The Pony Altar
There are two further levels to the tradition.
In one, the naming of parties in the token basket of the Pony Altar did not result in a fight to the death, but instead ended with both people executed by exposure. They would be taken to The Wilds and tied to ancient sacrificial stones. Their remains would be collected one year later on the next Pony Night. Any bones that could be recovered were taken to town and smashed up and painted. They would eventually become the mosaic artwork of the goddess that can be seen in her ancient temples.
The older origin of the tradition is that it is the last day of the life of the Pony King, and the first day of the reign of the new Pony King. The new Pony King was taken to the Wilds with his predecessor so that he, alone with the clerics, would know the fate that awaited him. He would spend the night tied to the Stone of the New King, and his achilles tendon of his favoured leg would be cut. In the morning, he would be taken by the clerics back to the temple, riding on a pony. All throughout the year, the Pony King enjoyed the privileges of a partly divine being, although he was forbidden to take a life or to divulge certain secrets, including the nature of the ritual of the New King.
At the next reenactment of the Pony Altar, it was the mutilated king, without his pony, who would hobble through the settlement carrying baskets for offerings and tokens. The people would cast tokens indicating their choice of the next Pony King.
Mochache the Ranger saw a secret version of the ritual take place at the Temple of Dendrah in Duntown where he served as an acolyte. He mistakenly thought that it was an animal sacrifice, but it was in fact a young man who had come to the temple requesting refuge. In the secret version of the ritual, a man is declared the Sacred King and crowned with evergreen leaves. He is then drugged by mead contaminated with mushrooms and has his achilles tendon severed, then his throat cut. The congregation collect a little of the blood and mix it with their mead.
The Pony Altar is an ancient tradition of the first human towns of Westlo. It is best known from the legends of Hollymargret, but seems to have been practiced for a time in Duntown and Yarn, if not other older villages.
Due to the more brutal aspects of the tradition, including needless animal cruelty, the Pony Altar is either no longer practiced, or it is substituted by a guising festival, particularly in Duntown, where children put on horse masks and go from house to house asking for sweet treats.
History
The ancient origins and beginnings of the Pony Altar are unknown, but some details might be suggestive of them:
- the tradition is connected with the coming of human civilisation to Westlo
- small hill ponies are native to the region
- the healing power of the goddess Dendrah is invoked
Execution
The most recent form of the tradition was the following: a small pony, of a species native to the hills of the area, was mutilated so that it would walk with a limp, then driven by whip round the city or town with a two baskets affixed to it. The right basket was to contain offerings of coins to the temple, the left was for a particular form of token.
The token would be the sign of a particular family or individual. On its reverse, another identifying mark could be written or scratched. If a token reached its destination, it formed a holy contract of challenge, meaning that the two identified parties must fight in front of the temple, with the loser being sacrificed by the Holy, who would wear the head of a pony for the ritual.
The origins of such a brutal ritual appear to be a means of clearing the air within small communities - a silent challenge to rivals to settle scores with the minimum of disruption to the wider community. The victor of the battle was healed by the goddess Dendrah and the slain party would ascend to join her warband on the celestial plane. All blame and disgrace would be forgotten by the community, who would drink mead to the point of oblivion.
Components and tools
The Holy, or priest of Dendrah, would wear a pony mask, or indeed the severed head of a hill pony, to perform the sacrifice.
Observance
The Pony Altar, or Pony Night as it is practiced in modern times, happens halfway between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. The days around this night are taken as holidays in Westlo.
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