Last month of the year: Festire the 16th day.

This is a moonless night: a dark night. Not as infamous as the 32th yet almost as dark.

Darkest nights at the end of the month are not simple moonless nights there is something more in the air like something is magically obscuring the stars and disturbing the atmosphere filling it with spook and angst as if some impending danger is lurking around in the murk. It feels more magical than natural maybe something to do with the gods whereas 16th new moon days are more plain and mundane moonless nights.

But this 16th is different at least for me. All the kids that are to attend next year naming day are summoned at the Temple. Not our local neighbourhood temple but THE Temple.

The great Temple is located in the north-west part of the city near the second stream flowing through it: the hoyirin. This stream stems from the nearby mountains and is smaller than the great Awanui river but its waters are regarded as purer. Thus the western district built around it became the living place for the riches and nobles. Blades and free citizens live in this part of the city and I've never been there before.

The tailor shop is still bustling with activity the orders for the incoming pantheon daynight and end of the year festivities are almost completed but there are still the dresses for naming day to work on.

Mom is too busy to lead us to the great Temple thus it is Gel's and Melodi's mom that are in charge.

They are tasked with 8 children of our neighbourhood, the usual suspects: Melodi, Gelcaria, Balout and I but also four other ones: the unsavoury Anfers and 3 newcomers.

A small trollkin called Berik, he is a walking pile of soapstone pebbles with 2 beryls for eyes. I still wonder if there is flesh under their rocky skin or if they are purely made of minerals ? How does they work ? Are they classified as mammals or are they something else entirely ?

Alongside them comes 2 girls : Chari a cute and energetic black haired girl with twin tailed braids. She is running and jumping around us obviously unable to control her excitement at going to some place new AND meeting new kids. Taller than Gel and even leaner than us her wrists are so bony I can see her arteries pulsating under her skin like worms making their way beneath her skin.

Her fellow is called Linata and is her polar opposite: more reserved and shy, reminding me of Gelcaria at our first meeting. She's a pale skinned ginger lassie, her short air stands atop her head as if blowed in every directions. Along with her freckled face she looks like she stood near an explosion at birth and some sparks remained on her face.

Gel's mom: Ovidee, is in charge of Gel, me, Balout and Berik the gravel mound. She seems on edge and tired. I can't spot any bruises on her but I know Gelcaria is coming at my place once every other month...

Melodi is with her mom a beast kin rabbit named Calido. She has the iconic two soft rabbit ears atop her head flapping to her sides. Her light brown skin looks as smooth as milk coffee and is covered with patches of short brown fur on her, looking soft and fluffy. She is a waitress at one of the inn near the docks yet is a soft spoken one. Her gentle voice is soothing but can convey orders without raising volume, she is a cute bunny but with the natural authority of a lioness.

The four under her watch are kept on a tight leash and even the over-peppy Chari keeps the rank without any burst or scream from Calido's part.

I don't yet understand how heredity works for beastkins. Melodi is a catkin yet her mother is rabbitkin so is her father catkin too ? What about her siblings ? Can beastkins get any animals traits or is there a genetic rule governing the phenotype ? Does children inherits their mother's or father's traits, is it a recessive or dominant transmission ? Many questions with no answers.

Whatever, I cant google it or search Wikipedia and thanks to their strange writing I can't even read a single damned book around here. I haven't even seen a single book till now.

The great temple is on the other side of the city. It would be too far a walk for us kids so our two custodians brought a wheelbarrow with them. It's got a 2m tall wheel in the middle and planks resting on the axis on each side. We are seated four on each side to equalize our load evenly and keep the balance. Berik is the heaviest of us and is put with the lightweights: Gel, Linata and Chari. I sit on the other side of the wheel with the rest of us. I'm next to Anfers who dares not look at Gelcaria. Melodi growls and hisses lowly at him on his other side separating him from Gelcaria. The kid looks ill at ease yet didn't apologize to Gel which I wish he did. I calm down Melodi, the kid already got punished enough so there is no use to stir more trouble for any of us. Gelcaria glares at him a few times but the blond haired bad mouther don't dare cross her eyes.

Calido is pushing our wheelbarrow ride while Ovidee is in front pulling and steering. Our journey is bumpy because of the cobblestone pavement but otherwise surprisingly smooth. We are either lighter than I thought or Calido is stronger than she looks, she is a beastkin after all. We are travelling at a decent pace and Ovidee is driving us safely without abrupt turns or stops.

