Colborn Traditions: RITE OF GODRIC

[DahStalker 2847]

Colborn Culture: Legitimization

“RITE OF GODRIC”

 

Discovered by Elia Eryka Colborn

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    I. Introduction

II. Preparation

III. Ceremony

IV. Celebration

V. Final Remarks

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I.  Throughout the duration of my Coming of Age trials I have been tasked with discovering an ancient part of my culture, bringing it back to light. Hence, I have made the rediscovery of our ancient tradition regarding legitimization. Within this publication I will digress on the proper etiquette, preparation, and celebrations done throughout this important practice and provide further elaboration on the required process for its completion.   

 

II.  The preparation for the transition from Black to Colborn begins years prior. The fortday before said baseborn child selects their Patron Ancestor for their Coming of Age trials, they are required to pick the elderberries for ceremonial vintage. Typically, this is done alongside the ruling Patriarch or Matriarch at the time, where they and the participant speak of the future, religion, and hope. While simplistic as a task, this beginning gesture holds great symbolism for a long hopeful future. After the elderberries are plucked the bastard or another member of the family will brew a wine out of said fruit, storing it away in a clay pot etched with religious and familial engravings such as crosses, sigils, and otherwise. It is after this that the recipient shall be granted their Coming of Age trials to which if they pass shall be formally acknowledged by the Church, yet not yet by the household. After this the next steps may be initiated. (Should said Black be unable to finish the trials, the ceremonial wine is to be fed to flames, and their Patron Saint apologized to) With the further preparation the bastard in question is required to collect flowers, one per Patron Ancestor of the five they select, different for each one. These are to then be presented to the Patriarch/Matriarch in ruling before being ground down into a paste. Alongside this it is required for the Black to acquire an item as a gift for their selected Patron Ancestor, to honor them. And finally for the bastard and their personal preparation, they must ready a speech of gratitude and hope for the future with their newfound surname. To be spoken at the conclusion of the ceremony. As for the Patriarch/Matriarch they must ready a pendant with the Colborn tree to be gifted to the Black further within the ceremony as well as a speech regarding the participant. 

 

III.  The ceremony of legitimization begins with the bastard in question donning a cloak made for black bear pelts, kneeling before the start of a pathway with herbs and wood ready to be set ablaze. A family member will then set forward while mumbling a prayer of their choosing while coating the scalp of the Black in the flower paste until it is covered in a thick coating. Soon after the path will be set on fire and slowly the Colborn will tread to the other side while a ceremonial speech will be given by the Patriarch/Matriarch. During the speech and walk the Colborn shall also be drinking from the elderberry wine they crafted years prior. When reaching the end of the aisle they will be greeted by a basin or barrel of holy water and promptly beckoned to place their head into it entirely and wash off the flower paste. It is then they revoke their beat pelt and replace it with the gifted regalia by the head of the house at the time. Concluding the ceremony, the now legitimized member of the family is made to face those in attendance and make their speech.

 

IV.  After the grandiose ceremony the family would typically host a long celebration with an assortment of events. It is common that the events are catered to the likes of the legitimized kin themselves, paired with drinking and dancing. Examples of this could be found with Lorence Colborn who found the majority of his celebration themed with vibrant colors and painting as he was a famed Colborn artist during his time, responsible for many famous pieces in both Haense and family history.

 

V.  Tradition is what carries the legacy of our ancestors and our own, engrained deeply within ourselves through every step. It is my intention to ensure and hope that within this publication future kin may continue to carry this sacred ceremony with them. So, they may ensure that all of their children bask in the glory that the Colborn before us had planned for. It is in this same light that I devote the rediscovery and publication of said tradition to my beloved cousin Lorence. Family through Fire. 

 

Spoiler

Thank you delta, julius, and sarah for feedback!

 

[Borin 5257]

"I should think the Church shall do no such thing. Bold, to state that the Church should do this, and do that, to grant favour to those who have, clearly against both Canon and Haeseni law, lain with another outside of wedlock. Bold, yet foolish." Cardinal Viktor comments, deciding to make record of the document and his views on it for later