The Mother
They walked through ghostly pines into the heart of the sanctuary, where in a cave overgrown with ghostly leaves, the roots of trees, and grass, Mother awaited. Mebet heard her voice before he saw her.
“You have come, child,” the voice said. “You are different now, not like your heavenly reflection at all. Still, I can recognize something in you.”
“Who are you?” Mebet asked.
“I am the one who gives life with one hand, and takes it away with the other.”
Before him, the Mother revealed herself in a frozen cloud of water that swayed and changed color. He saw the figure of a woman within the water.
“Now you, child, stand before me. Few have been accorded this grace. But you are one of the few. Especially considering that it was I who wished to see you. They told me that you ha
