ᴴᵃˡⁱᶜᵒʳᵃ

Prologue

Flowers and Seashells

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In the heart of a temple nestled beside the whispering sea, a young girl stood amidst the mas of pillars and stones, her presence a flicker of innocence amid the solemnity. Her worn peplos, heavy with the weight of saltwater, whispered tales of journeys undertaken, and trials overcome.

Her hair fell around her like a curtain as she stared to where her village has once laid, now covered by the sea. Splashing gently as if it were waiting for her to step foot and finish what it had started. Turning her head she looked towards the moon before kneeling against the cold floor.

Her hands lightly trembling as she gently placed a single rose and seashell down, treasures from both land and sea. Bowing her head she finally released her emotions as she wept begging the goddesses to help her even in the smallest of ways.

Two goddesses watched as the human as she knelt. She had shown kindness throughout her life yet was shunned as soon as she showed a display of difference. The healing of a small creature with magic sent her village into a frenzy as they abandoned her without thought.

Yet despite their harm she still wept for them, for her village which was now underwater with her being the last remaining survivor.

"Please my goddesses I pray for your help. I cannot offer much but I ask for your help your guidance." She whispered as if speaking to herself allowing the wind to carry her voice for her. She did not except anything from the goddesses and her offering was meagre.

The goddesses that watched her took pity on the human, granting her each their own gifts.

Aphrodite, the radiant embodiment of love, and Hecate, cloaked in the mysteries of the moon. Aphrodite blessed the girl with ethereal beauty to allow the girl to receive the love she deserved whilst Hecate blessed her with magic far more powerful than one could imagine. Power that many would kill for.

The girl felt her body lighten as the blessings where grated and she bent her head down to the floor, cries of thanks echoed from the girl as she lifted her head to the moon, allowing the lunar light to shine on her face, her once brittle hair now a brilliant midnight that cascaded like silk, her face a vision of serenity, one a person could study for hours.

Watching as her gifts disappeared, she gave a shaky smile towards the moon as she reached out her arms "My goddesses you bless me with too much, I cannot repay you." A whisper on the wind allowed her to hear the voices of the goddesses as they accepted her offerings as repayment so long as she lived solely for herself.

Before she felt the goddesses leave her the girl felt another gift be granted but not from them as she felt their rage at the one who had also blessed their child, granting her immortality. Furious as they knew the consequences.

The girl was grateful she was kneeling when she felt as if her heart was ripped out of her chest. It would have been simpler for it to have been her heart, however it was her soul that was ripped out and taken.

Hecate and Aphrodite unable to stop it entirely could only take back a part of it as it disappeared in multiple directions. The goddesses gifted the girl the fragment of her soul back, the other pieces lost through time. Even they could not mess with the fates doing.

Aphrodite watched the girl clutch her chest before she turned away unable to do anything more for the girl and so she left heart heavy weeping for the girl she saw herself in. Hecate on the other hand stayed and with a thought gave the girl one last blessing, using her gift of the crossroads she linked the girl to the rest of her soul.

They would not join back to her however as they would form their own personalities and become humans themselves. She blessed the girl to be able to sense the humans which held pieces of her soul in their own and if the girl found herself falling in love with the people they became and they the same to her, then she would be whole again.

As she felt Hecate depart the girl whispered her thanks once again as she stood her skin a light olive colour, free of the wounds that once graced her arms and legs from the rocks the other children and adult would throw at her.

She had been granted a new start by her goddesses and she would not allow herself to waste it. Hearing a squeak behind her she felt tears well in her eyes once again as she saw the small creature she had healed in the village.

Gently scooping the animal up, she held it close to her chest kissing the top of its head. Aphrodite had granted her one last gift, one that she treasured the most. With one last whisper of thanks the girl vanished from the temple.

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Eons later the girl was sat in a small cottage behind the houses of Sunnyvale court, hidden deep within a dangerous part of the vast wooded area. The girl blessed by the goddesses sat on a plush rug, books of spells lining the shelves in the room as various crystals and herbs were scattered around her.

The only place in the cottage that would be considered tidy was the top of the mantle where two bowls of gold and silver sat. Each filled with offerings for her goddesses that were never left empty, even if it were a simple flower or shell she had found, she ensured that her gestures of gratitude never waned, echoing the humble beginnings of her blessed life.

She broke from her meditation with a giggle as a head gently butted against her knee, her little companion Ginger whining wanting attention. Scooping the Guinea pig onto her lap the girl was content. Despite missing the pieces of her soul still she had friends.

Over the centuries she had seen the rise and fall of empires, countries, nations and yet she never interfered. It was not for her to. Political affairs especially held no interest, most also scoffed at her views seeing her as a ditzy young girl who knew nothing of life.

It was easier that way, she preferred to live simply. She had all she could ever need. She had made wonderful friends and guided them through their lives, watching as they had families and grew old in peace.

It was often saddening to watch her friends die around her, but she knew they all lived their lives to the fullest and that they passed on in peace.

The old grandfather clock out in the hallway softly chimed on the hour pulling her from her thoughts, petting Ginger once more she set her down gently on the floor as she picked up her tarot deck, a gift from one of her friends years ago.

Humming lightly, she shuffled them around eyes closed as she allowed her magic to flow picking the cards for her. Plucking a card from the deck she placed it face down her nose scrunching as she looked at it. As she pulled two more the wind whispered in er ear of changes on the street nearby – a new family moving in.

Placing the two cards down in their respective positions she drew in a breath as she stood up quickly, the candle that sat nearby knocking over, the wind quick to blow it out for her. Moving to her workroom, she moved quickly throwing herbs into a brass bowl. A few protection spells would be required in the future it seems.

Glancing back at the cards laying on the floor she lit her incense placing it in the bowl to char the herbs as she began grinding up some lavender. The wind blew around her before it moved the rest of her tarot cards across the room, leaving the three cards she had pulled in the centre of the room, a warning.

Knight of Swords, Death, and the Four of Swords. A combination that was feared, never to be taken lightly. The death card often was figurative but within the combination there was no certainty it would not lead to something physical, a death before ones time.

Fate would not take that lightly.

Bottling up the herbs mixed with magic, she sealed the spell and moved back to the cards gently picking them up worry etched on her face, there was one thing for certain. The winds whisper of a new family and the pulling of her cards meant that nothing good would come from this.