Endymion Oracles: Nina's Story

Well - There's this girl. She's sweet and beautiful, with a fire of determination in her soul. She's the only one in her village who sees the horror coming. That makes her the Seer. Too bad her people don't want to listen.

There's this goddess. She knows it would not be of lasting benefit to her children if she intervened to stop their impending doom. It's unthinkable that they are beginning to fear her because of the poisonous words of...

...this sorcerer. He's a power-crazed ego-maniac that looks a lot like Johnny Depp. Like most power-crazed ego-maniacs, he takes himself waaaaaaaaaaaay too seriously, bordering on comical, except it's hard to laugh because he's so damn mean. He's got these wicked flowers with him - a mad horticulturalist, some would say.

There's also this voice - this calm, loving male voice, that stirs Nina's heart with longing. She knows not from whence he came, but she cannot stop herself from falling in love with his mystical guiding spirit.

Is the voice another trick of the sorcerer, with which to seduce Nina and draw her to himself, or is this the love Nina has always longed for?

She must find out before it is too late to save herself and her village.

There's this intrigued potential reader...

From Chapter 3: The Voice

A few minutes earlier when Taro had made it back to his seat beside Mira and Kenji, he had noticed that his daughter was missing. He looked up to see a rush of people filing back to their seats. There was still no Nina. As Taro stood, he could clearly see a girl’s form close to the stage. She was standing directly in the light cast from the stage. He at once recognized his daughter and went to help her. Taro’s first thought was that the family should not have come. He worried that maybe Nina was under Oscuridad’s spell, drawn in by whatever magnetism that the magician was using on the rest of the audience. As he neared his daughter, Taro could see the horror in her eyes and ran forward just in time to catch her. Nina lay cold and frightened in her father’s arms. She had slowly come out of her trance. The first thing she did was to turn the palms of her hands toward her face. She wanted to show her father, but there was nothing to see. Her palms were cold and clammy, but there was no blood.

Thousands of fireflies streamed into view with the sweet notes used to summon their brightness. They magically swirled around, climbing up to the Grand Hall ceiling and then reclaiming their places in the walls. With light starting to appear once again in the banquet room of the Grand Hall, Oscuridad turned his attention to his audience. Nina heard him warning the people that it was imperative for them to return the following night.

“If you love your Goddess, you will do as I say! She has told me that this is the most important thing you can do! You will thank me when you see how she continues to bless you and protect you from harm. She will bless your children and your farms. She asks so little in return for the countless blessings...” The audience was interpreting his words exactly as Oscuridad meant them to: if they did not return the next evening with gifts for the Goddess, she may not continue to bless them.

Nina was still weak and shaking as her father helped her back to her seat. Mira had packed up the family’s belongings and was preparing to leave. She was carefully watching Taro and Nina move up the side aisle. Mira too, wished they had not come. There was some ugly power this man had over her daughter and Mira could not allow it to continue.

Taro led Nina back to where the family had been seated. Mira was now standing with her son, obviously anxious to leave. She put a protective arm around Nina, and led her away with the family. They quietly made their way along the wall of the banquet room and nearly made it to the large anteroom where they could see the amethyst framed doorway that would take them outside and into the valley.

“Anyone wishing to leave before the ceremony has concluded does so in grave disrespect to the Supreme Goddess!” Oscuridad’s voice boomed through the Grand Hall and pounded obnoxiously in Nina’s ears.

The girl and her family turned in embarrassment to a sea of eyes staring blankly at them. Taro and Mira smiled politely and found empty seats for themselves and their children near a banquet room doorway. Oscuridad’s words had not stopped them from leaving, but the looks on their friend’s faces had. It was difficult for them to let the perception stand that they were being disrespectful to Inana, when all they wanted was to be away from this horrible man.

“And now, if the rest of you can just keep your seats for a few minutes more, I have instructions for you from the Supreme Goddess,” Oscuridad continued. “For tomorrow night, Inana has requested that you bring the finest animal from each of your herds or flocks to give to her as a sacrifice of love and dedication. Those who value the Goddess’ protection will obey!”

Taro could almost hear his neighbor’s thoughts.

“Why would Inana want our animals?”

Nervous whispers broke out among the crowd.

“Only the most devoted will be able to make such a glorious sacrifice!” the dark magician added. “It will be a joyous occasion! We will see you then, my brethren! Praise be to Inana!”

Oscuridad finished and walked from the stage. His exit was without fanfare and lacked the drama and grace of his entrance.

“He will need to work on that bit of his presentation,” Mira observed with disgust.

The wolf, following closely at his heels, glanced back to the audience and almost seemed to smile. When the two were out of sight, the heavy scarlet curtains came noisily together, covering the entire stage. The extra length of material settled onto the floor in front of the stage.

During Oscuridad’s final words, unnoticed by much of the stunned audience, twelve men in black floor length cloaks appeared, one on each side of the six exits which led to the anteroom. The cloaks hid the clothing and shoes they were wearing underneath, making them appear to glide over the floor without actually touching it. Taro and Mira guided their children quickly through the exits. Nina noticed that the men’s faces were covered by masks oddly resembling Oscuridad. The men began motioning for the people to leave the building and everyone responded by hurriedly packing their remaining belongings and exiting as quickly as possible. On a typical celebration night in the Grand Hall, there would be jovial lingering and happy discussions of the evening. This night was very different. Husbands were whispering to wives, children were walking in stunned silence. Other people were just shaking their heads in disbelief at what they had heard.

Nina was exhausted and the night air helped to revive her. People poured out of the Grand Hall and onto the welcome moonlit carpet of grass. There were hundreds of firefly lanterns left along the tree-lined path. Families had set them down as they had arrived at the building, letting the bright magical creatures roam the sky or follow them inside the Grand Hall. Most people now hurriedly chose their own lantern and continued walking. The little “light bugs” had to hurry to catch up with the lanterns. Nina’s father promised his family that they would never have to see that man again, as long as he could help it. The four said brief goodnights to friends and relatives and began their short journey home. Mira was sure there would be a lot of talk about this night, tomorrow and for a long while to come. She only wanted to get her family home. Her greatest hope was that the strange sinister man and his wolf would leave their village soon. She wanted to believe that no one would return to see him a second time. Surely she knew her people well enough to be confident that they would see through this man’s lies. She began to wonder if there actually was any sickness in the South country. She hadn’t heard the names of any victims of the disease.