by Jayme Knight
Moira struggled back up onto one knee and retrieved her lantern that had somehow landed upright and stayed lit. She brought the dagger back up in front of her to ward off the creatures, she realized now the one that was staring at her was keeping her attention so the other could attack from the rear. She gained her feet again and brought the light up to get a better look at her foe. It was definitely just like a huge cat, with a thick heavy coat of greenish brown fur, powerful clawed limbs, and piercing yellow eyes. She could see that her dagger had caught the creature in the neck tearing a huge garish wound in it that was spewing forth its life blood in thick heavy gouts. The creature turned sluggishly toward her and looked as if it wanted to attack again, but the more it moved the faster its wound bled causing it to fall to the sopping swamp floor. The creature laid before her not breathing not stirring, she was sure it was dead. She could hear movement not far off coming toward her, she stepped back a few steps thinking she would have to defend herself against the other creature. The second cat that held her attention emerged from the darkness and stood over its fallen kin, she watched it nudge the dead creature with its nose and sniffed the air over it. She did not expect what happened next, the creature brought its head up toward the night sky and let out a low sad keen that pierced Moira to her soul.
The creature sniffed the air toward her, and its deep yellow eyes narrowed as it studied her for several moments before it suddenly bolted into the darkness that laid beyond the light of the lamp. Moira felt a deep sadness, she did not want to kill the creature but it would surely have killed her had it hit its mark. Only her poorly placed satchel, and her careless flailing as she fell had saved her life.
Her time with the lizard people had taught her many things, and one of their highest laws was not to be wasteful. The swamp has an abundance of life and food but there is a balance that must be kept, take only what you need, and if you kill something it must be used. Tomorrow she would have to make use of the creature as best as she could.
Moira looked around her area she was looking for a fungus that the lizard people used to ward off insects and creatures alike from their food stores. She searched for some time and was farther away from her intended path than she liked to be but she finally found the fungus growing from a tree in huge knots along its trunk. She carefully harvested the fungus and carried it back to the creature’s body. She took three of the pieces of fungus and used her dagger to break through the outer hard surface until she could smell the pungent aroma of the fungus within. It made her eyes water as she repeated the process with the other pieces of fungus and laid them out around the animal’s corpse. The result was instant every bug scurried away from the corpse, even worms and flying insects all seemed to keep their distance. If it did not affect her as well she would wear a necklace of this stuff to make it to her destination, but it burned her eyes to be too near the fungus once its shell had been broken.
Moira made her way to a tree that was large enough to hold her and keep her safe from anything that may wander by and still be within eye shot of the creature. She climbed up the tree with ease, made a soft comfortable perch lined with her new cloak and tied herself in for the night.
***
That night Moira had a vision of the earth mother rising up out of the corpse of the dead swamp cat and pointing a path to her.
“Goddess? What trial was this?” Moira asked and she looked up to the earth mother with pleading eyes.
“This was not trial Moira,” the earth mother said with a stony cold response. “This was just life of the swamp, survival for man and creature alike. It is a never ending struggle and in this encounter you prevailed. It was not a trial, it was just a glimpse at raw life.”
“This creature died,” Moira said feeling remorse for the creature that would have killed her. “Its kin mourned it when it died.”
“Not its kin,” the goddess said as she looked at Moira with no judgment in her heart. “Its mate.”
Moira sat stunned with the knowledge that she had taken the life of something’s mate, her heart sank with the knowledge of what she had done. It was just a creature and it tried to kill her but she still could not help feeling remorse for it. She felt she could have done more to prevent it.
“You have passed your second trial,” the goddess said smiling at Moira. “You have shown compassion for all even your enemy.”
“You said this was not a trial,” Moira shouted with a bewildered look. “You lied to me.”
“Life is a trial Moira,” the goddess said as she began to sink into the ground. “None are above telling lies not even goddesses.”
Moira thought of the words the earth mother left her with and they played over and over in her head. She could hear something off in the distance and could feel something pulling on her consciousness as the world around her faded to grey.
***
The next morning came quickly and Moira awoke to a familiar voice calling out to her from somewhere below. She looked down and watched Toral’s lean muscular form circle the dead creature as she surveyed the surrounding area.
“My Queen,” Toral called out. “I have been sent to persuade you to return. It is the wish of Queen Kalchia and of our King that you return.”
Moira quietly untied herself from the tree and used the cloak to protect her tender flesh as she climbed down the tree. She did not cover her body she did not want to offend Toral, in fact she like how he looked at her, she liked how he savagely took her when they have had sexual encounters in the past.
“I am pleased to see you are not harmed,” Toral said as he took a knee in front of her. “When I first saw the dead marsh lion I thought the worst had happened. I thought its mate had killed you and drug you off, but then I saw the hessia fungus and knew you were alive.”
“I thought I was going to die last night. I am still not sure why the other creature did not kill me.” Moira said confidently as she looked down at the dead creature. “I may die tonight, but I must continue on my path. I cannot go with you Toral, but please let Kalchia and my King know I will return if I can.”
