SONGS OF OURSELVES

❦ proof

"He's, uh, quite a character," said Xosa.

"Just wait till you see him climb," Glean's smile widened.

Bolstered by his patron god's attention, Tovar leaped head-first into the stinging brambles and fought his way through the heap. The thorns snarled into his bare skin, leaving behind thick swollen welts.

Blood flowed from Tovar's wounds, but still, he persisted.

"Dear Gods, I have to learn more about this ritual," Sunkanmi edged forward, tilting her head back to peer at the tree top. "What exactly is happening here, Glean? It's positively barbaric and I mean that as a compliment."

"We call it the Rite! It's been a tradition in our grove for over fifteen generations. Our foremothers noticed early on that our Master would lose his twin flame shortly after he found them, and the sudden demise of a soulmate would devastate our Lord for years. A blink in the eye for an immortal, perhaps, but a decade of second-hand grief is more than any mortal can bear. Bound by a mutual love of our Pear King, our foremothers banded together and formed a sect for the sole purpose of protecting Our Lord's twin flame at all costs. For all of our sakes. He and his partner deserve such peace, and we are consummate peace-makers, peace-takers, and, if needed, peace-breakers."

Glean gestured to Tovar struggling through the brambles.

"The Rite was designed out of necessity. For quality control. So many liars have claimed to be our Lord's twin flame that we were forced to invent a method of verifying their word. More often than not, they reveal their deception before they even cross into the cave."

Sunkanmi wondered on average how many fanatics faked being Xosa's soulmate before realizing exactly what was in store for them.

"Our Lord planted this garden at our request, and it has decayed beautifully ever since. It is as close to him as we can come. We allow our young ones to attempt the Rite if they believe themselves to be his twin flame."

"And has anyone been successful? From within the sect?"

"No, not as of yet. They are always terribly disappointed."

Again, someone receiving definitive proof they're not Xosa's soulmate was a non-issue to Sunkanmi. She wanted no part of this - she found it pleasantly nonsensical - but that didn't stop her from asking the rules of this little game. There was no harm in asking, was there?

"Ah!" Glean was all too happy to elucidate. "If you can survive the vines, you must then climb and eat off the tree."

Their guide gestured to the fist-sized pear Sunkanmi noticed earlier, black as coal and probably just as hard. She had a feeling the core would ooze and stink, burst with maggots and botflies.

"Only one pear ripens in a lifetime. Just one. And if no one claims it in time, the tree absorbs it and grows it from a seed once more."

"And after I eat it?"

"If you are not true, you will be violently ill. Bedridden for several weeks, no better than a child. Depending on your constitution, it may kill you."

A fire lit in Sunkanmi's chest. "Has it before? Killed, I mean."

"It certainly has." Glean folded their hands like a monk.

"And if I am true?"

"Then we will celebrate your union until the cave collapses on itself. You are in fairly good standing already as it's hard to imagine our Lord would handcuff himself to someone other than his soulmate. But you must accomplish the Rite before we can fully acknowledge you as his twin flame."