For a moment, there was nothing but darkness, and the sound of people breathing. After a moment, some quiet cursing, and the sound of a match being stuck. Light from the match illuminated Jamie’s face, for a moment, but it went out of focus again as she lit first one candle, and then another. Around the room she went, until it was reasonably illuminated, and then joined the group clustered around a raised platform. She pulled a hood up, and placed her hands on the temples of Christina, the girl who was lying on the platform. She nodded to the other, and they all placed two fingers under the sides of her body.
“Christina Maria de’Medici. You come before us seeking enlightenment. Seeking escape from your pain, and a rebirth for your soul. Rest now child, for you will soon be given mercy.” Jamie nodded again, and a low thrum emanate from the outskirts of the room, sounding not unlike throat singing.
When the thrum had filled the room, causing the air to subtly vibrate with its very mysteriousness, she began again. “Christina lies before us, once a vibrant soul. Now, she looks pale.” at the end of the sentence, the tone of the thrum shifted in pitch and tempo, though only slightly. “Now, she is worse.” Jamie continued, the thrum again picking up a little in tempo, yet deepening in pitch.
“She is dying.” Jamie said, her voice ringing through the room with an air of ominousness, the deepening pitch of the thrum adding to this effect. On the platform, Christina’s body cooled, and she gasped. Jamie looked up from the body, and to the assembled group. “She is dead.” Abruptly, the thrum stopped, and a palpable silence filled the room once more.
“Light as a feather, stiff as a board.” Jamie said. Those assembled around the body repeated over and over, lifting after the third repeat of the phrase. Christina’s body rose slowly into the air, and hovered a foot above the platform, before everyone slowly removed their fingers, holding their breath to see if she would be gifted by their Goddess, or crash back into the platform as another failed rebirth.
She did not crash. The priestess raised her arms and looked upwards in a gesture of praise, before returning her attention to Christina’s body and beginning the chant. As she spoke, the thrum began again, less ominous sounding, and more hopeful. “Voici un corps mort, Raide comme un bâton, Froid comme marber, Léger comme un esprit, Levons te au nom de notre déesse.” she stated.
After completion, those around the body chanted the translation, their voices monotone. “Here lies a dead body, Stiff as a stick, Cold as marble, Light as a spirit, Rise in the name of our Goddess.” the chant was repeated three times before the transformation began. The body began to twitch and jerk, before several sickening crunches happened, as limbs jerked roughly into positions they were never meant to be in, and the rib cage pressed against the chest, alternating with the belly, which bloated outward.
After several minutes, with a wet, tearing sound, the bones of the rib cage burst through the chest, and the skin began to tear, as though being unzipped from the inside. As the body tore open, it began to try into a fragile husk. The first thing to emerge from the body was a hand, delicate and bloody. Following the hand came an arm, then a shoulder, then a head, as a fully grown being sat up inside the husk before using the pelvis to push itself upward, in order to stand.
Two of those surrounding her, one on each side, reached for her hands, giving her stability in order to step out of the husk and stand before them on the table. Once the creature had emerged fully, the husk collapsed, hitting the table and disintegrating to dust. The creature was decidedly female, blood and viscera still clinging to her for now. There was a clear air of otherworldly nature, manifesting as an indescribable beauty. Two others that surrounded her presented her with a robe to cover herself, and Jamie herself helped her down.
“Welcome, sister.” she said, pulling back her own hood to reveal a similar uncanny nature. The others in the room followed suit, one by one. “Welcome to the loving arms of our Goddess.” she said, smiling. “Welcome to the Chosen.” the group echoed.