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Description

We all dressed for the funeral, and by that, I meant we finally put on some clothing. Creel's outfit was ostentatious, at least for the time period. Grimhilde, on the other hand, wore simple homespun clothes that didn’t quite fit her frame. Yet, she projected a natural sense of authority, like a queen poorly disguised as a peasant. And if the stories held any truth, she had indeed been one, once upon a time.

A strong, resinous scent of pine permeated the air, emanating from a large cast iron cauldron that seemed to have leaped right out of the pages of a witch's fairy tale. The pungent aroma of pine, sharp and cleansing, was intense enough to mask even the smell of cooked human flesh. That was precisely its purpose, as the cauldron was the final destination for Hanz's remains.

This was not a practice of cannibalism, but rather a ritualistic separation of flesh from bone. The boiling water within the cauldron would facilitate this process, ensuring that the separation was complete. Once the process was finished, the flesh would be given back to the forest, a gesture of returning to the earth, while the bones would be carefully preserved and handed over to the family.

Description

We all dressed for the funeral, and by that, I meant we finally put on some clothing. Creel's outfit was ostentatious, at least for the time period. Grimhilde, on the other hand, wore simple homespun clothes that didn’t quite fit her frame. Yet, she projected a natural sense of authority, like a queen poorly disguised as a peasant. And if the stories held any truth, she had indeed been one, once upon a time.

A strong, resinous scent of pine permeated the air, emanating from a large cast iron cauldron that seemed to have leaped right out of the pages of a witch's fairy tale. The pungent aroma of pine, sharp and cleansing, was intense enough to mask even the smell of cooked human flesh. That was precisely its purpose, as the cauldron was the final destination for Hanz's remains.

This was not a practice of cannibalism, but rather a ritualistic separation of flesh from bone. The boiling water within the cauldron would facilitate this process, ensuring that the separation was complete. Once the process was finished, the flesh would be given back to the forest, a gesture of returning to the earth, while the bones would be carefully preserved and handed over to the family.