The First Collar Ch. 01: A Grand Ceremony

Olivia steps out the large doorway, leaving the cooled and comfy interior of her home inside the inner ring of the Graystone mountains. Olivia is a citizen of the Grayland Grazers a society that exists and lives their entire lives in a series of massive underground tunnels that circle running throughout the land beneath the Graystone mountain range. This particular mountain range is unique in the world not just because of it's uniform gray color but also for forming one large circle that completely encapsulates a large open patch of nearly perfect plains lands that run as far as the eye can see. The area is mostly flat besides for the shallow running hills that lightly poke up here and there, and one could cast their eyes out and only have their eyeline interrupted once they hit the domineering mountains that surround you.

The mountains are composed of a rough, tough stone that has an almost unnaturally uniform gray color to it, these mountains stretch far into the sky and are completely impassible. There exists only one way to get past these mountains and into this sort of inner sanctum where Olivia's people herd their livestock and grow their crops, a small gap in the encircling mountains that lay to the north, this gap is heavily guarded. Most of the outside world believes that her people live in this center space not knowing that the Grayland Grazers use these as their fields for their animals and that the people themselves prefer to live in the elaborate underground tunnel system that had been dug under the mountain range by their ancestors countless years ago.

Stretching out her arms up towards the sky and wide apart pushing them to such an extreme that she can feel her bones working against her, she struggles slightly and holds them like that for a moment before releasing them. Now beginning to more fully wake up, blinking her eyes to clear the haze from them while brushing the dust from their corners, she lets out one soft yawn. Breathing in the fresh air of the morning she feels refreshed and ready for the day ahead, she like most of her people are cattle herders and she must care for the animals they raise daily. These animals will when at the proper age either be killed for their meat and leather or sold off to the societies that live outside the gray mountains for supplies and bronze coins which are the common currency in her world. Today, however, is different and Olivia will have some extra work to do later in the day as today is 'The Day of Merges' when all those that have been arranged to marry will join with their chosen partners for life.

Looking out her eyes scan the horizon seeing all the other citizens that have already woken up and are working along with those, like her, that have only just awakened. Crossing the patch of flat land that stretches out from the doorway she just left and leads to the nearest pen of cattle her moccasin covered feet crunching the grass beneath them as she slowly makes her way to the enclosure. Olivia is lost in thought, as she often is, imagining the future and when she may be chosen for joining and who the person may be that she will end up being paired with, these thoughts she has had for some time now usually trying to avoid them. But on a day like today, merging day itself she can't help but think on them just a little almost as if the thoughts themselves have run amuck in her mind and refuse to leave her be.

'I am young,' she thinks to herself,

'perhaps that is why I haven't been chosen yet.'

The words of her mother ring her mind 'you have plenty of years left, your time will come, be patient olive.'

Olivia always hated hearing that, it was not like she was eagerly rushing towards it at least not in her mind nor was she anticipating it with bated breath like some others she knew, she was merely curious and from time to time enjoyed imagining how it might play out. Would she like the person chosen for her? Would they be a good person? What would that person's family be like? Moreover, what would the family they built together be like?

Arriving at the fence that traces the perimeter of the enclosure, she places her hand on the uppermost beam and rests her weight against it looking over at the cattle that are grazing inside. She thinks on how similar the life of these creatures is to the lives of every one of her people including herself, merely existing, living mostly happy lives just roaming about in peace just simple and uncomplicated lives. Gripping the beam, she was resting on Olivia hefts herself up and over the fence landing inside the pen and steadying herself for a quick moment before walking off towards the nearest collection of cattle as she passes them she runs her hand over their backs petting them to essentially say 'good morning' smiling wide and beginning her day.

She had always loved her animals; it may not technically be her patch of land, and they may not technically be her animals, but that didn't stop Olivia from thinking of them as such. In her mind she had named every one of them taking care to make sure she never mistook one for another, she also made a point to watch their interactions and try to keep track of which members of the herd had trouble getting along with each other. As she started up her day, she went to each forming group of them to give them their 'good morning' and sort out any issues, and there was always an issue or two.

"Now Puck you know you and Fancy-Face are not supposed to be together."

"Milly you better eat today I noticed that you didn't eat yesterday."

