Glada Vappen!

[suomi_thunder]

Aarne hadn't celebrated holidays properly in over a year which left him feeling disconnected. Giant bonfires in the streets and rampant reindeer were frowned upon in most civilized cities, unless of course the punks were involved, then that was arson not celebrations.. ok, well for the punks it was a celebration but not for a Saami.

In the Nexus though, oh here he could do whatever he wanted, or that was what he had learned in his few visits. He had been planning and cooking and collecting. The gods probably don't even know where he stirred up reindeer from in the Nexus but he has and Mouka was happy to have a job keeping them corralled. His usual rock gear is augmented with his family necklace and oddly doesn't look too out of place with rest of his wildness.

He didn't have a lot but parties always started this way. The host had some things and then people came and brought more booze and food, ordering all kinds of things. Aarne did bring Mead, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and a a bunch of lemon tippaleipä batter. He had cooked some but this was something he could show visitors how to make on their own. The honey mead based sugar in a large bowl. Strips of dried reindeer meat and juustoleipä, a Finnish reindeer milk cheese, are out on the table too. There are fruits; strawberries, apples, and nuts which were common as well as a cream from reindeer milk traditional to the culture and nearly like unfermented yogurt.

That all done he looked to the huge pile of logs that he had gotten from various people around the Nexus. The Sami added leaves to it to create smoke at first to attract others. Before lighting it he put up a banner of hide dedicated to the Akka, the female fertility spirits, decorated with the same imagery as his traditional drum. It was sentimental, the first drum he ever learned to play.

Drum in hand he poured kerosene on the log pile and lit it. The reindeer spooked at the sudden fire but soon calmed, especially when the tall Fin went among them.

Comments

[suomi_thunder]

Aarne is slightly confused and takes a moment to gather a response. "How do you reconcile other people who say thier god or goddess are responsible for those things?"

Aarne had seen clashes between Lutheran religion and what remained of most Saami spiritual beliefs so it is something on his mind. "Our belief is that our spirits watch over the Earth for our people to provide what they need and that other people's look after the Earth for what they need."

He needs a moment to cough and collect himself from choking but then he asks a very pointed question. "How will you protect your people if you don't go to live among the ancestors of your people?"

His own beliefs were strongly rooted in ancestors and becoming one. The break in the circle, a human wanting to leave it, was so strange to how he saw the world.

He makes a thoughtful sound at the questions. They are going into personal and specific workings of his spirituality and that of his people which takes thought gathering.

"We can ask but usually they come on thier own." That was a start but he realizes that Mordred is trying to understand and that explains nothing concrete.

"Maderakka watches over women and children and when a boy becomes a man he leaves her influence and joins her husband. We know she watches me because I was a boy but I grew up to be more womanly than a man." He's not at all bothered to ask about this aspect of himself. "The animal is related to the recently deceased ancestor we are named for who will be there for us. Aarne means eagle strength and to be unwavering in adversity."

He takes a moment to drink so mead and give Mordred time to take in what he is saying. "Tiermes is the God of thunder and drumming. Feminine people are not supposed to be drawn to drums but I picked them up on instinct. The people knew he was there." Aarne starts laughing. "The reindeer is stubborn, defiant, chaotic, loud, rowdy and gregarious."

Mordred might not understand how appropriate that was but if he spent any significant time with Aarne he would see the reindeer there in his being with ease.

[itdruid]

Mordred shrugs. This, at least, is something he's been asked a lot his entire life. "Let them believe what they want. It's no different than someone telling me the Goddess-- doesn't exist and the Christian god is the only one." He hesitates for a moment before deciding to add to that thought. "I know both gods both exist, and that many others exist, too. I knew it even before I became an envoy. Which divine takes which action isn't-- always clear, and that's okay with them." Usually, but he won't digress. "So long as a god-- or spirit's followers don't lose faith, there's no reason to force a reconciliation of faiths. It rarely does anything but upset all involved."

His ability to relate to his people because of his newly acquired immortality is a much more difficult subject. The envoy worries the hem of his shirt between his fingers for a moment before he answers. "I did-- live among them at some point. I'm a reincarnation, though I don't have any of the man's memories." He frowns thoughtfully. "Souls of the dead go to where they're most needed in my faith, and I trust the Goddess to show me any-- memories or visions I need to do Her will." He has faith in Her. His whole life She's been kind and generous, if somewhat distant, and this deepening of their relationship seems a clear sign that She trusts him and his judgement, and together they'll do great things for the people of Earth. He truly believes that.

This is so much more information and complexity than Mordred was expecting. He listens closely, focusing more on what Aarne is offering than the mead in his hands. "You follow signs to know who has come to you?" That's kind of how it sounds? It's not entirely clear to him, though. "Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but it seems like the gods and spirits you speak of are part of you because of who you are, and because of that they-- will reach out to make their presence known."

[suomi_thunder]

Aarne's curiosity is rooted in his own experiences where hearing another speak their views has a potential to be beneficial. His beliefs align closely with whatever god or spirit a person needed being there, so he saw no direct conflict himself. "Most of my people were forced to Christianize and abandon our culture. I'm always looking for ways to stop it from continuing to the few who are left with the old ways."

After listening to the answer he merely shrugs. "Our beliefs differ but your dead have a different purpose than ours."

That was ok with Aarne. Some of the questioning was more curiosity since he spent most of his life among Christians with little contact to anyone but his own family.

The final questions though he has to consider for a time. He's thinking through how each came to be known to him or others. Again he's find there isn't a clean and clear answer with one way to explain everything. "Sometimes."

It was the best answer he had when he first tried to tackle these questions. "Maderakka and her husband, Ukko, protect us because of the life we have; man, woman or child. We're named for an ancestor and inherit their animal guide as they got it from the person they were named for before them."

That took care of two that come at birth, or with life changes that are easy for anyone to see. Others needed more in depth insight into a person. "Any others can come from their own interest in us or from a noaidi calling for aid or a person can by finding their sacred spaces. They may come and go or stay for a lifetime. A noaidi saw that my spirit called the reindeer but everyone could see Tiermes had come to teach me when I picked up the drum when I was a child."

[itdruid]

It's still difficult for Mordred to process the complexity of Aarne's beliefs. They're rooted in a culture and a pantheon he simply doesn't know, and trying to learn everything about it on the fly is a difficult ask. He nods along as he listens, taking in everything he can to work through as soon as he can. Hopefully he can learn and understand enough to not cause trouble or friction when he and Aarne next speak.

"I don't fully understand," he admits with a hesitant smile. "Your gods, spirits, and beliefs feel so much more intricate than mine. I have only one direction to look for guidance and answers while you and your people have many, including non-permanent ones." Unconsciously, he begins to worry at his shirt again. He's trying so hard to make a good first impression, and it's a little distressing to know he's still a fallible human. True, he's only been an envoy for a few weeks, but he was hoping his own deep faith would help him more here. "I'm in awe of it all, really, even though I'm-- also intimated by how much you know and act on by instinct."

[suomi_thunder]

Aarne knows this isn't easy for others, even the other Nordic peoples in his own band took time to get it down.

"The basic difference is to us, everything alive has a spirit capable of interacting with us and alive is more broadly defined. The world is more vivid and alive spiritually than it is for some other cultures." He gently patted Mordred's shoulder; friendly, gentle, and accepting when he notices the nervous sort of actions. "I was born into these beliefs. I'm a native speaker of the practice. I might not always understand yours either because I would be learning about a new language and a new view of everything around us and inside of us."

Aarne has a spiritual openness from his long life of interacting very personally with those beliefs and at times wearing them like a shield.