Chapter 6
Sol blessed Chain's namesake with beautiful weather for her Joining, blazing through a cloudless sky, pure blue reaching every horizon, which was some distance up in the Gravit Mountains. The slight but cooling breeze brought the scents of the nearby forest. It was the best day a couple could hope for on their Joining.
The ceremony was to be held north-east of Buckle, at the base of Sister. Benches and the Joining Arch had been brought out by friends and family, and tents had been set up for the couple to change in. Tassle was behind Chain the Farmer's family, and Chain the Farmer was behind Tassle's. The tents undulated in the wind, and the arch and benches creaked happily.
Contegon Justicar stood under the Joining Arch, the Joining rope in her hand. Beside her, a brazier filled with burning coals and a torch soaked in oil awaited. Carmen sat in the front row with Bracket, not because she was important to either family but to ensure she behaved. She wore a black dress, the colour of Joinings and Pyres, and a green bow in her hair.
It was a shame, Chain reflected, that this was her daughter's first Joining. Once, there would have been one every month in Buckle, but the war's escalation had robbed the town of that joy. Even as an outsider, Chain lamented this, as Joinings brought the community together.
Well, not the whole community. Some, like Par, still had to work. But everyone else had shown up, wearing their finery and chatting excitedly. It was only a few months since the Graduation Day celebrations – which Chain was just about comfortable leading – so there wasn't much gossiping or catching up. This added joviality and casualness to the air, made people concentrate on the happy couple rather than talking about who did what with whom.
“People,” Chain called when she was sure everyone was present, “can I have silence?”
Buckle responded within seconds, with some wanting to get the last word or assure their conversations would continue after the ceremony: after all, a Joining was a place for deals and trading as much as celebration. But the town did fall into a hush.
“My mother once told me that Sol was love,” she started. “That confused me for the longest time: how could anyone think so when he burns, fights, and collects us after death? But time, age, and mistakes have shown me the wisdom in those words. Something the younger of you should bear in mind.” There was a dutiful titter, mostly from parents. “I have come to believe Sol is the purest expression of love: he burns, like passion; he fights to protect us; he collects us together, because he wants us to be with him; but, most of all, he works tirelessly to ensure evil does not befall us, and good does instead.”
Chain held the Joining rope taut, as though testing it. “As Sol is love, he will always rejoice when two people forge a love so strong they wish to become one under his sight. We are here today to witness Tassle and the excellently-named Chain do just that.”
The town applauded the two youngsters.
“Will the couple approach the Arch?” Chain called.
The applause rose as those gathered stood to face the tents. Chain the Farmer's tent twitched. She stepped out wearing a short black skirt and a strapped black top that showed off her bronze skin. A life of working in the field not only gave her that complexion but also made her short hair golden. She smiled at her friends and family, gave them a small wave.
The crowd went even more wild when local hero Tassle stepped from her tent. Three years ago, two children had gotten lost in Father's Forest. Half the town had gone to look for them, Chain included. Tassle had found them up a tree, hiding from a rabid wolf, and had fought off the beast. Sadly, her leg was badly mauled in the process and had to be amputated. Such bravery had simultaneously proven her perfect for the Contegons and incapable of joining them.
Wearing a long black dress, Tassle waved to the crowd and jumped up and down, riling them up, her dark hair bouncing. Her smile couldn't have been larger. Then she tipped a wink at Chain the Farmer, whose smile widened further.
“Can the couple approach the Arch?” Chain said, trying to keep her voice authoritative. “Today?”
“Sorry Contegon!” Tassle called back. She walked across and held an arm out to Chain the Farmer. Her false leg had been painted a delicate pink since Chain last saw it, matching her skin tone. At its end was a shining leather shoe, matching the one on her present foot.
Chain the Farmer slipped her arm in her lover's. They pressed against each other momentarily. As they stalked down the aisle, the gathered celebrators threw damp petals. They ended up with pinks and purples plastered to their clothes and skin. Chain the Farmer shrank back from the attention slightly. Tassle ate it up.
Then they stood before Chain. Separating, Tassle on her left and her namesake on the right, both bowed their heads.
“Farmer Chain,” Chain said, using her proper title. “Tassle. You are here to be Joined under Sol's sight and Geos' law. Have you each met a Contegon and a Cleric so you understand the implications of this action?”
“We have,” Tassle said.
“We have,” Chain the Farmer said.
