Season Avatars #AtoZChallenge: Quartets

Season Avatars, like the Four Gods and Goddesses, work in groups of four. Each group consists of one Spring Avatar, a Summer Avatar, a Fall Avatar (who's always female--the other three Avatars can be either gender), and a Winter Avatar. Each quartet of Avatars who belong together are always born in the same year. In Challen, the year starts on the spring solstice, so the Spring Avatar is the oldest (and by default, the leader, especially since the Spring Avatar can magically link the rest of the quartet), and the Winter Avatar the youngest. There are three quartets of Season Avatars, each in a different generation. One quartet will be born, grow up, and come together at the One Oak. Once they've proved themselves to the older generation of Season Avatars, the older quartet retires, and the new group serves for about thirty to forty years until the third quartet is born and comes of age. In theory, the transition between groups happens without fuss, but in practice, Season Avatars aren't always ready to step down. This theme occurs throughout the second, third, and fourth books in the series (the first book occurs before this system is established.) How do we know there are only three sets of Season Avatars? Because they reincarnate, which I'll discuss tomorrow for the letter R.