Chapter 9: The Cult is Born

The Temple was quiet afterwards for several minutes.  The chosen looked at
each other and saw that their eyes were now red, the colour of blood.  Each
felt his new power within.  Mary smiled at them, and Alex trembled with the
onslaught of sights he could now percive.  Above it all, Malikai stood
triumphant.  He felt the power thrumming through the altar and into the very
foundations of his temple.  He looked down at the woman on the altar, and saw
that her body was shrivled and dry.  He picked a minion from the crowd and
touched his arm, "You.  See to it that the body is removed and not found."
 He turned to the rest, "You are the Chosen!  You will lead the others and
show them the path to power.  Take care, the forces of our enemies will seek
to destroy you and this temple.  Fight them where you find them.  The Warrens
belong to us, and us alone!"  The Chosen filled out, and as they did Malikai
erased the knowlage of the temple's location from their minds.  Each man went
to his own, be they a thieves' den or a family or a warband.  The
scavengers began searching under the eyes of the Marked Ones and coordinating 
their work.  Malikai's followers began stripping the ruins as bare as they 
could. Each chosen found his left hand marked by the goddess with the symbol 
of a scourge.  To show their own favored, the Chosen branded or tattooed the 
same mark on their underlings.  The Cult of Pain grew.