Moon of the Sea by pandemonium_213

Chapter 5: Mystery

She padded barefoot on the cool stone tiles of her family’s villa and found her mother with her grandmothers, aunts and cousins tying intricate knots in the new fishing nets.

“Mama,” she said, her excitement mixed with trepidation. “It has come.” Then she grimaced when a cramp gripped her.

Her mother’s sun-burnished face broke into a wide smile. The womenfolk began to chatter and plan.

After she threw the symbols of her childhood into the sea and her old uncles and young boy cousins had departed, her mother whispered to her of the mysteries she would celebrate with the women that night.

“It is said that the steersman of the moon – Tilion - is a man, but in the most ancient of days, before our ancestors came to this island or even to Beleriand Lost, the moon was a goddess. We women know that is still true, but we must take care in telling our men of our belief.” Her mother placed her hand on Isilmë’s belly. “Rána – the moon goddess – will guide your body for many years to come.”