( @ofbrokenoaths ) « solstice starter call
“THE MOON WAITS for no one,” he said, a short grunt of exertion disrupting the otherwise-peaceful, clear night air. Kol had walked through nights long enough to know without checking a watch that they were little under an hour from the time when the solstice moon would meet its zenith. Already, it was climbing high. This year, the solstice brought with it a beautifully waning gibbous, and the air was still warm from the summer sun. Kol, stripped bare to his waist, hefted the pieces of the bonfire into place while the witches around him largely watched, silently.
He had come and gone from the covens over the years, always finding his way back. He’d watched as the covens – severed as they were from the Ancestors – began to build themselves in magic. Others had come to the fire: New Orleans was a magnet for magic, and not all those who practiced did so in the folds of the established nine covens of the city. It was the SOLSTICE, after all, and it was p to his ancient hands to reintroduce MIDSUMMER to those who had gathered. He knew that the last years – near a decade – had been difficult, and unmooring, for many of the witches in the city. And while he wasn’t necessarily FRIENDLIER, he was OLDER, and feeling the age in his limbs made him a more patient man. “Someone hand me the sage, will you?” he asked the crowd at large, a frown downturning his lips when no one moved. “Oh, don’t all of you jump at once now.”
