There is an edifice in the Boneyard, made entirely from human bones. Each one is dry and devoid of all flesh. Each one should have been cast into the Devouring Fires long ago. Each one holds a piece of the human’s spirit that once lived in them. Each one is bound to the temple, and will not burn.
There is an edifice in the Boneyard, erected to the glory of the greatness of humanity. The Ravens look upon this Bone Temple with disgust. The priests within return the condemning glare. The human priests consider themselves the true masters of the Boneyard. They consider the Ravens to be mindless beasts to be controlled.
I have been to the Bone Temple. Shortly after the Ravens replaced my heart and some of my bones. Shortly after the Ravens claimed me as one of theirs. Inside the Bone Temple I was told by another human to quench the heart of fire the Ravens had given me in a pool of water held for such thing. And by doing so, I would seal myself to the Bone Temple and to the priests that maintained it forever.
I realized then, why the Bone Temple still stood. Why the walls were insulated with the spirits of those still trapped in their skulls. The Bone Temple was built with the sealed bones of all the other humans that had given themselves up to the priests.
But how did the priests gain such power in the Boneyard in the first place? Because long ago, the Ravens struck a bargain with some humans. And the humans took advantage of the agreement, betraying the spirit of the gift while keeping to the letter. The humans taught others the defiled ways, who taught others, who taught others. With each generation, the original spirit of the agreement is lost. With each generation, the priests that rise continue the hubris of those before them.
I look on the Bone Temple, and a righteous anger surges through me. All those souls, trapped in their skulls. Their anguish powers the priests within. I don’t know when, or even if, they will ever be released. I only know I share the Ravens’ desire to see the Bone Temple burn. To see the Devouring Fire reach so great into the sky, it will burn a new sun to watch over the pyres.