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The Silent Rai, a rge forest area that spreads across thousands of kilometers within the ti’s northwest er. It was what separated Elderbridge and the further Empire of Iron Blood’s Capital from the rest of the tries within the only superti of this realm.
And it was also a pown for its darkness, silence, and the mysterious Dark Spirits, unique moo only this area of the ti, which were, in fact, actual Spirits that had somehow grown corrupted and turned into corporeal monstrosities.
Due to their dangerous abilities and even the power to possess targets ohey’re ered and weakened enough, most people simply avoid the forest altogether, being a great natural wall that protected Elderbridge and the rest of the Iron Blood Empire fre-scale invasions.
However, aside from its creepy crawlies, the Silent Rai was well known within the Criminal Underworld as a pce of Rituals a Dark Sects, which gathered in the a underground ruins of old, lost civilizations.
And just in the northern area of the dark forest, there, within the a ruins of an old civilization whose only remains were artifacts pletely made of emeralds, the forest hosted a rge gregation of people.
Mysterious and as silent as the forest itself, they lurked in the shadows, using no light at all other than their owo illumiheir path. Their eyes glowing green, wearing dark green robes, with a red-colored lipstick smile imprinted on the robe’s hood.
They were strange and walked strangely, always cirg around the ruins and its straatues made out of emeralds, which were shaped as nude females. Although closer iion showed they cked foot and were repced by flowing water-like mass.
“The Emerald Maiden shall desd one day…”
“And she will embrace us with her love and passion…!”
“We will rejoice within her warmth and her motherly affe as we bee oh her!”
All of them were stantly saying aing the same words while walking around the statues and the buildings, until eventually, their first ritual finished.
And they moved to the .
“Uuaagh!”
“S-Someone save me!”
“Let me go!”
“W-Where are we?!”
“Where did y us, bastards?!”
The cultists were carrying several people: some orcs, a few imps, some werewolves, and even blood elves. They were almost pletely stripped naked, except that they wore some tattered old robes and alse s ed around their entire bodies, made of emeralds, imbued with a strange, cursed power that kept them paralyzed.
As they were carried into the ter of the stage, the cultists gnced in silence as their leader, someone wearing a mask made of emeralds in the shape of a smiling woman, rose his hands into the sky.
“Tonight, we’ve brought you a bountiful harvest, Emerald Maiden! Please, receive our s to you, our sacrifices!”
As he screamed with relentless fanatism, the people being carried onto the stage panicked, some screaming even louder than before, as they saw what awaited them.
“N-No, no, no! Wait a sed!”
“What’s that?! Don’t put me thereee!”
“W-Wait! Please stop!”
They were thrown into a small pit; they all survived the twenty-meter fall; they were tough enough for that, but the dark pit wasn’t the scariest part, nor was being thrown down.
“BEGIN THE SACRIFICIAL RITUAL!”
The Cult Leader roared as he suddenly moved a rge lever attached to the floor, which rapidly started to activate a series of meisms.
CLAAANK!
The sacrifices panicked, looking around as they heard the entire dark pit around them, the long walls, reverberating as tless meisms activated oer another.
K! K! K!
As it did, the statue right above the pit, resembling a woman, opes mouth, p something from within, a green liquid.
PPSSSHHH…!
As it fell into the floor, it hit the head of one of the people there; at first they didn’t realize it until...
“E-Eh? Ugh? AAAAGGHHH!”
Half their face was melting away.
The other sacrifices stepped ba horror, realizing that the green liquid being poured down was...
“A-Acid?!”
“No…! Wait!”
“You ’t do this! You bastards!”
“P-Prince Vd will find you!”
“He won’t let sick cultists like you live here…!”
They were still fighters, people that believed ierlife; even if they were going to die here, they were going to make sure to insult their kidnapers.
“…”
However, the Cultist Leader smiled, pleased about their words; it was as if he eheir struggle; it made for something more worthwhile, for a better sacrifice.
“Good, they’re lively today. Our Emerald Maiden loves them like that.” He nodded. “She loves wheruggle a her love! But it is futile! You’re not just sacrifices; you’re the lucky few, chosehat shall accept the embrace of our beloved Emerald Maiden! Rejoice as her embrace returns your existences into the primordial soup!”
PPPSSSHHH!
The acid rapidly poured faster into the pit as the people started trying to escape it, but it was futile; eventually, it caught them, melting their legs as they screamed in agony.
“Uuuaaaagghh!”
“Aaaaarrggh!”
“Nooooooo!”
The Cultist Leader smiled beh his mask, a smile nobody could see other than his Emerald Maiden, his most beloved maiden of all.
“Aaahh! What a wonderful chorus of pleasure and love! Oh, Emerald Maiden! Please listen to them! Please, rejoice their suffering and pleasure bined as one!”
“The Emerald Maiden shall desd one day…”
“And she will embrace us with her love and passion…!”
“We will rejoice within her warmth and her motherly affe as we bee oh her!”
The other cultist members raised their hands, carrying emerald ons as they started to recite the same words as befreen fmes c the ons, as a straherworldly presence was slowly beginning to ma, being stronger.
“Yes, she’s here! S-She’s truly here!” Laughed the Sect Leader. “tinue! Suffer more! Louder! SEND MORE SACRIFICES!”
More people were being thrown into the acid pool, oer another suffering, screaming as they melted away into the acid.
FLUOOOSH!
The green fmes became strohe pressure in the air heavier—something was watg them from beyond the stars!
“Aaah! Her caress, her beautiful, lovely, motherly caress! you feel her?! you feel her love?! tinue, more! More! We ot let her down now! We must not disappoint her! Let us show her how much we love her!” The Cult Leader ughed. “Hurry and-”
RUMBLE!
However, out of nowhere, the forest trembled incredibly loudly, the eual ing to a halt as the presence of their dy seemed to recede.
“No…!” the Cult Leader panicked. “What… What was that?!”
The eyes of all the Cultists glowed with bright green light as they directed them towards the dire where the loud tremor came from, suddenly sensing the presence of uninvited guests stirring chaos withierritory.
The Cult Leader grew furious, his emerald mask glowing red, ging its expression to pure anger out of nowhere, expressing and abs his emotions.
“Those heathens dare to disturb our sacrificial ritual towards our beloved Emerald Maiden?! They’ll regret this! THEY WILL REGRET THIS!”
As he roared furiously, several of the Sect Members walked towards him, holding the same ons as before and powerful Auras.
“Half of you will go see what happeen Emerald Warriors shall apany you as well!” The Cult Leader said as ten warriors wearing armor made of emeralds stepped out of the ruins behind him. “Now go! And bring them to me; anybody that dared to interrupt us shall melt in her acid!”
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Pach
