“Let us bow our heads and close our eyes,” the villagers chanted, “for the Bell waits not for the one who dies.” In the square, the villagers had gathered for The Ritual, which hasn't been performed in more than thirty years. Only those old enough to have been at the last one knew the full gravity of what was to come. Everyone (even the children) knew why they had gathered, but there was only so much that could be conveyed through the retelling of a tale. Some things you had to see for yourself to truly understand.