Fire Goddess Presage | nftshowroom X alienarthive challenge for March: Theme: "Folklore" - No. 3

Zorinda scoured the long hall on the castle's third floor. Detecting no guards, she tiptoed toward the door leading into her father's chambers. Being the last of his fifteen children, she was forbidden access until she reached majority.

What she didn't see was the woman she feared she wouldn't.

"You're not of age yet, girl. You know the rules. Why do you persist in behaving as though you don't?" Zorinda's charge, Altheria, whispered as she jerked her daughter's hand away from the door handle.

Zorinda resisted, grabbing her mother's hands, then broke free and backed away. "But I must speak with father! I can't wait a whole year. I've been visited by another waking dream."

"You mean a nightmare. That dreadful stuff isn't real you conjure up in your mind. I've told you that a hundred times. Now get away and study your lessons." Altheria shook her head.

"But father will die if I don't speak with him I tell you! He'll die on the battlefield in two days time!" Zorinda's hands flew to her face to stave off tears. Her voice rose. "You don't understand. You never will! I saw him lying there, blood running down his chest. He wouldn't speak to me."

"Stop lying girl. You've always needed more attention than your sisters. Just because you're the last child, and your father spoils you doesn't mean you'll get extra visits! Besides, he's a busy man with an entire country to run." Althea protested.

Zorinda stared at her caretaker with venomous eyes. "Just because you can't manage all fifteen children assigned to you, and not be my father's favorite wife, isn't my fault, so don't punish me for it. I'll never have any children or allow a man to rule me like you and the other wives. My life will be my own."

Zorinda didn't expect nor was she ready for the slap that landed hard across her face. "I'll tell my mother, you witch!" she hissed, then turned and ran back down the staircase.

Two days later, Zorinda watched from the window as her father, Chancellor Benito, stood ready to mount his stead. Men dressed for battle lined up behind him. Their battle cries rose in harmony.

She wouldn't be denied. Wiping away tears, she pounded the pane and screamed until her father glanced upward. "Geoffrey, go see what ails my daughter. And ascertain the whereabouts of her charge."

Geoffrey bolted from the courtyard, took two steps at a time, then reached the children's quarters. He found Zorinda still pounding on the windowpane. "Young lady, stop that immediately. You're distracting our leader. His mind must be clear for the task ahead."

"I don't care. Please Geoffrey, I must speak with father. His life is in danger."

Geoffrey strode over to the window, looked down at Benito and nodded. He turned and grabbed Zorinda's shoulders. "If you were mine, you'd behave more dignified. Why he indulges some of his offspring, especially you, confounds me." His hard shove tumbled her to the floor.

"I don't care what you think of me," Zorinda spat, then stressed, You will die in two days! I'm not concerned with that. It's my father's life I want to save. Here, make sure he receives this before the battle begins," she stated confidently while extending her hand.

Geoffrey stood paralyzed, blood draining from his already pasty face. A wave of fear covered his body. Twitching, he immediately diverted his gaze. An unruly child's rant is all. However, he'd made a mental note years ago to avoid this strange child if possible. Recovering slightly, his thick and unsteady voice murmured a few words she couldn't comprehend before tearing the sealed letter from her hand, stuffing it in his breast coat, and storming from the room.

Before returning outside, he quickly shredded the letter and placed the pieces in a tall vase.

Two days later, Zorinda woke before dawn, sweating profusely.

Shaken to the core, she threw back the coverlet, hopped from bed, and ran to the only place that provided comfort. Touching the wood, the fireplace blazed instantly before she dropped to her knees and prayed fervently.

She flinched as a shadowy figure touched her shoulder. "Calm yourself. It's only me, daughter. I couldn't sleep while my husband's life is in peril. I shared with you my vision. Now, we must pray for an alternate outcome."

Speechless, Zorinda stared deeply at her mother, Lady Katerina, for a long moment. A tall, dark beauty with piercing emerald eyes, she could see why Benito favored her.

Before we engage the fire, I must tell you of my history.

"It was foretold that I would become your father's fifth and last wife. I was the youngest, only sixteen. Your grandmother instilled her beliefs in me so and charged me to use them wisely for good and not evil. From me, she foretold, the fruit of the Chancellor will be his fifteenth child. Your name was given to me before conception. I went willingly to prevent the evil that will come to our land."

Zorinda couldn't sever her gaze.

Her mother continued. "Your father will not fall in battle, but succumb to the enemy within. We must root out the villains spurred him on falsely into an unsuccessful battle. Those who plot against his leadership forged a conspiracy. But I cannot go where I'm not permitted."

The flames from the fireplace sprang high and burned feverishly. Zorinda and her mother held hands and prayed for intervention.

They watched as images formed in the fire. A portal opened up. Lady Katerina peered intently but could not see. Zorinda reached into the flames and touched the battlefield, searching for her father. Blood of many men covering the field clung to her hand. Her and her mother's prayers flowed through her hands. Her father's face she didn't find among the carnage.

What she did see was a band of men wearing colorful bandanas head coverings pierce Geoffrey until he fell dead. They lifted Benito into their wagon, then disappeared into the woods.

Zorinda returned. Shaking, Lady Katerina embraced her snugly, then wiped away the blood. "Thank you for this gift, mother. I'll cherish it always and protect its knowledge."

"I could only see the danger. But you, my daughter can see beyond. You could not save them all, but you captured the traitors' faces clearly as they rejoiced when their countrymen fell."

"Mother, how did I?" Zorinda questioned, her small brows forming a confused arch.

"Because my daughter, the puppetmaster behind the betrayal touched you."

In the post, [nftshowroom X alienarthive challenge for March: nftshowroom X alienarthive challenge for March: Folklore, NFTShowroom has featured all the month's Folklore themed Art minted so far on the NFT Showroom's home page / twitter. Also, Alien Art Hive will be curating participants' blog posts. This challenge was intended for the full month of March. Participants are required to:

• make art incorporating the folklore theme;
• mint it on https://nftshowroom.com/;
• make a blog post about it in Alien Art Hive; and
• use #nftshowroom in your tags

Below are my steps I took to create my third design for this theme.

My Creation Process:

In designing the "folklore" scene, I retrieved an image from StarryAI, the stable diffusion program. The image retrieved was that of a female holding her stomach as though a miracle was about to be birthed. The image also contained another figure with wings. I transposed the stable diffusion image.

Also, other images I included were free-sourced. One such image was that of a crowd with their hands raised as though praising someone. It thought it perfect for the angelic figure that represented Zorinda's mother. In the project, Zorinda is the child who has inherited the gift the prophecy spoke of.

The final image I created in the advanced fractal rendering program, Apophysis 7X was a veil that gave the image an ethereal quality. used as a veil for the design to incorporate an ethereal look.

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I then took my still design to Mosh Pro and added the RAINBOW Filter for animation that displays various colors. I think this effect worked well for the design theme.

Thanks for taking the time to view my post. I hope you like my final mixed media project for the September Geometry challenge.