Purebright

### by Relnor

Such a small insignificant thing to look at, and yet, yet it was the foundation of so much history and tradition of Leoding Hall one might think it the item of the elite and the privileged…But to many it was a sign of that. A sign of enduring, and sign of adulthood and a sign of a path trodden by many for as long as any could remember. A sign of the men and women to have sworn an oath to the Hall of Wolves and proven it by tradition.

A strange flower at first sight Purebright, the name to always seemed at odds to what it actually was, maybe the person who named it had a sense of humour. It was a small, with leaves so tiny you would scant notice them if it wasn’t for the fact the flower itself was so pale and white. Nothing of the grand smells of flowers in sweeping meadows on warm summer days, or the vibrant colours of so many flower of beauty and note.

But it was this little thing that determined whether you were to be considered an adult in your own right. No one could force you or make the choice for you, the task was for you and you alone to partake. To climb the mountain that rose strong and tall besides the homes of the Leoding people. It was here where the Purebright grew, clung and huddled right into the rock face where nothing else but ice seemed to reside, where it grew, it endured and it survived. It was not unheard of for young to tackle the trial too early and perish on the side of the mountain. But that was the way of the Leoding, to endure and to survive, and if you could not, then the future would be far harsher to you, living was tough and the tough must live.

The final act was to then present the flower to someone as a gift, various reasons were used. Love mostly, to family or that special someone but also to friends a sign of companionship and loyalty.

I, Relnor had made that trial when I was young, but now somewhat slightly unorthodox, I would make that same journey once more. For someone I called my friend, he was not one for the Leoding Hall but then in a sense none of us were now, after the invasion, it’s horrors and the destruction of what we once knew, we had been reforged and become one united in Sigehold. But old habits die hard and I wanted to gift my friend something of a tradition of my people, a tradition that may never happen again.

Thandral was to be married and a joyful occasion for all and the ladies of the Hall in particular had found much happiness in its preparation, it was good to see so many happy faces considering the scars that must be hidden behind them. I had been fortunate enough to meet and confer with Liissá a dear friend who can brighten anyone’s day if you are ever fortunate enough to meet her. She told me of a plan that the ladies of the Hall would gather flowers for the wedding and that they would be woven and presented to the bride Roana to form part of her veil and bouquet. It sounded like a truly sweet gift, but all I could think of was how Thandral had been let down by his male brethren and that to my knowledge we had not really prepared anything except perhaps a lot of drinking.

Not to be outdone however I decided that there was a flower I could get him. Not one of beauty to match that of Roana and not plentiful to match the amount of love and well-wishing from the ladies of Sigehold. But instead I choose the Purebright.

Thandral, I am sure he would not mind me saying, had, like myself, been hit hard by news of leaving our homelands for a second time, leaving the lands of our ancestors and the future families that may have been, who would have been raised with the traditions that we could have been passed on as our parents had passed to us. But then I remembered the people of Leoding Hall, my people, our people and that I made an oath to survive and endure. And so I did make the trial once more, but not for myself and only partly for Thandral, but utterly for those that were struggling to come to terms with what was to happen, and when I took that small flower plucked from the mountain side and cradled deep inside my furs safe for its journey back down the mountain. I did not take one nor two but bunches in my fists as much as I could carry enough for that when the wedding came all would see them all would be connected by them and all would hopefully remember the oath of Leoding, to survive and endure, and we would again as Sigehold for no matter where we live, no matter where we call home the traditions that hold us as one. I would hope that when I am fortunate enough to have a child who wishes to know what it means to be an adult that they can conduct a pilgrimage to bring home the Purebright, a sign that, all can endure together no matter where we call home.