I know that many groups will be formed that take initiation for granted as part of the PC's past. For those who want to grow their character from an earlier age, the GM will really want to have thought about it beforehand, as Mikko is doing.
Here are my musings on what initiation is grounded on for women in a Heortling/Sartarite tradition, based on my RQ3 background. No doubt out-of-date, but might still be useful.
Women in Heortling society are assumed to be the calm (some would say cold), calculating side of the clan, and to be able to avoid the impetuous and thoughtless actions of a (stereo)typical young male. No doubt young women are taught to consider themselves somewhat superior than the men in this area, because they are taught better self-control.
However, one of the great lessons of Ernalda's sleep would be that had the men not been victorious over Chaos, Ernalda could never have woken. Spring would never have come; there would never have been healthy new life. So men must be praised for their willingness to risk death and worse for women, and admired for that.
I would also expect that most of those girls destined for more active roles in defending the stead would be identified ahead of time by omens at their birth, and by the observations of their families and priests. They might well be funnelled off to different initiation rites, as it would already be known that they wouldn't perform the normal Ernaldan initiation ceremonies successfully, and indeed might die during them.
Two of the most basic myths that we have of Ernalda are those that show her as steadwife for the Storm Tribe while Orlanth was away, and her Sleep during the Greater Darkness. In both of these myths, Ernalda is performing holding actions, initially supporting others who are fighting the good fight, and then trusting them to win out in the end while she hides where no enemy can find her. These, then, are the myths that I would draw on for initiation.
The values that I would expect the girls to learn or internalise would be those of endurance, conciliation, hospitality, planning ahead for the welfare of the group and keeping hope alive. Skills might include knowing how to deal with male advances, husbanding resources, triage, being able to hide. That last would include knowing how to hide your feelings (and control your temper), knowing how to hide your valuables and when all else fails, how to hide yourself and any defenceless people under your care.
How one could combine the two myths dramatically to test a girl's suitability to be considered adult is something that I know others can do better than I. I do agree that it should include both group and solo tests. Probably a gradual stripping away of all the support that she has been used to all her life, leaving her with only her own judgement to rely upon, culminating in the decision that the only recourse left is to Sleep.
I think that only the strongest of the girls will be able to delay this action until it absolutely must be performed, because many will give in to their fear before then. Some may try to hang on too long, or suddenly try to take an active stance against the Chaos/Darkness. These acts mark them as unsuspected candidates for Vinga or a Gori cult, or as girls who had not been able to learn their proper role. By that time, it may be too late for them to switch initiation paths, and they might die.
Meanwhile, I would think that the boys will be re-enacting the Lightbringers' Quest in some form, and the battle of I Fought, We Won. The successful young men should then be able to symbolically awake the young women, and all return together to the welcome of the clan.
Comments?
Alison
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