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#Post#: 562--------------------------------------------------
The Longest Night
By: Kes Date: December 21, 2024, 2:39 pm
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[float=right max=45%][img
width=300]
HTML http://coraxcelticus.net/pictures/characters/wendy/ajawarren2.jpg[/img][/float]
[center]Wendy MacTiernan
HTML http://coraxcelticus.net/characters/wendy.htm
“To be rooted is to say, here am I nourished and here will I
grow, for I have found a place where every sunrise shows me how
to be more than what I was yesterday, and I need not wander to
feel the wonder of my blessing.”
― Kevin Hearne, Shattered [/center]
Druid of Ordú Croí de Ndúl (Verbena)
[hr]
[[Last night]]
I'd showered, alone this time. Mindful of the celebration ahead,
I kept my mind on both physical and ceremonial cleansing.
After, a deceptively simple robe, homespun lined in ermine, as
well as ermine-lined leather booties, were all I wore. With soft
prayers to the Cailleach, I methodically went through the house
snuffing each candle and fire, including turning out the lights.
A single, low flame would be all that would carry us through the
night.
A fire is set in the hearth, ready to light at the correct
moment. As I snuff the last candle, I turn to Ashley with a
smile. "I think this year will be the best. Auntie Agnes always
said greeting the light with your beloved the first time was
something extra special."
I'd sent Auntie Agnes her present early enough to make sure it
got to Arizona on time. A box of her favorite chocolates and a
soft throw to keep her warm through the remaining days of cold.
The oldest Auntie in the MacTiernan line always got extra
presents for Yule. I'd gotten small, thoughtful bits and bobs
from my parents and a new blend of tea from Sithneach, but
Auntie Agnes had gotten showered with everything from teas and
throws and shawls and, and, and. As the oldest Auntie, she was
the representation of the Cailleach, and was honored
appropriately.
I move up to the private ritual space we've set aside in the
loft, where our single, low light is set in the center of the
circle, and fold myself in the circle facing it. At the
periphery, several sacred objects, Scáthmhaide among them, wait
to be moved to the center in a grounding of the spiritual and
psychological integration with my physical being.
#Post#: 563--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Longest Night
By: BIGDoor82 Date: December 21, 2024, 2:53 pm
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[float=right max=45%]
HTML https://i.imgur.com/GAhvGTW.jpg[/float]
[center]Ashley “Duir” Hale
HTML https://docs.google.com/document/d/110wFfsFTJYjFifgI_o7htIHoE-N3PCnaFOZ7ONlcSRY/edit?tab=t.0[br]Witty<br
/>tagline here[/center][br][br][br]Wendy MacTiernan's Consor |
Brotherhood of the Oak[hr]Sabbats, our holy days, are great
times. We perform rituals and give gifts. Yule is one of my
favorites. Celebrating the shortest day of the year, the winter
solstice. My job, as with most rituals, sees me as a guardian
protecting the Druid from that which would see the ceremonies
disturbed, but also a participant in them as well. My druid will
lead, and I will follow.[br][br]Like my druid I too have ritual
garb. Fur-lined robes and boots as well as Lann'darach in it's
spear form. I help with extinguishing the candles, but move to
the ritual space before the Druid does. I'm there when she
enters, ready to protect. It's mostly for ceremony, but who
knows, maybe a giant troll will appear and break my
bones...again...
#Post#: 564--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Longest Night
By: Kes Date: December 21, 2024, 5:13 pm
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[float=right max=45%][img
width=300]
HTML http://coraxcelticus.net/pictures/characters/wendy/ajawarren2.jpg[/img][/float]
[center]Wendy MacTiernan
HTML http://coraxcelticus.net/characters/wendy.htm
“To be rooted is to say, here am I nourished and here will I
grow, for I have found a place where every sunrise shows me how
to be more than what I was yesterday, and I need not wander to
feel the wonder of my blessing.”
― Kevin Hearne, Shattered [/center]
Druid of Ordú Croí de Ndúl (Verbena)
[hr]
"We'll be here for a while, love." I pat the floor beside me in
the circle. "Might as well make ourselves comfortable." Over
twelve hours, in fact. Sunsets are ridiculously early. We're
here to keep watch until the moment of the solstice in the
morning.
I unfold briefly to invoke the quarters, finishing with "Gods
and Goddesses, those above and those below, we ask your blessing
tonight as we consign the past to the darkness where it belongs
and greet the return of the light."
