March Writing Challenge | 30 Days of Writing

Day 1 | The Ritual

Day 1: Put your music library on shuffle and write 250 words based on the first and the last line of the song that plays.

The song that I got was "Mia Agape Fotia" by Sofia Strati. It's a Greek song, but hey the prompt said the next song that came up. I translated the lyrics for this prompt. This story has NOTHING to do with the actual song but everything to do with my love for world-building and fantasy and most importantly, what popped into my head after reading the lines on their own.

I left the song up there if anyone wants to listen.

~Blaze

The Ritual

"Now the time has come for you to choose."

The words echoed through the cavern. The silence that followed was thick and heavy, covering everything in the weight of her decision. Her hearing sharpened, the faint sound of a droplet of water hitting the floor roaring in her ears. Her sight focused on the thing in front of her shaking in the wind.

The so-called hero stood in front of her, eyes wide and pleading, hands tied firmly behind a heavily lacerated back. His legs, thin and weak from time in the dungeon, shook and trembled from the efforts of holding his starved body up. Thick clumps of dirt covered his body, intensifying the clearly visible infection in his open wounds. His matted hair fell over his face in uneven lengths of muddy locks.

"Stay and sacrifice, or leave." His voice thundered once more through the room, rumbling through the stone and causing rocks to fall on the ritual circle. Her head snapped to the side, eyes narrowed for just a second in annoyance that she could not hide. She despised being rushed, but this man was not one to cross.

Another fatal silence fell over the room as she focused on the child before her. Before the watchers could blink, a knife was in her hand. It was relatively small with a polished golden hilt littered with gems of all sizes and colors. She held it in front of her, the tip of the blade pointing towards the ceiling as she raised her eyes briefly towards the heavens.

"Goddess of shadow and brimstone, accept my offering," she intoned. As her words rang out, she moved faster than humanly possible, blade sinking into the form in front of her. He cried out as it cut into one wrist, then the other, followed by a shallow cut on his forehead and one final one over his heart. His legs finally gave out and he fell to the ground.

"Goddess of night and mystery, accept my blood," she continued. Her voice was loud and piercing, and it did not falter as she placed the same ornamental blade to her own hand and traced a line through her palm. That was followed by two equally shallow cuts on her forehead and heart.

The boy in front of her trembled for the last time as blood finished running from his already tired body. As his last breath was exhaled, she let a drop of her own blood fall and collect in the pool that had formed in front of her.

"I pledge myself to a lifetime of servitude. I, Khana, the new priestess of the Queen." Her last word was hissed, a sibilant serenade that caused the watchers in the cavern to bow their hooded heads and murmur their praises. As she finished speaking, dark green magic formed in the air around her and flowed into her body.

Her smile grew long and deranged, fueled by the sudden rolling waves of fear, respect and power. She bared her teeth as she opened her mouth to speak the final words of the ritual.

"I will always live"

Word Count: 522 words