The Cult of Love

1.

It was a cold day in the city. The sky was cloudy and it seemed to start raining soon. The weather had been like this for the past few days, but the anticipated rain hadn't arrived yet. In the middle of the day at exactly 12 on the big clock that was in the middle of the small town, a bell began ringing. It was a call, a call for the daily worship at the church. Slowly, the people started to gather up on the street. They all had the same path. They were all walking to the old church, that was on a hill near the city. Their God loved nature and since he had only brought them despair, by making only a few crops grow, or none at all, when they tried to move the church closer to the village, the townspeople decided to renovate the old church a bit, since it was an old building. They made their way slowly to the church, always with a certain level of awe in their step. They respected their God, for he was the being, that held their small community together. He was a God of peace, a God of harvest, a God of power and love. And his wife was a Goddess of Fertility, a Goddess of Poetry, a Goddess of Weather, and so much more. It seemed, that almost all people had arrived at the church, except for a few, but the most notable was a boy, that was running down the street to the church. His name was Alex and he was not the most reliable. But he also did his work, like all the others, and even worked harder than some which made up for it. But being late to the worship had dire consequences and Alex knew that all too well. He ran even faster and made it to the church before the door closed. Anyone who came in later, or who wouldn't show up at all, unless they had a very good reason, would be punished. He quickly sat down with his parents and looked to the front, where the priest was about to show up. Behind the people, the big wooden doors closed with loud creaks...the only loud noise in the whole church. There were no conversations, no words spoken and not even the wind that was whistling outside could be heard. It was as if there was no space for any conversations in this holy place. Alex looked around quietly and noticed a boy with brown fluffy and short hair slipping in one of the rows at the front. Since Alex was standing a bit further back, he couldn't see the boy anymore. Then the priest showed up, wearing the traditional clothing, that had been passed on through many generations. A dark red coat, with green accents in the material, black pants, and a black hat with a dark green clover on it...the symbol of the church and their God. On the outside, the man was old, around his seventies maybe. He had short silver-grey hair and a beard, of the same color. His skin had wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, from smiling often. The priest started speaking: "Hello you children of Semerian. I welcome you to the daily worship and hope you all have been working well for the community. Although I do notice, that some people are absent... Would anyone like to explain, why that is?" A few people raised their hands. Alex's mind slowly started to drift away, as the question was answered and the well-known prayers of the preacher started. His mind wandered back to that boy. He had never seen him before, or maybe he just never noticed him. The boy seemed to be around Alex's age. He had dark brown fluffy hair. But something about him seemed strange, but Alex couldn't grasp what it was. Before he could grasp it completely, the priest suddenly said something new. "Well, I also have some news for you. Our God told me, that today is the day, that there will be a new priest chosen since I am old and won't live much longer" A low, really low murmur went through the people, and it went quiet almost instantly after the priest held up his left hand. "I also have found the perfect replacement too. I would like you to meet my son, Milo. Some of you may know him, some of you might not. Milo, could you please step up here?" As soon as the priest's son Milo stepped up, Alex's breath hitched. It was the boy from earlier. He directly noticed the brown fluffy hair, a color, that reminded him of garden soil, that had been freshly watered. And now, Alex could also grasp what seemed so strange. He was the son of the priest, which a silver locket in the form of a clover represented. The priest family had always had those, with the main priest having a gold locket and assistants or family members wearing silver clovers. The priest spoke again: "Milo, you have been chosen as the next priest. But it could be that you do not want to take my place. So I am asking you if you want to accept?" This was a lie and Alex knew that. You never had a word to say, in this process. If you didn't accept you'd get sacrificed. He had been there one time when a person didn't want to be the new priest. It was one time when he had forgotten his grey coat at the church. He had snuck in since no one was supposed to be there after the worship unless you wanted to pray for something specific like fertility, health, or love. Quietly he had slipped between the still open door. Then he heard, how two people were arguing. One was the priest and the other was a girl named Emelia. She was supposed to take on the role of the new priestess but refused. Alex was quietly watching them, from behind a dark wooden cabinet on which a few offerings were laid out. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he saw what the priest did. The priest held the young girl by the arm, forcing her upon the stone altar. Alex wanted to look away, but he wasn't able to. He watched as the priest took out a small dagger with a red handle and stabbed her just above her heart. Then he held her down until she stopped moving. Then the priest said a quick prayer and left quickly to clean the dagger or get a cloth, as Alex thought. Or maybe he just went to get another offer. Alex didn't wait for the priest to come back, he just quickly got his coat and left. He never spoke to anyone about it, since the girl was an offering to their great gods, and Alex understood why the priest did it. The next day, not one of the people asked where Emelia was, not even her parents. Not one asked, why there was blood on the altar, and no one said anything about the worship afterward. So Alex hoped that Milo would accept. He knew that the old priest wouldn't live much longer, since he was very old, but there was also something else. A burning feeling, that he couldn't quite describe. He started to focus again but only picked up the last part of the sentence. "...will accept Father." Milo said, with a quiet and calm voice. He had a quite deep voice and it also sounded a bit smoky. Alex liked his voice. Milo sounded so nice and like a very good storyteller. Everyone applauded quietly, so Alex quickly did too. Soon after Milo sat down again the people started to leave. The worship was over and everyone got up to go and do their daily work. A few women and men of the village would work in the fields, while others would cook and prepare everything for the evening and the welcoming of the new priest would start. Alex sat there for a bit more though. He started to pray quietly to Semerian. "Please, oh please Semerian, my God. I am asking you to please make it rain in the next few days. The crops would need it otherwise they will wither. In your name I trust." He ended and got up. The priest was still there and nodded to him when he got up to leave. Outside the church, the people were chatting, happy, and excited for the evening. Alex took a deep breath of the fresh wind that was whistling quietly, like it was singing a song. Then he made his way to the field closest to the city and wondered how the evening would be.

A/N: Hey peeps, the first chapter is done. I hoped you enjoyed, but if you have any critique you can tell me. Please do write it respectfully and no hate speech. If anything is bothering you about this, please also tell me. I hope you are excited for the next Chapter. I hope you are healthy and well, and if you aren't, I wish you a quick and good recovery. 🤍

- Starshadow_Sans