Roleplay > Vignettes

Restoring the faith

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Libby:

A Sacred Cleansing
"They could have put an actual path in" Lady Jasmina Danilov complained as the group made their way along the forest track. It was clear that it hadn't been extensively walked for a long time as the trees and bushes that lined it had overgrown forcing those walking along it to brush the occasional branch out the way and side step past an obstruction.

"Once we get the place back on the map.....so to speak it'll be well walked" Maria Shvets, one of the two Priestesses who acted as the Queen's personal spiritual advisers said as she lead the small group along the path. The Queen had purposely not advertised the ceremony too much, there was parts she was nervous about and without ever having experienced it before she had a few nerves about doing it in front of a large crowd. Perhaps next year that would be the case. Maria lead the group followed by Jasmina and then four members of the Queen's security detail, who as well as protecting the monarch were doubling up as pack carriers for various items that would be required. Then came the Queen herself, she kind of cursed the attire. Her long flowing white dress was beginning to attract mud around the long hem. Behind her came the other three Ladies in Waiting, more of the security detail, a few members of the press and some invited guests from the Conclave and their families. In total around 60 people trekked from the Royal Lodge in Rodnya towards the Petrovsk Waterfalls. They were not grand, nothing more than a trickle in the warm Lodjain summers, but it was what lay beneath one of them that interested the party. After a mile of walking the group reached a large stone arch that imposed over the path. Maria stopped the group and said a few prayers before moving on. A few paths merged before the arch and it was clear others had been here recently as flowers laid at the two feet of the archway as offerings from the faithful. Maria felt happy that at least some had retained the more ancient ways of worshipping Sessifet rather than the more sanitised version an aging Queen Sonya had installed. The priestess placed some flowers of her own there and called the Queen forward. Natalya did as instructed and left her own bouquet of flowers she'd been carrying next to the right arch foot. The offerings left the Queen and Priestess took each others hands and continued on. The path began to slope downwards and curve, soon it became stone steps, the odd weed or clump of moss growing between the cracks. As the trees cleared a kind of trickle of water could be heard and there before them was the reason for them coming.

A large opening before them looked like at one point something had swallowed up the earth above it. As you stood at the edge and peered down a beautiful crystal clear pool of blue water twinkled and small drips of water showed where underground flows of water succombed to gravity and trickled into the pool. A few people seeing the royal party looked up, rather surprised that anyone else was here. There were steps through a wooden hatch that went down into the ground and the head of the Queen's securith detail went first. By the time the Queen had descended with her party the agent was busy chatting with the people having already moved them to one side. He was satisfied that all was well and the Queen gestured as though asking if she could come over, receiving a polite nod she did so. "Good Morning" The Queen said as she approached the group, it was a family of five, the three children in their teens. Recognising Natalya the family bowed. "Thank you" Natalya offered her hand in blessing to each of them and then got their names. It turned out that every year the family came on the traditional day of the Cleansing and bathed in the pool, they never imagined they'd be here the same day the Queen did so. They had been preparing themselves to take the ceremony and now found themselves with what this traditionalist family believed to be a chance of a lifetime. "Would you like to join in our cleansing?" She asked them, an offer that was immediately accepted. The now enlarged group lined up on a small stone platform that had been carved into the rock face to serve this purpose. Maria had lowered herself into the water which came up to around her knee and then walked towards the centre. The water came up to her waist and there she turned to face the others who had arranged themselves into a line facing her. Maria cleared her throat and then spoke loudly. She noticed another pair of people stood at the top of the opening looking down, she motioned for them to come and join them and waited for them to appear, an elderly couple joined the line. "Today we gather with the Goddess at her sacred pool. Water from the tears she once shed over the suffering of her people. The tears remind us of our duty to be the best we can and by bathing in this pool we use her purity to renew ourselves for the year ahead. I call on each of you to come forward and bath yourself in the love of Sessifet." She gestured to the Queen stepped into the pool. The water was cold, much colder than she expected and as it reached her waist she was glad the media hadn't attended as she invoulntarily made a few odd noises as the cold almost took her breath away. She could see Jasmina struggling not to laugh and wondered if the decorum of the ceremony was blown. "As Queen of Lodja you carry the Goddess back to her pool" Maria took her hand. "I call upon you to cleanse the vessel that carries the Goddess." The Queen ducked down as she'd been briefed, a few more odd noises were made, and there under the water she removed her dress, the white plain affair floating to the surface. She allowed Maria to pour water over her head before pushing her under. Upon resurfacing Natalya now swam to the opposite side where a platform similar to the other was built. There Lady Tonya and Lady Svetlana waited in the water up to their knees, a large towel between them. Holding it they allowed the naked Queen to exit the water without being seen by anyone else in a state of undress, not that Natalya was too concerned by that. Wrapped in the towel a new pale blue dress was brought symbolising that the vessel of the Goddess was done.

