The Dead

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You have been dead for 17 days. The [[coffin|coffin17]] is your home. You are left alone with your [[memories|memories17]]. Close your eyes and wait for it to [[pass|pass17]].

The coffin lid is smooth obsisdian. Cool to the touch. Perhaps, in the world of the [[living|living]], there is [[dew|dew]] on the grass. But that world is no longer [[yours|Start]].

You were seven years old. Christmas morning. Bare feet padding on pine needles. Your father took you to the [[forest|forest]]. There, he showed you the [[altar|altar]] he was building. But that was long [[ago|Start]].

<<timed 2s t8n>>Sleep means nothing to the dead.<</timed>> <<timed 5s t8n>>You dream of warm, dry earth.<</timed>> <<timed 9s>><<goto "day18">><</timed>>

Esther. What has become of [[Esther|hopeless]]?

Dew. Dew. The word still holds some meaning for [[you|coffin17]]. Where were you running, and why?

Goat-bone lashed together with twine. Candles burning in the varnished skulls of woodland beasts. This was your father's Great Work. He squeezed your [[shoulder|shoulder]].

"I'm proud of you," he said. There were [[eyes|memories17]] among the trees.

You have been dead for 18 days. The [[coffin|coffin18]] is your home. You are left alone with your [[memories|memories18]]. Close your eyes and wait for it to [[pass|pass18]].

The coffin is narrow. Your shoulders barely fit. You cannot move anything but your [[wrists|wrists]] and ankles. But you are in your coffin. It is your [[home|day18]] now.

That Christmas morning, you felt good and whole. The altar in the woods, your father's love. Back at home, you opened [[gifts|gifts]].

<<timed 2s t8n>>Sleep means nothing to the dead.<</timed>> <<timed 5s t8n>>You dream of worms.<</timed>> <<timed 9s>><<goto "day19">><</timed>>

Delicate [[bones|coffin18]]. You loved her wrists.

An obsidian knife. It belonged to your [[grandfather|grandfather]]. The blade was so [[dark|day18]].

A severe man, with a mouth like the hollow of a tree. It was he who taught you to follow the [[tenets|gpatree]].

You have been dead for 19 days. The [[coffin|coffin19]] is your home. You are left alone with your [[memories|memories19]]. Close your eyes and wait for it to [[pass|pass19]].

Your bare feet press against the wall of the coffin. By working your ankles you can [[tap|tap]] a simple rhythm. (It's [[no use|day19]].)

Her family moved onto the next farmstead over. They came with one bony heifer. Her brother [[Amos|Amos]], he had been mauled by a sicklewasp the year before.

<<timed 2s t8n>>Sleep means nothing to the dead.<</timed>> <<timed 5s t8n>>You dream of a salamander, crushed under a rotting log.<</timed>> <<timed 9s>><<goto "day20">><</timed>>

There was a [[song|song]] you used to sing together.

You hum the parts you remember. A hymn from the [[Church of Solace|church]]. [[Golden Bones|Golden Bones]], that's what it was called.

Founded by the Bone Fathers in 1782. They preach twenty-one [[tenets|tenets1]] for wholesome living.

//When I come a'calling, dear lovely, sing my name from your [[lonely|coffin19]] grave, so's I may hear you a'callin, I so long to hold you again//

1. Honor the [[dead|tenets2]].

Esther showed you his bone-crate. They kept it by the hearth. She touched it so lovingly, with the tender flesh of her palms. She missed her brother dearly. He had died young. Long before his Coffin Rite. You hoped that she might [[one day|day19]] miss you the same way.

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the [[Bone Fathers|tenets3]].

