Twenty minutes later, in the area outside the Ztatzav Orphanage,
A man with silver hair lowered both hands. He walked to the left as he looked at the surroundings. It was very quiet, as none of the orphanage caretakers had woken up yet. They were still in their rooms and must have been sound asleep. Occasionally, Brazam looked up at the sky, and there was a magick signal indicating that the seven other witches had finished performing the ritual they had been doing.
Such a sight made the man smile. He continued walking to his destination with a happy feeling. “The ritual is finally over, but that is not all. I have to see the Chosen One, even if only for a moment,” he said softly.
A gentle breeze brushed against the High Priest’s body, but he ignored it all. A few moments later, he had met up with the other seven people, and they were all standing in front of the girl’s dormitory, near the window of the first daughter of the couple, Tristian Varden Writh and Lavena Isolda Keira. None of the eight people had started a conversation yet, as if they were waiting for the leader to start first, and Brazam noticed this.
“How was it? Did you finally encounter any difficulties while we were performing the ritual?” Brazam deliberately asked because he wanted to break the ice between them.
The seven witches, consisting of four men and three women, had yet to answer, but one person raised his hand, so their attention was focused on the target. A gray-eyed man looked at Brazam with a serious look. The High Priest became interested in listening to the other person’s information in case he got an important and useful clue for them. “Tell me, Dutzit. What has happened? Did you see or hear something strange?”
“I saw one figure, but it looked like a woman. She was just standing at the window, the High Priest. She seemed scary because I could not see her face, but I thought she was not an ordinary human.” A thirty-year-old man answered the interlocutor’s question with an equally serious look, and Brazam wanted to know more about it.
“Can you give me the details?” Brazam did not find what the dark-haired man had said strange and wanted to continue listening to the rest of the young man’s story.
“When we started the ritual, I focused on the buildings here. But, not long after, I saw a female figure standing at the window. That weird lady was wearing a white dress, but I was not sure if it was a nightgown or not, but she was just staring, not saying anything.” A man, who had a height of one hundred and eighty-five centimeters, gave additional information, and what he described was listened to by the seven other witches there.
“Was there anything else you felt or saw?” Brazam asked further and seemed to want to know exactly what Dutzit had experienced before answering about who the boy had seen.
“Hm… if I am not mistaken, that was it, High Priest. That woman just stood still and did not move from the window.” Dutzit answered honestly, and it was all based on the memories he had.
“It is interesting. I guess, that woman may be the Healer. They are harmless, because the goddess they worship is an immortal goddess who loves peace and never wants to interfere in the affairs of other gods or goddesses, including our goddess. If I am not mistaken, there are two Healers in every orphanage in Zlatav.”
“Thank you, High Priest. I am very relieved if she was really the Healer.” The burly young man was grateful, as he no longer had to fear anything. Brazam simply nodded, then spontaneously turned his head towards the window of the Chosen One’s room.
A girl was standing and looking down. The young girl was shocked by what was happening, but her body was immobilized as if some great force was holding her in that position. The other seven witches were also looking at the same location as Brazam, so now Alexa was being watched by eight strangers who were all cloaked in black and their faces were invisible to her.
“She is the Chosen One.” Without Brazam realizing it, she actually said such a sentence so that the seven witches who had been with her were stunned, and they even nodded as if paying homage to Alexa, who was still standing in front of the window of her room.
“How fortunate we are to see the daughter mentioned in the ancient prophecy. The awakening of our people is approaching, and I can feel it.” A slightly overweight woman said so because of a strong premonitory urge in her heart.
“Yes. That was why I brought all of you here. We must protect the Chosen One until the time comes for her to leave here. Nothing written can be changed, no matter how hard Aufdzek tries to prevent it.” Brazam chimed in, for his grudge against the emperor Zlatav had never been extinguished.
They kept looking at the same part, and then the High Priest turned his sight to the sky. For some reason, the man was silent for a long time, then nodded as if he had received orders from someone, even though no one was in sight. Alexa seemed to be hypnotized by the seven strange people standing below, even though they were quite far away, but she did not even feel scared at all by their presence.
“We have to go now. Other mortals must not see us.”
After finishing saying that sentence, as soon as possible, Brazam and the seven people turned around and walked away. Meanwhile, the girl whom her parents deliberately abandoned in the orphanage could only stare at them until they were no longer visible in silence. There was a feeling of sadness in Alexa’s heart, even though she did not know who the people in black robes were. The drowsiness that had struck inside that young lady’s body seemed to have disappeared.
“What exactly has happened? Why do some strangers even visit the orphanage at night? Did they have evil intentions? Ah, it was impossible. I did not see any of them carrying things, so they were probably doing something else. Did that sentence that appeared in the air really want me to see them?” Alexa asked herself, feeling that what she had witnessed was strange and beyond normal human reasoning.
The virgin was silent for a long time, and the longer she thought about what had happened at the orphanage, the more dizzy she became. “I am really confused. I do not know why something strange happens to me every day. It is not even morning, but I have heard a mysterious voice. Then, my body was shaken violently, and a strange phrase appeared in the air. I even saw some people under the window.”
The wallflower girl could only shake her head as she massaged her forehead area. Alexa had not been able to digest all the strange events that had come in rapid succession, let alone all of them happening suddenly and at a time when she was still very sleepy. “I wish this was only a weird dream. I don’t know who to ask because there are no adults in the orphanage to talk to about this.”
***
In another place,
A silver-haired man took the lead at the front. Behind him were seven other people, and they still covered their heads with hoods that had become one with the robes. The atmosphere around them was quiet, especially since they were walking through the darkness of the night. There was moonlight, but most of it was obscured by clouds, so it did not really help.
We have finally finished protecting the orphanage for Alexa’s good. After tonight, I will send some people, maybe one or five, to check the situation around here. I can’t sleep well if the Chosen One is still in danger unless the emperor’s envoys have left. Then, I can only feel relieved. We must be able to reclaim the rights of the witches that those damn mortals have long taken away! Brazam could not help swearing, even if it were inwardly.
When they were a hundred meters away, the man who always mediated between the witches and the Queen of Witchcraft stopped walking. Brazam looked back, and seven people were wearing the same robes as him. “From here, we can go together to the forbidden forest. Never split up from each other, so we can return safely.”
“Yes, High Priest.”
Without waiting any longer, the High Priest and the witches quickly gathered and formed a circle. Brazam gave both palms to the people on his right and left. The eight people held as soon as possible, and did not forget to close their eyes. Everyone disappeared in less than a minute, as if nothing had ever happened there.
***