“What do we do, the prophecy gave six years’ deadline and it ends tomorrow, if the heart stone isn’t found today, you know what this means for us!” Akyrla said while pacing around the sacred room, chamber of the keepers.
Her usually sparkling white hair dulled with the worries of the past few weeks. As one of the keepers for the heart stone, her sole purpose, alongside other keepers, is to protect the heart stone till it selects the heart goddess, bearer of the heart stone, bringer of spring.
The village of Flaeryn, once a safe abode full of life, warmth and spring, home where both mortals and keepers co-existed peacefully. What used stood a thriving village was now a land frozen and resisting sun rays, wind blowing from every corner. The villagers of flaeryn feared that the great prophecy which basically gave the land of flaeryn seven years to either cease to exist or be rebirthed, was coming to an end.
The air was thick with anticipation, one could slice the tension in the air as the villagers whispered to themselves, “the heart goddess must be reborn”.
“Every maiden of noble birth has sworn the sacred keeper’s oath, why then has the stone refused to reveal itself?” across the room, Wyrn, the eldest keeper thought out loud, her long fingers clenching and unclenching, her rough braided white hair being the only tell-tale sign of her exhaustion, her skin barely showing the sign of her worries and anxiety, like the other keepers, one of the blessings that comes with swearing the oath and drinking from the sacred river is immortal youthfulness.
“We have no other option Wyrn, I have to do it”, Akyrla said, looking straight into Wyrn eyes as an understanding passes between them
“No no no, you couldn’t possibly…. I forbid it” Wyrn shook her head profusely
Akryla made frantic hand gestures as she moved closer to Wyrn, “we have no choice, behind every rumor is an iota of truth, it has been said for decades now that the heart stone lies at the bottom of the sacred river, what if, just what if, the stone is waiting for one brave maiden to come get it.”
“The HEART stone doesn’t wait to be found; it finds the most noble. Even if you do find it, what if it doesn’t chose you. This is not an option, you can’t swim in the sacred river Akryla, it will burn your body from the inside out, you know this, you will cease to exist before you even get to the heart stone” Wyrn slumped into a seat as she held her head in her hands
A thick silence settled upon the room. The keepers, once mortal maidens, chosen from noble bloodlines and social statuses. Once a maiden accepts to be a keeper, the noblest act of all, she drinks from the sacred river, an excruciatingly painful process to demonstrate the nobility of her soul. In exchange, she is granted immortality and beauty. Her duty and youthfulness sworn to the heart stone which she must believe exists and prepare to protect should the heart stone find her as its rightful bearer.
Seven years have passed, keepers continually increase in number as the village decreases in life and color. Every day, the villagers of Flaeryn find some thicker fur to wrap themselves, some creative ways to sustain a fire without getting it blown out by the wind, the land was deteriorating, yet the heart stone was nowhere to be found.
Akryla stood, convinced she could talk Wyrn into permitting her, “Wyrn, what if we’ve been wrong all along, if the point of choosing noble maidens to be keepers is to let the heart stone select the most noble as its bearer, will there be an act more noble than self-sacrifice?” She asked
“You’re naïve. The heart stone has its ways; it neither recognizes nor know of your pain until it becomes one with its bearer. The bearer makes the heart stone beat otherwise, there is no heart. Why do you think the ancient gods consecrated the heart stone’s power to a heart? And this talk of the heart stone choosing a noble….”
Someone ran in, Nyla, one of the keepers barely catching her breath, rushed in “come quick”
“What happened” Wyrn asked standing from the seat
“Just come” Nyla said as the three ran out to the village’s center, the icy wind barely slowing their sprint.
The village center that was usually filled with eerie silence was now resounding with both the silent whispers of the onlookers who peeped from their window, tucked in the safety of their homes and the murmurs of the villagers either bold or curious enough to form a ring around two girls; a keeper and a mortal dressed in a faded linen dress, one that signifies the farmers, the farthest line from Flaeryn nobles, the lowest of commoners.
“State your business ladies”, Wyrn demanded
“She spoke to me Wyrn, the heart stone spoke, I heard her clearly, she chose me. Look at my hands. I believe she is still in the process of settling within my body” the keeper said in a single breath, trembling and unable to meet anyone’s eyes.
