Scaling Hearts: silverbeam and Mageling (fantasy mxf)
 

As usual please do not post unless invited to do so. Story played by silverbeam (male naga) and Mageling (female human)

A village set besides the mountainous jungle has always been superstitious. Long ago a shrine was built unto the mighty Snake God, who was said to live in the jungle that the villagers dare not go. the only place traveled was a path which led to a small shrine, which they maintained every other year. At the end of the path was a simple shrine. It was placed upon a stand next to a deep spring surrounded by willow trees. It was said the snake god lived in the bottom of the spring in an underwater cave. Much revered for the first several generations, his sway in the peoples hearts diminished over the lives of the people more a myth and a saying then anything else. Only when disaster struck not once, but three times did the people turn the cries to their once worshiped being. Floods had ruined the harvest. A plague of snacks ate what little food their was and sickness poured their the surrounding lands. The village elders and counsel met to discuss what they could do. The only experience they could call upon was of sacrifices and deeds done to honor the snake God in the past. They needed to sooth his anger spirit, for surely he was angry and sent these disasters upon them. It would take a large sacrifice indeed to cure the bad fortune of their village. Something to show for the lack of worship these past generations.




Name: Lore
Age: 329
Race: Naga
(picture above)

Lyra was terrified. Every eligible woman in the village had her name put into a drawing, to see who would be the sacrifice to the Snake God. There were specific criteria that each woman had to fulfill: be of marrying age, and be untouched by any man. And Lyra was one of those who qualified. She was just the right age for marriage, having just reached her eighteenth winter, and she had never had intimate contact with a man. There were quite a few girls whose families ended up having to form hasty marriage contracts when it was revealed that fewer young women than expected could qualify for the drawing, but at the moment, all Lyra cared about was that her name had gone in, and had been pulled back out. She barely noticed when the village women dressed her in a pure white linen shift and put her long hair up elegantly in order to try to appease their deity. Scared beyond reason, she had to be forcibly led to the shrine in the jungle at the front of a procession. The entire village had turned out to watch as she was given to the Snake God. The head of the village said a few words (or at least, she thought it was a few; the phrases all blurred together to her) and ended with a plea for the god to accept their offering. Then she was pushed into the shrine, and the door was closed tightly behind her, sealing her inside.