Sacrifices That Lived

**Sacrifices That Lived** is a series of stories covering instances of Sacrifices escaping their fate.

In a world where humans and demons coexist, some humans sell off their children in exchange for a favour.

Conception was on October 2, 2023.

## Sacrifices explained

A "Sacrifice" is a human being who's been manually imbued with a selective amount of demonic magic since they were a small child or when still in the womb. They are usually the result of a deal between a demon and their parent(s), though it may happen these parents were forced into it. Since demons benefit more when they have the full cooperation of the other party, though, it's not a preferred method.

Because demons are immortal, and therefore static beings who cannot further develop their powers after reaching adulthood, they use the bodies of mortal creatures to plant their magic into. Humans appear the only ones compatible and strong enough for this practise.

The longer the human is allowed to age, the more these powers grow, but since Sacrifices always risk getting found out and stolen by other demons, it's not often that they're allowed to pass the age of 18.

If a demon eats the Sacrifice, the magic inside of them will be returned to them. There are some factors that greatly increase development, namely if the one eating the Sacrifice is the original source of the magic, but also if a close relationship is established between demon and Sacrifice. Having that said, many demons see a benefit in setting up a fake friendship with their target, preferably when they are still young, though most higher-ranking demons don't bother, since they have too many Sacrifices in their possession to do so.

A Sacrifice is purposely left clueless and doesn't know about their fate. They won't feel anything off about themselves and can't use the magic inside of them, though it will cause them to have an unusual physical feature or two, making most humans believe they are a demon and thus not want to interact with them.

Demons, on the other hand, immediately pick up when someone is a Sacrifice. They give off an appetizing sweet scent, and their flesh and blood entices them to keep on eating until nothing is left. The older the Sacrifice gets, the stronger the scent, making it hard for them to stay unnoticed for very long.

A Sacrifice a demon loses track of is called an "Orphaned Sacrifice", and though not common, one is found every now and then. Upon learning they're not demons, humans tend to capture and sell them to a demon in exchange for a wish, and secret institutions exist that go out of their way to find and collect these strays. Since these do the dirty work for them, demons gladly oblige with the demands of these race traitors, which is usually the simple desire of money.

It's revealed that close personal contact, like courtship, is a peaceful and more effective method of getting a Sacrifice's powers. If the Sacrifice is in love with the demon and allowed to live with them as a proper companion, they will act as a boosted, never-ending source of magic for the rest of their lives, but since demons look down on humans, these kind of relationships are rare.

Instances where a Sacrifice is ensured their survival for sharing their body almost consistently end in deceit; with the demon getting too captivated by their scent and eating them anyway.

## Stories

### **A Sacrifice for a Mother**

*Summary:*

A demoness who's long abstained from getting involved with the typical practises of her kind creates a Sacrifice to help her keep up with the powerful, threatening demons surrounding her, but the child pulls on her heartstrings shortly after getting introduced.
(Click "Expand" to read)>

