(Temple of the Crone) Midsummer

[Claire Edmonton]

Her gaze surveying the crowd, she pointedly notes that the only person of importance with an interest in tonight's festivities was Dr. Emma French. There was, indeed, no point in beginning without her here.

And, always the opportunist, Claire took Dr. Swift's hesitation to begin as the perfect opportunity to make nice with the Herald whom she owed favors, and the Reeve whom she had not spoken with much at all. Before she speaks with them, she pointedly smiles and nods towards Kassidy.

Stepping forward to greet Martha and Dillon in particular, she has a hint of song in her voice when she remarks, "Good evening, Herald Villiers, Reeve Connery. I am, indeed, glad to see you have made it to our little gathering. How have you been, of late?"

[RebornSeas]

The bottle-blond man stiffened at the immense pressure of a strong beast - until he recognized it as Reeve Connery's - at which point he relaxed, and looked back towards the door. Spotting Martha and Catherine too, Kassidy couldn't help but give a thankful and welcoming grin to three guests.

He made silent plans to show his support of wherever Catherine settled in thanks for her own shows of support to him, but he turned back to the heirophant to avoid leaving him hanging. "Yes, I'm glad I made it myself. If possible, I'd rather like to speak with you after the ceremony?"

[Princess]

Paging Dr. Swift, and everyone else.

[Swift]

ooc

Sorry for any delay. Work has been hellish, and as previously stated in this post, I can only reliably post on Wednesdays and Thursdays, probably for the next month or so. On that note, I plan to make the next few posts as this thread progresses rather broad so as to facilitate any posts others wish to make. This will mean, of course, that they may be rather lengthy, so I apologize in advance for that. Please don't feel delayed on my account, and feel free to post more than once if it feels natural!

Dr. Swift lets the gathered Kindred converse among themselves or meditate in introspection for a short time before nodding to himself. It was time to begin, and it seemed all who would be attending likely were already here. Raising his arms so his hands are spread wide, palms up and just below the level of his shoulders, Dr. Swift indicates that it is time to begin. He had already expressed his gratitude to the Kindred that have chosen to attend, so rather than starting with any sort of thanks or welcome he simply begins.

"Midsummer," the Heirophant states is a strong voice, but not terribly loud. They were not a large gathering and he feels no need to shout. "We have gathered tonight to observe what is an ancient tradition. Some of us have come only to observe, and others to pay homage to the night and to the bounty and harvest it promises." He pauses for a beat before continuing, bringing his hands together into a relaxed grasp before his waist. "Of course, as is the case with nearly all traditions and celebrations, what this night means to us as Kindred is different than what it means to the Kine."

The Heirophant's speech is measured, slow enough to give a quiet, serious note to the proceedings, but with enough pace to not be drawn out. He gestures with his left hand, unclasping his hands and letting the right drop to his side. "The Kine celebrate Midsummer for a variety of reasons. In many cultures it is a celebration of prosperity. The days are long and warm and the bounty of Summer's efforts begin to arrive. But the days are also growing shorter, and they know that soon the night will eclipse the day. So they begin to prepare for the cold by setting aside some of what they harvest. Midsummer is often the first harvest of three in which the fastest growing crops, such as wheat and fruit, are gathered in hopes of at least one more harvest before Winter. But it is also a celebration of the fruits of the labors of early Summer, and so the tone is light and merry, very much unlike the views of Samhain," he pronounces the word 'Sauin', "or as it is more commonly called here, Halloween."

After another short pause he continues, bringing his right hand up to balance his left. "We as Kindred are very much aware of the lengthening nights, and we too look forward, but in anticipation rather than in preparation. For us Midsummer is a bittersweet time. The nights are still short limiting the time we can spend whether it be on the needs of survival or the chosen pursuits of our Requiem. We cannot easily, as the Kine do during the Winter, continue our consciousness beyond our appointed hours, and when we do we must be extremely cautious and are burdened by the weight of the day. But we also sense the coming long nights of the Autumn and we know that the famine of both time and blood will soon be over." A small smile touches Swift's lips for a moment. "So perhaps we are not so very different from the Kine in this respect. For us, Midsummer is also a celebration of harvest."

Swift brings his hands together once more, but does not clasp them. Instead he steeples his fingers together at the tips. "There is an ancient tradition among the Kine around Midsummer: that of the Bonefire. Fire has often been associated with the holiday and is still done so to this day - often in displays of fireworks and village bonfires, which took its name from the same tradition. But a bonefire," he puts a slight emphasis on the pronunciation of the first syllable of 'bonefire' to distinguish it from the modern bonfire, "grew originally out of Celtic pagan beliefs and traditions. At these celebrations all manner of bones would be gathered and brought as offering. A great fire would be built in the center of the village square, and each villager would in turn place their offerings in the fire, feeding the flames. Some would bring bones from livestock slaughtered for food, others from animals hunted or trapped, and others even brought bones they had found in the surrounding wilderness. Occasionally bones of enemies or of ancestors were used, but this was uncommon. The purpose of these offerings was to bring prosperity to the village and the harvests through the driving off of evil spirits associated with the coming Winter."

