Chapter 58. The Morning of Ēbrilēkōs

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Trigger Warning: there is a short but graphic mention of a really disturbing murder, necrophilia.

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'Do you wish to kill a man?' was the first thing Robert said as he approached Diane on the street. She, Athelstan, and Gwayne were at Emberport - the biggest village and port at Dragonstone - overseeing the deliveries for the Ēbrilēkōs that was now only two days away. Well, Diane and Athelstan oversaw them, Gwayne was just hanging around somewhere to be closer to Athelstan.

'Any day,' Diane answered with a smile.

Robert paused, thought about it, and then let out a laugh, 'I should have anticipated such an answer.'

After all, Lady Diane killed his predecessor the first time they met. And after that, he witnessed her feeding people to Cannibal at least a few times (coincidentally, all men as well). So perhaps he shouldn't be surprised.

'However, I feel like I should rephrase,' Robert continued. 'High Priest and I have talked about making a sacrifice on Ēbrilēkōs. A sheep for the newborn dragon, you know the tradition. But with winter coming, the High Priest asked me to keep an eye out for any criminal that might be worth sacrificing. I think I found one and who would be more perfect to perform it than the Lady of Dragonstone,' Robert concluded. 'If you wish so, of course.'

'Wait, the Valyrian faith accepts human sacrifices?' Athelstan asked, bewildered. He somehow missed that.

'Very rarely,' Diane answered before looking back at Robert. 'Who is the guy?'

'You can take a look, he is right here,' the man pointed to his left where the guard stood right next to the young guy. The potential sacrifice had a whole head of blonde hair, his clothes were covered in mud and dried blood and his hands and feet were bound with metal restraints. He was weeping and shaking like an autumn leaf. 'If sacrifice is a no, we will just feed him to Cannibal anyway. But I thought, you know, worth a shot.'

'He is barely older than me,' Athelstan frowned. 'I mean... does he really deserve a death sentence?'

'He got drunk, stabbed another guy to death at least ten times, then fucked his corpse in one of the holes he made and then lost consciousness on top of it,' Robert said. 'As far as drunken stupidity goes, kid, that's not it.'

Athelstan looked at him with wide eyes, then swallowed and said, 'I stand very much corrected.'

Diane clicked her tongue, deep in thought. Sacrificing a human came with its own ritual and a set of rules and restrictions. You couldn't just sacrifice anyone you wished, you needed to make sure the choice was right. But she also had to take into account that the winter was coming and they needed all the favor from the Gods they could get.

'Is he remorseful?' Diane asked.

'He says he is. But he is also scared shitless and doesn't want to die so it's hard to tell.'

'Does he have to be? Remorseful, I mean, to be sacrificed,' Athelstan inquired.

'Preferably. Being a sacrifice is usually an easy way out for people who know they fucked up and are way beyond salvation,' Diane looked at him and asked, 'How much do you know about the Afterlife, dove?'

'The basics, I think. That it is open mostly to everyone. The Gods will only ban the soul from entering if they were an extremely bad person.'

'It's a bit more complicated than that. If you are a good person, or fine person, or to some extent tolerable person, you will be welcomed into the Afterlife no questions asked. If you did some messed up shit or made tons of mistakes but you are not evil at heart, Balerion would make sure you experience all the pain you caused during your lifetime but you will be welcomed in the Afterlife after because you atoned for the wrongs you did. And if you are evil at heart or did something so universally unforgivable, you'll suffer your fair share and then you will be banished. Depending on the legend, you may simply cease to exist or be forever lost in the dark, neverending Void,' Diane explained. 'The sacrifice gives a chance to forgo the "getting tortured" part for the damned and let them cease to exist or go straight to the Void upon their death. But it also might rob them of a chance to atone for their mistakes if it turns out they are not unforgivable.'

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