day two. total 2327. a little behind, but I'm so tired.

PART ONE
“There is no way in hell I am wearing this in public.” Laurena pouted into the mirror, looking at the 10 yards of lace that was to be her outfit to the evening’s ceremony. The young woman lifted up the skirt of the gown, showing off her skinned knees. “If this is the last night of my life where I’m allowed to have fun, I should get to wear something less….oppressive.”

'Laurena, please not today…your father wishes that you wear this. It was his mothers.” Kneeling behind her, Isola was tightening Laurena’s waist band. “It is your first night as a woman, and you need to stop being so unreasonable about acting like a woman, for once in your life.”

“I don’t think it’s unreasonable of me to want to wear something that isn’t going to try to kill me. This dress is a torture device. The lace is going to smother me. There is no point in me becoming older if I’m going to be suffocated on the night of my birthday anyways.” Laurena turned and smiled at Isola. “I can’t believe that you won’t be my nanny anymore after tonight. You’ve been taking care of me since I was born, and now I’m losing you.” Isola stood up and walked across the room, straightening up the mess that often follows a fifteen year old girl getting dressed for the evening.

“Don’t exaggerate Lau. You aren’t losing me. Things will just be changing around here. You’ll be having your ladies-in-waiting to care for you, and you’ll have me to keep them in line,” she smiled “I’ll still be here. You’ll still see me every day.”
“Oh god, is that a threat?”. Isola scowled at Laurena, then left the room, leaving the girl to her own devices.

Laurena stood up and examined herself in the full length mirror at the end of the dressing room. The dress isn’t THAT bad, she consoled herself, and maybe I can sneak in a dance with Jaaron. She straightened the light purple ribbon that hung in her long blonde hair. Tonight Laurena would celebrate her Larunom, a ceremony celebrated by all the girls who made their homes on the island. At the age of sixteen, all young women who desired to do so were bonded with the mother of life, the goddess Carolina, in a ceremony that began at midnight and lasted the entire day. In modern times, a ball followed the ceremony, where the ladies were presented to the people of the province as a woman. At sixteen they were old enough to begin their forays into the mysterious worlds of love, relationships, and eventually motherhood. Young women and men were not generally allowed to spend time together without the close eye of one of their guardians. For Laurena, none of this really mattered. For her, she was most excited about the fact that she would be allowed to enroll in the men’s university if her marks were good enough. Her father had promised she could attend after her Larunom if she behaved herself.

Laurena was not a particularly spiritual girl. She was not a “doubter”,  but she did have faith in the guidance of Carolina, but had no real connection, no real desire to pursue faith. Carolina had never touched her life in the way she had touched others. This ceremony was not her choice. Her father asked it of her, and she complied. Her father told her she must always be an excellent example of the women of Amiox. With the eyes of the kingdom constantly on her, she never really had another option.  

Her father Reilan was the King of Amiox. He was one of the most kind and generous kings Amiox had seen since the kings of old ruled over the isle. Some said he was the greatest of the isle since the great fall. But he was a modest man, and never took these words too seriously. He always gave all of himself to his people, always gave all of himself to the betterment of his people. He always expected the most of his daughter, and Laurena never disappointed him. She was a fiery girl, and feisty, but she always ended up doing what was expected of her.

And it drove her absolutely crazy. And now, here she was…in a hundred year old dress, waiting for midnight, when the high priestesses would come and lead her to the temple. How did I get myself into this situation. I do not want to be blessed. When was the last time I even went to temple? Did my morning rituals? This is supposed to be one of the most important days of my life, and here I am…hating every minute of it.

Yet, as the night ticked by, and she drew closer and closer to midnight, she found herself getting nervous. She waited impatiently for the knock on her door. She put her cloak on to protect her from the cool fall air. She still had several hours to wait. She was supposed to be calming her mind, meditating, preparing herself for the great task at hand…but she couldn’t focus on anything. Her eyes kept darting to the clock, kept readjusting. And after what felt like an impossible amount of time, she would look at the clock and see that only 5 minutes had passed.

Laurena sat herself in the center of the room, far away from anything that could distract her. She sat down and tried to calm herself, to clear her mind completely. She repeated the mantra she had been taught by Isola over and over again in her mind.

 

I am a woman, I surrender myself to humanity. I am a woman, I surrender myself to the land. I am a woman, I surrender myself to humanity. I am a woman, I surrender myself to the land. I am a woman, I surrender myself to humanity. I am a woman, I surrender myself to the land. I am a woman, I surrender myself to humanity. I am a woman, I surrender myself to the…

A soft knock sounded at the door. Laurena rose, fastened her cloak, and headed to the door. When she opened it there stood six women, wearing the orange cloaks of the high priestesses of the kingdom.

“Laurena Rosabla Mion,” a soft voice emanated from the hooded cloak nearest her, “today you are a woman. Today you unify yourself as a giver of life with all those that brought life to you.” The priestess held out her hand to Laurena. Laurena took it, and allowed herself to be guided through the familiar halls of her home, across the courtyard, and into the royal temple.
As she entered, she saw that the familiar hall was lit by a low candlelight. In a circle surrounding the center of the temple stood the rest of the council of priestesses.