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with [[proper solemnity|tenets4]]. [[Give it up.|coffin19]]

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a [[dead child|tenets5]] is woman's highest honor. [[Give it up.|coffin19]]

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must [[build an altar|tenets6]] where his family may worship. [[Give it up.|coffin19]]

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The [[bones of animals|tenets7]] must be buried or burned. [[Give it up.|coffin19]]

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The bones of animals must be buried or burned. 7. Observe the [[Nine Days of Sorrow|tenets8]]. [[Give it up.|coffin19]]

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The bones of animals must be buried or burned. 7. Observe the Nine Days of Sorrow. 8. Observe the [[Six Nights of Unrest|tenets9]]. [[Give it up.|coffin19]]

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The bones of animals must be buried or burned. 7. Observe the Nine Days of Sorrow. 8. Observe the Six Nights of Unrest. 9. Ease the passing of the ill and [[unwell|tenets10]]. [[Give it up.|coffin19]]

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The bones of animals must be buried or burned. 7. Observe the Nine Days of Sorrow. 8. Observe the Six Nights of Unrest. 9. Ease the passing of the ill and unwell. 10. Repudiate [[ghoulishness|tenetsx]]. [[Give it up.|coffin19]]

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The bones of animals must be buried or burned. 7. Observe the Nine Days of Sorrow. 8. Observe the Six Nights of Unrest. 9. Ease the passing of the ill and unwell. 10. Repudiate ghoulishness. [[...the rest...you have forgotten.|song]]

You have been dead for 20 days. The Rot has begun to set in. Your nose is coming loose. The [[coffin|coffin20]] is your home. You are left alone with your [[memories|memories20]]. Close your eyes and wait for it to [[pass|pass20]].

When you press against the lid, your fingernail slides [[off|off]].

Christmas morning. You were twelve years old. Father guided you to the [[Bone Altar|ritual]].

<<timed 2s t8n>>Sleep means nothing to the dead.<</timed>> <<timed 5s t8n>>You dream of fresh bread, cheese.<</timed>> <<timed 9s>><<goto "day21">><</timed>>

You have been dead for 21 days. Your gums are slowly turning soft. The [[coffin|coffin21]] is your home. You are left alone with your [[memories|memories21]]. Close your eyes and wait for it to [[pass|pass21]].

When you press against the lid, your fingernail slides off. [[Scream|scream]]. [[Don't scream|don't scream]].

All that comes out is a wet gurgle. You can taste your tongue rotting. The scream [[dies|tenets11]] in your throat.

You know better than to scream. There is [[dignity|tenets11]] in death. There is dignity in the Rot.

11. Display austerity in [[death|day20]].

"You've been so good [[this year|year]]." The candles had been [[lit|lit]].

You had worked hard in the grief-pits. You remained solemn and good and peaceful. A [[traveler|traveler]] came to your farm one night in the autumn.

The flame danced in the [[morning light|ritual]].

He was ill. Pox had spread all over his body. His eyes had rotted out and overflowed with pus. He came upon you in the grief-pits. You were alone. "Child," he moaned. He raised a rotting hand in the Sign of Suffering. [[Take him in.|take him in]] [[Reject him.|reject him]]

Your father helped you bathe the stranger. He poured a tincture of poppy and wolfsbane. "Go thus into [[darkness|darkness]], brother."

"You go now to join the Many. I love you. You go from [[love|love]] into love."

You lay down your spade. "[[Come|passing]] with me," you said. <<set $verdict to "innocent">>

"[[Begone|begone]]," you said. He advanced, pleading. <<set $verdict to "guilty">>

The obsidian blade passed gently across his flesh. You spoke words of [[kindness|kindness]].

That Christmas, you were twelve. Your father was proud. You upheld the tenets. He brought you to the [[altar|tenets12]].

You swung your spade wildly. It sliced his face. [[The wound was deep.|wound]]

The sufferer died. The memory is painful. [[...|bad]]

You were twelve. Your father was proud. He never found the body of the sick man. You buried him there in the grief-pits. To your father, you were perfect. You were devout. And that Christmas, he brought to the [[altar|altar12]].

Even from far-off, you could hear the bleats of the billy goat. It was tied to the altar with an old, fraying [[rope|rope]].

"For the harvest," said your father. The goat screamed. [[It knew|it knew]].

The [[blood|tenets14]] was hot and salty. It stained your young hands.

