Arwenn has a minion!

Demeter the Verdi

… earth mother

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Praise for the red dawn,
The grass that we walk upon,
Praise for the river's whispered tune.
Praise for the Wind Brother,
Praise for the Earth Mother.
Praise for Father Sun and Sister Moon.

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"Peace," she said. "I want peace."

They had been arguing for ages. One would think that, given that the council was missing a member, a decision could be reached much faster than when all four had been present, but it had seemed to only make things worse. It truly appeared that no side could win.

Praesul was a storm of feathers and rage. "How could you call for peace when such a thing has happened? He upset the natural order, not just my power and Dala's, he's killed so much."

Dala herself was seething in cold anger, as she had been for quite some time now. The fallen party - Brother of Councils, Guardian of Wind and Weather, Balthalmos - had been her lover. And when he had gone rogue, blotting out the skies and tearing at the earth with vicious storms, she had killed him herself.

Arwenn kept quiet. These two, the Father and Sister, Sun and Moon, would require a careful moderation. She knew the council and all their trust for one another had been shattered and would have to be reformed with utmost caution.

Praesul began again.

"It's simple. No more Wind Brother, no more weather. In my opinion we could go without it for quite some time yet. Your Earth needs healing, Arwenn, give it time to -"

"We need weather, Praesul," Dala cut in. "As much as you hate it, we need it still."

"And what? Let this keep happening? You saw the power he held. If you didn't have the hold on him you did, who knows how we could have handled it."

He had touched a nerve, Arwenn could tell. She had never seen such anger in Dala's eyes. Still, she held back, quiet. Dala continued with a voice like shattered ice.

"This will never happen again. Balthamos is dead."

"Not dead, defeated, he's out there somewhere -"

"Balthalmos is gone. He's a wraith, he's powerless, he's not coming back, let him go. I know have." She composed herself. "But I still say we need what he used to stand for. This time, though, we'll do it on our terms. We can make a lesser guardian, one we can control."

"How would we know we can control it? We thought we had equal prowess before, and see where that got us. No more weather, and that's final."

At that, Arwenn stood.

"Final, Praesul? And what gives you that authority?"

The Father Sun had the grace to back down and look ashamed.

"I only meant that was my final opinion..."

"I know you better than that. We both do. Now, I am telling you my final words on the matter.

"We need a guardian's wind and weather. My earth needs water for nourishment and growth just as much as it needs the warmth of the sun. But Dala, a job like this is not something for some lesser deity. There are to be four of us. We should have a new Brother, and he should be just as capable as the rest of us."

Praesul looked away and Dala sighed. Arwenn sat back down and went on, more gently this time.

"As you said, Dala, Balthalmos is gone. If the three of us have anything to do with it, a tragedy like his will not happen again. I will find us a suitable new guardian myself. We will raise him up ourselves. He will be powerful enough to balance our council, but he will not overcome us. We've proven that."

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code base by Chen
code edits Ryou
overlay by Morse
story by Ryou
poem from balto ii: wolf quest

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