‘Diamond Hill,
Live and thrill.
Power and Knowledge,
She guides us through.
Limpid the water,
See yourself.
Who you are,
Becomes what you are.’
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The choir’s litany drifts from the slender vessel, led by the high priest at the prow. Surrounded by the ring of the clam and azure lake, glowing peacock blue, clear crystals spiking upwards, the Diamond Hill.
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"Finally, we’re done with this endless chanting," Merc mutters. "Just a giant rock and superstitious people."
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‘What do you wanna do, after the ritual?’ asks Jemery.
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‘Definitely not that.’ Merc motions toward the priest. ‘I’m leaving for the Outer Ring.’
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‘Who do you think you are? You don’t get the honour.’ a boy hisses from the front. ‘Only chosen by the Diamond get the crown.’
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‘Good luck being a priest then.’ Merc replies.
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Another boy lowers his voice. "Speaking of priests, you know Matt? I saw him get dragged underwater last night from his boat. Never came up. What the hell did he do?"
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"What do you mean?" another guy interjects, pointing to another prow. "Matt is there."
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The boy pales. ‘No way… He shouldn’t….’
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Thus arrives the day of their sixteenth—the Ritual. The fleet aligns at the Diamond foothills. Ecstatic youths farewell the lake, stepping onto the solid land for the first time as they have always dreamed for. Above them, wooden tiers ascend to a bazaar where priests are trading food and blue stone talismans.
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‘Children of the Diamond!’ The high priest proclaims, distributing the currency. "Sixteen “coins” for your sixteenth year. Spend them all before the dusk, and the blessing of the Outer Land is yours. Let the ritual begin!"
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‘That’s what we have waited sixteen years for?’ Merc turns the metal in his palm. ‘They give us this round and flat, umm “coins”, and give us some stones in exchange back? What’s the point?’
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Jeremy flips a coin lazily, ‘Totally stupid. Say there’s a platform up there, wanna take a break till the joke is over?’
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‘People are like ants.’ Merc murmurs, leaning against a sheer crystal. The setting sun bleeds across its ridges, turning pastel orange into a deep, arterial rust.
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‘What are “ants”?’ Jeremy frowns at the alien word.
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‘You know, the…ummm.. yeah… what am I saying.’ Merc mumbles through a yawn. His mind suddenly clouds, vision blurred, the rust-coloured light fading into an encroaching, heavy darkness.
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"Merc! Merc!" The urgent hiss pulls him from the dark. Jeremy’s silhouette swims into focus against a blinding glare. The sun has crested, and Jeremy is shaking his shoulders.
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"Ugh, my eyes," Merc groans, sitting up. They are enclosed on three sides by immaculately faceted crystal walls. A winding staircase carved from the same translucent stone snakes deeper into the structure. "Where are... Kate?! What the ..." he yells, scrambling backward.
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Kate lies motionless on the crystalline floor, her skin a waxy, lifeless pallor. A glass syringe juts from the side of her neck. Scattered next to her pocket are a handful of those metallic coins. As his voice cracks through the silence, the surrounding walls pulse with a cold, bioluminescent blue, as if the Diamond itself was reacting to the sense of danger.
and then Add to home screen.