In the Peninsular Kingdom, three great deities rule the spiritual life of the people.
The first, and most feared, is Atante, the god of creation. The people whisper his other name — "the Blood-Sucker." Whenever a matter demands blood to be spilled, the chief priest summons Atante. When the spirit descends, the victim's life drains like water through a cracked calabash. Those present often see the victim vomiting blood until he collapses. Then, as if a sacrifice had been accepted, the chief priest, the king, and the onlookers rejoice.
Among the remaining gods are Lababu, the god of provision, also feared as "the One who kills with thunder," and Mazuta, the god of fertility. Together they form the trinity of power worshipped in the Peninsular kingdom.
Any ritual involving blood is carried out in the secret shrine of the chief god. Once a victim is led there, everyone knows — "the chick that strays into the hawk's path does not return to its mother."
On that fateful day, Paramodice and Princess Oasi were dragged to the shrine where the chief priest lived. The guards bowed and chanted,
"We greet the Devil himself, the Eye of the Gods.
We have brought the strangers to be sacrificed today."
The chief priest nodded.
"You have done well. The gods of our land are pleased with you."
Paramodice and Princess Oasi fell to their knees.
"Please, do not sacrifice us. We are sorry for entering your land. Free us and we shall never return!"
But the chief priest's face hardened.
"Keep your tongues still! You have set foot in my territory and think I will set you free? I am the eye of the gods; I ensure their demands are met. Your blood is needed. The gods are hungry for it. Evil must be killed before it kills the land."
The couple cried louder.
"Please, our family is not from this town. If we die, who will tell them we are gone?"
One of the guards struck them.
"Who gave you leave to speak before the chief priest? Your blood is demanded today; stop your noise."
The chief priest raised his staff.
"Take them before the shrine of Atante, god of creation. I will meet you there."
One guard whispered,
"You cannot survive this. No victim has escaped the blood-sucking god Atante."
The villagers lined the path, pitying the condemned couple.
"Those taken before Atante never survive," they murmured. "A fly that follows the corpse into the grave will also be buried."
By the time the guards reached Atante's shrine, the people had gathered to witness the sacrifice. The king himself arrived with his council.
"Where is the Eye of the Gods?" he asked. "We have waited since morning."
"Shall we go and fetch him?" the guards suggested.
"Do not bother," said the king. "Perhaps he is meeting with the gods."
Even as he spoke, the chief priest appeared suddenly, and the crowd shouted, "The Devil himself! The true Eye of the Gods!"
He struck his staff on the ground.
"Today we sacrifice these strangers before Atante, the god of creation, who gave us this land and has protected us for years."
"No victim brought before Atante returns alive," the villagers chanted.
Paramodice whispered to Princess Oasi,
"So this is how our journey of love ends."
Tears streamed down her face.
"If there is love beyond this world," she sobbed, "we will continue it there."
"Do not doubt me, my love," he said. "But death is now closer than the shadow at sunset. We shall die in another man's land."
"Old man, where are you?" Paramodice cried into the air. "Is this the end of the Dreamers' Ancestors? Death is near and you are silent!" He burst into tears.
The chief priest struck the ground again.
"It is time to summon Atante," he declared.
The villagers echoed joyfully,
"Atante! Atante! Blood-sucking god!"
The chief priest turned to the couple.
"Speak your last words before the god drains your blood."
They pleaded for mercy, but his ears were deaf.
"You came to the lion's den and expect to leave alive?" he thundered, striking the ground again.
He began his incantation. The villagers, the king, and his council waited, but nothing happened. Thirty minutes passed. No vomiting of blood. No draining of life.
The king frowned.
"What is happening? They should be dead by now."
The chief priest's face grew pale.
"My king, never since the creation of this land has Atante been summoned and failed to act."
"Let us take them before Lababu," he said at last. "Since Atante is silent."
The crowd moved to Lababu's shrine. Paramodice whispered,
"Are we going to live? Will our love continue?"
Princess Oasi replied,
"We still do not know what will happen."
The high priest began another incantation, summoning Lababu, god of provision who kills by thunder. Still, nothing happened to the couple. The king's patience wore thin.
"Don't tell me these strangers are stronger than the gods of our land!"
The chief priest hissed,
"My king, be careful how you speak of the gods, lest you call their riot upon yourself."
At that moment, the old man appeared to Paramodice alone.
"I am here to protect you and your wife. Nothing will happen to you. Tell the king you have the power to heal his wife and children." Then he vanished.
The high priest's face burned with shame. He ordered the guards,
"Cut off their heads!"
Before they could obey, Paramodice shouted,
"Long live the king of Penusular Kingdom!"
The king hesitated.
"What is it you want to say?"
Paramodice bowed.
"I know the king is blind and that your two children have been sick for years. But I have the power to heal them."
The villagers gasped.
"Power to heal? Even the Eye of the Gods has tried and failed!"
Princess Oasi whispered,
"Are you speaking the truth? Can you heal the king's wife and children?"
"Yes," Paramodice replied. "The old man told me I could. He has protected us from the gods' wrath."
The king stared at him.
"You, stranger boy, can heal my wife and children?"
"Yes, my king," Paramodice answered.
The chief priest sneered.
"Do not believe him. What the Devil himself could not do, do you think this stranger can?"
He ordered the guards again to execute them, but the king raised his hand.
"Stop."
The villagers watched in tense silence, wondering how this drama would end. Even the king's council murmured among themselves. The king finally said,
"Bring my wife."
"A healer does not hide his herbs when the sick are at his door," the elders whispered among themselves.