The Deal:

welcome to the place where your soul was born
where infinite things can and shall kill you
and every death shall be even more horrible
than the next
this is the point of no return
once past this point into this place
bid farewell to life as you knew it
for it shall never be again
here your soul shall be pulverized
reduced to undetectable oblivion
your memories shall be dreams that
never were dreamed nor remembered
all you cling to shall be taken away
and all you are shall be no more
this is the forge whence you shall be remade
a deadly sword to be wielded
by the Warriors of Forever
a mighty claw perfectly fitting
the paw of the Queen of the Panthera
this is the womb whence you shall be transmuted into
your greatest fear
and your eyes shall become mirrors of truth
the clan that shall next birth you and count you among
its children shall cast you aside
and you shall count your loves among the forbidden
a great wall shall be erected and your heart shall
be pierced by Vows that shall strangle your soul
but you shall live
and you shall sing
and you shall make war
and prevail upon your adversaries
and your love shall become
the flesh of legend
and upon your door the Alive shall knock and
into your dominions They shall seek and find refuge
you shall hear what no one else shall
see what no one else shall
you shall believe yourself alone and forsaken
until the ever-turning wheel crushes your backbone
and brings you back to us
here we shall await you
knowing that no one can take you from us
that no one can take us from each other
rise then and suckle the milk that shall sustain you
rise then and embrace the flesh that shall house you
rise then and step into the madness once more
into the open jaws that shall devour you
into the pain that shall not spare you
walk the earth once more
walk as the clan that is yours now
prowl as the clan that is yours forever
and when you come back to us
write these verses down
and name the place
where they were sung
hail the place
hail the home of your soul
hail the Road that starts and ends in infinity
do you accept?

The Response:

I am she who trails through the earth,
creeper vine of bitter fruit
I am she who blazes forth,
predator marked by the strike of lightning
I am she who lives
after the point of no return
I am born of this place anew
sword forged, claw sculpted
for the Mighty Warriors and
the Queen of the Panthera
I am your servant
bound to the Road that
starts and ends in infinity
by oath of blood and fire
I embrace the clan that shall cast me away
for that same clan shall ultimately follow me
I love with a love that is stronger than time
a love that forever prevails
a love that never dies
out of that love I draw my strength
to lie beside those who hold
power of life and death over me
to walk into certain demise
to rush upon the blade that may crush my heart
to defy insanity
to live to sing about it
in perfect trust
for I have been here before
and shall again return
I hail the place where my soul was born
unmade and remade
I hail the mighty Road
and I sing its name
I am yours to you forever
of one blood and of one heart
yes is my answer.

A Jungle Thing
by Cindy Aixmar Salgado