Seeds for Gaia

William Ashford was once a farmer, a grocer, he had thirty acres of land all to himself. A large barn that he had slept in with the horses for as long as he could remember. He was humble and honest, but he was also very understanding. So when his parents passed ten years ago when he was fifteen he understood that the car accident was just an accident. The driver wasn't drunk or in the wrong lane and neither was his parents, each just swerved out when a large semi was blocking their view of the road.

The only items he had left of his parents were their land, his mother's sky colored eyes, and his father's chestnut waves. It wasn't long after that he began working on his own, keeping the farm alive, helping it prosper. Whether it was the animals or plants, he did all he could to keep the spirit there alive.

It was that same reason why he was chosen. A month after his parent's death anniversary, he was struck on the head at night as he soothed the calves to sleep by strumming his favorite guitar. The last thing Will saw was a cloaked figure, the next image were trees, large pines that seemed to climb into the stratosphere.

Twelve hours had passed and Will was awake. He looked around to find himself in a dark closed off space smelling of fruit and herbs. He couldn't see any light or hear any noise. His captors whoever they were couldn't have been good people, they weren't robbers, he didn't have much of anything that would be considered valuable. As he sat there in the dark, he kept thinking about why he was there.

His head didn't hurt really, but the small knot did confirm that he was hit with some kind of blunt instrument from behind. After another hour, Will tried to give into sleep despite not being tired. Sleep. He commanded himself. Sleep. Heavy eyelids, yawns, feel the muscles give out and rest. But nothing could make him sleep, he had to see who or what had taken him and why.

After one more hour a door opened, bright sunlight filled the room blinding Will. He placed his palms to his face trying to save his cornea's from such harshness.

"You." A voice said. Will squinted trying to make out the figure. A cloaked figure, possibly the one who kidnapped him.

"What do you want?" Will asked quietly, what if they were going to murder him or beat him? People were insane, crazy even, no one could predict what would or could happen in these types of situations.

"Your seeds." The voice called, it was lighter than he thought it'd be. Was that a woman? "Your seeds, will revive our lands."

"What se-

The cloaked figure held a delicate pale hand out as if to stop him, dropping the black hood she revealed herself. She was this ethereal being, her eyes a bright green, none that was natural. Her hair was as black as the night sky and her lips round and pink like cherry blossoms.

"I am Cora. And you, William Ashford have been chosen to seed the delicate earth that we stand upon." The woman opened the door wider "Take a look and see."

William stood up stretching, he sat crouched down in the space for so many hours he needed to loosen himself a bit. William walked closer peeking outside. Wherever he was, it was not where he was from. All the land around him was dead, brown and gray shades covered the entire landscape that was limited to a stone gate. More than twenty two acres that's for sure, William thought.

"I'm still very confused." Will confessed.

"You are pure of heart and soul, you are the chosen one who will revitalize our lands."

"Our?"

The woman curled her lips into a smile "I am one of many, they call my kind the sisters of ovule. We are the bearers for the seed."

What the hell did that mean? As if to answer the woman started speaking again "To fertilize the grounds here, the seed must be warm within our vessels, and once shared we pour the seed onto the dead plant life."

Will wanted to know what the seed was and exactly how was he to revitalize all the land they stood around him, decaying grass, rotting wood, and the flowers dried up crumbling underneath their feet.

"Come I have more to tell, more to show you." The woman started walking along a stone path, Will looked around, there was no clear way for him to find his way back home. He sighed, he'd find a way eventually, but he needed to know why he was there. And when they served supper, his stomach was growling with each following step.

It felt like thirty minutes of walking. Still clothed in his blue jeans and green plaid shirt, Will felt hot, the wind picked up, but it was heated with thick humidity. Soon a building emerged in their pathway. It was made of a gray ashy stone similar to the path itself, but it wasn't polished, and next to the building was a small hut, possibly a storage area.

Rotten apple trees and fields were on the right of him, on the left was a small murky pond where dead fish floated, flies swarming happily to the death around.

