1: The Sacrafice
Ice, Fire, Destruction, Order, Wood, Monsters – these were names of some of the trials for the Order of the Supreme. So many were trained, and so few succeeded. What was the reward for passing all the tests? Mental scars. Physical scars. Isolation. Praying to their deity for words of wisdom.
The final reward was a ceremony.
“Embrace the ice.” The robed priest’s voice reverberated across the small stadium.
Everyone in the audience echoed his words. The “winner” was cast upon, and her entire body was frozen.
Lynaea Cerridwen was raised for twenty long years, rarely seeing her family, forbidden to keep friends, and struggling daily so she could be sacrificed to their world’s god.
“Embrace the flame.” The pyre beneath Lynaea was lit.
The crowd screamed their leader’s words enthusiastically.
Lynaea only wished to help her world. She had constantly been reminded of what their world lacked and how it was her responsibility to fix it. If she had to sacrifice her life to do that, so be it.
“Embrace the order.” The accelerant-soaked ropes were thrown neatly around her by a master roper. For a moment, the work was a display of perfection.
Then again, Lynaea thought, this is really painful.
Why was pain the constant in everything their god required? Doubt crept into her. Was the sacrifice really going to help her world? Even as protected as she’d been, she’d heard rumors that their god didn’t even want sacrifices anymore. The Order of the Supreme was no longer a widespread practice.
“Embrace the chaos.” The accelerant-soaked ropes exploded with flames.
She heard the audience scream in excitement as they chanted. She watched them move as they egged the flames on.
Lynaea’s body fell apart, piece by piece, bit by bit. Her sight failed before her sense of pain. Life had never been fair.
They told her she was necessary, but they also said she didn’t need happiness since she was going to die anyway. It was fitting to suddenly wonder if this new emotion welling up in her was what they called “hate.”