Your father showed you how to clean the blade. Together, you lit a fire. [[The bones burned black.|bones burned black]]

That night, your family invited Esther's for the [[Feast of Longing|feast of longing]]. She wore a dress of blue satin.

She worked the fork and knife with practiced grace. Her wrists -- you noticed her wrists. [[...|kiss]]

That night, you kissed in the dark. Her skin was soft. You were twelve. [[She|kiss2]], thirteen.

You have been dead for 20 days. The Rot has begun to set in. Your nose is coming loose. Close your eyes and wait for it to [[pass|pass20]].

You built this coffin for yourself in the days leading up to your sixteenth birthday. As all [[children|coffinrite]] do.

You were sixteen. Esther came to your home. She had been [[crying|crying]].

<<timed 2s t8n>>Sleep means nothing to the dead.<</timed>> <<timed 5s t8n>>You dream of ash, silt, and a sprouting seed.<</timed>> <<timed 9s>><<goto "night21">><</timed>>

Her father had died in the night. She didn't know where else to go. And so she came to [[you|you]].

Together you prepared her father's body. You showed her how to bathe him. He had died of gut-fever. It was a [[long night|long night]].

Together you built the [[pyre|pyre]].

It burned brightly. You watched flames dance in Esther's eyes. She was [[beautiful|beautiful]].

That night, you made love for the first time. There were ashes in [[your hands|your hands]].

In the night, someone treads on your grave. You can hear the soft footfalls. [[Delicate.|delicate]]

Delicate footsteps. A rustling. You feel the pressure on your coffin lid. Someone kneels just above you. [[...|tenets18]]

This is your first mourner. [[Groan|groan]] [[Scratch|scratch]] or <<timed 2s t8n>>Remain [[silent|wait]].<</timed>> <<timed 15s>><<goto "wait">><</timed>>

You scratch frantically at the coffin lid. Your fingernails [[pop|pop]] off like fish scales.

You hear a soft crying. Soon, the mourner leaves. You are [[alone|day22]].

This is the first time you've dared to speak her name in so long. The mourner hesitates. Everything is quiet. [[...|esther2]]

You gather what breath you can. You howl. You are the howling dead. You are not austere. [[The breath dies in your throat.|alone]] Will you shout [[again|groan]]? <<timed 15s>><<goto "wait">><</timed>>

You hear a loud crunch. A [[shovel|shovel]]?

Soon, the mourner leaves. You are [[alone|day22]].

You have been dead for 22 days. A [[mold|mold]] has taken hold in the corners of your eyes. The [[coffin|coffin22]] is your home. You are left alone with your [[memories|memories22]]. Close your eyes and wait for it to [[pass|pass22]].

"My love." Esther's voice. The lid comes off your coffin. [[...|her face]]

The pain, it is unbelievable. You were not [[austere|alone]].

You stand for the first time in 21 days. Esther [[embraces|embrace]] you.

You feel the life pulsing through her body. It is evening. Moonlight cuts across the grief-pits. Her [[hands|hands]] sink into the soft, sagging flesh of your back.

She takes you [[home|home]].

Her home is the same as it has always been. The chest of her brother's bones near the hearth. The chest of her father's bones at the head of the dinner table. A fire going. Cordwood piled below the kitchen window. [[Come in.|remember]]

"Do you remember?" she asks. "The Night of Longing?" [[Yes|yes]] [[No|no]]

"I [[remember|longing]]," you say.

"I...I [[can't|can't]] remember."

A [[Butcher Priest|butcher priest]] came to the farm. Father received him with all proper respect. Fresh meat. Beer. You were twenty years old.

"I found you," she says. "In the grief-pits. I followed a firefly across the moor, and [[there you were|distance]]."

He dusted the snow off his black hat and hung it by the fire. He was a huge man. Bald, muscular. Like all ministers of the Blood Rite, he reeked of charnel and marrow. He wore gloves of wolf-leather. "I invoke your [[hospitality|hospitality]]," said the Butcher Priest.

"We give it freely," said father. Dinner was austere. The Butcher Priest worked his cutlery like a [[brute|brute]]. He shoveled meat into his mouth.

