The Legacy of Periphery 07734

Spring. The people of the empire labour in the fields, working from the morning's first light until the shadows of dusk. Seeds are sown, the woods around the villages are traced out and carefully pruned. Foragers return with handfuls of berries and firewood enough that much is placed in stores for the coming winter. The memory of the cold is near at hand, and only the young enjoy spring's beauty before the next year's survival is assured.

The religious season follows the anabasis of Lakanashaava. She started her campaign on the coast of the sea in the south of the Empire, and marched her way north with the receding frost. Thousands of villages celebrate the festival that marks the anniversary of her coming. Peepy – blessed with a spaceship and without any obligations to the fields – is able to celebrate one in Suvaraan, a second in Vaarosan with Lanadiel and Svaarte, and a third in the bustling marketplace of the Empire's capital. Every year, Vaaroste seems a little more able to smile than the last.

She does not tell Princess Tvaarsa of her visit. She wouldn't want to get involved in such thorough fraternisation with the commoners, anyway.

Summer. The people of the Empire enjoy the fruits of the earth. Crops grow tall in the fields, and the need for farm labour is little. People fill their time with handicrafts, or by foraging, or helping passing adventurers on their journey. After all, the summer is when most adventurers take to the wilds.

The religious season follows a number of sainted days named for the descendents of Lakanashaava. One for each scion of the royal line in the interceding centuries, where the people of the empire are given leave to pray and to feast.

Peepy does not visit for most of the feast days. There are too many, and they are happy to catch a day or two every year if they happen to be passing through. Still, she makes a point to arrive for the Feast of Tvaarsa IV – they would have been remiss to miss out on clinking goblets with the Crown Princess on the day of her own feast, after all.

Autumn. The people of the Empire are embroiled in the work of harvest, and there is an urgency in the air. The crops must be cut and bought from the fields to be threshed, and the grain carted to the mill. Some villages are lucky enough to make use of the wind. Others find themselves doing the work by hand, pounding away at the grain with stones for hours on end. Flour, then, must be taken and stored carefully. Any spoilage now might kill a dozen this winter.

The religious season is quiet. It is a season of memorials for the lost, where people pray that the Goddess might guide unto her light the souls of the dead.

Peepy makes a habit of visiting at least once a year. She arrives in the capital, where she meets Vaaroste just as he finishes his summer's work. The two travel together on horseback to Suvaraan, where Peepy waits outside the old wood chapel as Vaaroste lays a small offering at the grave of his wife and child.

Winter. The people of the empire rest by the warm fire while the fields lie beneath a layer of snow. Travellers wrap themselves up warm, and thank the goddess for shelter when they arrive at the next village. Life is hard, but the people are content. They are with their families and friends, with the gifts of the Goddess ever close at hand. They drink, and are merry. The days are filled with preparation for the coming spring, and whatever outside labour the village's work does not forbid. Down in the south, by the sea, people often spend their winters constructing new barns or houses. Up in the north, it is all they can do to survive.

The religious season follows the Descent of the Goddess. The people count the days, and the spend the holiest of holies in the calendar in quiet prayer. The day after is reserved for a celebration unlike any other. Peepy visits the palace on occasion, but spends most years celebrating out in the villages with the commoners.