"The earlier period of three months of cyclone has taken many lives, killed many families and destroyed many villages around. I feel deeply ashamed of being an incapable town head when I could not help the town in any manner. I lost to cyclones. I was lost to nature. I failed to protect you all." Knox started a very convincing emotional speech, sniffling at every word he spoke.

There many people present in the temporary shed on the top of hills they made. The whole village was present there, to the meeting that was scheduled to talk about the important issue at hand right now.

The Witch's remedy.

"Not at all, Knox. You have done an amazing work in taking care of the town. It was the cruel nature that played evil against us but we are pleased to know that you went to her sacred witch to solve our concern." Knox's evil mind grinned in satisfaction when a villager spoke. He knew that the villagers are completely in his grip but situations like this made him happy to know that he has the final say in everything and those people are nothing but pawns in his game.

It made him so powerful to have such power over people and that was how his greed to become the God of everyone raised to life.

"Good to know you support me, dear villagers. Now talking about the remedy that her sacred greatness suggested was – " Knox heaved lung full of breath and looked over the large hall with a feigning guilt and helpless look.

Such a great performer Knox Garrick was. He knew exactly how to trap people into beliefs.

"What is it, Sire. Please hesitate not. We are prepared to do anything to save our town." An old lady from the group spoke out loudly making everyone shout in unison 'yes we will do anything' repeatedly.

"To calm the mother nature, we need to ... we need to – " Knox looked around hall of people once again gauging their expression, "- we need to look for a virgin widow and sacrifice her virtue out of a religious bond." Knox made such to whisper in a helpless manner.

The villagers gasped in horror at the solution the witch gave. They were not shocked about the solution itself but they were more worried to find such widow.

The villagers were blind believers of nonsensical values and can do anything if it was not them or their family that was hurting. Cold hearted and idiocy was their mind-set.

"How are we going to find such widow, Sire; and not to forget the Lord. Lord Knight was a very domineering aristocrat and nothing goes unnoticed from his sight. How are we going to do this ritual when just the thought of young Lord makes us shudder in fear?" Hugh, one of the villagers pointed out shivering slightly at the thought of Lord Knight.

The cold blooded villagers can be ruthless but if there was anyone that can kill them with just a virtual thought, it was Lord Knight.

Unlike the Lords of other three regions, Lord Knight holds his kingdom in an iron fist and people can kill themselves rather than commit a mistake that went against Lord Knight's laws. There was no suspicion that the young Lord Knight's rule prospered the region many folds better but he was a law binding person. He was like a shadow that seemed to be lurking in every inch of the region and who can pull out the blunder right away from anywhere.

Even an infant in the Northern region know that going against the Lord's rules was an invitation to a cruel death. He was way more powerful than one could describe. It was no wonder there was never a rebel against his rule or perhaps there was but could not stand longer.

"That was not a concern, Hugh. I am going to meet the Lord in person and would be explaining our rituals to him in detail and seek his approval in this case." The villagers nodded their head thoughtfully and went back to discussing about the available widow women.

"There is a young widow in the adjacent village near to my aunt's cabin. But she couldn't be untouched as she was rumored to have an affair with her late husband prior to their nuptials." A villager reminded and sighed in exasperation as it was really a tough task to get an untainted widow. It was almost impossible.

Then how would they find someone like that?

The assembly went on for three more hours and many men went to the nearby towns and villages to find the sacrifice. The widows in shadowvalor were scrutinized by their virtue and found all of them tainted.

Ladies were talking about the acquaintances of their relative who might know of such a widow. They sent correspondence to their dear family to find them a helpless widow if they knew of. Young maiden were gradually getting anxious with bizarre thoughts of making them a sacrifice if needed.

"May God send the sacrifice soon before we get indulge into this." Joan, one of the young maiden talked about her concern regarding the remedy. "There must be someone... someone who is helpless and can be an easy pawn that we can use as sacrifice." Joan wondered and racked her brain to think.

The entire fourteen maiden set stilled at Joan's description. They knew they need to find a woman who would be a lamb, who has no power on her life, who was vulnerable at any time.

Someone like –

Someone like...

"Ella" They heard a faint whisper of young maiden speak.

Precisely, someone like Ella who can be used, threatened and discarded easily. That was what happened five years ago.

There was extreme famine in the town and all the villagers craved for one meal a day at the least. People became violent and the hunger controlled their senses into wild behavior.

The little harvest was sold on high charge resulting in only the fortunate one to purchase and enjoy them. The unfortunate poor starved, groveled from the affordable lot.

And one of such days, the same witch, Witch Madonna, ordered to wed a young maiden to a dead corpse to calm down the Deity of Land and green and please her sacrificing a life to a dead.

That was the day Ella lost her family.

That was the wrenched day when Ella lost everything in life... including her life.

Her family – mother, father and younger brother – were burnt alive to succumb her to the villager's command. She cried, begged, pleaded before the whole village for mercy but all she got in return were curses and evil smiles.

They knew that to break a vulnerable poor Ella, they need to hurt her weakness which was her family and they succeeded in breaking a lovely pure soul like Ella.

The villagers worked together and burnt Ella's family in front of her eyes and tied her to the tree letting her witness her family tuning to ashes.

And she broke.

She became a living corpse, precisely what the villagers needed – a maiden who can do their bidding without talking back.

The town did not even give her the time to grieve for her family and dragged to the burial ground deep in the woods. They tied her hands and legs, forcefully equipped her like a bride and dug the fresh looking grave to found a man's body which did not start to rot. That night, they did not even care to look at the man to know if was young or old but they just called for a priest and officiated nuptial with the blank looking emotionless Ella.

"Right. Ella is a widow and she was married to a corpse so she has her virtue intact as well." Joan grinned in triumph and looked at the person who suggested her name.

How come they forgot her?

Ella! She was a perfect person to be held offering.

"Gode, thank you. You are right. Ella is a perfect sacrifice. She was once a patsy and can be used again as one for the welfare of the region." Gode grinned at Joan and winked in an unladylike manner.

"I will immediately notify town head regarding this." One of the maiden stood up and walked out towards Knox Garrick to which Gode gave the young ladies a chilling smirk which the others responded with an evil one each.