“Oh dear gods, finally! This is…..” Akryla started but was cut short by Wyrn
“Silence.” She turned towards the mortal lady, looked at her from head to toe and asked, “how about you, lady. Why are you here?”
The mortal girl finally raised her head, looked around slowly then locked her gaze on Wyrn, “My name is Sylvara, I am here to accept the heart stone”
“Imposter!” Akryla yelled “You know not what you speak girl, the heart stone will never select a mere mortal talk less one whose blood wasn’t even noble enough to join the keepers. How preposterous!”
Wyrn although silent, knew the truth. She knew that it was the old keepers that decided to make a tradition of chosen noble keepers as a way to keep the heart stone “noble”. She wondered if this was the confirmation of everything she had been doubting. That the heart stone delayed this long before choosing just to teach them a lesson.
She finally spoke after a long minute of silence, “we’ll present you both to the sacred river, if the heart stone truly is there, it’ll come to the true chosen”
“And if it is not?” Aeris asked
“Well, let us hope it is, for all of our sakes”
“I don’t have to go to the sacred river” Sylvara said as she unveils her scarf. Gasped spread through the crowd.
There on her forehead was the mark of the heart stone. A soft golden glow, that fades into her hair as streaks of golden hair strands, imitating the fall and rise of a heartbeat, pulsating in the rhythm of an unseen heartbeat.
“How?” Akryla and Wyrn asked simultaneously
“I’ve had dreams since I was 13, myself seated on a throne made of the four elements in a garden filled with flowers I’ve never seen. The first time I had that dream was when I sought out the keepers, but you,” she looked at Akryla, “you turned me down. Told me my common blood will taint the nobility of the keepers, you didn’t even give me a chance to explain myself.”
Akryla’s eyes widened.
“Anyway, last night, I had the dream, it felt so real I still doubt if it could have been a dream….”
“She appeared to you, asked for your acceptance and requested that you accept us so that you may become one with her and us” Wyrn interjected
“Yes” Sylvara confirmed.
“But Aeris should be the chosen, look at her hands, she….”, Akkryla complained, her voice breaking
Wyrn looked at her shaking her head, “And you thought you were the most noble? You think nobility is by blood? You are no different from those who have condemned us to this situation. The heart stone never divided us, people did. And as much as I would have love to change the rules, I’m afraid I couldn’t for fear of my uncertainty.”
She turned to Aeris who was now hiding behind the shadows of the villagers looking like she’d rather be anywhere but there, she didn’t need to confront her to get the answers she needed. Though she wondered why Aeris would need to lie on such matter.
She turned towards Sylvara and knelt, “I, Wyrn, accept you as the chosen of the heart stone”. One by one, the villagers did the same, kneeling in submission, including Aeris.
Akryla looked at the mortal before her, no longer the mortal she once knew, in her place stood a woman in white tunic, the heart stone mark fully glowing into her hair now, her eyes shut as if embracing her new self.
She realized that she had made a mistake that could have cost them everything. She swallowed her pride and the regrets that tightened in her stomach, allowing the tears flow as she knelt, “I, Akryla, accept you as the chosen of the heart stone and I am terribly sorry”
Sylvara opened her eyes.
“Let there be spring again” Sylvara whispered in a voice more ancient than her body, golden power flowing from her filling the land, cracking the ice and as sun rays poured in, the land of Flaeryn rebirthed.
Images were generated with Meta AI
All characters are completely fictional, this is an original story written by Whatmidesays
Thank you for reading! :)
Posted Using INLEO
Wow, wow, this is epic. Wait, was I reading or just watching a movie. I think I was doing both 😅.
Oh thank goodness the heart of stone was finally revealed, leading to a rebirth of the city of Flaeryn.
You know, no one can change the course of nature, no matter how much they tried. Nature's way will always prevail.
!BBH
Aww, I'm so glad you felt that way. I feel flattered, thank you!
And indeed, you're right. No one can predict nature.
Thank you for sharing your thought!
It's a beautiful and captivating piece, and I enjoyed reading it
Thank you very much!
❤️