2892 P.C., the first of Summer, Hylicia’s Vale.
Each of the four festivals of the year has its own role; the spring festival celebrates the equinox, the prime point to start the planting season and celebrate the end of winter. The winter festival celebrates the gradually increasing lengths of the days of the year, and is a chance for families to spend time together. And the autumn festival celebrated the largest harvest of the year, the ideal time for a large feast with plentiful food, warmth, and alcohol abounding.
To Alunya and Antares, though, the summer festival stood somewhat separate from the rest; According to Reia, the summer festival was for grown-ups, and not children. Oh, it still had its place in agriculture; It was the fertility rite, where the town celebrated the bounty of the earth given to them, so they believed, by their gods.
But first and foremost, the fertility festival celebrated the bearing of new children into the world, and the couplings that made that possible. As such, Antares and Alunya had never been, too young to think about matchmaking.
But Antares was old enough now; Just a couple weeks until his 13th birthday, the age at which boys and girls would normally start fraternizing in the hopes of finding a match in the upcoming years. And of course, there is no force in this world that can keep Alunya from his brother's side on a festival day.
Alunya and Antares are sitting in the living room, Antares brushing out Alunya’s hair. The two of them had gotten up early; Unlike the other festivals, the summer festival is celebrated at about midday, which makes sense when you consider that, on the longest day of the year, there isn’t time for both sleep and festivities on the same night.
There was plenty to do to get ready; They had gotten breakfast, washed their clothes, bathed, and dried off. Now Antares was just brushing out Alunya’s hair so that it was at least comely. Reia had tried to cut it again, of course, but Alunya had hidden from her for something like thirty minutes before she eventually relented. Every festival warranted at least a token effort to clean up and look good, of course, but Reia had repeatedly stressed that this one, in particular, was very important; Making a good first impression on potential future brides was vital.
“Alright, I think it’s good now!” Antares exclaims, looking over to Reia for confirmation.
She sighs, putting her hand to her forehead. “I suppose it's the best I can do, since he won’t sit still long enough to cut it. Thanks for your help, Antares.”
Alunya was just smugly sitting in place, swinging his legs back and forth while looking at his reflection in the pot of water. Now my hair looks really cute, Ari did a great job. Alunya gloats to himself, hopping up to his feet.
Antares shrugs. “I dunno, I like his longer hair, it's pretty. I bet the girls will like it too.”
Reia sighs heavily. “It’s not them I’m worried about…” She mutters darkly. “Whatever, there's nothing to be done about it now. Come along.” She beckons her two sons, and the three head down towards the village center.
[...]
Alunya barely recognizes the village center compared to the last time he had been there; Tents are set up all over the place, and a new statue was placed in front of Hylicia’s plinth. Compared to the metallic sheen of the statue of Hylicia, the new statue was more roughly constructed, made of solid granite. The subject matter also looked far more mundane; rather than the rather abstract form of Hylicia above it, the statue portrayed the likeness of a nude adult with long flowing hair, arms splayed out displaying the palms facing forwards.
Alunya blinks in confusion at what he is seeing. The statue is a bizarre fusion of male and female traits, with muscular, wide shoulders, large globules of fat on its chest that would surely be the envy of half the village's women, wide hips, a swollen abdomen suggesting pregnancy, and a strange looking long, straightened penis jutting from its groin.
“Um, mom? What’s that?” Alunya asks, pointing at the statue, a little unnerved.
Reia blinks back in surprise. Somehow it had never occurred to her that her two sons were so sheltered they had never even seen the statue before. Even Antares was looking just as confused.
“This is Malay, the god who birthed our people.” Reia explains. She wasn’t exactly an expert on theology, but still, she had let down her sons to not even tell them of one of the principal gods of the village. “Their womb births the crops of our land giving us food, and their semen falls from the sky as rain to fertilize our crops and give us water to drink.” Reia continues.
Alunya stares at the statue, nonplussed. It was not nearly as impressive as the statue of Hylicia, the metallic, grandiose visage of a god given form, while this was… Just, a person. And not even a very pretty person, in fact, a rather gross looking one, with their grotesquely oversized gonads, swollen belly, and mismatched proportions.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
And the rain sure doesn't look like… ‘semen’. Alunya wrinkles his nose in disgust. …oh dear Hylicia, I hope it’s not, that’s so gross. A surreptitious look at Antares showed his older brother was almost certainly thinking the same thing.
Reia seemingly hadn’t noticed, though, as she bows before the statue. “We throw the summer festival in Malay’s honor, to thank them for their gifts that feed us and give us new children. And then, we pray to them to be blessed with easy childbirth, and to be spared from venereal disease.” She continues.