* * * * * * * *

We pass through the northern district: the “industrial district”. It is divided in two hills with a tall mountainous solitary peak in the middle. The northern city wall has no gate as there are no roads up north. There is nothing in that direction, nothing but the mountains and its lairs of monsters...

The solitary peak is called “the shaft” it might have an other more official name but I've never heard it. It is a true mountain 500 m tall at least, on its top there is a fortified tower adorned with the biggest light crystal there is, bigger than the ones on the lord's castle itself making it “the lighthouse”. Not that there are boats in need of direction but because it can illuminate an area on the ground or in the air in case of monster attack by night.

A patrol walkway snakes it's way around the peak, reinforced with parapets and platforms with ballistas.

At the bottom of “the shaft” lies the entrance to the city's mines called “the crack” that is one of the main sources of Nakunaui's city prosperity. The underground around here is rich with magic crystals and metals galore. Mining brings raw resources that are then processed on east hill. My father's smithery is there and so is the stonemason where Gel's dad is working. On the other side, west hill is more filled with artisans and workshops mostly meant for blades and other wealthy citizens of the western district. There you can find ceramists, jewellers, needleworkers and leather crafters, sculptors and fine wood workers. The hills are nicknamed “the balls” (ok we get it, people around here are soooo inventive with naming...). Both areas are dedicated to Arteus and Tamayoku respectively god of craft and goddess of riches and many workshops around have some mosaics on their front wall celebrating one or the other, or both.

There is a lot of traffic in the northern part of the city with carts fully loaded with goods, riders atop their tojas hurrying to wherever and workers running around. This is the belly of the city where the resources absorbed by the city are processed and where most of the work is done. Streets are filled with the smell of smoke, stone powder, sweat and the stink of freshly tanned leather. Luckily the tanneries are far south of the city, downstream so as to not pollute the river inside of the city.

There are foodstalls at each corners calling for their customers: the nearby peckish workers, adding the scents of oil, baked bunta and roasted sausages to the already saturated air.

South of us at the center of the city the lord's Mount is towering above us with it's castle.

If we are in the belly of the city there lies the Head.

Our drivers are stopped at the entrance of the western district for a check point.

There are more patrols around here not only of city guards in their blue mails but also a couple of Jalea's thorns: young maidens trained in combat clad in white armours with juttes at their waist and Sasumatas in hand. The pole arms with an U shaped fork atop are their emblematic sign. They are an elite corp of peacekeepers. Jalea is the goddess of Justice so protecting the city's order is their way of praying.

Nothing is more dreadful for a criminal than a zealot armoured Shaolin monk police officer.

There are even some private guards patrolling near the domains of blades and manors of the wealthiest but we shouldn't have to go this deep in the western district.

The guard let us through seeing that we are obviously kids meant to go at the main temple for the end of the year sermon: all kids our age should be there today nobles and servs alike.

The great temple is resting in front of a giant paved plaza with mosaics on the ground representing a few gods. I can see depictions of Tamayoku, Arteus, Amidea and Oreo along our way. In the middle of the plaza there is a massive marble obelisk covered with writings. I can decipher only a few of the signs: sun, fire, father but can't make sense of the story carved on it.

We stand off of our ride to join the gathered crowd covering the plaza today. Our chaperons divide us as planned : Ovidee is holding Gel and Balout by the hand, I'm to hold Gel's hand and Berik is holding an ill at ease Balout's one. Troll fingers are famous for their unnatural strength, and with his six fingers (3 opposing 3) holding hands with a troll must be weird.

I teasingly wink at Melodi as she is to hold hands with Anfers. She snarls back at me. Her claws are unsheathed and discretely drawing some blood from the poor kid who is clenching his remaining teeth to not look like a wimp not daring to complain.

Catkin anatomy is a strange one: her hands and fingers are humanlike clearly not paws yet she can at will pop sharp claws from under her nails. She says it is a bit painful though and usually avoid using them.

In front of the temple there are fifteen wide panels each depicting one of the gods and bearing its colours adorned with corresponding jewels and precious metals. In the middle there is a simple but immaculately white panel.

