Chapter 22

Eudora

After walking deep underground through the long corridor, I only had a glimpse of the cave at the end before it dissolved around me, overtaken by flashes of memories from what I assume are my past lives. The memories flicker quickly, as if I am flipping through a book in reverse. I see glimpses of great battles and quiet moments spent with loved ones. I see journeys across the country and smiling faces. Finally, the flickering slows and then halts. I feel like I am in a dream. 

I slowly creep down a long hallway that is familiar and foreign at the same time. I pause to look around the place one last time. The corridor is lined with giant columns that are at least six feet wide at the base and rise up so high that they just fade into the sky. The entire area is sparklingly clean. Not so much as a speck of dust or dirt dawns any of the surfaces. I adjust the small pack on my shoulder into a more comfortable position and then quietly continue forward. For the first time I realize that I am no longer wearing my school uniform, but a loose white dress that almost floats around me as I sneak down the empty hall.

Up ahead the pillars curve out creating a circular area. As I approach, I see the circular area the pillars encompass steps down gradually creating a bowl-like effect. At the bottom of this bowl is what looks like a round hole, a few feet wide. I kneel in front of the hole and notice it is filled with a dark thick liquid like substance. I carefully lean over the small pool and look down into it. I see an overhead view of a bustling city. It's as if I am watching people go about their days from a window in the sky. Donkeys pulled carts down the streets and people bartered for goods at a small market place. Somehow I know that what I'm looking at is the earth thousands of years ago. I watch as my hand glides over the window creating a ripple across the dark liquid and the image changes. I am now looking down over a forest. I can hear birds chirping a happy song and I spot a baby bunny hopping along pausing to sniff some flowers. 

I smile at the scene and then slowly stand up next to it. I glance around to make sure no one is watching me, before I take a step forward onto the liquid. My feet slowly sink into the thick liquid and I stand still as my knees and then my thighs disappear. It only takes a few more moments before all that is left is my head. I close my eyes tightly as I fully sink beneath the surface. As soon as the top of my head has been engulfed, I feel a cool breeze over my skin and I open my eyes to see that I am softly gliding down to the ground in the forest I had just been looking at through the pool. 

As my foot landed on the solid ground of the earth for the first time, a spring bubbled up around me, as if even the water was excited to greet me. I now stood on an island at the center of a small pond. Joy and excitement filled me as I stepped out on a new adventure.

The dream/memory faded then and a new one came into focus. The excitement of adventure had worn off and loneliness now gripped at my heart. It has been a few weeks since I descended to earth and although I have tried to make friends with the humans, I have always been too different from them to form any real connections. 

As I continued walking through a different wood than the one I first landed in, I ponder these thoughts, until I hear a horrible screeching sound. I start running immediately towards the sound until I come across the source. The sound is coming from a trapped rabbit inside a hole as a wolf viciously tries to get to it. I run forward and throw myself in between the rabbit and the wolf. The wolf doesn't hesitate to turn his attacks on me. Unlucky for the wolf, I am a divine being, so he is unable to get near me with ill intent. He lunges at me and about a foot away from my body I see his form crumple and collapse to the ground. He is out cold. 

I turn from the wolf and kneel in front of the rabbit giving it an encouraging smile and slowly reaching my hand towards it. It quivers in fear still trying to push itself deeper into the tiny cave, but there is no further for it to go. 

"You're safe now. I won't let anything hurt you." I say in a calming voice. I slowly touch my hand to the rabbit's back and use my powers to heal its injuries. As soon as the rabbit is healed it perks up and looks at me with thankful eyes. 

"Do you feel better?" 

The rabbit nods then hops out of the hole nuzzling itself against my hip before hopping away. As soon as it is out of sight, I turn my attention back to the wolf. I stand and walk over to its sleeping form. I notice that one of its back legs is bend at a weird angle. I sigh and crouch down to heal it. Just as the mending is finishing, the wolf's eyes open and it jumps to its feet. Its head whips around to examine its leg as if confused that it has suddenly started working. 

I huff as I straighten myself and look down at the wolf. "I fixed your leg even though you tried to attack that poor rabbit. What do you have to say for yourself?" The wolf just looks back at me and then cocks his head to the side as if confused. "I know. I know. The circle of life and all that. It's just hard to witness sometimes." 