His [[wrists|wrists20]], they were thick as hams.

When dinner was done, father made coffee. You and father and the Butcher Priest sat by the fire. He told a [[story|story]]. It grew [[late|late]].

"I fought in the war," he said. "I was a [[chaplain|chaplain]]."

The story is long. A war story. He proposes a [[toast|those who died]].

"Fought in the siege at the [[Cathedral|cathedral]]."

"Fought in the siege at the Cathedral. "The Eyeless had barricaded themselves in the [[Hierarch's Cloister|cloister]]."

"Fought in the siege at the Cathedral." "The Eyeless had barricaded themselves in the Hierarch's Cloister." "The whole city was burning. My men and I, [[we gathered at the steps|steps]]."

"We breached the door to the [[sanctuary|sanctuary]]."

"It was a hard-fought battle. I saw much [[death|death]] that day."

Father had been listening carefully. "[[I was there|i was there]]," he said.

"I saw you at the cathedral steps. I saw you wielding your longsword. <<timed 3s t8n>>The blade, it glowed like the [[eye of a wolf|eye of a wolf]]."<</timed>>

"Then we are brothers in arms," said the Butcher Priest. "A toast to [[those who died|those who died]]."

Father poured three glasses of piny liquor. This was your first drink. The Butcher Priest eyed you. You drank the alcohol. [[It burned your mouth|burns your mouth]].

The Butcher Priest laughed. His laugh was the crack of an elk's bone in a steel [[trap|steel trap]]. This was the sound he made.

He stayed the night. He slept in his clothes. Father left the fire burning at the hearth. This night you were supposed to visit [[Esther|tenet12]]. You padded barefooted, boots in hand.

12. Observe 21 days of [[Grief|tenet13]]

12. Observe 21 days of Grief. 13. Honor the Butcher Clergy; their work is the work of [[Death|sneak]].

"You dishonor me," said the Butcher Priest. He watched you from the [[shadow of the fire|shadow]].

"Come," he said. "Sit." He wore a dark [[cloak]] over his shoulders.

"That's all I remember," you say. Esther smiles, but in the smile: a hesitation. "I have been observing the twenty-one days of grief," she says. <<timed 4s t8n>>"But you are [[home|ending1-1]] now, and safe."<</timed>>

Esther prepares a small meal of rice, sliced pomegranate, dark wine. The fire burns [[low|ending1-2]].

She sets the plate in front of you. She tears off a crust of bread and begins to chew. [[She watches you.|ending1-3]]

//All you need to know is that you are \ alone.// <<timed 7s t8n>>the end. <</timed>> <<timed 3s t8n>><<replace "#eggs">>@@.not;not <</replace>><</timed>>

You take a sip of the wine. It is utterly tasteless. Esther puts her hand on the table -- [[very near yours|ending1-3.5]].

Deep in the night, you can hear Esther's gentle breathing. She is asleep. Twitching slightly, as if having a [[nightmare|nightmare]].

The altar is as you left it. Goat-bones. Varnished skulls. [[Charred flesh|tenets19]].

19. Honor the purifying [[flame|tenets20]].

You douse yourself in sanctified oils. The flint in one hand, a blade of [[obsidian|tenets21]] in the other.

The fire consumes. Your bones will remain. For you, this is [[the end|Epilogue1]]

Already there is a distance growing between you. The immeasurable gulf between the living and [[the dead|ending1-1]].

No amount of blinking can brush away the mold. Are you now [[blind|day22]]? In the darkness, it's impossible to tell.

A shallow puddle has spread around you. The fluid is sticky. [[Vile|day22]].

You think of the mourner who visited yesterday. Who was it? A stranger, perhaps? A carrion wolf? Perhaps someone finally came looking for you. No matter. [[No matter now|day22]].

<<timed 2s t8n>>Sleep means nothing to the dead.<</timed>> <<timed 5s t8n>>You dream of humming //Golden Bones//.<</timed>> <<timed 7s t8n>>How did it go?<</timed>> <<timed 10s>><<goto "day23">><</timed>>

You have been dead for 23 days. Your muscles have [[atrophied|atrophy]]. The mold in your eyes has begun to spread. The [[coffin|coffin23]] is your home. You are left alone with your [[memories|memories23]]. Close your eyes and wait for it to [[pass|pass23]].

