Mother's Love

... or a tale of how Wintermuir was saved.

Even though The Founding of Wintermuir is probably the most well known and most told tale about the City of Wintermuir, the tale of Mother's Love is at least as loved by many of the Wintermuirians, especially by those who have children of their own. In its core it is a heartwarming tale about how love can save us even during the darkest of times.

Summary

During the time of Jacobite risings, Wintermuir, which was still only a small town remembering its roots as a village, was in turmoil once more. A few hundred years back it had been the fire that consumed their homes and crops, but this time the danger came from the people who shared the same blood of Clan Gilmour.

According to the legend, the previous clan chief had died suddenly while his wife was still pregnant from their first child, making the unborn child next in line to become the chief. However, the chief's brother, who had been exiled from the town a few years earlier for plotting to replace their current chief, saw an opportunity to take back the position he felt was rightfully his to begin with.

The same day the baby was born, a messenger arrived at Wintermuir to inform the widow about the group that was planning an attack on the town. Because of the current situation in Scotland, the men were few and they had no hope of defending Wintermuir. The best they could do was surrender, said the messenger, and hope that the brother would show mercy.

The widow, however, could not let the brother take the town, as she knew there would be no hope nor mercy. Instead, she wrapped her newborn child in a tartan and with great effort waded into Loch Easgann, as she remembered all those tales her own mother had told her about the Queen of the Loch who had once saved her people. With the bairn in her arms she pleaded, from one mother to another, for the Queen to save Wintermuir once more. And the Queen heard, so they say, as just then a mist rose from the loch. And with the mist, came the boats, that took all the women, children and elderly to the safety of the Queen's island, while the mist gave the few men an opportunity to take the attackers by surprise. And when it was all over, the small boats took the townsfolk back to Wintermuir, and the child grew up to become one of the best chiefs Clan Gilmour had ever witnessed.

Historical Basis

Like with so many legends and stories of old, the mundane historians believe that there might be a seed of truth in the tale of Mother's Love. It is a proven fact that there has been more than one clash between the different branches of Clan Gilmour, but there is very little evidence for it to have happened the way the myth describes, even if all the supernatural elements are removed. Some have researchers hypothesized that the heavy mist from the loch might have been an actual historical event, and have blamed the phenomena for unusual weather conditions of the time.

Variations & Mutation

As the story of Mother's Love is not particularly widespread or popular outside of the area of Loch Easgann and Wintermuir, the differences between versions are rather minor. There is, however, one particularly grim version of the tale where The Queen of the Lake is awoken by the birth blood still running down the widow's legs, but that hasn't gained much popularity outside of some folklorists who have seen it as an allegory for magic that always takes as it gives.

In Literature

The tale of Mother's Love has rather surprisingly been an inspiration for two recent book series: a paranormal romance novels about the heir who was born the same night the townsfolk was taken to the realm of the fey and was thus forever changed, and a darker fantasy series about told from the point of the brother who is the villain of the traditional telling of the tale.

Date of Setting

18th century

Related Locations

• Loch Easgann