Aradia's Diaspora: Book One

What if you found yourself in a different world? One in which your ancestor was attempting to enslave the inhabitants of that world? Would you kill her and risk your own annihilation? Or would you join forces, creating a legacy of power? This is the dilemma that faces Betty. And this is the story of what she risked to try to save the women who became her sisters, in the land that she came to call home. In her journey, she'll meet shape-shifters, bovine priestesses, monsters, and come face-to-face with her great-great-grandmother in a great battle that may decide the fate of all.

Author's Note - 2023
Aradia’s Diaspora - Author's Note - 2023I’m reactivating Aradia’s Diaspora because I want to work on it... eve ...

Scene 1
I looked at the photos one by one, taking in details, arranging and rearranging them, shuffling and stacking different ones, as ...

Scene 2
“You want some coffee?” I asked. “I’m in need of a little wake-me-up.”Mom looked up at the clock. ...

Scene 3
In the morning, which was pretty late by the time I’d gotten up, Mom was fixing breakfast for me. She had a card table set ...

Scene 4
I didn’t go back to the photos right away. I read through the file that my Mom’s cousin – my second cousin? &n ...

Scene 5
I showed the photo of the young woman to the archivist at the second county seat I visited, thinking maybe I could get more info ...

Scene 6
I was through the door and outside, coughing some from the smoke. Turning around I saw that the inside of the building was on fi ...

Scene 7
“It will take them a while to come into the wood. They do not like the dark and they certainly do not like the wood in the ...

Scene 8
My arms ached as we rode. I thought I was either going to bite my tongue off, my lower lady parts were going to be permanently f ...

Scene 9
Falling on my butt as I slid to the ground off of Arion’s back, I was thankful to have such a well-padded derriere. Isobea ...

Scene 10
Something a bit foul smelling filled my nose as I came out of the darkness of unconsciousness. The smell came in waves of barely ...

Scene 11
We rode Arion out of the protective circle. I looked back and couldn’t see the rainbow of dust that surrounded the place. ...

Scene 12
“Hey, I know it was dark when we rode to the cabin and all, but none of this looks familiar,” I said, looking around ...

Scene 13
Coming over a ridge, we stopped at the top of a hill to view the valley below us. There was a group of small houses or tents - I ...

Scene 14
We rode into the village and I smelled something extremely delicious on the air. We hadn’t eaten since the eggs and mushro ...

Scene 15
I ran my eyes along the beams that held up the circular ceiling. I’m not exactly sure how it worked, but it opened in the ...

Scene 16
The fire roared as if someone had poured gasoline on it, but no one was adding branches or logs, yet it was burning hotter and h ...

Scene 17
I was riding in a boat. In the boat was this very cushy bed and it felt so good to sleep. But I kept hitting my head on sandpape ...

Scene 18
Thundering hooves. Passlande galloped toward us, Ruis on her back. Arion followed close behind. We stood as they approached.&ldq ...

Scene 19
For the next two hours, we waited. Ruis and Isobeau, two healers and a couple of women who were part of the Guard were in one of ...

Scene 20
The woman and cow in the photo had not only changed, but the image itself was becoming clearer.Changing colors.No longer only bl ...

Scene 21
Isobeau was standing near the door to the yurt as we made our way back to the village. I saw food and flowers left in front by w ...

Scene 22
Shala fell back onto the bed and mumbled more things but there was no getting her to focus on me and answer questions.One of the ...

Scene 23
What I thought would happen when Toci declared this to the entire village was total panic and chaos, with some wailing, cloth-re ...

Scene 24
Isobeau came in with Toci in tow. I followed, closing the flap behind me.“Pua is Nana now,” Shala said, “and I ...

Scene 25
I have never had much trouble eating even when things were upsetting and chaotic. This meal was no different and I finished quic ...

Scene 26
“Me?!” I said, taken off-guard by Isobeau’s question. I looked at Nana and opened my mouth to suggest it would ...

Scene 27
Even a drink of Diamond vite water was not enough to extinguish my thoughts.She’s Malefici. Photo changed again. Harming a ...

Scene 28
“Show Nana the drawing - the photo - is that the word? - show it to her,” Isobeau said, “she needs to know you ...

Scene 29
“Rest now, Shala,” Nana said, “thank you for telling us what you can remember.”Nana stood and we did the ...

