Winter, 1329

The Winter Solstice. The longest night of the year, the day when the darkness was strongest and the light was weakest.

A day that needed support from humanity.

A day for creating more light.

All over the River Triangle people would ignite candles, fireplaces and rushlights, providing more illumination to the world on this day. With little work this time of year, that also meant feasting, drinking and dancing to will away the black of the night.

The townsfolk of Stanton spent days preparing, cleaning fireplaces, filling woodpiles, making tallow and lard, butchering fattened hogs and lambs and cooking for a rich meal.

Mera helped in the arrangements, collecting upon his back bundles of firewood that Woden, Fink and Logan had cut from Kern Forest, then transporting it all to town to be distributed to some of the poorer and older residents by Sonia, Bidgwell and Dolly. Accomplishing that task, the dragon then proceeded on to the town square to help Wilcox, Brewster and Finch roast two large cattle set atop a large metal rack over an oak pit.

Still, the joys of this day were muted compared to previous ones: even with a relative cornucopia of food and fuel, the air of melancholy that had settled over this year remained hanging over this day as well.

A year of war had been painful. The Other Men had surprised Auxia, seized a sixth of its territory, defeated all its armies, killed its king and had almost reached the capital before being driven back. The enemy was still there, just beyond the Alba River, awaiting the Spring to renew the attack. Stanton had been blessed with no occupation, no attacks by the Other Men, and had not yet sent its sons to war, yet living was still getting more difficult. Van Beek came less frequently and with far less trade goods on every trip, and on the last visit the townsfolk were shocked to find that the merchant could only offer to sell some glass and wool.

“It’s been a tough year for everyone.” Van Beek replied, somewhat apologetically.

On the other hand, Lord Colfax’s tithe collectors, previously entirely non-existent, now came every month seeking foodstuffs, seeking cloth, metal-for the war effort, they said. Some of it certainly was. But so much? Even Sonia and Logan did not know for certain. While Stanton successfully hid the two oxen for roasting this holiday, the town had been far less successful in protecting their other supplies, and both food and fuel stocks were at the lowest they had been since the Morning Dew famine twelve years before.

Still, despite all of this the Solstice remained important holiday for Stanton, and as the sun began to set on the shortest day of the year, most of the townsfolk and neighboring farmers, dressed in their warmest winter clothes, again gathered in the Plaza to await the night with unlit candles and torches in hand. Logan and Mera were there as well, with the other town leaders behind Sonia, who led the opening ceremonies atop the speaking platform.

The Town Elder was somber as the sun began to disappear behind the mountains and the sky began to dim and turn blue.

“This year has been a hard one for all of us.” Sonia began. “A lot of evil has come into the world, and at times things have gotten a lot worse. The darkness has seemed overbearing at times, threatening to consume all before it. Perhaps this is not the best year for celebration.”

Below the platform the crowd was muted, mostly muttering in agreement.

“But perhaps this is indeed the best time for celebration. The Other Men have been defeated at the gates of Satrinum. New King Owin has risen to oppose the enemy. Great heroes like General Dodge have proven themselves against our foes. Our Guardian still stands strong. The tides of darkness washed upon us, but we held out. The light shone brightly. On this, the darkest of days, it continues to shine brightly.”

“May it ever continue to shine brightly.” The crowd responded.

“The year will soon begin anew, and the struggles that we’ve encountered this year will certainly continue with it. The darkness always threatens. Perhaps next year will be worse than this year. But we must keep faith, to ourselves, our friends and family, our community and our country. We will be the light in this darkness, and may our light ever continue to shine brightly.” As the sky turned from blue to black Sonia pulled out a candle of her own, and handed it to Logan, who brought it before Mera. Carefully, the dragon blew a tiny flame, lighting the candle. The Forester handed the small light back to his wife, who held it aloft in the air.

“May it ever continue to shine brightly!” The crowd chanted.

At that Mera blew out a large ball of fire towards the sky.

The crowd cheered. One by one, candles and torches were lit and raised, adding bright orange illumination to the town. Logan did so as well with his own candle.

“Let us celebrate the light!” Sonia exclaimed in conclusion, dramatically waving her candle overhead. “May it ever continue to shine brightly!”

“May it ever continue to shine brightly!” The crowd repeated with their own raised light sources and readied themselves to join the feasts and dances and parties in the night ahead.

The darkness always beckoned in the distance, but for tonight at least, the light would hold out in Stanton.

The light would continue to shine.

---

The Mountain Goats - This Year

From  Kshanti

Original: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/50478032/