Terees
Terees, Mother of Wisdom and Harmony, knows all things that have been and might be in Mernac. Her visions alternately delight and terrify her, and they have led to many beneficial inventions, including Míränor, the One Tongue. Books, scrolls, and other entities dealing with the written word also have their root in Mother Terees’s love of knowledge and maintaining peace. For this reason, many libraries, including the Library of Hobala, have shrines dedicated to Terees. Though Matriarch of the Murmil, Terees spends much time with dragons, for she has a soft spot for these magnificent creatures and empathizes with their soul quest.
Though physically barred from walking Mernac much of the time, as are all the Mothers, Terees projects her spirit into some deep caves to talk with dragons or commune with her Shadow Guards. No one knows why Terees pours much time and effort into speaking with dragons. The closest reason perhaps lies in the simplest reason. Of all beings and creatures on Mernac, the dragons come closest to Terees’s personal desires. She helps dragons search through dark and light to help them find the secrets of souls. This path holds the key to becoming a race and immortality itself and may be walked solely within the mind, the dwelling place of Wisdom.
Dragons have one thousand seasons to find the meaning of Truth. Those who ardently seek but do not find the Way must interview successfully with the Mothers to petition for another thousand seasons. Those who find the Way to immortality usually choose to leave their physical forms in favor of passing into the
Dragon scholars have lively debates about why few dragons inhabit Mernac. Some believe that whole legions of dragons walked the Soul Path and departed to the
Sages disagree about whether or not Darkwind, a Guide to the Library of Hobala, found the Way. Either way, the little dragon stays at his post despite the passage of centuries. Besides Darkwind, Terees and perhaps Kalos know the whole truth of that matter. Some say Darkwind’s songs hold the key to the Way, but few find him and fewer still understand. Some, even bolder, say Kaleb the White Wizard and other High Elves routinely aid Darkwind’s Truth Songs by holding up Eresh crystals taken from Ooloo’s Crystal Caves. The crystals do indeed magnify the songs, but do the songs hold the Truth? Is the Truth really Truth if no one understands?
The Scribes and Sages who know such things say Terees knowledge of all things allows her to transfer messages from those who have passed into the
Common myth says the ceremony of Tsarnach proves dangerous for dragons because they do not possess souls. One overzealous scribe, who shall not be named, wrote: “During Tsarnach, the petitioner’s soul must be bound to Terees while the door to the
Terees certainly knows about creating bonds, but Tsarnach is not one of those times. She finds some amusement in the many myths surrounding her. She also finds safety or convenience in some of the myths and so lets them stand. For example, some people believe Terees only walks Mernac proper during Chandralee like the rest of the Mothers. While true in the literal sense, ever since 666, Terees prefers a wider definition of the word “walk”. At their strongest, her spirit projections may be felt and touched by mortals and immortals. As the process of withdrawing from Mernac can be difficult, taking much time and effort, she likes the protection of the myth that says she walks among the mortals only on Chandralee.
In truth, Terees spends a lot of time studying Siberlee’s child, the Race of Man. Not only is that a major part of her personal One Book quest, but also, she seeks to understand the beings for whom she crippled her mind. When asked to surrender a part of herself to create Siberlee’s child, the Race of Man, she thought long and hard before coming to a decision. In the end, she gave the child Knowledge and Memory – that is the capacity to learn and the ability to retain that knowledge. Unlike some of the gods who gave up physical parts of their beings, Terees still had the ability to learn, but without Memory, the Knowledge does not stay with her long. This is why she values books and her Shadow Guards, specifically Ember, Ryna, and Arleas, so highly. She understands the usefulness of things like the Thought Recorder Spell, but she also enjoys the feel of quill upon scroll.
On a more personal note, Terees appreciates music almost as much as her sister, Canola, for it is usually the result of raw, pure desire tempered with contemplation and deep reflection. Her taste in music tends to run slower and more melodic than Canola’s. She prefers stringed instruments such as lyres and harps. Nebvidron Harps especially sooth her in troubled times.
Many a heart has cried out how the Mother of Wisdom and Harmony did not see the fracture among the gods and why, if she did see, she did nothing about it. She did indeed see the fracture that would become a break, the break that would become a chasm, and the chasm that would become war. One thing must be explained. The knowledge of something does not guarantee successful avoidance of that something, only a limited time to prepare. Besides, who says she did nothing?
If anything, Terees understands the devastating power of misused knowledge. For this reason, she guards her words, will, and secrets tenaciously, especially when dealing with Father Roadius or his Disciples. Even before the Fathers’ fall from Miroden, Roadius taught Terees the danger of blind trust when he unleashed his Agnatari upon the gods. The one thing Terees hid not, her deepest desire to unite her brothers and sisters in harmony that surpasses the birth of Siberlee’s child, consumes much of her planning efforts.
The One Book of Mernac, one of the few books in history recorded without Terees’s full knowledge, withholds some secrets even from her. The top half of the page dedicated to her, entitled “The Gift to Terees”, held a lengthy list of tough mental tasks, including gaining a true understanding of Siberlee’s child. She read and reread much of that fine, small print. One passage in particular baffled and irritated her said: “To understand your brothers and sisters and unite them again, find that which makes Good’s child feel, think, do, and be. To understand the child, you must know the mother. To know the mother, you must understand the child. Beyond understanding, you must cause one of all to see the Way.” The circular logic and overly simplistic interpretation gave Terees a fine headache that lasted several days until she finally decided to do rather than think. She set about her studies on the Race of Man.
To aid Terees on her quest to truly understand Man and get one of each Race to find the Way, she created the Shadow Guard, a cast of Disciples she saw in a vision long before she needed them.
The Trauncha, that is cost, consequence, and defining rules, for Terees in creating the Shadow Guard are ridiculously simple and simultaneously painful. The first stipulation, that the being must have died selflessly, proves little problem. The second rule too, that the being must willfully choose to join the Guard, costs nothing of Terees herself except a lengthy explanation of the danger they will walk into. The third step and defining characteristic, that the being must be emotionally bonded to Terees, costs a lot.
The phrase “emotionally bonded” hardly seems adequate to describing the bond that must be forged to create an immortal Disciple. It is more akin to splitting off a piece of her soul to grant the Disciple power. This Shadow Guard bond, both boon and bane to the Guards and Terees, transfers strong emotions and physical states of being. In terms of power, each Disciple she makes weakens Terees, physically and emotionally. She can withdraw only very briefly from the Shadow Guard bonds, for without her soothing will, they would simply cease to be. Try to understand that the constant shift of emotions would drive each Guard crazy without a steadying point.
Knowing the Shadow Guards would be inherently weaker on their own, compared to the other Disciples, Terees sought Twenty Gifts, one from each of her siblings and her own, centuries before the Fathers’ fall. Gaining the blessings was no easy feat, and the methods she employed would make even Roadius flush with pleasure. She incurred quite a few debts that way, but so far, the price has been worth it. Though Twenty Guards, Twenty Gifts be told elsewhere, it should be mentioned that the Shadow Guard shares them to this day. This is why the Guard possesses high resistance to elements, helps each other heal minor wounds, and can turn into ethereal shadows for brief periods of time.
Of all the Mothers and Fathers, Terees traverses the distance between “good” and “evil” most freely, for she understands that they either fail or triumph together. For this reason, she occasionally aids a Father on his One Book quest. Ever the peacekeeper, she and her Shadow Guard often act as emissaries among the gods, especially during the times the Fathers are apt to speak with swords rather than words.
No matter your Race or creed, if you truly seek Mother Terees, find her you will.
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