The Ceremony

I felt anxious as I was walked away from my home. I was not sure I was ready for the responsibilities that came with maturity. Today will define the rest of my life. Everyone was gathered, waiting to witness our accomplishments, our worthiness as mothers and as defenders of the clan.

My heart pounded faster with every step I took. I kept my nerves in check and marched forward. It was my fortunate luck that I happened to be the only one who was attending the blessing ceremony as a new mother. In the distance, I noticed sisters dressed in ceremonial gowns like mine walking towards the temple. I can hear their laughter and excitement which forced me to question my own emotions to the most anticipated day in the history of our community.

I quickly joined them and entered the temple. We passed through mothers and sisters to stand in line, joining the rest of the new mothers who arrived earlier than us. Mother Cora stood up from her throne and banged the stage she was standing on three times with her crystal walking stick. The crowd’s chatter stopped instantly.

“In this day, we made history. You stand here before my eyes as no longer sisters but as mothers. We brought you to our world by the order of the Goddess of Fertility. We protected you by the weapon provided by the Goddess of War. Before this day ends, you will receive the blessing of the goddesses, and then we can tell who is ready for the outside world" said the High Priestess gazing at the new members of her salvation army.

"You are no more defenseless ... you have been saved by the mothers and it's time for you to gather those who need your help!"

The High Priestess pleasant expression faded "your errors are your own, your choices define your fate, and those sisterly privileges you possessed do not apply to you any longer, motherhood comes with greater obligation. As we all know, if the laws of the new land are broken, the goddesses do not forgive nor forget"

The High Priestess walked slowly observing our expressions and stood in front of me … staring into my eyes and shouted in a firm voice:

"Rules are rules and they must be obeyed!" and headed back to her stage which was made out of pure crystal, a gift from the Goddess of War. The High Priestess took a minute from her speech and gazed at the crowd who were gathered as witnesses.

"I feel great joy to bless our new mothers to their higher purpose, we are the nation of the goddesses and today your earthly purpose begins!"

Every mother and sister watching the ceremony was fighting back their tears as they heard the High Priestess congratulate her new members.

Every one of the mothers and sisters headed toward us to congratulate our achievement. They shook and kissed the palm of our right hands.

These are the ten girls nominated and trusted to cross the border to the land of Girar and I was one of them!

The High Priestess left the stage as the Priestess of War took her place:

“Attention! fellow mothers, I will not be extending good thoughts at this moment, as we all know at midnight the new mothers will be tested by the Goddess of War, she will test your ability and will decide if you are worthy of the gifts. If chosen, the tree of the Goddess of War will provide each and every one of you with a crystal weapon that fits your talent as a holy gatherer but if not chosen, you will be assigned as inland mothers serving your superiors and the holy grounds of the goddesses! But I know for sure this will not occur since I was the one who trained and guided you to this day; I believe and know none of you will fail me!”

Holy gatherers … that will be our title once we pass our final test and will be marked forever as the ground soldiers of the goddess clan. The only members that could travel to the corrupted and forgotten land called Girar. This land was once a home to goddesses; it was the land from which our kind was cultivated from. We were brought to life by the Goddess of Fertility’s love for creation. Back then, we were loved and praised by goddesses but now we have become an embarrassment.

Back in the old land, the goddesses forgiving nature was tested greatly by our kind; today they only revile themselves to those who broke the laws and to the high priestesses. The mother who is found guilty will stand before the goddesses and accept her fate. However, no mother has ever survived her punishments long enough to tell the tale.

Every sister in our clan dreams of becoming a holy gatherer but not every sister could become one. It requires great physical and spiritual strength coupled with the utmost devotion. These traits are not easy to possess living in a clan haunted by its past. It has been a century since more than three holy gatherers have been chosen which was what made this year different. This year, ten of us had this grand opportunity and skill.

As I look around for my mothers, I caught a glimpse of one of them walking away from the ritual with the fabric on her back floating in the air. Right then, I knew one of my mothers who brought me up from infancy, the High Priestess, was not happy about my choice.

"Let her be ... she will calm down!" said my other mother noticing me, "She didn't think you will make it this far. Now let me look at you! My dear Tiya, you are the best gift I have ever collected. I knew the moment I held you in my arms that you will be a holy gatherer just like me! Well … I was the best back then" she looked down on her leg. She lost one of her legs in a battle saving one of the newly recruited holy gatherers from flying spear; her action was heroic even in the eyes of the goddess. Her fearless action made her reign as the Priestess of War for the longest that was ever recorded and yes! I was raised by the two priestesses who are handpicked by the two powerful idol goddesses.

