Kara

Down where our river met the ocean, at the base of a towering mountain, the entire village stood around a single pavilion. Their eyes on me, and mine on my mother, as she stood over me, centered with the alter. The lights of the forest just across the babbling sloshes of the water stretched out from behind her like wings as she put the ring on my head. I helped her make it for the ceremony a few evenings ago. It rested over my hair like a crown, the stray fibers poking through to my scalp and the metal point cold on my skin. Each of the strands woven together glowed with the dormant power of the metal spark trees. "My daughter," My mother projected out to the many watching eyes, "Is finally making her first steps into her future. A true commitment of her life to Mother's will, and vision for this world!" They all clapped and then abruptly bowed their heads in silence.

She knelt in front of me, with four polished wooden bowls on the ground. Each bowl had a different shade of red paint in them, and the scent wafted up to my nose with each movement she made. She was so happy painting my face. The cold liquid on her fingers as she traced under my eyes, pressing on to ensure that they would remain there for as long as I lived. She was so happy... There was something warm about each stroke she took. I could feel all her hopes for my future being put directly onto me, and I knew I was never going to let her down. I couldn't possibly. She was smiling at me, and I had to try with all my might not to smile back, or else I would ruin the process. "Kara, close your eyes," she said softly, dabbing a dot onto my eyelids. She stood up again to address the crowd. "Thank you all for joining us on this night. I have looked forward to sharing such a moment with Kara since my own mother did this with me. In the world around us, Mother herself had a vision beyond anything we can comprehend. With the beauty of the order she has created, from the chaotic world she transformed, we thrive on the connections between us all. I hope that my daughter will never forget these connections and honor Mother for creating this wonderful world we live in."

Two men walked up the stairs behind me on my right and left, thin wooden rings hanging loosely on their wrists. They held my hands to bring me up to my feet. Their hair was wrapped in long bandannas that swayed with the ocean breeze, and their sandals clicked against the wooden floor in odd intervals. I automatically tried to search for consistency in their clicks but there was none, all of it was random.

"Kara..." my mother looked directly into my eyes, serious and quiet. She carefully removed the ring from my head, and with a knife, she slashed through the ring breaking every thread we wove together. Out of every stray tendril, a thick syrupy liquid slopped out and splatted onto the floor in front of me. It glowed a piercing sky blue, and heat radiated from wherever it pooled on the ground. The pools thinned and spread into web-like patterns as if several invisible spiders lived within them and wove their homes from the steaming fluid. "Mother's blood... moves with the shape of time. Every possible future for the space it occupies pushes and pulls on it. Mother sees and knows all. Her blood itself knows the path of time, and may she guide you, just as she guided nature out of the Erased's corrupted grasp. Do you accept Mother as your one true guide?"

"I do." I didn't hesitate.

"Do you see her design in this world, from the finest black sand to the largest Kapuary?"

"I do."

"Do you agree to follow Mother's will and do what is best for our community?"

"I do."

She dipped her fingers into the pools of glowing blood, and once again marked my eyelids, only this time it was warm. It was almost burning but not enough for me to wince.

"Now your eyes, even when closed, will always see what is right. Stand and face your tribe."

I rose to my feet, my legs numb and tingling from kneeling for so long, then I turned and saw my tribe, sitting in neat groups divided by family name. They sat cross-legged on the grass, their hands folded and eyes locked onto me. The rush of so much attention flowed up through me, pulsing from my core with each beat of my heart. I swear I could feel my body jolt with every thud. I took in a breath from the clean, cold ocean air, readying to call out to the heavens- hoping that it could be heard even in the secret realm, "I and Kara Kohtari, and Mother is my guide!"

A thunderous roar of joy exploded from each member of my village, and the drums shook the foundation of the pavilion.