Legend of Two Rivers and a Mother

The Legend of Two Rivers and a Mother is a classic Ximi story dating back to the late 8th century concerning Ximizhle and Greatsaint Kovnoz.

According to legends, when Ximizhle’s firstborn, Kovnoz, died while out at sea, the Saint fell into a deep despair. She moved away from Her Throne in the center of the Heartlands to the remote mountainous castle called Huhuran Teruteri (Lightlycoloured Bird) overlooking a valley, isolated, with only a handful of female servants to take care of Her.

For 80 days and 80 nights, Ximizhle wailed, Her cries echoing across the mountains and the valley, tears endlessly pouring out of Her eyes onto the ground of the building, outside, and beyond.

When She had finished crying, they had left a permanent scar on the floor, a dark trail of liquid that could never be washed away.

More drastic, however, was their effect upon the surrounding area.

While Ximizhle’s tears did scar the building’s inside and outside, a worse scenario occurred down below, where the streams of Her tears had created two rivers flowing down the hills. In such a short time span, a new lake had come to be where once was a beautiful land beset by orchards and houses. The valley was completely filled with water. All save for a small patch of land near the middle where once was a hill.

The newly formed rivers would come to be known as Nage Otari (Mother’s Lament) and Mizuveg Danikohuhenmi (River of Eighty Days), while the lake would be given the name Mirtobokha Oni (Her Lake/Woman’s Lake). Upon the small island in the center of the lake, a tomb was built, reaching several dozen meters upwards, as well as down into the hill’s insides. Kovnoz’s body was eventually moved here and the building was named after him, Mozolum Kovnozi Ximizhleson (Mausoleum of Kovnoz Ximizhleson).

That is the Legend of Two Rivers and a Mother.

However, there is on more aspect to the tale that needs considering, and that is how Greatsaint Takeda handled it.

Before returning, while Ximizhle was on her isolated lamentation period, a lot of the ruling responsibilities fell onto Takeda, Ximizhle’s other firstborn and the sister of Kovnoz. She, too, felt a great deal of pain over her brother’s death, but unlike her mother, she wasn’t given the option of an easy way out. No, she was thrown to the wolves.

Takeda struggled greatly to adapt to being a leader of an entire people. Afterall, she had very little prior experience, preferring more to watch from the sidelines. The period, though short it may have been, caused her a ton of stress, leading to many sleepless nights and even fainting and reoccurring nosebleeds.

It is believed that it was during this time that the Goddess Uvu took notice of Man. Specifically, of Takeda.

In her journals, Takeda wrote that Uvu visited her several times, within her dreams, and in her waking life, talking about issues of Man and leadership, offering her a shoulder to cry on. Uvu would listen to her problems, and Takeda would come to trust Her, although she still remained cautious, as contact between Man and Gods was nigh nonexistent before this.

But it did not matter if Takeda trusted Uvu or not, as the plans the Goddess had prepared were being set in motion.

After Ximizhle’s death, Takeda would become the sole ruler of Mankind, and Uvu would offer her a helping hand. Thus they signed a pact.

Little did Takeda know at the time how much suffering her decision would cause over the next 200 years, and she would not even catch a glimpse of it as death claimed her only a few short years later.