It was the Year of the Fickle Serpent, which meant that a full two hundred years had passed since the Testament of the prophet Abbot, and the world was about to receive the Eighth Prophet.
The church of the Great God Om was never wrong about such things. Prophets are extremely punctual people. You could even use them to set your calendar by—though you’d need a very large calendar.
Whenever the arrival of another prophet is expected, the church doubles its efforts to look as holy as possible. People run around, there is bustle everywhere—exactly as in a large corporation before the auditors arrive. New standards of piety were urgently developed, and those whose piety left something to be desired were put to death without much hesitation.
All the most popular religions keep a very close eye on the piety of their flock, and the church of the Great God Om is no exception. The supreme hierarchs issued statements that society is sliding downward faster than in the national luge championship, that heresy must be torn out by the roots, along with hand, foot, eye, and tongue, and that the time has come to cleanse ourselves of corruption.
Blood has always been considered an extremely effective cleaning agent.