Chapter Text
Zack’s walk through the village was quiet, unusually so. Typically people were already out and about, even if they never made eye contact with him, Zack was well familiar with when the baker would start baking, when the butcher would get to work, when the merchants would put their wares on their stands and wait for people to emerge from their homes. It was how the day always started, with people waking up to buy food for breakfast and those ready to sell. But it was oddly empty, silent aside from the sound of his own worn linen wraps trekking across the dirt. Zack slid his gaze from the dark, silent homes and looked up at the impressive structure before him. It was called The Hall, where everyone went to worship, and where most of the town’s legal and financial business was dealt. It was also where all the orphans and those seeking aid went. Zack was forbidden though, and the anxiety gripped him as he stopped before the tall columned entrance. It was called The Hall, but it was more like a large courtyard flanked by columns with two large buildings pressed on either side of the square structure. Zack’s heart raced as he looked down at the smooth, well cared for stones that made up the base of the structure. Only two times could a sufferer enter, at the onset of puberty at age twelve, and just before death.
“Zackary,” the call of his name caught him off guard and the ebony-haired youth looked up quickly to see a young man dressed in silken robes of white and brown without the ornamentation of the venerated sir. But still, he was a man of importance, and Zack immediately dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground.
“It’s alright, Zackary. You may rise,” the prestigious man said and Zack lifted his head before standing up before the man, also finding himself towering over him; he was unusually tall, even among the villagers.
“Come, the bath has been prepared. We must get you in as soon as possible,” the prestigious man said as he motioned Zack follow him onto the steps in between the buildings, and into The Hall. Zack hesitated once more, but only for a moment before stepping onto the stones and following behind the young man of no name. But, Zack would dare not ask, just as he did not know the venerated sir’s name. Their titles were what mattered, and for one as he, he did not need to know them, but of course, they all knew Zack.
“This way,” the prestigious man said and Zack followed him as they turned toward the building on their right where before them rose up an impressive, ribbed arched doorway. Stepping in through the doors, Zack found himself in a massive, dim chamber lit only with candlelight and one large oval window situated above the altar at the far back of the room where rows of pews stretched across the room. The sound of religious chants filled the air, echoing softly from the walls of the building and filling the room. “A little more,” the prestigious man said and Zack followed the man to the right passed the lines of pews and in through a door on the side that opened up immediately to a staircase. Heart hammering harder and faster, Zack nervously followed up as the notion that what was happening was real took root; it was no nightmare, no mistake, and it wasn’t going to be stopped. He was going to be sacrificed to evil vampires and desecrated, and each step further he took the more the horror set in. He wasn’t supposed to be here until he was old and dying, but he was barely eighteen summers! When they reached the top of the sconce lit stairway they came upon an upper floor where out in the open, right in the middle of articulately carved stone was a large depressed bath built into the floor. Zack could see the steam coming from the water as the venerated sir walked from where he must have been waiting to greet them. He was wearing new robes, all gold with white hemming. Many intricate designs interlaced with the religious icons upon his robes and a pendant Zack had never seen hung heavy over the venerated sir’s chest made of pure white marble.
“Zack, I’m glad you could make it. Punctual, as I expected,” the venerated sir said, and as Zack was about to drop to his knees he was stopped with a hand motion.
“No, don’t worry about that, Zack. Please, we must hurry. I’ve received word that the carriage to carry you off will be here by high noon,” the venerated sir said and Zack’s eyes widened in shock that caught his breath..
“S-so soon?” Zack asked and the forlorn look upon the venerated sir’s face grew even more so.
“I’m afraid so. It was quite a shock to me as well. It seems that the vampires are impatient and distrustful. They even sent one of their human slaves to operate it, to make sure it’s done. So, we must hurry,” the venerated sir said and Zack nearly felt his knees want to give. He wasn’t ready yet. He didn’t want to go. But, he had to. Taking an unsteady breath, Zack walked forward, the venerated sir’s hand touching his back and helping to guide him to the edge of the bath. It was surprisingly out in the open, but then again, the general populace wasn’t allowed up where he was, that much Zack knew.
