Long ago the tribe chief had three children. The eldest, his son; and two younger daughters. His son took a wife from within the tribe when he was of age. The middle daughter was promised to the tribe's strongest warrior, and the youngest was promised to a member of a rival tribe as a peace offering, to build bonds and bring the tribes together.
Then, the war happened. The tribe chief sent his warriors to aid in the war, siding with Heidal to fight back the darkness that threatened to swallow our world. The war dragged on and on and casualties mounted, the future dark and bleak. The two tribes decided to push the wedding forward to ease tensions and bring their people some sense of hope.
The daughter meditated on this. On her wedding night, she slipped away and disguised herself as one of the priestesses. She marched on to the front line, where their prayers would be of use. She fumbled and stumbled through the prayers, improving with each recitation until hers were the loudest and most perfect. As the end of the war drew near, her prayers drew the attention of Gaddess, the tribe's guardian deity. The war reached it's peak, the push to drive back the darkest it's most desperate. Gaddess chose the daughter out of all of the priestesses as a source of power.
Gaddess lead the charge, the priestess' voice lead the chorus. Aberon's sacrifice pushed back the darkness, and my people sealed them all away with their prayer's and Gaddess' power. The Gaddess released the priestess, a promise that their people would strengthen the seal with a pilgrimage every generation.
The stories now would make you believe that she was hailed a hero, praised and welcomed by her home after the war and a lineage promised to the Gaddess for the ritual, and every priestess after her to be frozen in the Gaddess' citadel when she came of age to fight if the darkness returned. But those stories are comforting lies.
She was not welcomed when she returned. She was not hailed a hero. She was met with wary eyes and scorn. "what have you done?" her father asked when she finally returned to her village. And before she could answer he berated her. "You abandoned your duty. You abandoned your home. You sacrificed your people for your own ends. Because of you, we have lost a potential ally."
The priestess begged and pleaded with her father, tried to explain her actions, but they fell upon deaf ears. The priestess was exiled from her tribe. In tears and anguish, she made the pilgrimage alone to the Gaddess' citadel to live alone for the rest of her days.
The head priestess of the tribe berated the chief for his rash actions and harsh words that drove the chosen priestess away. To punish him for his harshness, she forced him and his family to take an oath. Every generation, the youngest daughter of the chief's heir would be given to service of Gaddess, she would learn the rituals and rites, then, after the generational ritual, she would take the place of her aunt. When the priestess learned of her family's oath, she agreed with a heavy heart, she had no choice.
And so it was. When her niece was old enough to walk and understand, she was sent to the citadel where she learned the rites. And eventually, the pilgrimage came. The seal was strengthened, and her aunt stepped down. But with no home to go to, the priestess retreated to an alcove and froze herself within the walls of the citadel, vowing to awaken again when her goddess needed her. The new priestess, not wanting to be alone, returned with her people to raise her own niece to her station within the comfort of their village. And thus the cycle began, each generation adding a new priestess to the alcoves of the abandoned citadel.
Then, the war happened. The tribe chief sent his warriors to aid in the war, siding with Heidal to fight back the darkness that threatened to swallow our world. The war dragged on and on and casualties mounted, the future dark and bleak. The two tribes decided to push the wedding forward to ease tensions and bring their people some sense of hope.
The daughter meditated on this. On her wedding night, she slipped away and disguised herself as one of the priestesses. She marched on to the front line, where their prayers would be of use. She fumbled and stumbled through the prayers, improving with each recitation until hers were the loudest and most perfect. As the end of the war drew near, her prayers drew the attention of Gaddess, the tribe's guardian deity. The war reached it's peak, the push to drive back the darkest it's most desperate. Gaddess chose the daughter out of all of the priestesses as a source of power.
Gaddess lead the charge, the priestess' voice lead the chorus. Aberon's sacrifice pushed back the darkness, and my people sealed them all away with their prayer's and Gaddess' power. The Gaddess released the priestess, a promise that their people would strengthen the seal with a pilgrimage every generation.
The stories now would make you believe that she was hailed a hero, praised and welcomed by her home after the war and a lineage promised to the Gaddess for the ritual, and every priestess after her to be frozen in the Gaddess' citadel when she came of age to fight if the darkness returned. But those stories are comforting lies.
She was not welcomed when she returned. She was not hailed a hero. She was met with wary eyes and scorn. "what have you done?" her father asked when she finally returned to her village. And before she could answer he berated her. "You abandoned your duty. You abandoned your home. You sacrificed your people for your own ends. Because of you, we have lost a potential ally."
The priestess begged and pleaded with her father, tried to explain her actions, but they fell upon deaf ears. The priestess was exiled from her tribe. In tears and anguish, she made the pilgrimage alone to the Gaddess' citadel to live alone for the rest of her days.
The head priestess of the tribe berated the chief for his rash actions and harsh words that drove the chosen priestess away. To punish him for his harshness, she forced him and his family to take an oath. Every generation, the youngest daughter of the chief's heir would be given to service of Gaddess, she would learn the rituals and rites, then, after the generational ritual, she would take the place of her aunt. When the priestess learned of her family's oath, she agreed with a heavy heart, she had no choice.
And so it was. When her niece was old enough to walk and understand, she was sent to the citadel where she learned the rites. And eventually, the pilgrimage came. The seal was strengthened, and her aunt stepped down. But with no home to go to, the priestess retreated to an alcove and froze herself within the walls of the citadel, vowing to awaken again when her goddess needed her. The new priestess, not wanting to be alone, returned with her people to raise her own niece to her station within the comfort of their village. And thus the cycle began, each generation adding a new priestess to the alcoves of the abandoned citadel.
