A Ballad of Sacrifice

Sephiran doesn’t notice Caedes looming beside him, daring to remove the three, wiggling newborns from Aurelia’s stiffening body. He’s lost in the labyrinthine corridors of his fragmented mind, ensnared in a web of repetition. You did this. You did this. You did this. His chants were almost ritualistic, creating a harrowing echo inside of Caedes’ domain, lashing against his Effendi Hakims mind in relentless, vicious strokes. Sephiran would have never considered that this event would be detrimental to Caedes. You never questioned the motives of your Sultan. But perhaps that was a good thing- Sephiran may have taken his dissociation for noncompliance, leading to more adverse outcomes.

Sephiran doesn’t notice Caedes wrapping his children in a blanket, to carry them away from their father and transfer them into his Emir’s care. You did this. You did this. You did this. With Caedes gone, the silence in the den intensifies, overcome with an eerie stillness that threatens to consume him whole. And in the dimly lit room, the shadows all around him danced ominously- demons bearing witness to the mutilation, reveling in the fear and agony. You did this. You did this. You did this. Seconds feel like minutes. Minutes feel like hours. Truly, no one knows how much time had passed, before Sephiran pulled himself to his paws and grabbed Aurelia by her scruff. You did this. You did this. You did this. His gaze is empty as he stares down at her, boasting a gleam of cold, calculating predatory intention, as he slowly drags her out of Caedes den.

Emerging into the Polar Sound, Sephiran is met by the whipping chill of the midnight wind. Aresenn’s scent is fresh, mixing with Caedes but Sephiran does not show any recognition of the event that transpired here. His children being taken away from him. Slowly, Sephiran begins to drag Aurelia to his domain, his mind consumed by the tasks he will complete.

He will peel her fur from her flesh, and drape the bloodied hide over his body. To feel her skin against his until the end of time. He will unionize their bodies, revel in the fragmented state of her corpse in hopes that she can feel him in the afterlife. To remind her that he is her sanctuary. And he will hold onto her body until she has rotted away into nothingness, just as he promised her seasons ago. Even in death, you will not escape me.

-exit-

"Sephiran Saxe"