Savior

The Aborgammi people were a very ritualistic people to say the least. They found comfort in their repetitions and temporary sacrifices. It is said that early cultures, such as this one, adapted their rituals to accommodate for the resources in their environment as to not upset the delicate balance of the surrounding ecosystem. The Aborgammi, however, took this concept to an extreme; they had long since given up human sacrifice since it was thinning the numbers of their best workers and didn't seem to please their gods nearly enough as they thought it should. Also, they no longer burnt offerings of their finest yield on the ornate alter; they instead took what they would have burned and prepared a great feast for the Cabri-zhu'Ayon.

The Cabri-zhu'Ayon (or "Forgiver of/for the City" when roughly translated) was the most elite role in their society and the closest to human sacrifice that they allowed themselves to practice. It was decided, long ago, that it was unfair for all to have to sacrifice since most of them were good, contributing members of their society. Instead, during their celebration of the end of the solar year, the Elders would secretly elect one member whom had been in the most need of their charity and forgiveness in an overly-exaggerated ceremony called the Uhn-Kin (the "select one" or the "selecting of one"). Below is the recovered story of most peculiar Cabri-zhu'Ayon ever to be witnessed by the Aborgammi.

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All the people had gathered in front of the temple as is customary and started chanting and bowing to the Ama (the "Chooser") so that he would have the proper power and insight to choose the Cabri-zhu'Ayon. The Ama was clad in the most beautiful stone and gem necklaces; their combined weight had to be in excess of 30 pounds. The headdress he wore was of the most exotic feathers from the farthest stretches of their lands and his loin cloth was long and decorated with the pigment of fine flowers and it flowed several feet behind him to represent the endless and all-encompassing knowledge of the Ama.

After all had gathered and the chanting had reached its climax the Ama raised his hands to the sky, "TAGI HAH!" the crowd fell quiet. The Ama started swaying his hands and acting as though he were in a trance. As he started to descend the steps of the temple the crowd began chanting the Song of the Ama:
(translation to english)
O wise Ama
O gods guide him
deliver us from our sins
deliver us the Forgiver of the City

They repeated this many times as the Ama made his way into the crowd. [It should be noted that by the time the Uhn-Kin took place, mostly everyone aside from the Cabri-zhu'ayon knew who it would be; the Aborgammi were not very good at keeping secrets and most of them were not very bothered by the observable flaws in their rituals. Since everyone who knew who the elect would be weren't chosen then it was safe to assume that if you didn't know, it was you.] A false tension mounted as the crowd parted and the "entranced" Ama was guided by the spirits to the bowing body of a poor older member of the colony. "RAHI RAHI COMBRA-TI!" The old man made the effort to follow the Ama's orders and rise but it took the additional effort of several nearby people to accomplish the task. (the following was of course said in the native tongue) "The gods have chosen you to be the Forgiver for the City this year, Tem Ankhal; it is a great privilege and honor for you. With this [blessing of jewels] I ordain you Forgiver of the City." The Ama put the gem necklace on the old man and then raised his hands to the sky once again, "TAGI HAH!!!"

After this act the entire community shouted and cheered for the Dio-Umbra or "shadow(ed) from the gods" had begun. This was the celebration of having fasted from sin for a whole year. The way the Aborgammi saw it was that it was enough that they went a whole year without sinning and they deserved one month in which they could perform all the atrocious and sexual deeds they had planned on since the end of the last Dio-Umbra so long as one of the members was being punished for them. [It should also be noted that the Aborgammi calendar was a 10 month calendar so the months were approximately 36 days long with some being 35 and some being 37.]

Beautiful, scantily-clothed women escorted Tem Ankhal to the top of the highest hill in the city where there had been erected a tall and magnificent post (the "Manya-tal") to which they would soon bind the old man. Everyone followed the precession singing as they anxiously awaited the moment that they could fulfill their desires, some already pairing up and giving each other mischievous looks.
(translation to English)
gods praise the Forgiver of the City
gods watch him as we mingle in/with the shadows
may his sacrifice [fill your cup]
may this [indulgence] satisify our desires

The Elders, being wise and respected but far from what the Aborgammi considered attractive, had several of the town's most desirous women reserved for their own purposes in addition to a few smaller girls whom the Elders especially enjoyed the company of. Though outside of the Elders' domains the sexual company of a young member was forbidden, it was, in this scenario, tolerated as an honor to the parents of these girls.

Once Tem Ankhal had been hoisted onto the foot rests of the post and his arms banded behind it the Ama held up his arms one last time and whispered the song verse then said a prayer, "GODS! Today we give you Tem Ankhal to stand in your holy and purifying-light (exact translation is "light which purifies") while we go into the shadows. Accept our sacrifice and bless this man that he may forgive all that we do." With this being said the entire congregation broke into a frenzy of perverse and often-times violent acts. Some had the decency to return to their homes and dwellings to indulge in their repulsive desires yet most hadn't the will power to wait the additional time. There were screams of pain and pleasure; there was swapping of partners; others who had quickly satisfied their desires chose to sneak away and see what envied items they could steal from the others' homes while they were still away.

