From End to beginning:
I awoke suddenly feeling as if someone had beaten me to death, but somehow they screwed up and I lived. My vision was blurry at first but when it cleared I realized I was far from home.
"My name is Aya- Sayo. I do not understand why I am here. Hello?" I spoke as the strange men stared at me. These men wore black clothing so dark I could barely tell if they were human. They all stood together as if in formation, each one moving separately but according to each other but in sync as well. They seemed to flow around me and watching them move sort of made me dizzy. I caught sight of one man's face. It was hideously deformed, like he'd been hurt in battle or war. Just under his left eye was a long red scar, overlooking the roughness of his face. I looked into his eyes; I saw black iris and strained red blood vessels spread the surface of the eye ball. His piercing gaze made my skin crawl; at that moment I knew I was in danger. I felt the hair on my neck stand on end; I wanted desperately to get out of there. I first looked around, it seemed I was trapped in a cave but I could still see moonlight which meant I was not far from the exit. I could hear bats off to my right and see the dampness slick from the stalagmites on the roof of the cave. I closed my eyes and tried to use my second sight to find a way out but my sight didn't work, nothing happened. If my powers don't work then there seemed no way to get out of this situation. Suddenly two cloaked men on the left grabbed me from each side. I struggled to no avail against the greasy, rough skin of their hands but they held on with a vice. 'Why won't my body move?' I was paralyzed and didn't know why. I was dragged into a room with an opening in the ceiling of the cave. I looked up into the opening suddenly realizing why my powers were useless; it was the night of the solar moon. Knowing my fate of being the next Sorceress Queen, the danger I was in suddenly went up a notch. Ever since the tribe found me to be the next Sorceress queen, I have been trained to lead and protect my people. A sorcerer (s) queen/king has one major weakness and it is the night of the solar moon on his/her 17th birthday. That night their powers are useless to them so that they may come into their full potential when the sun rises. For me, tonight is that night. I was pulled out of my daze by the men dragging me along. As I quickly scanned the room, I saw a stone slab the color of a bats fur in the middle of the room. There were candles lit around the room in weird circular formations. Upon closer examination the slab was stained dark red, this I assumed was blood. The longer I looked upon the slab I saw the evil aura it possessed. It flickered back and forth and licked out at me like a serpent's tongue. Looking upon the slab reminded me of a story my mother once told me of the table of the Sorcerer's eye. My mother told me that the table of the Sorcerer's eye was an evil stone slab forged by a demon called Gyjes. Gyjes was a bat demon with black eyes and wings, his body was distorted, loose and limber. He had scales and the largest wings ever seen on any demon. Many considered him the ultimate evil. He came to power hundreds of years ago by enslaving humans and sorcerers alike. But one brave Sorceress queen named Ares, who was also my ancestor, challenged him in battle. It was a grueling battle in which she perished but before her death she imprisoned the demon Gyjes with her power of wind. Before he was subdued by the queen's magic, he forged a curse of his own on all sorcerers. He called for a stone slab to rise in his death with the power to kill a sorceress queen or king before they came to full power on the night of the solar moon which would also be the 17th birthday. The demon or human would then have the ability steal their powers and use them for whatever they desired. Each sorcerer king and sorceress queen is born so that their 17th birthday and the solar moon match up making them vulnerable to the curse. All the sorcerers went into hiding because of the greediness of the humans who wanted power and the demons who controlled them. The men holding me thrust me to the ground and gathered around the slab. My second of remembrance was shattered by their cruelty. I could only imagine what they would do next. As they stood around me my mind back tracked, to a simpler time. My story can't end where it begins.