One by one the others allowed Maria to cleanse them, however unlike the Queen they were not expected to remove their clothing, text spoke about undertaking the ceremony in just a robe. For Sessifet it was Natalya who was the robe while the others could maintain there simple attire. The Queen still had goosebumps as each of the others undertook the ceremony, even the two journalists watching included. The Queen presented each of those who emerged from the pool with a stone carved with an emblem on it, a token that they were now pure. It was then the Queen turned to the family who had been in attendance. "I'm excited that you are the first to take part in this ceremony with me. I hope that year on year this grows into a major festival once more and as it does I expect more and more people to attend, we think soon we'd have to make it more formal. I would though like your family to always be part of it as unlike my own family you've always followed Sessifet correctly." She now turned to the eldest daughter, a slender girl with long blonde hair that was now swept back from the water. "How old are you?" the Queen asked.

"I turned 18 yesterday" the girl whose name Yana replied.

"Excellent" Natalya turned to Maria. "I think we should offer Yana here that job we spoke of." There was some confusion within the family as Maria, still drying her legs nodded. Handing her towel off the Priestess approached the family.

"The Queen is offering Yana the title "Keeper of the Pool". There was excited and nervous glances at each other from within the family. "Tradition holds that a woman is responsible, at least ceremonially, for maintaining the pool and the area around it. In ancient times she commanded pilgrims who would undertake the role, but don't worry we are establishing something else for that. The Keeper of the Pool though had the rank of a noble, was entitled to visit the Isle of the Goddess without invite and is expected to be a fine example of following the faith. You'd be invited to every ceremony here and would assits the Queen as the Ladies in Waiting did today."

Yana's eyes were wide open with surprise. "But Your Divine Majesty, we're not a noble family" she admitted.

Maria turned to the Queen who looked a little upset her gesture designed to primarily promote the faith wouldn't work. "My Queen this is not a problem" The Priestess said, "The title was held by nobles for most of its history simply because it required funds to carry out the work and do things like feed the pilgrims. That's not a concern we'll have for Yana. There is no spiritual reason why she can not do it, and it would simply elevate her family to Patricians." Natalya turned back to Yana.

"So will you be the Keeper of the Pool.....if it helps you get keys to the Royal Lodge" The Queen added as though sweetening the deal.

Yana had tears in her eyes, her family were deeply religious, they're living room had a large portrait of Sessifet, the family followed all rituals old and new, her mother had even for a time been a steward at the local temple. For the family though it meant everything, all Lodjains belonged to one of two castes, the Patricians, those who either through birth or hard work had won the favour of Sessifet. Beneath them were the Plebleains, those who should dedicate their families, often for multiple generations to honouring Sessifet in hopes of joining the ranks of her favourites. Now the family would achieve that thanks to what Yana could only imagine was luck. "It'd be the greatest moment in my life to accept" Natalya hugged the girl welcoming her to the new position.

"Now perhaps we can go get dry and enjoy a meal in your new home." Hand in hand with the new Keeper they made their way back along the path.

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