Fic: Ancient Customs
Ancient Customs
by Lara
Once more alice_montrose was so kind (and brave) to beta this; thank you! She also named this one, for which I'll be eternally grateful.
This whole thing is solely ariss_tenoh's fault, because she wondered whether Halloween is celebrated on Erna. And since I do owe her something for coming up with the name of a previous story... Names, obviously, really aren't my thing.
The snippet is following my other fics; it's a bit tricky because I'm drawing on some small assumptions I'm making in the fic I'm currently working on. I definitely need to finish that one before I write any more sequels to it.
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, plot, etc. are the property of C. S. Friedman. The original characters, settings and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with C. S. Friedman and no copyright infringement is intended. This work is an amateur fan effort and no profit is being made.
When Damien returned in the evening, Gerald was still in the exact spot where he’d left him at noon, seated at the window-facing desk with the same book still in front of him. A lamp had been lit at some point, and the stack of notes next to the book had grown somewhat, but those were the only visible changes.
It wasn’t surprising, or even unexpected, since Gerald could get rather focused when he found something interesting or useful. And when Damien had discovered this particular book in the local fae shop the day before, he’d known just what behaviour to expect once Gerald saw it. That was the very reason why he’d kept it hidden until this morning; he’d not have gotten any sleep otherwise, not with Gerald sitting up all night to study it. Seeing him now, Damien felt that his decision had been entirely justified.
“Any progress?” he asked, finding a free spot on the desk for the plate holding sandwiches. Gerald didn’t even spare them a glance, he simply continued reading for a few more moments, then reached for a slip of paper and carefully marked his place.
“It’s very interesting,” he said, then frowned when he noticed the food. He reached for the plate, then set it down on the floor with a faint air of disgust. “I should think that someone taught you about food and books, and how they do not go well together.”
Damien shrugged. “It’s sandwiches. They’re made like this for a reason.”
“I believe the intended use was for card games, though.” Gerald looked at the book once more, clearly torn between continuing to read and telling Damien about his findings. Eventually the need for discussion won out and he closed the book, albeit reluctantly, making Damien suspect that the avoided sleepless night would be inevitable after all. If Gerald decided to spend the night with the book, then it would be impossible to get a lot of rest. He never slept easily when he knew that Gerald was up to something.
He had known this was going to happen. A book on Earth customs and festivities, a first-hand copy of the original written by one of Erna’s first settlers. Religious customs and festivities, no less. Gerald had given Damien an almost excited little smile when he’d produced it this morning, and had then more or less told him to find something else to do for the rest of the day.
“So what makes it interesting?” he asked, retrieving the plate from the floor and putting it down on the desk again, farther away from the books this time. “Earth celebrations are not really going to get us anywhere, are they?”
“Perhaps not by themselves, but there is a lot of inspiring material contained in this book. The theological references alone would have been incredibly valuable in the past. I knew about the existence of some of them in the past, but not to this extent. And I forgot a lot.” Gerald gave the book a fond look, and Damien tried not to wonder what would have happened if he’d gotten his hands on it nine centuries ago. “All those parallels one can draw between old Earth customs and certain practices which have emerged here. Some of them may be helpful in our understanding of the fae.”
“For example?”
Gerald gestured at the book. “Take the account of the winter solstice celebration. It’s something many Earth religions had in common, usually with its roots in the belief that this is the time for new beginnings since the nights would begin to grow shorter again. One religion even celebrated the birth of its savior that night. Compare that to Ernan solstice.”
Damien considered that. “Long winter nights… I can see where the beliefs came from. But nobody is really attributing the same to the solstice here.”
“There is less reason on Erna to celebrate.” Gerald smiled a little. “Solstice is also one of the longest true nights every year. The time when the dark fae is strongest, when wraiths are born at a mere thought. A fascinating parallel.”
“I like the Earth version better. Far more positive connotations… perhaps we should start celebrating it. Does the book say anything about how that was done?”
Gerald briefly shuffled through his notes. “The author wasn’t affiliated with a particular religion, so he wasn’t very specific. He does mention feasting and gift exchanges. Apparently there was the belief, especially among children, that the gifts were brought by a man who descended through the chimney to deliver them.”
Damien sighed. “Better not celebrate it then. Even if the fae doesn’t react strongly anymore, I don’t want to imagine what would happen if suddenly children everywhere start believing that things come down the chimney.”
