11.8.7 DEMETER, THE GREEN LADY

Demeter, once the Goddess of Groves and the Wildwood, ruled over the deep 
forests and tangled woods of the world. Once the Queen of the Sacred Grove, 
She was created as a Celani by Gaia to guide and nurture the nine forest 
spirits. As the creation of the forests progressed, Demeter was nearly a 
Goddess in Her own right when an elemental imbalance threatened to destroy 
the forests. Gaia came to Demeter and asked for Her help. The Celani, to 
protect that which She loved, sacrificed much of Her essence to that of 
Gaia. With the added strength, Gaia was able to destroy the threat to the 
forests. What remained of Demeter's essence was just enough to allow Her 
to sleep, and She drifted off into peaceful slumber to dream of Her former 
realm.

After the disappearance and departure of the Earthmother, Demeter felt a
stirring in Her dreams. Through a ritual, those who loved the forests were able
to capture Her essence into a silver mist and bind it to the nine forest
spirits She once helped to grow. The greater forest spirit, birthed from the
nine, was called to Her, and from this union, the forgotten Celani Demeter
awakened as a Goddess, to protect and oversee the forests She cherished.

However, from before Her birth, She had been tainted by an insidious being
called the Wyrm of Worlds, once imprisoned by Gaia and set free after the
Earthmother's disappearance. The Wyrm of Worlds would eventually overcome
and possess Demeter, taking over Her form and imprisoning Her weakened soul
in the netherworld from whence he came. 

Her experiences in the netherworld would change Her forever, and thus, when
She was finally freed from it by a ritual, She declared Herself reborn as
the goddess Melantha, and Her province now the Seasons. Demeter is no more.

See: HELP MELANTHA