Coyote Spirit wasn’t here. I really wished he was. I could’ve used his guidance right now.
I expected the Great Mystic to say something to start the ceremony, but instead, someone began singing in Elvish.
It wasEddie.Wow, he had a lovely tenor voice. I turned my gaze upward to see him on a balcony above the pews, standing beside a group of musicians who held drums, flutes, harps, and violins. He sang out the first hymn, and his voice vibrated around the sanctuary.
The Elves began to beat the drums with their hands, and other voices joined in. A choir of Elves standing on the balcony stepped forward to sing the song alongside Eddie. It didn’t sound like the heavenly chorus of angels, but rather, a robust folk song that was bright and vibrant. As the song continued, the rest of the musicians joined in, their instruments weaving together in an intricate harmony.
Ancestors, the Elves were so talented with music. I’d rarely heard such a gorgeous song. The influences of the song were Celtic, or perhaps, Welsh… until it occurred to me that the Elves were so old that their culture had probably influencedthosesocieties, not the other way around.
Elvish was very new to me, so I didn’t comprehend most of what was sung. At least I waskind ofgetting the message. Poor Charlie looked completely lost. He hadn’t been as quick to pick up Elvish terminology in our lessons, so I tried to interpret what I could for him.
The song is telling the story of your people, I explained to him across our connection.It explains how the Elves left Edinmyre and came to Earth to worship your goddesses here.
He didn’t respond, but still, I could tell he was appreciating the song just as much as I was, because it was so beautiful.
I was just starting to relax when the music faded away. The Great Mystic held up her hands, and everyone looked at her.
“It has been many years since a new princess has risen to be our messenger, one who may speak to the goddesses on our behalf,” she announced. “Our mystics have tried and failed to contact Idril and Caralyn, most sacred of all goddesses within the Blessed Haven. Today, we pray that we may be enlightened through the eyes of she who has been sent to us.”
The Great Mystic gestured to me. “Dear child, what is your name?”
“Ava-Marie Wahkin, Princess of Ilamanthe, wife, fated mate and soul partner of Prince Charles Majestica, Grand Duke of Ilamanthe,” I stated. Abigail had gone over what I’d needed to say a million times, but I nearly stumbled on the lines.
“Why are you here?”
“To become the messenger of the goddesses, and guide my people into their light.”
“What tree do you choose to mark your path?” the Great Mystic asked.
Trees were generally important to most supernatural societies, but Elves especially revered them. “I choose the poplar tree, the tree that has no secrets— a tree that whispers, that can be cut down, yet will always grow back. A tree of Water.”
Sounded like me when I’d looked it up in the royal library. Can’t shut it up, can’t kill it either.
“And who do you choose to be your guide?” the Great Mystic asked coolly.
“The phoenix, the spirit of transformation,” I replied.
Like the trees, the Elves had animals that were sacred to them that they chose to follow in their life paths. I’d decided on the phoenix, because the concept of rebirth was important to me. I had left yet another life behind at the Institute and was stepping into another role, and so, I had to become something new once again. I had chosen a tree that symbolized the energy of Water, so I felt my guiding animal had to be something of Fire, to suit two of my elements.
“Then let it be so,” the Great Mystic responded. “Let us prepare you to meet our goddesses and receive the message they shall send.”
The Great Mystic dipped her fingers in the basin of water, then ran it across my forehead. The other mystics began stirring small pots of paint with brushes. They drew Elvish runes on my skin in golden paint, humming a chant. I swallowed a lump in my throat as they fixed a crown that was similar to the rays of the sun to the top of my head. The eager eyes of every Elf in the room fixated on me.
I was the symbol of their goddesses on this Earth. In the palace, I was the princess, but from this moment forward whenever I stepped into the temple, I would be the living incarnation of Idril and Caralyn, and would be treated as such.The goddesses would speak through me, and I would voice what they wanted to the Elves, whether I agreed with it or not. It was such a heavy responsibility that I nearly collapsed under the weight of it, but the Elves were depending on me, so I kept it together.
I didn’tfeellike a goddess, and didn’t believe I could step into the role of one, but I’d been chosen for this one way or another. I had to transform into what my people needed me to be.
Once the preparations were done, the mystics lifted me out of my chair and carried me to the wooden altar. I gritted my teeth as I endured the sensation of their hands all over my limbs, and didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until they’d deposited me on the altar, though it didn’t last long.
This part was what I was most worried about. The trance. If I didn’t receive a vision, it would be proof the goddesses had rejected me, and what would happen then? No one had actually told me— when I’d asked, Abigail made a face and said,Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
I didn’t think I could make something up, or fake it. From what I’d read about Elvish religious ceremonies, this part was actually a huge show for the audience.
The mystics began chanting an ancient song. I felt my body tremble as a feeling like shivers raced up and down my skin. My eyes closed, and my head tilted back as a comfortable weight fell down onto my chest from above…
My footsteps weresoft upon the sand. I was walking on a beach… the sky was red around me, casting forlorn shadows onto the bloody waves.
Oberi was flying above me. She came down to land upon my shoulder. We looked at each other, then forward, casting our gazes forward to seek Idril and Caralyn.
