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In the night I cried,
a tormented lost soul. Alone I walked, dirty and despairing.
There was an emptiness in the land, the feeling of something lost, forgotten,
misplaced. I never understood how I could feel the ground speaking,
or the trees. But yet they did, they cried out to me. I was
so alone, separated from everyone, a child wandering helplessly in the
wilderness. I didn't know that this was the way of the Priestess,
that the childhood had to be alone, spent living in the hazards of the
world. It was a trial by fire. It was to prove my strength
and will. It was no only in Idia that I had to endure, but also in
the world outside its bounds. There I was constantly tested, having
to hold my will against the challenges of her family. I knew that
if I spoke out against their beliefs, if I challenged their rules that
I would be punished, that I would suffer. I knew that the safest
route was on of compliance but something else pushed me forward, the calling
of the earth for me, what I now know as the Source was propelling me to
be strong and hold my ground.
The spiritual beliefs
of Idia, are that all life runs from the Source, that it is the current
that flows through all living things. A vein of magic runs through
the land. Every living thing, every natural aspect of the world is
connected by this current. It is not the magic of conjuring,
nor that of the faerie folk of this world. In Idia this magic, what
is called earth magic, is the power that runs through everything.
It is nature, the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. It binds all
together, in a sense of unity. Allowing those who have learnt, to
see the currents that flow between everything, the strengths and at times
of crisis the weakness in the flow. It is that source, and the movement
and patterns of the natural world that the religion of Idia is based on.
From that rituals have been learnt, Gods and Goddess's understood, and
as Priestess magics have been learnt. It is our belief that this
also exists in this world, and we of the Shire have brought our religion
into this world now, integrating it into both our lives.
When I was 16 I was
found by an ancient woman, the Skye before me. It was from her I
learnt about these things, and she trained me as her replacement.
The ache, the emptiness I felt, she told me, was because the Source had
been forgotten, the people of Idia had lost their way, had lost their culture.
She had lived in isolation most of her life, and the absence of a spiritual
base had damaged Idia. I studied under her for years, learning all
I needed to know. She had never been into the other world she told
me, but she warned me against mentioning what I had learnt to those on
the other side. Saying it could be dangerous. Then after
2 years she told me her time had come to leave, she had made the decision
to past on the name to me, and then with the softest of smiles she just
died. From that moment on I was Skye the Priestess.
I still had a lot to learn, but like all things you can only be taught
so much, then it is up to you to learn the rest. I took the shawl
from her, placing it over my hair and then I dedicated her back to the
Source. My new life had begun.
Once I met the rest
of the Shire, the ancient ones, those that remembered the world when the
Gods walked amongst them, welcomed my return. Others were more skeptical,
thinking I can come to convert them, to oppose my beliefs onto them.
But slowly I showed them that my only purpose was to live amongst them,
share information when asked. Neither I or the Source would want
anyone coming to them out of fear, to pressure. If they wished to
learn more then I would welcome that. There has been a growing acceptance
of it's faith and practice. It is now prominent amongst those in
the Shire. And I am always busy, but know longer alone and Idia no
longer aches.