I turn from the wolf and continue forward, expecting the wolf to take off and regain his pack. To my surprise, he follows me.

I pause my walking to look back at him. "Don't you have a family waiting for you?" 

The wolf stops walking and looks at me. I continue walking and he continues too. 

"I guess you don't have anyone either. Well, for now we can keep eachother company." 

The memory faded again and a new one came into focus. 

I am walking along a path with my wolf at my side when the woods open up into a large field. My wolf lets out an excited yip and then starts to chase a butterfly leaping into the air trying to catch it. I laugh at the scene and want to join in, so I shift myself into a wolf. My wolf spins and growls once he sees me, startled and territorial at the sight of another wolf. After a quick sniff he realizes that the strange wolf is actually me and he relaxes. 

I turn to look for the butterfly but as soon as my eyes are off of my wolf, he tackles me. I wiggle beneath him, not understanding why he jumped on me. He gets off me but as soon as I turn away he pounces again. There is a glint of giddiness in his eyes and I realize this must be a game. The next time he lets me up I spring away and start running. He chases me, but now that I understand the game, I won't let him catch me so easily. 

We spend an afternoon playing in wolf form until the sun starts to set and a full moon rises, I decide it's time to set up camp and start a fire. I have no need to eat or sleep since I am a goddess, but my wolf companion does, and camping at night is part of the human experience. I shift back into my human form and start a fire while my wolf does some hunting. It saddens me to think that an animal has to lose its life for my wolf to live, but I know that that is part of living.

Once my wolf returns, he sits next to me by the fire and listens to me talk.

"Earth is amazing. There is so much beauty to see and experience. When I was above, I could watch through the portal, but I badly wanted to actually be here. My mom always told me that I had no place on earth and I'm starting to think she is right. This place is amazing, but I don't think I belong here." 

My wolf companion places his head on my lap and I run my hand over it and down his back, enjoying the feeling of his soft fur through my fingers. His eyes look sad and I wish he could talk to me. That's when the idea hits me. What if I shift him into a human form?

"Hey, you know how I turned into a wolf earlier today?" My wolf cocked its head to the side and shifted himself a little closer to me, which I took to mean 'yes.' "Well, what if we tried shifting you into a human form? That way we could talk."

The large wolf licked my hand and wagged its tail, giving me its consent.

"Okay let's give it a try! Stay still." I leaned down and gave the tip of his nose a kiss imbuing the kiss with my powerful intentions of shifting him into a human form. At first nothing happened, but then his body began to quake and a shiver went down his spine. Suddenly there was a burst of soft light and a human man sat next to me. He had brown eyes and short brown hair. He looked larger than the other human man I've seen with broad shoulders and toned muscles covering his entire body. He was stark naked and even though I am a goddess, I was a little fazed by it. My eyes roamed his body until they made it back up to his face. As soon as we made eye contact he broke out into a wide grin.

"Hello?" I said to him now inexplicably nervous.

His lips moved and a low grunt left his mouth. He paused for a second and then tried again. "Hi." 

Tears started rolling down my cheeks and I threw myself at him wrapping my arms around his neck. The force of my hug pushed him backwards onto the ground with me on top of him. His arms wrapped around me and held me snuggly to his chest.

"I can't believe that worked! I've never tried to transform another being before. Are you okay?" 

"I'm better than okay!" He whispered into my ear sending shivers down my spine. 

I pulled back from him so I could look at his face again, not quite believing this isn't a dream. "You know so much about me, but I know next to nothing about you. I don't know how long the shift will last, so you have to tell me everything!"

"What do you want to know first?"

"Do you have a name?"

"My name is Arion."

"Arion." I repeated the name back to him, feeling the word in my mouth. "I like that. It sounds noble."

We talked all night, but before we knew it, the sun started to rise and Arion shifted back into his natural wolf form. I wasn't able to shift him into a human form unless my powers were at their highest, which was during a full moon. 

