Filed to story: The Chosen Saga Novel PDF Free
“Thank you, Emma. You have outdone all expectations I have ever had for myself. You are the best maid I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. If I ever am in the position to help you out, do not hesitate to ask.” Araiya hugged her and followed everyone else out.
The ritual used to be some sacred rite that had now evolved into a street fair. The ceremony was held in the main square. The surrounding streets were filled with vendors, hoping to sell their wares. Everyone from the surrounding villages came to participate. By the end of the night, only a few would be chosen. Araiya knew that even if she were chosen, it did not mean she was safe.
The Chosen sometimes returned, their memories gone, and confused at what had happened. Becoming a Chosen was the goal, but it was surrounded by so much mystery. No one knew what they were getting into, but she didn’t even care. If the Chosen didn’t return within a few weeks, they stayed wherever they went; never to be seen until the next ritual held in the home village. The past Chosen of the town came home to preside over the next ceremony, partly to show the villagers that their children were not dead.
Araiya was starting to feel anxious, so she grabbed Lincoln’s hand and squeezed. He smiled down at her until they heard someone call out. “Jon, there you are. I thought I would have to send a servant to your villa to track your family down.”
Jon veered off toward the man who had called over. Smiling and shaking the man’s hand, Jon turned back toward the family. “Good to see you, Donal. This is my family. Sonya, my wife. Lincoln, my son, my daughter Korine and my stepdaughter, Araiya.” Jon gestured to each in turn. “This is Donal, the Fire magistrate I was telling you about.” Donal was a short and rotund man. He draped himself with red expensive-looking silks and jewels. His red hair was thinning and hung loosely around his ears. His eyes were a red so dark they looked black and beady. He was currently staring at Araiya extremely hard. His pig nose and small mouth were scrunched up, making his hanging cheeks bunch. His face was lined with age. For a man of forty, he looked at least seventy. Donal was not aging well.
Araiya’s mother stepped forward. “I am sorry, did you say this was Donal, the Fire magistrate, the young man who will be engaged to my daughter, that Donal?” She quickly glanced at her, then turned back to Jon.
Donal stepped forward with his hands extended and grabbed Sonya’s hand. “Yes, I am that Donal, but a young man I am not. I am the same age as Jon. I thought you knew. I have decided it is a good time to take a young wife. Someone who can bear my young while I care for the finances.” He raised Sonya’s hand to his mouth for a kiss.
“Well, Donal, my daughter is only twenty-one years old, and you are more than double her age. Why in Goddess’s name would she want to marry a man your age?” Sonya turned to Jon. “In whose mind did you come up with this plan?” Sonya turned back to the Fire magistrate. “I am sorry, Donal. I do not mean to insult you. You seem like a nice man, but not for my young daughter. Jon, you do whatever you want, but I am taking Araiya and Lincoln to the ritual before you come up with yet another deal.” Sonya turned to Donal. “It was nice to meet you. Enjoy the ritual.”
With those parting words, they left to find a spot in the center. Jon stayed behind with Korine. It was almost time for the Choosing by the time Jon and Korine found them. The Elders were just finished piling the wood and had already started lighting the candles.
“Sonya, what in the Goddess’s name was that back there?” Jon sneered at her. “The deal is still a go, he found Araiya pleasing, and she WILL be leaving with him in the morning. The deal is done, so you better shut your mouth from this moment about it. She is going, or you will both live to regret it.”
“What do you think is a worse punishment; Araiya dying or being married to a man her father’s age? What can you do to me? Kill me?” Sonya started to laugh. “I wish you would.” Jon stared at Sonya as if seeing her for the first time.
“Thank you for coming today. Today is one of our most sacred rituals, The Choosing.” Elder Tobias’s voice reached out across the square. Hundreds of people slowly came to a pensive silence. Excitement was flowing freely through the crowd. “The Choosing is always done on the eighteenth day of the fifth moon cycle. It is the night of the new moon and new beginnings. Tonight, the stars will be brightest, and so will the Chosen. Let us start the opening prayers.” Elder Tobias stepped away from the dais and joined the four other Elders, who waited by the unlit pyre. He started the bonfire and stepped into position. The Elders each had a bag in their hand, and with heads raised to the sky, they started the prayer. “We start tonight and call to Earth.”
