Daughter of the Moon - Book 1: Water

Chapter 2: The Moon Ceremony

- Elara -

After what had felt like years of waiting, it was finally the day of my Moon Ceremony! I was so excited, I had failed to get a proper night's rest in weeks. We had celebrations all day, with activities such as dances, feasts, and other social gatherings. The whole tribe had come together to celebrate this milestone for me and the other twelve-year-olds who would be participating in the ceremony, and Spirits, the Moon Warriors knew how to party. There were only four kids, other than myself who were being ordained the same night as me, and I was lucky that two of them were my closest friends, Badru and Candra. We normally got into a lot of trouble together, but that day we had decided to stay on our best behavior. Nothing like being grounded on the day of your ordination, am I right?

After a long, long day of festivities (and an even longer day of staying on my best behavior), it was finally time to get ready for the ceremony. My mom helped me get my ready in my room, and the anticipation was almost unbearable as she slowly prepared me for (what I thought would be) the best day of my life. Once I was finally done, I took a look at myself in the mirror.

I was wearing the sacred robes assigned for the Moon Ceremony, which were covered in many symbols that I couldn't understand (apparently it was supposed to be the history of the Moon Warriors written in some kind of forgotten language). My mother had cinched a blue band around my waist before weaving an intricate braid into my hair, leaving some of it down just to annoy me (at least, that was what it felt like). But that's not what captivated me. I was more interested in my eyes.

I looked into my bright, crystal blue eyes as I gazed into the mirror as I began to fanaticize what I would look like as I channeled the Moon Spirit. My eyes were, perhaps, the only thing that I had inherited directly from the Moon herself, and if the stories were true (and I knew they were because I had seen it with my parents), my irises should glow when I channel the energy of the moon. If that wasn't absolutely awesome and beautiful, I wasn't too sure what was.

Once I was ready for the ceremony, my family and I waited for the procession to travel by my home. It was customary for this solemn parade to pass by every house in the village so that everybody knew of the special occasion, so I had to wait as patiently as I could for the party to approach my residence to get in on the action. Once the elders had passed by, I joined in right behind them with the other initiates while my family joined the other parents, siblings, and friends who would be watching the ceremony. As we marched, we sang the humbling words of the Song of the Ocean in the native tongue of the spirits:

běi fēng chuīguò làng juǎn qǐ yǒu yītiáo hé chōngmǎnzhe huíyì
(With the north wind blowing past There's a river full of memories)

ānxīn shuì ba xiǎo bǎobǎo yīqiè de dá'àn néng zhǎodào
(Sleep easily, small baby All of the answers can be found)

héshuǐ liúdòng de shēn chù cángzhe dá'àn zhǐyǐn nǐ de lù In the river,
(hidden deep hides the answer, there to help guide you)

suí tā de shēngyīn tànsuǒ bié zǒu tài yuǎn pà bèi yānmò
(Go explore it with its sound, Don't go too far or you will drown)

yěxǔ zhǐyǒu nǐ néng tīngjiàn tā gēshēng lǐ chōngmǎn mólì
(Maybe just you can hear its sound, hear it singing, full of magic)

néng fǒu yǒnggǎn kèfú kǒngjù nǐ néng fǒu miàn duì zhè mìmì
(Are you able to face your fears? You're able to face the secrets)

běi fēng chuīguò làng juǎn qǐ zhè shì māmā suǒyǒu de huíyì
(With the north wind blowing past. There's a mother, full of memories)