# I: The Sacrifice explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Manly Wade Wellman.

## What happens

Enid Mandifer learns she is adopted and is being groomed as a bride for a nameless, ageless entity worshipped by Persil Mandifer and his son Larue. Under the hypnotic influence of a strange talisman, she is commanded to go to Fearful Rock at sundown to surrender herself as a sacrificial bride.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/i-the-sacrifice
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_37_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters