Queen of the Moon

Part 14: Tribal

Once the sun rose, we planned to head into the forest to find this witch that Max had spoken of. But it seemed Max would be unable to go as he had a lot of planning to do for the war. So, it was just me, Andrew, Jacob and Erica who had brought us. 

I was dead tired and was falling asleep on my horse so I had to share with Andrew again, so I didn't fall off. I fell asleep my head against his back, accidentally left a splotch of drool there and hoped he didn't notice. It was a nice day, not too hot, we were mostly in the shade so it was cool, I only got a little bit sweaty. The sun shone in in sparkles between the leaves of the trees.

We found the village after only an hour of riding, dismounted our horses and had to lead our horses down the trail to the inside of the town.

"Why is my back wet?" Andrew asked, trying to look back to see but unable to.

"Must be sweat," I said, with a shrug.

This witch lived in a tribal village full of brown people, a mixture of skin tones from a rich mahogany brown to a light caramel. The people barely wore any clothes, the men mostly grass skirts, the women skirts with beaded bralettes over their chests. Body covered in tribal paint, faces pierced, hair dreadlocked or braided and full of shells and beads. Every woman a unique combination of bright colored fabrics, intricate makeup, and pretty beads. The huts of the people were either made of straw or wood, but all with thatch roofs.

The witch we were visiting, her name was Isolde. She was tall, with white dreadlocked hair and light blue makeup with one of those nose piercings that connected into her ear. We all sat on the floor of the hut around a table that was built into the ground, made of clay while she stared into a crystal ball, incense burning. All around us we could hear drums beating and men and women chanting and screaming.

"What's going on today?" Cassandra asked.

"Lover's festival," said Isolde. I guess the intermittent screaming was unusual.

Cassandra explained to Isolde, the situation with Cory Darksea and mom. She listened, furrowing her brow a bit and then started looking into her crystal ball.

"You two are lovers?" she asked me and Andrew. He smiled and held my hand.

"We're betrothed," he told her.

"When Queen and son put those spells on you, they opened up a door of access from them to you in which they can attack you and do things to you psychically and spiritually at all times. This can be diminished, mostly by your bond," said Isolde.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Nothing is more spiritual than the connection between man and woman, the balance of the masculine and feminine if you two make union, bond your souls together, you will become so strong that you will automatically block the Darkseas out. Darksea may have married you, on this land, but in the half world, your soul is still free, and can be bonded to lord Andrew," she said.

"And how do our souls make union?" I asked.

"You're in luck. Tonight is the lover's festival as I've told you. Where men and woman make soul bonds through ceremony. If you go through the ceremony in full, you will never be bothered by the Darkseas, at least spiritually again," said Isolde.

"Ok, let's do it," I said, shrugging, without even knowing what the ceremony entailed.

"I see something," said Isolde, squinting into the crystal ball, "A Victory. You will win this war and gain the kingdom of the Darkseas at your disposal. I see a crown on both of your heads."

"I really do not ever want to see those dark oceans again," I said.

"It's up to you. Your future is always your own. Choices can change things. But I also see children. Particularly a boy, looks like you two, the mother's eyes, the father's nose. He will be your first, then a girl will follow," she said.