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After the priestess had explained to the children the story of how the herbivores and carnivores had resolved their ancient conflict to work together for the greater good, she now led them deeper into the temple. Their path to the heart of the labyrinth took them through a long corridor whose walls were adorned with portraits of every single Great Khan. Starting with rather crude drawings that could only be recognized as tigers with some imagination, the depictions slowly evolved and eventually showed great, powerful rulers whose appearance gradually shifted from warriors clad in leather and furs, to feudal lords in long, ornate robes, and finally to modern, tall big cats in designer suits. One could clearly discern the eras and generations depicted in these portraits if one looked at the images a little more closely. Each of these pictures was accompanied by a plaque indicating the name and lineage of the respective Khan.

That said, most children didn’t pay much attention to the images; most were no longer interested in the history of their society. Most of them were presented with parts of this history anew every day and, over the course of their childhood, had grown numb to the constant reminders from their classmates, parents, and politicians about who they were and where they stood. Because there had been no tributes for several years now, and because the traditional sacrifice was held only symbolically on every full and new moon, this essential part of their history had almost completely disappeared from the animals’ daily lives. The Path was no longer at the center of their society, but was regarded by many ‒ even among the carnivores ‒ as antiquated and out of step with the times. The youth had long since turned their attention to other, more important things: athletes, celebrities, actors ‒ they all held greater importance than those who, over the course of many generations, had ensured that these things existed in the first place.

Finally, the group passed through a large double door, its wood painted a dark red and its weathered decorations depicting a stylized tiger skull. Beyond this portal lay another Great Hall, its walls lined with floor-to-ceiling display cases holding massive stone tablets inscribed with writing that no one could read anymore. The priestess stepped into the center of the room and addressed the students once more, who were looking around boredly. She waited a moment until even the last children had joined them before raising her voice again.

“Welcome to the Hall of Remembrance.”

she began her next lecture and turned once around her own axis.

“In this hall, we commemorate the countless tributes who gave their lives to uphold our pact. They all voluntarily walked the Path of All Flesh and sacrificed themselves for the greater good and the survival of society.”

she continued, pointing to several screens displaying a continuous scrolling text with all the names that had been immortalized on the many stone tablets. Some of the children followed her gesture and looked over at the individual monitors, but their interest didn’t linger there for long; instead, it wandered back to her. She was annoyed that even this seemed to matter little to the children by now. However, she was aware that just a few years ago, these lists had had a very different effect on the temple’s younger visitors, for back then, nearly every one of them had an aunt, a grandpa, or at least a family member of a friend who had walked the path; whereas now most of the young people no longer had anyone in their immediate circle who had walked the Path of All Flesh, and thus they lacked a direct connection to the significance this room held for their society.

She pushed the thoughts aside when she noticed that the children had turned back to her and were waiting for the next story. The priestess put on her gentle smile again and spread her arms wide.

“Even today, most Tigers recite the ritual prayer before every meal, which is meant to ease the soul of the animal whose flesh they are about to consume into the afterlife. I see we have a little Stripe-bearer among you today. Do you still say the prayers at home before every meal?”

the priestess asked the young tigress, who just a moment ago had been casually chewing her gum and suddenly found herself the center of attention. The question caught her so off guard that she stared at the guide in complete disbelief. It wasn’t until the young jaguar behind her placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to answer for her that she seemed to snap out of her shock. She shot her classmates a downright icy glare before turning to the priestess.

“Sorry, but that question just caught me completely off guard. Like, totally freaked me out. But real talk, my parents make us say this cringe-worthy prayer before eating, even if it’s just fake meat.”

the girl replied without even attempting to choose her words more carefully. The priestess raised her eyebrows slightly and then shook her head, while one of the teachers was already making her way toward the young tigress. Before the teacher could even begin her lecture on behavior and etiquette, however, the priestess raised her hand in a soothing gesture.

“It’s alarming how disrespectfully even young tigresses go through life these days, but I can understand that these rituals, now that the basis for them no longer exists, no longer hold the same significance. Would you nevertheless do us the honor of reciting the prayer once for your herbivore classmates?”

the priestess asked, her greenish eyes seeming to literally bore into the student’s still partly blue eyes. She was well aware that this request was a far worse and more humiliating punishment for the girl than anything the teacher could have threatened her with. The student couldn’t just say no now; she would lose face, and if she recited the prayer incorrectly, the other students would probably tease her about it forever. The student seemed fully aware of this, for she swallowed hard before finally nodding.

“If I have to… but seriously, this is cringe-worthy.”

the student replied, pushing her Jaguar classmate away, who had just been about to hug her from behind with a grin. The priestess, however, nodded and made an inviting gesture. Now all eyes were truly on the young tigress, and you could tell how much this was stressing her out; she pressed her lips together and clenched her fists while taking a deep breath.

“Don’t rush me… I’m already starting…”

she snapped, and then began her recitation:

“I honor your sacrifice. The sacrifice you have willingly made for the community. May your nobility teach me humility. I consume your body so that your soul may find peace in the afterlife. Your flesh will strengthen my body so that I may also protect your family. No sacrifice will go unanswered. …”

She was clearly struggling to recite the prayer properly and not slip into her slang, but she finally managed it, causing her teachers to smile and nod proudly.

“There you go, are you finally satisfied?”

it burst out of her as she crossed her arms over her chest and jutted her lower jaw out defiantly, but the priestess nodded graciously once more.

“Thank you very much, and yes, I am satisfied now. I am pleased that, despite the fact that you obviously consider it completely exaggerated and useless, you were able to recite the prayer perfectly without a single mistake. Your parents can be proud of you.”

replied the tigress, addressing the other children without paying any further attention to the agitated student.

“Well, as you have all heard, the tigers honored and continue to honor the sacrifice made to us by the herbivores, not only to survive but also to protect the community as a whole from threats. For only a well-fed tiger is a strong tiger capable of protecting its territory and the animals under its care.”

she explained with a little wink and turned toward a small alcove where several more panels were on display. She waited until the children had reoriented themselves and seen how many names were scrolling across this screen before continuing.

“And the tigers have had to protect this, their territory, many, many times in the past ‒ against attacks from outside, revolts, and threats whose true extent could only be fully assessed in hindsight. All of this meant that it wasn’t just herbivores who died for this pact and what it stands for. Many tigers gave their lives in defense of our territory and its inhabitants.”

she explained, and her gaze grew almost wistful as she looked at the single screen displaying the names of the Tigers and Jaguars who had fallen in the service of the community. She then pointed to a relief on the back wall of the room, whose heavily weathered surface was currently being restored by a plasterer.

“About 200 years after the original agreement was signed, one of the most severe postwar conflicts ever recorded in the archives broke out. This conflict likely had as great an impact on our society as the treaty and the war that preceded it. It was a severe test, not only for the alliance between the herbivores and us tigers, but for the inhabitants of the entire jungle.”

she continued, her voice growing softer and softer and gradually taking on a conspiratorial undertone. With a gesture, she motioned for the children to follow her as she stepped closer to the relief and pointed to a figure that looked grotesque even by the standards of these primitive drawings.

“Today we know that the builders of this temple erected many more temples on this continent, and that they moved back and forth between these temples at regular intervals. They always stayed until they had exhausted the hunting grounds and then moved on again. At that time, they were once again on their way to this temple, and what happened then fundamentally changed our society and the jungle once more.”