novelraw Chapter 411: The Old Mother of the Swamp
Chapter 411: The Old Mother of the Swamp
"I don't understand."
Lu Li frowned, his gaze fixed on the black-cloaked figure as if trying to pierce the fabric and see what lay beneath.
The truth the cloak concealed was chilling to the soul.
It meant that all this time, they had been communicating, striking deals, and collaborating not with the Mother of the Swamp, but with an unknown evil god.
But questions remained.
Why would the Shadow People and the six-limbed creatures, who served the Mother of the Swamp, now serve this unknown evil god?
"The foolish, chaotic old Mother of the Swamp was replaced by my lady," a chorus of voices emanated from beneath the cloak. "Her former followers could not accept this and are trying to awaken the one who came before."
"Who is your lady?"
"The current Mother of the Swamp, the deity who summoned you here."
"And who was the Mother of the Swamp a month ago, when I first entered the swamp?""The old Mother of the Swamp."
"So it was the old Mother of the Swamp who performed the rituals in Tenebrae, trying to seize it?"
"Yes, that was the old Mother of the Swamp," the chorus of voices confirmed.
Lu Li couldn't grasp the logic, but the cloaked figure had no intention of leaving him in ignorance.
The chorus of voices suddenly fell silent, replaced by an elderly voice that was echoed by countless others. "May I tell you the story of my lady, honored guest?"
"If we have enough time," Lu Li replied. He didn't mind learning more about this place.
An elderly voice spoke from under the hood. "The old Mother of the Swamp has been the mistress of this part of the swamp since time immemorial..."
The Mother of the Swamp had existed for a very long time, long before humans began to explore and colonize the Allen Peninsula. She dwelled in the southern part of the Shadow Swamp.
No one knew how she came to be. Was she an evil god born from the beliefs of the native inhabitants, or was she a primordial evil god? The first settlers who arrived on the Allen Peninsula encountered a host of strange and terrifying phenomena in the Shadow Swamp.
Many perished, and the settlers learned to keep their distance from the swamp.
But as they gradually came to know the land, they discovered several native villages within the swamp, whose inhabitants lived untouched by the supernatural creatures.
The leader of the Tenebrae settlers concluded that the natives had a way to avoid the danger and attempted to contact them. It was then that he learned of the old Mother of the Swamp—the mistress of these lands.
The natives worshipped the old Mother of the Swamp and offered her sacrifices. The leader of the settlers believed he had found a way to survive in this swamp: worship the old Mother of the Swamp.
By day, they toiled, building homes and tilling the land, and by night, they prayed, hoping the Mother of the Swamp would protect them from supernatural forces.
Due to the strange power emanating from the idol of the old Mother of the Swamp, the settlers dared not create and erect images of her. They only pictured her in their minds: a creature resembling a beetle with numerous spikes on its back.
Their faith in the old Mother of the Swamp differed from that of the natives.
The villagers around the swamp were savage and primitive; some had even lost the ability to speak. Their beliefs were just as wild and bloody, and they often conducted brutal sacrificial rituals.
Whatever the old Mother of the Swamp had been initially, under the influence of these dark beliefs, she became like most evil gods: cold, malevolent, and worthy of her name.
The settlers, however, did things differently. They renounced blood sacrifices, and their prayers no longer contained pleas for the destruction of enemy tribes or the spread of disease. They prayed for the health and safety of all people, for a bountiful harvest in the autumn, for the happiness of their relatives back home, and... for wealth.
Perhaps dark thoughts flickered in some minds, but before the blazing fire, they were mere sparks, too small to ignite a flame.
These unexpected actions endowed the old Mother of the Swamp with something she had never possessed... humanity.
"Thus, my lady was born," the elderly voice declared, and the chorus of voices joined in a reverent, prayerful whisper.
The new Mother of the Swamp was not a separate consciousness. The old Mother of the Swamp remained as she was, but she became like a child who had read an unfamiliar fairy tale. And no matter where life would take that child, the story would forever remain in its memory.
In any case, thanks to the prayers and faith of the settlers, the old Mother of the Swamp accepted her new followers.
The Shadow Swamp ceased to be so dangerous. As long as people did not venture too deep into the marsh, the supernatural creatures left them alone.
Over time, the settlement grew into a town, and trade caravans and adventurers could travel to the Allen Peninsula unhindered along the roads built through the swamp.
Tenebrae prospered. The settlers, who had built a church and were about to create an image of the old Mother of the Swamp, were stopped by exorcists and spirit hunters hired by the kingdom.
After investigating the Shadow Swamp, they informed the people that the local Mother of the Swamp was an evil god, and if they worshipped her, their souls would find no peace after death.
"A beast cannot hide its true nature," they said.
The settlers then ceased their worship of the old Mother of the Swamp, and the new church was left without a deity.
On the advice of the spirit hunters, the settlers began to trade with the swamp dwellers, teaching them their language, and eventually, the natives were assimilated.
The villages in the swamp gradually vanished, the number of the old Mother of the Swamp's followers dwindled, and she became a legend.
Years passed, generations of Tenebrae residents came and went, and fewer and fewer people remembered the old Mother of the Swamp, who remained deep in the southern part of the Shadow Swamp.
A century later, the nearly forgotten Mother of the Swamp attracted the attention of certain beings.
The elderly voice beneath the cloak quickened. "A great, ineffable being, like a constellation, sent a fragment of its consciousness. Before this fragment of consciousness, the old Mother of the Swamp trembled like an ant! The ineffable being told the old Mother of the Swamp that its masters would soon arrive, and she must either submit or die! The Mother of the Swamp chose submission... she became a servant to this fragment of consciousness. Even a single word spoken by this being would drive anyone who heard it to madness!"
Suddenly, the elderly voice rose to a scream, then cut off abruptly.
A few moments of silence followed, and then a new voice emerged—a low female voice, echoed by others. "The old Mother of the Swamp renounced all that she held dear. And in that moment, my lady awakened, inheriting her faith and her duties. She separated from the consciousness of the old Mother of the Swamp and became independent of her. The old Mother of the Swamp never even knew of her awakening... And you..." The figure in the cloak slightly raised its hood, as if looking at Lu Li, and its voice became heavy with meaning. "You broke in here several days ago during the storm. For some unknown reason, the old Mother of the Swamp, now a servant to the stellar being, welcomed you as guests..."