Elder Katelyn started. She covered her whole body in her green robe. You could only see her face turned to the sky and her chestnut hair hanging down her back to the ground. “Earth, we call to thee. Our home, our haven, our element. We of Earth feel the connection to our land. We grow with our land. We take care of our land as she takes care of us. She provides wealth, wisdom, and strength, and we say our thanks.” She tossed a handful of dirt into the fire with her final words.
Elder Tomas, in his yellow robe, called to his element next. “Air we call to thee, blow your winds of change. Sweep us past this last year, and usher in a new age. Grant us the knowledge of where to go from here and blow a breeze of renewal into our souls. He provides the intuition needed to move forward on our journeys, and we say our thanks.” Elder Tomas grabbed a handful of feathers from his pouch and tossed them into the fire.
Elder Sanza called out to Fire, dressed in a blood-red robe. “Fire we call to thee, burn with passion in our lives. Light a fire under us with your inspiration and open our minds with your divine creativity. Let us grow from small embers into full flames of life under your love and protection. She helps us grow into who we are meant to be, and we give our thanks.” She reached into her bag and threw three lava stones into the fire.
Elder Tobias came next in his dark-blue robes. “Water we call to thee, and we thank thee for the ever-flowing stream of peace in our lands. We open ourselves to the ocean of compassion you have given to our lives. We hold strong in the face of the thunderstorms of expression the world imparts on us. He is a waterfall of healing in our souls when life hits too hard, and we give our thanks.” Tobias withdrew a skin of holy water from his pouch and tossed it into the fire. The sizzle that followed as the water skin burst echoed across the deathly quiet square.
Elder Cameron was last, in her deep-purple robes. “Spirit, we call to thee, though you may come last, you are above all others. Spirit of our great Goddess, who has bestowed the elements’ bounty to us and crafted us in her image, we give our utmost thanks. Spirit of our great Goddess, we call to thee to help unravel the mystery of our Chosen here today. Goddess of our heart and soul, please use your guiding hand to deliver The Chosen tonight. With joyous hearts, we give our thanks.” Cameron stepped forward and pulled the parchments of the applicants out of her pouch. She threw all the papers into the fire. “We call forth Chosen Shavon to complete the ritual.”
Shavon looked precisely as she had last year; her dark-brown hair and pale-green eyes cast out towards the fire, dressed in a robe of yellow, obscuring her figure. “The Choosing is upon us, and I am honored to be able to participate. The Goddess’s hands guide my vision and will showcase her power on us all. We give our thanks to the Goddess, and we give our hope to the Chosen.” Shavon pulled scales of different shapes and sizes from her pouch. She tossed them into the fire, which flared with the elements’ five colors. Everyone in the square gasped, as they did every year. The fire quieted, and Shavon stepped in, her eyes closed and face upturned. Her head tilted to the side as if she heard a voice whisper. “The first Chosen will be…Jack Herder.” The flames jumped again, flaring a deep burning red. Jack’s face was in the fire.
Korine gasped. “Daddy, you promised I would get to marry Jack, you promised.”
“Korine, I did my best. I gave the fool the money for the deal we agreed on. He even said if he didn’t get chosen, he would marry you within a moon cycle, but he would not budge on putting his name in. It was something to remember his mother or some other bullshit. I did my best now be quiet.” Jon glared at Korine and nodded towards Araiya like she did not already know. She couldn’t help but snort, roll her eyes at Jon, and turned back to the fire. Even though she hated Jack, she still hoped she would be chosen. She still had a shot.
Shavon grew still again, listening to the Goddess, if you were to believe the Elders. “The second chosen will be…Tamara Black.” The flames glowed a deep blue, a girl’s face in the flames. The girl was petite and mysterious. She was probably from another village. Shavon had stepped back and started the closing prayer. Araiya’s heart plummeted. She had not been Chosen. Tears sprang to her eyes as everyone began to clap for the two Chosen. Her mother and Lincoln turned towards her, but she had already started through the crowd. She must leave. She could not stay in the square for one more minute, knowing she was about to be sold to an old man for a stupid deal. Everyone else started to turn away to start the celebration and meal.