After the majority of the city had finished their doings they gathered in the center of town to create a great and glowing fire to signify the igniting of their collective passions. They beat on large drums with deer bones and danced around the fire drinking a very potent, alcoholic drink; this ceremony would last way into the night.

To flaunt their bravery the stronger men would go out into the woods and needlessly kill a predator. An act such as this would normally be consider overambitious, prideful, and a waste but during the Dio-Umbra it was one of the city's most exciting and anticipated activities. Once they had slaughtered the beast, they would cut open its belly and wear the still-bleeding creature on their backs then run back to the center of the city to show off their kill. The man who had killed the most ferocious beast was praised as being the bravest and would probably have the most women to choose a wife from when the time came. The unfortunate aspect of this was that the hunters often got killed by the predators they were hunting, this was precisely why the Aborgammi didn't normally engage in such activities.

The children, left alone to wander by their parents who were off doing more important things, enjoyed pestering the older members who were not of the Elders by throwing rocks at them or stealing their blankets. They also loved to mock and hit the sickly, the blind, the obese, and the retarded since they were different and easy to injure. They assumed that since all their parents were allowing themselves to behave in a basic and impulsive manner that they could be as crude and violent to those less able to defend themselves. Obviously the gods did not favor these people if they didn't have the ability to participate in the Dio-Umbra so they deserved to be ridiculed and beaten by the favored.

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Tem Ankhal watched the people with piercing eyes as though they were for the first time viewing what went on during the Dio-Umbra from his exalted perch (which after 25 days of forcibly fasting, urinating, and defecating where he stood while burning in the harsh heat of the sun was not feeling very exalted anymore). His first inclination had been to try escaping but after several vain attempts he decided it would be considered a shameful act of heresy by the people and it was also impossible. Next, he felt jealous of all the people out having fun and participating in whatever activities their heart or body desired at the moment. He wanted to be there so badly, frolicking amongst them in complete orgasmic bliss and euphoria. His inner being was practically tearing at the walls of flesh that entrapped it; he felt like a child being disciplined rather than an older man being praised by the gods and his people. After several more days had passed his envy turned to bitterness and it wasn't until then that he could properly see what took place during this celebration of sin. He no longer saw free and happy people but rather utter Savages rioting about uncontrollably without thought, without gods, without family, without even the most basic of human emotion that they had been thought to be born with. For the first time in his long and educated life, Tem Ankhal was completely disgusted by the Dio-Umbra and his people.

Amongst the many devious goings-on, several of the women who felt as though their husbands had been too lucrative in sin or had wronged them in some other way thought it would be just to give them a punishment. They ventured to gather some plant roots that had a highly effective sedative in them which they then mashed and cooked into their husbands' meals. Once the men had passed out they dragged them into the forest and bound them to the trees so that they could not participate any more in the Dio-Umbra. However, the incessant howling and screaming of the husbands was heard for miles away upon their awakening, prompting a search party to be sent out. Once the men had been recovered and it was discovered by the Elders that the wives were at fault, they were sentenced to be tied to their husbands so they could not venture off or do anything the husbands did not approve of.

The Elders sat on their seats of stone on high and watch with pleasure how vast the imaginations of the younger generations were. They made writings on the nearby rock walls describing in great detail the every action of the men and the women and the children. Those of them who knew how to make drawings included them with the writings; the size of the image correlating with the atrocity of the act. By the end of the Dio-Umbra the rock walls were littered with the beautiful inscriptions of the Aborgammi Elders cataloging all the things that had taken place so that they did not forget and so the Cabri-zhu'ayon could learn of the events that transpired during his sacrifice.

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Much to the chagrin of the Aborgammi, the Dio-Umbra was coming to a close. It was with a tired disappointment that they danced away the last night of the celebration; they knew that the following morning they would have to lower the now-enlightened Cabri-zhu'Ayon and reluctantly accept his powerful and all-forgiving powers. They looked forward with resentment to that moment when they would be cleansed and would have to withhold from their desires for another long and unbearable 9 months.

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Morning found the people withered and sore from a night of depressed drinking and brawling. It was difficult even for the Elders to arise on this, the first day of repentance but somehow they managed to do so before most and began to prepare the feast of the people's best offerings (which were easy for the people to offer since the Cabri-zhu'Ayon was never able to eat it all and invariably offered it back to the people as a gift for their repentance). The Ama, being the showman that he is supposed to be, emerged from his dwelling and immediately started the customary Bayl-zhu'Prima-Ris (or "Dance of/for the First Morning") in a brilliantly colored cape with marks of blood from every Cabri-zhu'Ayon that had sacrificed since the beginning of the ritual's inception and a mask made of wild flowers and a dyed animal hide. This dance helped the groups awaken and prepare for the lowering. Those who were ready to begin the ascent to the top of the mount began drumming on whatever was near in rhythm with the dance of the Ama. Once all were drumming, the Ama started to dance toward the Manya-Tal at the top of the hill; the people sang:
(translation to english)
O wise Ama
O sacred Forgiver of the City
O all-powerful gods

[wash away] our sins
may his hands clean us
may your power bless us
we are only your feet [in this case "feet" means "controllable underlings"]
O all-powerful gods

