Lyhr

Lyhr is the mother goddess, from whom all mortal life stems. She is called Lyhr, or Médhū, or Mother Spring. She lives deep under the roots of Úr, gnawing on its roots for sustenance, and weaving new souls into being. They are then ferried across great underground rivers to reach the mortal realm and take form as living beings.

In the Primordial Age, when the world was young, all things were cold and bleak. Wol, eldest of the gods, wandered the wilderness tirelessly for untold aeons. At last, he sat down under the boughs of the world tree Úruz, to die. Lyhr found Wol there, frozen half to death. "Why are you sitting here," she asked, "waiting to die?"

"Leave me," answered Wol, "for I have seen all there is to see of the world, and now I am grown tired of it, as it is grown tired of me." Lyhr saw that it was true - though the snow-capped peaks and deep river valleys of Úr held great beauty, no things grew or walked or sang, and all was still and dead. She knew Wol as the god of death, and cold, and dark. Yet he did not know her - so lost was he in his own reverie, that he had not thought to look upon her.

"Open your eyes", she said. When he did, Wol saw that where Lyhr stood, the snow had melted and given way to blooming seeds, woken from their deep sleep underneath the earth. "I am Mother Spring," said Lyhr. And there was much rejoicing.