The Prophecy

Was it true? Have I been blindly idolizing Mother Cora? I felt betrayed. I was just six years old when I broke the law of the land without knowing the consequences. What saddened me the most was that it seemed as if she didn’t value my action. Maybe Mother Rozia was right. I should have followed in her footsteps. At least she openly expressed her disapproval. I felt lost as I passed by the tree of the Goddess of War. All of a sudden, my sword handle started glowing. It was heating up from the glow and began burning the buckle around my waist.

I panicked and hurried to remove the buckle before I caught fire, but the sword flew and disintegrated as it reached the goddess tree.

I was baffled. Was this a sign from the Goddess? I ran toward the tree, threw myself at her mercy and begged for the return of my sword.

Deep inside, I could not help but feel lost as to why she took the gift she has bestowed to me. Why did I deserve to be punished this way? Most of all, I was furious at myself for not knowing what my purpose was and why my path was ever so challenging and mysterious. The only thing that gave me hope was taken away days before the quest to the old land.

I did not know what to make of it. I asked for the mercy of the Goddess of War while weeping uncontrollably: “Goddess of all just and wise, I was not worthy of your blessing, I do not know my purpose. The more I stay in your holy temple, the more I feel lost and weak. Please forgive me. I want to know why I am so different from the rest. I want to know why?” I wept uncontrollably. Mother Cora appeared out of nowhere. She was standing next to me. She was acting as if she did not see or hear me, so I spoke to her with tears in my eyes and shaking voice: “Mother Cora, I failed. I am not worthy. My sword is gone …”

Mother Cora did not reply back or acknowledge me in any way. She showed no emotion.

“Mother Cora …” I called her again wiping my tears.

Mother Cora was staring at the goddess tree. She was wearing her battle armor. She was standing with her two legs. Her missing limb was missing no more.

I shouted, “Mother Cora … your leg!!” She did not respond. It was as if she could not see me, like I was invisible. I stood up and took a closer look at her face. She was still gazing at the goddess tree as if she were frozen in time. I stroked her right cheek and wanted to tell her how much I missed her guidance. As I removed my hand from her check a liquid crystal was dripping from my hand.

“…wait, is this a memory?”, then Mother Cora started walking towards the goddess tree. I followed Mother Cora into her past.

I was stepping into one of Mother Cora’s past, a memory long before my time. In the distance, I was hearing her team navigating the old land. The land felt familiar as if I have been there before. The untamed nature reminded me of the dream I have seen when I received my sword from the Crystal Lake.

Mother Cora deliberately separated from the rest and walked even deeper into the forest. She was walking slowly, studying the leaves of the trees and following the trail of different colored flowers.

I kept following Mother Cora to the very place I saw in my dream.

Mother Cora: “Goddess of all just and wise, I am where you want me. I followed all the signs, open my eyes to see and give me the strength to fulfill the prophecy.”

Mother Cora ripped a piece of cloth from her cloak and wrapped both of her eyes with it. She kept walking forward.

Mother Cora walked with caution; however everything about the land has changed. This time, I knew my experiences will not be the same as the last time. As we walked deeper into the forest, I felt the pain. I heard my ancestors who came before us roar for justice, so much anguish. The land we stood on was bleeding. The world was crying for salvation.

I sat down on the ground, burying my head between my legs. I was overwhelmed by everything. I could not follow her anymore. As I was begging Goddess of War to stop, Mother Cora spoke: “I am here, sent by the Goddess of War”.

Mother Cora was standing two feet ahead of me. I stood up and looked around, but I could not see who she was talking to. She continued “The old one. I beg you. Show yourself to me!”

I didn’t know which goddess she was referring to. The air stood still.

Then a familiar voice spoke, it was the same voice which spoke to me in my dream: “well, well … How brave you must be! However, you should not have come. Tell me, what is it that you seek?”

Mother Cora threw her bow and arrow on the ground and knelt. “Goddess of Mother Nature, The Goddess of War is at your mercy. My kind is at your mercy.”

Goddess of Mother Nature hovered around Mother Cora and said “You brought her here to me. It shall be done.” Goddess of Mother Nature suddenly glanced toward me. For a second, everything felt real as if I was present in the past.

I didn’t allow my mind to wonder about discovering another goddess. There was too much I didn’t know, but the time will come to ponder. I didn’t want to miss a single detail so I paid a close attention.

“Goddess of Mother Nature, your prophecy …”

“My Prophecy? Now you wish for the old ways. I created your kind with half a soul so you will be whole once united with your other half. I heard your ancestor’s prayers. I blessed the union with the creature called man and a chance to breathe another life … to reproduce. I did this knowing that it will make me fall out of grace with the other goddesses. It would have been against our nature. We create the worlds and grant what they are missing. We do not intervene nor rule the worlds we create.” said Goddess of Mother Nature. With a single touch, she ripped the cloth from Mother Cora’s eyes. However, Mother Cora kept her eyes shut.

“Come now child, I do not wish any harm upon you. It’s not in my nature.” said the Goddess of Mother Nature.

Mother Cora opened her eyes and stood up.