"Come." The woman opened the wooden double doors to the stone building, inside was a long hall. A woman in the same cloak was sweeping along the floor, once she saw Cora she bowed.

"My lady, welcome back."

"Thank you Sirin, we have a guest. Mr. William Ashford." Cora announced his name as if he were royalty.

Sirin nodded, the hood still over her head, two brown eyes peeked from under watching Will closely.

"The rooms have been prepared." Sirin told her "As have the first three."

"Very good, please continue with today's chores accordingly."

Sirin gave a small nod before he started sweeping again.

"Three?" Will asked.

"Do not worry, we have prepared tonight's ritual just for you." Cora began walking down the hall again.

Ritual? Was he going to be sacrificed after all? Murdered by some cult that worshipped false gods?

"The sun is beginning to set, come I'm sure you are hungry." Cora smiled delicately waiting for him to follow.

Will gulped not knowing what would come of him if he did indeed follow the strange yet alluring woman. But where was he? And how could find his way home if he didn't know where he was to begin with?

Will decided it was worth a shot and proceeded down the hall, the walls were beige and very bland, the entire hallway smelled of sweet herbs that tickled his nose. Cora paused shortly after taking a left down one hallway opening the first door on her right.

Inside was a small table set with a white linen cloth over a circular table, a silver candle holder in the center where a small white candle sat, an orange flame flickering as if the wind coming from the open window would blow it out. Two plates, two forks, two spoons, and two knives, stared opposite of one another on the cloth.

Cora sat down in one of the open chairs presented as there were only two. Will took the other open chair. The room was wood and stone through and through, the table took up most of the room, so it was a small intimate fit.

"Why am I here?" Will asked.

Cora smiled "Because you are the one."

"What does that even mean? You kidnapped me and-

"I'm sorry if you see it that way, but if you hadn't noticed you are beyond your world."

Will blinked "What do you mean by that?"

"Have you not noticed certain things, the sky is blue, light blue, and yet the moon descends still. Our people are paler, our eyes unique colors, different from what you've seen, yes?"

Will crossed his arms, how could he be in another world?

Cora continued to smile "When I say you're not in your world, I mean that you are in a more smaller defined part of what you know as your world."

That confused Will even further.

"You see we live here in this compound that is sealed from the eyes of humans. Magic, Mr. Ashford. It does exist. This compound has sat here for centuries after centuries, with one mission and one mission only to revive our lands."

"It seems like a few acres here and there, but beyond the gate is nothing more than a mere glamor. Without the seed, the magical world will decay, and then it will leak over into your world because they are connected."

"Connected by what?" Will asked.

"Lets say a thin thread that ties the location of your farm to the location of where we're sitting at this very moment."

"If you have magic to switch from this world and back then why can't you give the seed to the lands yourself?"

Cora shook her head "The males carry the seed, which then mixes with our oils. We are connected to the earth, my people produce oil that fertilizes plants, but without the seed it's only temporary. And we have no males upon our kind."

"As for the magic, only I as the leader of the sisters of ovule can used such powers at certain times in a certain amount of time, once every ten, sometimes twenty or more years. Our people do not decay like the lands, but we will if you do not help us."

Her mint green eyes begged him. Help an immortal race of women or go back home and farm while the world may soon decay? Which to choose? Will already knew if he could help that he would. He didn't like the thought of him being able to do for others when they couldn't do for themselves.

"Okay." Will was sold just like that, on the magic, the immortality, the sisters of ovule, whatever.

"Thank you so much." Cora grinned, snapping her fingers Sirin reappeared bringing goblets of wine and a silver platter, she served them what looked like all sorts of beans, rice, vegetables, and no meat. After she left Will picked at the food, he enjoyed his side of proteins in beans, but he liked eating meat as well.

Cora ate quietly "There is no longer viable wildlife here, we make due with what we have."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Will sighed, even as a farmer he'd have to cut into his feathered or fur covered friends at times not just to sell off their parts, but sometimes to cook and eat them as well. It was sad and cruel in a way. But Will knew he was a man, and a cow was still a cow no matter how you dressed it.

