Ritual of Crow
- Nov 11, 2016
- 2 min read
Father grunted under the weight of Daughter’s lifeless corpse, only one more mile and he’d be at the sacrificial altar…The cave was located more inland on the top of a mountain pass. A land that was managed by ignorant sheep herders. Father had taken a windup carriage to the edge of the mountain pass. From there he hauled Daughters body a good four miles to the cave entrance, passing several sheep herders along the way. They didn’t ask any questions and he didn’t provide any answers. They knew why he was up here, it was the same reason anyone ever came up here. That was an hour ago. He now stood in the caves entrance and wondered again if he had made the right decision. Not that it mattered much now. Readjusting the body, Father began the final trek of his journey, moving slowly as he went.
A dark shadow emerged in the cave entrance, temporarily blocking out the sun. It waited for Father to gain some distance, and then followed silently. Together they walked, one behind the other. Both of their burdens were heavy, both were cursed to bear it alone.
Father stumbled into a cavern that held a large mirror. It was here that he was required to complete the ritual of Crow. Gently laying the partially wrapped body on the ground, Father drew a large stone knife marked with ancient symbols whose meaning had long been lost to history. Kneeling bedside Daughter, he pulled away the cloth and placed the knife against her skin. A thousand thoughts ran through his mind,
I don’t want to go through with this,
I have to go through with this.
No! I will not do this.
Throwing the heavy knife aside, Father picked Daughter up and walked again into the darkness to a path hidden from light- a place where the innocent go to die. The stranger walked silently behind him, observing this strange ritual. This was after all the reason he had come, to see such things, that the prophecies foretold, such things that were known in the future, but foretold in the past.
Reaching the invisible fork in the path, Father turned abruptly, leaving the stranger to feel along the walls for the opening. A half a mile inward, Father emerged into another cavern that merged with a roaring river. Bending down, he placed Daughters body in the raging water and watched it shoot away. “I’ll be joining you soon my daughter,” he said, before turning and walking away.
The stranger remained deathly quiet, as Father passed inches from his position. When he had gone, the stranger stepped into the light, it was an older man, colored silver from head to toe. Having seen all that he had come to see, the stranger began to vibrate and then vanished from view. As he did this, the mirror vibrated as well, cracking on its lower left hand side. A small piece fell out and struck the cavern floor, as the mirror went black.
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