December 24, 2002 – 21:00
"Uh, right, sure. I admit I'm not fully knowledgeable about human marriage rituals, I mean, ceremonies, except from what I saw in the movies I watched with Stephanie. I've had classes on human society at school so we can blend in better, but the teacher didn't elaborate on the marriage part. Coralis might have to teach me about it,"
"Nah, my past among humans taught me about divorce, I'm not a reference there."
"Right, so. Yes, we view mates as soulmates and unlike humans, we don't do divorce. For us, when we decide to take a mate, it's a forever thing and the ritual ensures that. However, I will also point out that when it comes to mixed couples, I mean, when an elemental takes a non-elemental mate, or spouse, we may or may not do the full ritual, it depends on the couple and uh, the non-elemental partner," said Sebastian.
"Why does it differ, is it because it involved a certain amount of magic?" said Frank, his arm still around Coralis's shoulder.
"Partially. With two elemental partners, the ritual is done privately, although some bloodlines will have it done publicly in front of their guests. Prior to it, the officiant will give the mates a soul-binding elixir, which has a one-time use. The purpose of the elixir is to open up the soul to accept the partner. When ready, each partner, in turn, opens up to the other one by sending a part of their soul into the other one. The recipient will watch the core memories of their mate, the souvenirs that made them who they are. Usually, it's only two or three memories."
"The ultimate secrets revelation," said Louis.
"Very much so, yes. We do believe that there shouldn't be any secrets between mates and the partner sending their memories does not have control over what the other one will see. When done, if the recipient did not interrupt the flow of memories and has accepted them, something that looks like a tattoo will appear on their upper back, which represents the bloodline of their mate. It's what we refer to as the mating mark."
"It's also the ultimate no-divorce union," said Linda.
"Like I said, we don't do divorce. When the ritual is completed, mates can communicate telepathically with each other and feel each other emotions. Note that neither of us is mated, so we can explain the ritual and what it does, but none of us experienced it ourselves. From what I heard, if a mate is in danger, the other can also transfer energy to their partner to help them overcome the danger. When the ritual is complete, we party to celebrate the union," said Sebastian.
"In theory, the binding between the partners can be dissolved, but extremely painful in practice. Not just physically, but emotionally. In practice, the stories discourage us from going through it, so we don't know if there is any truth to the theory. I was also told that true birth names had to be used when initiating the ritual, or it wouldn't work," said Coralis.
"True birth names, like when a werewolf accepts or rejects their mate?" said Stephanie.
"Yes, similar principle," said Coralis.
"How does it differ when the partner is human?" said Molly.
Louis chuckled. Coralis and Sebastian glanced at each other.
"Our laws forbid us to use magic on humans, the mating ritual being the only exception. Because of that, there is a strict procedure to follow. Some parts are mandatory, some aren't," said Coralis.
"Like revealing yourself to your partner?" said Lizzy.
"Yes. Well, technically, it's not part of the ritual, but it needs to have been done prior to it. Elementals don't do divorce, but we're aware that humans do and we need to respect that, so a lot of mixed couples will simply do a traditional human marriage and that's also acceptable. The traditional elemental ritual isn't mandatory. However, in the eyes of our community, the married spouses wouldn't be considered as mates because of the lack of a mating mark on the human partner," said Coralis.
Everyone was listening attentively to them.
"There is a different ritual that is mandatory for elemental-human couples. When the couple becomes engaged, the elemental partner must warn the CMMA Department of Family Affairs, or whichever institution is in charge where they live. They will send two agents to interrogate the human partner to make sure no magic was used on the partner. If the couple decide to go for the elemental ritual, which isn't mandatory, the agents will also make sure that the human partner isn't coerced and understands what it means. Sometimes they question more people," said Sebastian.
"No magic, like a love potion or things like that?" said Raymond.
"Yes. If the agents are satisfied that the human partner has been made aware of what we are and is in it of their own free will, they will brand the finger ring of the elemental partner, to indicate to the community that their spouse is human and in compliance to our laws. No secret to families, although some view it as a punishment and will disown a child wearing that branding," said Coralis.
"If the couple agreed to the elemental ritual, the human partner will only drink half of the elixir, because humans aren't to push their memories onto their partners, but the rest of it will be added into the branding, along with an essence drop through blood from the human partner. Just like with two elemental partners, there has to be a true acceptance of each other, initiated with the true birth name. The human partner doesn't have to recite anything, but the soul has to be opened toward their partner when the elemental one initiates it," said Sebastian.
"You said that the human partner isn't to push their memory onto their spouse, but what about the elemental partner?" said Frank.
"For us, it doesn't change and that's where the exception regarding the use of magic on humans lays. When the CMMA agents brand the ring finger, if the couple opts for the elemental ritual, the elemental partner has to drink the elixir, but the transferring of memories can be done at a different time, privately. Just like with two elementals, the human partner has to accept the flow of memories without interruption to get the mark," said Coralis.
"We know that between elemental-human mates, there is no telepathic link, but as for the rest… it varies from one couple to another, probably depending on their level of acceptance during the initial binding ritual. The elemental partner should feel the human partner's emotions or sense danger by feeling a sharp pain, but stories vary from one couple to another," said Sebastian.
"Your kind seems to be so rooted deep in spirituality, it almost sounds like a whole different religion, but without the cult or fear of the devil. Do you believe in the same God as us?" said Raymond.
"Seems to me that your kind actually understands the concept of free will, contrary to most of our politicians and religious leaders," said Louis.
"Whether we believe in your god or not depends on, uh, the species, if I can put it that way, and on our bloodline. Each bloodline comes from a different god. The purer the bloodline is, the closer the family is to their god," said Sebastian.
"Usually. Some families will choose to distance themselves from their bloodline god. As Sebastian said earlier, energy signatures don't typically blend in together, a merge happens very rarely, so it's common for a family of two elemental parents to worship two different gods, and children will follow the one associated with their energy signature. A lot of fay bloodlines believe in the same god as you," said Coralis.
"I think a lot of the problems we have right now stems from that: pure-blooded family went astray and want to become the god of our kind at all cost," said Sebastian.