It is a person, and it is a tradition, [ something old and superstitious, beyond the realms of the sainted and sanctified. Practiced in wildlands, where the modern faithful could not reach. The people of his country, in their earliest history - before Ravka had a monarchy, a political center, when they were tribe and village - used to practice it. Before the Istorii Sankt'ya was properly codified with the rank and file of every saint great and small.

With deceptively tender fingers, he brushes a dark shock of hair from Bellamy's brow and takes a look at his eyes. He does not seem as stricken by his illness now, perhaps just tired instead. A long day, a hard day, would leave him feeling that for some time. ]

A sin-eater would take the wickedness of the dead upon themselves, absolving the soul of the dead so that they could rest in peace. As time went on, the sin-eater became someone who would... absolve the living of the same. They made difficult choices, shouldered the many's burdens. And in the end, they were often hated, rejected and killed by those who had been kept safe, and purified by their sacrifice.

[ Sin-eaters were among the first Sanktya, before saints were a concept in the Ravkan tradition. ]

"And for thy peace I pawn my own soul."