Othea’s Lullaby¶

A Tharun lullaby, traditionally sung to children at bedtime during the long winters in Greystone. The melody is simple — four notes, repeated, with a falling cadence at the end of each verse. Mothers hum it while working the fields. Old men hum it while dying. It is older than The Empire, older than the provinces, possibly older than the Covenant itself. Nobody wrote it down until 3A 400. Nobody needed to.

The green comes up, the green comes up, The root remembers the rain. Sleep now, little seed, sleep now, The green will come again.

The snow comes down, the snow comes down, The branch remembers the sun. Sleep now, little seed, sleep now, The cold will soon be done.

The wind goes out, the wind goes out, The leaf remembers the tree. Sleep now, little seed, sleep now, The world remembers thee.

Note: In the southern Greystone valleys, there is a fourth verse that is only sung when a child is very sick. It is considered bad luck to sing it otherwise.

The dark comes in, the dark comes in, The soil remembers the bone. Sleep now, little seed, sleep now, You will not sleep alone.

Folklorist’s note: Tharun oral tradition holds that Othea herself sang the first version to the first crop ever planted, and that the song is why things grow. Imperial scholars consider this a charming superstition. Tharun farmers consider Imperial scholars people who have never grown anything.