"Sacrifice?" Willow stared as Warren wandered around their apartment, she still shuddered at that but had come up with no means of getting him to move out. She had managed to get him to promise to get out of sight and smell when she had guests, which wasn't often, she knew, but was probably the best she was going to get. "Who, what...how?"
"The Moche," pronounced Warren, teeth clamped around pipe, smoke curling around his deerstalker's cap. "Clobbered their victims then slit their throats. Blood was drunk in an effort to placate their gods. Flesh was taken from bone, skeletons made to dance." Willow shuddered and a gleam came to Warrens eyes. "Didn't work though. Entire Moche Civilization was wiped out, despite all they did at the Huaca de Luna."
"How do you know all this?"
"Documentary on the Discovery Channel. The internet has sites on it. Plus it fits. Victims were identified as local boys, who, according to reports, were playing soccer against a visiting team from Bolivia, close to where the Moche civilization was." Warren grinned at Willow, who was curled up on her sofa, trying not to look as disgusted as she felt. "Which also fits. Moche victims were Moche, but Moche who had lost at some tribal warfare, game, whatever. Visiting team comes to town, gets some local boys to set up a game, one they can easily win, then take the boys out of town, conk them over the head, then slit their throats. Deflesh them then its time to dance."
"But why here?" Willow tried to remember her history. "The Moche were South American, not North American. Why would they do it here?"
Warren sat down. "What were sacrifices usually used for? To hold off some bad thing from happening. Something really really big, cause that wasn't the only sacrifice made in the last few days. Blood was found on the altar stone at Stonehenge and quite a few other henges. A man was found blood-eagled in northern Germany. The remains of three human hearts in Mexico City, which, as you know, used to be Teotihuacan, the Aztec Capital. Something big is coming."
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"Sacrifices?" Giles repeated after Willow reported what Warren had told her. "I suppose that if the uh Priests had some inclination of some catastrophic event they could um sacrifice something to try and uh ward it off. Though I would think that such an extremity would not be used in this day and age."
"Quite," offered Wesley. "We mustn't forget the human desire to survive at any and all costs. The soul leaves the body at the instant of death. One could assume that energy is also released. Energy that could be shaped and used."
"Such as a 'go away' spell aimed at the Valaasco Sisters."
"Yes, but presumably it wouldn't work."
"Well not entirely." Xander entered the Magic Box, and snagged a chair at the conference table. He glanced at Wesley. "HQ sensed some sort of power release and the demonic duo have been delayed, which gives us more time to train Dawn. They just didn't know where that energy was coming from."
"So, you think we shouldn't stop these sacrifices," grumbled Buffy, not liking the idea of training Dawn, but not seeing any way around it. "The more people are sacrificed, the better for us."
"Nope." Xander turned to Willow. "Will, you Buffy and Warren can look into the local variety, with an eye on stopping the nest one. Joyce is going to work with Dawn. I'm going to take Giles and Wesley on a little scouting trip of the battlefield."
"The Moche," pronounced Warren, teeth clamped around pipe, smoke curling around his deerstalker's cap. "Clobbered their victims then slit their throats. Blood was drunk in an effort to placate their gods. Flesh was taken from bone, skeletons made to dance." Willow shuddered and a gleam came to Warrens eyes. "Didn't work though. Entire Moche Civilization was wiped out, despite all they did at the Huaca de Luna."
"How do you know all this?"
"Documentary on the Discovery Channel. The internet has sites on it. Plus it fits. Victims were identified as local boys, who, according to reports, were playing soccer against a visiting team from Bolivia, close to where the Moche civilization was." Warren grinned at Willow, who was curled up on her sofa, trying not to look as disgusted as she felt. "Which also fits. Moche victims were Moche, but Moche who had lost at some tribal warfare, game, whatever. Visiting team comes to town, gets some local boys to set up a game, one they can easily win, then take the boys out of town, conk them over the head, then slit their throats. Deflesh them then its time to dance."
"But why here?" Willow tried to remember her history. "The Moche were South American, not North American. Why would they do it here?"
Warren sat down. "What were sacrifices usually used for? To hold off some bad thing from happening. Something really really big, cause that wasn't the only sacrifice made in the last few days. Blood was found on the altar stone at Stonehenge and quite a few other henges. A man was found blood-eagled in northern Germany. The remains of three human hearts in Mexico City, which, as you know, used to be Teotihuacan, the Aztec Capital. Something big is coming."
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
"Sacrifices?" Giles repeated after Willow reported what Warren had told her. "I suppose that if the uh Priests had some inclination of some catastrophic event they could um sacrifice something to try and uh ward it off. Though I would think that such an extremity would not be used in this day and age."
"Quite," offered Wesley. "We mustn't forget the human desire to survive at any and all costs. The soul leaves the body at the instant of death. One could assume that energy is also released. Energy that could be shaped and used."
"Such as a 'go away' spell aimed at the Valaasco Sisters."
"Yes, but presumably it wouldn't work."
"Well not entirely." Xander entered the Magic Box, and snagged a chair at the conference table. He glanced at Wesley. "HQ sensed some sort of power release and the demonic duo have been delayed, which gives us more time to train Dawn. They just didn't know where that energy was coming from."
"So, you think we shouldn't stop these sacrifices," grumbled Buffy, not liking the idea of training Dawn, but not seeing any way around it. "The more people are sacrificed, the better for us."
"Nope." Xander turned to Willow. "Will, you Buffy and Warren can look into the local variety, with an eye on stopping the nest one. Joyce is going to work with Dawn. I'm going to take Giles and Wesley on a little scouting trip of the battlefield."