Tem Ankhal watched anxiously as the mass of people worked their way up toward him; his mind was racing, practicing everything he knew he had to do when they lowered him. The Ama danced around the Manya-Tal until all the people had reached the top. "TAGI HAH!" he shouted and all fell silent. (translated to english) "GODS! Today we collect our brother Tem Ankhal from your [embrace] to wash us with your light through his hands. We ask you to bless our Elders that they may guide us and bless our skies and lands that they may be fertile." With that said they lowered the withered old man to the ground. The Ama took out the small dagger that was used to cut the Cabri-zhu'Ayon a little and paint the blood on the cape from its sheath in his coat and walked over to him. Though Tem Ankhal had little energy to spare, he held his hand up to halt the blade and whispered "stop" in the native tongue. The crowd all gasped; no one had ever refused the Ama's blade before, it was pure heresy. Trying to maintain the situation, the Ama decided to act as though this was supposed to happen and bowed before the old man, "What is the cause of this action O wise Forgiver of the City?" after a couple moments without a response he stole a look up at the old man's face, it was rigid with disgust.

"Get up," Tem Ankhal demanded. "get up you [pretending fool]. How dare you insult myself, our people, and our gods with these false acts of obedience to them!" The people were frozen; granted they might have stolen a similar thought at some point in their lives, but they enjoyed their indulgences far too greatly to deviate from what they thought was a rite propagated from the heavens.

The Ama began to apologize, "Forgive me O wise Forgiv.."

"DON'T YOU DARE!!" Tem Ankhal weakly shouted. "Who are YOU to give me such a Title? And who am I to [bestow] forgiveness on you or anyone of these people [for that matter]?" These words hit the ears of the masses with all the force and pain of many ignorant ages. For the first time they saw the Cabri-zhu'Ayon as nothing more than a man, albeit a wise man, but nevertheless he had only been doing as he was instructed to.

The Elders noted this turning of tides and stepped in, the eldest of which spoke, "TEM ANKHAL. You dare [defy] the way of THE GODS? And deny all the prosperity that they have brought us for our diligence?" The crowd could not deny the prosperousness of the past couple seasons. "Do you, even after your [feast of light] with the gods still harbor feelings of jealousy toward us? Did you not once attempt to achieve a higher level of understanding?" Tem Ankhal was taken off guard by the firm accusations of the Elder and was unable to speak. "As I thought! You are indeed NOT our Forgiver of the City! The Ama has chosen the wrong man." Caught up in their instinctual habits, the crowd erupted in fearful murmuring.

"What will become of us?" one of the men asked. "The gods have not received a sacrifice for all our sins!"

"There will be punishment." the Elder foretold, adding energy to the fear and commotion in the crowd. "A punishment enough to satisfy even the most expectant of gods. There will be a Sacrifice... of the Ancient Gods!" The Elder then pulled the dagger away from the Ama and held it to the sky. "Would you have the gods punish you or this false Forgiver of the City who has angered the gods against you?" breathing heavily, the Elder scanned the crowd for an answer while a fair amount of tension-filled moments passed by.

"Kill the man!" came a cry from the back of the group much to the delight of the Elder.

"Should I sacrifice this man?" he asked once more to make sure the people felt it was their decision.

"Kill HIM!" Several more shouted. "Kill him! Kill him!" the chant began, low at first, but gaining in intensity. The other elders started to drum and the Ama began an improvised dance around the Manya-Tal. Tem Ankhal tried to protest but was quickly silenced by the powerful palm of the Elder. He pointed the dagger to the sky and mumbled an indecipherable prayer which all assumed was blessing the dagger by the gods for this purpose. "THE [WILL] OF THE GODS BE DONE!" he screamed as he plunged the dagger deep into the chest of the old man who flexed in pain and agony. The Elder carved a small opening into which he thrust his arm, struggling for a moment and finally pulling out Tem Ankhal's still-beating heart. "TAGI HAH!!" He cried then stabbed the heart with the dagger. With warm blood dripping off his fingers he walked mechanically to the cape of the Ama and made a large, bloody hand print where another small tally mark should have been. He raised his hands to the people trying hard not to look at the dying old man, "Ipst'a mez." (when roughly translated meaning "It is ended" or "It is finished")

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It could be said that the actions of the Aborgammi during and shortly after the Dio-Umbra were much more terrifying and ungodly than any actions of any other civilization in their era or otherwise. They became even more savage than they had been in their ancient history, before they had a form of organized culture. They completely forgot the gods they had praised so fervently and betrayed every law, manner, and courtesy they had worked so hard to establish. It could be said that during this time they were no better than the wild, inbreeding animals they killed and feasted upon if not worse. It seems the only discernible difference between the two in the grand scope of things is that after they had performed all their manners of perversion and killed all they want to kill and feasted and drank until their bellies were fat with satisfaction, their better natures and consciences seeped back in like a fresh mountain spring flowing into a murky lake, small at first but eventually all-encompassing and all-cleansing. There are many things that can be said of the actions of the Aborgammi but perhaps the simplest and most definitive is that they, like all who live, eat, breath, and think in bodies such as theirs, are only human.