The sun beams down harshly upon the bloodied terrain. Several youth rush to the weapons scattered around the crumbling buildings. A sword on the ground, an axe embedded in the wall, all are swiftly taken.

The village of brackenbriar has a sacrificial ritual - made every sixth year - in which twenty one young adults are “elected.” Aged sixteen through twenty seven, the “elects” are forced to fight...

The sounds of battle dim as I slump to the ground, a gaping hole in my side. My strength begins to fade away as I remember….I remember playing on the playground as a child with my friends. A hazy memory appears, fades away, then appears once more - the sweet memory of a time before the monsters, a time when we were children, a time where we could feel…

When the arachnoids attacked, the militaries...