Pilgrimages rarely, if ever, come with instructions. No commands are given, not even to goddesses. This truth lies at the heart of every journey of the soul. Lysera’s song breathed life into Atheria. Her voice rang out, stretching across the heavens blooming life in her footsteps. Mountains rose where her notes lingered. Water gathered at each softened breath. But creation has an appetite. She sang without restraint. Her notes sank into the land, its very core vibrated with resonance. The very vibration that birthed her, became the resonance that brought magic to Atheria.
And yet, she does not lay claim to any throne. Nor does she demand to be worshipped. She only longs to be remembered. She is the current between our world and the next. Teaching the land how to carry its memory without fracturing beneath its weight. In Atheria, reality is not held together by sweat or blood. It is held together by memory, shared experiences, and the songs written that reverberate into the soul. And now the river’s song is fading. Not from drought. From an apathetic world intent on forgetting. A but invasive silence is spreading. It seeps into the fabric of our reality. And in the spaces between thoughts, the memory thins. The world struggles to keep its shape.
When the Rootmother’s essence began to diminish, she did not die. She made a choice. Of her two choices one, was a natural reaction the energy has to transformation. Recycling back into the Song. The other, an unnatural thing. Reserved for energy needing to be scrubbed clean. From souls who refused alignment. They called it unraveling. She made the harder choice. She poured her essence out into the world. Thus, becoming a living river. A current of memory, a sentient “Living Vein” that pulses through the continental spine of Atheria. Before her unraveling, she had one last task she could not leave undone. Growing weaker, she fought to endure. The song must continue beyond her voice alone. To stop now would only delay the coming silence. All must not be lost.
The Arrival at the Heart Tree She finally arrives by heart tree. They are waiting. Alezion’s presence lingers next to hers, a warmth next to the gathering dark. And Vaessa…she was a good decision. She complimented Arenox. Where Lysera had a mere instinct of empathy, Vaessa embodied it completely. Watching their love bloom, Lysera, came to a realization. She finally understood. She had not only created life. Her creation included those with the power to continue it
Throughout the course of my existence, I have loved Atheria intensely. When I became a being I felt the humming of the song. Inside me just below aching to erupt in a blinding crescendo. Of all of my creations, this world is my favorite despite her flaws. It is my greatest sadness what I foresaw I have foreseen its destruction and the dying of the song. It’s movement into screams of the pain of our divine weight. I shall let the others enjoy it a little longer still by unraveling myself. It is the only way Atheria will continue to live.
I created without restraint. When I was snubbed by mortals, I held onto my hurt and handed down punishments. I stayed inside my grief when those creations returned before I wanted. I have unloved myself for my decisions but I have learned a powerful lesson.
I have found meaning in my undoing. Fear, anger, grief, and lying to ourselves are just our hearts’ attempt at protection. They are its attempt at self love. But the heart is fallible. It was mistaken and misguided into believing it was what I deserved. In that moment, I infused my waters with these realizations. Even more, in my unraveling, I form my essence into echoes of these lessons. As beings they will walk my waters to guard these lessons. Mortals seeking alignment within themselves will walk these waters. One by one until all four are learned. If they succeed, great rewards await them. If they fail, I’m afraid I can’t save them. Only one more chance is given. When energy must be returned.
From my first realization, I leave them Reflection. From my first wound, I leave them the ability for Reconciliation. From my first grief, I leave them Creation. From my first moment of acceptance, I leave them Integration. My daughters will meet you down the Whispering Way. Though only in name are they daughters. For I have learned vital lessons far too late. Love is the purest emotion but even it must live in truth. I used my energy creating life because my creations loved me. I thought if I didn’t provide life, I held no meaning. I was not worthy of love otherwise. I know that, that is a lie. My fear of not being enough told a lie and I believed it. I know now that I am worthy of and deserve unconditional love. And from that realization, Aevraya arrived. I have allowed my fear to drive my life more than I should have. Then I let guilt take a turn after that. I’ve missed out on important lives recovering from things I did to myself out of fear, and shame: fear’s secret hiding place. I let it fester into guilt.
Arming my fear with the weapon it needed to break me. And I almost let it. Forgiveness is not saying, the wrong done is ok. It’s releasing the weight and refusing to live in the past with it. By forgiving myself, I let my fear into the light where it no longer had to hide behind shame. I could move forward. And in that motion, My Maristelle came to be. Transmutation, creating something good from a negative is my most difficult lesson. Though she is my favorite, she is most elusive. Grief is hard to give shape to sometimes. It does not always come in shades our eyes can see. I will not let the future I foresaw come to fruition. I will give the energy Atheria requires and bestow my knowledge unto humanity. I must allow myself to feel the pain and be brave to not make that pain into my home. Then I finally find her when I sing my lament. Though it carries sadness it also carries understanding. Acceptance. And it carries relief. And it carries Seraphyne to join her sisters.
Most find my last daughter the most terrifying, in truth, she loves you most. Her domain is the last stop before I’m completely undone. The welcoming home to the parts of myself I’ve banished beneath the rug is not an easy thing. By keeping my fear, my envy, my self loathing, the corrupted pieces in the darkness, I’ve allowed it to grow. My floors have been uneven for years and I can no longer see the floorboards. What is kept hidden will force itself to become too big and will outgrow the shade. I admit it was easier to shove it elsewhere than to put the effort into fixing it. But no more will I use rugs, closets, under the bed or any other shaded places to house my fear. I pull the curtains back and shine the light and together, my shadows and I become one.
Vaeloria was already here waiting for me. I couldn’t see her before but she’s clear to me now. It is my hope that my creations will learn from these events and my unraveling serves a real purpose. I feel the edges of my form fraying into frequencies, pouring out and turning into liquid. I will become the river, the eternal resonance to carry the memories of creation and the empathy that tunes Atheria. My echoes release and I feel the weakness deepened. And then with the last breath I could muster I called the thread forth. The one who wrote my song. He gave it to me to sing the world into being with it, he shall be its savior too. Echorin be careful remember who you are.
Find perfect asymmetry and let your shadow dance within the light