> The blood demon, Uleva, has long sustained from partaking in the creation of Sacrifices, but with everyone around her growing stronger and fearing her moral standings will lead to getting robbed of her life, possessions, and position, she answers a pregnant couple's desire of setting up a deal.
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> The two are homeless and willing to give up their unborn child for a flip of fortune. It's a basic request she's surprised they're willing to give up their only child for, but they prove not to be concerned with their infant daughter when they start neglecting her on good days and beat her on bad ones. As she is destined to die, they see no reason to connect with her and refuse to give her a name, with her birth registry claiming she's called "Girl".
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> As discussed with her clients, and as to breed the perfect Sacrifice, Uleva pretends to be her homeschool teacher in order to establish a close relationship. It doesn't take long for her to witness the toddler getting shouted down and thrown around like a dirty cloth, but Uleva is unsure what to think of it and if there's any point in interfering.
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> Girl is skittish, but starved for attention and susceptible to Uleva's patience and basic acts of kindness. Her moments of wanting to bond are ones Uleva cannot get herself to ignore and she feels urged to soothe her with outdoor pastimes and gifts.
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> Two weeks later, after hearing her father reprimand her again in a nearby hallway, she demands for it to stop. The man is confused to why it matters, but Uleva more confused to why it's happening and demands an explanation for the senseless cruelty. Girl's father gives several, like the fact she'll die anyway, that making Girl hate her parents will push her to love Uleva more, and the belief she's not really their child, but hers -supposedly evidenced by the eyes that frightens his wife. Uleva proclaims Girl is merely a vessel that helps her magic grow and doesn't have her genes.
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> To not care for someone who has little time on Earth is an unexpected viewpoint to hear coming from a human, a race known to be so much more empathetic than demons or what most animals are capable of, but the man insists they're not responsible for Girl, as she is her Sacrifice.
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> The annoyed Uleva accepts his ugly viewpoints and commands he and his wife not lay a hand on *her* child, if that's how they see her. Not wanting to anger the demon further and lose his riches, he accepts the condition.
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> Uleva collects Girl, whose left side of her face is swollen to an alarming degree, and decides to distract her by putting her to work. Girl obediently does her given assignments and smiles after every given compliment. Uleva doesn't heal her, since casting spells onto a Sacrifice greatly affects the magic they'll give back upon consumption, but when Uleva returns from making them some tea, she finds Girl suffering internal bleeding and is fainting from the growing pressure inside her head. Girl cries, but her voice keeps getting interrupted by her fading consciousness. Uleva knows it'll make it all for nothing, but decides to calm the swelling anyway, allowing for Girl to sleep.
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> She looks at the child in her arms and realizes she's only made things more difficult for herself by getting to know her.
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> Years pass and the two remain close, despite Uleva's regretful choice of getting too involved. Girl sees a respectable authority figure in Uleva, but equally so a friend she can do anything with.
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> The week before her 18th birthday, Uleva knows she cannot wait any longer and it'll have to be her last. She asks her if there's anything in particular she wants, Girl jokes no homework, but a serious wish she doesn't seem to have either way. When Uleva insists, she asks if she may spend the night at her place, since she's never seen her house before. It's a boring, but convenient wish, and Uleva agrees to have a sleepover party.
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> On her birthday, Uleva shows up to celebrate, but her parents arranged nothing for her and are merely present to witness Uleva realize the deal and rid them of the unwanted child. Uleva sees no reason to waste words on them and announces to take Girl with her, not even telling them for what purpose.
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> Uleva and Girl enter a horseless carriage, which takes off into the sky and takes them to a floating island, holding a small manor that looks like it's made of brimstone. Since Girl knows little to nothing about demons and Uleva made sure not to expose her to her supernatural abilities, she's impressed by the sight.
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> In the dining room, a large table full of sweets and presents is waiting for her, making Girl even more ecstatic. She hugs and kisses Uleva for the effort and hurries over to unwrap.
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> Uleva just stands there, looking. She wants her to experience this one last euphoric moment of joy before it happens, before she has to lunge at her and reclaim what is hers. But Girl takes her time, and every unwrapped present earns Uleva a visit with a new hug and a new kiss. It reminded her of how she used to be with her parents when she was little. Girl only had a few features that tied her to her, no one could say they were related, but it was starting to fool her.
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> When everything has been taken care of, Uleva is still reluctant, so settles on having dinner with her first. Afterwards, nothing changed and she gives her a room to sleep in. The visit transpires as promised, but not as intended.
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> *<under construction>*
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**Characters**

Prominent characters in A Sacrifice for a Mother:
(Click "Expand" to read)>

**Uleva**

**Uleva**  (*pronounced: "Oo-leh-vah"*) is a demon. She's at least a thousand years old and physically looks like a woman in her late 50s.

She's a classic Hell creature; with no specific powers or position in society, and solely lives off the blood of living creatures. Unusual for her kind, she's long refrained from creating herself a Sacrifice and has always been a bit of a pacifist. Her diet consists out of animal blood and she preferred to stay far away from humans and demons as long as possible, but since her way of life causes her outside appearance to age and demons around her are growing stronger by the day, she started worrying for her own safety and future.

Though she visited Girl's mansion with the goal of pretending to be her teacher, she quickly took on the role of surrogate mother and spent otherwise unnecessary time and money on the child. Besides the lessons and homework, the clearly abused Girl was taken to beaches and events, and consistently given sweets and a toy on these trips.

