THE HOLY GATHERERS

Chapter Six: The Kingdom Of Girar

The land of Girar is ruled by a corrupted Kind Sola  who defy  the Goddess of the universe then the Goddess of the universe cursed his land and transformed her gifted loyal females into a enchanted trees so he couldn’t access and abuse their powers to prolong and expand his kingdom and rule.
The once who flee the kingdom of Girar found a refuge and created the land of Overa where no man is allowed nor able to access.
For the past thousands years the Kingdom of Girar corruption has spared through the lands of men as their hearts grow darker, the Goddess curse spared as well.  In the corrupted lands females become slaves and treated as cattle their privilege is taken away and are no longer valued as superior beings who are created in the form of the Goddesses who woven the universe and gave life to every living entity.
King Sola sorcery  to chain the Goddess of the universe and  to undo the Goddess curse backfired and the land become savage changing the corrupted men to blood trusty creatures including his own bloodline.
The oracle blood line who are all female which Descended from the Goddesses clan transformed into trees are the only hope left doe the land of Overa  to repopulate their land and community.
The goddesses trees in Overa  are very special as they notify the high priestess when it is time to make the journey to the land of Girar to collect the new born sisters and safe them from the corrupted king Sola army.
But now the new and the old lands are both in mortal danger as many lands outside Overa are dying out or are consumed by the curse Humanity existence is at risk of extermination. Men is very weak and easily corrupted
The infant sisters are collected from the trees roots and only the holy gatherers can perform the rituals that opens the sprit world hidden inside goddesses trees.
Many times king Sola army tried to retrieve the baby sisters by cutting the trees, digging the roots. Every attempt was failure that led the army setting the trees on fire however the trees generates back to life and vanishing and appearing once it is ready to give life.  This has angered the king. His desire to become king God was being sabotaged by the Goddesses of the universe and her devoted followers  in his desperation he order his sorcerer to find s way to destroy the trees of the Goddess as she has destroyed his kingdom with her curse.
the kings sorcerer devised a poison that infected the tree’s roots to devour the tree itself from inside out stopping the tree from regenerating and giving birth to infant sisters.
This poison spread slowly  through the lands and made all living  things infertile.
This is has sparked new dark age for all the lands but it was an indication of prophecy.
The prophecy is about the return of the Goddess of the universe to restore the balance of nature. But the Goddess of the universe will be hidden even from the other goddesses and will not be aware of who she is and until she walk with all her creations
This prophecy is only known to those who will aid it. Throughout the lands it is whispered by many but  believed to be true by few.
King Sola had his sorcerer beheaded as he believed he was the catalyst for the  prophecy beginning.
The prophecy is spoken bits by bits, no one from the new or old land know the full version. it speaks of the Goddess of the universe reborn to the world  to free all creatures, reset the balance and hope.
For the people it was a sign of hope as for the King it is his end.
The King knew that he has to travel throughout Girar in search of the Goddess in human form in the process his army in search of the Goddess reborn they discovered the holy gatherers fighting of the Girar’s blood sucking  creatures with a magic that has been lost centuries.