You once had such [[strong hands|day23]].

Dark, only [[dark|day23]] and wet and slowly

A man in black with the eyes of a wolf. He laughed like a steel trap. Chasing you across the -- It's strange to [[remember|day23]].

<<timed 2s t8n>>Sleep means nothing to the dead.<</timed>> <<timed 5s t8n>>You rest a very long time.<</timed>> <<timed 9s>><<goto "day170">><</timed>>

You have been dead for 170 days. No eyes - No tongue. The [[coffffin|coffin170]] is your homme. You ar. alone with your [[memores|memories170]]. wait for it to [[pass|pass170]].

Where do you end and the being dead beggin? [[as ash/oak|day170]]

sther estherr estheer esether essther esthe estheer eshter esthe thesr esth estherer esthere eeshrte estheer esthe essther [[esther|day170]] //I could have called out to you//

<<timed 2s t8n>>i have been here so long.<</timed>> <<timed 9s t8n>>the dreams are leaking.<</timed>> <<timed 12s>><<goto "day631">><</timed>>

You have been dead for 630 days. what was i before [[home|coffin631]] [[me|memories631]]. [[i--|pass631]].

only here only here this is only [[here|day631]] dark and very large

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The bones of animals must be buried or burned. 7. Observe the Nine Days of Sorrow. 8. Observe the Six Nights of Unrest. 9. Ease the passing of the ill and unwell. 10. Repudiate ghoulishness. 11. Display austerity in death. 12. Observe 21 days of Grief. 13. Honor the Butcher Clergy; their work is the work of Death. 14. A man shall burn upon his altar. This is [[penance|tenet15]].

<<timed 3s t8n>>Sleep means nothing to the dead.<</timed>> <<timed 15s>><<goto "day5890">><</timed>> \ <<timed 7s t8n>><<replace "#eggs">>Where am I?<</replace>><</timed>> <<timed 10s t8n>>//What// am I?<</timed>>

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The bones of animals must be buried or burned. 7. Observe the Nine Days of Sorrow. 8. Observe the Six Nights of Unrest. 9. Ease the passing of the ill and unwell. 10. Repudiate ghoulishness. 11. Display austerity in death. 12. Observe 21 days of Grief. 13. Honor the Butcher Clergy; their work is the work of Death. 14. A man shall burn upon his altar. This is penance. 15. Remain [[vigilant|tenet16]], even in death.

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The bones of animals must be buried or burned. 7. Observe the Nine Days of Sorrow. 8. Observe the Six Nights of Unrest. 9. Ease the passing of the ill and unwell. 10. Repudiate ghoulishness. 11. Display austerity in death. 12. Observe 21 days of Grief. 13. Honor the Butcher Clergy; their work is the work of Death. 14. A man shall burn upon his altar. This is penance. 15. Remain vigilant, even in death. 16. Do not [[covet|tenet17]] the deaths of others.

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The bones of animals must be buried or burned. 7. Observe the Nine Days of Sorrow. 8. Observe the Six Nights of Unrest. 9. Ease the passing of the ill and unwell. 10. Repudiate ghoulishness. 11. Display austerity in death. 12. Observe 21 days of Grief. 13. Honor the Butcher Clergy; their work is the work of Death. 14. A man shall burn upon his altar. This is penance. 15. Remain vigilant, even in death. 16. Do not covet the deaths of others. 17. Withhold not carrion from the [[geier|tenet18]].

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The bones of animals must be buried or burned. 7. Observe the Nine Days of Sorrow. 8. Observe the Six Nights of Unrest. 9. Ease the passing of the ill and unwell. 10. Repudiate ghoulishness. 11. Display austerity in death. 12. Observe 21 days of Grief. 13. Honor the Butcher Clergy; their work is the work of Death. 14. A man shall burn upon his altar. This is penance. 15. Remain vigilant, even in death. 16. Do not covet the deaths of others. 17. Withhold not carrion from the geier. 18. Honor the [[Howling Dead|tenet19]]. They are your pitied sons and daughters.

