"ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏꜱᴛ ꜰʀɪɢʜᴛᴇɴɪɴɢ ᴍᴏɴꜱᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴏꜱᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʟᴜʀᴋ ᴡɪᴛʜɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ꜱᴏᴜʟ."
Tastrim is a town of God, a close-knit community isolated within a forest-clad valley. When winter comes and the pass is filled with snow, folk light their fires, lock their...
"Then shall wicked men know that God is the Lord. They shall know how great that majesty is which they have despised, and how dreadful that threatened wrath is which they have so little regarded. Then shall come on wicked men that punishment which they deserve. God will exact of them the uttermost farthing." – Unknown
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Songs:
The Village Score - 06 - I Cannot See His Color - James Newton Howard
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The word went 'round in Tastrim the following day that Mason had gone missing in the night. His mother, clad in black veils of morning, sat in the chapel like an angel of stone with trembling, clasped hands. His father remained shut in their home, all the curtains drawn. His children, he feared, were both already dead.
The skies were still dark, and no sunrise graced us. Every door in Tastrim had been hung with sage, and I had anointed every doorframe with oil the previous day. We needed the full moon to make our sacrifice beneath: its power would heighten our own, ensuring that Zibarath was returned to his rest. But waiting for the moon was where the real trouble lay. We had five days before us in which the Shrouded One would hunt. Witch Mother and I would do everything in our power until then to ensure the people were kept safe. Even so, the fact remained that the beast was more powerful than us, and far hungrier.
I prayed that Mason had reached safety, wherever he had chosen to go.
"Today, you will learn the Rites of Sacrifice."
Deep in the Pilgrim's Wood, there was a burrow beneath the massive roots of an ancient tree. No one knew with certainty how long it had been there, or for what original purpose it had been dug. Some suspected Danielle had instructed the Pilgrims to dig it, while others believe she had happened upon it. But it led deep into the earth, through a vast network of pathways in the dark. If one was not careful, it was all too easy to become lost within. Therefore, the folk of Tastrim were never told where this burrow lay. Instead the knowledge was passed down, Witch Mother to Witch Mother. Now, it was passed to me.
