Mother Awakens

I felt it happen slowly, the awakening. It started with a single whisper in my head, a plea for help. Over time the single plea grew into a chorus then an army until finally it grew loud enough that I could no longer ignore it. So, I awoke my eyes, the creatures of the wind. All manner of winged animals offered me their sight; I was not pleased with what they had shown me. A new species had come to the planet and they were harming my children. They called the foreign aliens the Virtue. My children had sought out company from the stars for generations. Though I made for them every plaything imaginable their hunger for more was insatiable. Nothing on the planet could compare to their intelligence. They felt nothing understood their desires. When the Vertue reached out to they celebrated in delight, finally they would have someone knew to learn from and study. With naive hope they welcomed the Vertue into their homes, onto their soil.

 Oh, how my poor innocent children loved them. But their love was not reciprocated once inside their homes the Vertue changed, they showed their true colors. Vertue were not a race of peaceful seekers, but one of warriors and conquerors. When they saw the crude weapons, my children had built The Vertue did not see the wonder in their eyes but rather the easy prey they would make. So, the aliens began with bloodshed, their sights set on the gold and iron running through my veins, killing any who stood in their way. My poor vulnerable children, I watched as they fought tirelessly against their adversaries, I watched as their blood was soaking the ground. I saw horror after horror across the globe, I knew I needed to defend my sons and daughters. 

So, I woke up my hands, I drove all manner of clawed and fanged creature forward giving them the strength of their ancestors. I gave life back to the bones of the extinct razing the great mammoths and saber toothed tigers from their graves. Vertue began to fall to the beasts and the humans strengthened me with their hope. The insects joined the fight grouping together to terrorize strong holds. The ants carried off armies burying them in their intricate tunnels. Termites destroyed anything they created. Wasps swarmed the Vertue tents and homes. The enemy was beaten back, but soon they returned with larger weapons and even greater destruction. Vertue do not give up easily, for they were conquerors of galaxies, they did not understand the great powers that were against them. 

 It was time to awaken my arms, the trees and vines across the planet untwisted and flourished. The branches of the ancient Sequoia shot farther into the air tearing into the hulls of enemy aircraft. The roots of the oak trees and the vines of the morning glories snaked through the enemy camps tearing apart their bases. Vertue fled their camps as the venus fly traps grew large enough to swallow them whole. Mushrooms spread their poison spores into their lungs rotting them from the inside out. Even the roses remembered the strength of their thorns growing them into daggers for the adversaries to tread on. I thought that would be the end of them. No one had survived the strength of my arms in a millennium.  

Yet still the Vertue persisted they hacked away at the sequoias and uprooted the oaks. They tread on my roses crushing them into dust. My children cried out ever louder for my help. I never ignore my children. So the full awakening began. The ocean started churning as the fish grew restless. Mountains began rolling into place. I felt my lungs rise and fall with the tides as I greeted my old friend the moon. Though my ancient bones were sore from slumber I gathered my strength and began awakening my weapons, the monsters from the deep and the gods of the mountains. The power of a thousand generations of prayers flowed through me. Just as I did not forget my children, they did not forget me. 

With all my mighty strength I drowned, crushed, and clawed the attackers. Every blade of grass turned to nails under their feet. Every morsel of food turned to ashes on their tongues. All their ships sank, and every aircraft was blown from the sky. My reach was infinite, I swallowed their armies whole while restoring the cities of my children. There was not a place they could run to nor a cave they could rest in, I sought every last enemy out The Vertue had woken me, and they would feel my wrath.

 The Vertues finally began to realize who I was, an old god, still very much alive. Their ships turned tail and tried to flee my surface I caught them in my winds and crashed them back into the sands of my desserts. Some foolishly tried to hide from me, but where can you hide on the skin of your adversary. When the last of their bases were destroyed and every ounce of Vertue blood was sprayed across the earth only then did I begin to return to my slumber. I put the mountains back into their seats. I calmed the tides and made gentle the animals. My weapons slipped back into the depth of the oceans and crawled back into their caves. The mammoths and sabers returned to their graves, and the roses once more held beauty in their petals. I relaxed into slumber once more, surrendering my power to the soil around me allowing it to produce vegetation and beauty once more.

My children rejoiced at the fall of their enemies. Though in their relief I also felt their sadness. How they had longed for a worthy companion to search the stars with. Now they were cleaning up the carcusses of dead Vertue. It was for them that I allowed one small Vertue ship to leave my clutches. With them they would carry the news of my strength across the universe. Perhaps it was cruel of me to drive away any chance of new encounters but I could not risk the Vertue or another like them coming again. No, by allowing the last Vertue ship to leave I assured that everyone would come to fear my children. No one would try and lay a hand against them ever again. If they did, I would be there ready to defend my bloodline and crush any who dared to harm them.  

--------------------------Vertue ship 30317--------------------

The last Vertue commander looked out the back window of his ship as they sped away from the planet. He still could not believe they had lost. The crew of the ship looked at him with fear in their eyes. “send a message to the home world. “Stay away from the planet earth the humans have worshiped the planet as their mother. It protects them as her children, for any who tread on her surface all hope is lost. An old God has made earth her resting place, no one can save those who awaken her. ”