The Snow-Kin Rite

The Snow-Kin Rite is one of Nhalgrin's gentler customs, though gentleness there still arrives with witnesses. A rescued outsider, orphaned traveller, or feud survivor may be bound into a household for one winter: fed, sheltered, named before the fire, and given duties that do not pretend blood has changed. The rite smells of smoke, broth, damp wool, and the awkward silence of people learning whether mercy can survive obligation. It is beautiful because it keeps the abandoned alive. It is dreadful because even kindness in Nhalgrin must be recorded before spring loosens the snow.