Day One: 1216 words total

In the beginning, the race of man had a simple language. It had no word for pain, it had no word for fear. In the beginning, the race of man was the most advanced of all the living races on the isle of Amiox, despite the common weakness that becomes humans. They created law for the protection and guidance of their people. They created education, to give man the skills to provide for himself. Most importantly, they encouraged love, to help a man learn the value of all his skills.

In the beginning, the race of man was simple enough. They were kind and gentle rulers. Men kept mainly to the capitol province of Abiona, leaving the rest of the island to the shaman tribes, and the races of elves and nymphs that had settled into the forests of the island. Men gave as they could to the other races, and took only what they needed to sustain themselves. The relationship man held with the isle was a delicate relationship, one of stewardship and ultimate respect. As the goddess Carolina, the mother of the entire island, had foretold “The ultimate peace can only be attained through supreme unity. Unity of each life to all that enables it to live.” And so, this is how the Amioaxans dictated their lives.

The isle lived in a state of ultimate peace for centuries. The tribal people were all but forgotten, and the other beings that lived in the woods of the island became things of stories, their truth lost to the years by all. It was only in their peace that the people of Amiox were able to exist.
It was not until year of the swan when the great explorers set out, trying to find the way to the other side of the island. The people of Amiox had always been content with their small province. It had not been until the year prior when the number of young on the island grew in ways they had never done before, and in his infinite wisdom, the king set out to find more space, and more resources, for his people.

The explorer Empeion was a sweet man, gentle and quiet. He had a beautiful young wife and a small house in the bay of Excior. His partner was a forthright man by the name of Gaelon. It was when the explorers reached the Xzixcyon province that they met the shaman tribes. Empeion was in awe of their simple ways, how they survived without the tools and developments of the Amioaxan people.

Gaelon, on the other hand, was not impressed. He saw the shaman, and their primitive behaviors as a violation of natural law. They did not perform ritual solemnly, but in dance. They did not thank the goddess for all of their gifts, but took credit for some achievements. They did not prescribe to laws of medicine or human discipline. And for this, he thought, they must learn to live as Amioaxans did. So, by caravan, the shaman people were brought to the province of Abiona. They were taught to cook, to clean. They were trained as servants and helpers to what Gaelon thought was the more “worthy” race of man. As the head of the great council, second in command to the king, Gaelon told the shaman people that they must serve or they would be banished from life on the isle. He warned of eternal life on a dreadful ocean. He warned of eternal sadness. It was not until the first massacre that the word “pain” existed in Amiox.

The king, in his endless trust of Gaelon was never quite aware of all the misdeeds his left hand had committed. It was not until the blood of 2000 shaman warriors stained the great courtyard when he realized how terrible things had become. He told Gaelon that the shaman must be released from their oppression, which Gaelon contested. Gaelon had transformed many of the citizens of Amiox, made them into fear mongers who desired control of the shamans, the dirty. This was unsettling to the small kingdom. In a place of peace, there was an unbearable upset. A human existence that they found unbearable. When the land was not peaceful, the people could not contribute, and the race of man suffered.

The great king had no other choice. He told Gaelon that he must desist. He must stop his tyranny, or he would be exiled to the vile woods of the North, a barren land where no happiness could ever be found. To his great surprise, Gaelon chose exile. On the day he left Abiona, a trail of 4,000 people followed him, with all of their belongings, to start a new nation. The streets of the capitol were lined with the loyal, those who had vowed to fight, if necessary, for the values of old-the words of the goddess, and the honor of their king. It was a day of endless sadness. Brothers watched as their brothers disavowed themselves from their families, blindly following Gaelon into the night. They would form a nation in the North, Iontica. The pure land.

The citizens of the new nation of Amiox tried to return to their old way of life. They restored the freedom of the Shaman, giving them their own eternally protected land. It was their motherland, and they were content. They returned to their jobs, and destroyed the tools of war that had been built by the followers of Gaelon. Try as they might, there was an endless heartache in the province, and the people lost the perfect peace that had unified their kingdom. Over the years, their heartache separated them from the eternal love of the Goddess, and their rituals became rare traditions. The priestesses found that if they were to follow the doctorine of Carolina, they must be separated from the secular world. They created a holy land to the south, called Petuico. It was the land of Carolina’s tomb, and for two hundred years they did not leave or communicate beyond the walls of the city.

One day, a cry was heard from the holy sanctuary. A young priestess yelled to the heavens. A holy prophesy was declared :

One day ablessed child will be born, bearing the mark of the Goddess Carolina.
With the help of the forsaken children, the child will destroy pain and restore
perfect peace to the island of Amiox, to the race of man, to the living. It is
only through this child that peace can be attained. If this child is hindered,
the isle of Amiox will live in darkness and pain for 2,000 years.

One hundred years to the day later, a young woman named Elana gave birth in a dark forest south of Iontica. The wails of a young child were heard by none that desired to make their presence known. The mother, knowing that her child was forbidden, would make a daring journey that night to the province of Abiona. A journey to definite safety. In her preoccupation, she would fail to notice a small birthmark on her daughters left shoulder. A birthmark that would place on her daughter a terrible burden. The burden to save the race of man from endless pain. The burden of absolute responsibility.