Re:Demon - Reborn as a Demon Book 1

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Excerpt from the Symposium Arcanium, Year of the Saint 871

Lord Aldiar D'Morian's address

"It is easy to stand here and talk about how much we have advanced in the last hundred years. Even in the lifetime of our youngest members, we have seen such advances in the Arcanic arts that those at the other end of their lives could be forgiven if they didn't believe it was possible. And this year is no different. On this very stage, our friend and colleague Arch-Arcanist Goreen demonstrated a theory that will revolutionize the entire world, a moment that will no doubt go down in history books as the moment that the world took a collective step forward, I have no doubt that Arch-Arcanist Gorren's name will become synonymous with progress.

"I don't think there was one of us in the audience that listened to him speak that didn't have visions of what could be accomplished once it's finalized. The crystallization of Arcanic energies will reshape the world and propel us onward into realms that we hadn't even dreamed possible.

"That's not to say that we shouldn't proceed with caution, after all, even we need to sometimes stop and look at the Desert of Bone and remember the kingdom that caused it.

"That leads me to what I am here to talk about, which is not the future, at least not exactly. We've all listened to a number of speakers talk about it, the wonders that it can hold and the promise within. No, I am here to talk about the opposite of all that. The future that is being denied, the possibilities that will not be reached, the lives that will be lost.

"Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't some warning against progress, anyone that knows me, knows that's the last thing I'd speak about. No, what I'm here to talk to you about, to remind you of as we sit here and shape the future, is the world being denied, whether through ignorance or fear, we must always remember that we are the blessed, for we can see.

"I know what you're thinking, Lord D'Morian, we already know about this, and I'm sure that you do, but I'm here to remind you of it. Why, just last month I found a village nestled in the /Hero's Bulwark Mountains, hidden away for hundreds of years, and do you know what I found there? Beyond the poverty, the backwards ways of the villagers, the lack of modern conveniences and medicines? Beyond all that, I was shocked to my core to find that they still practiced human sacrifice.

"I know, I know, as aghast as you are now, I can assure you, I was even more so, for I saw their ancient altar with the generations of blood caked upon it.

"But we cannot discount their beliefs, their superstitions out of hand. Not because we have seen the world as it truly is, but because we have all seen that sometimes ancient beliefs have their roots in fact. So, I set about studying them and their rituals. But none of them, not even the ancient lore keeper of the village could tell me what the sacrifice was for, only that the blood kept 'evil' at bay, kept it sealed away and protected the world from it.

"It would be easy to dismiss this out of hand as silly nonsense, but to their credit, the people of the village hadn't been struck by any of the diseases that have ravaged the rest of the lands, nor have their crops withered, so it would be tempting to put some faith into their blood sacrifice, until you think about it. Of course they wouldn't be affected by anything that has plagued the rest of the world, they've had no contact with it in hundreds of years, so it makes sense that they've been spared. As for their crops, the mild winds blowing in and up the mountains deposit rain upon them, and without the pestilences that sometimes sweep through the lands, it is no wonder that they have good yields year after year.

"But I knew that just because something is explainable one way, does not mean that it is the only explanation, so I set about studying the altar and the area, determined to find out if there was anything to this ritual or not.

"Before I go any further, I suppose I should go into a bit more detail about the ritual itself, as it was told to me, just so we all know what they were doing for all these years. Every ten years, on the night of fall equinox, they select two of their own, around the age of thirteen, and bath them in water which they boiled the blessed root of the Quixol flower, a plant that only grows on the slopes west of the village, and only once every ten years, which is how they know that the ritual needs to be performed. Since it wasn't in bloom when I was there, I was unable to see it, but they described it as a bright blue bloom that makes the slope it blooms on glow in the moonlight.

"Anyway, the two sacrifices, virgin girls both, are bathed in the blessed water, which stains their skin, proving they have been chosen, then have sacred markings painted on their skin before being led to the altar, where they are laid down and the head of the village brings the sacred blade, which is an interesting artifact, it took a bit, but I was able to convince them to let me see it and it appears to be of elvish design, though not of any clan that I have ever seen. In fact, it seemed like it was some lost offshoot or something. They refused to let me touch it, but I was able to make some drawings of it and have sent them to some of my colleagues to get their opinion. Once I have heard back from them, I'll be able to give a more accurate clarification.

"Anyway, the blade is kept in the village head's house, though exactly where, I am not sure, since they all live in round stone houses and there didn't seem to be anywhere for him to have hidden it, but during the ritual they bring it to the altar and pierce their victims on either side of the neck.

"The altar itself is a massive round stone on a small hill, the surface of which tilts downward towards the center, so the two sacrifices, when laid down with their heads towards the center drain of blood, which empties somewhere, though I couldn't tell where, since they wouldn't let me examine it too closely and the center was fairly stained.

"I tested the site and did find some disruption to the natural flow of Arcanic energies in the area, though whether that was due to the number of sacrifices that have taken place there, or something else, I'm not sure, but I can say that there wasn't enough energy disruption to have the kind of affect that they were talking about, which brings us back to the point, this village, lost to time has been killing their own because somewhere in the past, someone thought that it would solve their problems.

"This is the very thing that we need to address, the fact that ignorance still pervades this world, that we all fight against the unenlightened and those whose ignorance would condemn others to death, just because that's what they've always done. They refuse to think about the future, instead they desperately cling to the past, unwilling to move forward out of fear that change will destroy them, just because things have worked out so far by doing things the old way, so they refuse to see any reason to change, and in doing so refuse to aim for a better future.

"I plan on going back to the village and stopping their ritual the next time it takes place, to show the people there that they have been killing their own for generations for nothing. I don't expect that they will be grateful, at least not at first. I expect that they will resent me, if for no other reason than that I didn't come earlier and save more of them, but in the end, they will see that there was nothing to fear and that progress is something to be welcomed, that the past shouldn't be ignored, but neither should it be clung to just because it has worked so far.

"In the end, I think each of us needs to face our own village, our own adherence to the past, to let it go and question every belief that we've been hanging onto, clinging onto for our lives, just because we've been told that it's the thing to do."