An Unearthing of Goddesses

An Unearthing of Goddesses Part 34

The island of the Fates was not far. They circled it a few times for courage before landing in what looked like a mixture of temple grounds and a crafting show – as marble colonnades and courtyards were completely covered in tapestries. They landed by a pool so the swans could swim as they made their way to the central temple. They heard cackling and hooting as they approached, then they walked under the central arch to find a scene they were unprepared to see.

"What in the halls of Olympus...?" Gaia cried as they came upon the Fates, their long robes hiked up above their knobby knees, standing on top of an enormous tapestry in their loom and jumping, gleefully and without abandon, up and down as if they were on a trampoline at an amusement park. Their grey heads were thrown back and they were laughing until tears came; one of them so out of control she fell onto the tapestry and rolled about.

Then they noticed their audience, who stood spellbound staring at them, their mouths agape. A fresh round of laughter emerged then, as they stepped to the edge of the cloth and let themselves down, Lhamo moving to extend his hand to each Fate.

The oldest sister, Atropos winked at him. "Forgive us our silliness. We need a little tension release from time to time. And not to worry about our mortal's tapestry here – he's a disgraced politician who deserves a bit of treading on. In his time, he never hesitated to tread upon many innocent lives. Now – you are Elementals, no?"

The Elementals had been so shocked they had lost all their confidence. Finally, Nandi stepped forward and made the introductions. Aurae held out the willow basket of gifts and Clotho, the youngest Fate, took it from her. When Aurae explained the balm was to ease pain in their hands, Lachesis was pleased.

"How did you know of our aches?" she asked.

"We are weavers ourselves you see," Gaia said.

"Yes," Atropos said. "We have seen your work. Where we weave lives, you weave nature."

Gaia nodded shyly. "In fact, we brought you some of our own work."

When they saw their hand-woven scarves, the Fates delighted in wearing them. "In all our days, no one has ever given us something they have woven," Atropos noted, tossing her colorful scarf jauntily over her shoulder, where it showered a few sparks.

"What brings you here to visit with us?" Clothos said. "Have you been sent by Zeus?"

"No, not by him," Nandi said. "Yet, he suggested you may be of help to us in our dire need."

"What need is that sister?" Lachesis was rubbing the balm on her hands gingerly.

"Let us explain." They gathered the Fates with them into a circle on a rich rug in the great hall and, while enjoying their almond cookies and ewe's milk, described to them the events happening in the heavens, the seriousness of the rift, and the plight of humankind.

"We will need to treat the universe as a tapestry, you see," Nandi explained. "And who better to help us than you. Are you willing?"

The Fates all nodded solemnly. "Our lives are also interwoven with humankind," Clothos said. "It is our destiny to foretell theirs." The Fates led them back to their loom and the slightly bruised tapestry hanging there.

"There is a thread that runs through the entire thing. You can see it if you try. Look – just there." Clothos pointed to a golden thread that just shimmered in and out of the design.

"Find this thread in the universe. It exists if you take the time to see."

Lachesis ran her hand over the tapestry. "You must find the proper place, where the thread is weak. You'll note something in the design will be irregular. Pull it up there, and it will start to unravel."