Mother Cora was the leader of the new recruits of the holy gatherers back then and fought fearlessly with the creatures with her team mates.
They managed to defeat the creatures but their battle was not over as they have been surrounded by Kings army. The new holy gatherer were outnumbered by the king army and they were taken to nears camp as a prisoners. Mother Cora was brutally bitten and interrogated by he army leader about who they are where they came from and how they possess the old magic of the Goddess however she didn’t share any information and the King army leader killed of her team mate one by one and left their body in front of her.
He told her she will join her mates if she doesn’t tell him everything.
In that night Mother Cora cried her eyes out and prayed to the Goddess of War in so much rage and anger while trying to see if any of her mates survived but none of them do .
As she fall asleep out of exhaustion the blood of her team mate carried her out of the holding area in to the forest where a dying single enchanted goddess tree stood. King Sola sorcery poison was consuming the enchanted tree but before the tree roots got consumed by the poison it placed new born sister next to mother Cora’s unconscious body.
The new born infant sister’s blood veins where fighting the poison as the poison travelled through her eyes and left her body through her tears and the infant cried out so loud it wake up Mother Cora from her unconsciousness.
Mother Cora dragged her body and cuddle the new infant in her hands before she was caught she started fleeing back to Overa.
The journey was very hard and trying. She travelled for 4 day and night making sure she was not followed by any entities or King’s army.
When she reached Overa the holy gatherers found her and rescued her with the infant sister in her hand.
Mother Cora and infant sister received the medical attention they require and Mother Cora was celebrated for her bravery and accomplishments.
When the time comes to find a home for the infant sister mother Cora asked to be placed as her mother but a single mother cannot be given this responsibility alone and she must be matched with other mother.  Mother Cora request a match to the Goddess of faith and her match was reviled to her. Mother Rozia  was studying to be a high priestess for Overa then and wasn’t ready to be matched yet however as the low of the land once the Goddess of faith set the match No one can break the bond or refuse.
Mother Rozia was very angry at her faith to be matched in a very early stage of her life however she couldn’t do anything about it.
Mother Cora and mother Rozia has Union ceremony and adopted infant sister and they called her Tiya. 
Mother Rozia accepting her faith made her advance in her community she was nominated as the youngest mother as a high priestess for the land of Overa. Mother Cora knew that Tiya was a gift and she has little recollection how their faith intertwined or how she found her but she knows that Tiya was something special.
Mother Cora became the pillar of the community and the High Priestess of the Goddess of War.
Back in the Girar land the king army who lost Mother Cora were killed by the king for not bringing the holy gatherers to his castle so he can witness them himself.
Rumors of the existences of  a community of warriors with the old forgotten Magic and untouched by the corruption of the king spread like wild fire.
It has ignited hope in the world that the Goddess return is ever close and the downfall of king Sola is near.

The land of Girar was once a flourishing kingdom, but now it lay in ruins, ruled by the corrupted King Sola. Once a man blessed by the Goddesses, Sola’s ambition had grown beyond reason. He sought to defy the Goddess of the Universe herself, to seize control of the sacred powers she bestowed upon the world. But the Goddesses’ wrath was swift. In response to his defiance, the Goddess of the Universe cast a curse over his land, transforming the gifted women—the loyal females who once served the divine powers—into enchanted trees. These trees held the magic Sola coveted, but in their new form, he could no longer access or abuse their power to prolong and expand his corrupted kingdom.

Those who escaped King Sola’s grasp fled across the lands and found refuge in Overa, a land hidden and protected by the magic of the Goddesses. Overa became a sanctuary, where no man could tread, and where the last remaining followers of the Goddesses would preserve the sacred traditions. For over a thousand years, the Kingdom of Girar decayed, its corruption spreading like a poison, darkening the hearts of men.

In the lands of men, women—once revered as divine beings, created in the image of the Goddesses who wove the universe—were now treated as slaves. Their privileges were stripped away, and they were treated like cattle, no longer valued as superior beings who carried the life-giving essence of the divine. The once majestic Kingdom of Girar had become a savage land, where men had been transformed into bloodthirsty creatures, driven mad by the corruption within their souls. Even King Sola’s own bloodline had succumbed to this madness.

One night, as I trained with my sword, Mother Cora recounted this dark history to the newly gathered Holy Gatherers. Her voice was steady but filled with sorrow as she spoke of Girar’s downfall.

“King Sola,” she began, her gaze distant as though she could see the cursed lands in her mind’s eye, “sought to undo the curse of the Goddess of the Universe. In his arrogance, he believed that through sorcery and force, he could bind her power and reverse her judgment. But it backfired. His kingdom—once the heart of prosperity—became a land of nightmares, where even the air itself turned savage.”

I could see the firelight reflecting in Mother Cora’s eyes as she spoke, a spark of determination flickering in her gaze. “The women who escaped Girar—our ancestors—fled to create Overa. Here, we are safe. Here, we are the last hope for the world. But that safety is not guaranteed forever. The curse is spreading. And we must be prepared to defend what is left.”

