the Yield

What is the Yield?

The Yield was the sacrifice of animals as offerings to the Gods. This practice has mostly become obsolete in modern-day Alven mainly due to the influence of The Sanctuary (see below). Rituals, where animals were killed, were a common practice a few centuries ago. Once an animal was sacrificed - usually with the use of a ritual knife - certain parts of the animal's body might have been consumed ceremonially or entrails and bones used to predict future events.

Before the Sanctuary and Seers were created three centuries ago, the Druids officiated these complex rituals in Sacred Groves dedicated to the Gods.

The ceremonies were usually secret as were the Groves, and only a few persons were allowed to witness, and officiate the rituals. The animals sacrificed are thought to have a link to the gods and by taking their lives the animals act as messengers to the planes of the Dark and Light where the Gods are thought to reside. See The Pantheon of Alven for more information.

Some birds like the crow and the wren have been traditionally associated with the god Leweyd. Leweyd is one of The Gods of the Threshold and has the ability to move from one plane to another, and as such, is believed to be able to carry prayers and wishes to The Underworld and beyond. This explains why crows and ravens were - and still are sometimes - chosen as offerings to the gods, and Leweyd in particular. Also, crow, raven and wren bones are used as divination tools by seers throughout the country.

Origin

It is very likely that the Yield was brought to Alven by the first humans to arrive there. Clansmen's religious beliefs stem from the ancient gods of Hearth, and the first populations in Alven sacrificed animals to their gods.

Animals as animus have been part of Clansmen's beliefs for many millennia. Still to this day, clans identify with a particular animal. For example, the boar is associated with Clan Boarsden. Clans used to hunt and sacrifice the animal closely associated with their clans at some times of the year or in times of crisis.

This is a tradition that has not been kept up, but some game are still associated with local festivities. For example, in the town of Belhoden in Farden, lands of Clan Deerwolf, there is a local fair on the first of Windthyme where the town citizens gather for a communal meal round a traditional bonfire. Deerwolves are the meat on the menu for the street party.

This tradition harks back to the clan ceremonies that used to be held on that same day - Nowadays, during the Belhoden Clan Fair, an old prayer to Corra is sung at the start and end of the meal. The Goddess Corra is associated with Clan Deerwolf and Windthyme is the month dedicated to her. 

Offerings and Ceremonies

Up until three hundred years ago, the Druids were the all-powerful officiants and intermediaries to the gods, jealously guarding their knowledge of the otherworlds. The Druids exerted much influence in all areas of life - a clansman's life was regulated by rituals and offerings to garner favour or avoid the ire of the Gods.

Since the Sanctuary becomes the official religious organisation in Alven, there has been a slow but steady modernisation of celebrations and rites throughout the country.  The Sanctuary's beliefs set them apart within the Druidic religion at the time, and their uncomplicated approach to religion and ceremonies appealed to Thingor Gremane who after The War of the Adders became Thane and brought the Sanctuary to the fore. 

The Sanctuary's Seers were a much more spiritual body of people, and once the organisation gained influence throughout the clans, Seers moved away from overcomplicated rituals and animal sacrifices. So much so that the Yield has become old-fashioned and, if not barbaric, in bad taste. 

Only very few organisations now act out the Yield during their religious rituals and ceremonies. Some of the ancient circles of the Arkiven, proud of their ancestral traditions, still carry out the Yield within their ceremonies. The most well-known of those is The Circle of Belen, the Light-Giver. Although there are some within the Alven elite who have voiced their dissent at such barbaric practices, the sacrifice of a ram during the circle's ceremonies still takes place on the first day of the year. 

What replaced the Yield?

In modern-day Alven, breaking a china effigy of a sacred animal or animus during rituals is seen as appropriate and a fitting tribute to the Gods. The effigies for important ceremonies are made by the best artisans in the lands and can be lavishly decorated with gold and other precious metal as well as gems.

  At Beltane, which is the most important date of the Alven religious year, the Sanctuary commission a life-size pottery sheep. The ram is decorated with the emblem of the reigning Thane and ceremonially broken down to dust at the end when the sun sets on the last day of the festival.

The dust is then collected and used by Seers in many rituals - the powder is supposed to have supernatural abilities and can help to divine the future and heal.

It is also common for Alven families to order small effigies of different animals from the local potter. The animal figurines are then blessed by a local seer and kept in a shrine in the house (the Hallow) or a sacred tree or grove in a garden.