“WAIT!” Shavon cried out. Everyone turned back, confused. Shavon’s face was pinched as if in pain. “The third and final Chosen of the night will be…” Araiya prayed harder than she ever had before. “Araiya Hill-Stormbourne.” She turned back to the fire, confused. Araiya Hill was her name, not Stormbourne, but she had to see if it was her. The fire had shot up twenty feet, the color a deep violet that matched her eyes, and she saw her own face within the flame. The tears that just a minute ago threatened to fall in defeat now ran down her face in relief. She was saved. Araiya was going to be a Chosen.
Araiya ran back to her mother and Lincoln. They both had a face of relief, and joy, with a hint of confusion, which she assumed was due to the name. Everyone else in the crowd was confused. There had never been a Chosen selected after the closing prayers.
“Everyone, please, the Goddess has a message for everyone, specifically the Chosen. She has said the trying times to come are for a purpose. Please find solace in your life, be at peace, and most of all, keep hope. Chosen, make peace with each other for wrongs committed in the past as everyone needs to work together. Fear the darkness, and most of all, open yourselves to love.” Whispers started almost immediately. What did it all mean? What trying times? What darkness? Who’s to blame?
“People!” Shavon called out again. “Do not try to understand the Goddess. She speaks mostly in riddles. It is not her way of telling us what to do but guiding us. Do not fret. Please enjoy your last night with our Chosen, as we will be leaving at first light. Chosen, please see me before you partake in the celebration. There are a few things we need to go over. Thank you, everyone, and enjoy your night.” With that, Shavon stepped back and turned towards the Elders. The crowd started to disperse. Within minutes the only people left in the square were Jack and his family, the family of the other girl chosen, Araiya’s family, and what looked to be Shavon’s family.
Shavon finished speaking with the Elders and turned toward her family. Araiya looked at her own family. Her mother and Lincoln were still smiling, but Korine was crying, and Jon looked like he was about to explode, his face was pure red, and he looked ready for murder. While Shavon reunited with her family, everyone turned away, not wanting to intrude.
“What have you done?” Jon yelled. Every family stopped talking and turned towards them.
“Jon, you are drawing attention, do not yell. You are embarrassing yourself and our family,” Sonya chided him.
Jon whirled on Sonya. “Did you know? Did you know that your daughter went against my wishes and entered her name into the ritual when I made myself very clear that none of our children would enter? Did you give permission to enter this joke of a proceeding?” Jon turned on Araiya. “Did you decide to do this after I told you about the deal I made over you? Do you think this silly ritual will get you out of that deal…because let me tell you, darling little Araiya, this ritual means absolutely nothing. You will be going to the Fire province and marry Donal, and that, my dear, is the final say!” Jon’s voice, which had started out low and angry, reached a crescendo during his speech, with him yelling those final words.
“Actually, no, that is not the final say.” Everyone turned to see Shavon walking up to their family. Shavon smiled at Araiya and winked, and then turned to face Jon. “I am sorry for eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help but overhear with all the yelling. Am I correct in saying that even though Araiya was Chosen, you will send her to the Fire province to get married and not let her continue on the path the Goddess has chosen for her?”
Jon glanced at Shavon but turned his back to her once again. “This is family business, so you can see yourself away, Chosen. Araiya will complete the deal. I have put forth my word and my word is my bond. I told Donal that my daughter would marry him for his support, which is exactly what will happen!”
“Yes, Jon, that is exactly what will happen.” Araiya smugly smiled. “YOUR daughter is going to marry Donal, while I will follow my Goddess-given path. I am twenty-one years old now. You have zero control over my life anymore. You do not get to dictate what I will do.”
Jon sneered. “No, Araiya, you will do as I say. I signed the deal before you were official, so it is in full effect, no matter what you say!”
“Actually,” Shavon stepped next to Araiya, “Araiya is now a Chosen. She cannot back out of it. It is a commitment to put your name in. Goddess law protects the Chosen from all obligations from her previous life. Entering the ritual cleanses any person who chooses to enter and breaks all contracts and obligations including, but not limited to, family and monetary contracts. That is why you must be twenty-one years old to enter. I think I am right to assume that the entire reason she put her name in, in the small chance she would get chosen, was so she would be free of your deal.” Shavon turned to her. “Araiya, I have to speak with the other Chosens’ families, but we will leave as soon as possible. I feel you won’t be available in the morning if we wait. Stay where I can see you, and we will be off. Say your goodbyes.” Shavon cut Jon a sneering look and walked away to speak with the others.