Invaded: The Companion Guide

The Choosing

The Choosing is a sacred event in commune culture.

Held some point between mid-March and the first week of April, the Choosing signifies the start of planting season. The tradition is considered one of the most important of all, but it is also one of the most horrific.

From birth, a smooth stone is etched with the child's name. This stone is then placed in an oaken box filled with others to await the day of the Choosing.

It was decreed by the Elders after a poor harvest one year that a blood sacrifice to the God of the Harvest would be made every year before the start of the planting season; traditionally, this occurs on the Sunday before planting begins. A church service is held to remind the Commune of the importance of this day and this tradition. The procession moves from the church to a clearing in the woods where a large stone slab sits.

The Elders gather before it and wait for the bearer of the box to present the stones to them. A designated Elder withdraws a stone from the box and reads the name aloud. The person called is summoned to the altar where the last rites are performed by the head of the church. A prayer is said and holy water from the blessed pond is poured over the brow of the sacrifice to baptize them as they were baptized when they entered the world.

The sacrifice is then laid on the slab while the stone bearers carry up large slabs to be laid on top of the sacrifice until he or she is crushed to death beneath its weight.

The stones are removed and the sacrifce is then wrapped in a white cloth and carried to the field where a grave has already been dug out. They are placed inside it and each member of the commune throws a shovel full of dirt onto the body as a display of communal support.