Now in the warming seas where ice had ruled,
Great Nectarius felt his destined hour.
The frozen world no longer was fooled,
And life burst forth with new creative power.
He sought a bride to share his noble quest,
Fair Ambrosia, daughter of wise Jingu.
Her beauty filled his heart with love's sweet rest,
Her wisdom made their bond forever true.
Great Mithra blessed their union from above,
As Nectarius took Ambrosia's hand.
"From your united hearts and faithful love
Shall spring the kingdoms ruling sea and land."
Their wedding celebrated far and wide,
As warming oceans danced with golden light.
Ambrosia, the fair and faithful bride,
Would bear the heirs of eukaryotic might.
In time she bore him children, two by two,
Twin boys and girls of legendary fame.
First came the sons, brave Animus and true
Plantus, each destined for eternal name.
Then came the daughters, fair beyond compare,
Bold Opima, huntress of the sea,
And wise Cortica, who would prepare
The gathered fruits of earth's prosperity.
These four would rule the kingdoms yet to come,
Each taking up their destined, sacred role.
When time's great wheel had finally run,
They'd shape the world with body, mind, and soul.
Now Animus, the eldest of the four,
Gazed out upon the warming, living sea.
"My realm," he said, "shall stretch from shore to shore,
A kingdom of activity set free."
His spirit burned with restless, moving fire,
He could not stay in any single form.
His nature filled with endless, wild desire
To dance and hunt through calm and raging storm.
Fair Opima joined her brother's quest,
Together they would rule the moving realm.
While he provided motion's endless zest,
She'd hunt and guide and take the warrior's helm.
Their children would be creatures of the chase,
With beating hearts and muscles strong and fleet.
Through water, land, and sky they'd find their place,
As predators with senses sharp and sweet.
But gentle Plantus chose a different way,
He loved the golden sunlight from above.
"I'll capture light and live on every ray,
And feed the world with photosynthetic love."
Sweet Cortica became his willing bride,
Together they would harvest solar power.
She'd gather nutrients from far and wide,
While he transformed them in each golden hour.
Their marriage blessed by Aster's warming light,
Would bring the gift of green to every shore.
Their children, rooted, reaching for the height,
Would feed all life forevermore.
Now Plantus sought a partner for his art,
He needed one who knew the light's true way.
Fair Chlora, with her photosynthetic heart,
Agreed to join his realm by night and day.
She was a daughter of the cyan line,
Who long had mastered capturing the sun.
Her chlorophyll and carotenoids fine
Would make their solar conquest second to none.
Great Mithra blessed their sacred, symbiotic bond,
As Chlora entered Plantus's embrace.
Like Eve with Euka in the times beyond,
She found within his cell her destined place.
She wrapped herself in membranes, two by two,
And built her thylakoids in ordered stacks.
Her photosystems, beautiful and true,
Would capture light that nothing ever lacks.
From Plantus and his bride Chlora fair,
Came Plastidus, master of the green.
His chloroplasts would spread everywhere,
The most efficient solar machines ever seen.
Plastidus wed Cortica the wise,
Who knew the ways of gathering and storing.
Together they would claim the earth's great prize,
Their photosynthetic kingdom ever soaring.
They bore three children of the verdant line:
Fair Glauca of the ancient, simple way,
And Alges, who would make the waters shine,
And Alga, who'd advance from day to day.
Now Glauca kept her mother's older dress,
With peptidoglycan sequins bright and strong.
She chose the path of simple, clonal success,
Her daughters numbering billions strong.
But though her numbers grew beyond all count,
Her simple ways would limit her expansion.
Without the gifts that marriage could amount,
She'd remain trapped in ancient patterns' mansion.
Meanwhile brave Alga stripped away the old,
And built sophisticated, solar arrays.
Her chloroplasts, efficient and bold,
Would capture light in new and wondrous ways.
She wed fair Alges, and together they
Would revolutionize the plant kingdom's art.
Their children would advance from day to day,
Each playing their essential, vital part.
From them came Rhodes, the red algae's king,
Whose pigments caught the deeper, darker light.
And Vert, whose green descendants would sing
In forests, fields, and meadows bright.
But Animus and Opima's line
Would take a different path entirely.
Their children would not photosynthesize,
But move and hunt and live quite free.
From them came bold Ozymandias,
Who ruled the moving, hunting, breathing clan.
His children would build cities glorious,
And spread their kingdoms throughout sea and land.
Ozymandias bore two mighty sons:
Great Podius of the flowing, changeful form,
And dark Metamon, who with no one
Would ever share his cytoplasmic storm.
Poor Metamon, in his bitter pride,
Refused to wed or take a loving mate.
His children, born with no mitochondrial guide,
Would live in darkness, sealed by fate.
But Podius chose the path of love,
And wed fair brides with mitochondrial power.
His line, blessed by the gods above,
Would prosper in their destined hour.
From Podius came the great lineage,
That would divide in two great, noble lines.
One branch would build the fungal heritage,
The other, animals with complex designs.
But this tale of the kingdoms' birth
Must wait for future chapters yet to come.
For now, let's celebrate the worth
Of Nectarius and all that he has done.
His four great children, each with their domain,
Would rule the earth and sea and sky above.
Through sunshine, storm, and gentle rain,
They'd spread their gifts with everlasting love.
The plants would feed the world with captured light,
The animals would move and hunt and play.
The fungi would recycle day and night,
While protists would explore in their own way.
Thus from the love of Nectarius true
And fair Ambrosia's wisdom bright,
The eukaryotic kingdoms grew
Into the world we know today's sight.