A Conversation From Long Ago
“So, you want to know about blōt lāc? [1]”
Yes.
“Well, it’s an old ritual — it used to be a ceremony amongst our kind, give to Mother Earth and you shall receive and all that rot — of course, it was quite uncivilised, not at all like magic today and-“
Abraxas. The ritual, if you please.
“Ah, of course, Tom, my apologies. Well, as I was saying, it’s a rather primitive ritual. It doesn’t involve runes of any sort — the wixen performing it were illiterate for the most part — and takes, oh, about seven days?”
Fourteen, but do go on.
“Yes, you’re right, fourteen days — the first seven are the actual important ones you know: a blood sacrifice is made once a day for the first three days, and twice for the next four. An animal or plant of some sort is hunted during those four days, one for each day, and then they’re collectively sacrificed on the seventh day. The next seven are Resting days I believe — have you gone over Resting days yet in class? — and then the ritual is complete. Quite wishy-washy if you ask me.”
Hm. Quite. Have you heard anything about the times of the sacrifices?
“Well, that is precisely what I mean by wishy-washy! There’s no specific time, no specific sacrifice, no specific date, or language, or preparation, or garb or anything! Every time I’ve heard of it has had a different instruction. I almost gave in and asked Professor Binns for a different task. Alas, it was not to be; my mother found a passage in some book of hers that she thought interesting and sent it to me, which I received as I was researching the homework, that ended up relevant.”
Yes, I imagine finding information about a millennium old ritual, from a time when magic was rarely committed to parchment, might have been difficult. May I take a look at the extract? I understand if it’s forbidden.
“Don’t be daft Tom, of course you can take a look. It isn’t as though you’re one of those other mudbloods who would tattle, and it really isn’t so special, though no doubt you might glean some insight from it.”
Indeed. Is this it?
“Yes. ‘Some wards are fundamentally rooted to the earth. Unlike others, they cannot be transported in any way as, without that connection, they dissipate. How are such strong ties created? You might wonder. All materials must be sourced locally, all preparation done locally and all wardmasters must have at least some local connection; this is done through either a temporary or a permanent residence in the area. These wards are generally longer lasting than others, and harder to remove, due to this connection to the land. However, they are easily worn away and need maintenance, especially in highly disaster prone areas where the land often changes…’ It goes on some more, but it isn’t really relevant.”
Very interesting. Blōt lāc is only about gaining magic’s fortune, is it not?
“It is. Why?”
Nothing important. I just find it curious that it came up in conjunction with a text on runes and wardmaking despite being neither. May I borrow this book Abraxas?
“Here, keep it. I’ll owl order one for myself.”
Thank you.