Learn the Difference, It Could Save Your Life

Huddled together in their hut of stone and sod, Elder Ongham hugged his children closer as the spirits of the dead raged outside. For it was the festival of Samhain, the first full moon after the harvest. On this night the dead rose up from their graves and communed with the living, gently knocking on doors to have a quiet word with their kin. Candles burned in windows and hollowed out gourds so the waking spirits might find their way home through the mist, and warm their souls by the hearth awhile. It was a homecoming of sorts, and most welcome to families in mourning for loved ones.


 But there was also a spirit in town who was not so welcome, said to be none other than Finart, the only son of Dis Pater; Lord of the Underworld. It was told that Finart, a warrior in his prime, met his bloody end in the fields nearby a hundred years before in a great battle. To punish his killers, Dis demanded a human sacrifice for his son each year on the night of Samhain or he would unleash all the dark souls in his keeping on the land. ...(videoG2) And so each year the folk in the area drew lots, and this Samhain it was the Ongham's youngest daughter Brigan who was picked by Druid Mera. Just six years old, she was to be tied to a stake outside their home with an offering of wine at her feet, and left there for Finart's hungry ghost to devour. But in the end Elder could not bear it, and as the sun dipped below the horizon he cut his daughter's bonds and carried her inside. "It weren't fair," he argued with his terror-stricken wife, "that she should be picked. The Onghams and my kin have given seven souls to the beast in 20 years, while the Corans, Morannons and Fensters have given naught. And small wonder, for it is they that rule the town and their Druid who picks the names! Why, none of the families of wealth ever seem to give their sons and daughters, and when a name of a rich family is picked it's always an old relative not long for this world anyway." Elder began to reconsider his decision a short while later when the spirit of Finart passed his home and saw the empty stake. The ghost raged against the small home with wind and rain, plainly trying to blow it over so that he might have his feast and bones to chew on all the long winter. For a spirit - even the son of a god - could not suffer to pass the doors of the living unless invited inside, but a broken home offered no protection. Elder knew his house was strong and built of heavy stones, but as Finart howled outside and mortar dust filled the room he knew a moment of doubt. Finart would depart when the sun came up, but that was hours away and he was stronger than piles of stone. Ongham also knew that he had the power to summon Dis, and that there would be no denying the Lord of the Dead if he joined the assault. He wondered if he gave his daughter up now if the ghost would be sated, or whether it would take more of his children to quell the demi-god's rage... "I've got an idea," said his wife suddenly. "When the god comes, and surely he must, he will be seeking mortals to devour." "Aye," said Elder, as if it were obvious. "That's the way it's done."