"Oh, certainly. There are patrons of farmers and craftsmen among the Asgardian gods. In Balder we even have what you might call a god of music and poetry. After all, someone has to sing the praise of mighty warriors and spread their legend," the baroness replied with a small wink, signaling that she did not see that as the sole function of bards and poets. "But it is almost time for supper. If there is more you'd like to hear about the Asgardians we have all winter."<br/><br/>* * * * *<br/><br/>The next day, not long after noon, people began to come up to the temple from the village and farms, most alone or in pairs, till a small crowd had gathered. Then, in a small procession of believers from the castle, the priests entered the front court, led by the baroness. The part of the ceremony that followed was brief, almost practical and consisted of a brief sermon reminding the congregation of the reason for their gathering, the end of one year and the beginning of a new one. That ended, a pig was slaughtered at the steps of the temple and its blood gathered in a bowl.<br/><br/>Afterwards the priesthood led the congregation into the temple where the statues of the gods were sprinkled with the blood, before the part came where Mialla was asked to participate. The prayers and chants of thanksgiving where just as she had been told, led in turn by Alva and the baroness, with Mialla adding her voice to the chorus of replies.<br/><br/>That done, a fire was lit in the center of the main room and the pig slaughtered earlier cut up and the pieces boiled in the cauldron by the priests, while some of the lay members of the gathering went to fetch mead for the communal meal that would follow. Soon the gathering turned into numerous chats between the villagers and the people of the keep, everyone catching up with people they had not seen in weeks.<br/><br/>Alva, the priestess, elbowed her way through the crowd towards Mialla and offered her a wide, happy smile. "I hope you are enjoying our little festivity? You are welcome to stay and eat and drink with us, if you like?"<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">If there any questions, any details I could/should supply, please ask. I should probably have described the temple more, but I didn't want to make this post too lengthy.</div></div>