A month of the Charcoal Moon: Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous

The Start of the "The Festival of Saint Gardenia"

A little Info of the World of Erdin:

The Festival of Saint Gardenia: Madien for the Purity of Youthful Soul: One of the five fests that take place throughout the year. Gardenia was to have said walked into the hearth fire to prove her purity to the three sisters. She became the first Saint of the Hearth. The Fest last over two days during a full moon in which young girls on edge of becoming maidens will spend the night in the temple in prayers to the Sisters that they will remain pure till they find a husband. Which also they must burn away an item of their childhood into the Hearth in a show of letting go of childhood thoughts to grow up.

The Whispers of Sisters: It is often during a Fest if the king has a Word with the Sisters in how to guide his people; it is spread out and told to the kingdom to better help them live a humble life. A Maiden of the Veil is chosen to act as the earthly voice of this Word to the people.

A peek into Chapter Four:

She screamed, pleading to be let go of the chains biting into her wrist, keeping her to the post. Heat flared from the flames, growing and nearly seeming to leap at the poor girl hunger for her flesh. The back of her once baby dress had small streams of bright blood dripping to the gray stone. Even as the whip cracked again to kiss her flesh, one longer cut and her cries spread out the onlookers.

Micah only fought, the other Chain brothers holding back the father in seeing his daughter flesh torn away by the black whip at the hands of the Sister, her wife had fallen to her knees, wet spots in the sand from her own tears shed at the fate of her daughter.

Nelson tried to look away; her cries weaken in their pleas to the Sisters to save her. Wasted on so-called saviors who never listened to their people as the king might claim they did. Knowing or feeling the laden gaze of one of the Chain Brother's still was having a bruise on his cheek from the attack of the swan only a few days ago.  

Notes:   Just a little peek into the chapter four I've been working on!   So make sure to check back when the full chapter is posted!   This might be a bit of a super chapter given in how I want things to pace out.