Journey

Silveria was born under the sign of the Full Moon. As the tradition of the Moonlight People indicated that her future was to become a cleric or mage, her destiny was written the same night of her birth.
         The Moonlight People always categorized  their new-borns as the power of the beautiful ever-changing Moon, told them to do. As the legend goes, a famous priest named Solerius, was for a whole millennium of Moon cycles the husband of the ever-changing Goddess, and so the Goddess told him the destiny of her beloved people. The tablets of silver were then created, and the writing is something like this...
         “For the lunar babies born with the Full grace of the Moon, the most noble destiny is awaken. The cure to all sickness, the love to all brothers, the faith of all nature, rests in your arms.
         For the children that awake with a moon-crescent crest of their forehead, it is always sure that the parting of the ways is in their heart. So good merchants, musicians, writers and vanguard politicians they are. 
         The No-Moon or New Moon sky gives a fierce warrior, or a terrible thief. For, as “every night needs light, only the Just and Strong can live in darkness or fall in the abyss of nothingness.
         But the worst of all the destinies await for the children that open their eyes on a Moon-Eclipse. They were no children of the Sun, and either of the Moon. Exiled, they shall live their puny lives.”
         So as it goes, little Silveria was educated to become a priestess of the Moon, or a Nature-bearing Sorceress. The problem was, that Silveria hated so much all the rules, traditions and rituals of the Moonlight people.
         When she was a teenager, she thought that all the rebel-without-cause attitude was part of her changing cycle, but the reality was that she longed to be a warrior, like her older brothers. She hated to be small, and cunning, and brainy -as the Full Moon children are supposed to be-. And so one day she ask the great Fortune Teller to change her destiny.
         “There is not such a thing as destiny-changing” the Teller protested “You are supposed to be happy with your Moon, and never dream of any other.”
         “I know... but I feel that I could be something more”
         “More than a Priestess? More than a powerful force of Nature?” the old lady smiled “Don’t be naïve, my child”
         Silveria walked away in exasperation. She needed to prove herself, so she could change, grow, be strong. Maybe there could be a sorceress-warrior thing that could become her. But the only story about a Moon-interfacing-warrior was that of Alton Silverhair, hated brother of the Solerius priest that formed the legend of the Moon wishes. And the legend told that Alton was exiled of the town by his own brother.
         “Bitter, bitter, destiny” said Silveria anguished, and picking all her belongings, started the journey of the Legend, to get her dreams come true.
         
For many moons and nights she traveled the forest, her dark blue eyes searching without success the proof, the journal, the testimony that her birth-mark could be changed, or at least compelled with another. But the forest was silent before her, and only wines cutting her white skin or tangling in her golden hair, were her answer.
         Meanwhile, at least Silveraida was learning to live on her own. The characteristic of the mages and clerics were that they always depended upon the merchants, warriors, and hunters for every-day needs. Silveraida had suffered hunger and thirst, until she learned to hunt her own preys, and locate rivers.
         Crying most of the time on the first days, she longed to come back, defeated, just to be safe at home. But now she felt stronger.
         After a strange dream, she found a cave. The Legend told of a Pure White Cave, the Cave of Wisdom, were she could talk to the Gods. Trembling, she made for it, but then a shadow came in her way.
         It was a man. Tall, strong and with silver hair down to his knees. He looked at her, barely smiling, a long spear on his hand.
         “Child of the Moon  it seems” he told to no one in particular “Why should one of your tribe come to the Cave of Wisdom?”
         “So it is...” said Silveraida, nervous for the spear but most of all, because the man looked a little odd. His eyes never encountered hers, and he had a lot of silver hand-made tattoos.  “I’m glad I could get here, so please step aside, I really need... wisdom”
         “Why, wisdom?” said the man “You look very wise to me, already”
         Silveraida strongly suspected that he was mocking her.
         “I’m not wise at all. I hate the traditions of my Moonlight people. I tried to change my destiny, foretold the day of my birth. I wanted to be a warrior, and a sage, and all in one just to become stronger”
         “Then you are vain, and ambitious, but that’s not that. You have traveled, as no one in your town has traveled, to become more than you are. That’s called a dream, and you have plenty”
         “Dreams, yeah” Silveraida sighed “I have come a long way. You can’t imagine...”
         “I can” said the man, looking at her at last. His eyes were strong and bold as iron. He smiled a little and took away his spear. “Get in child. You’ll learn. I came here a long time ago, as you come now, with a dream that came true. You won’t regret it. My brother had a lot of strange ideas, but his were better than mine in the eyes of my father. Go now into the Cave, and may the Gods grant your wish”.
         Silveraida stared at the man, wondering if he was Alton Silverhair. He just nodded, and she went through the cave, nervous because she was changing her destiny. 


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Full Counts:
All Words:  998
2+ Letters:  956
3+ Letters:  798
4+ Letters:  543
5+ Letters:  347
6+ Letters:  249

Text Lines:    28
Blank Lines:  1
Total Lines:    30