Account
A Village That Adopts
It was founded by one of the five disciples of the Master of the Five, and since that day it has taken people in. Whoever arrived with nothing ended up with a roof over their head and neighbors who answered for them.
Its Great Seal is a pact with the guardian of the old forest, a spirit with the face of a bull. The village honors it the simple way: you respect the forest, and you never stray from the known paths.
The Winter Fever
When you were a baby, the Fever struck. The neighbors carried the sick out to the iron braziers at every crossroads and cooked there for everyone. Your parents were among the dead.
The village raised you between all of them. Every winter the braziers are lit again in memory, and on the Night of the Fever they are all lit at once.
Every Hand That Raised You
Fire jackets are cotton, with the hand of the neighbor who sewed them embroidered inside or on the sleeve. Whoever grew up among many neighbors wears many hands. Yours has more than anyone’s.
The Hearth gives you a home, a name and a bowl at the table. Whether it gives you a seat where things are decided is another story.
