Together ten figures crossed the stream, going into the dense forest that lied at the other side of the stream. It was the peek of midnight and the forest was eerily quite with the occasional hoots of the owls and the slurry chirpings of the night insects. They moved in a straight line till they got to an extra dense part of the forest which was in a shape of a ring.
They all felt the energy emanating from that part, it was beckoning and soothing but also looked very dangerous. Lady felt her body rise in temperature even though the air around them was tense and chilly.
Then she felt drawn towards the small ring of dense trees in the forest. Against her will, her feet moved towards it and her body shaking vigorously. Together the remaining four of the girls felt compelled to kneel, so they knelt and also against their will, they began singing a song unfamiliar to them.
The moment the song brushed through Lady's ears, she felt something heavy compressing her till she gave out her will and then before the eyes of all present, her body was lifted off the ground, an ethereal glow surrounding her. Her eyes glowed a heavy shade of white, her hair like long black inklings floating around her head.
"It is good to see you again, my children" a heavy soft and thunderous voice came out of Lady's body. There was no doubt that the goddess had taken over her body.
Amira and the rest of the ladies who were still standing knelt down immediately, trembling from the compressing aura emanating from Lady. The goddess Mai, slowly descended onto the ground in Lady's body. The moment her feet touched the ground, it shook and then finally quietened, welcoming the new visit of the goddess.
"Rise, my children and let's finish what you have started" Goddess Mai said and and in a swift movement lifted herself off the ground, flying and manoeuvring through the air and into the trees.
Amira, the four ex pillars and the new pillars already knowing their Makri, stood up and breathed out a sigh of relief, being in the presence of a goddess was no easy thing. They were all excited nevertheless that at least the goddess had descended to visit them during their generations, well they all were except Amira who was busy lamenting in her heart, wailing that her worst nightmare had finally came true.
Now her family was doomed to destruction all because, Lady had be chosen as the new Makri. Why couldn't it be one of the other girls?, she wondered.
The new four pillars followed the Makri into the ring of trees where they found a very clear area with short grasses and a wide altar which was glowing in the middle of the clearing. Lady, who was now possessed by the goddess was sitting on the altar, looking around and smiling. There were four small altars beside the the big, wide altar. Two on each side of the altar.
"Join me,my new pillars" the Makri stretched forth her right hand and invited her new pillars to sit on the small pillars beside hers.
The new four pillars complied and sat on the small altars. The moment they sat on it, their body felt suddenly full again. They could feel their power coursing rapidly through their veins like a new found blood. They couldn't deny that the feeling was both and exhilarating and comforting. The feel of being powerful enough to almost seem invisible had quite a nice ring to it.
"Amira, come forward and place the white clay on their foreheads and welcome them" the Makri ordered Amira.
Amira came forward without a word, it wasn't easy to be talking in the presence of a goddess, her presence always brought about a sense of heaviness and some sort of compression. She untied a small knot on the cloth around her waist. She took a wrapped bundle, opening it to reveal a small amount of white clay. She went forward and dipped her index and middle fingers into the clay and placed it on the new pillars' foreheads.
"Now it is done" the Makri sighed in relief and looked up at the skies " Now my children, isn't it such a lovely night for some music and dance!"
"Verily, it is" Star said from the right side of the new Makri "It would be great for some songs"
Then in an elegant manner, the new Makri hopped to the ground and started singing. The remaining nine people in the clearing joined in the song their mother was singing and before long they realized that they were being accompanied by instruments even though there were no trace of any instruments or any person beating an instrument.
But that didn't stop them from hopping from one foot to another, shaking waists and letting anklets trinkle melodiously in the dead of the night. Their movements were coordinated and agile, all the night animals of the forest coming out of their hiding places, drawn out by the melodious tune and the dance moves that were shaking the earth.
Before long, they had all finished dancing and stopped to catch their breaths as the goddess left Lady's bodies and left her will to her own whims. Lady looked around her and smiled, she felt like two souls in one body. She could feel the presence of the goddess lingering in her subconscious mind, stirring and distributing a powerful aura around in her body.
"Welcome back to us, our new Makri" Star said and knelt down followed by echoed choruses of the others "Welcome back to us, our new Makri"
"Thank you mothers and sisters, it is a great honor to serve you with all might and strength. I hope you will assist me with the necessary help so our rule becomes one strong and powerful" Lady declared her willingness and her gratitude to be able to serve her village.
"We shall" the pillars promised.
"Now I believe the ceremony is over, so shall we head back to the village now, it's almost the crack of dawn" Lady observed the skies and said to her people.
"Of course Makri" they responded and stood up from their resting places, proceeding to move out of the ring.
But then Amira stayed behind and called out to them" I have some private business with our mother, so please go ahead of me, I'll join you later"
"Sure" Lady responded and lead the test out of the forest.
Amira waited till they had all left the forest before glancing left and right and then finally taking a small knife from her clothes. She had come prepared for the worst. She sliced the middle of her left hand and held it over the wide altar. She placed a small amount of white clay on her blood and mixed them.
Then she stepped back and started chanting in the" I call you forth oh great mother with this small token of my blood"
Then suddenly the a fierce wind blew and then the goddess descended again.
"Why do you summon me back here, child?" She asked a little sternly.
"Great mother" Amira began "Please about the prophecy regarding the Makri, can't anything be done about it?, I'm willing to sacrifice everything to revoke the prophecy" she went straight to the point.
The goddess sat on the altar and laughed, a laughter that seemed like a thousand thunders "Amira, I know what's in your heart, nothing can be done about it. A prophecy is a prophecy, no one can change fate and no one can alter destiny"
"But I can't lose my family, great mother. Then I believe you should choose a new Makri"
Mai stood up from her altar, the winds gathering pressure and weight, the trees swaying violently
"You dare challenge my authority!" she boomed "I chose you to make you great and also chose to honor your family again and you dare to challenge me?, leave before I strike you down!"
Amira in her trembling form, took off in a run. She felt suffocated and the sweat on her forehead which used to be little beads were now trickling down her face like a mighty waterfall into her clothes. She could still feel the pressure in the atmosphere, the raging anger of the goddess was still lingering around. Her steps were heavy, running in such a fierce setting was proving to be a very tedious chore especially for someone her age. But that didn't stop her mind from going over the fact that she was about to lose her family and she had to do everything in her power to stop that, even if it means losing her life and going to unknown places.
Besides, it was better to lose one life than to destroy more so she started making strategic plans to stop Lady from discovering her Makri powers at any cost. After a few minutes of running, she saw the backs of her people as they conversed and laughed amongst themselves.
She caught up to them sweating bullets and panting heavily.
"Amira, isn't it enough that you re so energetic at your age that you had to run through the this thick jungle" one of the women teased.
"I was just rekindling my youthful spirit, Takoa" Amira laughed it off "beside now that you are an ex pillar, we can gossip all the time" she teased back.
Takoa and the others laughed and went about their journey.