As late winter settles over the world, old memories rise readily to the fore. Entwined with thoughts of Her brother Scarlatti, sorrow draws Gaia's attention once more to the weight of vanished Kin; felt in perpetuity, the ache of loss rises to envelop Her.

Before the sapling in the Western Ithmia, planted in remembrance of Artemis and Lupus, grief gathers with dangerous force, pulling Her gaze toward all that has been lost and left behind; toward the cold and motionless shape of mourning.

Yet, the Icemother knows She cannot remain in mourning forever.

In the verdant canopy of Her grove, the Earthmother turns at last from grief and from the long shadow of Her Sibling's memories and with that turning, winter loses its claim upon the world. The breath drawn into Her is deep and unhurried, yet all of Creation feels the urgency in it and braces in anticipation of release.

When at last the Goddess of Nature exhales, renewal answers in a sudden and unstoppable tide. Verdure spreads throughout the world, touching those places that She holds a fondness for. What grief had held in suspension is seized at once by change, by growth, by the fierce necessity of continuance. All that can bloom does so with urgent abandon, racing to answer Her will as life flourishes upon Yggdrasil and beyond.


~~~


Summary: With the completion of Her memory upon the upper branches of Yggdrasil, Gaia, Goddess of Nature, remembers Her promise to keep grief and the memory of loss behind Her. So, She releases spring upon the world, and the whole of Yggdrasil is drenched in wild growth, with flowering vines taking root in the caverns of the Ettins and in the atavian town of Genji.


Penned by My hand on the 5th of Daedalan, in the year 1001 AF.