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The bones of animals must be buried or burned. 7. Observe the Nine Days of Sorrow. 8. Observe the Six Nights of Unrest. 9. Ease the passing of the ill and unwell. 10. Repudiate ghoulishness. 11. Display austerity in death. 12. Observe 21 days of Grief. 13. Honor the Butcher Clergy; their work is the work of Death. 14. A man shall burn upon his altar. This is penance. 15. Remain vigilant, even in death. 16. Do not covet the deaths of others. 17. Withhold not carrion from the geier. 18. Honor the Howling Dead. They are your pitied sons and daughters. 19. Honor the purifying [[flame|tenet20]].

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The bones of animals must be buried or burned. 7. Observe the Nine Days of Sorrow. 8. Observe the Six Nights of Unrest. 9. Ease the passing of the ill and unwell. 10. Repudiate ghoulishness. 11. Display austerity in death. 12. Observe 21 days of Grief. 13. Honor the Butcher Clergy; their work is the work of Death. 14. A man shall burn upon his altar. This is penance. 15. Remain vigilant, even in death. 16. Do not covet the deaths of others. 17. Withhold not carrion from the geier. 18. Honor the Howling Dead. They are your pitied sons and daughters. 19. Honor the purifying flame. 20. Honor the pacifying [[blade|tenet21]]

1. Honor the dead. 2. Honor the Bone Fathers. 3. Observe the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity. 4. To bear a dead child is woman's highest honor. 5. Each man must build an altar where his family may worship. 6. The bones of animals must be buried or burned. 7. Observe the Nine Days of Sorrow. 8. Observe the Six Nights of Unrest. 9. Ease the passing of the ill and unwell. 10. Repudiate ghoulishness. 11. Display austerity in death. 12. Observe 21 days of Grief. 13. Honor the Butcher Clergy; their work is the work of Death. 14. A man shall burn upon his altar. This is penance. 15. Remain vigilant, even in death. 16. Do not covet the deaths of others. 17. Withhold not carrion from the geier. 18. Honor the Howling Dead. They are your pitied sons and daughters. 19. Honor the purifying flame. 20. Honor the pacifying blade. 21. As ash or oak, [[return|coda]].

//As ash or oak, [[return|day631]].//

<<timed 3s t8n>>You have been dead for 5890 days.<</timed>> <<timed 7s t8n>>//Light!//<</timed>> <<timed 10s t8n>>Light on your face.<</timed>> <<timed 13s t8n>>A root grows through you.<</timed>> <<timed 15s t8n>>//From you.//<</timed>> <<timed 17s t8n>>[[Look!|look!]]<</timed>>

All around, the grief-pits have returned to life. <<timed 4s t8n>>A grove of oaks. Many, just like you.<</timed>> <<timed 6s t8n>>Your body a trunk,<</timed>> <<timed 8s t8n>>your arms boughs,<</timed>> <<timed 10s t8n>>your eyes the nests of passerines.<</timed>> <<timed 14s t8n>>I am so [[proud|ending2-1]].<</timed>>

You have finally [[become|Epilogue1]].

12. Observe 21 days of [[Grief|tenets13]].

12. Observe 21 days of Grief. 13. Honor the Butcher Clergy; their work is the work of [[death|altar12]].

14. A man shall burn upon his altar. This is [[penance|blood]].

14. A man shall burn upon his altar. This is penance. 15. Remain vigilant, even in [[death|day20.5]].

16. Do not covet the deaths of [[others|tenets17]].

16. Do not covet the deaths of others. 17. Withold not carrion from the [[geier|day21]].

18. Honor the Howling Dead. They are your pitied sons and [[daughters|mourner]].

19. Honor the purifying flame. 20. Honor the pacifying [[blade|ending1-6]].

19. Honor the purifying flame. 20. Honor the pacifying blade. 21. As ash or oak, [[return|ending1-7]].

A nightmare of [[you|nightmare of you]].

