Thermal sits watching Daffodil, the flower-fairy, and Acacia, another flower-spirit, have a yellow-contest. Daffy dances into a spectacular glowing golden hue, but Acacia, who is a cloud of little fairies who form a larger fairy, wriggles herself into a glow which lights the whole room. Thermal squints and looks away, Harry the Brownie who is sitting on the lamp above the keyboard covers his eyes with his hand, and Thumper the bunny, who is sitting on Thermal's shoulder laughs and says "Acacia wins, and will be the Queen of Yellow this year!". Daffy pouts, and then hugs Acacia, but there comes an "ahem" from the doorway, and the Wild Mustard fairy appears there, hovering and glowing with the brightness of whole meadows gleaming yellow in the sunshine.
Notty, the tiny Forget-Me-Not fairy who had been sitting on Thermal's glasses, flits giggling over and nabs the tiny yellow crown which Thumper had been about to hand to Acacia, and although it is nearly as large as her, flies over and settles it upon Wild Mustard's head. Wild Mustard smiles and nods imperiously to Daffy and Acacia, and they respond with loud bronx cheers, but fly over to hug her and engage in giggling greetings.
Somewhere during the hugging Daffy slips the crown off Wild Mustard's head onto her own, and when the others discover it they say "Hey!!" and chase her giggling around and around Thermal's head. Thermal sits bemused until they collapse panting on the keyboard, and Notty, who has snatched the crown from them drops it into Thermal's hand and says "you decide". Thermal looks at Thumper for help, but Thumper grins broadly and nods enthusiastically. Thermal looks to Harry, but Harry looks at all the tiny fairy-faces and says "na na, not I" and disappears suddenly.
Thermal looks at them all with a serious look, then smiles suddenly and closes his hand about the little crown. When he opens his hand again there are three crowns there, and some of what looks like gold-dust. He very carefully settles each crown onto each of the fairy's heads, and then blows the dust towards Acacia, where it settles onto each of the heads of the minuscule flowers which make up her body, a tiny crown for each one. They all laugh, but he looks quizzically at his hand until he says "there it is", looking at the groove between his ring finger and palm. Holding his hand out to Daffy, he says "it's stuck, can you help?" She pulls an exquisite little pale sapphire crown loose from the wrinkle there, looks at it in puzzlement for a moment, and then in sudden understanding places it on the blushing Forget-Me-Not's head.
Thermal says; "There is no queen in the Springtime, only the Princess, and as you are all Her Gift, so you are all princesses."
Thumper, and Harry, who has reappeared sitting cross-legged on top Thermal's hat, nod in agreement, but Mustard looks puzzled and asks; "Are we a Gift She was given, or a Gift She gives?"
Harry says; "yes", and Thermal nods in agreement, which makes Harry nod hugely and everyone else giggle. Thermal says; "Well, it's a long story...", and suddenly they are all saying "ooh, ooh, a story, a story, tell us the story!!"
Thumper jumps down onto the keyboard, printing the word "please" on the screen, and settles himself against the screen. Harry bounces down alongside him, snuggling into a corner alongside some letters, and the flower-fairies settle onto and about them, along with a couple dozen more who suddenly come flitting in from the corners of the Home and outside. Some settle into Thermal's pockets, and others onto his hat, until Thermal and the computer desk look like a florist's workbench.
Thermal says "well, it's a bit scary and a bit sad in some places", and the Fairie's eyes all get large and they say "ooohhh", but he sees by their eyes and the way they hug each other that they are going to make him tell it, so he begins.
"Well, children," (Harry scowls at this, for he is maybe as old as the roots of the Great Tree, which he somewhat resembles) "for there are some stories before which we are all children, and this is one of those stories," (Harry's scowl changes to a look of deep understanding, and he nods and smiles), "This is the story of how the Maiden came to be, the story of The First Springtime."
Thermal closes his eyes, and opens them upon the realm in which Time has much less grip upon the spirit, and takes them all back and back through time, as stars whirl about them and then fade out into a great darkness, and he says "And here is where it began"
The Birth of Springtime
Long ago, before there were suns to make the daylight or planets to measure the hours with their turnings, there was only the All-Mother and the All-Father.
They were not Father or Mother then, only Time and Space, for They had not yet given birth. And so they lay in each other's arms, neither vast or tiny for there was no way to measure size, and neither eternal nor momentary for there was no way to measure duration. And they lay in each other's arms with nothing to measure them, and nothing to measure save each other. So they measured each the other, and in that measuring Space became filled with Wonder, and that wonder came forth from Her, and was born.