I spent the entire month thinking about how I could shift my wolf for more than just one night. I remembered my mother telling me about God's control creation and as the moon goddess I had a special connection with water. Water is the life blood of the earth just as my blood runs through me, water runs through the earth. It provides life and it also causes change. 

By the night of the next full moon, I had a fully laid out plan. 

Arion sits patiently by my side at the small camp we set up while we watch the sunset together.

"Arion?" I ask and he looks at me with his intelligent brown eyes. "I have an idea of a way we can have you shift for more than one night. If I give you some of my blood imbued with shifting, I think it will give you the ability to shift at will, with or without the moon's power."

Arion yips a happy little bark and wags his tail. I watch as the full moon comes into view overhead. 

"Okay let's give it a try." I pull out a small knife from my satchel and run it across the palm of my hand. Arion wimpers seeing the blood flowing across my hand. "It's okay. I will heal it as soon as we are done."

I focus my powers on the blood, imbuing it with the ability to shift into human form, then hold my hand out to Arion for him to ingest. He looks at me and then slowly lowers his head to my hand and laps at the blood. He pulls back and in a burst of light, he is standing in his human form again. 

"Did it work? Do you have control over the shift?"

"Yes, it worked." Arion says as he smiles and pulls me onto my feet. He pulls me into a tight hug lifting my feet off the ground and spinning me around with joy. I feel the cool breeze as we spin and I can tell that this is the start of the next chapter of our lives. "You're amazing. I mean, I know you're a goddess, but you are still so remarkable."

The memories came faster now and I saw flashes of a panther seeing us shift, and joining us for our run. I ask him if he would like the ability to shift as well, and he nods. We continue to travel now as a group of three. More lonely animals join our group and before I know it our group had grown to six. There is Arion the wolf, William the brave panther, Otis the tortoise, Huxley the happy sea otter, Kian the respected arctic hair, and me, the moon goddess. Together we start a new society for animal shifters. More animals learn about my gift of shifting and travel to our town. I give anyone who wants it the ability to shift during a full moon ceremony every month.

One of the side effects of having a little bit of my power in their blood, was that love became strings connecting mating pairs. When new shifters would come of age, strings would appear for them, guiding them to options that would make good mates. I loved seeing my shifters fall in love and have babies. 

Before I knew it, I realized that I had fallen in love as well. Arion, my first friend and the first shifter, had become incredibly important to me. We longed to be together, but as a goddess, I could never be an equal partner to him. I made the decision to give up my divinity, in order to grow old with him. Even without my divinity, I was still a magical being of extraordinary power. I continued to create shifters and expand my civilization of peaceful animal shifters. 

Soon after Arion and my union, I fell pregnant. We were overjoyed, but it didn't last long. The humans, seeing our growing numbers as a threat, began to attack. I used my blood imbued with healing to heal the injured and sick on both sides of the battle. William thought that I shouldn't be helping the enemy, but I did not see humans as the enemy. I tried to negotiate a peace treaty, but things broke down and I was attacked. 

That night, due to the stress on my body from constant magic usage and healing my own life threatening injuries, I went into labor. After delivering a healthy baby boy, I faded into unconsciousness. 

The memories slowed again and I knew the next event was a very important one. I grew up learning about the moon goddesses' descent to earth and the creation of shifters, they were also topics of discussion in class, but now I have lived that history. I have a feeling the history I am about to live will solve the mystery about what happened to the moon goddess during the war.

I don't know how long I was asleep for, but when Sir William woke me, the moon was high and the fighting was loud just outside my door.

"Wake up! You have to get out of here!" He shouts at me as he shakes me awake. 

I rub the sleep out of my eyes and feel that my face is covered in sweat. Even with the moon just outside my window I still feel weak. 

Sir William starts rummaging through my drawers and throws some fresh clothing at me. "Hurry up and get dressed. We don't have much time."

I try to stand but I sway on my feet. Sir William curses under his breath and rushes to my side to steady me. He helps me out of bed and vigorously pulls the fresh dress over my sticky body. 

"Where are my son and Arion?" My question comes out weak and airy.

"They are safe, but you are not. We must make haste."