“I have been ordered to safeguard your return,” Toral said as he stood and looked into her blue eyes.
“As your Queen I order you to return to the village,” Moira said sternly. “Take this beast with you, and make sure it is properly added to the food stores.”
“Yes my Queen,” Toral conceded as he bowed his head to her.
Moira could see concern was etched into his every feature. “I will be fine Toral, this is not the last you will see of me.”
Moira watched him as he heaved the dead beast over his shoulders and started off back to the village. She waited until he was out of sight and only then headed off down the path the earth mother outlined to her in her vision. The path was easier now with the boots and cloak Kinnia had given to her, but still she feared the unknown. What other trials lie in wait for her? What would she be forced to endure in the name of this task she had taken on? She did not know, but she would face them all and prevail. Moira pushed on down the path toward her destination, and the swamp seemed to be getting thicker and harder to move through. The ground became soggier and she sank deeper with every step until she was sinking in past the ankle in muck. The rest of the day she spent trudging through ankle deep muck and mire, she did not know how long she was traveling but it seemed to be never ending. She stopped late in the day, and climbed a tree to ready herself for the night. From her lofty perch she could see something glinting not too far off in the swamp. She felt an unnatural draw to it, whatever it was. She was tired from a long day of walking through the mire of the swamp but something told her this was important and she should push on for a while longer.
She carefully climbed back down the tree and felt herself sink into the muck and sighed at the circumstance. ‘No matter, it was difficult, but life is not easy so why should this be,’ she thought to herself. It was a hard trek to the place where the glinting was coming from and the sky had darkened conside
rably by the time she reached the location. She could still see a feint glimmering in the darkness as she pushed through the under foliage into a clearing. The ground became more solid in the clearing even to the point that she did not sink in anymore. Moira looked around and could see even the foliage was different in this clearing, it was well kempt and seemed to be placed, not growing wild like the rest of the swamp surrounding this area. In the center of the clearing was a massive tree stump, the tree that once stood here must have been massive because the stump that it left was at least ten paces wide, and close to twenty feet tall. She approached carefully, looking for the source of the glinting and as she got closer she could see that a rather large hole had been dug into the ground between two of the massive roots. She took a few steps closer and could see that there were silver coins strewn around the hole, the coins seems to catch even the slightest bit of light making them shine.
Moira was not worldly at all but she had been with her brothers when they set up snares in the woods, and this looked like a big version of a snare trap. Was she the rabbit in this situation? She pulled the dagger from her satchel and began slowly backing away from the hole when she spotted movement coming from the darkness of the hole. She stood stunned for a second watching the movement and out of the darkness crept a long, dark green, writhing vine. It seemed to have a mind of its own and was snaking along the ground toward her. Moira had wasted precious moments trying to see what it was, and now felt panic well up inside as she turned and began to run from it. She did not get fully turned and out of the corner of her eye she saw the vine whip and lash out at her leg. Its aim was true as it coiled around her leg and cinched tight.
Moira cried out in pain as the vine tightened and brutally yanked her leg out from under her. She quickly lost her balance as the vine kept pulling on her leg and yanking with the ferocity of a wild beast. It yanked her so hard she lifted right off of the ground and then it stopped pulling and let gravity slam her hard into the ground. Moira felt the wind drive from her lungs as she hit with bone jarring force that left her gasping. She struggled through the pain to get her breath and felt the vine again start to pull on her leg dragging her along the ground toward the hole. She struggled against the pull of the vine, kicking at it and hacking at it with the dagger. She pulled the dagger up above her head, summoned all of her strength into her next slash at the vine. The dagger hit square to her mark and as the vine severed she heard a deep feral cry come from within the hole. She did not know what kind of creature made the cry and did not intend to find out.
Moira quickly gained her feet again and ran to the edge of the clearing and held the dagger up in front of her waiting for something else to happen. She looked about the clearing panicked and frantic in her movements, and movement caught her eye as a very tall, beautiful and very familiar female walked from behind the tree stump. Moira remembered the earth mother from her visions, but the woman in her visions was pale in semblance to what stood before her. Moira quickly dropped to her knees and bowed to the goddess, she was not generally a devout person, but when in the presence of that which is greater than any king or queen you show respect.
“Get up my child,” the earth mother said in a melodic voice. “Do you bow to your mother when she enters the room?”
“No, goddess,” Moira said as she cautiously stood back up and met the earth mother’s gaze. She felt foolish even though she felt like she had done the right thing. “Kings and queens demand respect in this way, and you are much greater than any king or queen, so I thought it was the right thing.”
“I am the mother of all living things,” the goddess said as she smiled at Moira. “You need not bow down to your mother.”
Moira nodded her head in understanding, this goddess was a humble being that knew respect was earned through actions rather than consequences. “Was this another of my trials?”
“It was, and you passed it with ease,” the goddess said happily but then her appearance took on a more serious visage, and her voice became very serious. “You wish to be my priestess, and I demand sacrifice of my priestesses. Are you willing to sacrifice Moira?”