Reaching down to the floor briefly, Hierophant Swift produces, from behind a niche in the steps before the dias where the altar once stood, a bone. It is perhaps a foot long and thin in the middle, no more than an inch and a half or so. He holds it aloft, the distinctive ball formation on one end and the hinge formation on the other revealing it to be the femur from a small animal of some sort. In truth, it was from a stray dog he had found starving to death. It had reminded him of his own first attempts at finding food in the city. He still hunted dogs from time to time, but the need wasn't nearly so great anymore. Part of him - a very strong part - had wanted to feed the dog and nurse it back to health. But the city was full of strays and saving one would not solve that, and Mother Nature and her consort Darwin must have their due. He had instead made the dog his offering to the Crone for the evening - and more importantly, the memory of suffering and struggle it symbolized for him. Bringing the creature to him had been a simple thing, once he had found it. He had made sure it did not suffer; a single swipe of a claw had been more than enough to see to that. He had drained what little blood it had and then prepared it here. Nothing had gone to waste, and the bones now burned slowly, contained in a deep iron bowl on a tripod behind the screen at the top of the dias.

"When you were invited this evening included was a request that you bring with you a small bone as offering. If those of you who chose to bring such an offering would now bring them out." He waits. Swift had no desire or intention of forcing anyone to do anything they did not chose to do themselves, but he did want them to consider the importance of what tonight truly meant to the Kindred.

[Claire Edmonton]

Claire nods, a faint smile on her lips as her hands draw open her handbag to retrieve a neatly wrapped item, which is revealed to be a bone as she peels back the paper. Of course, it was a beef rib bone, well cleaned by the finest butcher shop in town, and had been retrieved by her lawyer for her amid less unusual purchases. But if purchasing the offering for a trivial sum of money made this act less sincere, so be it. She was growing weary of hocus pocus, even if her polite expression indicated otherwise.

She will present the offering as indicated to the letter of Swift's preferences, aside from not having hunted it herself, or having done anything at all apart from bring the thing with her from her luxurious apartment this evening.

[RebornSeas]

He chewed his lip, thinking about everything Swift had spoke of. This was one aspect of the crone he was less familiar with, yet there was no doubt he was looking forward to longer nights. Yet something in the Heirophant's lecture was... well, a Lecture. it took a great deal of concentration not to fade out in disinterest as the tone lulled him away from the topic at hand.

The growing nights and eventually time for feeding, for doing more - that was something Kassidy looked forward to greatly. But what then of warding off spirits? Would they try to sabotage what he might accomplish as the days grew longer? That simply hadn't made much sense to him. And he still wanted to speak with the Heirophant after the ceremony. Would he get a chance? Swift hadn't answered affirmatively or to the negative.

And with his thoughts drifting, he almost missed the call for the bones. He carefully withdrew the frog bone to offer to the flames.

[Dillon Connery]

Dillon is prompt in returning any of the greetings specifically directed at him, granting Swift a hearty grin and nod, and Claire a "Very well, Miss Tunt, thank you. I'm glad to be here."

But soon after making politely sure of the well being of his fellow Kindred, Swift begins. And Dillon settles to listen in earnest. With rapt and considerate attention, he nods along with the words delivered by his cousin.

Looking at the summer as a season of famine, or slim pickings, is very interesting. The parallels to kine winter - before the days of shipping and shopping - are obvious. The Kindred who prepare for the longer days and shorter nights do not suffer. Those who fail to herd a food source or secure hunting privileges within a Domain have time to do very little but survive.

As it is with many Gangrel, Dillon had been on his own - away from a city and without a herd - more times in his Requiem that he could ever possibly count or remember. And the short summer nights are particularly annoying. Much worse, back before the advent of automobiles and commercial air travel.

Fortunately, animal blood didn't start to lose it's nourishment for him until well into the twentieth century. In fact, that had been one of many reasons he and Adonia settled in Chicago when they did.

When Swift explains the lore behind the bonfires, and the reason for the offerings they were asked to bring, Dillon slips a hand into his blazer and retrieves two folded up black handkerchiefs. One is given to Martha ( @Chrisie ), and he keeps one for himself. Inside each, is the cleaned femur from a great, fat rat.

He'd considered hunting something, but in the end, it seemed more wise to call upon the most commonly feral pest of any big city, and simply reduce the number by one.

[Swift]

OOC

Dallas' player hasn't posted in 12 days, so I'm assuming he isn't with us anymore.

