The Ritual

by Ryan Pitterle

The Ritual was a boy's right of passage and his sacred responsibility. At seventeen, he was expected to travel into the mountains where lost souls waited for redemption. He would be joined with a spirit and the two would begin a journey to achieve peaceful co-existence. Corvan's secret forbade him from the Ritual, but he refused to let that stop him. As he prepared to meet his symbiont, he knew something was terribly wrong. The ensuing journey would last him a lifetime and require of him...