My name is Aya-Sayo. I am of the Sayo tribe of sorcerers. We are characterized most by our features. I have light brown skin with piercing emerald-sea green eyes set off perfectly by waist length lime-green hair, and pointed ears. My mother and father have similar features. My mother has blue eyes and waist length blue hair. Her skin is a bronze color of tree bark with the same pointed ears. My father, who died before I was born, has canary yellow blonde hair and golden eyes. My mother I remember very well, it was always just us. I was born in the enchanted city of Malian. Malian is where the race of sorcerers fled after the wars. The city can't be found on any human map and only someone possessing the bloodline of sorcerer can enter, no one leaves. We have our own language separate from human languages. Not all sorcerers have the power of the elements like the sorcerer queen/king but we all have the power of second sight and each sorcerer had a special power of their own usually passed down from their ancestors spells or incantations. The sorcerer queen or king can enhance the power of their subjects but only the sorcerer queen or king can hold the ultimate power. As a people we live longer than humans and usually for hundreds of years before we die. However we do not age as humans do until the year of our dying. My mother would tell me stories passed down by our ancestors to her. My mother's second sight was keen when I was a child. She always knew what I was up too. As children we do not have the capabilities to control our sight so we see random things and events. In school we learn to manage our sight as well as other curricular work like humans, even we must be educated. In primary school I met my best friend Cor-liti. She is the daughter of the last sorcerer king. When her father the last sorcerer king died, we all assumed Cor-liti would develop the powers of a sorceress queen. After a sorcerer king or sorceress queen dies, their eldest child or heir receives the mark of the solar moon signaling that they will be the next sorcerer at the solar moon harvest festival. I was 7 years old when the king died. Cor-liti and I were going to the solar moon harvest festival together with our moms.
"Namai, when are we leaving? We can't be late for the festival! We have to-," I said as I tried to pull my mother out of the wash house and into the yard. I was so excited to see Cor-liti receive the solar moon mark. It was always a spectacular event I had heard from my mother.
"Ah yes. When Sorcerer King Mar-lo received his mark it was such a spectacular event. Oh my," my mother said as her eyes lit up with the excitement of the memory. "There was dancing and singing. The sorceress' of the village did the light show. Oh the light show is so spectacular. The lights swirl around the singers and the dancers. And when the solar moon shines, a bright florescent light hit Mar-lo's forehead. And there the mark of the solar moon stayed. He was a magnificent king. I hope one day you will be able to see christening of a sorceress king or queen." My mother slipped into a state not even I could recognize. Maybe she was reminiscing about the days when she was younger and what her life had been like without me. We kept walking. My mother stopped and used a spell to command animals. "I call upon the revered thee, power and might causing ancients to flee, animals far and near, come to me, take us there," soon I heard a sound in the distance. I was afraid and trembling beside my mother. She quelled my fear by petting my hair. I felt the wind rustle and a lion come from behind a tree. He stood there with brown eyes bigger than mine. His paws were huge and he stood on them with the stature of a king. Chest raised and mane flowing in the air gave him an aura of greatness. I had never been so in awe and fearful at the same time. He further stepped from behind the tree and my mother moved ever closer, though I tried to pull her back. She brushed my hand away gently as if to convey her safety was insured and so was mine. I trusted my mother and let her go on. As the animal and my mother came closer to each other my heart beat faster.
"You have summoned me, for transportation I see. Where is it you wish to go?" the lion spoke to her in an authoritative voice I did not expect. I had never seen an animal speak before. The wonders of my people never ceased to amaze me. "State your name and business," he started to go on but my mother spoke next. Her voice was so melodic and soft. She had a voice that could calm an army. My mother's affinity was calm, along with her sight and the spells passed down to us. Sorcerers have special abilities passed down to them by their ancestors and their affinities come from personality traits, physical or mental abilities.
"I am Serrano-Namai, from the tribe of Sayo. I wish to be taken beyond unto the solar moon harvest grounds with my daughter, Aya-Sayo. Do you give permission to pass, if so lead the way?" My mother calmly stepped back and held my hand close to hers. I was still young and quite small so she lifted me in her arms and carried me to the lion. Only stopping to whisper, "be still I am with you. Do not tremble." I calmed immediately. My mother's calming abilities were instant and sometimes forceful. Even when you didn't want to be calm, you became as still and serene as a quiet river. She set me upon the lion, he was warm and his fur was a pretty golden brown. The fur felt nice against my bare skin. I felt my mother climb on him and we wisped into the air. The lion moved so fast in his stride that I almost felt sick. Everything around me blurred together as we moved through the woods dodging trees, shrubbery, and even other animals. Finally we made it to the castle where Cor-liti and her mother lived. We stepped off of the lion and he disappeared faster than he appeared. Cor-liti was dressed so beautifully in her dress and her mother was elegantly dressed as well. Cor-liti's dress flowed out, made of sheep skin. It had family jewels embroidered in the bodice. We were only 7 or 8 years old but she looked like a woman.
"Cor-Liti, You look gorgeous in your dress. I sure wish I looked as good as you. You are a true princess," I continued to look in awe at her. She looked bright and happy to attend the ceremony. We held hands and walked together. How lucky I was to be best friends with the princess. "So are you excited? I sure am. Namai told me stories of the festivals," Cor-liti stopped walking and looked at me.
