Aliente - The Buried Mother

The Buried Mother, or Earth Mother, is an old wives tail from The Bleak Reach. Yes, there are horrors in that land, but woe be upon you if you get lost in the mountains. The very rocks themselves will rise up to swallow you whole, at the bidding of The Buried Mother. Rumored to be a massive human half buried in the ground, she grabs the unwary who are never heard from again.
It is said she used to be human, until one day her children were taken from her. She made a deal with a devil to get them back, but was betrayed and cursed to live in the ground forever more. Maybe she feeds on those she takes, maybe she sends their souls to the devil to one day get back her children, or maybe she just has decided she wants new children to mother.

Her Story

An era ago, before the world fell into the ruin it is now, I was a simple woman living in a small, remote village. We knew of the war, and there were rumors of men planning to invade heaven, but such nonsense was beyond the concern of us in the corner of the world. We had peace, and we were happy.
I was in the garden with my children on that fateful day. A deafening crack split the air, and the world became wrong. Even after a millennium it is hard to find the words to describe it. The world was... blinking, in and out of existence. And then the maw opened. Hungry, swallowing the village. My children were not able to hold on and vanished. I dove after them, but the portal began to close. The earth wrapped my waist, sealing me, trapping me. But then, the energy... It is intoxicating...I could feel raw, divine power begin to course through my veins. I wailed in agony, and the earth wailed with me.
And so here I am. Forgotten to a broken world. *Wide grin* except for my children. Those lost, cast aside, forced to live in the harshness of reality. I find them, shelter them, make sure they never have to suffer again.