R | Writing | The Crying Mask | Chapter 1The drums filled the cavern, reverberating off the walls. People were dancing around the bonfire, they wailed and cried and bent their backs to the primitive music. It seemed the cavern walls, the Mother's furnishings of the earth, were humming with the drums, chanting with the priest and priestess. "Aaa...eee...iii...ooo...uu..." The normally quiet, desolate cave had come alive and was throbbing with spirit, filled with the musk of sweat and incense, singing to the ceremony. Around the bonfire outside the circle of dancers were many tables adorned with small altars, flowers, and offerings. People who weren't dancing mingled around these tables, chatting, laughing, and flirting. This was the festival of Samhain, the time to honour those passed and the death of the Horned God.
Into this eerie, yet strangely exhilerating ceremony, Pania entered. Her tall, dark figure was clothed in robes of white, her long wavy black hair braided, hanging between her shoulder blades. Her honey-brown eyes took in the festival nervously. Though she'd attended Samhain since her birth, this one would be very different for her. Gripping the bouquet of crysenthemums tightly in both hands, Pania slunk silently along the wall of the cave, watching the people dancing and congregating with a hint of jealousy. They were all so care-free... After tonight, her life wouldn't be the same. Her gaze fell on the priest and priestess standing atop a stone platform, their voices carrying over the drums and wailing of the dancers. Duril and Lily, the ancients of the four clans. On this hallowed night, they would both relinquish their power to the next generation to complete the cycle of life. Duril and Lily were returning to the Great Mother, and Pania had been chosen to take Lily's place as high priestess. The mere thought made her stomach clench painfully. She leaned against the cave wall, already exhausted. Fear was slowly beginning to course through her. Although Pania had shared many evenings beneath the willows with Lily, she didn't know Duril very well. Of the four clans, Duril's clan, the Aquilis, was nested far away in the unknown wilderness. No one knew who Duril would name as his successor, but Pania knew well that whoever was chosen would be viewed by all the clans as her lifelong mate - her husband.
She was startled when the chanting took on a ferverous, wild speed. The dancers seemed furious as their bodies jerked to and fro, their eyes wide open and glazed as if in a drug-induced trance. Pania shuddered. Soon the dancing would come to a close and her presence would be expected alongside Duril and Lily for all to see. She wondered if Duril's successor would also be present, and instantly wished she hadn't when a wave of nervous nausea rocked her. She sighed softly to calm herself, a sound that couldn't be heard over the cries echoing off the cave walls. As much as the idea of being tied to someone for the rest of her life scared her, she would have to accept that this was her duty, she couldn't falter now when the moment was so close.
A hand touched her shoulder, waking her from her fearful thoughts. Pania turned to look into the face of Alphia, her soul sister. A pale-skinned, blonde-haired wisp of a woman, Alphia was nothing short of an aqua-eyed angel to Pania. They had shared their moments together as friends since their childbirth when they'd both been born on the same night in the same hour. Such happenings were omens to their people, and it was decided that the girls would be side-by-side for the duration of their lives, as deemed by the Goddess who presided over all births and mysterious things. Since either girl could remember, they had played together, eaten together, been trained together, and oftentimes slept with one another. Their relationship was not complete without some troubles, but the girls were soul sisters, maidens bound to each other by Fate. Thus, when Alphia embraced Pania without a word, Pania felt like all the burdens of the world had been lifted from her shoulders.
"Congradulations, Sister," Alphia's voice was gentle, yet clear above the noise filling the cave, "You've made us all very proud." Her eyes twinkled and reflected the firelight as she smiled sarcastically, knowledgeable of Pania's obligation as Lily's successor.
Pania couldn't help but scoff. People talked to her like like she was happy to be doing this, as if it were her lifelong dream to become high priestess. No one knew anything about her, yet in a fortnight she'd become the most talked about woman in the four clans. Alphia sensed her frusteration and put an arm around her shoulder, "I know you were forced into this, but remember that there will always be people who love you. I love you, Lily loves you, your mother loves you-"
"Wherever she may be." Pania said, cutting off Alphia's comforting words. "All this time and not a single appearance, it's as if she'd rather forget about me." She bit back colder, harsher words that Alphia probably wouldn't care to hear. "I would feel better about this if I knew who Duril has chosen." Alphia could only look upon her soul sister with sadness. They'd both already learned of the consequences of Pania becoming high priestess. Pania and her mate would have to decide where they would reside, with Pania's clan, the Virago, or with the Aquilis. Additionally, if Pania were to live with the Aquilis, Alphia would not be permitted to follow. Tonight's ceremony would be the turning point in both their lives and although thier faces said that they were strong and ready, they were ridden with worry.