Trial of Life

Shovel and axe met with a clank. Grins broke out on all sides, but otherwise silence continued to reign. Zimmira clapped Arilie on the shoulders, wordlessly declaring her captain in fact. On that cue, Jinny and Oristan, two members of the previous fivespan, rolled a tall stone to one end of the trench and stood it upright. Zimmira took out the whitestone stick with the sharpest tip, held it ready over the flat-topped stone, and spoke the words that ended the long ordeal. "How went the Trial?"

Living in a place cut off from the rest of human civilization, residents of Vitgrud must pass their survival skills down through the generations in order to survive. Children are prepared almost from birth for the hard work expected from them in their adult lives. The Trial of Life is the culmination of that preparation, an opportunity for young adults to put their skills to the test and prove themselves capable of carrying their share of the colony's future.

History

The Trial of Life began as an act of rebellion. The children born in the first few years after Vitgrud was established were adults by the time the colony met its twenty-year landmark, but felt their contributions were not valued by the founding generation.  Hulwif, whose father Vitat was the Dancinglight, and Stannu, whose mother had been the fleet captain, gathered other like-minded young adults and set out to build a second village designed to address the problems in the original settlement's organization. After tracking them down, the Dancinglight and the colony captain gave them until the half-year day to complete the project. The results of that experiment became Central Vitgrud, the largest of the village centers.

A few years later when another group of young adults requested permission to take on a similar project, Hulwif--then Dancinglight herself--proposed what is now the formal observance of the Trial of Life. It was at the beginning of the second Trial that the four fivespans were officially recognized. The tradition of declaring marriages was incorporated into the end of the third Trial, and the ritual at the meeting of the roads developed into its final form by the sixth Trial.

Execution

"We had some tools, some rope, a couple pairs of ducks, enough food for maybe a few days--and we had to not only stay alive until the half-year, but also build a small village, defend it from predators, and stock up enough food and warm clothing to last us the winter."

The Trial of Life begins on the first day of every fifth year. On that day, the population of Vitgrud meets on the central village's rooftop plaza. The children divide into their fivespans, and each group is welcomed into the next stage of duties. The parents of the oldest fivespan give their children food to carry, and at that time make their farewells. The colony captain then distributes the tools to the fivespan's captain candidates, and the Dancinglight leads the fivespan to the point where they will leave the village's current boundaries. From there, they must walk for at least an hour through undisturbed forest before choosing a spot to build their village offshoot.

Over the course of the Trial, the members of the fivespan will decide who will be the captain of the offshoot they are building, and choose the marriage partners that they will keep for the next five years. The final task is to clear the road between Vitgrud and the new offshoot. Beginning at each end, the fivespan and the Vitgrud crew (led by the Dancinglight) work through most of the daylight hours roughing out a lane the width of two adults standing with outstretched arms. At the point where both work crews meet, the Dancinglight and the fivespan's elected captain dig a trench crossing the road. Representatives from the previous fivespan place the marking stone on which will be recorded the results of the Trial--the numbers of homes built, graybacks killed, and preservation sheds filled, as well as the names of any who died during the Trial. The trench is filled with crushed white stone. All return to Central Vitgrud, where the fivespan's resources are added to the half-year tally. The entire population then travels to the new offshoot, dancing along the road to flatten it. In the center of the offshoot, the marriage partners are publicly recognized, after which any other villagers who wish to are given the opportunity to declare a new marriage.

Participants

Before the Trial, members of the fivespan choose five of their number to serve as captain for each of the first five months of the Trial. After the fifth month, one of those captains is elected to serve as captain of the village for the final month and the next five years. The most critical role is perhaps that of the skywatcher, who must calculate the date of Half-Year so that the road clearing takes place at the correct time.

Observance

The spring equinox is the first day of Vitrgud's calendar year. It is determined by observations of two bright stars known as the Guides, one red and one white. The stars rise simultaneously at sunset on the spring equinox, and at sunrise on the fall equinox.

Primary Related Location

Vitgrud

Related Ethnicities

• Ralcondrian