Today I'm talking about The
Inquisition, which is featured prominently in my latest release, Claimed by the
Zyndevine, Book 4 in the Bayou Magiste Chronicles. The Inquisition and those
carrying out the brutal acts against heretics are the main reason Henri
Marchand and Chantal Belliveau meet in the first place, when Henri saves
Chantal from an attack on her home and family. Henri is also involved in a
resistance movement, Il Resistasse, against the Church's violence against who they
deemed to be heretics.
Most people are
familiar with The Spanish Inquisition, which was the largest and broadest-scoped of
all of the Inquisitions. Many don't realize that these acts of "cleansing"
were being carried out for hundreds of years prior. The first of the major medieval Inquisitions began in 1184. By a papal bull issued by Pope Lucius III,
entitled Ad abolendam, which translates to "For the
purpose of doing away with." It was established mainly to deal with the
Cathars. They believed in dualism, two Gods. The good God, which is the God of
the New Testament of the Bible, created the spiritual world. The second God,
the evil God, was the one who created the physical world of the Old Testament.
Naturally, this did not sit well with the Catholic Church, and was deemed
heresy, which was to be destroyed, at all costs.
Another papal bull establishing
an Inquistion, ad exstirpanda, was issued by Pope Innocent IV, in 1243, almost
right from the beginning of his term. It authorized torture for some heretics,
however, there were some limitations:
·
that the torture did not cause loss of life or limb
·
that it was used only once
·
that the Inquisitor deemed the evidence against the accused to be
virtually certain
Of course, in practice,
these limitations were mostly ignored. The loss of life or limb could be considered
to be an accident, and often "only once" could come to mean a series
of tortures that all together were defined as one. And of course, those who
carried out such tortures often followed their own beliefs in inflicting torment on
those who were suspected of heresy, whatever the definition was at the time. For it most certainly changed and often, due to whatever goal those in command wanted to accomplish.
The Inquisition established
by Pope Innocent IV is the one that is occurring during the time of Claimed by
the Zyndevine, Of course, in the Magiste world, magic is quite real and is
naturally deemed heresy by the rulers of the time. King Louis IX, later
canonized as St. Louis, was devoutly Catholic and just as eager as the Church
to wipe out those he believed to be heretics. In the 13th century, Mortal
men, such as King Louis, were usually frightened of magic, and often with good
reason. Just like anybody else, there are good and evil Magiste, and those evil
Enchanters and the like used dark magic to commit gruesome tortures against any
they perceived as their enemies, or sometimes simply for the enjoyment of torturing a helpless victim. Just like the Inquisitioners in Claimed by the
Zyndevine (and yes, I made up my own word for those carrying out the Inquisition.
I made up a lot of words creating this world).
Anyway, the tortures of
all of the Inquisitions were very similar, though as technology of the time
advanced, and of course with more experience in knowing what was more effective
against the victims, these tortures increased in brutality and scope. By the
time of the Spanish Inquisition, nearly every European country, and often many of the
smaller territories within those countries, held their own local Inquisition-like
pursuits. Untold numbers of innocent people suffered and died under these agonizing
tortures. Many confessed, just to make the torture stop. They were subsequently
put to death, though there were other ways to make penance and save one's life.
Often that involved the confiscation of all property and fines, as well as jail
time. Back then, you might as well be dead anyway if they jailed you.
In Claimed by the
Zyndevine, Chantal's own family suffers a terrible fate when they are targeted,
as do others. The details of the tortures aren't described in graphic detail;
I'm not one to write about someone's gruesome suffering, but most people are
familiar enough with the implements of the Inquisition to understand what
happens: the Iron Maiden, the Pear of Anguish, the Rack, and others. I do use
one of the tortures in another book – the Stocks. This was a pretty brutal
torture: a person's legs were locked into the stocks, their feet were greased
with lard and then placed against a brazier or fire. Those who suffered this
torture often died, and horrifyingly, this was used against children to force
them to testify against their parents.
This is what Henri and
Chantal are up against, forced to flee for their lives, or suffer unendurable
agony. Still, Henri employs his own brand of torture upon Chantal – one which
she of course, soon begins to crave. Here's a little teaser of exactly what
Henri does with Chantal once he has her bound to his bed and under the torment
of the fiere potion. Warning – this is
decidedly NC-17 and NSFW:
"Henri, it
burns!" Her choked cry sent another throb of lust pulsing to his cock. He
ignored it as best he could.
"Yes, it
does, but there's more, isn't there? Tell me, Chantal, what else are you
feeling?"
He continued his gentle stroking along her skin,
noting the way her nipples hardened still further, as if straining to reach his
hands. Henri studied her closely, the dart of her tongue along her lips a
torment and a delight to his roiling senses.
"I don't know, damn you! But it's driving me
mad!"
He grinned at the
frustration in her voice. "But I've barely begun, Chantal. If you are
nearing madness now, how will you survive the pleasure I plan to show you
through the night?"
Her eyes snapped
to his, wide with a mix of apprehension and anticipation. "So you plan to
torture me all night? You are not the man I thought you were."
He shrugged.
"Perhaps not. But I suspect, in the end, you'll prefer me this way."
He leaned over
and licked along her full lips, each breath she took rattling through her and
pouring into him. Her essence, with the pulse of her magic, drove him to near
madness himself. Pulling himself away took every bit of his strength. Her body
glistened in the glow of the hearth, but he suspected much of the heat leaving
her skin covered in a damp sheen came from within. He dared a look at her
pussy, open and ready for him due to the chains at her ankles. A telltale
moisture sparkled in the firelight. Did she even realize how much her body
wanted what he offered?
"Remember
what I told you earlier?" The husk in his voice betrayed his desire, her
awareness of the fact sparking in her gaze. A hint of a smile tugged at one
side of her mouth.
"Yes, you
told me to feel."
He nodded.
"I won't tell you not to worry, some of what you'll endure tonight will be...uncomfortable.
But I think you'll find the reward worth it."
She closed her eyes briefly, but when she opened them
again, he clearly read the challenge in their grassy depths.
"Are you
ready?"
You can get your
copy of Claimed by the Zyndevine at Amazon:
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