The legend says there once was a common girl in a common village that wasn’t what it seemed.

Chasca Q’ente had always been fierce—nothing ever seemed to scare her. She was overly curious, a silly risk-taker, the villagers would say. They couldn’t comprehend her hunger for adventure and knowledge. And even though they could barely feed themselves, they refused to explore new land. It was dangerous. They didn’t take risks.

But Chasca? She was drawn to everything the off-path had to offer. And that was that.

“Don’t stray off the path.”

That phrase echoed in her head as she walked through the forest, eyes scanning for a trail she hadn’t yet tried. Her hands swung a metal bucket back and forth lazily. Each off-path she passed felt wrong—until the very end of the route, when a wide left turn revealed a part of the river she’d never seen before.

The water was cleaner. The air, different. Everything around her felt both familiar and distant.

Without thinking too much about it, she dropped to her knees to fetch water—but something under the surface caught her eye. A golden object shimmered. Was it a hat? Before she could even process what she was doing, her hands were already pulling it out.

It was heavy.

She placed it on her head like a joke. A game.

But then everything changed.

The moon and the sun came together as one. Her body tingled. Her feet lifted off the ground.

Memories crashed into her like a wave—painful, confusing, overwhelming. Then silence.

One hundred years of lost memories.

One hundred years of rejection.

One hundred years of feeling like a stranger in her own skin.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

She wasn’t just the adopted daughter of the old chasqui. She was the lost princess the village whispered about. The one who “took everything.” The only one who could return it.

A golden dagger appeared in her hand.

She knew what had to be done.

Without hesitation, she cut open her stomach.

From within, she gave back what was stolen—peace and prosperity returned to the people through her womb. Her body had carried the answer all along. She was the answer.

She rose to the sky, her true home. And that is how the town of Inka Wasi—once lost in the shadow of El Dorado—was reborn, shining as one of the many secrets Hidden Peru still keeps.