Reveries of the Tainted

Prologue

It was unfair for someone to be forced into one of the more inhospitable environments Mother Nature had to offer. More so when one lacked awareness in said environment.

Yet, there situated in the harsh fields of a misled order was the most prized fruits of the villages labor. More particularly, the beloved daughter of a fraught mother and apathetic father.

Similar looks of vacancy came to match his own on the faces of equally respected individuals of their sanctimonious community, even as they stood united in their shelter while June lie unconscious in untrimmed grass.

Though the sky offered little light beyond the gloomy illumination of a moonless night, white fabric of a spoiled nightgown shone amongst the yellowed blades. A nightgown not to be seen through thick brush and towering pasture, yet the people peered on as four masked men lit torches in sync with a harsh strike of lightening and a tremble of the Earth.

No one knew why She did so, but they obeyed anything She spoke them to, anything their Chief spoke them to, and anything the church spoke them to.

As the ground continued a low vibrational rumble, there were four torches lit; three dimly casting their glow from the East, West, and North. However, South possessed the brightest of flames, last to catch fire and last to transfer it.

The atmosphere was calm despite their Gods declaration of sovereignty. Clear skies coerced the beacons of light to leave a fiery trail beyond the stars, disappearing into a night of mortal limitations.

West was to be the first of torches to kiss the dry grass. Her inclination for ties with liquidity in all things both worldly and otherworldly was calm through her wielding of fire.

She held power over all oceans and seas; ponds and lakes; rivers and creeks; even the rain that threatened to dampen an evil motive within a corrupt village as flames gathered into the collective's line of sight.

As the West began to burn, execution for North was shortly after. Earth's masked man lowered a dirt-dominant element to spread familiar, anchored stability. She was a bit more quick in her burning of the grass, but still collected and tame with every lick of flame that was prompted.

So began East with a high vibration and vastness. She bore an openness and possibility as her flame burned much more playfully than fellow counterparts. Almost urgent, she climbed high and allowed extended tendrils to dance with frantic grace, dangerous motions guided upward and outward lead way for a smoky environment. As Air ate away the East, the final flame of South was eager to complete their union.

As if excited, the flame jumped from a derivation of carefully sourced pig fat and onto the grass to join the circle of fire forming. All outer edges of the field had been singed to blackened dirt and with South's urgency to burn her path, the circle was quick to shrink inwards, leaving a trail of damaged and scorched ground.

That was the finality of a job reserved for an ignorant flesh and it was up to forces called upon to complete the ritual.

Four torches were left lifeless and pocketed as four men retreated to the safety of their trails. With one closing chant, they turned their backs on the fire as it continued it's journey to June. They decided it best to not watch beyond that point; opting for their practiced walk that would take them to safety and comfort.

Despite last years tragedy, their duties had been fulfilled for the season and the night was going to be one of celebration.

They were to be celebrated; as was the girl who began to find her senses overwhelmed by a dangerous heat and the residue of smoke in vulnerable lungs. Her wheezes did not reach the ears of anyone, only to be heard by the growing warmth of internal alarm.