In the candlelight council tent, voices rose and fell in a cacophony of accusations and appeals. Ever the mystery, the Crimson Alpha spoke with a cool finality that muffled even the most ardent critics. "Our legacy is lost if this corruption is not rooted out. But we have to keep in mind that our strength has always derived from our capacity to persevere, adjust, and transcend historical betrayals.
Even as they increased the weight of our choices, his words connected. I knew that we might have to call upon the forbidden rite—a ritual so perilous that it was only whispered in quiet, terrified tones—to purge the mark of the traitor. It would demand a sacrifice that could irreversibly change those who performed it. I gazed around at the eyes of my relatives, each one showing hope, terror, and the desperate determination to live.
One of the seniors asked at last, "Will you, Aria," "risk everything to save us from within?""'