“You talk of my prophecy? So, tell me where you stand now, Goddess of War” says Goddess of Mother Nature

At that moment, Goddess of War possessed Mother Cora. Her eyes turned crystal blue and started sparkling. A silver-ish mist seemed to envelope her. When she spoke, her voice comes out wispy and melodic.

Mother Cora / Goddess of War: “I have been doing her bidding for all these years. She has lost her ways. It is time for us to leave this land. It is evident that we cannot control nor rule what we created. The more we tried to wield them with force, the more we lost their love and devotion. Their heart is full of fear. The land is dying as the goddesses’ power diminishes, but she denies the reality! The creatures of the Goddess of Fertility are devouring the newcomers and the ones we save grow up to be feral, so we have no choice but to exile them to the old lands. She is even turning against her own kind, imprisoning the ones who dared to oppose her.”

Goddess of Mother Nature turns her head away.

Goddess of War continues “You need to give these souls the gift of life. You have to come back. Promise me you will make all this right. It all falls on you.”

Goddess of Mother Nature looks directly at Goddess of War with anger in her eyes and says “Listen! Listen to the cries, the agony, and the pain that I live with. I did not abandon them. It’s the rest of you who made that choice.”

Goddess of War looked down, defeated, and feeling ashamed. She then spoke “All is not lost. I have been harvesting the male offspring from your trees. Some of them were lost. The Goddess of Fertility roots got to them first while leaving the females untouched.”

“What do you do with the ones who survived?” asked Goddess of Mother Nature.

“I did what I had to do. The killing of innocent souls was against what I stood for. I saved the ones I could. She created monsters out of the ones I could not save. These monsters openly declared war on their own kind, hunted and devoured on the off springs. She blamed you for the calamity and disaster. As if, the union you weaved between the two souls was unholy, and it corrupted the males. All these years I felt as if what she claimed was not true, I believed there must be a purpose to why you created these souls in pairs”.

“All these years, I have been witnessing the demise of the world. I see no love in their hearts. I see fear of persecution and hate.” said Goddess of Mother Nature and signs for Goddess of War to follow her. She walks over to the only standing tree. The tree had lost its leaves and the bark had started to peel off. The trees of Goddess of Mother Nature were dying throughout the lands. She started to caress the bark slowly.

“This is happening because of her. She is destroying my trees before their time. The trees, like everything else, were created for a purpose. They always produce the soul mates together because every earthly manifestation of life is created with an equal. This ensures every creation will have a companion. This duality is woven into the fiber of everything in sight. Disrupting this process will disrupt the delicately calibrated balance of the universe. You see … this one still has life left in it.” The Goddess of Mother Nature extends her hand, breaks into the bark of the tree and pulls out an offspring. She embraces the child and gives it a kiss on the lips. She whispers softly: “This is your prophecy. She will free all the creature of her kind and join the two worlds.”

She then traces the shape of half of a heart on the womb of the child with her finger as she offered it to the Goddess of War. Suddenly, I felt a sharp piercing pain on my womb. I reached down and traced my fingers lightly on my skin.

… I was that offspring.

“Now … Take her back to your land and let her be raised as one of their own but beware … not even your vessel should know of this, only reveal this when the time comes.”

She hands the baby to Goddess of War and continued, “With the coming of this child, the prophecy has begun.”

I could not comprehend the fact that the life we live was a prison shrewdly constructed against our existence by none other than the goddess we worshiped unconditionally.

I was still witnessing the past as if I were living it. Then we heard leaves being rustled. It sounded like we were being approached from numerous creatures from all sides.

Goddess of Mother Nature looks up as if surveying her surroundings. She looks down at Goddess of War and commands: “It’s not safe anymore. Your vessel should not be seen here. Leave! Go! I will handle this. Leave the rest to me.”

The sounds were louder and clearer, as if the creatures were approaching fast. We can hear distinct growls and shrieks. There were also the sounds of branches breaking off trees.

Goddess of War holds the child tightly and starts running in the opposite direction.

I was anxious to see what the source of the approaching force was, but suddenly I felt a hand resting on my shoulders and I was pulled back from the vision.

I turned to see who it was. It was Goddess of War still encased inside the body of Mother Cora and we were back in the new land under the tree of Goddess of War.

Goddess of War was holding my sword in her other hand. I knelt down.

“Don’t be afraid. I wanted you to see this. Rise!” She says softly.

I was overwhelmed with fear. My body was shaking. I stood up and looked at her.

She said, “Now you know what your purpose is, and with this …” She offers me the sword and continues “you wield your destiny.”

I reached out with both hands and received the sword. I looked up to see that Mother Cora has disappeared. I was standing alone.

I finally understood. I know where I came from but at the same time, I still have lots to learn. I knew that I still faced multiple dangers ahead of me and with this sword; I was given a fighting chance. I looked at my sword and grasped the handle. It was strong. I could feel its power inside … like a beating heart.

As I raised the sword, I could feel warmth emanating from it. It was as if my body was accepting it as a new body part. I knew this was meant to be and named my sword DESTINY.

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