Introduction: In This Land

Copyright October 18, 2006

by Matthew Haldeman-Time

 

I am writing about men having sex with other men.  You must be eighteen or older to read my fiction.  This site is for consenting, responsible adults only.
 

 

 

My name is Rini.  The whole thing is Anosalim Inanodat Kuladin A Rini, but it’s a lot easier just to say Rini.  I live here, in Orina Anoris - - which just so happens to be the most ancient, most powerful, and most prosperous nation in all of the world - - and I’m an Anorian prince.

        Right now, we’re in the Dynasty of the Seven Siblings.  That means that in each generation, the pharaoh has seven children, and those seven children grow up to run the country.  The gods bless them with the wisdom and skills that they’ll need to fulfill their roles.  It’s all about preordained destiny, and it’s all about my family.

The youngest of the seven siblings always becomes the royal artist.  That’s my brother Talin.  His twin brother is Anosanim, who’s going to be the royal architect.  They haven’t taken their positions yet, because they’re still only nineteen, but they work as hard as if they were already in charge.  I keep telling them to relax and enjoy their last months of freedom, but they’re too busy painting and planning and sketching to listen to me.

Talin’s rude and cynical; he always has a bad attitude.  Anosanim is happy and friendly and enthusiastic about everything, but he’s always too dramatic.  Because they’re so different, I really think that if they weren’t twins, Talin wouldn’t even like Anosanim, but they have this weird dynamic where they always put each other first.  Talin’s always looking out for Anosanim, and Anosanim’s always gushing about Talin, like they don’t realize that they shouldn’t even get along.

        My brother Desin is the royal agriculturist.  Basically, he’s a farmer - - and he looks like one, all big and muscular from working in the fields - - but everyone says that there’s much more to his role than that, like overseeing the country’s food resources, monitoring all of the crops and the animals and the rivers, shipping and storing all of the food, importing and exporting, stuff like that.  I still say: big ol’ farmer.

        The other two twins are Orinakin and Selorin.  Orinakin was born first, so he’s the royal diplomat; he travels a lot, keeps the peace, makes sure that everything’s running smoothly between Orina Anoris and the rest of the world, that sort of thing.  Selorin is the royal high judge, so he hears the biggest cases, interprets the laws, and says intelligent things.  Talin and Anosanim are complete and total opposites, but Selorin and Orinakin are the same person in two bodies.

        The second-born child of the pharaoh is always the royal high priest.  That’s Remin.  All of my brothers are passionate people, in one way or another, but Remin’s more passionate than most people expect someone in his position to be.  He used to spend all of his free time in the belams - - what you call harems - - and you didn’t want to get between him and any kind of food.  Now he spends his free time in the temples, but you still don’t want to get too close to his plate.

        First-born is, of course, the pharaoh.  His full name is Anosukinom Mutotanosa Situkabulanin Elanilanulanori Banotuda Kudorin A Rituliti.  We call him Kudorin; everyone else addresses him as Anosukinom.  He’s a pharaoh, he’s a man, he’s a god, he’s my big brother, he’s wealthy, he’s powerful, he’s perfect.

        You probably noticed that I kept talking about the seven royal siblings, and then I listed seven people without including myself.  That’s what makes this generation special.  There are eight of us.

        I’m the eighth brother, the youngest.  I told you to call me Rini, but one of the other parts of my name, Kuladin, means “one who is more.”  I’m more, I’m a blessing, a gift.  A gift to my parents, a gift to Orina Anoris, a gift to the world.

        You’re welcome.
 

        The last pharaoh was my pharaoh mother, Anosadum.  She stepped down from the throne almost four years ago when Kudorin turned twenty and took over.  That’s what happens; as each person from the new generation comes of age, someone from the previous generation hands over the role.  We’re in the middle of changing over right now, and in the new year, when Anosanim and Talin take their positions, the transition from one generation to the next will be complete.

        The pharaoh, while on the throne, can’t leave the country, so Anosadum is taking advantage of her new freedom and has been traveling all over the world with my king father and queen mother.

        It’s traditional for our pharaohs to marry both a man and a woman.  Kudorin already has a wife, Anikira.  She’s our queen, and they’ve known each other for almost their whole lives.  He doesn’t have a husband yet.  One of Orinakin’s duties is to scour foreign countries looking for suitors and bringing them here so that Kudorin can meet them, but Kudorin keeps rejecting them.

        I’ve met his suitors, and he is being way too picky.  Those guys are hot.
 

        Because the system is set up for seven siblings and I’m the eighth, my career and life weren’t laid out for me at birth.  That means that while my brothers have to get up every morning and do their jobs and run the country and bear an incredible burden of responsibility, I get to lounge around the palace all day.  I can go wherever I want, do whatever I want, and wear whatever I want.

