The Seal of Destiny- Prologue
Raina rode the horse as fast as she could through the forest. They had been riding for more than a day without any rest. She knew that the horse was tired; she was tired, but the only thing in her mind was to reach as far away as possible for the safety of her unborn child. She knew she had to make it, not only for herself and the child, the future of her kingdom depended on their survival. She had to make it for her husband, who would probably be dead right now.
Queen Raina always considered herself as blessed. She had grown up in a decent aristocratic family of the Eldoria, she had received good education and she set to marry the prince of the Eldoria, whom she actually loved. The Goddess had been truly kind to her. With her marriage to the Prince, they were to lead their little kingdom to a prosperous future. All of those dreams and plans went up in the flames very soon after her marriage.
Being a small kingdom, a prosperous one at that, meant that there were eyes on it constantly, waiting for an opportunity to conquer. And they got their opportunity. The late king had passed away due to prolonged illness, and the newly wedded couple had ascended the throne as the new King and Queen of Eldoria. Her husband had done everything in his power to make sure that the kingdom would not suffer much due to this momentous loss. When the enemies had arrived at the border, Raina and her husband did everything in their power to negotiate a truce, which would be beneficial to all parties, but none of them worked. In the end there was war, and as most wars go, there was betrayal. A minister, who they had thought as their loyal aid, in turn betrayed them, making them not only lose war and lives, it had caused Queen Raina, who had been with child, to flee her kingdom with few trusted knights. They were showered with arrows as they were fleeing, but somehow they managed to ride out.
The last of her knights had finally succumbed to his injuries. Raina was all alone now. The plan was to ride as far as possible from the clutches of the invaders, as far away from Eldoria as possible, seeking shelter and protection till the birth of the child.
Suddenly, the horse took a tumble, causing it along with Raina to fall. Her head had hit on a rock and it was bleeding. There was a sharp pain in her stomach.
“No please, no.” She weeped. She prayed hard that nothing should happen to her child. She tried to look up and saw blood between her legs. The horse was also unable to stand due to exhaustion. Her eyes slowly started closing. She sent out a final prayer before fainting.
Please Goddess, protect my child.
She knew she was dreaming as she was back in Eldoria, in her childhood home, in her room. Her room was the same as she had left before her marriage, hints of her childhood lingering here and there. She turned around quickly hearing a sound, thinking it would be her mother, but it was someone else.
The unknown person looked vaguely familiar, though Raina could not recall ever meeting her. She looked ethereal. She was wearing a simple ivory colored dress with golden borders. She had a thin tiara on her head.
“Who are you?” She asked.
“I asked you a question. Who are you? What are you doing in my room?”
“You do not recognize me my dear? You worship me daily, seeking blessing and wellbeing for your husband and the kingdom.”
Raina froze on her spot. She worshiped daily to the Goddess and seeked blessing and wellbeing for her husband and the kingdom. The woman standing in front of her could not be the Goddess. Could she?
The Goddess smiled and raised her hand to her cheeks.
“My dear, you have been through a lot of pain.”
Tears started flowing through Raina’s eyes. The Goddess wiped some of them.
“Don’t worry my child. You are my chosen. You will bear children who will bring peace to the land.”
This made Raina cry harder.
“Your daughter has sacrificed herself for you and her brothers. When peace will reign on the land, she will be born as a daughter to your son. She has played her part. Now it is time you do.”
“What should I do? What can I do? I have nothing.”
“Don’t forget, my child. You have my blessings. All you need is to wake up.”
When Raina woke up, she was not laying in the forest, she was in a moving cart. Through her hazy sight she could see a figure, the hands were moving. Slowly her sight became clear, and she saw an old lady, knitting quietly. The old lady had not noticed her yet, so she took the chance to observe her surroundings. The cart was moving, someone must be at the front. Boxes were stacked up neatly in the side of the cart, secured in a manner that it would not fall on her. At the mouth of the cart, she could see a make-shift sleeping mattress. The space did not look comfortable for anyone to sleep. She tried to move, it was then the old lady looked up to her.
“Oh! You are awake!” She exclaimed. She then called out to someone at the front to stop the cart. She then helped Raina to sit-up.
“We do not have much space in the cart, so it might be slightly uncomfortable.” She said kindly. She gave Raina some water from a pouch. The cart had stopped by then and a few minutes later, a old man walked up the opening of the cart.
“Hello!” He said politely. “How are you feeling, my dear?”
“I- I am fine.” Raina replied hoarsely.
“I am Bu Young. This is my wife, Bu Yun-Hee. We found you unconscious and your horse injured. We took the liberty to provide both of you first aid and bring both of you with us. Though, I am sorry to say that we could not save your baby.” He bowed his head down. Raina’s eyes were filled with tears hearing this. Yun-Hee quickly hugged her and consoled her.
“We also found this.” Bu Young said while bringing forward a box. “The lid has the mark of Goddess. We thought that it would be important.” She took the box, her hands were shaking. She remembered the dream she had of the Goddess. She did not bother to open the box, simply held it by her chest and cried.
The three of them had reached a secluded village after a week. Raina, who had gained reasonable strength by then, thanked the old couple for their help and kindness and told them that she will be leaving. Bu Yun-Hee immediately asked her where she would go. Raina did not have any answer to that.
“Stay here dear. We all can help each other to heal.”
So Raina stayed. She helped the couple on the farm. She helped them with the chores around the house. She had heard in the village marketplace regarding the attack on Eldoria. The people were saying that everything had been destroyed and the king was killed. She cried hard that night. Her memories flooded in front of her eyes- the good as well as the bad. She still had not opened the box that she received from the Goddess. That night, she picked up the box and opened it. There lay seven seals in them- one in the center and six surrounding it in a circle. There were runes marked on them. She did not understand what any of the runes meant. She picked up the one in the center, looked at it from all the sides and instinctively kept it by the window seal. She stared at it for a few moments and then went to her room. She was tired, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too.
While she was gone, a bright light emitted from the seal and it broke. The next morning, the entire household woke up to a baby’s cry. When they came by the window they saw a baby, in a basket, with a mark on its chest, the mark same as that of the seal, which was lying broken by the window.
This was how Seokjin was born.
