... and the human deity lived alongside the villagers. The animal deity finally took on its true from and was sent to live in the wild with the village guardian. Seven more years passed. You are now seventeen. Your village has been prospering in their trade for the past few years, but suddenly things have begun to change. Then, one night the human deity awakes to a knock at their window. They open it to see their childhood friend, now seven years older, standing right in front of them. This friend doesn't say a word, but you can hear them speaking in your head. You had always felt they were there with you all along. They tell you that someone is out to kill you both, along with all the other prophesized children. There is a safe house to the east of the Forested Lands and that is where you will both travel. And from there is where our story begins..._____________________________________________________
The room was quiet for a moment, except for the chirping of the crickets that lived in the tall grasses outside of the log inn, the crackling of the fireplace as it warmed the room, and the breathing of the ten others around Lin: the seven other prophecies which had gathered there, the innkeeper, his wife, and his daughter. The owners were in front of them, the burly, bearded innkeeper sat in a dining chair as his wife laid her hands on his shoulders. Their daughter hid in the corner behind them, like a piece of furniture. Lin and the others sat at a table. She stared at the flames, the licking sparks reflected in her blue eyes, as she waited for someone to speak.
âSo,â the man gruffed, finally breaking the silence and calling Linâs attention, he rubbed his knees, âyou say you are on the run? And you are the eight children of the prophecy?â
âWell, yes,â Lin leaned forward and spoke up for the group, âit must be hard to believe howeverâŠâ
The man held his hand up, silencing her, and she quickly shut her mouth. He rubbed his beard, and then creased his eyebrows as he contemplated something. âSomeone knew this day would comeâŠâ He muttered.
âEx⊠excuse me?â Lin questioned.
The chair squeaked when it scraped across the wooden floor as the man stood up. He crossed the room and reached up to the top of a china cupboard and slid open one of its top drawers. He pulled out a white sheet of paper and cleared his throat before handing it to Lin. âEhm, see,â he said to her and pointed at the paper in her hands, âI thought it was suspicious, so I held onto it.â
Linâs eyes scanned over the parchment in her hand. âOn an evening in September, three weeks from when you should receive this letter, please have eight beds prepared for my companions. They should come to your inn seeking refuge, please do me this favor and keep them safe,â she read. She let her hands holding the letter fall to her lap, her face obviously confused. âWell then, who could have written this letter?â She asked.
âI donât know, regular letter carrier brought it,â the man said with a shrug of his shoulders. He then proudly put them to his hips as he said, âBut those eight beds are ready they are, arenât they Pat? She prepared them herself,â he added merrily.
âThey are Pa,â the girl meekly answered from her corner.
âCould this place really be safe then?â Lin wondered aloud. âObviously someone was expecting us here. It could all be a trapâŠâ
But then again, her guardian had told her that this was where she was to go⊠Would the guardian had led her, would everyoneâs guardian, had led them into danger?âButâŠâ she continued, âI donât believe it would be wise to travel tonight⊠Fighting, had it come to it, would be difficult in the dark.â She motioned to all of those like her, the âshape-shiftersâ some liked to call them, âAnd we are all in our human forms until the morning.â
The man suddenly started laughing. âWhy that would be something to see wouldnât it? Iâve never seen a shape-shifter before.â
Lin quirked her mouth to the side. Was he going to go off topic with this? Right now was not the time to be laughing.
âThatâs not true honey,â his wife corrected him, obviously unaware that this conversation was irrelevant at the moment as well, âremember that time when we went to that village, off the coast, to pick up a customer?â
The man thought for a moment. âOh!â He suddenly recalled. âThe one that was involved in that invasion a couple of years back?â
âThat one!â The wife praised. âRemember the prophet child from there⊠what was she⊠a ferret or something like that?â
The conversation was gradually growing more confusing. âWhat village?â Lin asked them, not having heard of such a place. âI know of no village off the coastâŠâ
âWell there isnât one,â the man huffed and crossed his arms, âwell not anymore. Invaders wiped them out, but not after they put up a good fight, had a lot of spirit in them they did. In the end, the land was no longer worth fighting for. Invaders left, villagers died, the islandâs been left barren for years now.â
âThey all died?â What a horrible thought. Lin shivered at the idea of the same thing ever happening to her village. âAnd what happened to the invaders? Where were they from?â
The man shrugged again. âDonât know⊠donât want to know. There is no way Iâm getting involved with them. The east is a neutral place. Only people we get passing through here are people headed from the coast to the inland. Iâm not messing such a good thing up by asking about such things. Might put a jinx on it.â He shivered.
Lin gruffed and slumped a little into her chair. Yet again, ignorance killed what could be valuable information.
âWell,â the wife said in a hurry, as Lin fumed silently, âIâll just run upstairs and make sure your beds are ready. Turn in whenever you feel comfortable dears!â She then bustled up the stairs, her daughter briskly followed behind her.
Lin looked around at the others at the table. She knew they would have to keep their wits about them, but what good would they be if they were all left exhausted? Turn in when they felt comfortable, she had said, but did any of them really feel comfortable? Someone was out to kill them, after allâŠ