After both were finished, another cloaked figure appeared and took their plates away. Cora stared at Will who stared back unsure what was about to happen next.

"This stone cottage is where I as well as the others reside. Rooms are upstairs, but we also have a downstairs. A basement where we perform our rituals."

"I was wondering about something...Why are there no men here? And why can't you cross over into my world to gather crops?" Will knew there had to be some sort of catch.

Cora gave a small nod. "Our people cannot survive off of your human food. The crops that grow here are of this realm. Your crops are like a drop of water to us, it won't hold us over."

"As to your first question, we are all female. And we are all barren. There is only one month a year where we can reproduce, where we are fertile."

Cora launched into a long explanation on how when the moon was high in the sky, full and glowing, blue, because in their world the moon was full only once for one entire month. During that month every sister was fertile, but became there were no males they were to find a chosen male among the human men.

Like Will, they'd have to be chosen, Cora used some sort of looking glass that would pick the male, the one would restore nature, or the one who would help give birth to a new generation so that their people wouldn't die out.

Cora also informed to Will about how the full moon month was six months away and that they had no intention of using him for breeding purposes. She also informed Will that all of the sisters were not untouched and those who were went through a procedure.

Will was curious to what that procedure was, so Cora led him down the hall again, pushing past the double doors back outside. The sky itself did not darken and no moon could be seen. The cycles there were odd and never followed any true pattern.

All the nature around them was just as dead, without the nature the sisters of ovule would fade too, they were connected in a way that Will could not explain.

Cora ventured down another stone pathway, this one was to the right of the large cottage. After a bit of walking they came to another stone building, but it was smaller with one wooden door, no sounds could be heard inside.

Cora didn't knock, but went on inside as if it were the natural thing to do. Will didn't hesitate to follow her. Soon they inside a gray room, the white cotton stuff beds laid low onto the floor with about three young women laying there groaning low. Each wore a long white nightgown and had painful expressions upon their faces.

"You see, we remove the barrier inside so that when the time comes for breeding that there will be no pain. It stings them a bit, but they'll recover."

Cora explained how majority of the women were not pure in body, but they were in soul. Cora herself was untouched, mainly due to the fact that she was in charge of the women. As the leader she invoked rituals, but did not participate in them, she practiced and preached, but the only real difference was her magic. The temporary magic that let her see the chosen, let her visit the other world. But as far as duties went she did as the other women, cooking, cleaning, teaching, she did it all.

Cora decided to show Will the rest of the grounds while explaining how she became the leader of the sisters. They took the left path from the cottage. She was born with small magical gifts, but her mother who had dedicated herself to their duties was the real reason. As the offspring of such a devoted and honorable sister, Cora was chosen to be the next leader.

The generation before hers passed due to the critical decay of the land. Why was is decaying in the first place? It was due to sisters failing in their duties. They didn't take care of the land as they should and would often take breaks, joking around about how they didn't need to keep the lands watered or refreshed, they were immortal, and the land never rotted away or wilted.

But in the end it did, and with that the elder members passed from starvation or thirst, they only had a bit to give each sister to maintain per day. The young ones needed more than the elder members, so of course all the elder sisters passed.

Soon they made their way to a wooden barn, it reminded Will of home. Inside was a sight to see. One of the sisters sat at the table where a bucket was placed. Across from her was another, she had half of her cloak down, revealing very immense breasts. The woman was blonde and her skin pale like Cora's, here eyes pink, and her nipples inverted.

"My lady." Both women bowed.

"Please, continue." Cora said "This, Mr. Ashford is where we produce our creams and cheeses, though we cannot make much."

The woman sitting at the table stood and fondled the blonde woman's breasts.

"You see we have our most buxom sisters give their plenty, we only have a few living crops and they are grown indoors. And they are withering away as well."

Will watched as the woman started to press her fingers into the blonde woman's nipples. He could hear small yelps from her as the other woman moved her fingers in and out of her areolas.

