Larksong Grotto babylon the great

He remained perfectly still as the Seer carried out the rest of the ritual with the understanding that if he were to somehow break from the circle in any way, the influence of Raas would be lost and so would his protection. The threshold protected Reek from the grip of the Heartless one as his darkness descended all around. For the sake of his soul and the rest of the grotto, he did his best to not interfere with the ritual.

As she layed her offering down and began to speak once again, it was if a fire had been set inside of the grotto's alpha male. A bright and burning religious fervor took hold. Reek couldn't help but hold his mouth slightly agape as he felt the power of Raas surround him.

The ritual continued, and with the strength of God filling him, he did as he was told. She presented the frogs for him; bloated and disgusting, yet Reek delved into them with passion -- tearing them to shreds, but being extremely cautious as to not ingest any part. Though the gesture was probably more than symbolic, he imagined the frogs were a part of him that he wished to leave behind. His sin. His old identity. There would be nothing left of it.

Once more, she grabbed the feather -- and after soaking it's fronds with the blood and the bile from the wasted creatures, she swatted the air. He could feel the droplets of the remains fall against him. He was anointed by this morbid stew.

She soon drew the ritual to a close with her final blessing. Though it may have been simply the power of her words that stirred hims so, Reek thought it was nothing more than the power of Raas, consuming him from the inside out -- wiping his soul clean. He was made new... And with his new identetity came a new name. Hiram.

No longer was he Reek Redtail; the bastard, the con-man, the drudge, the refugee, the liar, the leader, the husband, the cheater, the broken, or the sinful. Now he was the Cardinal Hiram, washed by the mercy of Raas and he would be His servant for his remaining days. With a smile, the newly named Hiram met the Seer's gaze and spoke, "I do," with conviction.