"Feas Gaenwen"
by Calmyron Prodragon, Elanthian Trader

The story is an old one, dating back to when the Gods still roamed the lands with us mere mortals, or so I have been told. The events are fuzzy for me, being a man of very advanced years and a hand that trembles so. Yet I feel I must tell this tale so that generations can understand and appreciate children and the responsibility we all share in their care.

There once lived a family in a little stone and wood cottage beside a small farm. It was situated in a picturesque valley not far from a quaint little town. During the summer the crops would fill the fields. During the winter the snow would blanket the ground, leaving little to see besides the warm glow of a fire from the cottage's windows. It seemed a picture of the perfect life.

Yet all was not as it seemed. The father had been hardened by a life of struggles that had left his heart cold. His wife had long since given up on love from her husband and had closed her heart so that she would never feel the hurt of disappointment again. Their five children were nothing more than a burden when they were young and laborers when they became older. Any warmth that was felt in that house was coming only from the fireplace.

During a late fall day, the father took three of his children to help him carry the final harvest to town. The middle son, who went by the name Darguin, found himself falling farther and farther behind his father. Though he called over and over for his father to slow down, he was answered only by the harsh command to move faster. After a while, he could no longer hear or see the others. As he approached a fork in the trail, he tried to remember which way to go. Since this was his first season to take crops to the market, he had gone this way only a few times, so he picked the trail he hoped was the right one.

Night fell quickly as it does during the late fall. Darguin had not made it to town. Now that the father was heading back home with his oldest boy and daughter close at his heels, he made only passing glances around the countryside and gave a few shouts to find the boy. By the time the sun had gone down, he had given up the search and headed back home before they lost all light. Caramae, the oldest daughter, and Marstaen, her oldest brother, decided to spend a little more time searching for Darguin, despite their father's warning that he was not going to wait.

By this time, Darguin had completely lost his way. The trail he could have sworn he was still on had utterly disappeared. The night made even the simplest of items into creatures of terrible imagination that haunted the dreams of little boys like him. The sounds of the forest, which before had made him full of wonder, now only made him frightened. Everywhere he turned there were sounds that he could no longer recognize. Surely the creatures would come after him, just like in the stories he had heard from his father, if he strayed too far from the farm.

Caramae and Marstaen had looked everywhere they could think of that Darguin might have been. With the lack of light it was almost impossible to find anything. They were not even sure if he could hear their shouts. Their hearts sank as they heard the sounds of the beasts that roamed the night in search of food. Caramae, her face streaked with tears, looked up at the stars, Tamsine's Tears, and began to recite a small prayer for her brother.

'Oh, please, Tamsine, protect our brother and make him safe,' she wept. 'Help us to find him and so that we bring him home where he belongs.'

Tamsine heard young Caramae's pleas. Looking down on the children, her heart leaped out to them in their time of obvious need. She promptly found Berengaria and informed her of the situation. Berengaria told Tamsine that she was happy to help in whatever way she could.

Darguin was sitting on a large flat boulder, crying quietly and hoping someone would find him soon. Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder. He never knew he could jump so high or so far. Before he could run, though, he saw the form of a woman holding some of the grain he had been carrying before he got hopelessly lost. She was mesmerizing, with an aura of gold and warmth and eyes that spoke of safety and comfort, something he had not seen in his lifetime. He slowly reached out and touched the hand holding the grain.

Her smile was like a beacon of home and wonder, and any thoughts of being lost and scared simply vanished. 'I am Berengaria, little one. What is your name?'

'Da... Darguin, m'lady', said Darguin with a small bow, never taking his eyes off her face.

'I see that you are lost. Your sister and brother are looking in vain for you as we speak.'

'Caramae and Marstaen? Where are they? Can I see them?'

Berengaria smiled and said, 'Shall we find them together, little one?'

With a huge smile and amazingly bright eyes, Darguin took her hand, and they headed off through the field. Within a few roisaen, they came to the small clearing where Caramae and Marstaen had decided to rest for a few moments before continuing their search. Shock, relief and wonder filled their faces as they saw their brother emerge from the brush with a woman glowing golden. Caramae immediately ran to Darguin and gave him a huge hug while Marstaen approached the woman.

'Who are you?' said Marstaen.

'I am Berengaria. I have come to answer your sister's prayer', she answered with a golden smile.

Marsten looked at Caramae and she looked at him, and they both blinked. All their lives they had been told that wishing and hoping were for people who could not help themselves. *They* were supposed to be made of sterner stuff and could do without such foolishness.

As Berengaria stood there, she could feel the emptiness in all the children's hearts and souls. Deciding to see them safely home, she listened to their stories along the way. The more she heard, the more she wanted to reach out to the family to let them know the strength of love and the warmth of a caring heart. Once they were within a voice's reach of their home, Berengaria told them to put out something special for Divyaush that night and to have their other siblings do the same. They all promised as Berengaria bade them farewell, and they all went safely inside. Berengaria then returned to tell Tamsine the stories of the children.

The children told their tale to their parents, who merely scoffed and scolded them for their foolishness. The smaller children kept asking questions and wanting to hear more. Caramae, Marsten and Darguin had decided to keep the promise to Berengaria from their parents, but they whispered it to their brother and sister. Excitedly they all began rummaging around their room for something to leave for Divyaush. After each of them had found something, they gave everything to Caramae who put them outside the front door while doing some chores. Even a god can not remove the fear of a parent who's been crossed.