"Josiah ill behave yourself today I'll be keeping my eyes on you."

Moving around the field, Olivia broke up all the potential problem groupings of the day and soothed those that seemed not to be acting like their usual selves the day before. Then grabbing the bags of food from the stalls, she proceeded to load up every trough so this pens herd would have enough food to last them through the day. Since today was 'The Day of Merges,' Olivia had to make sure that they were given not just a single meal but a whole days' worth because there may not be another opportunity to feed them. Her mind wandered to the day's events that lay ahead of her as she wrapped up the feedings and she shifted over to cleaning up the pen.

After going through her daily motions of tending to the creatures making sure they are adequately fed and groomed along with cleaning up after them and shoring up the fence in any location where it has degraded or damaged by the cattle. The day ends up moving by pretty quickly, a few other herders come by this patch and assist throughout the day, and even Olivia's mother stops by around lunchtime. She brings with her some homemade food for them to eat together while propped up on the fence and watching the sun begin to make its descent from the highest point in the sky. After cleaning up after both of them, her mother turns to her

"Well, I think it is time for us to make our way over to the ceremony patch, these evenings merging's should be starting shortly."

Olivia jumps down from the fence and says, "yeah, I know, I was just enjoying the view, but you are right mom, let's go."

Citizens of the Graylands were pouring out from all the different entrances to the underground and workers from every field were leaving their respective fields, everyone was moving towards the ceremony field that lay at the very center of the Graylands. Everyone knew from the tradition that the ceremony would begin when the sun passed midway across the sky and started its descent, and right now, the sun was now nearly at its highest point. Olivia and her mother turned and began walking together towards the collecting mass of people that were filling into place both in and around the ceremony grounds. The ceremony grounds are the single most significant field in the whole of the Graylands, and it contained the most elaborate decorations, all either crafted long ago here in the Graylands or bought from the factions that lay in the Outerlands.

Grand standing pillars of white marble spiraling upward reaching the highest point around besides the mountains themselves, each draped in exquisite red silk and ornamented in gold trim and dressings all around. Large purposely overgrown bushes that sprout the most delicious berries trace all around the perimeter and surround the stage. The berries are used to craft the most delicious wine in all the Graylands and supposedly all the Outlands as well. Large finely engraved red birch wood benches lay beside the stage, their engravings detailing all the historical and religious symbols from throughout the long history of the Graylands rows on either side of a grand stage, the benches meant for the family of all the chosen. Supposedly the only piece of Graystone ever cut from the mountains smoothed to perfection and engraved with a dramatic representation of the mountains and the vast gap themselves.

Looking all around her eyes breathed in the surroundings, and Olivia's heart fluttered with the wondrousness of it all, the majesty of the ceremony grounds always did this to her, always fills her with such joy and hope. It was at that moment as she was turning about to take it all in that her eyes passed over the high gate that lay in the distance, just on the horizon and barely noticeable yet ever menacing. Olivia's eyes stopped on it hesitating, and some of that joyfulness leaked out of her as she thought on it her head filling with the images of all she had ever heard of the high gate and the world that lay beyond it. The outlanders that prowl those lands and long-ago ages far before her birth used to test its fortifications attempting to destroy and ravage this beautiful place that had always been her home. A shiver ran down her spine, and she tried to shake the feelings off her to push the thoughts out of her head, on such a beautiful day as today she did not wish to weigh down her heart with thinking about any of these things. And yet all the mystery contained in those stories held her attention, the stories told to her when she was a little girl to frighten her. Tales of the strange lands with features her people could barely describe, stories of the many factions the outlanders formed, the most frightening of which to her was always The Tribe.

Olivia had always heard about The Tribe through the trepidatious whispers by those Grayland Grazers who had served some time on the high wall, the rumors and hearsay stories coming in from the rangers and circulating the camp at the wall before making their way to the rest of her people. Whenever those that served on the gate returned to the village, they would tell their stories to the regular herders, and then the whispers and gossip would spread like wildfire throughout the town until everyone knew. Most outlanders never tried to force their way past the gate, never attempted to breach the wall, but the whispers about The Tribe were different people tended to say the very opposite. However, nobody knew what the truth was and what was simply stories, the way The Tribe was described it always sounded to Olivia that if they genuinely wanted to get inside, then nothing would be able to stop them and yet no one has ever breached the wall.

