Fragment of Paper 10

A fragment of parchment was recovered from the Ancestor's Altar. The paper is brittle, handwriting careful to be clear, but obviously strained by time.

"The Ancestors no longer answers prayer.

The bells frost over before they can ring.

When struck or shaken they sway, but not a sound follows no matter how vigorous. Somehow, the chime lingers somewhere else beyond our senses.

We held vigil through the night, thinking the quiet was perhaps a test sent upon us. But the frost gathered around the altar in a wide, half moon arc, as if challenging us with a boundary none of us were meant to cross.

At dawn, the choir tried to sing.

Their mouths moved and the vapor of their lungs was visible.

But the hymn never arrived.

We have sealed the doors for now. Whatever walks the village does not honor sacred places.

It empties them of grace.

-Bloodbrother Cohae"