around the arms and torso of the idol several times before knotting them securely. A short band of cloth of gold was produced and tied across the mouth of the idol, followed by a second covering the gleaming emerald eyes.

The last was a hinged ring of gold, decorated with precious gems and very beautiful, but as he closed it around the neck of the statue, it was obvious what it was: a slave collar. Wails rose from many of the women observing in horror. Some fainted. With his actions, he had bound, gagged and blindfolded the goddess, robbing her of her powers over mortals. And with the collar, he had bound the goddess to serve his own patron deity in the realm of the gods.

The High Priestess watched in mute horror, unable to believe what had just happened. Her brother strode past her, not acknowledging her at all. He nodded to his captain of the palace guard. “Round up these heretics and move them out.”

The captain nodded and barked an order. With ruthless efficiency, they started grabbing those women and girls closest to them. The priestesses and acolytes had their ceremonial robes torn from their bodies and their hands tied behind their backs with cord. Many among the cult were noblewomen, wives and daughters of important and powerful men at court. But here and now, their status gave them no protection. Alongside their common sisters, they were stripped and bound. Any who protested too hard were cruelly muzzled with gags torn from the discarded robes.

After being bound, the women were shoved and pushed out the doors. Stumbling out into the daylight, the sobbing women found more guards waiting for them. Large carts were parked behind them, the backs built into cages, slave carts ready to take them off to the market to be sold. In between, the guards had set up a large iron brazier, which they stirred, heating the iron brands which would mark the women with their new station before they were loaded.

Not far off, the Emperor sat in his imperial coach, watching the procession of stripped, sobbing captives with a cruel grin. There were many things he had to do, to solidify his power in the wake of this coup, but in the moment he reveled in his success thus far.  

“And her...” His assistant said, with a hesitant cough. At the temple doors, his sister was now being led out, stripped and bound like the rest of her fellow worshipers. She looked around, a look of stunned disbelief and horror on her face, as if she could not believe what was happening, what would shortly happen to her. Her gaze focused on the Imperial carriage. He saw her plaintive glance. Surely, she must be thinking, he would not let his sister, one of the Imperial bloodline, suffer the degrading fate to be marked with a slave brand and auctioned off.

“Send someone down to the slave markets.” He replied, coolly. “Let me know who ends up buying her at auction.” He signalled to the coachmen who cracked the whip and set the carriage rolling forward. Behind, the former High Priestess screamed into her gag in helpless terror as she was dragged forward to the block and roughly bent over it. Nearby, a guard selected a brand that had been heating in the coals and moved to align it with her upthrust rear...