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."I do approve of Darian.He is not only brave, he is also wise and sharp ofwit, like all the Little-People are.If all his plans go well, he will regainthe kingdom that was stolen from him.Then a girl of your village will bemarried to a king of the Little-People.This brings great honor to yourvillage, and may help appease the ghosts even more.This is good from bothsides of the hill," Strider replied with a smile, using an old giantishcliché.Grayeye nodded, then suddenly turned to me."Wait.You said there were twoparts to her dowry, two things of great value to Darian that were gifts fromher mother.What is the second?""Her brains.Of all the giants, she is the smartest I have ever seen.She isas smart as Darian, maybe smarter.For every cubit of height the gods shortedher, they gave her ten cubits of wisdom."Grayeye nodded."That is true.She is the smartest in the village by far, andI have always thought that is the real reason the children tease her so, nother size.Is she truly as smart as one of you?""At least.She learned most of Darian's language in just a couple months, andno giant in Dohbari village has yet learned more than 'hello' and 'goodbye'.Darian, meanwhile, can barely make himself understood in your tongue.She iscertainly at least as smart as we are, probably smarter," I replied, andStrider nodded in agreement."I believe this is a good dowry, a gift of great value only her mother couldhave given her," Strider said firmly.Grayeye nodded."I agree.It is not a proper dowry of good hides and steelknives, but it is a good dowry even so.This is acceptable," he said, thenpointed a finger at Darian, who had sheathed his sword in the meantime."You,I approve of.You are brave and you obviously love her, or you would not havedrawn your little needle and threatened me with it when I spoke insultingly.Iwas wrong, and you were right to tell me so.You also did not back down, evenwhen I gave you the same look that makes other giants quake in fear of me totest your commitment.This is more proof of your bravery and the depth of yourlove.Yes, I approve of you," he said, then pointed his massive digit atFaith."You, I do not approve of.Everyone in the village knows that you havealways wanted to be a full-size giantess and marry and have children.We allknew you came here for a cure, and we all know from the word that has beenpassed that a cure was impossible.I think you only wish to marry him becauseof your strong desire to be mated and have children.In a year or two, youPage 176 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlwill be fighting.Marriage cannot be based on lust.It must be based onfriendship, respect and mutual attraction if it is to last.You must betested," Grayeye said, and Strider, Dragonslayer and Felicity nodded inagreement.I sighed.This was common for giantish weddings - the het-man often testedeither or both the bride or groom (usually both).Faith spoke up bravely,though."Test me, Grayeye.I am not afraid," she called.Grayeye sat down carefully to consider the test, and the other giants joinedhim."Come, Darian, let's get some chairs.This is going to take a while," Isaid.Darian and I emerged a few minutes later with four chairs, and Arella, Darian,Faith and I took seats to wait.After a while, Darian spoke."Why is it takingso long?" he asked idly."Grayeye must think carefully.I small and weak.Most women's tests kill meeasy," Faith replied calmly.At Darian's shocked expression, I nodded."It's true, Darian.Most of thetests they apply to a giantess to test her love for her mate will simply killFaith outright.Like those for the men, they're all painful, most areextremely humiliating because they're performed in public, and they can bestopped at any time simply by the giantess deciding that she wants to stop.Ifall that's attracting her is lust, then she'll usually either give upimmediately, or simply change her mind about being married.Grayeye has tothink very carefully about which test he'll apply, since the point is to makesure she's in love and not merely in lust.If he's not careful, the test willsimply kill her.""Well, what kind of tests do they apply?""The most common test for both men and women is usually a simple beating.Theyget a long strap of leather about a hand wide and about ten cubits long, havethe giant or giantess strip and kneel in the center of the village with theirforehead on the ground, then simply have every member of the tribe whip themone at a time.Each giant and giantess delivers three strokes, one for each ofthe three virtues of the giant's religion; patience, humility and bravery.Their hide is so tough it's merely painful and extremely humiliating, onlyrarely does it actually draw blood.Of course, if it does draw blood and thegiant or giantess still endures it, it's considered to be a show of how deeptheir love and commitment is.Unfortunately, that test would probably kill herin a minute or so," I said.Darian looked deeply shocked, Arella blanched, andSwift-wing shuddered.Faith, of course, simply nodded as I continued myexplanation."Another one is where the woman agrees to be branded with the man's name onher buttocks - many females actually request this test, as it shows the depthof their lifetime commitment to their man.Making the brand takes about aweek, and the female can change her mind at any time prior to the point wherethe brand is applied.Once the brand is made, they're made to kneel naked inPage 177 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlthe center of the village with their forehead on the ground, and the het-manslowly heats up the brand to give them plenty of time to be stared at by theentire village, be horribly embarrassed and humiliated and back out of thewhole thing at the last minute.If she doesn't tell the het-man to stop, hehas four giants hold her down, gives her one last chance to change her mind,then brands her - usually on the right buttock.Unfortunately, that test wouldalso kill Faith, as each letter of the brand is about two hands high and ahand wide.It's a small scar for a giantess, but a fatal burn for someoneFaith's size.Hold on a moment," I said, and spoke up to the giants."Felicity, which test did you take?" I asked in giantish."Strider wanted the test of suspension, but I asked for the brand, and heagreed.Why, are you asking to see it?" she asked, blushing."No, I was just curious.I'm sure it must be quite beautiful," I replied,smiling.Dragonslayer nodded."It is.The Ilbarsi mountain smiths did an excellent job,and the letters are very elegant.She's quite proud of it, and greatly enjoysshowing it off to me in the privacy of our home, the little vixen!" he saidwith a smile, and Felicity playfully swatted him on the shoulder (the sameblow would have squashed me flat, but Dragonslayer merely grinned andblushed)."I took the test of the whip, myself.Let me tell you, Eddas Ayar,that was the hardest thing I've ever done.Stripping naked and kneeling beforeall the members of my tribe and having them all whip me? I thought my pridewould never recover, but it was worth it to prove my love for Felicity ," hesaid, and he and Felicity exchanged a kiss."Damn.I was hoping Felicity's test might have been one Faith could survive,but it wasn't," I said, sighing."Well, what was that test of suspension she mentioned? That didn't sound toobad," Darian asked
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