*<under construction>*

**Girl**

Girl, later renamed "Lelenne", is a Sacrifice. She is 18 years old.

She was mercilessly abused the first 3 years of her life by her parents. As Girl holds a fraction of Uleva's powers, she was born with an unnatural beauty and has an eery eye colour, the latter frightening her mother especially and making both parents believe she isn't truly their child, but Uleva's.

*<under construction>*

### A Sacrifice for a Lover

An ancient demon, Jangzelang, wakes up in modern times and finds himself captivated by a human of a race he never knew existed. But his love for her borders on overpossessive and overprotective, and their eldest son makes him wonder if he's any better than the facility that once held her captive.

### **A Sacrifice for a Brother**

*Summary:*

A dying monarch arranges a Sacrifice for his son. Both are kept clueless about the arrangement and raised alongside each other as brothers.
(Click "Expand" to read)>

> Namgalam, a centuries old demon of divine blood, is reaching the end of his lifespan. As his existence is dependant on the active worship of his followers, the ever-growing presence of more appealing and complex demons make it challenging to stay relevant and his name becomes a withering fact amongst humanity.
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> To ensure his legacy continues on after his inevitable death, he uses his status to court a powerful, new generation demon who has no dependency on prayer, and conceives a son with her, Namti. Around the same time, he forms a contract with a desperate young woman, willing to lay with a stranger and give up the baby in exchange for a wish.
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> Namgalam risks it all by giving all of his powers to this unborn human child, leading to his death and the child to become a colossally valuable Sacrifice. Even so, the woman and his wife loyally follow the late king's instructions; and both boys are raised alongside each other as siblings, without any knowledge of this arrangement. At Namti's crowning ceremony, he's expected to reclaim Namgalam's powers by consuming Namúš, summoning his father's soul in addition and fusing with it to become the new "Namgalam".
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> But having acquired all of the unrecognized king's powers, the human Namúš is also suffering under the absence of worship and ages much more quickly than Namti, who by then believes he is his eldest brother. Namti's mother thinks he might not live until the ceremony and intends to enact Namgalam's plans on his 15th birthday instead.
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> Namúš is caring and mature like an ideal older brother should be, and as the vessel of Namgalam's entire being, radiates power that makes most demons not pick up on him being human at all. Though Namti looks up to him, he himself is weak and feels insignificant in his presence. Namúš is quick to confide in his brother that he can't cast any spells, but Namti takes it as a lie to make him feel better.
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> The two only grow closer over time and the insecure Namti enjoys the protective shade of Namúš; believed by every demon and human to be a force that shouldn't be messed with. Knowing the truth will endanger himself and his brother in this world of demons where everyone tries to climb the social ladder by targeting those weaker than themselves, Namúš plays the role of a demonic monarch well and manages to get through life without having to fight a single battle.
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> But on the day before his 15th birthday, Namti meets his mother in private and is told the truth and what is expected of him. He is shocked to learn Namúš is human -a creature no demon on Earth has any significant amount of respect for and he too expressed to find a pointless race. He begins having mixed feelings about Namúš.
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> On Namti's birthday itself, Namúš is surprised to learn it is also a crowning ceremony, but though he's always been presented as the eldest and strongest out of the two, he decides not to make a fuss about it and accepts the probability "their father" chose his little brother to be his successor. Namti is confused to see him accept it, knowing he wouldn't have if he were in his position.
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> His mother then asks Namúš to join him on the altar, and he obediently does so. Namti knows this is his cue, but he's reluctant. He looks at his fake brother. It's hard for him to see a mere human in the tall, well-built Namúš, whose appearance is not only demonic, but similar to himself. He looks at his mother for reconfirmation that this isn't a mistake, but she looks determined, if not unemphatic towards Namúš. Her gaze makes him realize Namúš never received much attention from her throughout their childhood, despite being the otherwise superior brother, making the claim he's a Sacrifice quite plausible.
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> Suddenly, Namti turns to him and announces what's going on. His mother scolds him for alerting him, but he wants Namúš to know and is curious to see how he takes it. Namúš is stunned by the reveal he's human and bred to die, and yet, won't run from the altar. In hindsight, it's been harder for him to relate to demons than the humans they always looked down upon, and with his entire life being a performance show, he also finds the reveal plausible. Familiar with the concept of Sacrifices, he knows there's no point in arguing against it and awaits Namti's next move.
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> This disappoints Namti, who calls him a coward for giving up. Namúš explains the power inside him is his rightful inheritance and humans can't take on a demon, making it pointless to try. Namti insists they fight anyway and tries to instigate a tussle, but Namúš keeps his hands to himself as he's shoved. The human Namúš is less sturdy than always assumed, and even the weak Namti can easily pick him up and throw him onto the hard marble floor. The attack bruises his skin -the kind of damage a real demon wouldn't sustain from such a short fall.
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> Namti is heartbroken to discover his hero is like an overglorified magic greenhouse, fragile like the glass panels of one, fated to die for him, and nothing else. He wants to feel disgusted, but with Namúš always having cared for him despite his own perceived uselessness, it doesn't feel right not to extend that same kindness.
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> His mother doesn't care for the time-wasting, and with so many Namgalam fans present in the room to witness the revival of this legendary demon, she pushes Namti to eat. But he can't.
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> His mother settles on killing Namúš for him, finally getting a response out of Namti, who tries to fight her over it, but lacks the strength to. He pushes and pulls at his mother, who becomes angry at the public display of disrespect and starts to lunge at him instead. Seeing him so driven to help him moves Namúš, who hurries over to protect him from the humiliated, enraged demoness. It's a pointless act of love Namti wants him to abort, but not knowing any better than to be his big brother, Namúš doesn't think and only does.
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> Namúš is easily ripped to shreds and left in a state that makes it impossible for him to share any last words with Namti, except for some breaths drowned in blood. Namti cries for him, while every other person in the room looks on, with complete disinterest in the death of this mere human. His mother demands him again to eat, but Namti can't hear her or cares to listen.
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> With the last bit of his strength, Namúš holds his brother's hand and looks at him the best his fading eyes are able to. Namti sees a message in his expression, but is still reluctant. It's hard to imagine what would happen to him if he were to reject again, but with Namúš' death gaze locked onto him, Namti decides not to find out.
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> He starts eating the corpse of his best friend. The only person who loved him unconditionally, without ulterior motives or expectations for the future. The taste is addictive and sweet. The audience finally shakes itself awake and watch on in excitement.
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> Namti instantly grows in size and muscle, the room filling itself with a thick air of power that brings everyone to their knees. When only a puddle of blood remains, Namti gets up and turns to his mother. She looks up with careful curiosity, but her face then turns to dread.
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> The new Namgalam is not a boy, not her son, not her husband, no one she wanted to see. It is Namúš.
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**Characters**