That night while they slept, Tamsine was busy at work. She had watched the events of the evening, unknown to the family. Her fury grew and grew as she saw the parents and their actions. She decided to enlist the cooperation of some of the other gods to assist in this project of hers. Now, I know it's unusual for the gods to work together and that usually terrible fights break out, the ones that cause the terrible storms we sometimes suffer. On this andu however, when Berengaria told them her tale of what she had witnessed, the gods decided to come together for the children.

Damaris was the one Tamsine feared the most. Although there was little he could do to her, his reactions have been known to be somewhat chaotic. His love for children is unquestioned, but his reaction when they are abused can be harsh and might even create more hardships. Much to her relief, however, Damaris listened closely and decided to help, and even agreed not to do anything rash for now. Then she enlisted the help of Berengaria again, Urrem'tier and Divyaush, all more than willing to assist. As the family slept, Berengaria began to weave her spell.

The father in his slumbers that night began to dream a dream of Damaris's weaving. Images of bloody warriors stalking over a barren field, devoid of crops, slowly marching... marching... towards... HIM... but why... Suddenly the ground began to swallow him up, and as he looked around, he saw his children surrounding him. He called to them for help, but all they would answer was that he must help himself as he had always told them to do. Helping others was for the weak. When he cried out to them, "If you love me, help me!", his tongue disappeared from his mouth. Finally, the ground finished its task, and the world became dark and he began to fall.

It seemed like an eternity falling in that void until he hit bottom with a hard 'thud!' As he gathered himself and began to look around, he saw he was standing on his grave. Peering at it closely, he could see it was poorly marked, with nothing more than the barest of stones. As he glanced around, he could see other graves, all full of flowers and growing trees and grass, lush as his fields had been. Yet his was covered with ashes, white ashes everywhere on his grave, without plants or flowers anywhere. The images of Damaris and Tamsine appeared before him and glared down upon him.

'What have I done to deserve to be forsaken so? Why does my grave shun the fruits of the earth?' he cried.

'A man without love for his family deserves nothing more', said Tamsine.

'A man who does not protect his children deserves the wrath of a godless grave', said Damaris.

The father arose screaming in his bed, sweat pouring down his brow and back. His wife lay there still sleeping, not hearing him at all. With a blink, he realized he could see himself sleeping, too, although it was in fits and starts. He looked up to find Urrem'tier staring at him and grinning, with Aldauth looking straight into his soul.

'A man is not a man who mistreats the ones who deserve all he can give', said Urrem'tier.

'Come,' said Aldauth, 'I've something lovely to show you', and he grabbed the father in his cold clawing hands and took him below. At once he felt the claws dig into his flesh and he felt a scream of pain come from his lungs that he did not realize was possible.

The screams could be heard as far as the valley, startling some sparrows in the field. He was completely awake this time, feeling the sweat-soaked sheets. He looked at his wife and could see she was startled. He touched her to make sure the nightmare was truly over.

The wife, not usually concerned with her husband's welfare, looked up wearily and asked what problem troubled him so. He looked into his wife's eyes for the first time since they married, and she was startled to see a small flicker of love began to show. True, there was a mixture of fear and relief in those eyes as well, but there was the definite look of a man who had seen his future and decided it was time to change it. He flung his arms around his wife and held her as if trying to squeeze the life out of her. As shocked as she was, she began to hug him back, actually hug him.

As he relaxed, he immediately thought of the children. He carefully got out of bed, motioned to his wife to keep quiet, and snuck out of their room. As he approached the children's room, he noticed a golden glow from beneath its door. He slowly opened it, trying very hard to be quiet, and he saw all of his children sleeping soundly, all surrounded by the golden glow as if being blessed by Berengaria herself.

While he stood there, watching them sleep, he could have sworn he heard giggling coming from outside. Peering out a window, he could see little beyond the light of the cottage. Taking it as a good omen, he cast one last long look at his children, closed the door and turned to return to bed.

Just then Berengaria materialized before him, bathed in the same golden glow that adorned his children. 'They are your future, your heritage, and your legacy. They are the mark you leave for all eternity. Never forget that. For what you sow in their hearts, you will reap tenfold.'

With that, she disappeared in an instant through the roof. He stood there, blinking as he realized he had been wide-eyed this entire time. For the first time he could remember, he knelt... and prayed.

The next morning, the children awoke to the sweet smells of hotcakes and taffleberry syrup with fresh taffleberries. They gawked in surprise at their parents, who assured them all was fine, and then they happily ate everything put before them. As they began to talk about the events of the past day, the smallest child excused herself from the table. Everyone fell silent as they watched her head for the door.

Caramae's face flushed as she remembered the gifts they had left for Divyaush, but she rose to follow her sister, and then everyone made their way outside. The children squealed in delight at the gifts laid out before their eyes, and there was much laughter and merriment, indeed!

The andaen were much warmer in that cottage after that night. Love had found its place in their hearts, right where it belonged. Tamsine was said to visit regularly. Truly, it was a home where none had been before.

That is the story of why we celebrate Feas Gaenwen: To remind parents of their responsibility and the joy of children. It is also to remind us that we all leave a footprint of ourselves, our ideals and our beliefs, through our children and their children after them. Through them, we are timeless.