In the wilderness on the outskirts of Isara, Odys had the members of the Trunsoest Family set up an altar by the river.
The altar's main structure was wooden, a platform roughly three meters high, built from freshly cut trees that still retained their moisture.
Odys then placed a vat of water on the altar and had the Trunsoest Beyonders take turns "letting blood" atop it.
At the same time, rice, goats, and flowers were placed on the altar.
A round Crimson Moon hung in the sky, another requirement of the ritual.
Odys began dipping his hand in blood and writing Occult Symbols across the wooden altar.
As he wrote, he sighed inwardly: Sanguine mystical rituals really are bloody. Not only do the sacrifices require blood,
but even the Beyonder materials used to write these Occult Symbols are entirely Beyonder blood. Later, blood will have to be splashed in the center of the altar too.
In short, blood is used everywhere. My clothes are going to reek of it.
While silently grumbling, Odys finished arranging the altar. The Trunsoest Family members had also finished bleeding themselves, each standing beneath the altar with pale faces.
Then Odys picked up a ladle and evenly sprinkled three ladles of blood over the center of the altar. He removed his shoes, stood in the fresh blood at its center, and formally began the ritual.
The Trunsoest Family members waited below without daring to breathe as Odys uttered one tongue-twisting syllable after another. At that moment, the remaining blood splashed across the altar seemed to be driven by some force and suddenly began to tremble.
It looked as though it were about to rise from the ground.
Odys was now speaking in the ancient language of the Sanguine. Previously, while preparing supplementary materials for his