Moira thought for only a split second before answering, because she knew she wanted this more than anything. “Yes goddess, I am willing to sacrifice.”
“I am going to tell you what sacrifices I expect of you,” the earth mother said as she let her eyes run over Moira looking for signs of weakness. “And I will give you one chance to refuse me. If you refuse you can turn and go back to your home with the humans, or the lizard man village with no ill, but if you accept then you will do as I ask without question, and give as I desire without recourse.”
Moira gazed deeply into the goddess’s iridescent eyes and felt only peace, and at that moment she knew her life’s path must be with the earth mother. “I have to know goddess, tell me the sacrifices you demand of me.”
“I need two sacrifices of the flesh,” the goddess said as her eyes narrowed slightly and her features turned stony. “You must be sanctified by the spirit of the land, you must be cleansed to your very core.”
Moira did not have to think she knew she would do this. “Yes goddess, I will do this for you.”
“The second sacrifice is your child,” the earth mother said coldly and her eyes narrowed looking for weakness in the girl. “You will give your child to me to be raised as a hierophant, and it will leave you barren, never to have children again. But I am not a cruel goddess, when I take, I also give, and from your touch will spring life for all creatures. You will answer all of the mother’s prayers when they beg me for children in their thoughts, I will send you to bring them the gift of a child.”
Moira thought of never seeing the child she carried, and never having children, and it saddened her. Then she thought of all of the mothers she would bring new children to, and of all of the children that she could bring into this land. The children that may have otherwise never come to be, and she knew this was her course. “I…I will make this sacrifice.”
“Are you sure child?” the earth mother said, and her features softened as she could see the mix of pain and determination in the girl. “This is the only chance you have to refuse. If you go down this path it is a life long journey and there are no diversions.”
Moira ran her hands over her stomach and thought deeply if this is what she truly wanted, and she knew that this was bigger than her, bigger than anything she ever thought she would be part of and that dispelled all doubt in her mind. “I have never been surer of anything in my life goddess.”
Moira watched the goddess smile at her words and she knew she was on the right path. Only a few short months ago she was a farm girl with only dreams of maybe meeting a husband that could take care of her, and now she was going to be a priestess queen. She was feeling overwhelmed and just needed to sit and sort her thoughts on this.
“Stay here tonight child,” the goddess said as she smiled and joy was apparent in her voice. “You will be safe, you have my word. Anytime you are in this clearing you will be safe, it has my blessing.”
“Thank you goddess,” Moira said gratefully but then remembered the creature under the tree in the clearing.
“No need to worry child,” the earth mother said sensing Moira’s hesitation. “It obeys me and me alone, it will not harm you, it will protect you.”
Moira just nodded her understanding as she watched the earth mother walk toward the tree and lay a hand on it gently. The goddess looked as though she was in deep thought and then she turned to face Moira again.
“Prepare yourself tonight Moira, for when the sun rises tomorrow I will send someone for you,” the goddess said plainly looking at the girl that would be her new priestess. It had been some time since she had allowed a human to wield her power or share her gifts, but this human girl was different, she would do great things with the power. She had seen that since Moira was a little girl and knew it to be true.
Moira was afraid, she did not know what to expect, but she knew th
is was the right thing to do. She watched the earth mother ball her hand into a fist and wrap three times on the trunk of the once great tree. She was astonished when the trunk of the tree cracked in several places outlining a rough rectangular shape as tall as a man and half as wide, and then it opened. The bark swung out like a door as if it were on hinges, and bathed the area in a soft glow from a light source within the tree.
“You may stay inside if you wish,” the earth mother said with a smile. “It is warm and there is food.”
“I would be honored goddess,” Moira said as she moved to look inside of the opening and could see this was no natural space. “But, how is this possible?”
“Magic my dear,” the goddess said plainly as she motioned for Moira to enter. “You will be able to wield magics like this someday Moira because you are human and humans are one of the first races.”
“Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Giants were carved from the stone of life.” Moira said under her breath as she remembered a story her grandmother told her. “Gnomes, Ogres, Orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, and all the rest were made from the shavings that were left over.”
“You know the story of the first races,” the goddess said already knowing the truth. “It is good to know of these things in life, to know where you came from and where you are going. Only the first races can wield the most powerful magics, the rest only have a small grasp of that power. I have many preparations to make for tomorrow, so I will take my leave of you.”
“I will wait patiently for your return earth mother,” Moira said as she watched in awe as the goddess seemed to disappear into a cloud of mist and haze.
Moira stepped cautiously toward the tree trunk, and then to a place where she could peer into the open trunk of the tree. She could see a wooden stairway leading up into the tree’s depths, the stairway seemed to be molded out of wood, not cut or built, but almost like it grew that way. Right away she could see the space within the tree was much larger than the trunk could ever allow. She guardedly walked up the stairs and came into a room that was similarly molded out of the wood of the tree. The room was modestly decorated with tapestries depicting woodland creatures in the forest, a large arm chair on one side of the room, and a bed on the other side. A copper brazier with runes embossed into it sat in the middle of the room with an eerie blue flame dancing playfully within it.