Scene 30
Mira said on her out-breath, “Betty. Isobeau. Toci. Bhasi…”“Bhasi?” Nana asked. I thought that mig ...

Scene 31
“This is Maddalena who came to live with the Order when I was young,” Auri said, nodding, “it’s been a l ...

Scene 32
“Gone? She left?” Isobeau asked.“She was not there,” Auri said, eyes wide in remembering that night&rsqu ...

Scene 33
“Betty, there will come a time when you will understand more about how we live in our world. For now, you must leave it at ...

Scene 34
“Who’s Madeleine?” Auri asked.“A bear-woman - she-bear - I met. And sort of dated,” I said, lookin ...

Scene 35
We’d walked in from the west where Daughters lined the main pathway, waiting, chatting with each other in low tones, looki ...

Scene 36
A makeshift stage stood in the space where women and girls had once sat to eat meals together. Logs that had served as benches w ...

Scene 37
This is the moment, Betty. You can jump off the stage or you can stand against your fear. No one in this room will force you to ...

Scene 38
The Great Yurt was empty except for women packing food for the trip.Auri came up behind me, making me jump. “Oh, sorry, I ...

Scene 39
Waiting for Auri’s return, I slept fitfully. Nana and Pua were up most of the night, conferring with various women who wer ...

Scene 40
“How far is it to Chalcedony?” I asked Isobeau as we slowed when the Kyr strained to pull their loads up an incline. ...

Scene 41
Along with the Daughters I waited for Nana and Pua to return from inside the dome, the cave, the house - whatever it was - and t ...

Scene 42
Chalcedony. Chalcedony. Where do I know that word from?We were walking along in the dark, my hand gripping the hand of one of th ...

Scene 43
Feeling lighter than I had in days, I looked for Nana, Pua and Isobeau. I wanted to know what to do next and since Aurie had sti ...

Scene 44
Just like in the village of the Daughters, the children were running around, meeting others, trying different foods and generall ...

Scene 45
As she got better, my sister constantly reminded me of how much she loved me and the girls. I would stretch out beside her in ou ...

Scene 46
On the day the twins began to make their way into this world, the wind swirled the snow into a blinding gale. The air was so thi ...

Scene 47
Over the next several days, I put healing salve on my sister’s yoni hoping it might relieve the soreness she still felt fr ...

Scene 48
“And found your way here,” I said when Mella paused for a long while.“With the aid of others,” Mella res ...

Scene 49
Later I found Nana and Pua enjoying tea with some of the Cryst women. They looked rested and happy, the burden of leading the Da ...

Scene 50
Days became weeks as we prepared for the troupe to head out for the Inquisito. I had wanted to leave earlier but several things ...

Scene 51
The Cryst magicked the Aurochs and Woodlanders small enough to make it through the Passage. Those who were already small had to ...

Scene 52
Needing some fresh air, I decided to head outside the Passage. So I left the Daughters, Aurie, and Madeleine to their tea. I nee ...

Scene 53
Golden girls of the realm. What a joke. A troupe with slim odds of winning - a woman-child, two bear women, a hawk-shifter, and ...

Scene 54
It had been nearly a month, if I understood how to correctly read the phases of the moon, since the bovine priestesses and Kyr h ...

Scene 55
By midday, my feet were killing me. Not that my boots were new - I still used the pair Isobeau had traded with me - but the grou ...

Scene 56
On the fifth morning as we prepared for another day’s walk, I made my way down to the edge of the sea to marvel at the pin ...

Scene 57
“We cannot go back now, Betty!” Ina said, her voice not quite a whine but close to it. She had locked arms with her ...

Scene 58
The idea was that the girls would take mushroom cakes with them and after convincing the slavers that they were lost and asking ...

Scene 59
“My heart is pounding really hard,” Toci whispered to me as we made our way down a trail Isobeau and Ruis had discov ...

Scene 60
Their moaning caught everyone’s attention. N’kiri and two of her women bolted toward the men, searching them for kni ...

Scene 61
Isobeau, Ruis, Artio and Ursel, took turns along jogging back the way we’d come to see if there were any signs we were fol ...

Scene 62
We reached Akay Niris Bay just as the market was opening for the morning. Merchants were setting out their wares, farmers hawked ...

Scene 63
“I am Njoku.”“I am Tenga.”“I am Alo.”“I am Nimba.”“I am Chi.”“ ...

Scene 64
“N’kiri, I hope you will agree to be with me,” I said, “as all the other women are now in groups.” ...

