A fire breaks out in your favourite maze

The self styled "Servant of Jesus" declared today a special holiday for those in the inner sanctum and so a mystic potion was administered to clear their thoughts to prepare them for the trials in the days ahead. Each one supped from a plain earthenware cup, passed from hand to hand with due ceremony. As one they moved across the great space of gathering without question. "Neither look to the right or to the left as you travel", said an unfamiliar voice that seemed to come from no clearly definable source. No one spoke and they carried on, following the glow of the guiding beam.

Light, then dark and then a chill blue breeze greeted them, then a softer and paler light shone down from above like a cold morning's first frosty dawn. It became clear to them that once they'd stepped across and into the holy portal there would be no easy route for their return. Some were visibly upset but there was an effort made to maintain calm and carry on forwards. Now they were cutting all ties with the past, be they happy ones or unhappy ones. Nothing else mattered. Though no one spoke the message received had been one of not ever looking back, so they didn't.

The world they had known was gone, their new location became unrecognizable, many were gripped with fear and a sense of not belonging. They were moving in spaces that none had moved into before and their feelings slowly began to get the better of them. The once curious, questioning and cheery faces slowly turned to grim, troubled and bronzed visages. Jaws cast open in a metallic expression of frozen panic. Though they hadn't noticed it yet, their bare feet were already cut and bleeding.