Alunya cocks his head to the side, curiously. “Ven-ear-ee-al?” He asks, sounding out the unfamiliar word.
Reia pauses. “Oh, goodness, of course you wouldn’t know what that means. It just means diseases that people can contract when coupling.” Reia elaborates.
Alunya grimaces. ‘Coupling’... That was the word Reia usually used for having kids. So in addition to being really gross, you could even get sick from it? Why would anyone ever want to do something like that? Alunya wonders privately.
His thoughts are interrupted when his attention is called to the high terrace behind the statue, where the sacrificial pyre usually was on other festivals, as the old priest Rallic rings the bell to call the attendees attention. As soon as the gathered crowd are paying attention and quieted down, Rallic spoke as loudly as his admittedly frail voice could manage.
“It is good to see you all again, my children. We come together on this auspicious occasion to celebrate the gifts given to us by our mother and father, Malay, and to shepherd in the next generation.” Rallic begins. “On this joyous occasion, we have four young couples ready to consummate their love for one another.”
The proceedings begin apace, Alunya barely paying attention as he looks around antsily. Rallic was introducing the couples, all 15 or 16 years old.
“...And young Dali and Kuzir” Rallic was introducing the last match, showcasing a girl who very obviously did not want to be there, her match’s hand clamped down around her arm with a vise-like grip.
“When they emerge from their embrace, they will be truly wed, ready to begin a new life with us, as man and bride.” Rallic declares, stepping aside to allow the couple into the tents behind Rallic.
Alunya looks over at Reia curiously. “What are they doing in there, mom?” He asks, cocking his head to the side.
Reia’s cheeks flush a little as she looks away, embarrassed. "They're... celebrating..." She replies, simply. Alunya blinks. What kind of explanation is that supposed to be?
Meanwhile, Antares was grabbing Reia’s arm and pointing to the food. “Mom? Why are people eating already, there hasn’t been a sacrifice.” He asks, confused. Reia just shakes her head.
“Malay doesn't ask for any sacrifices, just to honor their name and carry on our lineage. So the summer festival doesn’t need any sacrifices.” She shrugs. “Besides, the festival lasts all day, so people need to be able to get food. Are you hungry?”
Antares nods, so the three of them make their way to the buffet table, where a fantastic variety of food is laid out; Guanaco meat, sweet corn, potatoes cooked in every way one could imagine, pumpkin seeds and bread, rye sandwiches, squash and zucchini. Alunya darts from table to table, heaping up oversized helpings onto the ceramic disk that served as a plate.
“Hey, Antares!” Vekt was waving at the boy from where he was sitting with his sister and mother. Antares hesitates, trying to think if he had done anything that day worth being made fun of for. Hesitantly, he goes up to the table, pausing some distance away.
Yuvia gives a stern look to her son. “Now, Vekt, remember to be nice.” The boy rolls his eyes in response, before replying with a sarcastic sounding “yes, Mom.”
“Don’t sass me, or I’ll have to tell your father.” she lectures, which elicits a gulp of dismay from the boy followed by a much more serious sounding “Yes, mom.”
“So what did you want, Vekt?” Antares asks, nervously. Vekt gives him a coy grin, shoving a mug across the table to him, sloshing the dark colored contents over the rim.
“Have you still not gotten anything to drink?” He asks, concealing a smirk under faux sincerity. “I was just thinking about what a shame it was that you’re nearly 13 and still can’t manage to hold your drink.” Vekt watches Antares as the younger boy flushes.
“I-Yes I can!” Antares exclaims, stammering, and then as if to prove the point he takes the mug and downs the whole thing, trying to ignore the bitter taste. The fiery spiced beverage burns as it goes down his throat, and he feels nauseous, resisting the urge to vomit with some effort. Squeezing his eyes shut, he forces the beverage to stay down, before belching and opening his eyes, looking at Vekt fiercely.
“There! See? I-” Antares was interrupted by belching again, as he gazes out proudly. Vekt leans back, cracking a grin.
“Good job, Ant, you drank as much as my sister.” There is still something of a mocking tone to his voice as he pulls his sister over to give her a playful nuggie, Risa rolling her eyes but going along with it.
Yuvia frowns at Vekt. “What did I say about being nice?”
Vekt rolls his eyes. “Oh, come on, I’m doing him a favor. Dad said it would put hair on his chest. You want some hair on your chest, dontcha Ant?” Vekt looks up at Antares, who pauses in hesitation.
“Uh-uh-huh.” Antares stammers out, not wanting to look weak or soft, nodding his head. “Thanks for the drink, Vekt. How about… Another?” he smiles encouragingly, and Vekt cracks a grin back.
“Now you’re getting it!” He whoops. “Maybe there’s hope for you yet!”