The Lady of the Seasons

By: Hayzel Posted on: January 30, 2011

The story of Demeter's fate,
of how She came to be
the Lady of the Seasons
as She's known to you and me:

Let's travel back through years of dreams
through tomes of history,
back to the time when Gaia walked
amongst the growing trees.

This tale begins with tragedy
wrought by a jealous soul
who only wanted freedom from
the human's growing role

throughout the lands of Sapience
in forests far and wide.
These humans spread their stakes into
the Tsol'aa's joy and pride.

Darnashta'i the Tsol'aa was
distraught by what he thought
would be the end of peace
and so revenge is what he bought.

But whom he chose to buy it from
would cause true pain for years.
The Gatherer of Souls was only
interested in tears.

The Wyrm betrayed Darnashta'i
and pulled the forest down
into the depths of Azdun's realm
far underneath the ground.

This act alerted Gaia to
the Wyrm's atrocities.
Amidst a sudden flurry of
the forest's living leaves

the Earthmother appeared to him
demanding he explain
the reason for the forest's fall
and why he caused such pain.

He taunted Her, declaring that
Her power could not match
the might of his engulfing hate.
And in Her face, he laughed.

With power born of Elder Gods
the Mother quickly spun
an emerald cocoon around
this haughty, cruel demon.

But moments before Gaia sealed
the Wyrm within his tomb,
he sent a seed of malice that
would be the Lady's doom.

The Wyrm would wait inside this shell
until the time would come
for him to slip between the cracks
a fierce, yet weak phantom.

Before sweet Gaia's tragic fall
there was a time of rest
when forests thrived and Nature was
a blessed wilderness.

And so our tale is finally to
the centre of our hearts,
the anchor of our spinning wheels.
Tis here Her story starts.

Before She was the Goddess of
all groves and tangled trees,
Demeter served the Earthmother
as Gaia's Celani.

Approached by Gaia at a time
when balance was at stake,
Demeter gave up most Her life
for Gaia to partake.

As Gaia triumphed over that
which caused the forests' pain,
Demeter slept, as that was all
Her essence could sustain.

As the Lady dreamt in peace,
the Earthmother dispersed
Her essence to the forests' souls
which caused the world to thirst

for Someone to protect the woods
from those with evil lusts.
Yet soon all Gaia's monoliths
were crumbled into dust.

With visions filled with hellish pain,
there was no hope in sight,
when above Aureliana
there came a shining light

that led into a newfound wood
called the Aerinewild.
It housed the sacred temple
where Demeter would reside.

Through unifying efforts of
forestals far and wide,
Demeter rose from slumber's rest
o'er Nature, to preside.

Let's take our minds back to the Wyrm
enclosed in Gaia's cage.
Wherein he slowly lost his pow'r
and built a vengeful rage.

When Gaia left this world for good,
his prison walls fell limp
enough for him to slip right through
and trap his guard within.

And when he heard of Gaia's fall
he struggled to contain
his foul, nefarious glee and soon
had plans to cause more pain.

Without a solid body to
perform his vengeful deeds,
he chose to weave his soul with that
of She who was asleep.

And so the tragic truth is that
our Lady's will was quelled
to make room for the arrogance
the Wyrm of the Worlds held.

And by the time She recognized
Her thoughts were not Her own,
the Wyrm had grown too powerful
for Her to overcome.

He thrust Her to the Netherworld
where She endured a pain
that would at some point cause Her to
no longer be the same.

As She continued to endure
this depth of pain and fear,
the Wyrm had taken on Her form
and walked as Demeter.

Her haughtiness and cruelty caused
a group of forestals
to wonder if the Green Lady
was under Her own will.

Alongside Her new altered air
the forests strangely burned.
As many blamed the Lady's shrines,
the Awen grew concerned.

The Wyrm continued to control
the Lady's weakened mind
and ordered all Her followers
to strengthen all Her shrines.

Torn between their Lady's will
and duty to the trees,
their hearts were wrung in true despair
not knowing whom to please.

One known as Covenant declared
the Lady was possessed.
The fires were unnatural
which She, Herself confessed.

As Nature was the Lady's realm,
unnatural things assured
their origins could never be
from something made by Her.

Upset by Covenant's brave words,
the Wyrm-Demeter chose
to cast him out from the Awen,
for truth he did expose.

To win back people's trust in Her,
the Wyrm revealed the fires
were caused by Krrathknar, fire lord
and not the Lady's shrines.

As fate would have it, this plan failed
as Krrathknar wasn't pleased.
And so he showed the prison cracks
through which the Wyrm had squeezed.

The Wyrm retreated back below
the forest of Azdun
to bide his time and wait until
he could return again.

The treekin and the temple drooped
with rotting and decay.
With shriveled roots and crumbling leaves,
life slowly ebbed away.

And all the while our Lady was
trapped in a distant land
enduring pain beyond all words
at the Wyrm's horrid hand.

Despite Her weakened state, She still
reached out to Her Awen
with visions of how She was trapped
with hopes they'd make a plan.

A group of scholars gathered round
Her temple with a prayer
that what they would perform for Her
would free Her from despair.

The Hazel Prophet spoke to them
as Kalleah did lead
those gathered in a ritual
to set their Lady free.

Plants harvested from temple soil
were offered in the rite
as the Elemental Faeries
gave their lives to Her that night.

A fiery portal opened wide.
A shrouded woman stepped
into the temple, finally freed
from whence She had been kept.

"The vile demon will pay," She said,
and disappeared from sight.
Her voice rang out in challenge for
the evil Wyrm to fight.

The weakened Wyrm could not escape
and so his fate was met.
And soon She had him trapped again
within a golden net.

She turned to all who gathered there
and said She had become
the Lady known as Melantha,
the Goddess of Seasons.

Two times She tried to come to us
as Lady of the Wood.
The first She gave up willingly.
The second, the Wyrm took.

When at last the Lady of
the Wildwoods and Groves
appeared to us at Her full strength
She was no longer known

as the Green Lady by us all,
for She was too much changed
by all that She'd been through
since She awoke possessed by hate.

She overcame the arrogant
and spiteful Wyrm of Worlds
and came to us as One refined,
just like the shining pearls

that forge themselves within their clams
through periods of time
that seem like they will never end.
A beauty quite sublime.