Scene 65
Making my way to the side where I’d seen several men and women coming to the gate, I waited for a larger group to make its ...

Scene 66
Carefully, I made my way to the entryway and peeked out. Isobeau was having a very heated argument with a man who she dwarfed in ...

Scene 67
Hearing Ursel’s roars, we followed her voice and the screams of women down a long alley, turning a corner to find a wide o ...

Scene 68
“I have a plan,” I told the women, “we need to get help for Ursel and we need to get everyone on the ship. Aur ...

Scene 69
There was smoke in the alley I jogged down, following the drops of blood. At one point I thought I’d lost the trail - it s ...

Scene 70
The bodies of dead women lay all around me. Looking at my hands, I contemplated the power I had used to disperse the Shadows. Th ...

Scene 71
Racing toward the pier, I spotted Toci on one of the harbored ships. I continued running, looking over my shoulder to see if the ...

Scene 72
“I asked Arion and Passlande to head back to Chalcedony to let them know what happened,” Isobeau said to me as we sh ...

Scene 73
Another week or maybe two - I’d lost track of time - into our sea voyage, those of us who had no clue how to sail, began t ...

Scene 74
I heard something - a high-pitched sound like an “Ah,” coming from somewhere. With all the wind, rain, hail and thun ...

Scene 75
I lowered my fingers from my ears, cringing to think I might hear that frightful song once more. But the sea, the ships, the sky ...

Scene 76
“It is true,” Nkiri told me the next morning, “I had a vision of the Ibeji. They are queen. We will take them ...

Scene 77
We watched the ship sail away, the Twins waving goodbye from the stern. Toci cried and waved back until their figures were so sm ...

Scene 78
“I cannot make out which way is up on this map,” Isobeau said as she leaned over it on the captain’s table.&ld ...

Scene 79
Toci was able to read the stars it turned out. She was even willing to teach Isobeau and I to use a technique of looking between ...

Scene 80
Having found a healer, we had to stay in the port for two days while she worked on Ursel. The healer’s place was full of m ...

Scene 81
The healer washed her hands as Artio and one of the assistants pulled Ursel on the blanket over by the fire.“Yes, you can ...

Scene 82
With the beer helping me misplace my steps, I headed down to the docks. I was pretty sure I’d find help there.“You l ...

Scene 83
The ship hadn’t moved off the sandbar, so it was easy to get right up next to her. Calling out one last time, I knew we wo ...

Scene 84
The water was shallow, warm and clear. I wanted to immerse myself, lay naked on my back and float, watching the few clouds above ...

Scene 85
What I remembered next was being on the beach at sunset. The woman was there tending a bonfire. The three other women I recalled ...

Scene 86
I held the branch in front of me as a torch. It had blazed bright when I first took it from the fire, but I could see that it wo ...

Scene 87
I tightened all my muscles, forcing her to exhale as she screamed. Her ribs were near the breaking point, I only had to apply a ...

Scene 88
Rocking back and forth, back and forth, I felt my body give in to the rolling waves beneath me. At first, I didn’t know th ...

Scene 89
“I was wondering when you’d come around again.”The voice was familiar but I wasn’t completely sure who.& ...

Scene 90
I was glad to see my troupe, except Toci, as well as Upsee’s crew as they visited in two’s and three’s. Maybe ...

Scene 91
It wasn’t long before I could wobble around below deck when the sea was relatively calm. Artio and Ursel carried me up top ...

Scene 92
We drew up to the dock, Uppsee and crew much more skilled than we had been when we left. The smell of things still burning was c ...

Scene 93
Aurie filled us in on what happened after we left the Order of Joseph and the fire in Akon Niri Bay. Most of it was not good. Th ...

Scene 94
Aurie and I stood on deck watching the flickering lamps of Uppsee’s crew as they continued their hunting long after dark. ...

Scene 95
The Brothers released Aurie and freedom so uplifted her that she engaged in cheerful banter with the others as if no time had pa ...

Scene 96
The days became heavier the farther we walked. I saw through new eyes the world around us as it changed from something like summ ...

Scene 97
With a grunt from Ursel, the earth broke away from the other side where the women were able to dig a little deeper using Isobeau ...

Cast of Characters
Cast of CharactersUpdated March 31, 2019AAloWarrior of Shanakdakheto/Shanakheto; women in N'kiri's group Aradia’s Daughter ...