"You have to understand," Ramon explained over breakfast, "Nick has a...shall we say...warped sense of humor. Comes of being blamed for all the worlds ills for 2-3 thousand years, I guess. Really, he's not like what it sounds. He made sure Faris was buried and he even found people to adopt the one dead woman's grandchildren. So...see?" "Oui," Lisbet smiled over her tea. "There's something else he said - for me to ask you about the goddesses." "Heh...that is a very long story, but I'll try to make it short." He could think better now that he was rested. "Those we call the Enemy, they started out just like us. Same as us, except they were the Sons of the Father. We are Sons of the Mother. Not that it should make a difference, but they decided it did. They decided we were no longer needed and neither was our Mother, nor anything feminine. They were going to take charge and remake the world the way they thought it should be - where men were dominant and women were subordinate creatures who had little more right than a slave in anything. They slandered us up one side and down the other. They called our mother terrible names and told terrible stories about Her. They slandered women in every way and blamed them for their own trespasses. They couldn't do anything about Mother, as She was their mother as well. So, they decided that they would cast a curse upon all the lesser goddesses and make them mortal. But one of them - the very clever one turned herself into a male when we caught wind of this. "We did not take it very seriously until one by one, they began to die. So, we were always looking for them to be reborn and trying to bring them back before they died or were killed again. This went on for nearly 2 thousand years. About 30 years ago, Star and Raq discerned that there would be a goddess reborn to a couple in Mongolia. Arman allowed himself to be reborn into this family as the eldest son, so he could watch over her from the beginning. And then a few years ago, Nick finally managed to find Lily before anything happened to her. It's like him finding her broke the curse. Or maybe it was the sacrifice Arman made of himself. He IS the Resolver of Enchantments, after all. After that, they found Iris and then Selena, Martyn's woman. Noel was born - she's just a little girl, but Nick, Lily, Star and Yaz take care of her and wait for her to grow up. Then I find you and it has become like a snowball rolling down the hill!" he smiled. "Am I a goddess then?" Lisbet asked hesitantly. "You are. If you think about what it is I control and realize that while I am part of this crew, I was better known in the North. Maybe got something to do with why you are so attatched to your blond hair," he winked and chuckled. "Will you tell me or not?" "You can investigate and find it yourself. It's what you do, love." ***** There is a whole backstory about what Nick went through to get Lily back, but I'm not going into it here. Here we see Iris after she's been told what and who she is and that she belongs with Ezza, on whom she had an instant crush. Thanks for stopping by, and for your comments and faves my dears. Thank you so much too for your own fantastic and inspiring art! Ray