The Retta clan spread its roots and built a canopy in the province of Pali. The Pali province that spread under the benevolence of the Celestial Lute Mountains was rich in precious metals and gems. The Retta clan was the ruling clan of the Pali province and most of the clan members held powerful positions in Avani the capital city of the rich Pali province. But what the Retta were proud of were their warrior blood line. Chira was born to this clan in the city of Avani.

On the day that Chira was born, the Patriarch of her family, declared her an abomination, a spirit of misfortune. It was not very surprising for a first-born girl child to be thought of as unfortunate, in an extremely patriarchal clan, like the Retta clan. They had been warriors for centuries, and lived by their swords rather than family. They declared themselves to be direct descendants of the ancient Alfar warriors, who once ruled the Kunj (world).

There was a myth they believed. If the first born was male, then the child could call upon the power of the ancients of the clan. While just birth alone could not cause the invocation of power, and one needed to undergo a metamorphosis to attain the power, it was said to be only possible by the first born male child. Because of this the birth of a girl as the first born was not considered a happy even.

Chira’s bad luck was compounded by the news of her father’s death on the day she was born. Her father who was in a branch family of the Retta clan, served in the secret services of Pali’s formidable army. That meant, news of his death did not reach the family until the people in charge wanted to release it. Her father had perhaps died days, or weeks before her birth. Unfortunately, the news arrived on the day she was born. That seemed enough for the important people of her family and clan to declared the new born as the spirit of misfortune, and the causer of her father’s death. She and her mother were banished to a remote corner of the clan courtyard, and left to fend for themselves.

Chira’s mother Vida was born to a family that claimed to have an ancient blood line but, did not have much political or economic power. They had long ago lost their footing in the Pali province, and remained just a whisper of their former glory. A widow with a girl child, out of favor of the powerful Retta clan, could not find help from such a family in an extremely patriarchal society. Vida however, was determined to escape her “unfortunate” fate. She was knowledgeable in herbs and medicine and used it to improve connection and gain economic safety. She was determined to consult an Oracle to change her fate.

Oracles were powerful magic users, venerated even beyond the Yuna continent. Oracles were rumored to have the ability to see weaves, without the burden of having the chaotic eyes, and were able to divine the future by the patterns of the weaves. Oracles were extremely rare in the Kunj, and when one was identified, they were venerated as saints and immediately absorbed into the Great mother temples across the land and taught divination directly by the council of monks, of the great goddess. They were held with great regard, and any divination by an oracle could change the fate of the person it was divined to.

To get a divination one had to have great luck or a lot of money. Free divination was done every new year at the various temples of the great goddess that hosted an Oracle. One request was chosen out of a houseful of envelops that was deposited throughout the year, and was a miracle in itself to be chosen.

The other way to get a divination was to pay an exorbitant amount of money as a donation to the temple to get one’s future read.

Vida spent 6 years, living meagerly, and over working, saving almost every penny. Chira hardly ever saw her mother during those years and was taken care of by an old granny who lived with them. Chira was never sure even later in life as to who the old granny was and how she was related to her or her mother. Perhaps it was an act of kindness or charity that Granny took the young widow and infant child under her wing.

The old lady was blind but that did not stop her from taking care of the child while she went about doing her chores. All Chira could remember was the wrinkled hand gestures and the smell of baking. She could not recall the face that went with it. But she remembered the songs.

The old lady made a living by baking fortune cookies most of the time while singing. Occasionally, she would bake fortunate cookies which were different from fortune cookies. While fortune cookies predicted luck, fortunate cookies gave the person who ate it a bit of luck. It could be used only once in a life time, and its creation itself was a matter of chance.

She also remembered the old Granny teaching her songs, and inadvertently teaching her of a different kind of power that was different from the common magic that most people knew. The old lady used the song as a focus when she brought forth that power when creating fortunate cookies. Granny was not always successful and Chira found it depended on the old lady’s mood and health.

Trying to imitate Granny, Chira learned to sing, and to feel this power. The energy that was different from the pathetically small amount of tame magic that rested inside her. Granny was also very happy whenever Chira sang. Her pure childish voice always put the old lady in an excellent mood.

Chira’s memory of Granny had completely vanished long ago. Her memory of the granny for some reason had been erased from her mind. She only remembered everything about the old woman just as she was dying. She had even forgotten about the power, that was different from little magic she had in her. It all had happened when she fell terribly ill, when she was nearly six years old. She had been terribly sick and delirious, to the point of dying, and she miraculously became well again, but without the memory of the old lady or how it happened. The old lady was never see again. Those memories were mixed with a delirious state of her mind. She remembered a warm voice and the song that wove a protective spell over her. It was the same song she sang as she felt her end nearing in the middle of nowhere at the bottom of the cave well!

In the moment of her death Chira realized that perhaps the granny, had sung her song of protection to save her from dying as a child. Why had she done that to a child she was not connected to by blood? Why could she not remember thing so clearly even as she died? Had the granny died? She could not tell because after that sickness, the granny in her memory did not exist.