To make a plot from that...
The Hunters in the Stones
Four years have passed since Mother Church’s holy warriors purged the heathen shadow that loomed over the village of Hersbreckk. The heretical remnants of the old ways were driven out, their adherents’ sins cleansed with the Catherine wheel and the hangman’s noose. Entire families died: Others fled into the winter night lest they face the same fate. A few profited, claiming their neighbors’ land after giving evidence in the inquisitors’ court.
Four years have passed since the villagers’ children were last stolen for sacrifice, since blood was poured out in the ancient stone circle at the village’s edge. The villagers attend church every Sunday, listening attentively as their minister assures them that their souls are now safe from the wrath of an angry God.
Still, there are whispers that something is wrong in Hersbreckk. The Gunnhivatssons profited greatly from their part in the trials, and now the whole family has gone missing. The snows that cover the ancient stone circle again show the red stains of spilled blood. Father Viglund has written the Bishop, asking for Mother Church’s knights to return, to root out the hidden heretics that still sacrifice at the heathens’ circle.
The Hidden Truth
Were Father Viglund to read through the parish’s records, he might realize what is happening, but the clergyman has no interest in the heresy-riddled history of his flock. He does not know that when seven times seven months pass (a “great year”), the circle's ancient binding must be renewed lest the stones release their dreadful prisoners.
Every four years, the village’s elders had tearfully sacrificed their strongest youth to preserve the ancient ritual’s power. Cut down by the inquisitors, only a handful of these elders passed down the stones’ secret, and none of the remaining townsfolk learned the needed ritual. They desperately fumble through the sacrificial rites, unaware that their efforts only feed power to the horrors imprisoned within the stone.
With the setting of the 49th moon, the hunters within the plinths will arise, their darkness blotting out the rising sun as they come forth to feed for the first time in centuries.
Last edited by Sir Wulf (2013-01-02 19:28:07)
