Kaie looked over the hills before stepping out into the graveyard. Her auburn waves flowed in the morning winds as she drew her shawl closer to her, keeping out the chill of the breeze caressing her cheek. She had always been told that coming here was dangerous. A maiden walking through the graveyard before dawn had the misfortune of attracting spirits, and not the good ones. She was here, this morn after Samhain. She knew full well that she should have brought someone to help her, be her support, but she could find no one that didn’t think her daft. Kaie was alone, and she, in truth, wouldn’t have it any other way. The Druids hadn’t given her a second thought since she was a babe, thinking that she had no connection the earth and spirits. I’ll show them. I have been practicing. They will see that I am fit to be an apprentice and be taught to be a priestess.
She took slow and deliberate steps out of the stone doorway and into the center of the graveyard. The chill turned into a freezing mist that seeped through her shawl, making her shiver. She knew this feeling. The spirits were here with her. She made her way into the center of the graveyard, and opened her pouch, taking out her tools, candles, and salts. In small quarters, she placed her candles and symbols in corners that corresponded to the compass points. Opening a small corner of a leather pouch, she drew a small circle with the sea salt she had collected from the ocean. She then walked the circle a second time with the smell of myrrh floating from the censor she swung back and forth. She cleared her mind and concentrated on the task ahead. The chill was lesser now. The circle was beginning to take shape. She faced north, her celtic accent lilting musically as she spoke. “To the North, I beseech the fae, the Guardians of the Air to come and aid me in my task.” She lit the yellow candle. “To the South, I beseech the salamanders, the Guardians of the Fire to come and aid me in my task.” She lit the red candle. “To the West, I beseech the Undines, Guardians of Water to come and aid me in my task.” The blue candle was lit. “To the East, I beseech the Gnomes, Guardians of the Earth to aid me in my task.” The green candle was lit. A warmth filled the circle as the energies flowed within it. Kaie knew this was what she was meant to do, the path that had been laid before her. She laid in the center of the circle and, with hands crossed upon her chest, she closed her eyes and began her journey.
She was shocked, at first, to see her body lying on the emerald grass, still as a corpse. Her skin transparent as she surveyed the area around her. She had done it. Her spirit had left her body, so she thought. She panicked, thinking she was dead. No one having taught her what would happen if she did this, her expectations of this event in her life were not known to her. She was just about to re-enter her body when she heard a voice call from the mists.
“Fear not, child, for you have not passed into the beyond.” Kaie was awestruck. She had seen pictures of what the Druids thought Branwen looked like, but this was leaps beyond what anyone could have sketched on paper. Standing on the path, the mists seemed to glow with an ethereal light. Her copper hair shimmered in the morning dew. Branwen smiled, and the warmth filled Kaie with peace. The Goddess made her way to the youth, the alabaster skin having a light of its own, soft and subtle. The girl floated down to the path and began to kneel. The fluttering touch of the Goddess made her look up into Branwen’s sapphire eyes.
“Stand, my child. You are not dead. You are simply in the astral realm. You have begun your spiritual journey.” Her dress floated on the breezes that whisked through the graveyard. “Tell me, Kaie, why did you choose this place to begin your journey? This wonderful land of ours has many fields and gardens.” Branwen’s voice was soft and the lilt was smooth and flowing. The girl felt at home, protected. “Everyone said this place is dangerous for one such as myself, Goddess, but I have always felt at peace here with the spirits. None have ever tried to harm me.”
House of Geek 