|
| |
Life to Death
Heaven: The Valgarin heaven is Valhalla, the hall of gods, where all
warriors and people of glory and honor go to spend out their eternal lives
drinking, carousing and enjoying all the pursuits they enjoy.
Hell: Those that are not deemed worthy by the crone aspect of Yrsa are
sent to Hel. A place devoid of color. Grey, cold and depressing, where the souls
live out their lives in shame. It is believed however that some souls can
perform an act so great and glorious that they are redeemed and allowed within
the halls of Valhalla.
Ghosts: The veil between the halls of Valhalla and the mortal world
are thin in Valgard. Many who have died return to the mortal realm to check on
their kin. And just as they were in life, ghosts can be helpful, hurtful, grumpy
or a host of other things. For the most part the Ghost is only seen by those he
reveals himself to. But this is a “relatively” common thing, and most Valgarins
are not shocked to find themselves face to face with their dead uncle Bob.
Valgarin ghosts will help lost travelers or complain you put to much cinnamon in
the apple pie and are ruining their recipe. Some of those souls sent to Hel do
escape back to the mortal realm, they are then either incredibly dangerous or
incredibly helpful.
Also from the website: "The dead are believed to return to the world
of the living as spirits if their bones remain, especially the skull."
Reincarnation: The Valgarins for the most part do not believe in
reincarnation. Valgard is a tough life. Valgarins work to survive their lives
and bring as much glory and honor to themselves so that they may go to Valhalla
and NOT return to the mortal plain. There could be exceptions to this, but for
the most part reincarnation is not a popular topic.
Marriage
Sometime after the betrothal and before the marriage the groom will selected
a man (usually a friend or brother) who is to be given the duty to escort the
bride to the marriage site. Depending on various factors the groom's 'best man'
may be dispatched from a week to a month or even more before hand to protect and
watch over the bride. This is uncommon however unless there is some threat to
the bride (i.e. during a clan war) or, as is often the case during arranged
marriages, a risk that the bride may try to flee. Under normal circumstances
however the best man will merely be present to escort the bride to the ceremony
site and act as her personal guard.
On the day of the wedding the bride goes first to the home of a friend,
relative, or some other site near to the wedding site. The female guests gather
at this place while the men move on to the ceremony where they will drink and
socialize with the groom. The female guests attend to the bride, and will tease
her telling her all the reasons she should not be getting married. This is
called the bride's 'Last Chance', and because it is the last chance she has to
tell the woman to preside over the ceremony if there is some reason that she can
not be wed. The tone of this rite is usually light, and humorous, although
occasionally someone may come forward with a serious statement such as 'I saw
him kissing your sister.' No men are allowed at this secretive proceeding save
the best man who is still bound to his duty to protect the bride.
After the Rite of the Last Chance is complete the bride, female guests, and best
man proceed to the ceremony site. The woman who is to preside over the ceremony
is ideally a priestess, however she may be any woman who is familiar with the
ceremony, rituals, rites, and prayers involved. Priestesses are not always
available, after all, so it is not unusual for a family member or close friend
to perform the ceremony.
After the guests are gathered the bride and the officiate go to the head of the
group. The bride sits or stands facing the crowd, and the officiate calls forth
the groom. The officiate asks what sacrifice he wishes to make to Yrsa. The
sacrifice is always a creature of some sort. Sacrifices made at weddings are
usually a livestock animal of some kind, a goat or pig for example. There is
some debate as to what is the best sacrifice. The rule of thumb is usually the
more valuable the better, though powerful animals, exotic, and anything that is
a threat to Yrsa's people or which displeases her. Newborn calves, stallions
that have never been ridden, and bulls are popular upper-end sacrifices, as well
as captured wild game such as stags, and bears. So more exotic sacrifices are
monsters, serpents, and, in times of war, captured foreign warriors have all
been used as sacrifices, and are thought to be very pleasing to Yrsa. Birds,
however, are never used as sacrifices.
