Renée Part III

The following is a draft of an excerpt from my latest novel. It is a fantastical story that takes place here on our home planet thousands of years after the fall of the human empire. The book is far from finished, but I’m enjoying writing it so much that I’m in no rush. I hope you enjoy the final segment from this three part series.

The Ocean

There was a wooden ferry at the estuary for those who wanted to cross. Renée detached its rope from the wooden pole and rowed across the calm stretch of water. It was barely daybreak. Renée still had a long way to go. Along the North-Western coast, the North fork of the river split and led to twin tidepools side-by-side which seemed to spiral downwards to the bottom of the ocean, maybe to the center of the planet. Renée had frequented these tidepools and figured it was as sacred a place as any to meet a goddess. How would she appear? He walked until the sun was rising over the coastline and the pools were in sight.

The Pools of Hypnotic Eyes were aquamarine around the shallow edges and gradually faded into blue, indigo, purple, and midnight black. Starfish, sea urchins, coral, crabs, eels, and various tropical fish lived in these sacred tide pools. The bioluminescent plankton lit up the water in a way that it looked like the reflection of the galaxy.

Renée knelt down by the pools and dared not look too deep, as their magnetism is said to draw in wanderers who never return. Renée focused his attention on his pack where he removed the offerings for the goddess and laid them upon the sand on the edge of the tide pool. Renée knelt with closed eyes and open palms. Hands and knees trembling, uncertain of the existence of such a divine being, Renée spoke aloud,

“Goddess of the West, keeper of water and fluidity, of rain and rivers and oceans, co-creator of clouds and relationships with the Goddess of the East, guardian of emotions from sorrow to joy, I am Renée, a sprite from the Western Woods. I humbly ask for your assistance in finding your Eastern Sister so that I may save my forest, my home, and my family.”

Silence. Wind, waves. Seagulls. Waves, wind. Heartbeat.

“My dearest Renée,” a deep voice bellowed from the center of the tide pools. “Few creatures have conversed with the Goddesses of the Four Corners in thousands of years. Even fewer are as humble as you are. What disastrous fate plagues your forest?”

“I have good reason to believe a wildfire is coming. The stars told me so,” Renée’s voice trembled. The goddess was quiet for a moment.

“So it is told by the stars,” she said. “Renée, do you know what comes for all forests? What comes to all creatures of the planet?”

“Yes,” Renée’s voice quivered.

“Then, do you know the price of magic? Of rearranging the webs of fate?”

“I will pay any price to extend the life of my home so that I may never see its demise. I know what comes for all forests and all creatures of the planet. But I will sacrifice anything to protect the Western Woods as long as I live!” Renée spoke with more power and conviction than he ever felt in his life.

“It is not I who dictates the worthy exchange,” the ocean bellowed. “It is my sister, the Goddess of the East. At this moment, my sister is … in an unusual form.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our Northern and Southern sisters are at odds. This is not what is unusual. Our sister of the South wanted change and upheaval to our Northern sister’s ancient structures and customs. The Goddess of the North is the eldest and first connected to our Mother. She holds the most ancient wisdom of us all and ensures order and balance in the collective ecosystem. The Goddess of the South sent flames to rampage the order, change the landscape, and leave behind a fertile planet from which to start. Our sister of the East sought an answer to their dispute. She believes in a way of life that embraces both structure and evolution. So, she took the form of a human, or what your folktales call Titans. She resides on the edge of the Eastern forest. You may seek her there.”

A Titan. A chill went through Renée’s body. She must be the only one in existence.

“Goddess of the West, thank you for your wisdom. I shall never forget your generosity in helping me. Please accept my humble offerings in return, and I shall care for the water everywhere I go.” 

Renée bowed to the sea and waves splashed up on him. He wiped the Goddess’s salty kiss from his cheeks as he turned inland and made way to the Eastern Woods.