The Mother Mountain

"Watcher and protector, mother of life. Shield us, shield us, we thrive in your embrace."

— Aradin chant

Sometimes referred to as Manoarn by the Aradin, the Mother Mountain is the largest in the Ranad Mountains, the source of the Meleatte River and is worshiped as a deity by the Aradin tribes in the area.

Appearance

The Mother Mountain is the tallest known mountain in Arad, visibly rising above others nearby by a third or more. It's peak is covered with snow; less during the dry season, it pulses out again during the wet season. Streams trickle down the face of the mountain, meeting at its base where the Meleatte River is first sources. A valley stands before the Great Mother, dry as are all within the Ranad Mountains, but greener than most. It has long served as an ancient home for the Aradin.

Significance

For thousands of years, the Mother Mountain has been considered sacred; the physical embodiment of a powerful nature spirit responsible for creation. The Great Mother, as she is sometimes known to tribes outside of the area, was supposedly born from the primordial, shapeless clay at the beginning of the world, fashioning herself bit by bit. She molded the world from it, including mankind, and has watched over it ever since in a form of stone. The mountains that surround her are said to be fellow spirits, her children.
Another legend states that her youngest child was blown away one day by a fearsome wind and was carried all the way to the coast of the Western Sea. The Mother Mountain wept for her orphaned child, her tears forming the Meleatte River, which flowed all the way to him. Without her care, however, the orphaned child would not grow to be as large as his siblings and maintains in the present day a child-like form. The Aradin knew the Orphaned Child as the High Hill in Thripia and the legend serves to explain its stunted size compared to the mountains of Arad as well as its proximity to the Meleatte. Manoarn, to the Aradin, represents the giving of life by rains and water. Her weeping is a form of self-sacrifice, sorrow endured to provide greenery and fertility to the desert in the form of the River of Tears. She embodies their cultural attitudes to compassion, expression and forgiveness.

Alternative Names

Manoarn, the Great Mountain, the Great Mother

Type

Geographic Feature

Parent Location

The Ranad Mountains