Chain already knew they had: Grain, the only Cleric in Buckle, had confirmed it. And, obviously, Chain had met them to explain that they would be together forever unless one enacted violence or unfaithfulness against the other. But it was part of the ceremony to ask.
“When two people are Joined, it is not just they who find themselves entwined, but their families. Does either family have reasonable grounds for halting this Joining?”
“No!” came the reply in unison.
“Excellent. Then Farmer Chain, may I have your wrist?”
The Farmer held out her hand. Chain stepped forward and tied a Joining knot around it, a horrendously-complex looking affair which took three months of practice to get right. “I tie this knot on you for this day. Only I may remove it. Do you understand?”
“I do.”
Chain wove the other end of the long rope through the Joining Arch, a tall sweep of iron with a brass image of Sol at its head. Aloud, she sang “The Love of Sol,” the couple’s chosen hymn. Holes in the varnished surface accepted the Joining rope, forming a twirl. When she got to Sol, she curved the rope around his face, then continued down the other side of the arch.
When she was done singing, she asked, “Tassle, may I have your wrist?”
“Of course you can,” she said, stepping forward and proffering her arm.
“I tie this knot on you for this day. Only I may remove it,” Chain said as she wove another Joining knot. “Do you understand?”
“I do. And I'm grateful.”
Chain the Farmer smiled at this. Her arm twitched, as though to reach out to her love, but stopped herself: the couple couldn't touch at the Arch until the Contegon allowed it.
“I have Joined you together through Sol, as you will be when you pass into him. Now, do you both consent for me to Join you with Sol’s blessing?”
“Yes,” Chain the Farmer said.
“Yes!” Tassle called before laughing in joy.
Chain turned and produced a small vial of flammable oil from her robes, which she stood on her tiptoes to pour over Sol's image. When it had soaked through, Chain shoved the oil-soaked torch into the burning coals, setting it alight. It went up quickly, a blazing glory that brought gasps and applause.
She raised the blazing torch over her head and shouted, “Sol is here. Sol is with us. And Sol approves of this Joining. Anything which pulls these people apart will be the work of Lun and Lun alone! Do you understand?”
“We do!” the crowd and the Joining couple shouted back.
“If you would just sign the writ, then,” Chain said, producing the document from her robes with her spare hand. It was a horrible, abrupt piece of legal work to have to inject into the proceedings, but it was vital for the Joining to be legally-binding, and the Clerics had insisted it take such a prime place.
Their parents stepped forward. The mothers held quills, the fathers carried ink. The parents passed the implement to their chil
d with a kiss, tears framing their eyes. Then, each holding one corner of the document, they presented it to Farmer Chain and Tassle.
Quickly, eagerly, the couple signed. The parents presented the writ back to Chain, allowed her to check their signatures. “All is well. As a Contegon, and a friend, I Join you, Farmer Chain and Tassle!”
Chain touched the torch against the image of Sol, setting the Joining rope alight. Tassle and Chain the Farmer pulled until the flaming twine snapped. Flaming rope was dragged through the loops and passes. When the smoking ends were in their hands, they faced each other and kissed.
The crowd stood, whooping and clapping. The newly-Joined parents wept, as parents were wont to do, and the rest of those present shook hands across the aisle. Bracket and Carmen jumped up and down on the spot, which broke through Chain's professional exterior and made her laugh.
Chain the Farmer and Tassle spent the next half an hour thanking attendees. Once Carmen had said thank you to both, she ran up to the Joining Arch. Chain lifted her, kept her on her shoulders as the Contegon watched the proceedings with a mix of joy and jealousy.
Chain noted that Grain wasn't in attendance. That was annoying, as now she would have to complete the paperwork. Shovel was present, however. He sat toward the back, chatting easily. When he noticed Chain watching him, he gave her a strange smile, one she wasn't sure she liked.
“Mum,” Carmen whispered, thankfully distracting Chain.
“Yes?” Chain whispered back.
“Will Other Chain and Tassle be Mums?”
“If they choose to be,” Chain said, not knowing how the Doctors arranged such for same sex couples, but knowing it was a service they offered.
“They're nice Mums. Almost as good as you.”
Chain smiled. “What makes you think that?”
“The Mister says they love each other so, so much. He can tell.”
She hugged her daughter, not knowing why her daughter credited such astute observations to her imaginary friend, but 'he' was right: few people loved one another as much as Chain the Farmer and Tassle did, and that would surely improve all aspects of their life together.