Prominent characters in A Sacrifice for a Brother:
(Click "Expand" to read)>

**Namgalam**

Namgalam was an ancient demon who possessed tremendous power when still in his prime. He was born from the desperation of people and stayed alive thanks to their worship.

His demand for blood sacrifices and threatening tone towards anyone who didn't obey him made him not stand out from any other god made up around the time, and as such, was mistaken for one. While he was granted this title, he did not care to make proper use of it by taking care of his followers and would instead terrorize them -making the moments of peace appear like blessings from him to the clueless humans.

As years kept passing and stronger demons emerged on Earth, many old and already niche religions died with it, turning Namgalam into an "outdated" threat and his name forgotten by humanity.

Nevertheless, since demons have a longer lifespan, he was still considered a celebrity amongst demons, if only because he kept his dwindling powers a secret from everybody. Having that said, Namgalam was a talented manipulator and knew how to brag.

He acquired the hand and loyalty of the young and powerful Dinar, who he trusted to properly raise their son and resurrect him inside of him. Nevertheless, Namti rejected his father's soul and instead merged with his human "brother".

Namgalam looks human, but has half-long white hair, sharp nails, and fangs. He is well-built, has a short beard, black eyes, and prefers to wear multilayered white robes.

His true form is a large, horned, long-bodied mustelid creature with white fur and some reptilian features.

**Dinar**

Dinar is Namgalam's wife and the mother of Namti. She was born in the 20th century and physically looks like a woman in her 30s.

She comes from a prestige family and is a distant descendant of the first generation demon, Aurum; a powerful creature who loves gold and possesses many powers related to the creation and altering of chemical elements in general. He was said to had successfully shared one of his powers with a human in exchange for his daughter, until the clumsy man had accidentally turned her into gold and thus killed her, allowing for the magic Aurum stored inside of her to escape. Humans turned the incident into a myth that fully excluded Aurum, opening Dinar's family's eyes to the many other instances where humans had replaced the acts of demons with their respective culture's gods.

Dinar's family grew extremely supremacist and vowed to ruin the lives of all humans by making them addicted and dependant on the concept of currency and "value". It's said they're to blame for the power imbalances and greed ruling the world.

Dinar is a proud woman who's easily swooned by status. Fellow demons rarely have to prove themselves to her, as she believes demons in general are a race worthy of respect. Namgalam's situation reminded her of the past she and her relatives never forgiven the humans for and it was quite easy for him to win her over as his wife.

She's loyal to Namgalam and refrained from making Namúš' life unnecessarily hard, yet didn't like to interact with him and rarely did. All of her care, compliments, and physical affection went towards her only true son, but since Namúš rather quickly passed an age that'd make a mother's smothering love appropriate, neither brother believed it was strange, at least in the moment.

Dinar's push to have Namti consume Namúš caused her to lose her son and not be reunited with a proper reincarnation of her late husband; as Namti devoted his full concentration to giving himself back to Namúš.

She looks mostly human, but since she doesn't like them, doesn't put full effort into her human disguise. She has relatively long fingers, sharp silver nails, fangs, and golden eyes with no pupils or eye white, and is tanned, with long, straight, black hair, and always dressed in multilayered dresses of extremely expensive fabrics, like lotus silk, vicuña wool, or the skin of endangered animals.

Her true form is a three-eyed, snake-like dragon, with hard shiny scales that look like coins.

**Namti**

Namti is Namgalam's son. He is 15 years old.

He was solely born as to continue his father's legacy, as a stronger version of himself. Having that said, he looks like a younger Namgalam, which was not per chance.

He doesn't share his father's behaviour and general viewpoints, and is rather friendly for a demon, nor seems to have a notable amount of magic energy and struggles to cast most spells, if any at all. In order to protect this valuable heir, his mother makes sure to keep it a secret and awaits the day he may eat Namúš and become "fully restored" -believing Namúš' existence is to blame for his lack of power.

Though normally an impossible feat, Namti allowed himself to die during the magic merge and gave away his body to the deceased Namúš, warping it to look like him. Since this body is still officially Namti's, the two brothers are guessed to have merged in a sense.

He looks human, but has white hair, sharp nails, and fangs. His eyes are black, skin slightly tanned, and he's a bit of a late bloomer for his age.

His true form is a large, horned, long-bodied mustelid creature with white fur and some reptilian features.

**Namúš** (*pronounced: "Na-moo-shuh"*) is a Sacrifice. He was born the same year as Namti, but has the body of a 40 year old man.

He was born from a human mother, whose name was never revealed, and an unknown father. He was given all of Namgalam's powers when still in the womb, which continued to grow exponentially as he grew older. Other demons can palpably feel his magic energy and are wary around him, but since humans can't perform magic, he had to make a practise out of acting and bluffing his way through sticky situations. Namti is the only person he trusted with what he considered "his secret", though it proved not to matter and Namti did not believe him.

Out of love for his brother, he'd often take risks that jeopardized his safety to ensure his. In return, Namti shed his contempt for humans and returned the favour by giving up his body to him. Namúš was reborn through Namti and became a fullblood demon, now with access to the tremendous power he always carried inside.

He looks human, but has white hair, sharp canines, and stubby white horns. Compared to Namti, he's tall and moderately muscular. His eyes are black.

Since he's human, he doesn't have a true form, nor has ever been presented with a situation that deemed it necessary to transform. After merging with Namti's body, he has access to his.

