Welcome once more weary travelers! This week I'm bring you a new article for the RPG Blog Carnival and this month's theme of parties and festivals. A new holiday you can adapt to your own setting filled with a vivid snapshot of what the day is for and how it is celebrated. Along the way you will also find some delicious treats to ply your PCs with in there next town encounter. After you've read this month's Blog Carnival article check out last months, about spooky scary skeletons! If you are looking for something different then check out my sargasso sea encounter generator for your next nautical campaign!
Holidays and Festivals: Bone Fire
*St. Hansbål, by Nikolai Astrup
It is spoken about in myth that many centuries before the coming of the Nesimite people to the Valley of Many Waters, a prosperous but oppressive kingdom of elves occupied the valley. The myth speaks of the great evils they partook of and about their rivals, a kingdom of iron-mongering dwarves who waged war upon them. The war ended in one decisive moment when a circle of desperate elven mages attempted to channel a terrible and powerful spell but were disrupted at the worst possible moment. In an instant, a flood of necromantic energies was unleashed upon the valley, slaying the all of the valley's inhabitants in one terrible display of magical corruption.
For many long centuries the valley was uninhabited. Undead were a common sight to those that did brave the wilds of the Valley of Many Waters, though none dared tarry there after dark. After centuries had passed and the threat had receded from the minds of mortals, the Nesimites came from out of the strife of the southlands. By then the skeletal lurkers that plagued the valley were relatively dormant. A settlement was founded in the springtime and a community began to flourish.
Little did the Nesimites know, however, that the skeletal threat still lingered. On Lanternswatch, the longest night of the year, the skeletons of the Valley of Many Waters arose from their slumber and attacked the living. Out of a community of almost 2,000 people, only 197 survived. They vowed to never let a tragedy such as this happen again, for every year since on Lanternswatch, the skeletons of those who died in the valley still rise and seek out the living.
It was upon that night that the first Bone Fire was celebrated. Now each year at dusk on the longest night of the year, a massive bonfire, or "bone fire" in the old tongue, is kindled, and all the bodies of the dead that have died since the last Bone Fire are heaped onto the pyre and burned to ash.
Though the holiday began as a morose dedication to never let the undead trouble their lives again, it has become a celebration of life and life's ability to overcome undeath. All gather for two days of celebration and protection. Skeleton-shaped sweet breads are baked, merchants arrive with luxuries to trade, and a grand party is kindled in the villages of the Valley. The skeletons of the past have long since been burnt to inert dust, and humanity continues to endure in the harsh landscapes where they find themselves. Without celebrations like Bone Fire, humanity would not have endured all these many years. May the fire warm you and keep you safe!
*Village Feast, 1609
Preparations:
Though it started under grim circumstances, Bone Fire has become a celebration of life and death and people's power to overcome undeath. By kindling the sacred bonfires and joining together in the sacred dances, the people of the Valley of Many Waters reaffirm their humanity and help cleanse the land again in preparation for the coming year.
Bone Fire is one of the biggest festival days of the year in the Valley. Bones are exhumed and collected, wagons loaded, and families from all across the Valley make their way to their closest village or town. Along with their families they bring hand crafts, hides, folk art, pies, and tarts to trade and sell.
Bone Fire officially starts at sundown on the longest night of the year. Even so, up to three days before the beginning of the festival, farmers and other country folk start trickling into the villages of Cleafort, Hembdon, Ffasfurd, and Singlay and the towns of Vhaemrick and Naulcastle. The festival attracts more than just Valley folk. Merchants from over the mountains come to do their best business. Fine horses can be found at this time in Vhaemrick and Naulcastle hosts a wine tournament for the local vintners.
On the day of the holiday local musicians gather and begin to play as the fire tenders (usually clergy from the local temples) start to stack the large logs that will be used in the bonfires later that evening. Merchants gather and the Valley folk mingle, shop, dance, and await the coming ceremonies.
*Dutch Festival by Jan Thomas van Kessel
The Ceremony:
The origins of the holiday's rituals have long since faded from memory. But while their precise origins are unknown, all agree on how the ritual practices must be enacted. First the bones of the food animals are brought forth and deposited onto the bonfire, then more wood is laid atop them. Next, the bones of humans and other humanoid citizens are placed onto the unlit bonfire. The gathered masses then join hands in a series of concentric rings and the fire is lit by the tenders. The gathered host begins to dance around the bonfire and sing a round, a repeating verse about the destruction of evil and the triumphs of light over darkness and of the gods of the Valley over the gods of evil and undeath.
This goes on for a while until the entire crowd is running in circles around the bonfire, hands clasped together, singing now at the top of their lungs, all locked in an ever-building religious ecstasy until the first logs collapse. When this happens, the assembled crowds all cry out as one "Begone evil! Begone Darkness! Become sweet death! Become sweet life again!" Everyone then collapses in a huffing, puffing mass as the tenders continue to keep the flames lit. With the ceremony now complete, the crowds linger in convivial camaraderie as the event slowly winds down. After a few hours or so all that will be left will be the fire tenders, who will stay the night tending and stoking the bonfires until all traces of bone have been turned to ash.
Bone Fire is considered an auspicious day for oaths, and many are sworn in front of the fires after the dancing has ended. The tradition is to swear an oath upon a branch that has been carved from a willow tree inscribed with the oath-bearers' names and then cast it into the fire together.
Food:
Because of the anxiety behind preparing meat-based dishes and the threat of the reanimated bones of livestock coming back to life to attack the living, a number of vegetarian dishes have become staples of the holiday. The most popular among them include:
Skeleton Bread:
The traditional treat made especially for the Bone Fire holiday consists of a sweet, yeasted dough fortified with eggs and milk that has been shaped to resemble a skeleton and then glazed with a sweet honey frosting that is whisked until it turns white. These are sold by the cartload in every celebrating village or town for between 2 and 5 CP a piece.
Parsnip, Carrot, and Leek Pie: Sold as hand pies for around 1 SP a piece, these hardy root vegetable pies are seasoned with rosemary and imported chili flakes from the south. The village of Ffasfurd is renowned for their pies, and the village bakers and goodwives often debate about who has baked the better pie that year.
Cheese and Onion Soup: This hardy soup is thickened with old, dried bread, milk, and cheese and can be purchased for around 7 CP a bowl at the local stalls. This delicious soup is said to have originated in Singlay, and the town has a well-known inn there that serves the soup year round. Caramelized onions and roasted cheese are often served atop the soup to add to its richness and appeal.
Honey Fritters: Beside the ubiquitous Skeleton Bread, the next most sought after treat on Bone Fire is usually the sticky fried balls of dough known around these parts as honey fritters. The dough balls are found in every village and town up and down the Valley at this time of year and are a favorite treat of children. The entire valley gets its honey for these sweet delights from the apiaries of Cleafort and their fields of wildflowers. Most stalls will sell a rolled-up paper cone of them for 2 CP.
No comments:
Post a Comment