A Final Note (For the Ten of Wands)
“Mariah was my name. It means ‘bitter.' My mother named me so, for she ate little but rapini in her hard days of bearing me. She said its sharp bitterness was the only thing that eased her pain, but I think it was the only thing that matched her sorrow. For my father had died before I was born, and I was left alone with her grief.
I grew up bitter, too, and cared for little but myself. When my mother fell ill with a wasting disease, I did not tend to her, but left her to my younger brothers and sisters, who loved her more than I.
This is why I walked my path. I hoped to find the Old Gods and beg them, or rather, curse them, to take away my mother's life. I wished to be free from the burden of caring for her. I was simply not fated for sweetness. It was not my namesake.
But the Old Gods did not heed me, or if they did, they did so wickedly. I've cried out to them ceaselessly in this everlasting night, and I heard nothing in return. I suppose I have gotten my wish after all: I do not have to tend to my mother anymore. We will both be buried soon. She by earth, and I by bitter frost."