Great Bear Wilderness ↫ kaaliksiruk ↬

the wedding of callyope & sólhárr has begun! this thread is for @Callyope, @Solharr, @Aiolos, & kukutux (no posting order) everyone else, please feel free to start other threads in the GBW responding to the ceremony and the feast afterward (& in the titles i encourage folks to put [wp] for wedding party or [ce] for celebration or something else which defines the threads) guests can be tagged accordingly or feel free to just show up :) click for wedding locale!

@Vairë @Ipiktok @Rodyn @Ajei (@Raindrop & @Masa for visibility) @Iruna @Rokkur @Luhtar @Yngvi @Ylva @Pangur @Kalyska @Kinusi @Raen @Y'var'la @Hōkūlani @Stærk @Reilly @Cicero Dvořák @Velia

great flurries of snow marked day and hour of the official union between callyope and sólhárr. this bond would now wrap moonglow and fornesjka in the ties of official kinship, and some part of kukutux grieved.

moonspear. moonglow. moontide. moonsong. nuiruk blood called in her spirit which had as of late felt ancient, displaced. callyope should be walking from the village of her mother and father to claim one of the moonlands, and yet this did not come to pass.

four altars had been set in a clearing. two were of moonglow, simple fallen trees wiped free of snow and set with sacred things: round pieces of blood-stained ivory, yellowed now with age. caribou teeth, a gleaming heap. scarlet leaves preserved beneath firemother in deep drifts, carried carefully to the wedding-place. three red shells to represent samani; three unclouded crystals to stand for ariadne, sisters who by all rights should be here.

these altars of moonglow faced those forneskjan places of tribute standing across the clearing. she too had cleared the snow but did not touch them, wondering even through her malaise what the wolves of the north would bring.

at the base of the nuiruk altars, gifts had begun to be piled. her own carried only the whitest hues, a silent expression of honor for the northern ways which callyope had also chosen as her own. pale caribou hides. a ruff of elk-fur, washed twice and hung to dry inside an ulaq. kukutux had taken careful steps to ensure that dessicated rose petals were brushed thoroughly into the silken hairs, a hint of summertime wind for callyope's wintered enjoyment. deerhide had been chewed into soft leather, small pieces stacked into a bundle; an offering for the future grandchildren.

voices gathered. eyes watched.

from chin to chest she was striped now in a line of fresh hare's-blood and offered the same to her daughter. callyope was in no danger of being forsaken by their spirits, but kukutux insisted upon protection all the same. "today their faces and the faces of other gods both watch. we have no decision over how they may see one another."

her pulse bit into a higher throb.

between the altars in that clearing, the moonwolves stood before their daughter and her chosen. any murmurs spoken now were only for them to know, though soon the duck straightened beneath her wrap of white foxhide and lifted voice for those assembled to hear.

"we gather for a daughter of moonglow, callyope nuiruk, and for a man from the north, sólhárr of forneskja." kukutux spoke in a clear voice, pushing the coalescence of tangled thought from her mind in a smooth motion. this day belonged not to her, but to them all.

"sólhárr has given to sun man and to moonwoman the bride price which was asked. his strength has spilled blood. his power has showed might. and for her, and with her, he has built forneskja. he is accepted, and we see that her heart too has made a place for him to live."

her gaze was thoughtful upon him, warm upon callyope; she glanced to aiolos to see if he would speak before her smile encompassed sólhárr and her moon-daughter.

"here we are not only nuiruk. speak to one another. in this place and this moment, you are both and you are neither. a man and a woman, seen before all our spirits and our gods." to humour the moment, to encourage true smiles and open words, kukutux offered them each a bit of deer fat, frozen white; the natural melt symbolized the ease she hoped for them to share always when sharing words with one another.

frame draped in the heavy hide of an oxen, its weight a comforting reminder of his kaldrhjarta blood and the strength of his northern heritage. the fur rested across his shoulders like a mantle of the old ways, a symbol not only of his lineage but of the bond now forged between moonglow and forneskja. the cold air brushed against his fur, but the fire in his chest burned hotter than ever.

his golden eye swept over the altars, the offerings of moonglow and his kin standing in harmony, a union of traditions made sacred under the watchful gaze of gods and ancestors. he felt the weight of kukutux's words settle upon him, not a burden, but a mantle of honor, tying him not only to callyope but to the spirits and kin who stood witness.

as the sacred fat was passed to him, sólhárr accepted it with a steady paw, his gaze meeting callyope's. her beauty shone like the moon itself, her strength reflected in the deliberate way she held herself. for her, his heart swelled with a quiet reverence, a depth of affection unspoken but clear in his every action.

