SACRIFICIAL PULL

Drawn forth from texts given by sacred woods.

We are the only creatures who know the truth.

This is painful, but we must choose. We must. And so I call before me my ten Chosen! Join me, before our Fellows, so they may witness the key turn in a celestial lock!

We cannot fail again. We must not fail again.

History

When one's religious document lists approximately twenty different methods of sacrifice, there must be a method to actually choose the sacrifice in a way that goes over smoothly. Initially, the Sacrifical Pull was intended to be a temporary measure thought up by Titania Alborough in 1783 after she began to dream of the True Dusk and its horrors.
The process worked, unfortunately.
Over the centuries, very little has changed from those early days, which goes some way to explain why the whole ordeal is so unpleasant for those involved.

Execution

Ten adults of Tyme's Circle (in addition to the current leader of the cult) are bid to stand around the holy manuscript: between all of them the Hilles-Vosch Testamentsits, bloodless and pristine.
Of the many verses, twenty-two contain methods of sacrifice. Beginning with the current leader of Tyme's Circle, the cultists begin to recite the verses in question. Each cult member has memorized two verses beforehand.
From the leader's right, each cultist recites their verse. The first circle around, and even the second, everyone remains calm, but as more and more rotations pass through the cultists, they begin to work themselves into a frenzy of passion and howling. Each verse is screamed in order, roared into the wind; claws rend fur, teeth snap, ears are torn from heads as some unknown force possesses them.
Inevitably, one cult member spasms and collapses from exhaustion during the recitation of a verse; the first to do so is taken as a signal that this is the method desired to keep gates closed and trouble away.
The cultist who carried the selected verse is treated like a king or queen for the months that follow, but they are also actively expected to take part in the sacrifice itself. There is no option to sit out; if the sacrifice calls for blood, they will shed it-- or take it from others. It is more than expected of them -- it is demanded. For the good of Tyme's Circle. For the good of the mountains.

Components and tools

Bodies (eleven-- ten adults and the cult leader.)

The Hilles-Vosch Testament.

Participants

All adults of the cult attend, though only ten other than the leader join the ritual itself.
Whoever collapses first of exhaustion after hours of chanting, screaming, clawing, and clamoring is dubbed the Old-Growth Speaker. They are pampered by the cult. This comes with risk. Some sacrifices demand the blood of cultists, and if the Old-Growth Speaker chose one of those methods, then they are either made to bear the blade or have their blood shed into the dirt.

Observance

The rites are observed every ten years. More than ten years passed between the founding of Tyme's Circle and the first ritual, but Titania Alborough bore witness to feral divinity which commanded a ten-year sacrifice.
If the rites fail, a great and horrible fury will descend. Observance is mandatory. Only children are allowed to miss the performance.

by Soham Das

the eldest of the circle must be taken to a deep lake, affixed with stones, and thus fed to the waters

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choose of six families the weakest and command them fight with blunted metal until half their number are broken upon the loam

Primary Related Location

Skelleyville

Related Organizations

• Tyme Circle