The gentle womanatee

Foremost on Bridie’s mind was the protection of the goats but she could not help but wonder about the womanatees who inhabit the deep waters of the lake. They would normally have left the lakes sparkling blue depths long before the first frost was hinted in the air, but this cold had come unseasonably early with summer’s flush still strong upon the land.
The womanatees would still be in their summer home and would not have even begun preparations to leave for the faraway oceans, by route of the river Waihotaitua on the far side of the lake. This cold would be perilous for the gentle golden whale-like creatures, whose skin sparkled like gold leaf in the sunshine. On bright sunny days they would reflect the sun’s rays back into the sky so it looked as though a second sun was shining from beneath the lake’s azure surface. Bridie fervently hoped the womanatees could escape the cold in time.

They were standing discussing whether to push on for the palace or rest here for a few hours, when the night became filled with a haunting song which slowly began to roll across the plains. It was so desperately mournful all who heard it felt utter desolation and became devoid of all hope. 

"Morosium!" Bridie whispered wretchedly. "It is the Morosium. It is spoken of in folklore but I hoped never to hear it in my lifetime." 

"What is the Morosium?" Finn asked. "It is not something I have heard tell of."

Bridie quietly shared the folk tale of the womanatee's which had been passed down through the generations and told to her as a young pup. - Battle For Arohanui -