Meme and I exchanged glances, both of us feeling the weight of Mother Cora’s words. Ivy stood nearby, listening intently, though she kept her distance from the group, still brooding in her isolation.

Mother Cora continued, her voice growing darker. “King Sola’s sorcerer, in desperation to please his master, devised a poison—a vile substance that infected the sacred trees at their very roots. The trees, which once regenerated after every attack, began to wither. The poison spread slowly, not only through the trees but through the very land itself. It rendered all living things infertile. The curse deepened. Fewer and fewer infant sisters were born from the trees, and the corruption seeped further into the lands of men.”

She paused, letting the gravity of her words sink in. “This marked the beginning of the Dark Age. The lands withered, and humanity’s very existence teetered on the brink of extermination. But this was not the end.”

“The prophecy…” Meme whispered, her eyes wide.

Mother Cora nodded. “Yes, the prophecy. It speaks of the return of the Goddess of the Universe herself. But she will be reborn into the world unaware of her own identity, hidden even from the other Goddesses, until she walks among her creations. Her return will bring balance to nature once more, and hope will be restored.”

A murmur spread among the gathered Holy Gatherers. I could feel the shift in the air, a sense of anticipation brewing. The prophecy had been spoken in fragments for centuries, but now, it felt closer—like something tangible that we could reach out and grasp.

“King Sola fears this prophecy,” Mother Cora said, her voice sharp. “He knows that if the Goddess of the Universe returns, it will mean his end. He has scoured the lands of Girar in search of her, believing she walks among us now. And in doing so, his army discovered us—the Holy Gatherers—fighting off the creatures of Girar with the old magic. The magic he thought had been lost to time.”

I felt my breath catch in my throat. This was the part of the story I had heard whispers of, but never in full detail. I leaned forward, listening intently.

“Back then,” Mother Cora continued, “I was the leader of a group of new recruits. We fought fearlessly against the bloodthirsty creatures of Girar. It was a brutal battle, but we were victorious. However, our victory was short-lived. The King’s army surrounded us, outnumbering us ten to one. We were captured and taken to a nearby camp as prisoners.”

Her voice faltered for a moment, a shadow crossing her face. I had never seen Mother Cora so vulnerable. She was always so strong, so unshakable.

“They interrogated me,” she said quietly, her fists clenched. “They wanted to know who we were, where we came from, how we wielded the old magic of the Goddess. But I told them nothing. One by one, they killed my comrades in front of me, leaving their bodies to rot in the sun. They promised I would be next if I didn’t talk.”

A heavy silence fell over the group. Even Ivy, who had remained distant until now, seemed to be hanging on to every word.

“That night,” Mother Cora continued, her voice barely above a whisper, “I prayed to the Goddess of War. I prayed in anger and grief, knowing I had failed to protect those I had sworn to lead. I cried until I had no more tears left, and eventually, exhaustion claimed me.”

She paused, her eyes reflecting the pain of that memory. “But as I slept, something extraordinary happened. The blood of my fallen comrades seeped into the earth, and it carried me—lifted me out of that hellish camp and into the forest, to the base of a single enchanted tree. It was dying, consumed by the same poison that had ravaged Girar, but before it perished, it gifted me with something precious.”

She looked directly at me then, and I felt a strange shiver run down my spine.

“A newborn infant sister,” she said softly. “The child was lying next to me when I woke, her tiny body fighting off the poison as it traveled through her veins. The poison left her through her tears, and when she cried out, it woke me.”

Meme gasped softly beside me, her hand covering her mouth.

“I knew then that I had to protect her,” Mother Cora continued. “She was special. I gathered what strength I had left and fled, carrying the infant in my arms. For four days and nights, I traveled back to Overa, avoiding the King’s army and the creatures of Girar. When I finally arrived, I was near death, but I had saved the child.”

Her gaze softened as she looked at me. “That child was you, Tiya.”

My heart stopped. The world around me seemed to blur as her words sank in. Me? The child from the enchanted tree? I had always known my birth was different, that Mother Cora had found me, but I had never imagined it was in such extraordinary circumstances.

“You were a gift,” she said, her voice filled with emotion. “A gift from the Goddesses themselves. I knew from that moment on that you were destined for something great, though I did not know what.”