After the sacrificial animal is presented the groom must slay it with a blade.
This is done outside so that the carrion birds may feed upon it. It is
considered to be bad luck with the creature is for some reason not slain
properly. If the blade the groom is to use breaks, if the creature runs away, or
if the groom can not slay it on his own, these are all bad signs. If the
creature is weak from poor care, or purposely weakened before hand in some way
it also runs the risk of displeasing Yrsa. Once the animal is slain the groom is
to cut it open. The officiate says a prayer to Yrsa asking her to bless the
marriage. She then takes some of the blood and anoints first the groom and then
the bride, and says a prayer to Yrsa for them both.
Once the groom and the bride are both anointed the groom must make his pledge to
the bride. This pledge is an oath that he will uphold all his duties as husband
for all of his days. This pledge can be as simply or elaborate, and can contain
as many elements as he chooses. He then chooses presents his gift to the bride.
His gift should be representative of his new role as protector and provider. It
is usually an ornamental sword or shield, but may be something that represents
his trade. When he is finished the bride makes her promise to the groom. As with
the groom's pledge, the bride promise can be simple or elaborate, containing
whatever elements she wishes. She then gives her gift to the groom. It should be
something that represents her new role as mother. Many times an egg or a goblet
is used. When they are finished the officiate calls upon Yrsa to see to it that
both uphold their word.
The Officiate then takes a knife and slits the right hand of the groom and the
left hand of the bride and then places their hands together so that their blood
mixes and binds their hands with blue ribbon or twine. The color blue signifies
new life, the binding of their hands signifies the eternal bond of marriage,
and the mixing of their blood makes them one family. She then hands the groom a
cup of wine or mead, which he holds allowing his new wife to drink, and she does
the same for him. When they are done they kiss and so begins their life
together.
After this the wedding celebration begins. Valgarins love parties, and weddings
are no exceptions. It is not unusual for people who have only heard of the bride
or groom, or know them through the cousin of a friend, of a friend, of their
brother, or merely happened upon it and decided to come too. The wedding
celebration takes the town of a small festival, with larger weddings, and
wedding celebrations can be expected to involve much eating and drinking, as
well as dancing, storytelling, various contests, and other activities which
weren't even part of the original celebration plans. The celebration may last
for hours, even days after the new couple leaves, with more guests showing up as
others leave.
Wedding gifts are usually given in twos and the more identical the better. This
stems from an old superstition, and a legend of a Thane whose wedding ceremony
was so perfect that Yrsa herself declared that she would curse anyone who
brought them to quarrel. The bride's uncle gave them a beautiful meara stallion.
The bride had commented to him weeks earlier how beautiful his horse was, so she
thought that the horse was her gift. The Thane, however, wished to have it as a
war-horse, and had his way. The horse died a year later during a battle, and the
Thane's wife never forgave him. The bride's uncle was said to have developed
lockjaw and suffered greatly.
Death
Death is considered a transformation from one state of being to another,
which is helped by the little sisters, i.e. carrion birds. The dead are believed
to return to the world of the living as spirits if their bones remain,
especially the skull. When burying the dead they first lay him or her out in the
open so that the birds may have their fill and clean the bones, it is both a way
of bringing the dead to the goddess and to give her and her little sisters their
due.
The bones are then laid in a mound or directly in the ground, depending on
status and wealth. With the bones the kin will put weapons and armor if it was a
warrior, fine clothes, jewelry and some tools if it was a female, in honor of
the deceased as well for him/her to use when they return. If the person is not
set in a mound, the burial site is often marked by a oval ring of stones, this
is especially done for sailors or those whose body is lost at sea, the stones
represent a ship that will carry them home.
The death of a loved one is usually followed by feasting and rejoicing to
stave off the grief of the lost, and renew the knowledge they will be reborn
elsewhere.
| |
Table of Contents
Character
Kingdom
Culture
Religion
Social
Stories
|
