Blood Moon

Meri has visions of things that were, are, and will be. This curse is hard, but not being able to distinguish the time period to which each vision belongs is what makes her detest and reject this gift.

Maybe if she knew with certainty what was going to happen, she could foretell people of the bad omens and they would not come to pass. She could help.

Most visions come without any warning, pulling her into a catatonic state, where she lost sense of time and of self. Staring into nothingness, she'd spend anywhere from seconds to hours living the horrid nightmares —vivid portrayals of the destruction of lives, societies, or entire places.

The villagers avoid her like she was the curse herself. She never blamed them, because she felt like walking damnation.

The seers that came before her became druids, cherished leaders, and even oracles. They were all, without exception, bringers of good news. Even when they saw peril, they also saw signs of how to overcome the obstacles.

But Meridienne… People bowed when she passed by, always avoiding eye contact as if a bad fate would follow them dare they stare into Meridienne's eyes. She was the seer of destruction and death.

The druids came to take her to the mountain when she was five years old, as they did all seers before her, assuring her family that proper training would tame her control over her prophetic gift, opening the doorway to prosperous visions.

After three years of continuous prediction of misfortune, with no signs of change, the oracle was consulted.

Kerid, the oldest druidess, accompanied Meridienne to the Black Wisp Forest on the night of the Dark Moon. The oldest and wisest oracle spoke the message with the voice of Morrigu:

"This is the last seer child from your time. Listen, respect, and act on her words. Walk with her on the dark path until the Blood Moon. Be her true friend, her only guide, and give her your last breath, until I take you as mine."

Five years and a few Blood Moons have gone by since that night in the forest. Today, Meridienne prepares herself for the Full Moon ritual, as she does every twenty-eight days. This ritual requires her to conjure visions of the future, until the next Full Moon.

She looks up at the moon, her face aligned with the sky, her neck gracefully straight, her blue eyes fogging into a white shade…

Meridienne opened her eyes but had to blink twice to make sure her eyes were indeed open, such was the tenebrosity of the place. She was standing in an ocean of nothingness, in which it is impossible to tell where the skies ended and the water started. A murk, gloomy, black sphere. When she looked down, she saw herself falling into the never-ending darkness. Doom takes hold of her soul and she falls to her knees, staring at her distancing body until it is no more. She suddenly feels cold, like death itself. Despair causes her to dig into the floor in a manner so frantic she feels her nails breaking off while the smell of blood reaches her. But there is no pain. There is only despair and doom.

Hot gale explodes past her, but before she can protect herself, she is in the heart of Black Wisp Forest, Morrigu at her side. The landing is melting, the animals are burning alive, and the people she grew up with are stone statues.

Meridienne moves her head down slowly from the Mother Moon to meet Kerid's gaze. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and when she opens her eyes, they are once again blue.

"The end of everything starts tonight."

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Blood Moon is Story 3 of my Spirits In The Dark short stories book, available on Kindle Vella.