The sacrificial one was shoved into the chamber, the door behind them sealed. The gods demanded this, if they disobeyed, the city would be destroyed. The youngster, shakingly, put their hand on the door. "Shhhh, what the elders don't know won't hurt the rest of us. Let's go." -- Anon Guest
For centuries, it had maintained peace. In the town, there was a temple dedicated to the Established Order. The temple, partially carved into a mountain, had a portal that people only went through once. It was the door for the unworthy. The unwanted. The unwelcome.
Fail in any way to be a valuable member of society, and you would be forced through that door, never to return.
It didn't need to be a yearly sacrifice. They found a way to put someone through every week. One by one, they excised the elderly, the young miscreants, the mentally slow, the disabled and the homeless. There were many occasions in which they removed those who were merely ugly or didn't quite fit their self-established mould.
Support me on Patreon / Buy me a Ko-fi
Prompts remaining: 42 Submit a Prompt!
Ask a question
[Shown here: Screen shot of a generic and completely unhelpful rejection letter. Text reads: "Dear Author, Thank you for your email, and for giving me a look at your material. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I must pass, but I hope you will accept my best wishes for your future success."]