        My main hobbies are having fun and having sex.  My favorite pastime is to combine them and have fun sex.  I visit the belams, of course, but I also partner with palace guests, my brothers’ assistants, servants, regular citizens, and athletes.  A lot of athletes.

        I’ve heard that other cultures in other countries have strange attitudes about sex; they attach a bunch of guilt and shame to it.  I don’t understand that at all.  In Orina Anoris, we like sex.  It’s natural, it’s instinctive, it feels terrific, and it doesn’t hurt anyone.  Why sneak around and hide something that fantastic?  I’ve never had sex right in the middle of a crowd in the throne room or anything, but that’s because of respect, not shame.

        Well, it’s also kind of because my brothers would be completely outraged and act all offended and indignant about it.  As if they’re celibate.  Okay, Remin is, but he has to be; the royal high priest can’t have sex outside of marriage, and Remin’s still single.  All of the rest of my brothers visit the belams all of the time, and they have sex with other people, too.  Especially Desin; he’s always looking for someone new to partner with.  Talin always has a boyfriend, about two a year.  Selorin always has a new boyfriend - - he changes them every month - - and he goes through them even faster when Orinakin’s away.

        Even though Anosanim’s always fawning all over everyone, he never notices when guys are interested in him.  They can tell him how much they care about him and undress right in front of him, and he’ll think that they’re just being friendly.  Even I’m not that friendly!  (Most of the time.)

        I don’t know why some of my brothers collect boyfriends.  I could never do it.  Commitment, to one person?  There are so many different people out there, I couldn’t possibly limit myself to just one.  I can’t even keep the same hairstyle for too many days in a row.

        Since I’m a prince with a lot of freedom and a busy, fantastic sex life, you’re going to think that my life is perfect.  And it is, almost.  My only problem is that all seven of my brothers outrank me - - not only are they older, they run the country - - and they like to tell me what to do.  Sometimes I even have to listen to them.  I think that they’re jealous, because our parents love me the most.  Anosadum had to have my brothers; she had me because she wanted me. 
 

        Kudorin’s only been pharaoh for four years now, but he’s been ready for it since he was born.  For as long as I can remember, he’s walked like he’s owned everything within sight, and he’s listened like every word’s important.  (Trust me; a lot of words out of a lot of mouths aren’t.)  All of my brothers work too hard; they put way too much thought and effort into it, for far too many hours.  Anosanim and Talin haven’t even completed their apprenticeships yet, so I’d excuse their work habits as nervous overcompensation, except that the older guys are almost worse than they are, and, besides, Talin never gets nervous.

        Of all of my brothers, Desin and Anosanim are probably my best friends.  Talin’s too rude; the others are all too old.  Whenever I feel like going out to flirt with guys, Desin’s the one I invite along.  Anosanim’s so dramatic that he usually pretends to be scandalized by whatever I want to do, but he always realizes that it’s going to be a lot of fun and goes along with it anyway.  Since Desin’s employees work in the fields, and Anosanim’s construct buildings, I like to loiter around when they’re working and flirt with all of the hot, muscular guys.  I just have to be careful, or Desin will make me help, and I’m not really into gardening.

        Talin and Selorin don’t want me to spend too much time hitting on their assistants and employees.  Apparently, it “distracts them from their work.”  It’s hard not to, though; the artists are all sexy and creative, and the lawyers are all sexy and intellectual, and both of those things turn me on.

        It’s no fun visiting Remin when he’s in the temples.  Everyone he works with is a priest, and who wants to hit on a priest?

        A lot of important foreign leaders come to the palace to meet with Kudorin and Orinakin, so there’s a pretty steady stream of people to flirt with.  Most of the kings and presidents and prime ministers and whatever are too old for me, but usually they have assistants or sons or something.

        Or daughters.  Most of my brothers are only attracted to men, but I like women, too.  Our belas are all male, though, because that’s something that we could all agree on.

        A bela is, I don’t know what you’d call it, a concubine or something.  A bela’s someone who lives in a belam, or harem.  Orinakin and Selorin and Desin and Anosanim and Talin and I share three belams; Remin used to before he became royal high priest.  Kudorin has two, just for him and his wife, one male and one female.  There are two more, one male and one female, for the official palace guests.  Kudorin’s, of course, are sexier and more talented than anyone else’s, because he’s the pharaoh, but ours are, um, pretty special.

        Now that I’ve started talking about the belams, it’ll be easy for me to go on for the next several hours, rambling about sex.  I’d better not, though.  Now that I’m eighteen, I’m supposed to “comport myself with some semblance of decorum,” and it’s not “appropriate” for an Anorian prince to describe his intimate sex life to complete strangers.

 

        There’s much more to talk about, a whole lot more that I want to tell you.  Orina Anoris is a pretty special place.  There are thousands of stories to be told in this land...