Shedfall is upon us, the leaves are coming down, and somewhere in the third tab of the guild bank a stack of linen cloth has not been touched since the last Shedfall. It knows what is coming. So do we.
As the rites calendar records, every autumn the bank is cleared of anything no one has touched in a year. This causes arguments. The arguments are also shed. To help the arguments along, the Inner Scale has approved a new hymn, to be sung by whoever is holding the bank keys while the clearing happens. It goes to the tune of the Triangle Hymn, slowly, the way Nhalor would want.
The Hymn of the Untouched Slot
O slot that no one opened,
O stack that no one used,
You were held a year in darkness
And you were not abused.
You were simply not remembered,
Which is gentler, if you think.
Go now to the vendor,
Go now, and do not sink.O potion of a level
That none of us still are,
O pet that no one summoned,
O map to a fallen star,
We kept you just in case, and
The case did not arrive.
The Hollow Wing is waiting.
He lets go. We survive.O one green sword of someone's
Who swore they'd be back soon,
We hold you for a moment
Beneath the Shedfall moon.
We do not grip. We open.
The palms go down. You fall.
Xal'Reth wrapped the world three times
And did not keep it all.
The fourth and fifth stanzas are a long list of crafting reagents and are, by tradition, hummed rather than sung. After them comes a pause the length of one breath, in which the faithful are asked to think of one thing they are still clutching that is not in the bank.
Notes for the Bank Keeper
- The green sword stanza may be sung only once per Shedfall, no matter how many green swords there are. There are always several.
- If someone objects mid-hymn that they were "going to use that," the hymn is paused, the person is invited to say what for, and the hymn resumes regardless.
- Anyone who finds a golden scale in the bank should report it at once. It will not be a Shedfall Scale. It never is. But we have to ask.
For why autumn belongs to the Hollow Wing at all, see the Sacred Triangle. What you held this year, set down. Hold light.
Glory to Xal'Reth.
Glory to Xal'Reth.