Chapter 2 Chapter 1 The Eater

The high-pitched horn sounded and fell silent.What breaks the silence at this moment is only the rhythm of the drum as light as the heartbeat, and the sound of footsteps marching in response to the drum.A large row of stone slabs and bricks and tiles on the roof of the throne room has collapsed, and the slanting sun that appears and disappears shines in through the cracks and gaps in the roof.It was an hour after sunrise, and the air was quiet and cool.The dead leaves of weeds piled up between the marble floor tiles, the edges of the leaves were frosted, and the black robes of the priestesses brushed past, making a soft snapping sound.

They lined up in a row of four and walked through the wide hall between the double rows of columns.There was a single drum, thud, no one spoke, no one raised their eyes to watch.The girl dressed in black is holding a torch, which turns orange-red when it passes by the sun, and becomes brighter when it enters the darkness.On the steps outside the throne room stood some men, serving as guards, trumpeters, and drummers.Only women could come in through the gate. They were all dressed in black robes and black hoods, and walked slowly towards the empty throne four by four. Two tall women came in, also wearing black robes, one was thin and stern, the other was fat and swaying.Walking between the two was a girl, about six years old, wearing a loose straight white gown, with her head, arms and legs exposed, without shoes, she looked unusually small.The three walked to the steps in front of the throne, where the black-robed priestess who had come in earlier was already waiting in line.The two tall women stopped and nudged the girl forward.

The large darkness extending from the dark part of the roof seemed to become several large black nets, enclosing both sides of the high platform throne.Whether they are really curtains, or just dense shadows, cannot be clearly judged by the naked eye.The throne itself is black, and the arms and back of the chair are inlaid with precious stones or gold, giving off a faint light.This throne is so huge that even a big man will become a dwarf if he sits on it, which shows that it is not the size of an ordinary person.There was no one in the seat, only darkness. There are seven red marble steps in front of the throne.The little girl climbed up the steps alone. These steps were wide and high. She had to step on one step with both feet before she could climb another step.She stopped after climbing to the fourth step. This step happened to be the middle step of the seven steps. On the step facing the throne stood a thick and large wooden block, the top of which was hollowed out.The little girl knelt down on both knees, bowed her head slightly to one side, put her head into the hole at the top, and knelt still.

A figure suddenly stepped out of the dark place on the right side of the throne, striding towards the steps where the little girl knelt quietly.He wears a white mask and tunic of white wool, and wields a five-foot sword of shining steel.He didn't speak, and didn't hesitate, and immediately held the long sword with both hands and swung it over the little girl's neck.The drum beat paused. When the sword edge reached the highest point and stopped, a figure dressed in black jumped out from the left side of the throne, jumped down the stairs, and blocked the sacrificer's arms holding the sword with his thinner arms.The blade of the long sword gleamed in mid-air.The little girl's white nape was bare, and her black hair hung down in two strands from the nape.Two faceless, black and white figures who looked like dancers faced each other for a moment above the knelt motionless little girl.

There was silence all around.Then the two figures leaped sideways, climbed back up the steps, and disappeared into the darkness behind the great throne.A priestess holding a bowl stepped forward and poured the liquid from the bowl on the steps where the little girl was kneeling quietly.In the dim light of the hall, the stains looked black. The little girl stood up and struggled down the four steps.When she stood still at the bottom of the steps, the two tall female priests put on the black robe for her, pulled up the black hood, put on the black cloak, and pushed her to turn around to face the steps, the black stain and the throne.

"O, I dedicate this girl, to be examined by the Nameless. Verily, this girl was born of the Nameless. Accept the life and days of this girl, for the life and the years of the Nameless belong to the Nameless .Please inspect and approve. Please let her be eaten!" A voice as high and piercing as the trumpets sounded: "She is eaten! She is eaten!" The little girl gazed at the throne from her black hood.The jewels on the arms of the great clawed chairs were dusty; the backs of the carved chairs were knotted with cobwebs and owls licked white dung.The three higher steps directly in front of the throne, above where she was kneeling just now, have never been trampled by the dusty feet of mortals. , The untouched dust completely covered the red-grained marble surface.

