"Walls have ears," they say, and in this case, the whispers carried far beyond any wall. The rumor of a blue goddess rippled across the valley, a story carried on the wind from one village to the next. It wasn't long before the tale reached the Outlands, a story for the dwellers to scare their children at night. To the Rapsites, it was nothing more than a fanciful fairy tale. No one truly believed the myth of the ancient city of Zamfram.
But in a small, isolated home, the whispers were a living curse. Sierra sank into a profound depression, the world outside her window now a hostile place. She saw it in their eyes; the fear, the pity. What her parents had always dreaded was now a stark, chilling reality. The girl who once sang to the morning sun now hid in the shadows of her room, her laughter replaced by a suffocating silence. She stopped leaving her room, speaking to her family, or even humming a single tune. Neighbors, their curiosity mixed with a hesitant sympathy, gathered at the doorstep, offering solemn condolences to her parents. Though the villagers were terrified of her, they couldn't help but miss the light she once was.
One night, her younger brother, Beth, broke the quiet. "Mom, will Sierra be okay?" he asked as his mother tucked him into bed.
"She's dealing with a lot right now," Pamela said, her voice strained. "But she's strong. She'll overcome it."
"How long? I miss her," he whispered, his small voice thick with sorrow.
"I don't know," Pamela replied, the words a heavy sigh. She left his room, feeling defeated, and found her husband. "How long, Tommy? How long will our baby girl be like this?" she sobbed, breaking down in his arms.
He held her tightly. "She's in transition, my love. We signed up for this, remember?"
"Why us? Of all the people in the world, why us?"
"We don't ask questions, Pam. We owe it all to Xai. We are his humble servants. We knew this day would come. We must stay strong for her."
The prophecy had been forgotten by most, but not by them. Twenty years ago, the words had echoed through the ages: "Rejoice, O Earth, for your redemption is here! In the ancient city, a child, the seed of the earth, is born! One whose skin is as fair as the sun and as blue as the sky. Hair as dark as charcoal and as white as the moon. One whose voice can destroy kings and make them go to war. Rejoice, Zamfram, rejoice! For your barren will be blessed this day." Sierra's parents remembered it vividly, and slowly, agonizingly, so did everyone eelse
***
"Kilo, we need to talk!" The witch, Cedilla, burst into the war chamber, her sudden arrival a brazen disrespect to the warlord's closed-door meeting.
Kilo slammed his hand on the table, his face flushed with rage. "Witch! What is the meaning of this?!" he roared, his voice shaking the very air in the room.
"It is urgent! And it concerns the seed!" she said, her voice sharp and unyielding.
Kilo's anger immediately turned to a cold, predatory focus. His eyes widened slightly. He turned to his officials, his voice now a low growl. "Leave us." The men stood up, their murmurs silenced by his command, bowing low before exiting the chamber.
"Now, what do you have for me, witch?"
Cedilla's lips curved into a sly, confident smile. "Do you remember the rumor that has been spreading among the people? The one you dismissed?"
"The tale of the blue goddess?" he scoffed.
"It turns out it's no myth," she said, her smile widening. "It's real, and it is the key to our problem."
Kilo leaned back, a sneer on his face. "This is some kind of joke. Zamfram is a fairy tale." He thought she was toying with him, a common amusement for witches.
"That's what I thought, too," she replied, her eyes twinkling with a shared secret, "until I found a prophecy about the city that is considered a myth." She handed him an old, worn scroll, its edges frayed with age. "Why," she pressed, "would there be a prophecy about a city that doesn't exist? And why is that prophecy identical to the tale of the blue goddess, both set in the same place?"
A flicker of genuine interest lit in Kilo's eyes. He sat up, his posture tense. "What is your point?"
"Zamfram was a myth to all except my people. The high priestess Tomoko was the only one capable of finding it because it was protected by the god Xai..."
"Tomoko is dead," Kilo cut in, his words clipped.
"Yes, but her remains are here," Cedilla said, a glint of triumph in her eyes. "I can use them to pinpoint possible locations of the city. It's a long shot, but if it works, we will finally be able to find the seed after all these years."
Kilo bit down on his lip, his mind racing. This was too good to be true. He had lost hope long ago, but now, a burning anticipation consumed him.
"Do it," he said, his voice laced with eagerness. "How long will this take?"
"A day or two," Cedilla said, taking back the scroll.
"We don't have a day or two," he snapped impatiently.
Cedilla simply smirked, her hips swaying as she turned to leave. "You've waited for five years; I'm sure you can wait for a day." She left him alone in the chamber, a solitary flame of fury and anticipation burning within him.
***
Three months had passed, but the first time Sierra stepped outside, it felt like an age. Her parents' joy was boundless. They threw a feast in her honor, and the villagers, their memory of the past three months still fresh, knew better than to ask any foolish questions. That night, a vision came to Sierra's parents. The god Xai appeared, his voice a low rumble, warning them of the danger to come.
"You must not let Kilo see Sierra, no matter the cost!"
Her parents rushed to her room, their faces pale with terror. They woke her roughly, their hands trembling as they pulled her from the bed. "It's time to go," Pamela cried, her voice cracking.
"Mom, what's happening?" Sierra asked, still half-asleep and disoriented.
"There's no time to explain! You just have to promise me that no matter what, you will never look back!" Pamela's tears streamed down her face, and the desperate plea was all Sierra needed to know this was no joke.
"Beth will go with you. Look after your little brother," Tommy said, leading a half-asleep Beth into the room.
"What about you two?" Sierra's own tears began to fall, hot and fast. She wasn't sure what was happening, only that it was serious. She clung to her brother, her heart pounding with a nameless fear.
"We'll be right behind you," Tommy promised, his voice choked with emotion. They embraced one last time amidst their free-flowing tears, the sound of horses and panicked screams echoing outside.
"Find her!" a voice thundered.
Pamela and Tommy led them to the back door. Sierra and her brother escaped into the cold night.
"Mom!" Beth, now wide awake and terrified, called out.
"Run, Sierra! May Xai be with you... RUN!" Pamela screamed.
Sierra scooped Beth into her arms and ran. She ignored his panicked struggles, his cries of "Mom! Dad!" Her tears blinded her, but the terrible sight before her was etched into her mind—her people being slaughtered like cattle, houses burning, the village swallowed by flames. Clutching her brother tightly, she ran into the forest, disappearing into the darkness.
Back at her home, Kilo had her parents cornered. "Where is she? Where is the seed?!" he demanded, his voice a hoarse growl.
"I hope you die a miserable death," Tommy spat at him.
"Go to hell!" Pamela yelled, spitting on his face.
"You first," Kilo sneered, his eyes filled with a ruthless fire. He ordered the house burned to the ground, roasting Sierra's parents alive. "Find her! Search every inch of the forest, the sea. Leave no stone unturned! Find her or it's your heads!" Kilo roared, his men scattering to hunt the fleeing children.
The news of the seed's true nature spread far and wide. For the dwellers, it was a sudden, desperate hope. For the Rapsites, an ominous threat. For Kilo, a final, merciless chance. And for the last witch, it was the greatest opportunity she had ever known