My mother, the Priestess of War served her goddess full heartedly with a talent so unique. Even if she achieved her purpose in life, the Goddess of War was not done with her. So, in exchange for her devotion, the goddess presented her with a crystal leg.

Mother Cora was one of a kind; she collected hundreds of off springs, saved so many holy gatherers lives but she only claimed me to raise as a sister. She has always seen a potential for greatness in me.

When I was little, I feared Mother Cora. She was tough and I never saw her smile. She was never around, and even if she was, she spent her days in the temple praying for the Goddess of War. She would sometimes spend weeks without food and water.

The day Mother Cora lost her leg, I was six years old. I spent my day with my other mother praying to the Goddess of Fertility. We were interrupted by one of the holy gatherers with news of our victory, but Mother Cora was injured badly. The High Priestess run toward the shed, but Mother Cora was nowhere to be found.

I knew Mother Cora was not resting in the shed. I knew exactly where to look for her, so I ran as quickly as my little feet could to the temple of Goddess of War. I opened the gates with a single push. I saw Mother Cora resting against the goddess tree. Even though I was only six years old, I knew Mother Cora was not well. I sat next to her for hours. I can hear the voice of the High Priestess and the other holy gatherers beyond the gate of the Goddess of War temple. They were calling for Mother Cora and me. I tried to speak out, but I could not make any words. All of the sudden, everything went silent and I fell asleep. When I woke up, Mother Cora was lifeless and cold. A thin layer of crystal was forming on top of the open wound.

I prayed for the Goddess of War to bring her back to me and promised to give my life in return. The moment those words left my lips, I collapsed on the ground.

Mother Cora recovered while I was still in a deep sleep. She carried me out of the temple all the while she kept saying “What have you done?!” That was the last thing I remember.

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Our land is called 'Overa' named by the Goddess of Fertility. This land is hidden from the rest of the world by a powerful spell cast by the High Priestess. We were the oldest civilization, the first kind to roam the earth right beside the goddesses who gave us life. It is enclosed within Girar, a larger land that was once the cradle of life. The land was vast but hallow. The Goddesses needed beings that resembled the goddess’s forms, so they each planted nine beautiful tress; every leaf of the trees was different in size, shape and color. But those trees were only the beginning. They blessed the trees as our source of life, their roots are our getaway to earth, and their trunks are where our lives begin. Every nine years, our kind is born and every nine years we go to war with the corrupted ones to save the off springs from a damned destiny.

"Come ... it's time to feast" Mother Cora led me to the tree where all the clan gathers to dine under the watchful eye of the Goddess of Harmony.

The trees in our land represent the goddess we worship. As a holy gatherer, we worshiped a silver olive tree with crystal leaves; the roots were deadly to those who are not holy gatherers. The olive tree is worshiped by all; it belongs to the Goddess of Union, where a union of mothers takes place. A sister seeking approval of her soul mate would whisper to the tree and the goddess replies in a dream conforming or rejecting the union.

A single mother is forbidden to raise an offspring alone. A union of two mothers is one of our obligations; it is the one and important law we live by. The High Priestess chose Mother Cora as her partner and it was accepted in the eye if the Goddesses of Union. The union between my mothers took place twenty years ago and soon enough, I was their sister saved by Mother Cora.

I could see the joy Mother Cora was fighting to hide from me and the rest of the clan. I was the source of her contentment, but I was not entirely pleased with how the day is going.

"Mother Cora! Will you tell me how it happened? ... I believe I deserve to know ... since I am following your footsteps? I know you saved a life, and you lost your leg but you didn’t tell me how they broke the shielding spell?"

Mother Cora looking at me concerned "Be careful my dear Tiya! Questions are symptoms of curiosity and curiosity is forbidden in our land!"

She took a few steps and stopped "The goddess clan is only for the beings like us ... Out there, there are so many distractions, corruption and endless cycle of pain. Fight these thoughts; your concentration is something that I have sensed since I held you in my arms. You are what I needed. I believe you could be the greatest priestess who ever served the Goddess of War. I hope you believe that too!”

Mother Cora left me with my thoughts. So many questions and responsibilities overwhelmed me. Mother Cora was right for not telling me the truth, I was daring to ask a question which was above my level and I know if the others had heard me, I would have been suspended until midnight, but she wouldn’t do that to me. She chose to give her life than watching her hard work go to waste!