“Children do have very vivid imaginations,” Gerald agreed, picking another note. “There are similar traditions for the spring equinox. On Earth it was a sign of returning fertility, here it can be almost anything, depending on what is worshiped. And of course even the Church has taken up the notion of the summer solstice being a symbol for the sun’s victory over darkness. Not one of the Prophet’s ideas,” he added with a hint of a scowl.
“Of course not,” Damien quickly said, managing not to look too amused.
“What is important is that there are a lot of beliefs connected to these days. Beliefs our ancestors may have brought to Erna with them, even if they have been lost over the years. But the undercurrents may still be here. People may have forgotten why they are afraid of long nights, but they still fear them. And on Erna, that means that these fears will be reinforced. Until recently, at least.”
Damien gave him a curious look. “Earth religions are responsible for some of the mess we’re in?”
“Just so.”
“Wonderful.” Damien shook his head. “At least we forgot about the chimneys. Are there any other correlations?” He could see the fascination this topic held for Gerald. Earth-old beliefs, mirrored and changed in Erna’s twisted way. The knowledge wasn’t directly related to their translation project, but there were valuable lessons to be learned here about cultural changes and adaptation. The Iezu might have undergone a comparable process at some point, so it made sense to look at similarities and differences between human cultures to try and understand.
Gerald rested a hand on the book, absently stroking its spine. “A few more, yes. Incidentally, tonight will be another case of such an interplanetary parallel.”
“Tonight?” Damien quickly recalled the calendar. “The first true night of the season. Earth had a similar occurrence?”
“To some extent, yes. Some celebrated a feast of lights, others gave thanks for the harvest, and yet more prepared for the coming of the dark season.” He paused for a moment, and Damien could feel a hint of puzzlement through the mind bond. “It would appear, though, that the celebration eventually became rather abstract. From what I could gather, children would wear frightening masks and demand sweets from elders. And for some reason, pumpkins played a prominent role. It strikes me as very odd.”
“Pumpkins?”
“It might be a transcription error.”
Damien shrugged. “Probably. So what’s the Ernan equivalent? The first true night, the first really dangerous and quick manifestation of the dark fae? It would match the children… but the wraiths here hardly want sweets. It’s a good thing nobody remembers these traditions, or it would be completely impossible to be outside at night. We’d have been swamped in demons each year if everybody had expected scary things to be abroad this night.”
He wondered when these celebrations had been forgotten. The landing crew had known them, and surely they had passed it on to their children, and they to theirs. When had they realized that some of the demons and wraiths they were faced with came from their own beliefs? It had taken them over a century to understand the impact of their assumptions on Ernan evolution, so it would have taken at least that long to see the connection, and even longer to purge the knowledge. Two centuries, perhaps… but at that time such a coordinated effort to forget an integral part of their home culture would have been difficult to make. The Dark Age was hardly renowned for cooperation among the various little realms and settlements. That had only come with the Revival, and even then it would have taken a lot of determination…
Eyes narrowing, he looked at his companion. Gerald looked back calmly.
“Just wondering… the Prophet wouldn’t have had anything to do with these festivities fading from everybody’s mind, would he?”
Gerald smiled a little. “They were born from religious motives, and for many they were symbols of their faith. Certainly I won’t have to remind someone with your background about the Church doctrines concerning symbols, and why they are considered unnecessary. The Prophet understood that, in order to free mankind of the dependence on the fae, nothing which would evoke a reaction of that force could be allowed to remain rooted in collective memory too firmly.” He frowned. “Which in turn was misinterpreted and led to misunderstandings about the use of the fae in general, unfortunately.”
Unfortunately. For a moment Damien considered the results that particular misinterpretation had caused, and pushed the thought away. Sometimes he’d have felt happier if it hadn’t only been the personalities of the Hunter and the Prophet which had been purged, but also all the memories connected to them. But that wasn’t going to happen, so he’d have to live with those particular skeletons in Gerald’s closet.
“So the Prophet did away with some more excess baggage.”
Gerald nodded. “Just so. The celebrations may have been Earth relics and part of the settlers’ cultural identity, and therefore worth preserving, but on Erna, such beliefs would have been destructive. And survival is more important than history and identity.”
Not just mankind’s survival, Damien thought.
“But the knowledge might be regained eventually,” he said aloud. “This book, for example… it would no longer be dangerous to let its contents be known again.”
Gerald looked at the book pensively. “Probably not, no. The fae doesn’t react to thoughts anymore, so it would be safe to reintroduce these celebrations. It would be interesting to observe how people react to these discoveries. They seemed to enjoy some of the festivities in the past.”
“Including the pumpkins and the costumed kids?”
