Moonless Candle
In Solianism, there is a belief that if both moons are absent from the night sky,Keth, the god of Darkness in Solian mythology, may use this opportunity to come out of the shadows and roam the land during the night. As he does, he, or the dark forces he leads, may be able to enters someone's house and corrupt the heart of its inhabitants. Therefore, to prevent this, a person must lit a candle near their beds, so that Saol's presence, manifested in the candle's flame, can ward off any attempts by Keth's dark force to influence them.
History
How it began
It is unknown how the practice exactly started in Darnia, as the couple of records that we have from the country at the time only mentions the ritual passively, as if it wasn't something new at the time. Further proof of this is how by the time of the Karthian conquest of Darnia, during the latter years of the First Age, they noted how widespread the practice was.Spread and modifications
As Solianism grew in popularity in the Karthian empire, the ritual spread into its Samarian territories. The practice in the region has survived to this day. During the Second Age, its popularity began to wane a little bit in Enask and Samaria while it grew in Arros, particularly in the Hazian city states, which had by this time, largely discarted their old paigan beliefs and adopted Solianism. By the end of the Second Age, almost no one practice the ritual in Enask, yet after the fall, which lead to widespread misery and destruction on the continent, the rutual enjoyed a revival, particulary in Darnia. In Gysia, people began to light 2 candles, one for each moon and lit each one according to the moon that was absent during that particular night, meaning that on moonless night, they lit 2 candles instead of 1. This modification spread to the Carathengan Empire and it is still widely practiced today in its successor states.Execution
Either on a bed stand or a table near the bed of the person, or whichever place or thing the person sleeps in, a candle must be placed on it. The candle is lit only during a moonless night, right before the person goes to sleep. Once the candle is lit, the person can then safely go to sleep. The wax of the candle must be of red or blue colour, or the effects won't be nearly as strong. The candle will proceed to burn during the night. When the person wakes up, they do not put out the candle as it is considered a bad omen. Similarly, if the person wake up with an unlit candle next to them, it is considered a bad omen to take seriously for the duration of the day.
Components and tools
For a single candle ritual: A preferable long and thin, red or blue coloured wax candle and a small receptacle to collect the molten wax.
For a multi candle ritual: Each Candle is associated by a moon via its colour. One candle is blue, the other is red, to represent Veos and Hoben respectively. Each should be placed in receptacle to collect the wax. Each candle should be no more than 10cm appart from each other.
Related Ethnicities
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