You Are Atlas's Holy Sacrifice: Part 1 (Patreon Exclusive)

Featuring Atlas ( https://toyhou.se/21072095.atlas ).

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The votes have been cast–and you were chosen as the village’s sacrifice.  Thus, your destiny is sealed.

Before you are led up the mountain to be the god’s feast, you are given a brief last meal.  It is tradition that the sacrifices are fed a particular type of food: a roasted pig, the finest dish in this medieval land, covered with an elderberry sauce made from the church’s crop.  You assume you are given this food so that you can dine well before your death–but soon, you will see that it is more than just that. . .

At dawn, you are led through the village by two of the church’s Holy Knights, your arms gripped tightly as you are forced forward.  You glance at the faces of the villagers as they stand outside their homes, watching your departure.  These were your peers and friends–and they voted for /you/ to be the sacrifice!  You have been told all your life that to be the god’s feast is an honor for the most worthy, but you know the truth.  Your desire to leave this wretched place, and your talk of ambition and glory, has always scared your neighbors.  And so, they have done this to finally silence you, once and for all.  So much for escaping. . .

You know that if you try to run now, the Holy Knights will be forced to kill you, and the god will punish the village with famine, disease, and death.  So you don’t resist, and let the warriors guide you.  Soon, the three of you are past the village, and on the path to the mountain.

Once you reach the base of the peak, you are brought up a path on the side of the cliff, until the three of you reach a cave.

“Oh mighty Atlas,” one of the Holy Knights says.  “We have brought you a worthy sacrifice so that this village may be blessed.”

There is a pause, and then, a rumbling voice comes from the darkness of the cave, “I see,” it says.  There is something odd about the tone which it speaks from–it has a strange, otherworldly pitch, dipping into highs and lows in an almost sing-song way.  It makes you shiver.

“Leave me with my meal,” the god orders.  “Once I am satisfied, I will bring your village another prosperous season.”

“Yes, my Lord,” the knights say.  They go back down the mountainside, and soon, you are alone.

“Come inside, sacrifice,” Atlas instructs you.  “I want to see your face.”

Terrified but determined, you go deeper into the cave, expecting it to get darker as you go.  But the further you enter, the more light you see–and soon, you are face-to-face with the god.

He looks a bit different from the carvings on the church–much more grand, to be sure.  Atlas is a massive, wyrm-like dragon, with jagged yellow horns extending out of his golden head.  His front paws resemble that of a cat, while his back paws have bird-like talons that click loudly against the cave floor.  A small pair of wings decorate his back, and his long tail has a beautiful, shining tip at the end of it.

But it’s his body that is the most incredible.  Patterns of stars decorate the god, all over his form, and they almost seem to twinkle and /move/ with him.  Well, the legends did say that Atlas wore a cloak of the stars–it seems that wasn’t an exaggeration!

The god grins down at you.  “I see you are surprised,” he says, chuckling.

You nod.  “You’re more beautiful than I imagined, my Lord,” you admit.

“I am glad to hear that,” he tells you.  He smiles, and that’s when you notice the purple circle at the center of his forehead–it looks like the legends of his Third Eye were true then!  And his next words confirm that: “I can see your mind.  You are quite different from the other sacrifices. . . Your desire for change is strong within you.  Perhaps that is why they sent you to me.”

“You are correct, my Lord,” you say angrily, sighing.

“Well, no matter.”  Atlas waves his paw dismissively.  “The elderberry solution should be kicking in soon.”

You frown.  “Huh?”

The god smiles.  “In a moment, you’ll be made more suitable.

“Then, I will finally dine.”