Amber and Blood - Margaret Weis [113]
“I think she always will be,” said Rhys.
Nightshade heaved a deep sigh. “I think so too. You know, in my travels I’ve seen the little shrines people are starting to build to honor her and I was hoping those would cheer her up, but the people who come to her shrines always look so sad themselves that I don’t think it helps her much.”
“She wants the people to come to her,” said Rhys. “She is the God of Tears and she welcomes all who are unhappy or sorrowful, especially those consumed by guilt or regret, or struggling against dark passions. Any person who feels that no one else can understand his pain can come to her. Mina understands, for her own pain is constant.”
“Woo, boy,” said the ghost.
Nightshade was never downhearted for long, however. After gathering up a few ghostly pouches, he bounced to his feet.
“Well, I’m off,” he said, adding cheerfully, “As Zeboim said, it’s time for me to go annoy the poor, unfortunate people in some new world.”
Nightshade reached down to pat Atta. His ghostly touch caused the dog to jerk awake and stare about, puzzled. Nightshade held out his hand to Rhys. He felt a soft whispering touch, like the fall of a feather on his skin.
“Farewell on your journey, my friend,” Rhys said.
“So long as there’s chicken and dumplings, I’ll be happy!” Nightshade replied, and he waved and whisked himself through the oak tree—just because he could—and then he was gone.
A bell ringing out from the monastery called the monks to evening meditation. Rhys stood up and smoothed the folds of his orange robes. As he did so, he felt something fall to the ground. A gold grasshopper lay at his feet. Rhys picked up the grasshopper and pinned it to his robes and sent a silent prayer of well-wishing along the stardust road after his friend. Then he whistled to Atta, who sprang to her feet and raced down the hill, herding the sheep.
Her pups chased after her, barking frantically and making little darting runs at the sheep in imitation of their mother. And though Atta cuffed them for getting in her way, her eyes shone with pride.
Rhys picked up one of the pups, the runt of the litter, who was having trouble keeping up. He tucked the pup under his arm and continued down the hill, taking his flock safely to the fold.
MINA
Goddess of Tears
Lesser Deity
Symbol: An amber teardrop.
Celestial Symbol: None.
Home Plane: Ethereal Plane/Krynn.
Alignment: Neutral good or neutral evil.
Portfolio: Grief, loss, mortality.
Worshipers: The desperate and the abandoned; the grief-shattered; those feeling trapped, suicidal; those who have lost all hope.
Colors: Black, purple, yellow.
The embodiment of the sorrow of the gods in the face of the world’s many tragedies, Mina (mee-na) is a mysterious divine agency who does not stand among the other gods of Krynn. Once the divine power of innocence, Mina was corrupted by and subsequently liberated from the plots of Takhisis and the other gods of Darkness during the Age of Mortals. Her trials have irrevocably changed her. Now, she is the patron of the faithless, the hopeless, and those who, either through their own fault or despite their best efforts, have lost what they hold most dear. She brings comfort in the face of sorrow, yet she is a constant reminder to the grieving that their pain is a real and necessary part of a mortal’s existence.
History
Mina is the daughter of Mishakal, Goddess of Healing, and Paladine, the Platinum Dragon. She was born out of their sheer joy in the creation of the world. Sister to Kiri-Jolith and Solinari, Mina was not counted among those gods who brought forth the world during the Age of Starbirth. Indeed, her existence was known only to her divine parents and to their wise counselor, Majere, who knew that if she joined them in the pantheon