Ovidee takes us to the west part of the plaza where the other kids look as much as commoners as we do some are even leaner and dirtier than us. At our right there are what I believe to be servs kids. They look pitiful, obviously malnourished and ill clothed in this cold winter, shivering in the frigid air. Reminding me of the adds campaign of NGOs fighting against hunger. Some have kwashiorkor their belly tense with oedema rather than food... I wonder how many aren't here because they died of hunger in the previous years and how many of them will make it through the two remaining months before naming day.

In contrast on the opposite side of the plaza are the children of blades. Few in number but making up for it with a display of wealth. Full of energy and with plump faces beaming with health and obvious opulence. Clad in silk, adorned leather and rabbits furs to protect them from the cold. Some even have some magical outfits. There is a kid that is literally wearing flames dancing upon his skin without burning him. That must ward off the cold... They are the generation groomed to lead and protect mine. They might not die of hunger but battles against monsters awaits them later on.

In the end Otik, the god of death, will greet all of us.

In between are the free citizens. Children of the “middle class”. They are what one could expect from healthy kids. Their appearance is more variegated and there are more coloured ones and other races, elves and beastkins mostly. Their outfits are also more mismatched some almost as luxuriant as the blades and some barely better dressed than me. At least they have real sandals at their feet and that alone makes me jealous. I wish I was reborn in a rich or noble family.

The additive chatters of a few hundreds children makes for a deafening noise. I cant count how many we are, I would say at least two hundreds. So more than a hex of hex.

The temple itself is a majestic three story building made of a mix of marble and white granite. Each story is about 6 meter high and at its top there is a 15 stories pagoda tower, it's height probably reaching more than 40 meters high. There are four smaller towers at each corner of the building carrying one of the time bells each.

As daybell chimes (10:30 AM approx) a group of priests comes out dressed in a flurry of colours. They take place in group of three before their corresponding panels. As far as I can tell there seems to be 2 priests and one “cardinal” dressed more opulently and in the colour of his patron god.

In front of the white panel stands a lone old man his long white beard almost reaching the ground. His attire is immaculate without ornaments yet he is the obvious “pope” here. I don't know if there is a centralized hierarchy for the temple on the continents or if the title even exist but he is clearly the head of the Temple at least in our shieldom.

The guards scattered around the plaza hush everyone up. Silence ensues and as the white priest raises his hands the four bell towers rings four times each.

In the aftermath the “cardinal” clad in green and wearing emerald bracelets steps forward. From afar I can only tell she is a woman in her forties and infer she is Tupu Ae'Tur's priestess as she stands before her icon.

She speaks and her voice can magically be audible all around the plaza. I cant tell if it's magic, chi enhancing her vocal chords or a divine intervention at play but it is impressive nonetheless even more so for the servs.

“On this holy day let me welcome you in the name of Tupu Ae'tur. Today you are to be introduced to the gods in preparation for your incoming naming day, may you grow till then.” She declare with emphasis.

She then briefly expose the domain of her goddess: growth, time, change and what worshipping Tupu means.

This ceremony is mostly targeted at the servs I guess. My comrades and I got our own catechism already done by sister Sunyeo. If even we got some catechism I can only guess that so did the blades and citizens. And indeed the offspring of blades and citizens are already starting to chatter among them out of boredom and disinterest.

The “cardinals” go on of after another, introducing their god to the servs. Sometime with a bit of special effects to impress: the priest of Oreo shot a golden flame over the plaza creating a small panic among the servs and commoners.

The protector gods are introduced first: Jalea the maiden of justice, Amidea the drowned virgin, Arteus the crafter and Husnd the armed patriarch: god of family but also war and fighters. He is represented by a fierce looking warrior with a leonine beard and side whiskers clad in bronze armour and wearing two blood stained shields instead of weapons.

Oreo and his fireworks comes last but brings a welcomed warm breeze upon the plaza.

Then comes the five wavering gods : Fortan the god of luck making fun of both your miseries and fortunes. His cardinal is a smiling gnome (or at least a very small human) laughing madly while jolting around throwing fruits at the crowd, some are perfectly edible and some are rotten.

Tamayoku's priest is the most ostentatious of all: covered in gold, diamonds, silk and bright coloured feathers. She is the goddess of riches but also the guardian of both merchants, thieves and miners, valuing the thirst for gold above anything else. If some were expecting a money shower they are disappointed.

