Abstract

Niera's Prophecy is a novella-length fiction about jealousy, integrity and the acceptance of self. It is set in an arid land where the civilized live in walled city-kingdoms and the "uncivilized" live nomadically in the more inhospitable regions of the desert. Niera, the king's unrecognized daughter, suffers from her father's indifference and from envy of her half sister, Princess Meriope. When Niera becomes the apprentice of the court soothsayer, she believes she has finally found a way to distinguish herself. She soon discovers that being a soothsayer requires an impartiality and selflessness that are difficult to achieve. Her own prophetic sight is partial and incomplete, reflecting her inability to let go of her desires. When the court soothsayer is expelled from the palace, Niera finds herself in the position to make a judgement that will affect Meriope's future. Her actions lead to an unforeseen tragedy from which she gains an understanding of herself. Although Niera's Prophecy does not explicitly critique gender and class relationships, inequalities in both form the background of the story (e.g. the role of the female soothsayer in government, Meriope's bride price, women's mobility, Niera's view of the commoners, and the prejudice against the nomadic tribes)