"We are here today in Blackwood Village in the name of King Aurelius Scarmith II, to once again perform the Scar Granting Ceremony…"
Nolan watched the Captain of the soldiers deliver the standard ceremony speech in the center of Blackwood Village, atop a stage of aged black wood. He was a tall man, nearly 2 meters high, unlike most of the soldiers and his Vice-Captain; his armor was actually the newest among all the soldiers present. Although its color was still a faded bronze that made it look cheap, highlighting its possible humble origins.
Beside the Captain stood a soldier with a longsword; he would be the one to wound the young men and grant them their Scar. Next to him was the Priest of the Church of the Scar of Blackwood Village, who was responsible for all the village's standard ceremonies, including burials and weddings. He usually lived in the village's only Bronze Tavern, as there were no churches in such small and isolated villages.
Before the Ceremony began, it was also the Priest, supervised by the Captain, who confirmed who the male participants would be, only after verifying their ages using an unknown white stone…
"In the name of the Church of the Scar, I bless this Conferring Ceremony, and wish good fortune to the young participants. May they pass the lethal test and attain the greatness of becoming a Scar Bearer."
After the Priest's words, Nolan saw him make a reduced version of the Scar Sign, making only the "cut sign" on his forehead, right cheek, and heart. Then, Nolan and everyone else watching the Ceremony imitated the Priest, repeating the sign in perfect synchronicity.
After the Priest blessed the Ceremony, the Captain spoke again:
"This time, since we are at war, Blackwood Village has received four extra Sacred Ointments, but as we only have five young men of the permitted age of 15-18, we have two extra slots for the Ceremony. According to the Treaty of Equality signed by the Queen Mother 30 years ago, these two slots in the Ceremony are available to young ladies of similar age. Do we have any brave young women interested?"
Normally, the choice to participate in the Ceremony was up to the young men themselves; however, it was not uncommon that even with only 3 slots, there were not enough people who dared to defy death, therefore, the available slots would then be passed on to any older man who wished to participate.
In the past, allowing women to be injured and die was something that both the Kingdom of Scarmith and the Church of the Scar would never allow. After all, the mortality rate in this world was already very high, and women had to be protected at all costs to ensure the existence of humanity. But the equal rights movement created by the adventurous women and supported by the former Queen, now the current deceased Queen Mother, changed to give women a chance to become Scar Bearers more easily.
Some teenage girls from the Blackwood Village hesitated when invited; a 60 percent chance of death was still too great, and all nine girls of legal age in the Village refused the offer to participate in the meeting.
But when the soldier was about to call the men aged 18-21, two girls who couldn't have been older than 16 finally mustered the courage and went up on stage to stand beside Nolan and the others after confirming their ages on the same white stone in the hands of the Scar Priest.
Although the second girl only dared to step forward after seeing the first one, Nolan still admired both of them for their bravery.
So, the Ceremony finally began, and of course, the ambitious Zack Blackwood was the first to stand out when asked who wanted to be first.
After the Priest confirmed once again that he agreed to suffer the soldier's wound, and also asked if he was there of his own free will, Zack simply nodded and showed where he wanted his own scar. The soldier with the longsword took a step back and, in a quick and precise movement, made a 4-centimeter cut with the longsword on his right jaw.
Blood gushed from the wound, and Zack groaned in pain as he was wounded for the first time in his life. Ashamed, he disguised it, changing the groan to a scream mixed with a smile of pride as he looked at the spectators who applauded his courage. Soon after, he was guided away by the Priest, who quickly treated his wound by applying the Sacred Ointment.
Nolan watched Zack with hatred as the dark green paste was applied to the right jaw of his father's killer. Zack's bleeding stopped instantly, and due to Nolan's heightened senses, enhanced by his new White Scar, he could smell a strong odor reminiscent of the mixture of bitter crops, herbs, and maybe some vegetables his mother forced him to eat when he was younger.
Nolan also offered a silent prayer to the Scar, asking that Zack survive the Ceremony; after all, dying of infection was too easy an escape for the sadistic serial killer.
The ceremony continued, and the two who received their scars next were Zack's two henchmen. One requested a scar on his forehead, and the second requested a scar on his back.
At that moment, as the fourth young man approached to receive his scar, Nolan realized something. Shouldn't there only be four young adults, including Zack, the two henchmen, and himself? Where did the fifth young man come from? Was he someone who hid and escaped Zack's pursuit? Or was he someone who came from another village?
Before Nolan could speculate, Luna, the young woman with the beautiful face, kind and tall, approached from behind him and offered words of warning after seeing the third young man leave with a Scar on his back:
"Don't choose a Scar on your back. The members of the Cult of Tallos see it as a gesture of weakness and cowardice!"
Nolan's eyes widened. It wasn't as if he was going to choose his back to be cut, but receiving this warning was still valuable since he planned to travel throughout the Kingdom in the future when he became an adventurer…
He knew a little about the details of the Cult of the Hero King and also the founder of the Scarmith Kingdom through his father and mother, but he didn't know all the details about the Kingdom's second-largest religion. But now, thanks to Luna, he had received a valuable piece of information about this religion and finally discovered one of the reasons why the two religions didn't get along. He should research this subject further later, but now was not the time…
"NEXT, CAESAR!"
He thanked Luna with a nod and approached the soldier with the longsword who had just cut the unknown mysterious boy whose cloak covered his face, to finally receive his wound that would become another Scar and give him more power.
At that moment, all Nolan could think about was getting a Scar that would be more useful than the ones he currently had, which, despite being extravagant and flashy, weren't useful at the moment...
But his thoughts were interrupted when he took a closer look at the rusty longsword that would cut him. Its hilt and blade were dirty; the point resting on the ground had pierced the old, black wooden floor of the platform, which was covered in moss, dust, and mold. Nolan also noticed that traces of blood from the last four young men who had been cut still dripped down the sword.
A chill ran down Nolan's neck, a kind of remorse mixed with a sense of danger and self-preservation rising from the depths of his mind, screaming at him not to be cut by that old, dirty, bloody, and rusty sword…