Topic: All Hallows Eve

Imrathion Tathar

Date: 2007-10-30 22:20 EST
October 31, present
Twilight

Although Glenn had been spending much of his time the past couple of days in his room at the Red Dragon Inn, today was different. Today, he had something important to do. He changed into his finest clothes, which consisted of his white long-sleeved dress shirt tucked into his dark blue jeans, worn with a simple black leather belt and his trusty pair of brown leather work boots. For a second, he thought to dig his only suit out of his steamer trunk, but it was probably too wrinkled. And besides, his task for the evening would probably end up ruining it. Plus, although he would be mourning, he wasn't much in the mood to wear his mourning clothes. Before Glenn left, he did open up the trunk and dig around in there for a few moments. He pulled out an old lace-embroidered handkerchief, put it in his pocket, then threw his father's old cloak over his shoulders. He pushed the door to his room open quickly, walked down the staircase, and slipped out the back door.

He stopped first at the Marketplace, where he quickly found a store selling adventurer's gear. Glenn bought flint, tinder, and a bucket, then left the store and starting the long walk south towards the glen. As always, his eyes glanced over to the RhyDin orphanage as he passed by, but this time, he also looked to the cemetery. He felt a shiver crawl up his spine when he did, so he quickly turned away from the graveyard and kept walking south. After a few minutes of walking, he found himself in the glen. He picked his way through the trees and navigated the hills until he was on the western side of the glen, the clearing next to the lake. As he entered, his eyes glanced up towards the sky, which was a bruised purple in color, with the occasional red-orange highlights thrown off by the dying sun. The sun's almost down, he thought. I'll have to hurry if I want to get it done before then. Working quickly, and with an eye on the horizon, Glenn started to set up a fire pit. The kindling he'd purchased was combined with some branches, twigs, sticks, and logs he found laying around near the trees surrounding the glade. As he worked, his thoughts drifted, to the last time he'd seen this ceremony performed.

Imrathion Tathar

Date: 2007-10-30 23:08 EST
October 31, 1 year ago

The priests of Sol had spent most the day setting up the bonfires on the beaches for the grieving citizens. Stones were carried or dragged in from around the city and the beaches themselves, and pushed into circles for the firepits. Kindling and logs for the fires were gathered and delivered to them. And a few hours before sunset, the lines started to form. The priests took this ceremony very seriously, but the rest of the populace varied in its behavior. Those who were mourning the long dead tended to treat the day as an excuse to celebrate, to drink a little too much ale, and to play with fire. Those mourning the recently deceased, however, tended to be a little more somber in their behavior. Glenn was among the latter.

He had asked Thane to come with him to the pyres that evening, but he'd declined. Thane's family was mostly intact, except for his grandparents, who had died before he was born. Thane's parents had long ago buried that pain, and for Thane, it was little more than a dull ache that arose whenever they told him stories about them. Glenn's wound was fresh, though. His father had died almost a year ago, and his mother was dying now, although he would mourn Lyndley, not Aidyn, tonight. Glenn carried with him a pair of his father's old denim overalls, and he himself wore his father's cloak and his nicest pair of canvas carpenter's pants. He hadn't felt like dressing up too much, to be honest, although many of those around him were using this as an excuse to break out their finest fall fashions.

Every year, it seemed like the priests would never get through the line before the sun set, and every year, the priests somehow managed to do so. Glenn peered ahead of the line, watching as grieving mothers, fathers, widows, and children performed the ritual. They would bow their heads to the priest, hold out the object they were sacrificing, and humbly offer it to the priest: a wooden toy, an article of clothing, old love letters. The priest would pause briefly, as if considering the object's worth, then accept it, tossing it into the fire behind him. Some people sobbed, some people thanked the priest, and some people just left quickly, only going through the motions to satisfy their religious beliefs. Soon, it was Glenn's turn.

