Chapter 1

"Oh Lord" The tribe leader said shouting with his hands up in submission.

"We know you hear us, and we know you are upset with our actions in the present times causing you to punish us with this life draining famine."

"We know not how who did what to upset you but today we all gather in from of your Forest trying to rectify our mistakes."

"Please accept this little girl as your servant and relieve us from this famine."

"Please relieve us from this famine" Everyone present in the crowd shouted out loud and kneeled , their heads touching the ground. The only one who didn't kneel or say anything was the girl being sent as a sacrifice.

Damini, the girl who everyone celebrated and was about to send to the forest in exchange of rain and crops didn't feel anything. Well, she wasn't allowed to that is. In a community where women were only seen as objects to be owned what can you expect from a girl belonging to such a tribe.

She was told to not feel anything in order of her to enter the Sacred Forest, and she obeyed. She didn't let any feeling bother her. Likewise, she didn't allow herself to be happy or sad. She wasn't resisting in anger nor was she crying out of sadness. She was just there. That's just how she was taught to be.

That is why when the time came to choose the eligible girl for sacrifice she was the celebrated as the chosen one.

It is hard to convince a girl who is emotional to leave her attachments with her parents her aspirations to grow up get married and have kids. Though for most societies these expectations aren't reasons to live but for this tribe that is the best life a woman could have.

Thus, at the age of 10 she was chosen to be the servant of God. She wasn't intelligent enough at that age to fear God and know the effects of a famine, but she was old enough to know going into the dense forest with no light or day was the same as sentencing one to death.

Regardless, she listened to the village elders and agreed to be their savior.

A push on her back was enough of a signal for her to know that she was now expected to move into the forest.

Taking a deep breadth she moved forward. Her bare feets feeling every grain of dust on the ground she was stepping on her body tensing up as she neared the thicker insides of the forest when she heard.

"Hail the Lord for his mercy!!"

The sudden uproar startled her, but she wasn't allowed to show how surprised she was. Composing herself she wanted to look back,, but again the rules didn't allow her. In her tribe when a person is being sent off they are not allowed to look back. The login being any negative energy following then will hold him in possession once their presence has been acknowledged by the person he followed and throughout his life he will carry the burden of bad luck on his shoulders.

 But a sudden loud sound didn't cause her to be curious anymore. Lightning. The forest is so dense with trees that she didn't even realize that it was raining. Not a drop escaped from the leaves to land on her. No one to accompany her. The only thing she could do in this dark mess is wait. Wait for her unjust death in the hands of a wild animal.

Waiting, was the only thing she could do. Even though she was banished from having any feelings, she still was a human with human emotions. She also had longings. She also wanted to be loved. She also wanted to go back to a year when her parents weren't killed, and she still had a loving family who took care of her instead of being an orphan who was a bother for the tribe. Someone, who ended up being disposed by the tribe and people.

She wanted to cry, but again the restrictions stopped her, the fear that the god will be angry and take away the rain scared her.

Sitting down she laid her head on her knees wrapping her hands around her legs she closed her eyes escaping into her memories. The memories of warmth. The memories that made her see light even when her eyes was closed, a light so bright it warmed her body on only from outside but from inside her heart. But the thought that she can never relieve these moments neither can she see the people who she spends these memories with made a part of her go cold.

"how long do I have to live here ?" she said in a calm and almost in a whisper opening her eyes.

"What is a little girl doing in my forest? Don't you fear for your like life child?"

An unknown voice rang around the whole forest. An earth shakening voice. A voice that holds the power to break through the earth. A voice so mighty that I unknowingly came to my knees and a voice so soothing that I wanted to hear more.

"Who-Who is this!!!? " she said with a shaking voice.

"You dare question my identity when you are the one trespassing into my land!!"

The voice said, now with a sense of anger and before Conradina could answer, the earth started to shake frivolously almost as if something inside the was trying to escape, something powerful and ultimately, it did. A ray of light, followed by another, then another breaking the earth into chunks for it to escape.

*Gasp*

With the chunk of earth under what she was sitting broke she fell into a deep abyss of white light. An endless well to infinity of warmth and light. Scared at first but soon her body relaxed, and s, andoved the feeling of this magic when suddenly she was standing still. In a dungeon. In front of a man of elegant features with the aura of a god.

"You better have a good explanation, human child"

****************

Thanks for reading and if satisfied with my work please visit my other works.I am a new writer and hope you like my stories of adventure and fantasy.

😊