Chapter One: Searching for the Goddess
It has been three months since Elphaba had defied gravity and flown from the Wizard's palace in a blaze of fire and smoke. He had done well in demonizing her. The Marvelous Land of Oz was now defined by its widespread paranoia of the green-skinned sorceress. Never mind the fact that she had never done anything to hurt anybody in her life! Never mind the fact that she had only ever been motivated by her desire to serve her fellow Ozian! Never mind that most of these Ozians had never seen actually seen her in person! Her name was now synonymous with "evil," even though her name was practically unknown.
Elphaba had lived her last two months as a vagabond. Stealing food. Hunting for shelter. Hiding in the wilderness. Shivering in the snow. Dreading the rain. Fortunately she had not been caught in a thunderstorm…yet.
She flew to the middle of the Deadly Desert that lay past the northern border of Oz. If anybody else had dared to step foot here, they would have been turned to stone by the desert's curse. But Elphaba was a witch. She only had one thing to fear. So she dropped her broom in the sand and strode up an especially large dune. It looked like the perfect place to meditate. She had know idea how right she was.
Long ago she had heard the myth of Lurline, the goddess who had created Oz. Lurline basked in perfect love, perfect harmony, and perfect solitude. She could only be found in the quiet corners of the world. Elphaba did not know if Lurline would care to speak to her, or if she even existed as all, but she was desperate for guidance. She had always prided herself in being a realist, a pragmatist, but that road had led her to live the live of a fugitive. A vagabond! Elphaba was willing to entertain any theories now, even the most fantastical.
With her longest finger she drew a circle in the sand. A perfect circle! Elphaba sat down in it cross legged. At first she closed her eyes. Nothing came. She opened them and stared down at her dark frock stained with dirt.
"Speak to me," she commanded.
No answer.
"I'll do anything you wish. But you have to tell me."
The wind picked up a little bit, blowing some sand on her cabbage-tinted cheeks.
"No signs. No mysteries. Just come to me in a form I can comprehend. Speak to me in a voice I can understand. I am only mortal after all, despite what the Wizard says."
Elphaba closed her mouth and patiently waited. The red sun began to set. The temperature dropped. The stars appeared. The desert crickets chirped. A two-headed cobra slithered past her, but did not enter the circle.
"Speak to me!" Elphaba shouted. "I am not leaving this circle until you do! Speak to me, dammit!"
At once she felt like someone had slapped her across the face. Except there was no pain, no hand, and no bruise. But the sensation of surprise still stung her as if there were.
The air she was breathing had changed. At once it was lifted, lowered, and turned inside-out. Elphaba held her breath and tried to concentrate.
Was there something out there, moving around her? Toward her?
There was nothing, but not really nothing.
There was silence, but not really silence.
She was not alone.