The Corn Mother is, far and away, the most widely worshipped Aspect of Saromata. The Corn Mother is the fertility goddess. By herself, she rules over the earth and the crops that spring forth from it; together with the Spring Maiden, she rules over human fertility. Since agriculture and reproduction are important to nearly every being, the Corn Mother is powerful indeed. Her consort is the glorious Sun Lord, for without his heat and light, her fertile fields would yield nothing but shriveled grey weeds.

The Corn Mother is placed in a triad with the Spring Maiden and the Death Crone. Each Aspect in the "life triad" relates to a different phase in the life cycle - birth and youth, maturity and fruitfulness, and then decay and death. Standing as she does in the central position of the triad, she understands the nature of the life-cycle better than either Spring or Death, and does her best to mediate between them. The Spring Maiden responds gladly to her overtures, but the Death Crone is more recalcitrant. She mostly ignores Fortuna, unless she suspects that capricious goddess is responsible for a sudden drought, flood, or other crop failure. While, like the rest of the pantheon, oppose the Dark Queen on principle, there is little opportunity for direct conflict between this Aspect and Evil.

Everyone prays to the Corn Mother. Agriculture is necessary to life, and her blessings are sought before every planting and harvest. Those who want children pray to her as well, for she is the wellspring of fertility. A few, odd merchants have tried to leverage "fertility" into "investment growth," but the clergy uniformly shake their heads. The Corn Mother is firmly tied to life and living.

Altered versions of the Corn Mother are worshipped, where appropriate. For instance, in Soustons, where the bounty of the sea is more often harvested than the bounty of the field, she is styled a "Fish Mother." Some reclusive hermits or other odd folk, living secluded lives in the wilderness, prefer to worship her as an Earth Mother, representing the bounty of the wild. (This is different from the Forest Maiden, who embodies the untamed spirit of the wilderness).

Religious art shows the Corn Mother as a full-bodied matron, usually crowned with a wreath of wheat and carrying fruit or vegetables in a fold of her gown. Occassionally, she is shown pregnant. There is no consensus in the art for a symbolic bird - chickens, with their daily bounty of eggs, are perhaps the most common. But the clergy laugh at the idea, insisting that birds eat grain, so representing the Corn Mother as a bird is ridiculous. Her symbol is a stalk of wheat; a real stalk or a pendant of the head of the stalk will do.

The Clergy

The Corn Mother's clergy is the most numerous in Saromatia. Many small landed Ladies are initiate priestesses in her church. Any who are not try to secure the services of a priestess. Anyone who has land to farm tries to find a priestess of the Corn Mother to keep it fertile. Priestesses and devoted faithful of the Corn Mother can expect a welcome from a kindred spirit almost everywhere they go. While these connections often lack the influence of those known to the Warrior Maiden's clergy, they are more numerous.

The clergy of the Corn Mother know how to make crops grow. They have discovered the secrets of field rotation and fertilization. They understand selective breeding to improve crops. They know what to plant when, how deep in the soil, and next to what else. They often develop a good weather sense (to predict the dates of the last frost, for example). In the winter, to stave off boredom, they may experiment with fertilty treatments for men and women.

Shrines and Temples

It is said that every well-tended field is a temple to the Corn Mother. Aside from the fields of the land, there are a few more traditional temples. The Corn Mother is of course represented at the Temple of Saromata in Garonne. Two other temples can be found in the cities of Tourilac and Soustons. It is in Soustons where she is known as the "Fish Mother."

Many castles and keeps have a shrine to the Corn Mother within their walls. In this small sacred space, the lady of the manor (or the priestess she supports) will perform certain ritual preparations. However, these ceremonies usually end out in the fields, with a large audience.

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