I fold myself back down, settling in. Downstairs, a quiet melody
plays from the speakers. As the night goes on, it will play
recordings of my family telling old tales, some legends of
Cailleach and others, some recounting our family back to the
Wyck. At home, they'll be telling these live. I close my eyes
briefly and remind myself that this is home. This is the home we
chose to make ours, our Thicket. My eyes open and move to
Ashley. Yes. This is home.
#Post#: 574--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Longest Night
By: BIGDoor82 Date: December 21, 2024, 9:45 pm
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[float=right max=45%]
HTML https://i.imgur.com/GAhvGTW.jpg[/float]
[center]Ashley “Duir” Hale
HTML https://docs.google.com/document/d/110wFfsFTJYjFifgI_o7htIHoE-N3PCnaFOZ7ONlcSRY/edit?tab=t.0[br]Witty<br
/>tagline here[/center][br][br][br]Wendy MacTiernan's Consor |
Brotherhood of the Oak[hr][quote]Stamina 4 [Unrelenting] +
Esoterica 4 +WP D:7 -1 Quint[br][9, 9, 9, 8, 6, 5, 4] = 6
Successes[/quote]I smile, and begin my part of all this. We
already have one ley line going through our house, I use my
ability to manipulate quintessence to temporarily drag another
to converge with the natural one. It will eventually snap back,
but for now, I'd our little convergence. This ley line
convergence will help my Druid in her own rituals while it's
here, making it easier to cast.
#Post#: 579--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Longest Night
By: Kes Date: December 22, 2024, 12:31 am
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[float=right max=45%][img
width=300]
HTML http://coraxcelticus.net/pictures/characters/wendy/ajawarren2.jpg[/img][/float]
[center]Wendy MacTiernan
HTML http://coraxcelticus.net/characters/wendy.htm
“To be rooted is to say, here am I nourished and here will I
grow, for I have found a place where every sunrise shows me how
to be more than what I was yesterday, and I need not wander to
feel the wonder of my blessing.”
― Kevin Hearne, Shattered [/center]
Druid of Ordú Croí de Ndúl (Verbena)
[hr]
Because I want to see what's going on around me in the realm
beyond the physical, I mutter "Laissez-moi voir" with a twang
that invokes the heat of the bayou.
[quote]Arete, diff 5
8,5,5[/quote]
And for the night, or at least most of it, I can see the little
things around me settle in for this, the longest night. I also
see Ash pull the ley line in and can almost hear it audibly
snap! to the natural one that runs through right under the
house. In fact, where the natural line bisects the basement is
where Uncle Roland put in the cabinet.
I turn a sunny smile to Ashley. "If nothing else, it'll give a
little extra oomph to the trees."
We spend most of the night chatting, listening to the stories as
they come on, and, as midnight approaches, I quietly sing an old
song lamenting the dark and the cold.
Oh, the summer days are gone,
With the Sun, with the Sun.
Oh, the summer days are gone,
And the darkness lingers on,
And we hunger for the Dawn,
Of the Sun, of the Sun.
Oh, the days are never bright.
Where’s the Sun?
Where’s the Sun?
Oh, the days are never bright.
Every night a longer night,
And we hunger for the light of the Sun,
Of the Sun
After, the stories are replaced by quiet melodies with bodhrán,
flute, pipes, harp, lute.
Just after four, I stand and again invoke the quarters, then
lift my hands.
"As the light returns, we thank the Gods and Goddesses, those
above and those below, for bringing us through the dark and
renewing us with promise of warmth to come."
I take the low flame and walk through the house, relighting
candles. Just at the moment of the solstice, I touch the tinder
laid in the hearth, a little wistful at missing the bonfire in
Arizona. Perhaps we'll have one here next year, when there are
people who can stay up to watch over it. But I'm tired by now.
"I'm going to bed." I announce with a yawn. Chuckling lightly, I
"doo doo doo to the tune of the Beatles' 'Here Comes the Sun' as
I wend my way to the bedroom, step out of the booties and robe,
and slide between the sheets.
#Post#: 581--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Longest Night
By: BIGDoor82 Date: December 22, 2024, 12:41 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[float=right max=45%]
HTML https://i.imgur.com/GAhvGTW.jpg[/float]
[center]Ashley “Duir” Hale
HTML https://docs.google.com/document/d/110wFfsFTJYjFifgI_o7htIHoE-N3PCnaFOZ7ONlcSRY/edit?tab=t.0[br]Witty<br
/>tagline here[/center][br][br][br]Wendy MacTiernan's Consor |
Brotherhood of the Oak[hr][br][br]-Fin-
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