"I am very excited but I am afraid. Namai-sama says that we won't have time to be friends when I become sorceress princess. I'll have to train. You and I are best friends are we not?" she looked at me with her huge blue eyes, tears almost filling them. Her hair was short, light blue and framed her face like a small pixie. I pushed back a stray strand of hair. She cried and fell into my arms. That was day our fates together were sealed. We were forever one and meant to be more than friends but sisters. This night would forever change us so for one moment I held her as my friend and tried to console her heart as I felt it breaking.
As I we walked on with our parents having their own conversation, I held her and whispered, "I'll always be here if you need me, no princess-ship could change that." So we walked on for hours. Soon Cor-liti got tired and I carried her. It took hours but by nightfall we had found the harvesting grounds. I had barely been paying attention to my surroundings until I stepped onto the sacred ground. It was amazing, "WOW! This is the place Namai? It's… it's…." lost for words at my surroundings. There was long pathway lined by huge cipher trees. They were as tall as the eye could see. As we walked along the path I saw butterflies and birds chirping and flying all around. I could feel the magic this place held. I was enchanted. We came to an open field where I saw hundreds of sorcerers socializing, smiling, laughing and celebrating this year's harvest. We walked up what seemed to be natures stairs lined with grass. We came to see a beautiful alter lined with food and gifts celebrating the plentiful harvest this year. The altars' pillars were spiraled with the limbs of tree roots and decorated beautifully with flowers of all colors. As we stepped around the altar, we came to a serene, calm lake with lily pads with frogs amid some. There were watery shrubs floating atop with the algae. Along the river were bush trimmed sculptures of animals like the lion we rode. Bushes and shrubs of every color with flowers that moved and talked, this place was truly enchanted. Finally I looked to the moon, the solar moon. The whole reason we had the celebration. The moon was Crescent shaped and a bright grey blue color. It looked ordinary to me. I assumed the awe was yet to come.
"It is the sacred grounds of the solar moon harvest festival. My daughter come," Cor-liti let go of my hand and walked to her mother's side. Her mother was a tall, pixie like creature. She had blue hair like her daughter but with grey eyes. "This is where your destiny will be fulfilled. Be prepared daughter, I understand your fear but you must never show it to your subjects." Her mother walked on and she stood there and sucked in the last of her childhood, from now on it was no more.
"I am ready Namai-sama. Shall we walk further?" holding her head higher she looked at me and said, "I wish to walk alone, go ahead with Namai-sama." I nodded and walked towards Namai-sama. A tear almost escaped my eyes; Cor-liti always had softness in her eyes that made her caring and loving. She told jokes and was always there with witty words to make you forget about all the problems of the day. When she looked at me that last time, I saw a reserved coldness in her eyes. Cor-liti's mother thought coldness was strength but she had it wrong. I couldn't let my best friend turn out that way. We walked on and stepped through the crowd. When we reached the front, five women stepped out in haltered sheep skin bodices embroidered with the same jewels Cor-liti had and sheep skinned skirts. They danced around the alter. It was unbelievable to watch how they danced, arms raised then lowered, hips moving in circular, fast, eradicated movements. I wanted to learn this dance.
"Namai-sama, what dance are they doing?" My mother looked at me and smiled. We watched the women dance and move across the grass. They suddenly stopped and swayed from side to side.
"They are performing the ancient dance of the sun or Macabi del Fuen. It is characterized by the swaying and fast movement of the hips and legs. The footwork is the hardest to learn," she looked back to the dancers still swaying, their hips swaying in the opposite direction of their arms. "I used to be a Fuen dancer in my younger days. I stopped when I met your father." I had often asked about my father, but my mother never told me much except that I looked so much like him it scared her. My father's absence and his memory often puzzled me. I noticed suddenly that everything had gotten quiet. I turned fast and saw everyone's eyes fixed to the moon. The crescent moon shone a blue gray as I had seen earlier but then a magical thing happened. The missing half of the moon glowed with the warm welcoming rays and I understood the true essence of the solar moon harvest festival. "My daughter, it is a new moon for you. It is your day of birth. Revel in this fact and rejoice. You have aged another year." She smiled at me and held me close. How could I have forgotten my own birthday?
"Thank you Namai! I am happy today." I continued looking in awe of the moon. When suddenly something I never expected to happen did occur. This event forever changed my life, my mother's life, Cor-liti and her family as well as entire sorcerer nation.