The echo of the drums beat rhythmically. The people of the village stood motionless, holding hands together with heads bowed. The priest recited the prayers they had all heard before, and would no doubt hear again.
"For what we have done, we repent". Came the voice of the priest from the tower of the church.
All of villagers repeated the words, hundreds of them together quietly and soberly. The didn't need prompting, they knew them well. Some held back tears, whilst others could not. But nobody let go of the hand of the person next to them.
"We beg for forgiveness, and affirm our commitment to love and harmony", bellowed from the tower.
The villagers again repeated the words in unison. As they did so, a women dressed all in white began climbing the steep bank in front of them. She took great care to keep her flowing white robes clean from the mud. After struggling to the top of the mound she looked down upon them, trying and failing to hold back her tears.
As she stood on the mound, the wind created wave after wave on her pristine robes. Tears streamed off her bright red face into the wind.
She stared down at a large man with a bright red face at the front of the crowd below. He was holding the hands of a woman and a young girl who was barely taller than his knee. They both had bright blue faces. Tears were streaming down his face so much he could hardly see. He struggled to dry his eyes with his sleeves, lifting the small girl clean off the floor as he did so.
The villages looked on at the woman in white. All holding hands with the people next to them, alternating red and blue faces.
The woman remained there, standing still, whilst the rest of the prayer was recited. For her it seemed like an eternity, but for the man below, it was over all too quickly.
"We join hands with our brothers and sisters now, as we join our hearts for eternity and pledge to never again awake your fury". The villages repeated.
The drums stopped suddenly, and silence fell. The woman on the hill mouthed "I love you" to the large man, and before he could respond, she turned her back to gaze beyond the mound.
He hoped she would turn back. Talk to him, tell him what she could see. But she didn't. None of them ever had.
She stood with her back to the villages, looking down on whatever lay beyond the mound. After mere seconds, she was gone. She walked down the other side out of view, never looking back.
And then there was nothing. For a few short moments the villages stood there, hand in hand, staring at the empty mound in silence. Then, all together, the villages ripped their hands away from the person next to them angrily and began walking back to the village. Grumbles and arguments rippled quietly through the crowd.
Only the large man remained. Once the others had gone he collapsed down onto his knees and sobbed. As he cried he heard faint noises coming from beyond the mound, a grumbling and a roaring noise. He recoiled back onto his feet in terror and backed away.
But then, as he steadied himself, he felt a steel run through him. Fear left him, he straightened his back and clenched his fists. He wiped away his tears, and picked a broken branch from the floor. It was a huge branch but in his enormous hand it appeared little more than a twig.
He started breathing heavily as rage filled him, he grimaced and gripped the branch as he began marching towards the mound.
"Arthur, no", cried a voice from behind.
Arthur turned, surprised anyone else was still there.
"You'll kill us all" Said the priest, as he ran from the doorway of the church towards him.
"I've got nothing left, let it take me, if it dares" screamed Arthur.
"It will take you, and the whole village if you go up that mound. Hasn't their been enough loss?" said the priest, as he pulled the branch out of Arthur's hand. It was so heavy the priest dropped it straight on the floor between them. Mud spattered up on them both.
"What am I to do, Priest?", asked Arthur. The steel in him had gone, and grief gripped him.
"Remember the prayers" said the Priest, as he walked him away from the mound and back towards the village.