Without a doubt the most mysterious aspect of Leasiar life and culture is the Path of Many Candles. Those who are walking the path cannot remember why or how they came to do so, and those who oversee the ritual are often less forthcoming than inquiring minds would wish them to be, leaving fertile ground for wild rumours and speculation.
Who embarks on the Path of Many Candles?
Most will take their first candle relatively early in their lives. This can partially be attributed to the personalities involved; someone willing to make such a radical change in their lives will rarely wait until their middle years to begin. Of course there are counterexamples, particularly when an older Leasiar has undergone some traumatic or otherwise transformative experience, or have been released from some responsibility which had held them back from considering it previously. This is not the only reason. An older Leasiar who has slowly amassed wealth and land, or has made a name for themselves over many years will have a great deal more to lose by starting again, which often dissuades them from the Path.
This is also a reason why those who stand to inherit are likely to decide against it. Some Leasiar, particularly those who actively disapprove of the Path, are very insistent on sending their younger offspring to the Gallóglaigh when they come of age. Becoming a Gallóglach gives them a career where they can gain wealth and recognition independently, which might prevent them from lighting the candle. Leasiar who have had children early in life and are of a suspicious bent might send all of their children to Corroch on the grounds that that a child who stands to inherit but has a century to wait, may choose to hasten their parent’s death rather than lighting the candle or dutifully standing by, and if military life doesn’t distract them, it will at least keep them far from home.
Very few will take their first candle after having children. Most who plan to live this life will delay having children until comparatively late in their lives, knowing that it may be more difficult to start again afterwards.
How does one take the path of many candles?
The ritual is overseen by the Shrinekeepers, a group of Leasiar who have taken the Path themselves. Not many of them make themselves known to outsiders, but they have links to the Order of Counsellors and there are some within the Order who know how to contact them at need. All the Shrinekeepers who have made themselves known are in their elder years and some say that they are all on their last candle. The Shrinekeepers themselves make no comment on this. There are many things about which the Shrinekeepers make no comment. The few things that they are prepared to say about the ritual are; that it will not work for someone who has something in their life that they cannot let go, and if you feel the need to bring any treasured possessions or detailed messages with you that means you’re not ready to let go yet, although short messages to let yourself know about any peculiarities of your body are seen as a reasonable precaution.
To undergo the ritual one must seek out one of their Hearth Shrines. It is not generally known how many of these exist but it is rumoured that there is one in each realm. There are no maps to guide you there, you must rely on scant rumours and persistence. Over the years some enterprising individuals have attempted to sell enchanted accoutrements of various kinds which will supposedly point in the right direction to Leasiar seeking to light the candle and curiosity seekers of other species alike, but they never seem to last too long. It is unknown whether this is because word gets around that their “enchanted” rods are merely nicely polished sticks, or whether they are silenced.
The Ritual
The first part of the ritual is known, as there are some who remember it and will speak. The Leasiar decides that the time has come to light the candle again and searches out the Shrine. They are welcomed by the Shrinekeepers. They are given a meal and a place to lay down their goods and gear, bathe and sleep. They pass a night there before they are called.
They go into a room where the walls are lined with many bottles, each containing a roll of paper. The Shrinekeeper explains that these are the testaments of all that have passed through this place. They light a candle and as it burns, the Leasiar speaks, the Shrinekeeper writes.
And this is where knowledge of the ritual ends, because it is at this part of the story that anyone who can remember it says that the Shrinekeeper looked up from their paper and said, perhaps with a hint of sadness or pity or even exasperation, that they are not ready. The Shrinekeeper handed them the unfinished story that would have been their testament, brought the candle, still lit, into another room. They offered some advice about their problem and sent them back out into the world. Those who attempt to retrace their steps and return to the shrine cannot find it, so cannot give more than a general idea about where to search.
Presumably something else happens if you are ready, but you won’t remember it and the Shrinekeepers will not say.
What remains?
Many ask whether those on the path of many candles retain anything of who they were before. Some will argue the toss over whether some aspects of personality persist, but almost none of them have any information to go on. We know that basic skills are retained, from walking and speaking up to reading and writing but after that it’s harder to tell. Some who have recently undergone the ritual show great natural aptitude for certain things that they don’t remember doing previously, but how precisely that maps to things they did before is unknown.
Leasiar who have lit the Candle do not recognise anyone that they knew before, however, there is something worked into the weave of the magic which means that they will know instinctively if someone they meet is a close blood relative. They will not know how they are related, but it is unmistakable. Of course they have no idea whether the other person remembers them or not, or what their relationship was like, and speaking to someone in that circumstance is almost universally at least a little uncomfortable for all concerned.
Both the Order of Counsellors and the Shrinekeepers are very clear that the Oath of Peace will bind a Leasiar through all of their candles. It is rare to find someone who is both so firm in their convictions as to swear the oath, and so willing to change utterly as to walk the Path of Many Candles, but there are some who have, and the Shrinekeepers ensure that a member of the Order of Counsellors is nearby to explain to the individual just what their past self signed them up for when they come back to themselves.
They are equally insistent that the stain which comes from killing one who is sworn to peace cannot be washed away by the ritual, as that is soul-deep. Of course, there are always rumours, the idea of secret murderers who have forgotten their crime walking among us unseen is great fodder for tavern tales, but these are of the sort where someone’s nephew’s spouse’s dog might have seen something, and one would wonder how the church could tolerate such a thing if it were true.