When Akolaï's priestess comes forward I cast a sideglance at Gel who looks both annoyed and curious at the “cardinal”. The priestess is a seductive young lass no older than 20 wearing a revealing silky see-through bikini. I can only hope she gets some protection from her god because we are in the depth of winter and showing so much skin in the freezing temperature is a real display of her devotion. We learn nothing new from her but she confirms my guess: sex is definitively part of Akolaï's rule.

After her comes a strange one completely covered in night blue turbans only letting one of their eye visible. They is shrouded in a light fog and is Shinpilo's cardinal: god of knowledges, secrets, plotters, liars and spies. I'll have to one day pay them a visit. I believe there is much we can do for one another.

Finally Tupu's priestess comes forward again but doesn't have much to add.

We've already been standing here for an hour and I'm starting to feel my legs go stiff. On the servs side many have had their legs give up under them and are now squatting or sitting on the stone cold floor. I'd like to do the same but I would be the only one around my group and don't feel like standing out. So I endure.

Speaking of which now the 5 rampaging gods are introduced and the first one is Dard: god of endurance, resilience but also pain and sufferings. His priest has scars on every inch of visible skin. Small and thin ones but also a large gash on his face taking one of his eyes. He looks like a grizzled veteran, unmoveable and unrelenting that went through the fire of many battles.

He cast his blessing upon the servs promising them the strength to survive through this winter.

Next is Fusaad god of rot, disease, but also food and rebirth. His cardinal get acclaimed as she throws food at the servs. The verdigris staple bunta bread is given aplenty. I'm not sure I would eat something coming from a priestess of disease but an empty stomachs knows no bounds. If I was starving I would eat it too.

An exotic bunch then steps forward spinning on themselves with strangely shaped blades dancing around: chakrams, sabres, rapiers, scythes and sais. They remind me of dervishes just with more cutting involved. They are worshipping Nasibor, the goddess of violence but also any motion be it action or travel. She is the one moving the world around mostly in a brutal fashion.

They are followed by a trio of cultists wearing a dress with multiples tentacles around them. Those are eerily swirling around obviously animated by either magic or divine will. These Cthulhu looking priests are dedicated to Charavatkeh, god of beasts and pets, wildness and tameness. He is the all-herder taking care of all animals around even the dangerous ones.

He should be one I would like working with too, he is kind of the god of veterinarians.

Finally a silent bunch steps forward half dressed in black and half in pure white. Their leader is of few words as he introduces Otik: god of Death, spirits, rest and respite. His presence is already well known from the servs. Too often do they meet his priests. He gains some favour when he extends his hand toward the servs washing their fatigue away so that they can stand on their feet again.

As I thought it was over the white pope stands forward. Reminding every one that the gods are to be worshipped because they are our strongest wall against the monster threat. He warns us all that the last god is lurking outside stirring his armies to go after us. And that even the rampaging five are to be respected for the strength they lend us is much needed in our never ending war.

After that some of the youngest, probably priests in training, walk among the blades and free citizens collecting alms in small baskets while commoners and servs are exempted.

Day bell rings thrice meaning we are already past noon. This ceremony lasted a bit longer than a lengthy movie I would say something like 3 hours.

As Ovidee pulls our hands my legs refuses to move. I curse at this weak juvenile body. Despite my training regimen, I'm still so weak. I'm not the only one, Chari, Linata and Balout are also asking for a break. Our chaperons have no choice but to allow us to sit on the ground for a little time. I wish we also got some of Otik's benediction.

This ceremony was obviously catered to the servs and those without catechism to make sure there would be no one without basic knowledge of the pantheon before naming day. It might also be a yearly tool to survey the child population, gathering all children of the same age to have an estimation at how many made it this old and plan the city management ahead.

The plaza is slowly emptying itself. Carriages and pedestrians dispersing like leaves in the wind. After a short breather we are taken back to our ride and our two mother-in-charge power it up.

As Berik's and Balout's stomachs growl loudly when passing near the food stalls in the northern district our drivers take a break.

They buy a snack for us: a piece of fried tripe sausage and a slice of warm grilled bunta bread. The hot meal is more than welcome. There is no tea but our drivers get themselves a cup of hot wine like smelling like heated barok with spices.

One shouldn't drink and drive especially when transporting children but I'm in no position to lecture them.

In fact I could use a warm cup too.