Guilt washes through your rotting body. Any love you could offer[[...|could offer]]

Guilt washes through your rotting body. Any love you could offer... ...will fall far short of what she [[deserves|deserves]].

You slip out the window. You shamble deep, deep into the [[woods|ending1-5]].

You are not doomed. Do you [[see|become]] that?

All you need to know is that you are [[alone|Start]].

It seemed to stretch forever. In life, you walked these paths every [[day|with who]].

Esther. What has become of Esther? [[Hopeless|coffin17]] to even wonder.

Sometimes with father[[...|with her]]

Sometimes with father... Sometimes with [[her|where]].

Past the grief-pits and the places of [[mourning|memories17]].

He returned as an oak. It was beautiful. His faith was [[rewarded|day18]].

You carved the obsidian from the eye of the [[God Corpse|godcorpse]]. The wood, cut from your [[grandfather's oak|gpaoak]]. The nails, cast on the hearth. Esther [[watched|acorn]] while you hammered.

The first Church of Solace was built into its skull. The Great Cathedral where your father fought in the Eyeless War. That was many years ago. The eyeless were driven away. Only the corpse of their broken deity [[remains|coffinrite]].

Before he died, your grandfather said "I love you. So cut from me what you need." And you [[did|coffinrite]].

The last thing: you wrapped an acorn in cloth and laid it in the finished coffin. The acorn, you chose it from among the boughs of your grandfather. You could tell it would grow [[strong|tenets16]].

[[Her face.|face]]

Your hands on her [[face|tenets15]].

[[Ashes in her hair.|day21]]

"I'm sorry," she says. "I wasn't thinking." She takes the plates and sets them in the kitchen. "I wanted to ask you [[something|question]]."

"What was it like?" Her voice is soft. She is afraid. You work your tongue, forming the words slowly: [["I was scared."|scared]] [["I was lonely."|lonely]] [["I missed you."|missed you]]

"I was scared," you say. "I felt myself slipping away. It was so dark." Esther watches you for a long while. "I'll keep the fire [[burning|reaction]]," she says.

"I was lonely," you say. "It's hard to be trapped with my memories." [[...|reaction]]

"I missed you. I thought about you every day." You take Esther's hand. "I just wanted to come home." Almost imperceptibly, she [[flinches|reaction]].

Esther moves to her bed. She lives alone in this house. She is beginning to realize, perhaps, that you are not meant to be here. That you are just [[a waking nightmare|slip out]].

That you will be [[gone|ending1-4]] by morning.

He drew it tight about his shoulders. You sat. "Do you know what brought me [[here]]?"

<<if $verdict is "guilty">> <<goto "guilty">> <<else>> <<goto "innocent">> <</if>>

"I don't know, sir." He eyed you [[warily]].

[[...|guilty2]]

"Some years ago, there was a traveler in these parts. A [[veteran]]."

"He would have been ravaged by [[sores]]."

"I remember the man," you said. "We performed his [[sacraments]]."

The Butcher Priest watched the fire. "Good," he said. "He was my [[friend]]."

"I can show you to his [[crypt]]," you said.

"Yes," he said. "Get [[dressed]]."

"[[Very well|Now]]," you said.

You went unthinking into the night. He was Butcher Clergy. Not to be questioned. <<timed 4s t8n>>You forgot your [[boots]].<</timed>>

The priest followed you into the dark. Pine needles [[crunched]] under your feet.

His eyes took in the moonlight. You could [[feel]] him observing you.

The grief-pits spread all about you. Many dead lay under the [[earth]] here.

"That's where I found you," says Esther. "There in the [[pits]]."

The woods were dark and thick. A lone candle flickered amid the trees. This was where you came with your father, over and over. It was the altar he built: bones and stone and [[blood|return]].

You had known love here, and fullness... <<timed 2s t8n>>...and [[horror]].<</timed>>

"This is your father's work?" asked the Butcher Priest. "Yes," you said. "His penance." You [[knelt|Kneel]] at the altar.

