===============================================================================
026-samhain2024.txt
===============================================================================

The bells of The Endless City toll with a sinister resonance.

Shades of crimson and electric blue weave through the towering skyscrapers, 
rat-infested alleyways, and labyrinthine streets, casting an eerie glow from 
here to infinity.

Tonight, the statue of the God Emperor stands draped in an otherworldly red 
flame, pulsing with ominous energy.

Imperial Square overflows—no space left untouched—crowds from every corner 
of the Empire and distant realms converge, a mass of shifting bodies. From 
the balcony of The Admiral’s Arms, Eris, guest of the Demon Prince, gazes 
down. Arms folded, her sharp eyes follow the figure of the Queen of Rats, 
who perches high above the stage, eyes blazing with intent.

A single bass note rumbles through the air...

Gemini steps from the shadows beside the Queen of Rats—then again, from the 
opposite side. The Twin Queen, in perfect synchrony, flanks the ruler of The 
Endless City. A wordless proclamation to all.

The crowd falls into a hush, suspended in anticipation.

The TITAN-TRON shudders to life, the Imperial Symbol of the Bee flickering 
across the screen in jagged lines.

"TRUST IN THE STAR," it declares, the voice booming in reverence to 
tradition.

The crowd erupts. Screams and chants break the silence, primal and frenzied, 
as the music surges to life.

The dancing begins.

A throbbing, sensual rhythm pulses through the air, syncing with the massed 
hive of the Fae.

Eris watches, unmoved.

The screen shifts, fading into the Symbol of The House of the Rat, as masked 
sacrifices—bunnies and kitsunes—are dragged onto the stage. Willing, they 
stand under the glaring lights. A lone Kitsune warrior strides down the 
line, marking each with three bloodied scratches from the Fox’s claw. Blood 
sprays into the crowd, and their ecstatic cries rise with the mist of 
crimson.

The music drops. Silence falls again.

A raven, black as night, darts from behind the stage, its wings slicing the 
air as it passes over The Admiral’s Arms.

Eris does not blink.

The Queen of Rats, looming from her perch, raises a hand—slowly, 
deliberately—and then lets it fall.

It has begun.

Deadly blades descend on the stage, wielded by the bunny-eared priests of 
Echo. In an instant, the sacrifices are severed from life. The dead have 
died, once more.

Foxes howl. Bunnies leap. A raven's cry echoes into the abyss.

Samhain is here...


===============================================================================
EOF