G Excerpt from the Stafford Section, Jonstown Library
After Orlanth made his camp, many people came to visit him there. When they came, Orlanth and his thanes greeted them. He said the sacred words, which could not be said if falsehood was intended. The first stranger who came to the camp was Quivin of the Deep. When he came close to Orlanth’s Camp he was challenged.
“Halt, Stranger! Who comes this way, to a place that is not allowed to everyone? Do you come in friendship, or as a foe?”
“Greetings, guardian. I come as a friend.”
“Greetings, stranger. You speak to the lord of this place. I am Orlanth, King of the Gods, slayer of the Terrible Emperor, and the Liberator of Justice. Tell me your name if you are a friend.”
“I am Quivin of the Deep, the son of Vestkarthen.”
“You are welcome here, Quivin of the Deep, son of Vestkarthen. I offer you hospitality, and promise my protection to you and yours while inside. I offer you water, to quench your thirst.”
“I accept this, with gratitude. I will not rob you, or bare arms, and I will speak ever of your generosity.”
“Then you are welcome, guest. And I offer you more: a blanket to sleep under while you are my guest. This is a thing we offer only to friends, or those we would have as friends.”
“I accept this, with gratitude, and I will speak ever of your generosity.”
“Then you are welcome, guest. And I offer you more: meat, to fill your belly. This is a thing we offer only to kinsmen, and those as good as them.”
“I accept this, with gratitude, and I will speak ever of your generosity.”
“Then you are welcome, guest. And I offer you more: salt, as token of your honor. This is a thing that we give only to those who are great, or who show promise of it.”
“I accept this, with gratitude, and I will speak ever of your generosity.”
“Then you are welcome, guest. And I offer you more: duty, which is offered only those who would sit close to me, in my family.”
“I accept this, with gratitude. I pledge to stand by you in war or peace, and I will speak ever of your generosity.”
And so Orlanth welcomed the guest into his camp, and this is still the way that we greet all people into our homes and sacred places. And this proves the value of welcoming strangers, for after the dinner that night it was revealed that Quivin was Orlanth’s own brother, a son of his mother who had never come to his camp before. So then Orlanth went the step beyond hospitality, and gave to Quivin a place in his own tula to build a stead.