The look changed into a frown. “Perhaps a selective approach might be best.”
by Lara
Once more alice_montrose was so kind (and brave) to beta this; thank you! She also named this one, for which I'll be eternally grateful.
This whole thing is solely ariss_tenoh's fault, because she wondered whether Halloween is celebrated on Erna. And since I do owe her something for coming up with the name of a previous story... Names, obviously, really aren't my thing.
The snippet is following my other fics; it's a bit tricky because I'm drawing on some small assumptions I'm making in the fic I'm currently working on. I definitely need to finish that one before I write any more sequels to it.
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, plot, etc. are the property of C. S. Friedman. The original characters, settings and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with C. S. Friedman and no copyright infringement is intended. This work is an amateur fan effort and no profit is being made.
When Damien returned in the evening, Gerald was still in the exact spot where he’d left him at noon, seated at the window-facing desk with the same book still in front of him. A lamp had been lit at some point, and the stack of notes next to the book had grown somewhat, but those were the only visible changes.
It wasn’t surprising, or even unexpected, since Gerald could get rather focused when he found something interesting or useful. And when Damien had discovered this particular book in the local fae shop the day before, he’d known just what behaviour to expect once Gerald saw it. That was the very reason why he’d kept it hidden until this morning; he’d not have gotten any sleep otherwise, not with Gerald sitting up all night to study it. Seeing him now, Damien felt that his decision had been entirely justified.
“Any progress?” he asked, finding a free spot on the desk for the plate holding sandwiches. Gerald didn’t even spare them a glance, he simply continued reading for a few more moments, then reached for a slip of paper and carefully marked his place.
“It’s very interesting,” he said, then frowned when he noticed the food. He reached for the plate, then set it down on the floor with a faint air of disgust. “I should think that someone taught you about food and books, and how they do not go well together.”
Damien shrugged. “It’s sandwiches. They’re made like this for a reason.”
“I believe the intended use was for card games, though.” Gerald looked at the book once more, clearly torn between continuing to read and telling Damien about his findings. Eventually the need for discussion won out and he closed the book, albeit reluctantly, making Damien suspect that the avoided sleepless night would be inevitable after all. If Gerald decided to spend the night with the book, then it would be impossible to get a lot of rest. He never slept easily when he knew that Gerald was up to something.
He had known this was going to happen. A book on Earth customs and festivities, a first-hand copy of the original written by one of Erna’s first settlers. Religious customs and festivities, no less. Gerald had given Damien an almost excited little smile when he’d produced it this morning, and had then more or less told him to find something else to do for the rest of the day.
“So what makes it interesting?” he asked, retrieving the plate from the floor and putting it down on the desk again, farther away from the books this time. “Earth celebrations are not really going to get us anywhere, are they?”
“Perhaps not by themselves, but there is a lot of inspiring material contained in this book. The theological references alone would have been incredibly valuable in the past. I knew about the existence of some of them in the past, but not to this extent. And I forgot a lot.” Gerald gave the book a fond look, and Damien tried not to wonder what would have happened if he’d gotten his hands on it nine centuries ago. “All those parallels one can draw between old Earth customs and certain practices which have emerged here. Some of them may be helpful in our understanding of the fae.”
“For example?”
Gerald gestured at the book. “Take the account of the winter solstice celebration. It’s something many Earth religions had in common, usually with its roots in the belief that this is the time for new beginnings since the nights would begin to grow shorter again. One religion even celebrated the birth of its savior that night. Compare that to Ernan solstice.”
Damien considered that. “Long winter nights… I can see where the beliefs came from. But nobody is really attributing the same to the solstice here.”
“There is less reason on Erna to celebrate.” Gerald smiled a little. “Solstice is also one of the longest true nights every year. The time when the dark fae is strongest, when wraiths are born at a mere thought. A fascinating parallel.”
“I like the Earth version better. Far more positive connotations… perhaps we should start celebrating it. Does the book say anything about how that was done?”
Gerald briefly shuffled through his notes. “The author wasn’t affiliated with a particular religion, so he wasn’t very specific. He does mention feasting and gift exchanges. Apparently there was the belief, especially among children, that the gifts were brought by a man who descended through the chimney to deliver them.”
Damien sighed. “Better not celebrate it then. Even if the fae doesn’t react strongly anymore, I don’t want to imagine what would happen if suddenly children everywhere start believing that things come down the chimney.”
“Children do have very vivid imaginations,” Gerald agreed, picking another note. “There are similar traditions for the spring equinox. On Earth it was a sign of returning fertility, here it can be almost anything, depending on what is worshiped. And of course even the Church has taken up the notion of the summer solstice being a symbol for the sun’s victory over darkness. Not one of the Prophet’s ideas,” he added with a hint of a scowl.
