Sedately the ring of stones stood upon the plain. Shrouded in mystery, it was a place of worship, a place of celebration and a place of sacrifice. Often it was all three at the same time. Slowly, in single file, the black clad druids marching in procession upon the plain. The long road lead straight into the center of the ring of stones.

Mist tickled the ankles of the hooded black druids and the white sheeted novices who followed in the wake of their masters. Their chants echoed back and forth across the lowlands. In the village to the south, men and women stood outside the wattle huts to listen to the hollow tones of their voices. Children stopped their play to stare in awe at the procession.

In three days' time, the sacrifice was to be made. A young maiden, pure of heart, was to be chosen to give her life for a plentiful harvest. Twelve had been selected; one would be chosen. For six months, the cream of young womanhood had been sequestered in a hut on the outskirts of the village. It was an honor to be one of the preferred; it was a horror to have to face the resulting death. Some found joy in the occasion, others lived in terror. Maud was one of the latter.

Beautiful beyond belief, Maud stood out amongst her peers. Lean and lithe, she was the pampered daughter of Berk the Smith. The seventh daughter of the family of thirteen, she had known all her life that she was special. In her flighty mind, it had never occurred to her that she had been pampered in the event that she might be selected as the yearly harvest sacrifice. It was only when she had been removed from her home to live amongst the maiden house outside the village that she realized her possible fate.

Maud was in love with Hugo the Brave, the young hero of the village. Tall and blond, his figure stood out amongst the rest of the young men of the community. His skill in battle and hunting made him the most eligible catch amongst the juvenile citizens in the area. Maud had caught his attention as she flittered idly 'round the evening fire while all the others were busy with their mealtime chores. Finding clandestine places to meet upon the plain and amongst the trees of the nearby forest, they consummated their love for each other.

Maud was not a virgin. It was a time honored requirement for the living sacrifice to be virginal. If the druids were to discover her impurity, it would be instant death with no sacrificial honor. As the months marched past within the confines of the girls' hut, a slow realization flirted inside Maud's brain: she was with child!

As the chanting of the druids rose within the mist surrounding the ring of stones upon the plain, their selection became clearer to them. There was only one girl who was fit for their yearly honor: Maud, the Smith's daughter. Having come to what they considered the right decision, one of the novices was sent to inform the family of the privilege about to be bestowed upon their daughter.

Espying the young novice enter the house of the smith, Hugo the Brave immediately understood the fate of his love. Making his way to the edge of the village, he set himself up in full view of the maidens' hut. One by one, eleven young maids left the hut to make their way home. Maud was the only one left behind. In two days, the procession of druids and novices would repeat their trek to the ring of stones upon the plain with the beautiful young woman amongst them. Slowly, the villagers would follow in their wake - witnesses of the sacrificial execution.

With a heavy heart, Hugo crept close to the maiden house. The sound of weeping coming through the wattle walls lay heavy upon his soul. His love for Maud was boundless. How could he save her and make her his own?

"Maud," Hugo the Brave whispered as he pressed his body against the back wall of the wattle hut. "Hugo," the tear-filled voice of his beloved responded. A long pause lay between the couple before Maud spoke again: "I'm with child."

The day passed, and the night, then the next day and night. On the third day, the druids lined up in procession to make the trek upon the plain. Their eerie chant echoed out of the mist as the single file line crept slowly toward the maiden house where Maud would join them upon the continuing path toward the ring of stones.

But, lo, when the wattle door was swung opened, the hut was empty. Confused voices rose as the druids and novices stood about in consternation. The maiden sacrifice had disappeared. After a day of debate, it was decided the Gods wouldn't wait for the sacrificial ceremony to take place; they had taken their virgin away in the night.

No one could explain what happened to Hugo the Brave. He was never seen in the village again.