Unholy Mistletoe!

A wonderful Holy Day of Rézhíní to you!

Rézhíní is the Goddess of Plants, lover of peace and forgiveness, bringer of hope, and maintainer of innocence.

She's dead, but She's not *dead* dead, because She's still here, isn't She?

Yes, the blonde and beautiful Rézhíní is best known for her untimely death. One day, long ago, She began to have dreams forshadowing Her death. Her father Sozho extracted an oath from all people and things not to harm Rézhíní, thus making Her presumable invulnerable. But the trickster Zhíanoso discovered that the mistletoe was the one object in the whole of the Universe from which Nuvíní had forgotten to extract such an oath. He then tricked Rézhíní's brother, the blind god Nazhoro, into shooting a branch of mistletoe at Rézhíní, which, guided by Zhíanoso, killed the wonderful and peaceful Rézhíní instantly.

The gods were shocked by this turn of events. Rézhíní's husband Huro went on a rampage, smashing everything He could find with his giant hammer. Nazhoro tried to commit suicide after hearing what he'd done, but His mother wouldn't allow Him. Instead, She urged Him to beg Pétíso for Rézhíní's release from His underworld. Nazhoro rode Nuvíní's famous eight-legged horse to Pétíso's abode and begged and begged and begged for His sister's release. But Pétíso wouldn't do it. It was against the natural order of things. Unless, He said, everything in the Universe weeped for poor, beautiful Rézhíní.

At Nazhoro's request, all the gods and everything in the Universe did indeed weep for Rézhíní, except for one god, Zhéporé. And so Rézhíní remained entombed in the underworld. The other gods, believing Zhéporé to actually be Zhíanoso in disguise, bound Zhíanoso in a cave and placed a serpent over Him so that its poison would drop onto His face. Zhíanoso's consort Hívuítoví, however, remained faithfully by Her lover's side to catch the drops of poison in a bowl.

It is said that Rézhíní will reappear at the end of this Universe to rule over the new age that will emerge from the final cataclysm. So just keep up your hope. She will return.