Some people seem to be marked by misfortune. First, they meet a dragon that wipes out their whole village, and then the eldest brother uses a faulty spell, which saves the lives of each sibling but separates them.
My name is Raph, and I got pretty lucky. Since my brother, Gab, and I were both transported to the same place.
The reason for this was due to the fact that I clung to him during the teleportation. Once there, our luck sadly expired. Both of us got caught by slave drivers. We were forced to walk through the steppe for weeks on low rations, only to be sold, separately.
Deep in the forest away from any civilization seemed to live a religious community. The followers of the community are feared and liked at the same time.
Some people fear them, because they acquire a large number of children legally, as well as, illegally. Other people loved them since they regularly save towns and villages from their demise.
But few know the name of their followers. They are known as the followers of "the dead gods." Unfortunately, the narrator won't tell you what gods are, as he himself is still unsure, but never mind, let's continue.
Even gods have souls, and anyone who has a soul can be brought back to life if one finds the correct vessel.
Deep in the heart of the forest stood a cathedral, or at least, what was left of it.
The cathedral was built in Gothic style and marble. Sadly the marble used in the construction turned black. The reason for that is the dirt that accumulated over the years on it. One could claim that the cathedral's best days are long behind it. The runes that were once carved into the marble, faded away with time.
The two towers that adorned the great arch of the cathedral were by now in ruins. The rubble of the building was never cleaned up because the broken marble could still be found on the ground around the cathedral.
Entering inside, one could see a hall that was decorated with broken marble columns and statues. Several benches could still be seen in the hall, or at least what remained of them. The windows were decorated with colorful pieces of mosaic glass, and one could see interesting scenes depicted on the mosaic glass.
From scenes of a man beheading a dragon to scenes of a boy standing tied to the ground, everything could be seen. The fact that the depicted person resembled Raph darkened the mood. Above the chained Raph gods were depicted fighting against each other.
A dim light fell into the cathedral, and the dirty marble floor was littered with cracks.
On the altar, however, was a boy. A boy at the age of 14 stood chained on his knees. His arms, on the other hand, were both chained to the floor with rusted silver chains.
A very strange view, because after all, a boy has no business in such a place.
Inside stood several people dressed in black or white full-body cloaks. Only their glowing eyes could be seen under their coverings.
The people were humming softly in a foreign language, and Raph slowly woke up. He wanted nothing more than to cry out, but the band around his lips prevented it. Trying to free his arms, he shook the chains. But in vain, because apart from attracting the attention of everyone present, Raph achieved nothing with his action.
' 'Where am I, and what are they going to do with me?' Raph asked himself as he looked in vain for Gab, who did not seem to be present.
A man standing behind Raph slashed several cuts into Raph's body with a small ceremonial dagger. Raph wanted nothing more than to scream out in pain, but in the end, he just bit the cloth tightly while his veins throbbed with rage in his face.
All the blood that left Raph's body was collected in a silver decorated chalice until it was filled to the brim. Only then did he remove his chalice, and Raph's blood dripped onto the dirty altar floor. The man behind him gently touched Raph's wounds, which seemed to heal immediately.
Raph merely looked grimly at him, but a moment of eye contact was enough to trigger a headache in our protagonist.
The man, dressed in religiously white clothing, had runes carved into his skin which became smaller and smaller on his face. But his eyes were only white, and even in them were runes engraved.
With a smile, he sipped at the chalice. His hand was pale, and you could see the blood pumping through his skin. A very peculiar view. The several rings that adorned his hand reflected the incoming light on Raph.
Everyone in the room seemed silent while the priest, or whatever he was, stood with his eyes closed. "You have truly caught a potential vessel," he murmured with a smile, as he removed Raph's mouth bandage.
To his amazement, Raph was silent for a minute before he spoke.
"Where am I, and what are you going to do with me," Raph asked calmly.
Everyone, even Raph himself, knew at that moment that he was anything but calm.
"You are in our cathedral, my future leader. Feel honored to be a Vessel of a higher being," the priest stated as he extended his arms to welcome Raph.
"No, I don't want to be a vessel," Raph replied with a horrified look.
"I'm sorry, but you have no choice," he replied with a smile as more cloaked people stepped forward. One person grabbed Raph's chin with her gentle fingers and gently kissed his forehead. "Rest assured, my child. In the kingdom of the gods, angels will welcome you," she whispered while another person opened up the chains that bound Raph.
Unfortunately, Raph had no chance to escape. Several people grabbed both his arms.
"No, no, please don't," Raph pleaded while they dragged him onto a table.
"Be quiet," the priest replied while Raph got thrown onto the table. "No, I don't want to end up like this... my brothers are waiting for me...," Raph pleaded while his arms were tied tightly.
