Life after death was a process most complicated. Lakal learned young how the souls of the recently departed clung to this world, even long after their bodies have been given back to the ocean.
"How must a soul find peace in the afterworld if they hadn't found it in this one?"
The question was proposed to Lakal by her father's mother. She taught Lakal the departing rituals the same summer she taught her to skin the icebears. Kill two flockers with one arrow. Winter was harsh in Inetwr, dark days and darker nights with screaming winds and drowning flurries. Preparation was required the effort of the entire tribe. Her grandmother, and a few other elder women who knew how to stitch tightly and expertly, were tasked with the creation of the furs. It was a lengthy process but they passed the time with talk.
"How can a candle give someone peace?"
"It is not so much the candle, llitthsfie, but rather what the candle represents. Person carve many things onto their candle. It is special only to them, none two the same. The carvings show their wants, dreams, happiness – even their regrets. They etch a part of their souls in the candles, their efforts gluing it to the physical object. After their death a family member must return the candle to their place of birth and light it with a prayer for peace."
Her grandmother was a wonderful storyteller, all lopedrosm were, and even though she could skin and talk Lakal had to pause her mediocre efforts to just listen.
"As the candle burns the soul is reborn into the afterlife. Each wish is fulfilled. Each regret is washed away. All the dead wish for, llitthsfie, is peace. Contentment of the soul. There is no point in leaving this world if the next has the same worries and troubles. One cannot live the rest of eternity with the torments of the struggles of the world past. It is the duty of the candle lighter to watch over the flame and ensure that it burns."
"What do you think you'll carve into your candle, wteci ohtmer?"
"My family," her grandmother answered, the wrinkles of her face lifting into a smile. "Once all of you are happy then I am at ease."
Truth held to her word. Two winters ago, brought to her deathbed by the age old case of old age, Lakal's grandmother passed her father a thin, white candle. Expect for the dozens of names carved with age shaken hands the candle was plain. She passed in the night and after her body was pushed out in to the open sea Lakal and her father stood in a spot that looked exactly like any other spot on the icy plain and lit the candle with prayers for her grandmother's safe passage. Lakal cried a bit here and there but her father stood vigil, watching the flame with hard eyes until it melted the candle into a puddle on the ice.