he leaned toward her slightly, his voice low yet firm, words meant for her but offered with a pride that carried to the others gathered. elska min, he began, his tone filled with both solemnity and warmth. you are my light in the dark, my strength when i falter. before gods and spirits, i vow to be your shelter, your shield, your equal.

he lifted the fat briefly, a symbolic motion, then let it rest against his lips, the melt a cool, grounding touch. sólhárr’s golden eye glanced to kukutux and the assembled kin before returning fully to callyope.

this union, he said louder now, his voice resonating through the clearing, is not just for us, but for all who gather here. for moonglow, for forneskja, and for the lives we will build together.

with that, he stepped closer to callyope, lowering his head so their foreheads could touch lightly, his golden eye closing in quiet communion. together, he whispered, meant only for her, the word carrying all the strength and devotion he had to offer.

Rodyn did not go near the bride amd groom. But rather kept further away. Watching with a small ache in his chest. He had this beauty once amd it was lovely and yet it hurt.

He had laid his own offerings
Deer skin and elk fur. Bones for children to gnaw. And then he had simply taken up place further away and watched quietly.

Ajei wrapped in the fur Ariadne had given. She lay her own offerings. Small tilrinkets salmon. The claws of bears that they had lost in the salmon run. Then she had found a quiet space to enjoy and watch. A small kernel of happiness amd hope deep in her chest.

big post so please click to expand sections as desired. all tags are for reference and to maybe give people some things to play around with in their own wp/ce threads!

bride-to-be

---

before the first light of day, when the moon still teased the sky, she had asked @Iruna to help cleanse her. in the territory's own baths she had set out to work.

prayer and song mingled in the air. she told stories of sunshine ways and practiced the tongue of the northern man she would marry. words for Sedna's ears, words for Lífbjörg's own too. when the time had come to emerge from the cold waters she had walked the woods.

in that time, she wished to be alone.

she did not speak words to the spirit that she knew lived within here — sistraa — but she felt freely. she placed out bones and old lavender. it would be these things that she sang over now. a working song that the whole forest might awake to the sounds of. as her voice rose, she rolled the dried lavender until it crumbled. then rolled herself upon it in hopes that damp fur might awake it. that the spiritual use of it would be held within her as she walked today.

until the wedding hour came, she would wear nothing else upon herself. no extra furs, no further decoration.

yet she had seen to it that forneskja's own were decorated however they wished. pale furs as promised for the Læknir. other hides offered to any other women who wished. she meant to show the strength, riches and beauty of forneskja on this day. let there be no question of the things offered to her by her beloved and that she had lost no status in taking the hand of a northern man.

her husband! he was to be!

bride

---

she had instructed iruna, @Rokkur and @Yngvi to gather items that showed the heart of forneskja. boar's teeth and dried flowers. a stone that had been chipped by nature to show an opalescent inside — a showing of the moon's importance to the northerners as much as sunshine people. these were things meant to be offered at the altar's cleared for forneskja's involvement.

she had faith and trust in the dutiful bodies to handle their arrangements.

to her mother, she came bare save for the dried lavender and snow that clung to her fur — surely to be swept off by the end of all of this. regardless, she was prepared to be given the blood marking from chin to chest, protection given and in it she found continued strength. perhaps she did not need the security but it was a deep honor to be allowed such and a shine to the spirits to display she knew her place still. sunshine was not lost in the northern snow that she had found comfort in.

we have no decision. she echoed with understanding, a soft nod of her head. a binding of worlds in flesh and in spirit. she knew in her blood that what watched over them today was more than just the eyes of those gathered. so many had come! it might have been enough to frazzle her but —

she had eyes only for him. oxen-draped and shining with strength. she found him more handsome than she had the first day she'd seen him. his new scars added to him like a tapestry. every time she gazed into his face she would see the physical marks of his devotion to her.

it was the voices of moon and sun that carried them into this binding now.

both and neither. they were everything all at once — and in this way, they always would be.

the deer fat was a savored thing. as rich as their love and as smooth as their words might always be! she smiled and ignored any misting within her gaze.

hjartsláttur. tillinik. my heartbeat, no matter what tongue i speak in. smiling, smiling! her cheeks warm and they hurt from how much she could not contain her emotion! if you are my shield then i am your spirit. you are my forest shade and i am your moonlight. in all ways we cannot be one without the other.

we are stronger together — all of us.

all of them! not just the two wedded to each other now but all the faces gathered. every village would benefit from the union and the fullness of the two hearts gathered.

her forehead against his, the deer fat gave the moment a richness of the wilderness.

together. whispered only for him now.