Introduction

Introduction

 

 Rueben sat on the ridge of Green Bay. His legs folded as he picked the grass and smudged the green stems into his rough palm. Rah’s sunlight faded over his face as his fiery eye closed and Noctra’s Night began to consume the ocean’s tide. The wind whipped violently across the young man’s face. The beautiful canvas of Noctra’s sky veiled the truth, for Rueben, every night was a taunt, a petty insult from the Gods, a clever design to make him writhe in pain during each sleep. He looked out to the sea; flashes of memories filled the salt tinged air. The sky now a deep purple infused with specks of crimson red reminded him of his brother’s death. The ocean raged that night, waves thrice the size of man crashed against the port, small boats capsized and lightning struck the orchard trees. The ancient books tell of stories about the gods and their power, they were angry that night; they wanted a gesture from mankind to save their island. The gesture was a sacrifice, a human sacrifice. Rueben remembered Ruem’s screams clashing with chimes.

 Rueben stood up; he vowed to stand in front of the sunset on Green Bay ridge every night as a sign. Most people thought the Madness had taken Rueben for visiting his brother’s grave every night, but he did it to laugh in the face of the Gods, to show he wasn’t scared and more importantly, that he was still alive.

 Rueben heard a rumble in the distance. He turned his back on his brother’s grave to see smoke rising from the mountain overshadowing the island on which he and his people dwell. Then the bell rang, the chimes shattered Rueben’s heart into a thousand pieces. A sacrifice is to be offered to the Gods and all must be present. He began his journey across the fields to the base of the volcano. The sky grew darker with every step; Rah’s fiery eye had almost completely closed.

 It was an hour before Rueben had reached the crowd of islanders. The volcano loomed, the cloud of smoke shadowed them completely. The only light came from the flickering torches standing either side of the tablet of stone. The High Priestess stood on a stage; she spoke with a commanding voice;

 “People of Rah, people of Eura, we are here on this night to offer a sacrifice to the gods of Earth. Bring forth the sacrifice.”

 Four men, large and strapping in their build brought forward a young man barely past the threshold of puberty. He knelt at the feet of the High Priestess arms held wide and head facing the sky like he was offering himself to the gods. This boy had been groomed for sacrificial rituals since birth, like a pig born on a farm, destined for the slaughter to feed the rich. The man, as were all pigs, was educated on the legends and stories of the gods, how to please and serve them when he reached Thera, the Temple of Gods. The young man had been tattooed with symbols and markings to show his devotion to them. He was, of course, pure, just like Ruem.

 “May you serve in Thera for all eternity,” she placed a gold coin on the man’s right eye, “may you please the gods,” she placed a silver coin on the left, “And may you find peace and solace from being Chosen.” She held a knife to the man’s throat and slit from left to right. The blood spurted from the man’s throat, spilling blood over the High Priestesses rich robes. He fell backward but, with all his effort, he held his arms wide still. His blood seeped into the cracks of the earth, dark red, almost black in Rah’s silver eye. The High Priestess went on, “For Rah of Gods, for Ocea, Galeo, Noctra and Ishaku, we offer this soul to Thera, amen.”

 Rueben bowed his head as did the other islanders; he kissed his fore and middle finger, touched his eyes and pointed to the sky whilst muttering the words, “We offer this soul to Thera, amen.”

Reviews

[Miss Evans]

I like it so far, looks very interesting. I will make sure to keep reading.

On a note of critique, though, "Gods" should be lowercase, just as a general grammatical rule.

[Chris]

Strong story