The large room was filled with worshippers. At the front of the room a statue of the Lady stood, head bowed and hands folded across her chest. At her feet, a priestess was waving incense over the heads of the worshippers and singing a song of praise of the Lady. As she reached the end of each stanza, the worshippers bowed, reverently and touched their foreheads to the floor. They were all dressed in white robes with thin gold chains across their breasts and around their waists.
Kari stood at the back in her rags and watched with awe. As she watched, she noticed the priestess had moved away from the feet of the Lady and was making her way down between the rows of worshippers towards where Kari stood. Finally, she stood in front of Kari and stopped. Kari had never seen a kinder face and when the priestess smiled at Kari, Kari smiled back. She knew how hideous she must look yet no hint of that was in the face of the woman before her.
"Is this a dream?" asked Kari. "It is the nicest dream I have ever had!"
"A dream? Ah. Perhaps, from your perspective, it is a dream!" the priestess responded. "So why do you think you are dreaming this?"
"I found a necklace. That statue," Kari pointed to the Lady, "looks just like the figurine on my necklace." Kari realized the necklace was in the dream with her so she pulled it out and showed the priestess.
The priestess bowed before her. In shock, Kari stumbled back a step. "This is a dream?" Kari had never felt so awake.
"No, beloved of the Goddess. This is a seeing. Are there no temples of the Goddess where you can find answers in your land?" The priestess had a look of concern on her face.
"No. I have never heard of the Goddess. Is this her?" Kari indicated the figurine. "I just found this necklace in an old cave."
The priestess stepped forward and touched the figurine. Instantly it began to glow with a radiance even greater than when Kari was in the cavern. "No temples? None? I cannot imagine what has happened to make such a thing true. Listen, child. No one 'just finds' a token of the Goddess, child. Whatever your situation, she has chosen you. If there are no temples of Her where you are, no others to ask, then you must ask Her. She will guide you."
"Chosen me? Look at me! I am wasted. A drudge. A cripple whose life is worthless. No Goddess or anyone else would ever choose me!" Kari spat out the words.
The priestess looked at her with pity. "You are broken. In spite of that, the Goddess has chosen her new priestess for your place, for your time. I cannot say what you must do, I can only promise that She will speak to you if you let her."
Kari woke with a start. She was soaked through and through as if she had been immersed in water. Shivering with the cold, Kari took a few handfuls of straw from the bed and began rubbing herself dry. The friction of the straw against her skin warmed her slightly and Kari lay her wet clothes out to dry off. Sitting naked on the straw mat, Kari hugged her knees to her chest and began to cry. The dream was so beautiful, so real but here she was still in the prison, still crippled. Chosen? Kari laughed bitterly.
Kari went about her daily routine but couldn't stop thinking about what the dream priestess had said. She had said to ask the Goddess. Goddess of what? She had said that Kari was chosen, a priestess. Kari decided if she was the best this Goddess could do then she must be a pretty poor divinity! Finally, her duties completed, Kari went back into the caverns. Sure enough, as soon as she was in the darkness, the necklace and figuring began to glow again. Kari waited until she was sure she was deep enough not to be heard and sat down on the cavern floor.
