The Tale of the Seer

        He had been born deaf and was losing his sight. At least that's what it had looked like. He saved his mother's life. That was their first sign. He warned her about the man who would offer to carry her basket. It was a week before his thirteenth birthday and the time was right.
         The Elders tested him. They bade him move blocks with his mind, tell them what they were thinking, describe places he had not been. The sun set and rose again before the tests were completed, then they named him a Seer. A Seer had not been granted to their people in many thousands of years. A feast was prepared, the shrine torn down and rebuilt before He was moved into it. They surrounded Him with beauty and comfort.
         From miles around people journeyed to the shrine. They came on foot, on mules, some crawled. They came seeking answers, guidance, blessings, healing. He failed no one. His prophecies blessed their people. One saved them from a drought, another from a storm. One told of invaders that would come the following year and the people began to prepare. More and more they leaned on Him and his powers grew.
         There was a girl who came every day and sat by the door to the shrine. She never asked Him for anything. She watched Him and them and thought deeply on what she saw. Soon she began to go to the shrine long after dark when all the others had gone home. He spoke to her then. One time, he kissed her. He stopped speaking to the others.
         Instead, she spoke for him. She told them His warnings and words of wisdom. She told the people how to work with the spirits around them so as to avoid the evils of their anger. One day she told them that He no longer wished to see anyone but her. The people became angry then. They tried to stop the girl from seeing Him and He stopped speaking altogether.
         The people panicked and begged Him to forgive them for whatever they had done. Some blamed the girl, believing it was actually she who had upset him - perhaps she had never truly spoken for Him at all. They punished the girl. That night, fire swept the village, injuring many and forcing the people to rebuild.
         The people became angrier, not at all understanding why He had turned his back on them. They began to lash out at Him, striking Him, withholding food and water, defacing the shrine. The girl tried to protect Him. She stood between Him and the angry people, even tried to fight them off. But she was only a small girl.
         Finally, one night, the girl sneaked into the shrine. They wept together, then ran from the village. When they discovered He was missing, the people searched everywhere and hunted them down with dogs and weapons, planning to force His return.
         The girl, so shocked at the people's behavior, so enraged at their fickle betrayals, turned on the people with only her hands and feet. The people overwhelmed the girl easily and she was fatally wounded.
         Upon seeing her fall, limp, to the ground, He imbued her with His powers and the girl staggered to her feet, her eyes shining with His wrath. A great storm rose above them, showering great bolts of lightning upon the vicious mob. Many died. Others fled. Some simply dropped to their knees and sobbed.
         When the storm abated, the girl fainted and was caught up in His arms. Exhausted, He sank to the ground with her and there they slept. None dared touch their unmoving forms and, as the years passed, the earth claimed her body and His. In the village, crops withered and would not regrow. The rain ceased even as clouds blocked the sun unceasingly. Eventually, the people were forced to leave that place, never to return.