The sounds of the crowd moving about and all those that would have a place in the ceremony getting into place broke Olivia from her distracted thoughts and settled her attention back on the ceremony grounds. Turning away from the gate to caste her eyes back on the festivities at hand, she watched as the elders adorned in their grand robes, which they only wore on this day moved to perform their rituals. Their voices were booming speaking loudly to all gathered here, and projecting over the crowd as they went on and on with the opening speeches about duty, responsibility, connection, and family. All the tenants of the Grayland Grazers those morals and sacred rules by which they lived their lives everyone knew them being taught them since birth, but nobody minded the reminder, in fact, it caused a rush of community to wash over everyone in attendance. The crowd cheered and applauded, smiles popping up one by one throughout the sea of people, each speech caused more and more of the crowd to be filled with joy-filled smiles and the cheering to grow louder until the whole valley filled with the sounds of her entire people joined together in happiness and shared love. A smile finally crossed Olivia's face as well, and ever since she was little, she too had always loved hearing how the elders described this great union of her people and how it reflects in the union of two individuals.

Next, the actual ceremony began, two lines elders that had previously been standing separate from the rest and near the back of the stage approached the front carrying with them rings one ring in the hands of each elder. All of those promised to each other stood apart from the one they were chosen to be with, all of the men formed a circle, and all of the women formed a circle of their own. A small gap in each group that faced the back of the stage is where the elders entered and then split apart, one elder going to each person that made up the circle, once face to face the elder handed the ring they carried to them to be joined placing it in the palm of their hand. After a few formal thanks were exchanged the elders moved together and exited the circle, now came the two chosen's part, the ring of men and the ring of women marched in formation towards each other until they became one standing face to face with their partner to be the now one circle closed its gap.

Then the grand elder began to speak, "As is tradition, since our people first settled these lands, you have each now had a ring gifted to you."

The grand elder parted their arms, spreading each one out to point open-palmed hands at every one of the chosen standing around the circle following this up by pointing directly into their hands. Each chosen looked down at the ring in their hands noticing that the ring they held was incomplete and that it featured a small break where there was missing metal. Laying in their palms was a separate piece of metal that if placed into the break would perfectly fill the gap in the ring and complete its circle.

"The broken rings will be made whole, that piece of them that lay missing, that makes them weak and incomplete shall be filled by the piece that has been taken from your partner to be's ring."

In one slow motion, the great elder cast their arms up, to point towards the wall. "Just as the great wall has protected our people for all our lives, so to shall each of you protect the weakness in each other for so long as you both might live."

The great elder shifts their hands from pointing up and towards the wall to now pointing back down at each of the chosen's hands simultaneously all the original elders that gave the couples their rings return. Each set of two elders move towards their pair of chosen bearing a ceramic bucket filled to the brim with water and a two-pronged metal device, each prong of the device burning with a bright orange glow. The chosen couple each offer up their respective rings the gap facing upwards and toward the elder that stand in front of them, just after doing this the elders slide the missing piece into place and use the heated device to bind the pieces together. As soon as the elders remove the device signifying that the rings are done the chosen dip their hands down into the water bucket, almost instantly so not to give the heat to much time to spread and potentially singe their fingers.

With their hands submerged the ring rapidly cools off and a pillar of vapor begins to rise from the bucket, with the rising plumes of steam the crowd erupts into cheers louder than any before. The swell of emotion overtook Olivia, and she joined in with the crowd cheering aloud and throwing her hands up in celebration, Next to her, Olivia's mother did the same. Olivia could feel her eyes start to tear up, feeling the joy and love emanating around the whole of the ceremony grounds spreading into her as well; she was so happy for the newly joined couples. When the vapor had cleared all the chosen turned and faced the audience placing the rings on themselves, then finally and for the first time in their lives, the new couples embraced each other and kissed. This magical moment of commitment and partnership solidifying as the sun went down over the mountains casting gold tinted sunlight on the embracing couples. This was the end of the ceremony the couples bathed in golden light as they broke their kiss and examined each other's now ringed fingers. Their lives apart ending with the setting sun slowly disappearing behind the mountains, they all returned to their family now doubled in size, and the first moments of their lives together began.