### **A Sacrifice for a Servant**

*Summary:*

A monastery receives multiple abandoned newborns on their doorstep, of which some appear to be half-demons. They kill the undesirables, but one of the monks manages to convince his peers to spare the last child.
(Click "Expand" to read)>

> A large monastery in a tiny rural village finds multiple infants on their doorstep, abandoned by their mothers for whatever reason deemed reasonable. Since the monastery is known to accept orphans and its residents grew up there themselves, they readily accept this new batch of future holy men, until the abbot notices the baby in his arms to be looking off and concludes it's a half-demon, which they don't approve of.
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> He demands the death of all hybrids and wastes no time to set an example by throwing the innocent child onto the stone floor. The squirming target is quickly put out of its misery when its little head is caved in by a wrathful foot, making one man in particular flinch in shock. The others hurriedly inspect the batch for more hybrids.
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> Evaan expresses his displeasure for the ungodly crime he just witnessed, but as he holds no special title, nobody cares to listen to the voice of a demon sympathizer. He continues to speak to his colleagues' morality as they grab the next child to kill, but again, is treated like air.
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> When they spot another baby with an offending appearance, Evaan can no longer stand idly by and grabs it from them. He pleads with everyone to be better than the demons they despise and show it mercy. Since the other children look to be human, the abbot agrees to keep this one hybrid alive, but in order to "stay in god's grace", refuses to partake in its survival. Even so, Evaan is not prohibited from getting involved with the baby, as long as he accepts the afterlife punishment that will await him for this presumed sin.
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> It's a worrisome threat, but one Evaan feels he needs to ignore.
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> He's not allowed to use the monastery's resources and can only give the child that which he himself owns. He manages to convince some villagers to donate old items, but other than that, works hard to give it all it needs.
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> The child is relatively easy to care for. It doesn't cry as long it feels the presence of a body and the sweet tone of Evaan's voice is enough to make it smile.
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> Evaan's religion teaches its holy practitioners not to have meaningful relationships with the living, but his heart can't help itself but flutter whenever he receives this young life's approval. A void he didn't know he had seems to be filled, but also fills him with guilt as a believer of god -the one thing that should matter to him and was supposed to make him voidless.
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> Evaan can't ignore the tears of his demon companion whenever he lets go of it and continues to give it more attention than deemed appropriate. The pleased coos of the liability in his arms soothes his fear for divine punishment in the moment, but the monks warn him it's a temptation spell and that his love for it is not only fake, but wrong.
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> Evaan realizes to have accepted an impossible task, but knows himself well and can't blame the child for his "changed conduct":
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> The mental imagery of the infants who lost their lives feeds a disgraceful doubt he's lived with since the moment he could think and speak. The doubt that his religion, his community, is just. A doubt he cannot reveal to them, for his own safety.
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> Evaan wishes to know more about the child's possible father to better prepare and cater to its future needs, but its physical traits don't paint a clear picture of his race, if he has one. The baby's eyes have no pupils and it appears to be intersex; a genetic defect the sheltered Evaan doesn't recognize as such and doesn't necessarily tie itself to demon blood, though his difficult peers would disagree if they saw its body.
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> Based on its most prominent physical features, he deems the child male and calls him Anastasios.
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> Anastasios and Evaan are quite casual with each other, a stark difference from the act they have to maintain whenever in the presence of others. Nevertheless, Anastasios feels confused about his relationship with the man, who doesn't want to bear the title of father, brother, teacher, or even friend.