Glenn turned his head briefly to the right, to see who else was there with him. A couple of fires down, he could have sworn he saw Haleigh, preparing to give a shirt to the fire, but he turned away as soon as the person looked his direction. The priest frowned at him, and Glenn quickly bowed his head sheepishly.

?Oh Priest of Sol, I, Glenn Woodwright, give you this, from my poppa Lyndley Woodwright.? As best he could, Glenn held out the large pair of overalls to the priest.

?Your sacrifice is accepted, Glenn Woodwright. May this offering reach Lyndley Woodwright as he stands by the right hand of Sol in the heavens.? Glenn struggled to hand the unwieldy clothes over to the priest, who hastily threw them in the bonfire. Glenn quickly scurried out of the way and joined the rest of those who had just completed the ceremony heading back for the city. For a moment, he thought he was going to cry, but he caught himself. It's only the smoke. It's irritating your eyes. Let's get away from there. And Glenn picked up the pace, almost running back to the city and his now-empty apartment.

When the last of the citizens had completed their sacrifice, and the sun had finally set, the priests sanctified the offerings as a whole, in front of those devout few who stayed for the entire ritual. They would stand guard as the moon came up, and would wait until the tides came in to put out the fires. Only when the fires were completely out, when no more black smoke drifted into the dark sky, would the priests leave their stations.

Imrathion Tathar

Date: 2007-11-01 20:59 EST
October 31
After Sunset

It was too late. The sun had set, and Glenn knew he had messed up. He had taken too long to buy the necessary materials, walk to the glen, and set up the fire. It was too late to turn back, though. He had formed the pyre already, and lit the kindling. All he could do now was watch the flames slowly rise up from the bottom of the pile to the top. Glenn slowly shrugged his way out of his father's cloak, and pulled the old handkerchief out of his pocket, clutching it in his right hand.

He stood just beyond arm's length from the bonfire, far enough away that he wasn't in danger of being burnt, but close enough that he could feel the heat all over his body, smell the smoke as it drifted lazily up towards the moon and stars. He bent his head and held the flimsy, fragile piece of fabric in both of his hands. ?Oh Sol, I, Glenn Woodwright, give You this, from my momma, Aidyn Woodwright.? And with a swift toss, the handkerchief started fluttering towards the bonfire, until an orange tongue leaped out of the wood and licked it. The wounded cloth quickly fell into the pit, and was quickly devoured.

Glenn lifted his head briefly to the now-absent sun, then turned to pick up his father's cloak. He paused briefly. Should I do this? Then, a firm shake of the head. Yes. I've already blasphemed by performing the ceremony without a priest, and performing it when the sun's not up, so why not do more than my fair allotted share? May Sol forgive me. He folded the cloak over his arm and again lowered his head. ?Oh Sol, I, Glenn Woodwright, give You this, from my poppa, Lyndley Woodwright.? With a quick shake of his arm, the cloak was in the pyre, and greedy red-orange teeth went to work on the black fabric. He stepped back a few feet as the smoke started to thicken, but did not take his eyes off the cloak until it was indiscernible from the rest of the ashes. That done, he suddenly fell his knees, weeping.

?That's- that's all I had left of them Sol. You've taken all I could ever want of them. Their bodies ? their souls. All I had left of them were ? trinkets, worthless to me. It's all gone now. To You, to my friends, to the rest of my family. I- I can't do this anymore. Gods!? ? and this word was shouted towards the sky, challenging the sun that was no longer there to hear it. ?I miss them so, so much. I-? and the thought was cut off as he buried his head in his hands, sobbing softly into his palms. By the time his composure was regained, the cloak had managed to stifle much of the fire. He went over to the lake and filled the bucket, then dumped the water onto the bonfire. Flames turned to embers, and embers turned to ashes as he repeated the process until the fire was extinguished. Only when he was certain it was out did Glenn leave the clearing and head back for the city, his clothing stinking of smoke and his eyes red and puffy.