Now Space and Time became the all-Father and the All-Mother, for He had quickened Her, and She had given birth, and Their child, Wonder, was the Mother of Mothers, for in Her birthing she had caused Space to become a Mother. And Wonder was the Father of Fathers, for in His quickening He had caused Time to become a Father. As She was given birth, so did She give birth to Them, and as this does not yield to knowing, so the Mother of Mothers is also called the Mystery of Mysteries, the act of giving birth. And so She is the first and oldest of all the Magicks.
So it was that having become All-Father and All-Mother, and having a midwife to attend Them, They coupled mightily, and gave birth to all things. And They are still coupling, and giving birth, for they are the Endless and the Eternal.
Light, which illuminates and awakens, and Darknness, which conceals and gives rest They brought into being. Hatred, which destroys and wounds and drives things apart, and Love, which creates and heals and draws things together They gave birth to. Stars and Planets, Galaxies and atoms They begat, and then, in that mighty first birthing, they gave birth to Life.
Life was twins, a Youth and a Maiden, innocent and tiny, and beautiful beyond understanding. And They cried out when they were born, and that cry was "I KNOW".
It was not the cry of wisdom, which says "I know" of little details and understandings, but the cry of innocence, which says "I know" of awareness itself, and is made of wonder and astonishment. And Their cry rang through the universe being born, and all the beings there were awakened by it to their own knowing, and turned to look at the Youth and the Maiden.
Love, who was at the other ends of the new Universe drawing things together, felt the touch of Life in that cry, and turned to look, and was awakened to being more than just the force which draws stars and planets and atoms together, and reached out to embrace and comfort this new being. And Life reached towards that embrace, and they embraced, and all the Universe was held within Their embrace.
Hatred, who could not abide Love, or embraces, heard the cry, and awakened in anger, and sought to escape the sound of knowing, and the embrace of Love, and fled into the shadows and silent places. But Life's cry had touched Him, and given Him awareness and meaning, and even He was moved by her beauty and innocence, and so from the shadows He sought to protect Her. And Life, in Her knowing sought to embrace Him, and He fled Her embrace.
Light, who ever dances with Darkness in the Great Dance which is called the Universe, looked upon Life and Love in their first embrace, and illuminated Them, and was so filled with delight He poured his power to awaken upon Them, and returned the Vision of Their embrace to all the places which Light can reach.
Darkness would have embraced Life also, but could not abide the Light which illuminated and filled it,and so fled to be shadows and coldness. But Love had felt the desire for that embrace, and reached out to Darkness, and Life reached out with Her, and touched the heart of Darkness, and they embaced, even there in the shadows beyond light or warmth.
So the infant Maiden and Youth gave knowing and Purpose to the first-born of the Gods, and each of Them gifted the Infant Life with some of Their Power. And Life had touched all things, from the warmest Love to the coldest Hatred, and from the brightest Light to the Darkest Shadows.
So Life drew all these Powers together and became the Mother and Father of Life, and gave Birth to all the things that Live, and filled the new Universe. For long and long Life danced in the sunshine, and the Universe rejoiced.
But as Life learned more and more of Wisdom, and lost more and more of its innocence, it forgot that the Powers which had been given it in the beginning were Gifts, and began to seek to rule over the Firstborn, and even the All-Mother and the All-Father.
So began the Great War.
The Father of Life allied himself with Hatred, who vowed to help him protect the Mother of Life and all their children, and They sought to rule over all Power. But they forgot that the Power they sought to take was a Gift, and could not be taken. And they failed to understand that the firstborn are all Freefolk, who may be defeated but cannot be conquered, and all attempts to rule Them will lead to disaster.
Even then the All-Father and All-Mother and the Firstborn would have yielded, out of Their Love for the Mother of Life, but They could not, for They were the Will of their Powers, and bound to do and be Free. And the All-Mother, to make a balance for the fierce tyranny of The Father of Life, gave birth to Death. The Mystery of Mysteries Held Death forth, but Life snatched Him from Her hands, and embraced Him and raised Him up as foster-child and hostage and sought to use Him to Rule.
And the All-Father made the Great Scythe, which reaps all things, and began to swing it for the first time. And the All-Mother made the Black Cauldron, into which all things must fall, and set it to swallowing all things which Live.
So Love and the Mother of Life wept for the children of Life as the War raged, and the blood of the innocent fell upon the Earth, and Death shaped the form of Life to be fierce and hard and dangerous.
