The Wicker Man
The Wicker Man is a popular ghost story and seasonal legend told by folks north of the River Twelvellian, all the way to the furthest edge of the Folds. He acts as a herald of dry seasons, coming in the night to sap water and moisture from crops. His popular imagery features an entire wicker body, with black voids for eyes, and a crooked frame which moves awkwardly yet silently across the fields and pastures of unlucky farmers. According to stories first told by the The Riverfolk of the Twelvellian Basin , which are widely accepted as the origin of the folktale, the Wiker Man is a mischievous sprite or spirit who jumps from field to field stealing moisture from crops, giving it instead to ageing trees. He knocks down any creation that hopes to harness or stratify the natural, free world: fences, dams and gabions being the most common targets of wind gusts and insectile infestations that mysteriously appear. However, this sprite is not without empathy, as many claim he leaves baskets of fresh fruit for any mothers with newlyborn babies in the wake of any prank or act of vandalism.
As settlers migrated north, they took their legends with them, and the Wicker Man began to feature in the festivity calendar of the Folds region. However, over the years, the story has changed as it spreads. As told by the Northern Folds, the Wicker Man brings dry weather, famine, and insect-born disease. His vandalism, too, strikes a different, more malicious tone in the Folds' telling, as his role shifts to being nature's guardian whose methods are cruel and whose tools are fear and distrust as he destroys fences to provoke disputes and weakens dams to incite dread. Not even the kindhearted fruit offerings remained in the northern retelling, being replaced by enchanted fruit offered to vulnerable women with newborns so that he may abduct them and their children to satiate his hunger.
In this light, a Wicker Man Festival's tone and cultural meaning can vary across the Lordship depending on local retelling, ranging from upbeat and spirited to angered and fearful. Nevertheless, a collection of practical aspects still unites the festivals and makes them recognisable. These are the timing and the main ceremonial components. Every Wicker Man Festival is held near the end of spring at some point during Ábu'Daeg. Every Wicker Man Festival features the ceremonial burning of a wicker effigy to ward off dry weather and welcome rain throughout the summer. The effigy is often twenty feet or taller and is laden with luck trinkets and charms made during the previous year to maximise the effectiveness of the ceremony. Finally, every festival features a grand celebratory meal that excludes meat to give thanks for vegetarian produce grown in the months before and to wish protection on what will follow. Most festivals also feature a torch-lit dance at dawn and dusk, but northern regions have not maintained this tradition, replacing them with silent processions that better befit local traditions.
As settlers migrated north, they took their legends with them, and the Wicker Man began to feature in the festivity calendar of the Folds region. However, over the years, the story has changed as it spreads. As told by the Northern Folds, the Wicker Man brings dry weather, famine, and insect-born disease. His vandalism, too, strikes a different, more malicious tone in the Folds' telling, as his role shifts to being nature's guardian whose methods are cruel and whose tools are fear and distrust as he destroys fences to provoke disputes and weakens dams to incite dread. Not even the kindhearted fruit offerings remained in the northern retelling, being replaced by enchanted fruit offered to vulnerable women with newborns so that he may abduct them and their children to satiate his hunger.
In this light, a Wicker Man Festival's tone and cultural meaning can vary across the Lordship depending on local retelling, ranging from upbeat and spirited to angered and fearful. Nevertheless, a collection of practical aspects still unites the festivals and makes them recognisable. These are the timing and the main ceremonial components. Every Wicker Man Festival is held near the end of spring at some point during Ábu'Daeg. Every Wicker Man Festival features the ceremonial burning of a wicker effigy to ward off dry weather and welcome rain throughout the summer. The effigy is often twenty feet or taller and is laden with luck trinkets and charms made during the previous year to maximise the effectiveness of the ceremony. Finally, every festival features a grand celebratory meal that excludes meat to give thanks for vegetarian produce grown in the months before and to wish protection on what will follow. Most festivals also feature a torch-lit dance at dawn and dusk, but northern regions have not maintained this tradition, replacing them with silent processions that better befit local traditions.
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