“Of course not,” Damien quickly said, managing not to look too amused.
“What is important is that there are a lot of beliefs connected to these days. Beliefs our ancestors may have brought to Erna with them, even if they have been lost over the years. But the undercurrents may still be here. People may have forgotten why they are afraid of long nights, but they still fear them. And on Erna, that means that these fears will be reinforced. Until recently, at least.”
Damien gave him a curious look. “Earth religions are responsible for some of the mess we’re in?”
“Just so.”
“Wonderful.” Damien shook his head. “At least we forgot about the chimneys. Are there any other correlations?” He could see the fascination this topic held for Gerald. Earth-old beliefs, mirrored and changed in Erna’s twisted way. The knowledge wasn’t directly related to their translation project, but there were valuable lessons to be learned here about cultural changes and adaptation. The Iezu might have undergone a comparable process at some point, so it made sense to look at similarities and differences between human cultures to try and understand.
Gerald rested a hand on the book, absently stroking its spine. “A few more, yes. Incidentally, tonight will be another case of such an interplanetary parallel.”
“Tonight?” Damien quickly recalled the calendar. “The first true night of the season. Earth had a similar occurrence?”
“To some extent, yes. Some celebrated a feast of lights, others gave thanks for the harvest, and yet more prepared for the coming of the dark season.” He paused for a moment, and Damien could feel a hint of puzzlement through the mind bond. “It would appear, though, that the celebration eventually became rather abstract. From what I could gather, children would wear frightening masks and demand sweets from elders. And for some reason, pumpkins played a prominent role. It strikes me as very odd.”
“Pumpkins?”
“It might be a transcription error.”
Damien shrugged. “Probably. So what’s the Ernan equivalent? The first true night, the first really dangerous and quick manifestation of the dark fae? It would match the children… but the wraiths here hardly want sweets. It’s a good thing nobody remembers these traditions, or it would be completely impossible to be outside at night. We’d have been swamped in demons each year if everybody had expected scary things to be abroad this night.”
He wondered when these celebrations had been forgotten. The landing crew had known them, and surely they had passed it on to their children, and they to theirs. When had they realized that some of the demons and wraiths they were faced with came from their own beliefs? It had taken them over a century to understand the impact of their assumptions on Ernan evolution, so it would have taken at least that long to see the connection, and even longer to purge the knowledge. Two centuries, perhaps… but at that time such a coordinated effort to forget an integral part of their home culture would have been difficult to make. The Dark Age was hardly renowned for cooperation among the various little realms and settlements. That had only come with the Revival, and even then it would have taken a lot of determination…
Eyes narrowing, he looked at his companion. Gerald looked back calmly.
“Just wondering… the Prophet wouldn’t have had anything to do with these festivities fading from everybody’s mind, would he?”
Gerald smiled a little. “They were born from religious motives, and for many they were symbols of their faith. Certainly I won’t have to remind someone with your background about the Church doctrines concerning symbols, and why they are considered unnecessary. The Prophet understood that, in order to free mankind of the dependence on the fae, nothing which would evoke a reaction of that force could be allowed to remain rooted in collective memory too firmly.” He frowned. “Which in turn was misinterpreted and led to misunderstandings about the use of the fae in general, unfortunately.”
Unfortunately. For a moment Damien considered the results that particular misinterpretation had caused, and pushed the thought away. Sometimes he’d have felt happier if it hadn’t only been the personalities of the Hunter and the Prophet which had been purged, but also all the memories connected to them. But that wasn’t going to happen, so he’d have to live with those particular skeletons in Gerald’s closet.
“So the Prophet did away with some more excess baggage.”
Gerald nodded. “Just so. The celebrations may have been Earth relics and part of the settlers’ cultural identity, and therefore worth preserving, but on Erna, such beliefs would have been destructive. And survival is more important than history and identity.”
Not just mankind’s survival, Damien thought.
“But the knowledge might be regained eventually,” he said aloud. “This book, for example… it would no longer be dangerous to let its contents be known again.”
Gerald looked at the book pensively. “Probably not, no. The fae doesn’t react to thoughts anymore, so it would be safe to reintroduce these celebrations. It would be interesting to observe how people react to these discoveries. They seemed to enjoy some of the festivities in the past.”
“Including the pumpkins and the costumed kids?”
The look changed into a frown. “Perhaps a selective approach might be best.”