But in the end Life became too cruel and hard and certain, and lost the beauty of its innocence. And although Light and Love had allied Themslves with Life, Darkness had allied Herself with the Eldest. Hatred, looking at the Life the Great War had shaped, could no longer see the innocence and sweetness which had touched him at the birth of Life, and turned to aiding the Eldest. So it was that Life and Light and Love were defeated.
And all the Universe fell into cold and darkness, and all Light and Life were swallowed up, and Love wept alone in exile with no Living thing to embrace and heal.
For long and long it was so, but the Mother of Mothers was still about, visiting with the mourning Love, and then with the Eldest, who were also mourning, for although they had been victorious, they had Loved Life and were sad that They had had to defeat it. And so the Mystery of Mysteries, the First and Greatest of the Magicks, spoke to Them in that cold and vast and empty court, with Darkness and Hatred and Death attending, and reminded Them of the Time before the Great War, and of the innocence of Life.
And They remembered, even Death and Hatred, and the memories of Love broke the bonds of exile away from Love, and She came to be with Them at Their court. And She spoke to Them of the Great Dance, how Light had danced with Dark, and how Life had danced with Death, and She looked upon Hatred, and perhaps He remembered some of their own steps and circlings. So the Mysteries of Love and Hate danced their part of the Great Dance, and Darkness and Death watched bereft, and wished for their partners Light and Life, and the Eldest looked upon Them and thought of forgiveness.
So the belly of the All-Mother became filled and round again, and the glow shone through Her, and She freed the bindings upon the Cauldron, releasing the Life which had been gathered there, and She again gave birth to Light, and to Life. And They were even more innocent and beautiful, sweet and gentle than before, for They had ben Loved, and longed for, and returned in greater measure to fill that longing.
The All-Father looked with delight upon Them, and drew forth some of the Seeds He had gathered in his great reaping, and cast them about the newborns. And Light quickened them, and flowers bloomed all about, and the Maiden laughed in delight. So he gave them to the Maiden, the seeds of all the flowers, and She ran laughing and dancing across the World, casting them about and watching the flowers burst forth, and dancing with them. And the All-Father laughed, and slung his great scythe across His back, and took up the seed-bag wherein He had put the seeds of all living things, and followed Her sowing Life. So innocence, and Time, and reborn Light danced across the awakening Earth, renewing the Life there.
The All-Mother was exhausted from Her great birthing, and calling the newborn Youth to Her, asked Him to sit upon the Throne of Power, and to listen to the counsel of the Mother of Mothers, and to be the Master of the Wheel while She rested Herself. And the counsel the Mother of Mothers gave Him was the Love of Children, and the desire to care for Them. And the All-Mother went to rest Herself upon Her own bosom, and the Universe was given over to Life and celebration.
So the Great Wheel had turned for the first time, and a New Year was born. But springtime is about rebirth, and renewal, and forgiveness, and so this, the second coming of Life, was the first Springtime.
(Here the Vision shifts from that Springtime to the next, and then the next, and then faster and faster until the flickering visions of Springtimes beyond counting blend together, and they seem to form a face. The face is that of a young maiden, glowing with sweetness and gentleness and Love, and beautiful beyond measure or understanding. She looks at Thermal, there in that realm in the shifting robes of Time, and he is looking at Her and weeping, and smiling in Love and delight at the same time. She reaches out, and touches one of his tears, and his face changes for a moment into the face of an impossibly handsome youth, and She also is smiling in Love and delight, although a few tears are trickling from the corners of Her eyes. For a moment the Vision holds, but then it flickers into Visions of slowing Springtimes, and comes to a stop with Thermal looking at a little crowd of fairies.)
They are all shaking themselves awake from the Vision, some laughing, some crying and hugging each other, and Daffy flies up to Thermal and touches one of the tears still wet on his cheek, and says; "believing your own stories again, huh?" He laughs and says "I have believed that story for a very long time", and doesn't mention the wetness still glistening on Daffy's cheeks.
A great owl hoots outside, and for a moment Thermal is given a little stream of thankful flower-hugs as the Fairies flutter up and by him out the door, singing a song about "the hunter in the great dark night", until there is only Thermal and Harry and Thumper sitting there at the keyboard.
They sit together in silence, and for just a moment Thermal's thick and wrinkled and leathery hand has Harry's small and rough and rootlike hand and Thumper's soft and furry and surprisingly handlike paw clasped together with it, and they nod to each other, and Thermal gets up and goes off to his bed.