The air felt cool on your face. Beyond the ring of candlelight, dark shapes moved. You took a small [[box]] into your hands.

"We didn't know who he was," you said. "A wandering sufferer." "He suffered greatly," said the priest. "The war was [[unkind|kind]] to him."

You handed him the box. He [[opened]] it.

Ashes can be so [[beautiful|ashesflutter]].

He snapped the box shut. "You need to [[run]]."

He drew his longsword. The blade glowed like the eye of a wolf. <<timed 4s t8n>>Only then did you see the [[thresher]] moving through the treeline.<</timed>>

Great, antlered, and ancient. It looked down on you with pale, white eyes. Its breath curled on the cool air. You had never seen [[one]] before.

"A [[thresher|thresherbkgd]]?" Esther recoiled. "I never would have [[believed]]."

It had come to feed on the bones of your father's sacrifices. To siphon the death, the mercy, and turn them into dread. The priest readied his blade. <<timed 6s t8n>>You [[ran]].<</timed>>

Cold dew on your feet, and pine needles. Your lungs were [[burning]].

The thresher lowered its enormous, antlered head. It [[scraped]] the earth with one hoof.

It [[charged]].

"Back, creature!" The Butcher Priest raised his bright blade. He stood between the creature and you. He was trying to [[save|saving]] you.

<<timed 4s t8n>><<goto "crushed">><</timed>>

Your bones were crushed. Your heart, it felt tight -- like a fist. The beast lay near you, [[heaving]].

Blood poured from its [[chest|heart]].

The priest knelt over you. "My boy," he said. "I am sorry." You [[reached]] for him.

"Esther," you said. "Please." "She's coming," said the priest. <<timed 6s t8n>>Instantly, you [[forgave]] the lie.<</timed>>

You died peacefully. Young. Outside. You woke on the morning of the seventeenth day, a [[howling dead|night]].

Acolytes of the nameless ancient deities, it was said threshers carried messages from the dead to the living. In the days of settlement, the Butcher Clergy culled them by the score. [[...|one]]

"I don't [[know|know]]."

"Some years ago, there was a traveler in these parts. A [[veteran|guilty3]]."

"He would have been ravaged by [[sores|guilty4]]."

You remember the man. He came upon you in the grief-pits. He begged for [[succor]].

"I never met him," you [[lie]].

The Butcher Priest watched the fire. He cast such a huge [[shadow|guilty5]].

"Do you know the tenets?" he asks. "Yes," you say. "[[Recite]] them."

"[[Honor]] the dead."

"[[Yes|Yes2]]."

"[[Honor|honor2]] the Bone Fathers."

"[[Yes|yes3]]."

"[[Observe]] the passing of loved ones with proper solemnity."

"[[Yes|yes4]]."

"To bear a dead child is woman's highest [[honor|honor3]]."

<<timed 2s t8n>>"[[Yes|yes5]]."<</timed>>

"Each man must build an [[altar|yes6]]."

"The Ninth tenant," he says. "Speak the [[ninth]]."

He stood. Towering. Hand on the pommel of his blade. [[...|ninth2]]

"Ease the passing of the ill and unwell." "You [[failed]] to uphold," said the priest.

You ran for the door. <<timed 2s t8n>>You [[forgot]] your boots.<</timed>>

Bare feet on pine needles. [[Dew|running]].

You tore through the grief-pits. There was [[only one]] place you could go.

He [[pursued]] you.

Past your father's altar. In the shadows, a pair of dark eyes. Behind you, a blade that glowed like the eye of a [[--]]

<<timed 4s t8n>><<goto "dying">><</timed>>

You choked on [[blood|dying2]].

The priest knelt over you. Your [[lungs]], you could feel them filling.

With your last breath, you tried to form her name. [[...|dying3]]

You tried, [[anyway]].

The priest cleaned his blade. He watched the light fade from your eyes. <<timed 4s t8n>>"You are loved. Go now into darkness. [[Return|night]] as you were meant to be."<</timed>>