I swallowed hard, my mind racing. All my life, I had felt out of place, unsure of where I fit in. Now, everything was starting to make sense. But it was overwhelming.

Mother Cora continued, her voice steady once more. “When we returned, the Holy Gatherers and I were celebrated for our bravery. But when it came time to find you a home, I requested to be your mother. However, the laws of our land are clear—a single mother cannot raise a child alone. I was matched with Mother Rozia by the Goddess of Faith, and together we became your parents.”

I felt a lump rise in my throat as the pieces of my past began to fit together. Mother Cora had risked everything to save me. And Mother Rozia, though reluctant at first, had accepted her fate and raised me alongside her.

“That is why you are special, Tiya,” Mother Cora said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “You were born with the blood of the Goddesses running through your veins. And now, the world is depending on you to help restore balance.”

As her words settled over me, I felt the weight of destiny pressing down. The land of Girar was dying, and the world outside Overa was crumbling. The prophecy whispered through the lands had begun to unfold, and I was part of it.
But what did that mean for me?

The weight of Mother Cora’s revelation sat heavy on my shoulders as the rest of the Holy Gatherers stood in stunned silence. I could feel their eyes on me, but I didn’t meet them. My thoughts were spinning, confusion clouding my mind. Why now? Why tell this story to everyone?

Mother Cora had shared with me something I had always suspected—that my birth was different, that I was special—but to hear it spoken aloud in front of the others made me feel vulnerable. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel. Was this why she had always been so protective of me? Was this why she had fought for me? The responsibility that came with knowing my origins felt like a burden, not a blessing.

The story of how she had saved me from the dying enchanted tree, and how I had been born amidst the Goddess’s curse, now hung over me like a storm cloud. Why share it now, in front of everyone? Was she trying to prepare me for something greater, or had she done it because she feared losing the respect of the group?

Meme stood beside me, her eyes still wide with awe from Mother Cora’s words. Ivy, who had remained distant throughout the story, now looked more composed, her typical defiance replaced with an unreadable expression. But there was tension brewing, something unspoken.

The last day of training had arrived, and the atmosphere was thick with anticipation. This was the day we would all be tested one last time before the ceremony that would mark the official leadership of the new recruits. Meme, who had been given the honor of leading us, stood at the front, her face serious, her posture proud.

However, as she surveyed the group, her eyes settled on Ivy. There was a moment of silence before she spoke, her voice stern. “Ivy, you will stay back today. You are not allowed to join the rest of us until you apologize.”

Ivy blinked, taken aback. “Apologize? For what?”

Meme crossed her arms, her tone unyielding. “For what you said to me and Tiya. You insulted both of us, and until you take responsibility for that, you don’t belong with us.”

Ivy’s eyes flared with defiance, but before she could respond, I stepped forward, trying to defuse the situation. “Meme, let’s not do this. We’ve all said things we regret.”

Meme’s gaze snapped to me, her expression darkening. “Stay out of this, Tiya.”

“I’m not staying out of this,” I replied, trying to keep my voice calm. “We’re supposed to be a team. Forcing Ivy to stay back and apologize isn’t going to solve anything. She’s been through enough.”

Meme’s face flushed with anger, her hands tightening into fists. “Tiya, you don’t get it, do you? You think everything will just magically work out because you’re special? Because Mother Cora thinks you’re so important?”

Her words hit me like a slap, the venom in them cutting deep. I hadn’t expected this from Meme, of all people. We had always been close, supported each other through everything, but now… now she was turning that against me.

“You’re not special, Tiya,” Meme spat, her voice cold. “Just because Mother Cora saved you, just because you’re from the enchanted tree, doesn’t mean you’re destined for greatness. You’re just like the rest of us, and it’s time you realized that.”

Her words left a sting, one that I couldn’t shake. Hurt and anger flooded my chest, and before I could think of a response, I turned on my heel and stormed out of the training ground, my vision blurring with unshed tears.

I didn’t know where I was going. I just needed to get away. Away from Meme, away from the others, away from the suffocating weight of it all. I wandered through the woods on the edge of the settlement, my mind racing.