“No time to be bashful, strip down and step into the water. It’s been treated with special salts and oils meant to cleanse and ease your body,” the venerated sir said and though Zack glanced around at the other prestigiously robed man, he went immediately to yanking his tunic off, which exposed his thin body and the myriad of bruises and scars that graced his pale skin. And loosening his brais before letting them drop to the floor revealed even more, in particular the fresh ones on his shins to match the one on his side from the butcher. Sitting on the floor by the side of the bath, Zack unwrapped the linen from his feet and immediately put them inside the water. It was warm, and it smelled nice, like flowers. Heart in his throat, Zack slipped into the water until he was up to his hips in water and sat down in the carved seating inside the bath.
“Good. We’ll wash your hair with the proper soaps and ointments, and after thirty minutes, you will be dressed in your white robe. I know this must be terrifying, but at the very least, your soul will be saved,” the venerated sir said from near Zack who looked up at him and wordlessly nodded. After that, the venerated sir walked away and Zack turned his head to watch the elderly man walk away until he disappeared into one of three doors lining the far back of the room.
“You’ll be well cared for, Zackary, I promise,” the prestigious man said and Zack looked up over at the man a few feet back to his right before nodding and dropping his eyes down to the water. The water really did smell nice. But, how was it to ease him? He was supposed to remain in his village and suffer on their behalf, to live amongst them, even if separate for the entirety of his life. But, now… now, it was all being changed, and he was going to have to live under the rule of heartless monsters that would sooner suck him dry than ever give him a gift for any suffering they inflicted upon him.
“I wish I could stay,” Zack mumbled as a sting of heat came to his eyes.
“Aye, we all do. The next sufferer hasn’t even been born yet. To have you, our most holy one stolen from us by these grievous creatures is too much to bear. But, while I know this is a foreign concept for you, from today onward you must think for yourself. Do what you need to, to be true to your destined path while doing what you can to survive. Who knows, perhaps there may come a day when we can reclaim you. Defiled or not, you are still our most holy, our most treasured,” the prestigious man said and Zack sniffled when his eyes flashed with more watery heat. What would become of his village without him there? Who would take on the stress of the villagers? Who would keep the harmony? While it wasn’t something Zack enjoyed experiencing, he took pride in keeping the peace and harmony in his village. It was his role, his destiny to stabilize the village by taking on all its stress and pain so that it could remain in balance and survive. He was essential, without him, the village could fall to ruin from the inside. And he didn’t want that, not at all. They were his people, and if his being there helped keep them happy, keep them from devolving into violence and unhappiness, then it was where he wanted to be.
“Zackary, the venerated sir and I have spoken about this last night and this morning. And we have decided, that after the rite is completed, if you wish, you can find out who your parents are,” the prestigious man said and Zack almost gasped as the water in his eyes bubbled up over his eyelids from the unexpected surge of emotion at the offer. Zack rubbed his arm across his eyes and grit his teeth, trying to stifle his body’s stubborn attempts to cry.
“I’m not supposed to know. No sufferer has ever known. It’ll create worldly desires,” Zack simpered softly.
“Aye. That is true. But, this situation is unprecedented. And considering the hell you are about to depart for, we thought it would be best to give you something. We thought it might comfort you to know you have parents that love you,” the prestigious man explained and Zack felt the emotions bubbling up with more ferocity as heat flushed his face and his body quivered as he covered his face with his hands and doubled over in the water. He tried to grit it back, he tried to swallow it down, but he couldn’t stop the sob that broke from his throat.
“Zackary!” The sound of alarm in the prestigious man’s voice only made Zack’s heart twisted sharper, squeeze even tighter in his chest, stifling his breath as he broke into another sob. “You are always free to reject the offer. You should do whatever it is you think is right,” the prestigious man said and Zack nodded even as the sobs began to squeeze their way agonizingly from his throat in squeaks that drifted into the air. A moment later a hand touched Zack’s shoulder, warm and soft, gentle and affectionate, and Zack couldn’t hold it back any longer, allowing the damn to break as sobs broke from his throat and echoed into the air. He was going away to a place of evil. He was going to be tortured by creatures that enjoyed it. He was losing everything he knew, and he would never be able to return to his place of birth, his home. Never. Chances were he was going to die while a slave to vampires.
