The chieftain has been downcast lately. It could have been due to the impending vision of another imperial attack, or perhaps simply due to the cricket prank laid down by his lofty guest. Regardless, he was clearly lost in thought. 

It was a fact in which Raajimera, saw a window of opportunity to scout his house seeking for answers regarding the prophecy. 

Morning sun rays blinded the face of the sleeping Chieftain. He woke up. Something has been bothering him for some time now. He looked through his window, got dressed and left his house quickly. 

Raajimera observed him from a distance. Last night, Feng taught her a new skill, and she intended to use it now. 

She created an illusion of the chieftain and stepped right through it, wearing it like a costume. This disguise was so effective that it would fool just about anyone. 

Raajimera ensured that the village leader was not within her line of sight and attempted to enter his house. 

The door was locked, but a simple lock was not enough to stop a freshly baked demigoddess. She quietly forced it open with her celestial powers and gained the entrance. 

The stench of dusty air pierced her nostrils, this man obviously was not a fan of letting some air in… or dusting… or cleaning as whole. Raajimera surveyed the area. The main room was cluttered and big. 

She approached the bookshelves and tried to find anything that would help her find out the source of the mysterious prophecy. 

None of the books seemed to contain any valuable information. She grabbed one of them, a heavy tome with no title on its cover. 

All of a sudden, the door opened. 

She jumped up and turned around. It was Seyed. He glanced at her with suspicion.

“Why are you still here?” he asked. “Didn't you say you might leave this morning?”

Luckily, he didn't see through her trickery. 

“Oh, you see, I forgot about something…” she said as she walked towards the door.

“On a bookshelf? Do you intend to educate the traveling vendor?” Seyed's voice rang with disbelief.

“Oh, no, I forgot about… something… else. I just got distracted, I already got it, see you!” Raajimera rushed off. 

Seyed's eyes followed her as she went out. He mysteriously brushed his chin.

Raajimera dropped her disguise and sat in a dark corner.

She thought to herself, “So the chieftain is after some wandering merchant, huh? Perhaps he knows more about the prophecy. Would he tell me, though? I'm not sure…”

Feng slithered from behind a corner and shouted, “I heard it! Whatever you are planning to do, it's a bad idea, and you should stop it!”

“What?” she looked down. “Why?”

“You are likely to attract unwelcome attention. I'm sure we can find another way to get the answers you want. HEY, ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME???”

“No.” Raajimera created an illusion of Seyed and used it to disguise herself. “He might share more with our little buddy than he would with me.”

“Raajimera, no. Please — don't use it again. I saw your first attempt, you almost got caught!”

The woman ignored the warning and went to find the chieftain. 

She found him on the outskirts of the village. He lifted his head upwards. 

Raajimera hesitated and then asked in Seyed's voice, “So, about the prophecy…?”

The chieftain frowned, “You said it's secured, I thought we already talked about it. It's hard for me to talk about this all the time. I believe you when you say that it will come true.”

“Maybe we should tell her more about it?”

“What now?” the chieftain replied with a shake of his head, “No, no, no.”

Raajimera wanted to say something, but suddenly, she saw the real Seyed with the corner of her eye. He looked at the chieftain with confusion in his eyes. 

He asked harshly, “What is it?”

“Weren't you on my right side about a second ago?” the village chief scratched the back of his head. 

“What? Huh, never mind. Have you met him yet?” Seyed's eyes widened.

“No, I think he's about to be here in several hours. At least, I sincerely hope so.”

Seyed sat on a tree stump and said, “Let's wait together, then.”

Raajimera observed them from hiding. 

Feng finally caught up with her. The animal coiled around her ankle quietly and observed.  They waited and waited.

When the day was in its full bloom, they noticed a man approaching from the west. 

He looked like a normal human. Maybe a little shorter. His two trusty donkeys pulled a small caravan. The man jumped down from his seat. He looked like a dark, plump olive with a scarf wrapped around his head. 

He apologized for his delay, brushing dust off his sleeve. “It's the damn imperial soldiers everywhere. Anyway, I got the supplies you asked for.”

The merchant opened the door of his caravan and pulled various bags of goods out of it. In return, the chieftain presented him with a bag of gold.

“So… what's new on the road?” the village leader asked.

“I'm going to be honest with you, pal.” The merchant took out his pipe and filled it with tobacco. “It isn't looking good at all. The imperial patrols are getting more frequent each day.” He started smoking. “If they find out that I'm shipping my wares to you, I'm going to be done for. On top of that, rumor has it that Zephyr was spotted sniffing around, too.”  

