Showing of the Edges

The Showing of the Edges is a traditional inter-familiar ceremony of coming of age in the rural regions around Brossal.

The Soon-to-be Adult, is shown each Corner of the Families Property, is asked a Question and given an Answer while physical cues (receiving and dealing pain) are employed to anchor the Lesson in its Brain, before the Family establishes the Child as the fourth Corner of the Family, representing that while three Corners are representative of Outside Influences, the last Ingredient to Family Stability, has to come from the Person itself.

Execution

The ritual has 4 steps that need to be completed, if the child should fail to follow the orders of its parents, the ritual is halted and postponed to the next year.

The first Corner

When the Parents have decided that the Child is ready, it is woken from slumber and brought to the first corner of the families properties.

Upon reaching it, the Child will be asked: "This is the first Corner of what will be yours. Have you known strife?"

There is no real answer to this question, the child answers will be replied to with a swift clap with the back of one of the parent's hand, strong enough to be painful but not causing any harm. The other parent will state: "Let this pain caused by loving hand be the worst you ever have to endure."

The second Corner

The Child is brought to the next corner, without explanation or consolation. Upon reaching it, the child is asked: "This is the second Corner of what will be yours. Who will suffer from the strife you cause?"

Again, ignoring the answer of the child is part of the ritual, the partner who had not dealt the first hit, will demand from the child to be hit in the same manner, usually after sitting down on their heels to make it easier for the child.

After the sitting parent has receiving the hit, the not-involved partner will state: "Let this pain caused by loving hand be the last you ever delt."

The third Corner

Upon reaching the third Corner, the Parent, dealing the first Blow, will kiss both cheeks of the child and then prostrate themselves before it. The other parent will ask: "This is the third Corner of what will be yours. Have you known forgiveness?"

The child should now decide to forgive their Parent for being hurt, usually by asking them to stand up or embracing them as they lay on the floor. The non-participating Partner will exclaim: "Let this forgiveness caused by gentle heart be the first you will gift."

The fourth/last Corner

At the fourth corner, both partners will reach for the child's hands, forming a circle of three. One of the Parents will start explaining: "You now know Strife and Forgiveness." upon which the second will add: "You know the three Corners of what will be yours."

At this point, the rest of the Family Adults (usually Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, as well as older Cousins) will join in, having waited inside the Families Home, each one stating: "Let this one be the fourth Corner of the Family. Let this Family be now whole!" after touching the shoulder of the Child and building a larger Circle around the three Persons in the Middle.

Resolution

Following this Ritual, a Feast is held, with the former Child being invited to sit at the Center of the Table. Other smaller Children are either sent to Friends of the Family or older Relatives.

Usually, a Gift is bestowed upon the Child, a Knife, a Hatchet, or Hammer, decorated with the Children's Name, as representation of Adulthood.

Critique

Many, less rural or traditional parents, have voiced concerns about the impact of being hurt by the own parents without explanations on a child's mentality, often referring to many seemingly related disorders of the mind and even cases of Tatendrang that could've been explained by this practice.

Ethologists condemn this practice of connecting only vaguely related situations, but also express concern about not explaining to the child what is about to happen.

Keeping the Process of the Ritual a Secret is most certainly done to hide the inability of the parents to explain the reason and requirement of the fulfillment of this ceremony.

— Maquis Bail, Ethologists at the Brossal Hospital of the loving Brethren

More traditionally inclined experts state that keeping the Ritual, veiled in secret, ensures a clean mental disconnect. A sentiment only shared by few.

Many reports also do not indicate the wide age range a Child can be in before they might be considered for becoming an Adult.

While perhaps not considered significant by many, the Ritual also takes a toll on the Parents. Many couples find themselves fighting about who has to complete which Step of the Ritual, depending on what seems worse to the Individual. Many cannot bring themselves to hurt their Child willingly or feel able to suppress their feelings enough to complete the Ritual.

Observance

As growing up and the coming of age is different for all the various Human of Inquest, the exact point is hard to pour into words. Most families will have a natural feeling as to when the child is about to make the step from child to young adult.

Only rural, especially Farming Communities, observe the Ritual in its unaltered Form, whereas many living in Cities or not owning Property will have Adaptations that are preserved through Family History and oral records.

Content

Why Edges?

What is meant is actually not Edges but a malapropism of the word "Eidges" which translates to Cornerstones, alluding to the Fact that the Child is not only shown the Property it might once inherit, but also given final painful Lessons, marking the moving on from the protected status as a Child, to the open and vulnerable Existence as a self-controlled Adult.

Talking about the four Corners is also a direct result of using the wrong Word for the Name of the Ritual. The oldest written Formalization of the Practice specifically states that the Child is brought to each "Eidges", but since it does not make Sense in the modern tongue to bring someone towards an Edge, or for the Child to be the Edge of the Family, the Word Corner was substituted.

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A COMING OF AGE CEREMONY

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