~~~~~~~~~~~
After a while, Zack was able to collect himself and calm down. And it was then that the venerated sir let himself be known, having been present for a good portion of his sobbing. Though Zack attempted to apologize, the venerated sir dismissed his apologies with a sad smile. After that Zack was surprised to find that the venerated sir himself, even while in his crisp robes, was the one to kneel behind him and wash his hair with the soaps and oils he had returned with. And after the thirty minute allotment was up, Zack climbed out of the bath and was dried by the venerated sir himself. When he was dry, the venerated sir wrapped Zack in a silken white robe. It held none of the embellishments of the venerated sir’s or the prestigious man’s robes, but the sash was the same blue color as his eyes.
“Have you decided on whether to meet your parents or not?” the venerated sir asked when he led the two to another staircase across the second floor from the bath that led to a lower chamber behind the main prayer room. It was entirely dark aside from the lit sconces, so much so Zack could barely see anything. But, as they walked, they past by pillars to the back of the room where more light could be seen from a round fire cauldron made of copper. Its low flames fell over what Zack realized was a stone slab with some intricate lettering carved along its base and top edges. If he knew how to read, he might have known that it spoke of the Sufferer and their divinity, and the psalms of their passing, praising them in death as they joined the Great Ones in paradise.
“I shouldn’t. If I see them, and recognize them, and I’m sure I would, it would make leaving even more painful for everyone,” Zack said as the venerated sir rounded the slab and faced Zack before giving a solemn nod.
“I understand. And they will too,” the venerated sir said and Zack felt some heat return to his eyes again, which he blinked away before he spoke again.
“Could you tell them that I’m proud to be born their son?” Zack asked and the venerated sir smiled.
“Yes, I will. It will bring them joy,” he said and Zack nodded as his eyes dropped back to the slab.
“I’m sure you’ve guessed. Please, lay down,” the venerated sir said and Zack obeyed as he laid down on his back with his hands flat at his sides. Zack closed his eyes, expecting it to be the next course of action, and watched from behind his eyelids the shadows of the venerated sir moving against the flickering light of the fire before a heavy cloth of some kind was placed over his eyes, blocking out all light.
“Now, relax, remain silent, and do not move,” the venerated sir said and Zack took a deep breath, released it, and went still. A few minutes later, the venerated sir began to sing, but it was an ancient tongue Zack had only heard once when he’d entered puberty and been purified to help protect against succumbing to sins of the flesh. Despite the venerated sir’s age, the strange sounds and words flowed from his lips with clear and melodic tune. At some point water or oil was splattered over Zack, timing every few seconds and went from his feet up to his head and then back down. After that, hands grabbed Zack’s head and held him in place with more strength than Zack had ever expected of the venerated sir as the elderly man’s voice grew louder until his breath puffed over Zack’s hair as the singing continued softly, though the venerated sir’s voice shook with emotion Zack hadn’t expected before withered lips pressed to his forehead. Only when the lips left his skin did the venerated sir finally, after what must have been nearly forty-five minutes, speak in words Zack could understand.
“Great Ones, please take this beloved soul. He has suffered for you and all others, and still there is only love in his heart.”
And then the venerated sir seemed to pull away before his hands left Zack’s head. It was silent for a few minutes, allowing the crackling of the fire to take up center stage in Zack’s mind before finally, the cloth was removed from Zack’s eyes.
“You may rise, Zackary,” the prestigious man said and Zack opened his eyes before sitting up and looking around the room, dazed after the rite before he looked to the venerated sir who looked, to his surprise, as if he’d been crying.
“Venerated sir!” Zack gasped and the elderly man held out his hand in a ceasing gesture.
“You are a beautiful soul, Zack. We will miss you dearly. I, most of all.”