The Tide of Missed Fortunes
Within the month of Cortus, a revered time for the agrarian cultures of The Greenlands Commonage , there exists a long honored tradition of leaving out offerings of honey, milk, whiskey, bread, cakes, and buttercream in an attempt to ward off the onslaught of poor luck that seems to plague the region during that time. The individual offerings differ from person to person, and as arguably the only location still capable of producing untainted honey and milk, these extremely valuable commodities are used sparingly but seem to offer the highest success rate. These descendants of clergy who maintain a strong philosophical and sometimes even spiritual leaning generally do not question the otherworldly or spiritual nature of the observance, and statistically, no one can argue the numbers. During the month of Cortus, more accidents, mishaps, and even work related deaths occur than in any other month with is odd as the more dangerous work is generally later in the year. The source of the poor luck will differ from person to person, depending on the region of the Commonage and who you talk to, some claim malevolent spirits grow restless while others claim that it is the Void attempting to seen enough damage to the last untouched area of the mainland that it will be able to claim it. These stories vary a great deal, and most of them have little foundational merit other than tall tales and stories spread by those that believe them.
History
The Tides is a tradition to goes all the way back to the initial settling of the Greenlands Commonage in 7 PR. When the first Ongommu Tae broke ground and began to farm, the finding of untouched and untainted soil was much cause for celebration and the people that and claimed the region looked to the future with great hope. In Cortus of the following year, however, much of that hope was dashed upon the rocks of ill fortune. Animals wandered off and vanished or were injured or killed, several fires broke out in the new homesteads around the Commonage, fresh tilled earth turned over salt deposits, and even more sinister, several people died in strange accidents. The people gathered to discuss events and while, with the War of Human Attrition still fresh on people's minds, several suspected sabotage or veiled attempts at running the settlers out of their newfound wealth and influence, no evidence of that could be found.
The remaining spiritual leaders and clergy that were among the settlers had other suspicions, as they had heard tales of such occurrences in their studies. In these tales mishaps and foul luck were not the result of human intervention or even just the back hand of fate, but the doings of malevolent spirits and entities seeking mischief and calamity, unable to shift from their common natures and eager to play their role invisibly among the realms of mortals. In many of these stories, the incursions and actions performed during them would continue to escalate into more and more damaging acts of vandalism and harm until eventually entire communities could potentially be consumed by them if allowed to continue unchecked and unabated. Through the memories of their training, and after a lengthy discussion with the directors, it was decided that a sacrifice would be attempted as a means by which they might sate their visitors peacefully and avoid further damage to their budding way of life.
Over the next few years, beginning on the first of Cortus and repeated weekly on Dies Bodi, the first day of the week, an offering of the bounty of labor of each community would be laid out upon a table or bench at the entrance to whatever area they wished to keep the spirits away from, be it gardens and fields, pastures and pens, or even the mines and fisheries of the quickly growing settlement. The damage cause was lessened a great deal, though some of the locations were still visited and those that opted not to engage with the practice suffered greatly that first year. Five of their children went missing and seven deaths occured that year, but only in the homes that refused to put out the offerings. The following year there were no nay sayers among the population.
This tradition has carried on throughout the long years that have passed since, and become more of a refined tradition with faded memories of how deadly the initial beginnings of it were. As the years went by it was discovered that certain foods and drinks seemed to guarantee better results than others, and in some cases, the offerings were seen as a symbol of status with the more influential members of society making grand shows of the tables placed and set, and over the years there have even been reported thefts and intentional destruction of some of these as well as neighbors vie for a better public standing and petty squabbles utilize the tradition to undermine one another.
Execution
The first day of each week of Cortus is marked with a gathering within the local communities where there is music and feasting, song and dance, making it a festive affair despite the dark origins. Many superstitiously believe that couples that begin their affairs on this night are unlucky, and most people will avoid either if possible, though over the course of the merriment and drinking, many test this belief regardless. It is also believed that children born on the first day of the week in Cortus are considered to have been "brought in on a bad tide", and considered unlucky.
Following the feasting and cavorting the individual families return and make a show of laying out their tables in the location they wish to be passed over, often using their best dinnerware. Offerings of milk and honey are deemed to be the greatest offerings one can offer, but these being rare and expensive, few families can afford them that don't maintain the cows or apiaries. Whiskey, wine, and mead offer a close second to the quality of an offering, but each will generally put out the best they have to offer based upon what they are capable from their own labors or in some cases, what they can afford to barter for from neighbors.
Components and tools
Common offerings
- Milk
- Honey
- Whiskey
- Wine
- Mead
- Bread
- Cakes
- Butter
- Cream
- Fish
- Flowers
- Raw vegetables
Observance
The festival and offerings are made every Dies Bodi of the month of Cortus annually.
Primary Related Location
Related Organizations
Related Ethnicities
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