Aeri had sworn the sacred oaths beneath the spirit oak
The day she became a Sower.
I: Nurture Every Soul.
Aeri was there at each soul’s germination,
Guiding their seed into the realm of the living,
Slicing the root which bound them to their mother.
She was there when they fell ill,
Carefully consulting descriptions and diagrams of every ailment,
Crushing and combining the freshest ingredients to make medicines,
Administering her cures for any injury, no matter how small.
II: Lay the Souls to Rest.
Aeri was there when her kin died.
When she could not save them.
Aeri was there to carry their corpses across the forest,
And lay them down beside the saplings grasping the emptiness
Where their kin once laid.
She was there to inspect their bodies for any hint
Of what could help her save whoever fell ill next.
She was there to commemorate the fallen.
To sprinkle the ash and embed the seed within their gut
Which is said to help raise the spirit to the heavens
With each body she fuelled new growth,
Creating a garden of the fallen
Below the garden of heaven her kin would call home.
III: Remember Those Who Cannot be Saved.
Aeri was there when her kin were long dead,
Remembering the time she marked their skin with a ring each year
And congratulated them as they earned new syllables.
She visited their grandchildren,
Helping the new generation know the old as though they’d met
She visited their towering trees,
Recalling the feeble saplings they had once been
And envisioned the garden that would grow
Once she herself laid among them.