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> Evaan knows the vagueness of it all is hurting him, but can only share with him what he was told as a child himself; that their only true relationship is with the god they serve, making them nothing of each other, just servants of this god. Anastasios accepts this idea for the first few years of his life, though as his teenage years emerge, becomes bothered by the long-winded religious lessons that teach barbaric, confusing, and contradictory stories and practises. He ends up having the same questions Evaan never dared to let leave his mind, and every time he returns from school, Evaan is interrogated on it.
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> Like a real monk, he tells him their scripture and the existence of life itself is proof their religion is correct. When confronted with the fact he's taking care of him -a creature their god is in war with- Evaan can't offer a logical answer, except that he doesn't believe he is such a creature. It's an undeniable case of cherry-picking, but Anastasios understands he has good intentions and doesn't press him further on the matter.
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> But the patience Evaan shows him is not shared with the other monks. Anastasios isn't as studious as the other students and the abbot orders him to be beaten for disrespecting their beliefs. Evaan is given the blame for not trying hard enough, and taking his meek act towards Anastasios as a sign of the demon corroding his faith, is tortured as well.
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> Anastasios regrets causing trouble for his only ally and takes care of his battered body until he can walk again. He tries to keep the peace by faking obedience in class, but it appears to matter little, as he's punished for every insignificant misstep. Since he's the only one getting hurt and his efforts still appear to please the monks enough to no longer harass Evaan, he accepts his new cruel existence and doesn't tell him about it.
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> He hides every inflicted wound, but his reluctance to change clothes in front of him is noted on by Evaan, which Anastasios attributes to no longer being a toddler and wanting his privacy. Evaan is saddened by his sudden aversion for him, but the excuse isn't all that odd and he promises to leave the room next time.
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> Years pass. Anastasios is still harmed on a daily basis, with Evaan never having learned the truth, until one night, when he wakes up on a mattress drenched in blood. Evaan turns on the light to see the metallic-smelling liquid for himself, and learns it comes from Anastasios lying next to him, who has what looks like multiple stab wounds in his back, pointlessly tied together with strips of fabric. Anastasios is pale and has his eyes half open. He looks seemingly dead.
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> Evaan hastes himself to look for first aid supplies and tries to keep him conscious the best he's able to with his complete absence of medical training. The bleeding has mostly stopped, but he's unsure if that's because there's no more blood to bleed.
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> Evaan begins to cry, knowing there's no one else to turn to for help and there won't be justice for this crime. Anastasios can barely stay awake and his life of pain makes it tempting to give up, but Evaan's face and voice won't allow him to die. His tired gaze is fixated on him as the defeated man looks over his body, riddled with old and new scars that will never heal.
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> Not knowing what else to do, Evaan sits next to him and pets his head, while singing him a hymn Anastasios never cared for, but knows is Evaan's favourite. It's just like old times and a sign Evaan wants him to sleep. Anastasios closes his eyes.
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> An undetermined amount of time later, Anastasios wakes up in a car with an unknown driver. It's a young woman who somewhat looks like him. He shoots up and asks the demon who she is, to which she keeps quiet for a bit, then answers they are relatives. It doesn't sound sincere, but Anastasios doesn't care to interrogate her on it and instead asks where Evaan is.
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> The woman announces Evaan has been beheaded for burning down the monastery and arranging his escape.
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> Anastasios struggles to believe it, but it's the one thing the stranger seems serious about. Her story refuses to change, no matter how often he asks.
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**Characters**

