Roj awoke not in a lust forest with winding rivers but in a room of dim torches and red mats.
A burning sensation still crawled its way over the rat's chest, but it was more of an afterthought than anything to worry about. The paralysis was also gone, as was that calming whiff of laced smoke that Roj would surely miss.
Wincing, Roj propped himself on his elbows, the task made difficult due to the fire in his heart and the reed mattress beneath his body. He glanced around the square room, blinking hard. It was a fairly typical bedroom, what with the reed furniture scattered throughout. Still, it was far larger than any room Roj had the privilege of waking up in.
"Hello, Roj," a voice greeted from the corner. The rat's poor heart jumped in his wounded chest, and he twisted to find the source.
Taking up most of the available space with her massive coils was Xo'Sa. She had to squeeze herself into a corner to not crush Roj against the wall, the flickering flame surrounding her making her seem like some nightmarish creature of blood and gore come to life. Only her eyes, which reflected a gentle kindness Roj was entirely unused to, took away from the monstrous illusion.
"H-Head priestess?" the rat asked. His voice was shrill, shriller than usual, and it felt as if a fire raged in his throat.
"Glad to see your eyes are working as intended," the serpent chuckled softly. "You had them closed for a while."
"S-shouldn't they be closed?" Roj wondered. He tried to rise further from the bed but failed. His shaking arms prevented any further movement. A vast exhaustion seeped through the rat's body, sapping the strength from his skinny form.
"They should, yes," Xo'Sa said. The serpent uncoiled herself partially and stretched herself forward. Worry marred her faces as she stared down at the prone figure, and she reached down with a bejeweled hand to press Roj into the mattress. "You should stay still, little one. You are far from healed."
"I-I don't understand what's happening," the rat squeaked. Fear made his heart pound, which forced even more pain from his chest. "W-where is the river? The forest? Why are you here? Shouldn't I be..."
"Dead?" Xo'Sa finished. "Yes, you should be. Your soul should have fled from your body, and your blood should have spilled, and the ritual should have continued as usual."
"T-then what happened?"
"I... don't know."
The serpent's pensive eyes wandered over Roj's body as she fell silent. He felt like a cadaver under the watchful eye of a burial priest, inspected to figure out what was wrong with his cold corpse.
"This has never happened before," Xo'Sa admitted after a pause. "Not in my 40 summers of life, and not in any of my predecessor's careers. Every single ritual has ended the same way."
Roj was speechless. It was the duty and a great honor for a member of the Undercaste such as him to spill blood for the royalty of the Empire. Granting his life to another was the only way for one such as him to achieve something. Anything to avoid being another corpse without glory...
"I understand you must be... confused," the serpent continued. Slowly, she reached forward with a claw idly to massage Roj's chest. He sighed with relief as the pain was chased away, replaced by a gentle comfort. "Believe me, little one, the Empress and I are just as bewildered. My scholars are searching for times that something like this has happened before, perhaps during the time before the Empire, but..."
Xo'Sa huffed with her left head while the other loosed a rasping sigh.
"Until then, we are to assume this is a sign of Her will. Especially considering what now adorns your chest."
"M-my chest?" Roj asked. He tried to lean forward, but the best he could do was raise his head from his pillows. Xo'Sa had to slide her hand behind the rat's back to prop him up, giving him an excellent view of the horror that graced his chest.
Roj's bed of fluffy fur had been partially burnt off, leaving only scorched hairs and a strange mark just above his heart in its place. The sign was of an odd shape; it resembled a twisting snake with a head riddled with teeth. It seemed to coil around an orb, its maw poised to devour the shape whole.
"W-what is that?" Roj gasped. His voice, weak as it was, had become colored with panic and shook in time with his pulse.
"The symbol of the Expanse," Xo'Sa answered solemnly. She placed a calming hand on his chest again, steadying the rat's heart rate. The serpent's palm was cool and seemed to suck that accursed heat straight from Roj's nerves. "It is a... sign of Her will made manifest. Each of Her children of royal blood bears the sign on their body, showing that they have been selected by divinity to rule the Empire. Normally, it is present as a birthmark. Not as a..."
"Scar?"
"I was going to say tattoo for tact," Xo'Sa chuckled. "But perhaps scar is more fitting."
"H-how did this happen?"
"Do you recall the lightning that struck you when the knife pierced your chest?"
"T-that's what that was?" Roj wondered. All he remembered was a flash of light and a rumbling of stone. On second thought it was obviously lightning, but Roj had been a bit preoccupied when it occurred.
"Indeed," the serpent continued. "When it hit you, it blasted through the stone roof and struck you, little one. It shattered the blade and scored that mark in your flesh. You've been asleep ever since."
"How long ago was that?"
"Two days."
