Great Mother, Goddess Divine

Hear me now, Great Mother of Old.

Allow me your wisdom, for truths untold.

Take me, Great Mother, through this path unknown.

Lend me your strength, and I’ll give you my own.

See me, Great Mother, my body is yours.

Offer me shelter from death’s open doors.

Feel me, Great Mother, my soul cannot roam.

Help me endure, and guide me back home.

The rush of oxygen down her lungs threw her into a violent coughing fit.

Her mind felt like it had been through a large metal press; her vision was blurry and she had a constant ringing in her ears. She could barely make out her surroundings, but the ground underneath her let her know she was still in the forest. Every inch of her body felt like it had been beaten. Gods, how everything hurt.

Slowly, she tried to move onto her side, causing another series of coughs. With her shaking arms, she pushed herself to sit upright.

What happened?

The smell of burning hung heavy in the air. As her vision started to gain more focus, she saw her sisters scattered on the ground, and ash gently falling from the sky. There was still smoke coming from the ground around the edges of what must’ve been a huge fire, right where the coven had been. The ringing in her ears was beginning to subside, only to be replaced by screaming.

It was Mia, just a few steps away. She was bent over Astrid, shaking her shoulders, but Astrid didn’t move. Her empty eyes had nowhere to look anymore.

A pair of hands suddenly grabbed her face, two sharp, dark eyes searching her own. “Rana, thank the mother, are you hurt anywhere?”

“W-what happened?” Her own raspy voice came between shallow breaths. “I don’t- we… we were just starting, and then Priestess, she-” Rana tried to raise her shaky hands to hold onto Afia’s, her eyes going blurry again, blanketed by her tears. “Oh gods, Astrid, she-” Rana tried to turn her face towards the two sisters.

“Rana, look at me. Tell me, are you hurt?”

“N-no.” She tried to steady her breath. “Everything hurts, but I.. I think I’m okay.” She took a deep breath and lifted her teary eyes to meet Afia’s. “Go to Mia, please.”

Afia reached out with the flat of her right palm towards the sky and closed her eyes. She whispered calming words and placed her other palm against Rana’s chest. Immediately, Rana felt a warmth flow from where Afia had placed her hand out to the rest of her body. Her breathing steadied and she stopped shaking.

“It’s going to be okay.” Afia said with her hand against Rana’s cheek, remnants of the warmth tickling against her ear. Afia stood up and walked over to Mia crying over Astrid’s body. The redness on Rana’s hands and arms were gone, and the blistering pain had turned into a dull ache. Looking around, she took in the devastation.

Afia was hugging Mia and stroking her hair, trying to soothe the young witch with her words. Across them, Winnie with her long grey hair and what used to be her white dress kneeled by Olivia to close her eyelids. Rana watched the old woman place one hand on top of Olivia’s forehead, the other on her chest, and bowed her own head to hum the words over the body. A bit further away, Elana was reciting the same words for Dani.

It felt like the world was continuing to move without her. Like she was in a bubble of her own where time stood still. Even the forest was quiet, as if it too was mourning the loss of its witches.

When Rana had first joined the coven, Elana had been quick to take her under her wings. Maybe she had sensed from the beginning that the young maiden would share in her inclination towards healing spells. Maybe she had seen some similarities between Rana and her own daughter who was only a few years younger than the newly joined witch. Whatever it was, Rana had been equally drawn to the warmth and comfort Elana always provided, and in abundance too. She sent a quick prayer to the mother, thanking her for keeping Elana safe.

A soft breeze let her know that there was no bubble, and that she was with them. To her left, two bodies were lying next to each other on the blackened ground.

She started to crawl towards them, the smell of soot and ash dusting up the more she continued to move. Her heart was heavy because she already knew it was too late. She had seen it when it happened, the moment Priestess, their Priestess, turned on them and took everything away. Why would she have done that? How could she? She had been there for them for so many years, guiding them, supporting them, loving them.

Her tears were freely running down her cheeks by the time Rana reached Lucy and Sophia.

Lucy and Rana had joined the coven at the same time, whereas Sophia was already part of it back then, and the three of them had gotten close over the years. What had initially started as a friendship by default due to their similar ages, had over the recent years begun to grow into a strong sisterhood. They had been talking about visiting some of their sister covens in the country, or maybe even some of the ones further down south, along the Mediterranean. They had called it their great adventure.

Her breathing became more shallow as she sat down between the two, and her heart was aching. Rana picked up Sophia’s left hand and Lucy’s right in her own and held them tight to her chest. She brought up her knees and nearly curled herself inward. She knew what she had to do, but she’d never done it before. What if she did it wrong?

She tried to take a deep breath and calm herself, but she knew it would only be temporary. She gently dropped Sophia’s hand in order to close her eyes, and did the same for Lucy. She gathered their hands again to her chest and took another deep breath. She lined up the words she had heard many times over the years by her grandmother, her mother, her coven sisters, and even by their Priestess… She could do this. She had to.

“Oh Great Mother.

Please help these two souls on their way.

Guide them to your sanctuary,

And let them find their peace.

Protect them, Great Mother.

Let no harm come to them,

So that they may forever settle in your light.

As is above,

So is below.

Thank you, Great Mother.”

She kissed each hand, feeling the lingering warmth playing on their skin. Whether that was their remaining body heat or the heat of the fire, Rana couldn’t tell.

She felt a set of eyes upon her and looked up to see Winnie staring right at her. The old matron rarely used words, something that had taken a lot of getting used to when she’d first joined the coven. Still, the ice cold stab never failed to surprise Rana; she froze in place when she felt Winnie’s mind enter her own.

“Tell me what you saw, child.”