The Last Matriarch

Muiranda stared at the water’s surface, waiting for it to still.  She leaned over the edge.  Her own reflection, white and silky, shimmered before her like the elusive image of a face held in the mind before waking.  She forced her attention to the reflection of the moon and watched as it slid into the center of the pool.  Once there it came to life, producing etheric bodies of dancing sprites.

The spell of the moon pulled at Muiranda, drawing her vision deeper into its enchantment.  The sprites beckoned with long slender arms, reaching out, twirling away. Their bodies, enfolded with layers of gossamer, glistened like jewels in the misty world beyond.

“Come to us,” their chiming voices whispered upon the surface of the water.  “Come to us and let us flow through you into the wise one.”

Entangled in the web of magic woven by the moon-maidens, Muiranda stretched her hand toward the water, stretched it to take hold of one of the moonbeams.

Cool energy stabbed the palm of her hand and rushed up her arm.  Energy exploded in her head. The ground beneath her knees seemed to physically shift.  Her body felt as light as the misty clouds floating lazily above the world on a soft summer day. A wave of nausea forced Muiranda to swallow.  She closed her eyes trying to stop the spinning in her head. Each heartbeat echoed in her ears, pumping wetness to the surface of her skin.  Blurry-eyed, she focused on Matriarch Elana as the shining face of Goddess Bann appeared.

Matriarch Elana’s eyes snapped open.  White light flashed from them.  A silent shudder went through the crowd.  The hair on necks prickled.  All standing instantly kneeled.  Silence shrouded the Ritual Yard.  Matriarch Elana, filled with the energy of the Great Bann, became the force of life, of the universe.

The power of Bann rushed through mortal veins, a channel, and a voice for the feminine principle of life.  In stepping aside to become such a channel, Matriarch Elana was, in one respect, gone, and Goddess Bann walked the earth once more. The magnificent Bann looked through the eyes of a mortal.  Her deep sultry voice rang into the night.

“I AM the Star above you. I AM the Star within you. I AM the Star deep within the dark earth. Dreams fulfilled and Destiny. The cycles of life, flowing and receding, weaving round, spiraling out and within. I AM all that you see of the natural beauty of the Green Earth. Mother to each element. Sovereign of all things spiritual, Queen of Heaven, Queen of the Underworld, Queen of the Living, Queen of the Dead, Queen of the Blessed Immortals. I AM.

“Hearken unto My words. Look at Me for the answers. Forget not from where you came, where you are now, the future into which I call you. Know always, that I AM that which is with you, and in you, and of you! Thus shall your spirits attain to the deepest mystery of life. Thus shall your inner most Authentic Self be enfolded in the ecstasies of the Infinite. These things have I made law, Enduring for the million ages.

“Oh, My children,” her husky voice choked.  “I come to you this night to reveal the changes. Free will is My gift to kindred-kind.  Free will to serve whom you will, and you, My children, have revered Me since time began. Yet know this, there are men who do not serve Me, but seek to destroy Me and anyone who serves Me.”

An audible gasp rose from the congr