He pulls me to my study and through secret passageways until we resurface outside the castle walls. I hear the fighting louder now, but it fades as I follow Sir William through the familiar woods, until we get to my pool and island where I first touched the earth. Ever since the day I descended to earth moonlight has shown onto the island. I drop Sir William's hand and step out onto the water walking towards the strong beam of moon light that illuminates the island. I hear Sir William following behind. Unlike me he cannot walk on water and has to swim. I look up at the moon and let its light rejuvenate me. 

Suddenly, I felt a piercing pain in my abdomen. I looked down to see the tip of a sword jutting out of me. I fell backwards only to be caught by Sir William. His face was dark with anger. 

The final words I heard before I drifted to the afterlife were, "You should have listened to me."

This time the memory fades away completely and I am in my own time but I am standing in the same spot I just died in. In front of me stands a tall, beautiful, glowing woman. She feels familiar to me.

"Mom?"

"Yes sweetie. It is me."

"What's going on?"

"You have returned to the place where you first touched the earth and the place you first died. The magic here is connected to you. The love from your shifters grew this magical tree and spread these magical waters." She gestures indicating the tree behind her and the waters all around. "This is where you need to be when you come of age or else you won't fully come into your goddess powers."

"What do you mean?"

"There is a lot I need to tell you. You are my daughter, the moon goddess. After the original moon goddesses' death your spirit couldn't be reborn without a powerful shifter body, so I created one that was half shifter half god. I used the shifter line that had the most divine blood running through its veins, the descendants of the mood goddesses child, as well as my own divine being to create a body that was half god and half earthen. Everytime your soul was ready to be reborn, I made sure you had a suitable body to be born into."

"What do you mean original moon goddess?"

"Even though you are the moon goddess soul, and all your past lives are still different from you. Every soul, when reborn, is still their own person for their time on earth. Same soul but different hearts."

"What happened to me in my past lives? What happened after Sir William killed me?"

"After your death, Sir William buried you here and planted this tree over your body. The magic from your body and the tears from the shifters who came here to pray for your return, imbued this place with magical power. Until now, everyone of your rebirths weren't able to find this oasis, so they weren't able to fully take on your goddess powers and fulfill the prophecy."

"Do you know the full prophecy?"

"Yes child. The full prophecy states;

She will walk the earth but return to the earth mother,

She will be reborn and return balance 

She will retake her place, and guide a new era

Recognized by eyes of amethyst and hair of silver

She will rise again only in the pool of her descent.

You must be here at midnight on your 22nd birthday and take on your goddess powers."

"If this place is so important, then why was it hidden?"

"The original five shifters decided that the magic in this oasis was too much, so they created a key that could only be used with blood from all five of them. After your murder, Sir William claimed that he went to find you and all he found was your locket. They used the locket as the key and built a statue in your personal library to use at the lock. They also sunk the oasis underground in order to keep it secure." The goddess fades even more. I can see the tree clearly through her now. "I retrieved the locket from Arion and gave it to everyone of your reincarnation in hopes that one day you could fulfill the prophecy and restore equilibrium."

"What do you mean restore equilibrium?"

"The powerful take too much and the weak are left to suffer. That is not what Selene, the original moon goddess, wanted when she created shifters. She created them with love, not selfishness. The current king is a descendant of Sir William. All he wants is more power. His greediness will lead this empire into another bloody war with the humans as he tries to take over the whole world. His disdain for love as he leads has brought a curse down on shifters. The plagues and famine that have been troubling the outer packs are side effects of this curse. If left unchecked they will seep deeper and deeper into the five kingdoms, until everyone is affected by them. The curse can already be felt everywhere by the lack of female shifters being born. 

Under the current king, plague, poverty, and famine will only get worse. He wants to rule the world and he doesn't care how his people will suffer in order for him to do it. He will cause the extinction of shifters."

"But what can I do?" I desperately shout as the goddess fades even more.

"You must help all the species find the balance. Shifter's aren't meant to rule over the whole world. Every species deserves to have a say of their own." With those final words she stepped forward and hugged me. I felt her warm hug only for a second before she disappeared completely, leaving only shimmering glimmers of power floating upward where she had just been. 

Tears are still rolling down my face when my friends make it to my side. They are all soaked from swimming to the island and all of their faces are lined with worry.