"She's ready." The sister looked at Cora.

"Yes." Cora gave a small nod, the woman removed her first finger and milk started squirting straight into the bucket. A small creamy river, Will watched in amazement as the river became a slow drip and eventually stopped altogether. Removing her second finger from the blonde woman's other nipples the same thing happened again, the bucket was almost filled. Almost.

"Please clean her, the ritual is to approach soon." Cora said, both women nodded.

Cora yawned, the ritual needed to happen sooner rather than later, so grabbing Will by his arm she led him back to the stone cottage, down the hall, straight into another room. Women were standing in tubs of water and purple flowers, completed naked.

"The flowers provide water. None of it drinkable. But we have some wine that didn't sour." Cora explained, a fruity aroma caught Will by the nose, that's the scent he'd noticed when he was sitting alone in that dark shed.

Cora explained how the flowers were the only real survivors, that the sisters of ovule would knead the flowers down, taking any liquid, storing it up to use to wash with. Their smell reminded Will of freshly picked berries.

"We cleanse ourselves every day, thrice, but once more for a day of ritual. Come along."

Cora led him back into the hallway, after a few right and left turns, she finally stopped at a dead end where no doors were. Cora kneeled down and opened a secret door and lowered herself inside, Will followed suit.

But unlike Cora he fell unaware that there were no stairs and of the height. Cora helped him up, his head was spinning in the dimly lit basement. There were candles sitting upon shelves and three women stood bare before both of them. The center of the floor was covered in a brown cloth. Another woman stood beside them holding a large jug and rubber scraper.

"They are ready, my lady." The cloaked woman announced stepping away from the blanket onto the side.

"Yes, Will." Cora turned to him with a serene smile"We may have different purposes for revitalizing rituals and breeding rituals, but they all go through the same method."

Will finally got the reason why he was there. "Wait you want me to..."

"Intercourse is a part of nature. And your seed-

His seed was not what he had first expected it to be. Cora snapped her fingers in front of his eyes.

"Will, your seed must combine with the oils we secrete when aroused, together they will not only fertilize, but revive our crops."

Will gulped "How much...seed do you need from me?"

"Enough to restore our entire land of course!" The cloaked woman growled.

Cora scratched the back of her head "A few months...daily."

"Daily? I don't think I can produce seed that many times." Will was sure that no man could "Especially after..well after we were done with the ritual."

Cora sighed "If you feel that way we can lower the number of women if you wish. But for tonight three will have to do."

Will's eyes kept wondering from Cora, to the hatch, to the three women standing, waiting for him.

"He must be cleansed first!" The cloaked sister shouted "Undress him!"

The three naked women started tugging at Will's clothing, first his shirt which nearly strangled him as it caught around his throat, then his pants and underwear.

The cloaked woman brought down a tub was brought in just a couple of minutes. Then Will was submerged into a sweet smelling pond. After he was finally clean Will gasped for air. Those women kept pulling him down and out of the tub to scrub and rub, he hadn't the time to breathe.

"So, will you?" Cora frowned "It will take even longer to find a man of your caliber."

Will sighed, coughing a bit while he thought "Okay." He said he was going through with it earlier, he didn't like breaking promises.

"Thank you." Cora smiled at him again "You may take them anyway you see fit, but it must be from the bottom two orifices, both produce the same oil. So please pick the first."

Will looked over the three women, most men would die happy on that very spot. The first woman had long braided hair, the color of coral, while her eyes were a bright yellow, thin lips, not as lovely as Cora's, but that was Will's opinion. She was not top heavy either, but her breasts were nice and round like a melon, her nipples a dark green color, like her skin was a pale emerald.

The second woman had large breasts and a welcoming smile, though her legs were a bit thin. Her skin was like that of a tangerine, her large eyes were hazel, and her hair was chestnut, cut short.

The third was actually paler than Cora, and her eyes were narrowed into sea blue daggers, almost like she was angry. Her skin shimmered in the dim light, her breasts were oval, but not as small as the first or as large as the second, she was somewhere in the middle.