How could she say that? Meme had been my friend, my confidante. We had always stood by each other, and now it felt like I had lost her to the very thing I feared—ambition, power, the hunger for recognition.

I stopped by a small clearing, collapsing onto a rock, trying to gather my thoughts. Was Meme right? Was I clinging to something that wasn’t meant for me?

Just as I was sinking deeper into my thoughts, I heard the soft crunch of footsteps behind me. I turned quickly, expecting it to be Meme, but instead, I found Ivy.

“Ivy?” I wiped my eyes quickly, embarrassed at being found in such a state. “What are you doing here?”

She shrugged, her usual defiance softened for the moment. “I didn’t mean to find you. I just… was walking.” She hesitated, as if unsure of what to say next, before sitting down beside me.

“Thank you,” she said after a long pause.

I blinked, surprised. “For what?”

“For standing up for me… back there with Meme,” she clarified. “I didn’t expect you to. Especially after everything I said to you. I guess I deserved it.”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “You didn’t deserve that. Meme’s just… she’s changing. This whole leadership thing, it’s changing her.”

Ivy nodded, her expression thoughtful. “Power and ambition do that to people. Trust me, I know. I’ve been there.” She let out a bitter laugh. “It eats away at you, makes you think you have to be something you’re not.”

For the first time, I saw Ivy in a different light—not as the ambitious girl I had always known, but as someone who had been weighed down by expectations, much like me.

“I guess we have more in common than I thought,” I admitted softly.

“Yeah,” Ivy said, looking out at the trees. “Seems like we do.”

We sat in silence for a while, the tension between us fading. It was strange, but in that moment, a friendship began to form. Ivy wasn’t the girl I thought she was. She was someone who understood the pressure of living up to expectations, the weight of carrying the burdens others placed on you. And maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t as alone as she thought she was.

Later that day, the entire community gathered for Meme’s ceremony as the new leader of the recruits. The air was electric with excitement, and the golden light of the setting sun bathed everything in a warm glow. The ceremony was grand, filled with songs of praise to the Goddesses and speeches from the elders. Meme stood at the front, her chin held high, exuding confidence and grace. She was every bit the leader they had chosen her to be.

But as I watched her, I couldn’t help but feel the distance between us. The friend I had known was no longer there. Meme’s rise to leadership had changed her, and though I could see a flicker of regret in her eyes when she glanced my way, she kept her distance. She had responsibilities now, and I was no longer part of her inner circle.

The ceremony continued, and soon it was time for the new recruits to showcase their talents. One by one, they stepped forward, demonstrating the skills they had honed in training. The crowd cheered for each one, and when it was my turn, I felt a knot form in my stomach.

I walked to the center, gripping my sword tightly. The familiar weight of it in my hands felt foreign now, my earlier confidence shaken by Meme’s words. I raised the sword, trying to perform the basic techniques I had practiced, but something felt off. The air around me seemed to shift, and suddenly, a strong wind blew through the clearing.

The sword In my hand began to glow, its blade shimmering with an otherworldly light. I didn’t understand what was happening, but I felt a surge of power coursing through me—something ancient, something forgotten.

Without realizing it, I began to move, my sword tracing patterns in the air. The ground beneath my feet seemed to pulse, and the wind grew stronger. A whisper echoed in my ears, like a voice from another world, guiding my movements.

I realized, with a sudden shock, that I was performing the summoning art of the Goddess of the Universe—an art that had been lost for centuries. The crowd watched in awe, their cheers fading into stunned silence as the wind whipped around us.

Then, all at once, the trees in Overa began to change. Their trunks shimmered, and slowly, they transformed back into their true form—the gifted women who had once served the Goddesses, their spirits returning from the trees that had held them for so long.

Gasps filled the air as the crowd witnessed the impossible. I lowered my sword, breathing heavily, my heart pounding in my chest. The realization hit me with the force of a tidal wave.

This was the beginning of the new age. The prophecy had begun.

    **************************

Author Note

I am happy that I got the chance to share my story that has been brewing in my awake as well as in my dream life.