The merchant drove his thumb across his neck, letting him know how serious this was.

Seyed gazed upwards at him, their gazes colliding. “Does that mean that you won't be supplying us anymore?”

“Oh, I'm going out of business. I don't want to risk getting in trouble.” The merchant made some smoke circles in the air.

Raajimera decided to leave her corner and check him out. The strange man noticed her right away. 

“Who is this woman?” he inquired. “She looks absolutely stunning! Let me take a look at you!”

“Isn't she?” suddenly the old, lovely Seyed was back and looking at her with admiration.  Funny how he was an entirely different person when he was sure that it's her. 

“We found her at the gate of the village a few weeks ago.” The chieftain crossed his arms. “She initially didn't speak. There was a mark of the Twilight Mother on her forehead, so we assumed that she was the fabled Snake Queen. We recently learned that her name was Raajimera.”

The merchant glanced at her forehead. “It makes sense to me, Raajimera, the herald of Raa.”

“She can do some sort of god magic and whatnot.” Seyed spoke as if it were something that was very common among people. 

Raajimera didn't feel right. She was doing her best to prove them that their trust in her was not misplaced, yet they took her every miracle for granted. Maybe if she does something spectacular, the ultimate miracle if you will, they will finally acknowledge her full potential. They may even answer her questions regarding the prophecy.

The man finished smoking his pipe and put it in his shirt pocket. “Would you like to purchase something? I can give you some out-of-business discounts! There are some nice dresses and bracelets in there. Only ten pieces of gold each!”

“Gold…?” Raajimera felt upset and confused. “I don't have any. How about these?” She put her hand in her pocket and took some of her glass flowers out of it. 

They were examined by the vendor. “These? I'm not even aware of what they are, but I'm pretty sure they don't sell for a lot. For these items, I am willing to offer to sell you some aged footwear or a worn-out piece of clothing. Oh, you know what?” he reached deep into his caravan's storage and pulled out a sack. “You are fond of flowers, correct? You can have the old seeds in this bag. I mean, this place is basically a desert, but I think this is the best cheap item I can give you in exchange for your… currency.”

Raajimera hesitated for a second, but she gave her glass flowers to the merchant and took the sack from him. 

“Thank you,” she said.

“If you manage to cultivate them here, you will demonstrate your true capabilities, I assure you,” the merchant said while putting his little new shards in his storage space. 

That was it. She already knew what her grand miracle was going to be.

Raajimera noticed that the group of men still had some issues to attend to, so she left them alone. She sat on the bench and took out a seed from the sack. It looked very poorly. 

Feng placed itself on her lap and looked at the contents of the bag. 

“What would you like to do with it?” the animal asked.

“I got to check something.” She poked a hole into the ground and buried the sad-looking seed inside it. Raajimera directed her celestial energy towards the poor little thing. She became one with nature. The woman brought some underground water to the surface with a swing of her hand. The ground erupted with a tiny green sprout. 

“It worked!” She couldn't contain her excitement. “If only I could plant all of these, I could turn this place into a beautiful oasis.”

“That would require the support of the entire community. You would have to find a way to shield them from the relentless sun, as well.” Feng looked up at her.

“You have just given me an idea.” The woman picked up a stick and started drawing on the sand. “What if…” she drew a flower and a circle around it.

“What if I could create a dome above the village to keep the plants safe?”

“This is genius, actually.” The snake looked at the drawing she made. “The dome could be powered by the energy of the plants living in it. Do you know what could be done to improve it? If you can enchant it so that it would hide the village from the outside. That way, your plants would be able to protect the people in the village.”

Raajimera nodded. “How could I do it, though?”

“I think you can easily achieve it using the tricks you already know. It shouldn't be too different from creating a regular illusion, it would just be infinitely powered up with the foliage inside.”

“I can't wait to get started with it!” She jumped up on her feet, knocking Feng off the bench. “When I got here, they took good care of me. Now I'm going to take care of them!”

Feng looked at her.

“Raajimera, I have another thing to say.”

“What is it?”

“I'm so proud of you. Several weeks ago, you were just scared and confused, and now you adapted and fully accepted your duty as Raa's champion. You've grown to be so compassionate and even though you sometimes do silly things, you still do what is right in the end. I'm honored to be your friend.”

“Aww, thank you.” She grabbed her snake companion and kissed its head. “Glad to be your friend as well.”

She glanced around and placed the animal on her shoulder. “Let's go, we have the ultimate miracle that needs to be done.”