The Empath Stories
Welcome to the Empath Stories. This is another world I created in 2020 when the world was beset with a pandemic. It’s a place where the Creator is worshipped and rules the country of Windware.
Outsiders come to trade in Windware. They are people from other countries. Some adopt the beliefs of the Creator, but most do not. The land of Windware is triply blessed with rain, abundant crops, food, and healthy people.
The surrounding countries comprise the desert, the savannah region, and the coastline. Each has its own beauty and riches. The desert brings spices and woven cloth. In the savannah region, unique animals and jewels are found. The coastline boasts of its ships and fishing industries. But none is as lush as Windware.
The Empath Stories – Fantasy Fiction
Windware is ruled by the Creator and worshiped by all creation. The Pembas, a feline-like animal, communes with the Creator from a young age. The elders of the Pembas retain the whole of their knowledge.
Under the Creator and the Pembas are the prophetesses and the seekers. A Pemba is assigned to each seeker, but the High Prophetess has two assigned. When a Pemba is chosen to serve a seeker, they bond and hear each other telepathically. Seekers can also hear the High Prophetess when she calls them.
At any point in time, there are three prophetesses. The High Prophetess lives at the Temple in Amber Glen. She represents the country of Windware to the outsiders. Trading, disputes, and declarations from the Creator emanate to the people of Windware through the High Prophetess.
It takes time to train a prophetess. This is why two Pembas are sent to the birth of a prophetess. They protect the Prophetess and teach her to hear the Creator. Seekers gain their Pemba when they hear what people think. That is also when they can hear other seekers and the High Prophetess. In times of peril, the seekers will also hear the Creator.
Training a prophetess
Before she reaches her twentieth year, she enters her lament phase. This is when a prophetess begins to hear the thoughts of the people around her. It is a shocking experience to suddenly know when people are lying. Each Prophetess spends time grieving for their innocence. They go into the forest with a Pemba to grieve, cry, and hear the Creator in a new, deeper way.
Once the time for lament is over, the young Prophetess begins her duty. Duty is when the Prophetess makes herself available for the people to voice their problems and get guidance. All prophetesses do their duty daily. If the young Prophetess and the middle Prophetess live in the same village, the middle Prophetess allows the young Prophetess to train under her.
When the High Prophetess dies, the middle Prophetess becomes the High Prophetess. She must move to the Temple to take up her duties there. The senior seeker continues the duty for the village if no prophetess is available.
The Pemba life cycle consists of birth and childhood. Nourished by the parent Pembas and trained by the Elders, the little ones find plenty of time for play. The older Pembas begin their extensive training in year three. It lasts until they turn twenty. At this point, they may be paired with a seeker or a prophetess. If they are not paired, other duties include protecting the Pembas, gathering food, and training the young Pembas.
The Pemba life cycle
If a Pemba is paired, they will stay with their Prophetess or seeker for life. The people of Windware live approximately eighty years, so a Pemba is one hundred years when they are set free. At that point, they mate and have little ones. When their little ones are paired or otherwise, the Pemba becomes one of the Elders. Pembas have been known to live for three hundred years.
The Pemba legends tell that if a seeker or Prophetess continually disobeys the Creator and their Pemba, the Pemba will be removed. If this happens, the person begins to lose color, turning transparent. They fall ill, and if they do not repent, they die.
If a prophetess’s Pemba dies, the second Pemba takes over. If a seeker’s Pemba dies, he can be replaced by the order of the Creator.
Another legend concerns the young Prophetess who stands against evil, restoring peace to Windware. The Creator’s Eye, a jewel set in a pendant worn by the High Prophetess on formal occasions, is stolen. The young Prophetess recovers the Creator’s Eye and is the new High Prophetess.
