I: The Sacrifice explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Supernatural Evil and Occultism

  The Mandifers serve a nameless, ageless entity, using a talisman and ritual sacrifice to maintain their pact.

• Sacrifice and Redemption

  Enid is being offered as a bride to the Nameless One, a sacrifice demanded every hundred years.

• The Power of Belief and Ritual

  Persil Mandifer uses a swinging talisman and hypnotic commands to impose his will on Enid, forcing her compliance through ritual.

Characters to notice

• Enid Mandifer

  The sacrificial bride-to-be, who learns she is adopted and is being forced into a ritual marriage with the Nameless One.

• Persil Mandifer

  Enid's foster father, who reveals her origins and uses a hypnotic talisman to command her to go to Fearful Rock for the sacrifice.

• Larue

  Persil Mandifer's son, a grotesque figure who mutters threats and assists in the ritual.

Key passages

• “Now that you know that you are not really my daughter, perhaps you are curious as to why I adopted you.”

  Persil Mandifer reveals to Enid that she is adopted and hints at a hidden purpose behind her upbringing.

  This revelation sets the stage for Enid's role as a sacrificial bride.

• “He has no name. He is the Nameless One.”

  Persil Mandifer tells Enid that her intended husband is a nameless, ageless entity.

  Establishes the supernatural nature of the being Enid is to marry.

• “Four times in each hundred years must a bride be offered.”

  Persil Mandifer explains the recurring sacrificial requirement of their pact with the Nameless One.

  Highlights the cyclical nature of the ritual and Enid's role in it.