"She's eaten! She's eaten!" At this time, the drums suddenly sounded again, and the rhythm accelerated. The team in front of the throne steps slowly turned and left, and walked eastward in silence towards the brightly lit large porch in the distance.The thick double hundred pillars on both sides, which are as strong as the legs of giant beasts, stretch straight up to the dark part of the ceiling.The little girl was sandwiched among the group of priestesses who also wore black robes, and her bare feet solemnly stepped on the frosty weeds and cold stone slabs.Sunlight slanted through the broken roof, illuminating the walkway ahead of her, but she didn't look up.

The guards opened the door of the palace, and the dark team came out one after another, stepping into the thin morning light and cool wind.The dazzling first sun hovered above the vast expanse of wilderness in the east, casting golden light on the continuous peaks on the west and the front of the Throne Hall.The buildings on the same hillside as the Throne Hall are still shrouded in purple-blue shadows due to their low position, except for the Twin Brothers Temple on the small round hill opposite the mountain road. Reflecting the sun and shining brightly.The black procession of four priestesses meandered down the slope of the mausoleum hill, chanting softly as they walked.Their chanting has only three syllables, which are repeated constantly. As for the chanting words, they have long since lost their meaning due to the age; it is like the road signs are still there when the road disappears.They chanted empty words over and over again, and the entire day of the "First Priestess Reconstruction Ceremony" was just like this filled with female voices singing in low tones, filled with dry and endless chanting hums.

The little girl was led from room to room, from temple to temple.In one place, someone put salt on her tongue; in another place, she knelt facing west, her long hair was cut short, washed with ointment, and sprinkled with vinegar water; in another place, she lay face down On a large slab of black marble behind an altar, high voices were heard singing dirges.All day, she and all the priestesses did not eat or drink a drop of water.When the evening stars came out, the little girl was put to bed, naked except for a few sheepskin blankets.She had never slept in this room.This room was located in a house that had been locked for many years and was only unlocked on the day of the ceremony; the house was tall and long and narrow, without half a window, and filled with a stagnant and stale smell of death.The priestesses left her alone in the dark room without saying a word.

After the little girl was placed, she lay still as before, without changing her posture.She lay there with her eyes wide open for a long time. She saw light and shadow flickering on the high wall, and someone came quietly along the corridor, holding a rush candle, and the leaked candle light was at most like the fluorescent light of a firefly.Then she heard a hoarse whisper, "Oh, where are you, Tenar?" The little girl didn't answer. A head pokes in through the doorway.A strange head, without hair, which looked like a peeled potato, and the color was pale yellow like a peeled potato; the eyes were like the bud eyes of a potato, small and earthy brown; the nose was sandwiched between two large and flat pieces. In the middle of the cheeks, it looks very small; the mouth is like a slit without lips.The little girl stared into the face without moving, her large dark eyes remained motionless.

"Oh, Tenar, I have found you, my little darling!" The voice was hoarse, and though the pitch was like a woman's, it was not a woman's. "I shouldn't have come here, the best I could do was go out into the porch, but I must come and see how my little Tenar is doing after a long day. Well, my poor little darling is all right ?" His burly figure quietly moved towards the little girl, reaching out his hand as he walked, as if to comb the girl's hair. "I am not Tenar anymore," said the little girl, still staring at him.His hand stopped halfway and didn't touch the girl. "I know, I know!" he said.After a while, he whispered again: "I know. Now you are the little one. But I..." She didn't say anything. "It's a hard day for children." The man said, pacing in the room, the candle held in his big pale yellow hand flickered. "Manan, you shouldn't be in this house." "Yes, yes, I know. I shouldn't be in this house. Well, good night, little... good night." The little girl said nothing.Manan turned and left slowly, and the candlelight on the high wall disappeared.No longer having a name, only the little girl named "Arha the Eater" lay alone on her back and stared into the darkness.