Dr. Swift waits as those gathered each produce bones of various sizes and varieties. He had expected that Kassidy and Claire would each bring a bone to the ceremony, but is pleased to see that Dillon and the Herald each have one as well. True, the invitation had requested they bring such, but he hadn't been certain they would as guests. He notes that Claire's bone seems to have been purchased from a butcher. That was fine, of course. The point of the ritual was, as all Circle rituals, personal and how one acquired the bone was a personal choice. And, additionally, the actual significance was yet to come.

He holds up his own femur, obviously studying it and letting his voice take on a somewhat distant and reflective quality. "A bone is an odd thing, when you think about it. Often seen as a symbol of death, it is the blood and the flesh that we associate with life. They are more reactive, softer, and give animation and warmth to the body. The bones are rarely or never seen unless death is present, either come already or potentially imminent. Yet, life could not exist for the Kine or many higher animals without their bones. Bones give the underlying structure," he smiles slightly, "indeed, the very skeleton, of a being. They provide support and allow muscles to move."

He then glances back at the gathered few, "And they do the same for us. The Kindred rely on our bones just as much as the Kine do. True, we can survive more, and should we lose a bone or a limb, it will regrow with time and with Vitae, but we are just as unable to move without them. The bones, therefore, serve as another link between us and the world of the living."

He pauses a moment, not spending as much time speaking as he had before. He wanted to avoid turning the ceremony into a lecture, but he also couldn't get away from feeling that understanding was necessary to the rite. "Strange, then, that such things were burned to drive off evil spirits. I wonder, was it the bones or the fire that they actually needed."

He glances back to the screen where the fire flickers merrily and ominously out of sight. "We so often find ourselves at odds with the instincts instilled in us by the Embrace. Some say it is simply a part of our psyches that we name Beast, and others claim that something external comes with the Blood. In either case, the ultimate expression of the Beast - the eternal frenzy of the Draugr - is undeniably not human and most would claim an expression of evil. And it is that part of us that fears the flame."

He turns his attention back to the room and comes to the point. "Part of us reviles the flame, and perhaps knowledge of our existence is part of what led to such rites. Make no mistake, there is a part of all of us that Kine would name Monster. To deny that is to deny what we are. But we are also more than that. We have the strength to resist, and the ability to chose. That is what I invite you to do tonight. To chose."

He gestures outward with the bone, around to the side of the screen that is open in a vague resemblance of an confessional or the screen used when mass was said out of sight of the congregation. The symbolism was intentional, but not meant to be insulting to the religion once practiced here. He briefly glances toward Dillon, hoping the other Gangrel could see that the parallels were meant more as an evocation of the solemnity and not as a mockery.

"Those who wish may walk behind the screen to where a brazier stands, burning the bones of the creature this came from. The approach will not be and easy one. Should you chose to participate in the rite and offer your bone for the flames in honor of the coming harvest, you will in some fashion face the monster within." He pauses, meeting each Kindred's eyes in turn. What he said next was important not for the spiritual nature of the rite but for the safety of all involved. "Know this: the hall beyond is open," he indicates the hall in question. "There are several rooms beyond that are also open and dark. Places one can easily hide, and beyond the back door stands open to the field behind the church. Your escape from the flames is not impeded."

"Those who chose not to approach the flames will not be thought less of for doing so. This is an opportunity to face part of yourself, not a chance to show off or risk censor for backing down in front of your fellows. You may chose to leave your bone here to be added to the flames at the end of the rite, or you may keep the bone to do with as you feel fit. For those that do approach, should you successfully face this aspect of your darker nature perhaps consider the flames for a time. It is thought that they may hide within their dancing patterns a glimpse of your future."

Swift had faced the flames already, earlier in the evening when he had lit the fire. This was, to his way of thinking, exactly the sort of thing the Circle stood for. Power and strength came from recognizing the monster within, but also in controlling it, in choosing when to face it and when to resist. It also came from the recognition of the wisdom of the ancients and the source of the Beast, and from the Blood. That would come later, when the Hierophant brought the rite to a close.

[Catherine Keyes]

Catherine palmed the bone in her hand, The Raccoon was dead, he had no need to copulate anymore, and would therefore not need this particular bone. Her eyes kept drifting to the entrancing and fear inducing flame.

Would she have the courage to throw the bone to the flames or would she run? or even worse would she chicken out. It seemed unspoken in the Hierophant’s words, it was necessary. She knew how the minds of others went, she knew and understood.

It was sad...
but give a Mekhet a cookie...

[Claire Edmonton]

Claire places her offering where it can later be brought to the flames by Doctor Swift. She was done with this ritual before it started, but she saw no need to be rude about matters. This should lead us nicely into our much needed conversation.