Prominent characters in A Sacrifice for a Servant:
(Click "Expand" to read)>

**Evaan**

Evaan is a monk. He's in his early 60s.

He practises an otherwise niche religion that dominates the area he lives in, and like his fellow monks, was an orphaned child, abandoned and found at the doorstep of the monastery he's lived in for the entirety of his life.

Evaan is an obedient follower, but questions himself and others quite often, especially in his later years. Since he's always been told that the god they follow is perfect and just, he has low tolerance for acts and decisions that clearly harm the innocent.

He rescued Anastasios from death and raised him the best he could in their uncaring environment. He never learned he's a Sacrifice, and though he recognizes his lower half looks somewhat strange, his unfamiliarity with the naked female body made him not understand he's intersex and thus deemed him male. Nevertheless, when Anastasios grows older and develops very slight breasts, he has his suspicions, but didn't settle on exploring the truth, if only so that Anastasios would remain under his care and not get sent off to an all-female convent.

He never expected there to be a home at the monastery for the persecuted Anastasios and spent many years looking up who he believed is his demon family. They weren't eager to answer his letters, since demons look down on humans and despise hybrids just as strongly, except for one ostracized demoness, who has a human husband. She recognized Evaan's kindness for sparing a creature with demonic blood and agreed to accept him if they ever were to meet, though unexpectedly, Evaan pleaded with her to come get him when he decided to retaliate against the monastery. Since she and Evaan had been good pen pals for multiple years, she agreed, and upon meeting Anastasios, decided not to reveal the truth he's a Sacrifice.

