The Fire Burns

Snow. Everywhere it drifted down lazily, no wind to disturb it in the blackness of the night. White Tail Woods was covered in a crisp blanket of it. Through the darkness, a griffon emerged. She wore a simple black cloak, the hood drawn up, covering her face in shadow. In her mouth, she carried a woven basket, its contents hidden by a small checkered cloth placed delicately across the top. The soft crunching of the snow under her hooves was the only sound to disturb the silence of the frozen woods.

She moved with a purpose, not stopping or deviating from the path she was on. The woods began to thicken around her, and she knew she was quickly approaching her destination.

Finally, she reached the center of the woods. There, awaiting her arrival, was a stone altar. Several unlit candles adorned it though they were nearly lost in the snow. The cloaked mare approached the stone and set her basket down beside it. She gently brushed the snow off and adjusted the candles, placing one at each corner. She then bent down and removed the cloth covering from the basket. Inside it rested a box of matches and one gently sleeping unicorn colt. The griffon stared down at the colt whose fur was a dark brown while his mane and tail were white. She turned back to what she was doing after a few minutes.

The griffon removed the matches and lit the candles. She then gently lifted the sleeping colt and placed him on the altar and tied his hooves together and bind his mouth shut while steeling herself for what she knew had to be done. She turned her head as she heard a twig snapped coming from her left. She continued to stare in the direction of where the noise came from. Soon griffons began appearing from out of the forest with each wearing the same cloak as the mare. They soon took their places around the altar while holding torches with their talons while the others began to stand by the altar. Soon one griffon wearing a different cloak that had a red circle with an arrow emerging from it, pointing at an angle to the upper right.

The griffon slowly walked forward until he stood behind the altar behind the young colt while glancing all around at the griffons who simply stood there holding torches while the female griffon had covered her face back up with her hood and joined the others by standing next to them.

The elder griffon glanced all around before finally turning his face forward.

"“Brothers and Sisters, for nearly two years we have toiled in secrecy. We worked behind the backs of the guards and tyrant princesses, and we put our own safety at risk. Personal fortunes and countless hours have been spent to bring us to this point. But now we are ready; the spell is prepared. Tonight we, the Children of Mars, shall see our god given life, blood, and form of his own!”

The rest of the cult griffons cheered and chanting "Ignis est nobis virtus!"

The griffon priest smiled, and he took in their joy for just a moment before he continued to speak. “Once, our god has arrived then shall the weak crumble beneath his might! The weak will be punished while serving the strong! The princess's will be crumble beneath his might and their skulls used as drinking cups!"

"Ignis est nobis sapientia!"

The griffon reared back and raised his voice to a triumphant shout. “Now lend your convictions to the ritual, my brothers, and sisters, for tonight, our victory is at hoof! For tonight, our god will be born and rule!”

The cult cheered, sharing in the priest’s jubilation before quickly going about their work. The griffons formed a circle around the clearing as the lines of paint they had drawn on the forest floor came to live with a blue incandescence. At the same time, a griffon walked around the circle. With a torch in his talon, he lit the bowls filled with oil soaked powders, causing them to flare with an eerie flame.

A similar scene was occurring in the air above the ritual. There, griffon cult members held more bowls of powder, keeping them aloft while two griffons flew amongst them. The two griffons lit each bowl with practiced efficiency before joining the others on the edge of the altar, where the would watch the sacrifice.

The priest watched all this with a smile on his face though his smile disappeared when he heard groaning. Turning towards the sound, he saw the colt was stirring slightly. The colts eyes open slowly to reveal brown eyes that were full of confusion before the widened in fear and he tried to move only to struggle as he was bound in place by ropes.

The priest glanced down at the colt eyes that turned towards him begging for him to let him go. The priest had no intention of doing so. Instead, he reached down for a jar oil and grasping it, raised it above his head while uncorking it. The priest began to chant a few words. "Mars deus belli. Hóstias tibi!"

As the chant left his mouth he began to pour the oil over the colt causing him to close his eyes so he wouldn't get it in his eyes. He still didn't stop thrashing, trying to break free but no matter how much he struggled. He was stuck.

The priest turned towards another griffon who held out a torch out for him. Grasping he pulled it away from the griffon before raising it above his head while the colt glanced up at him. Tears formed in the corner of his eyes. Eyes that should be full of life and innocence were replaced with full terror. The colt struggled more and more while the griffon priest uttered one more chant.

"Ignis procedit."

The priest stared for one more second before dropping the torch down towards the colt. Time seemed to slow as it neared closer and closer. The colt heart sped up in his chest to the point that it hurt. Time seemed to be stopped for only a few minutes but resumed as the torch landed on the colt causing him to catch on fire. The Griffons watched as he struggled more and more while screaming in pain only for them to be muffled by the ropes that bound his mouth shut. The priest stepped off the altar and walked around until he stood in front of it with the burning colt behind him. "It is done my brothers! Our god shall be pleased with this sacrifice! He is sure to return!"

The griffons cheered, sharing in the priest’s jubilation while he smiled as he turned towards the fire where he saw no movement at all. Strange. No matter. The griffons stood there and waited for a sign from their god. There was nothing but the movement of fire as well the sound of cackling of the altar that was being burnt by the fire. Their faces filled with happiness soon began to be replaced by despair as nothing happened.

The priest stared and stared even as the griffons behind him begun to whisper amongst themselves. Turning towards them he could see the sadness in their eyes. He opened his mouth to speak only to be cut off as the fire behind him rose higher and seemed to burn hotter. The priest turned his head to stare only to cover his face with his talon as the heat began to become unbearable. He stepped back along with the other griffons. The fire rose and rose until it stopped. The priest moved his talon out of his face and saw the fire just stayed there.

"Our god is here!" One griffon shouted which were soon joined by other shouts of joy causing the priest to smile.

The fire suddenly rushed towards them consuming one of the griffons causing him to scream in agony as he was slowly burnt to death. The other griffons backed away in fear and shock. The griffon burning turned towards them while screaming in agony. The smell of burning flesh filled the priest's nostrils. Agonizing screams echoed throughout the woods. The sizzling flesh oozed like sap from the trunk of a tree while the griffon collapsed to the ground begging for help as he slowly lost conscious even as his flesh melted off his bone while his bones had slowly begun to slowly melt as they became ash in the fire.

The worst was to come as the fire rushed towards the griffons and consuming them as well before they had a chance to run or fly. The priest was alone as he was trapped by fire from everywhere even in the air that prevented him from flying off. It was like he was trapped inside a large dome only it being made of fire. All the while he heard the screams of agony of death from everywhere within the fire. The priest's heart beat erratically. From the fire emerged a noise that could not possibly be griffon, so terror-filled and nightmarish it was. It was a wail of agony, a keen that would chill you to the marrow. He was sweating profusely.

"My God! Why are you doing this!? Have we not been faithful!?"

His question was answered by the fire moving closer to him making the heat rise causing him to sweat even more. Glancing over, he saw something that chilled him to his bone. Standing there in the fire was a shape. It was the shape of a pony colt though it appeared to be standing in the fire as if the fire didn't burn it. The last thing he saw was the pony shape raise its hoof towards the griffon priest causing the fire to rush towards him as he let out a scream that echoed throughout the entire forest. Then just as fast it moved, the fire disappeared leaving only behind a burnt ground covered in ashes. The altar itself was completely destroyed. Nothing remained of it but simply burned wood with flames still flickering on it.

Anyone coming through the area would only smell oil and if they listened closely they could hear screams of agony.