"When the G.o.ddess blesses the land...""Thank you for coming back, Your Holiness... You are the most needed in this midst of darkness, G.o.ddess Athene."
Baba Lucia murmurs. She is watching the ominous clouds in the distance. Now beautiful lights descend to the land.
"Baba Lucia?"
Harrahinah appeared behind the healer, in which Senya was floating in the air beside her.
"I"m sorry. Senya"s life put in danger and—"
"If you weren"t in this town when that storm appeared, we would be similar to the other villages that it destroyed, and suffered a great loss."
"Baba Lucia..."
"I won"t ask who you are. But allow me to greet you, milady." Baba Lucia kneels on the ground and bows down.
"Please, you need not do that, Baba Lucia," Harrahinah encouraged the old woman to get up from kneeling.
"Um…" Senya groans. "What happens?"
Finally, Senya wakes up and it seems nothing she remembers.
"Senya! How are you feeling?" she"s leaning at Senya, worried if she"s feeling fine.
"Oh, sister Harrah! What happens? Whaaaa! Snow!"
Senya suddenly jumps and runs around the yard. She was mesmerizing seeing crystals falling from the sky, and Harrah feels relieved seeing she was fine now. She waves her hand behind her back and wind twirls around Senya along with the crystal lights.
"You have nothing to worry about, my granddaughter, milady. She was strong and had a strong head," says Baba Lucia, pointing her head.
She giggles. "I could see that… but you can drop calling me, milady, Baba Lucia."
"It is just my honor to meet you before my life"s journey ends in this world."
"Ah…" she smiled. "Baba Lucia, I need to leave soon. I must go to Asana City sooner."
"I understood."
"But before that, I need to reach my companion. The Grand Shaman must know where I headed."
"Grand Shaman Iore?" There"s a surprise in the old woman"s face. But she has no doubts about that.
Harrah nodded. "I need to meditate. I will try to search for him using a different dimension. Can I ask a favor, Baba Lucia?"
"Of course, milady."
That day, Baba Lucia sent Senya to the town to buy spices and bread for lunch. They pretend that Harrah needs a rest. When Senya left, Harrah went to the temple where she saw a statue on the altar.
"The G.o.ddess Athene after she blesses the land. Or shall I say, it was you, milady."
"But it feels hard to believe she was me. I"m just a girl from another world. I never know I have this power and strength."
"You may just be a girl in another world, but you are our Great Athene. I have no doubts, you are her reincarnation."
Harrahinah contemplates what Baba Lucia ascertained to her. "Could it be that my father hasn"t figured it out?"
"The Great King Lionel?"
She nodded.
"I believe he must figure it out already. The moment you were born, he must know he is different."
"I see. Now I understand. My father has been strict to me, not because he doesn"t want me to go out. He was protecting me from the people to not learn what I can do as I am not an ordinary human in that world."
Harrah sat in the middle of the temple. Outside the door is Baba Lucia watching for someone to approach.
Harrah opens a dimension inside her consciousness. Her vision opens to the entire land. The ocean, the desert, the mountains, the land above the sky, and Asana City. But she cannot find Iore"s presence.
"Where is he? Iore, where are you?"
Harrah widens her visual to the entire Great Land. She gasped and opened her eyes. Harrah closes her eyes once again and observes a certain place.
"20,000 soldiers."
She got up and walked toward the door. "Baba Lucia."
"Milady? Have you done searching for them?"
"A war is about to break in Northern-eastern lands. I have to go, Baba Lucia."
"Alone?"
She nodded. "If I wait for my friends, it must be too late. Maybe I will leave a message for General Leonard. But he didn"t know who I was yet. The Shaman who only finds out about me."
"I see. Then I will gather information if anyone spotted where the Royal Knights are."
"I know where they are. I will write a letter, but it must look like it was you who wrote it, Baba Lucia."
"I understood, milady."
"How long will it take to arrive in that land?" she asked.
"It takes more than a week for a caravan."
"Unless a winged beast. No. I will use a portal to arrive in that city."
"I will come with you!"
"Senya!"
Harrah stares at Senya with a soft gaze. She knew Senya was eavesdropping on them.
Baba Lucia heaves a sighed. "Alright. I think I have no choice since I cannot allow you to roam around in this land, alone, milady."
"Then, grandma?"
"Maybe my granddaughter will learn from you, milady."
"Eh, Grandma?"
"But you should not cause trouble for the G.o.ddess! You should behave and watch your brain suddenly deciding things without proper contemplation!"
"I promise I will behave! Just let me go with sister Harrah! I--"
"Call her milady!"
Harrah giggles watching the grandmother and granddaughter argue.
Now she misses her grandfather. They never argued, but he patiently answered her questions about many things.
"Baba Lucia, it"s alright. No one should know who I was. I concealed my power and presence from everyone until then."
"I understood, milady." Baba Lucia bowed.
"Grandma, sister Harrah just said don"t call her milady."
"You want to spank by me?"
"Ehhh…"
That day, Harrah wrote a letter. Since the land has a unique style of writing, she uses her power to transform Earthen letters to this land"s language.
Baba Lucia wrote her message and ordered a rider to deliver it toward the neighboring Valley, where General Leonard had a stop. The healer also arranges Harrah and Senya to join a caravan traveling to the other town head toward Lamont City in the North-East border.
From that town, Harrah will open a portal to arrive in Lamont City in a mere second.
• • • • •
"Sister Harrah! Look! The castle is too yellow!"
"Something like gold to me…" Harrah murmurs.
"Oh, gold."
Harrah and Senya just arrived in the city. The G.o.ddess plans to investigate while waiting for General Leonard and Vice General Zen"s arrival.
"Come, Senya. Let"s find something to eat."
"Oh! Let"s check all their food stools!"
"But we have limited money, Senya," she reminded the young girl.
They knew no one in this city. She is worried about how long the Knights will arrive and the border enemy might commence an attack in this city. If she does not hide her ident.i.ty, she won"t mind facing these soldiers. But the Great Land is threatened by an enemy that is unknown to her yet.
"Ahh… right!" Senya seems to have an idea. "Can you make lots of coins for us, sister Harrah?" Senya whispered.
"I guess I can do that. But it feels cheating to my ends, Senya."
"Ah! You are the G.o.ddess of Justice! I should not forget you have a sense of Fairness!"
Harrah giggles and shushes Senya not to mention anything about her ident.i.ty.