Evaan's lonely life of mindless devotion and the unwarranted abuse of Anastasios proved too much for him, and he rebelled by setting fire to the birthplace of their misery. He did not run from the crime scene and received an unlawful death sentence for being a traitor.

Evaan has a Southwest Asian appearance and is tanned with very dark-brown hair and a medium-length beard. Like monks are taught to do, he often has a serious, if not intimidating expression on his face, which always softens for Anastasios. His wide physique makes him look taller than he really is, and he's dressed in a dark-blue robe with brown leather sandals. These clothes always need to be worn, no matter the temperature.

**Anastasios**

Anastasios is an Orphaned Sacrifice, believed to be a half-demon. He is in his 20s.

His mother made a pact with a demon who ended up getting killed before he was born. Since children like these come with tremendous baggage, she did not want to keep him and travelled to the nearest known baby drop-off facility and chose Evaan's monastery with the believe a Sacrifice would be safest under the care of these righteous people.

Anastasios is the only "non-human" they've ever allowed entry inside their walls. They consider demons the enemy of god and fear hybrids even more, believing these births count as an attack on humanity and make it more likely demon blood will spread throughout the normal human masses -forever locking the gates to the promised afterlife for all humans.

He, despite being called "he", is functionally female, but was born intersex and has a fairly developed male external organ, which led Evaan to guess he's supposed to be male, though years later, he starts wondering if Anastasios' bumped chest and growing reluctance to undress in front of him is because he was female all along.

His low voice and boyish appearance makes Anastasios himself not even question the verdict. Since the monastery doesn't teach their children biology, he deems himself biologically male -ignoring the differences between him and Evaan, and the occasional period that flies under everyone's radar because of the constant physical abuse he suffers.

He loves Evaan dearly, but Evaan's upbringing makes him not want to acknowledge the two of them as anything. It's unintended emotional abuse Anastasios feels is happening, but can't describe or challenge, since he too was raised with the message not to establish relationships with other people, though he and Evaan clearly have.

Since the monastery didn't like having him around and hoped Evaan would fail keeping him alive by increasing his duties and withholding tools and assistance, Anastasios often spent his time in Evaan's room or outdoors. Though forbidden to casually mingle with the townsfolk, watching them helped him learn what connections people could have with each other, and he circulated through different ones as he grew older. As a small child, he desired Evan to be his father, later an older brother, but by being rejected would eventually guess he's his mentor, a title that was surprisingly also rejected. Anastasios took an optimistic stance and concluded Evaan meant for them to be friends, or equals as working colleagues of the monastery, but was again told to be wrong when he expressed this belief. A few years before his escape, he entertained the possibility he's in love with Evaan, but this time didn't share his feelings in order to have some role to attribute to the man who persists to be a stranger.

Anastasios looks human, but has fangs, and irises that look identical to holly blue chalcedony gemstones. He has notably cupped ears, is quite slender, and even in his adult years remains the smallest amongst the orphans.

When he attends religious classes, his body quickly becomes covered with bruises, wounds, and scars, and looks rather unsightly. In order to hide these from Evaan, he makes sure to stay fully dressed at all times, even in bed. Since the other monks don't see a future monk in him, he's allowed to break the monastery's dress code, yet Evaan insists he's no different from the other students and makes sure he dresses himself appropriately.

## Trivia

* A Sacrifice for a Lover:
	+ The name "Sepere" is an abbreviation of the Malay word "seratus empat puluh enam ribu enam", referring to the number the facility assigned to her upon entry, "146006";
	+ This means Sepere doesn't actually have a name.
* A Sacrifice for a Brother:
	+ "Namgalam" is Sumerian for "perfection".
	+ "Namti" is Sumerian for "life".
	+ "Namúš" is Sumerian for "death".
	+ Dinar's name refers to the dinar.
	+ The name of Dinar's great-grandfather, Aurum, is Latin for "gold".