The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats is a Russian folk tale. A fairy tale based on real events

Illustrations: Tony Wolfe

Once upon a time there lived a mother Goat and she had seven kids. They all lived in a beautiful house in the forest. Mother Goat often went out on business and, every time she left home, she punished her kids:

Never open the door for anyone. Remember, a terrible wolf lives in the forest and he wants to eat you. He has large black paws and a rough, hoarse voice. Therefore, do not open the door, no matter who knocks on your door!

Having said this, Mother Goat went into the forest and on the way met her neighbor, to whom she also told about her fears about the wolf. And not at all in vain, because nearby, behind a nearby tree, a gray wolf, dressed as a peasant woman, was hiding and eavesdropping on their conversation.

Very good! - Rubbing his paws, the wolf rejoiced. - While the Goat went to the market, I will go to her house and eat all the kids!

And the wolf ran to the kids' house. There he took off his peasant clothes, went to the door and growled in a low voice:

Little goats, kids, unlock the door, open it! Your mother came and brought milk.

But the seven kids immediately realized that this was not their mother; the voice of the uninvited guest was too hoarse and rough. And they answered the wolf:

You are not our mother! You are a wolf! Our mother has a sweet and gentle voice, not a rough one like yours! Go away! We will never open the door for you!

The wolf began to bang on the door with terrible force, but the kids, although they were terribly scared, did not open it. Then the wolf ran to the nearest bakery and ate the largest and sweetest honey pie there.

He hoped that honey would sweeten his voice and make it more tender. And sure enough, the wolf’s voice was no longer so rough. Then he began to practice speaking in the voice of the Goat, as he heard it in the forest when she was talking to her neighbor. And, as soon as the wolf was convinced that his voice could not be distinguished from the voice of the mother Goat, he ran back to the kids’ house.

Baby goats, unlock the door, open it! Your mother came and brought milk. - The wolf sang in a sweet voice.

Mom, show us your legs!

The wolf, without a second thought, stretched his shaggy paw forward.

You are not our mother! - The seven kids immediately shouted to the wolf. - She doesn’t have shaggy black paws like yours! Get away from here, gray wolf!

And again the wolf was left with nothing. He then ran to a nearby mill and rolled his black paws in flour until they became completely white.

This time I will guide them! - The wolf grinned. - Mmmm, I can already imagine how delicious they are! -The wolf licked his lips with anticipatory pleasure.

He again ran to the kids’ house and sang in a sweet voice under their door:

Baby goats, unlock the door, open it! Your mother came and brought milk.

This time the seven kids believed the wolf:

Open, open the door,” they shouted. - It’s our mother who has come! Just show us your leg first, mom,” the seven kids asked.

The cunning wolf stuck out his white paw and the seven kids, convinced that their mother had come, opened the door wide. How horrified they were when an angry wolf burst into the house! His huge teeth and snarling, gaping mouth left the kids in complete shock.

The kids ran away, hiding in all directions: one climbed under the table, another under the bed, the third climbed into the kitchen cabinet, the fourth even tried to climb into the oven, although it was still warm. One kid hid in a large wall clock that they got from their grandfather. He hid there, trying not to breathe, so as not to give himself away to the wolf, and heard how the wolf caught all his brothers one by one. The wolf found and pulled them out of their hiding places, all of them except the one who hid in the clock, and swallowed each one in turn whole!

There was only one kid left, and that was only because the wolf would never have guessed that he could fit into such a narrow wall clock. At this time, Mother Goat returned from the market. She saw from afar that the door of the house was wide open, and, out of fear for the kids, she rushed to run into the house as fast as she could. Running inside, she saw confirmation of her horror: everything was upside down and there was not a single kid. The wolf ate all her kids! Mother Goat fell into a chair, sobbing loudly, and then the door of the wall clock opened slightly and a baby goat climbed out.

Mom-mom! - He shouted and rushed to his mother-Goat. - Mommy, it was terrible! There was a wolf here and I think he ate all my brothers!

Oh my poor little goat. - The Goat answered sobbing. - You are the only one left alive. This monster wolf swallowed all my little goats!

Soon, the mother Goat and the kid went out into the garden to get cabbage and suddenly heard someone’s loud snoring. It was a wolf, he was lying under a tree nearby and, after his hearty lunch, slept soundly. Mother Goat immediately came up with a plan and she ordered the kid:

Quickly run into the house and bring me the big scissors, quickly!

When the kid brought her scissors, she ripped open the wolf’s belly with them and all six live kids jumped out! The wolf swallowed them whole and therefore they were still alive. Mother Goat quickly commanded the kids:

Run quickly into the house! And so that not a sound! We must have time to escape before the wolf wakes up. Although, wait, bring me those stones over there. - And the Goat pointed to a pile of stones lying nearby.

She quickly stuffed the wolf's belly with stones and then sewed it up. When the wolf woke up, his mouth was completely dry and he went to the river to drink water.

Oh, what a heavy stomach I have! - He said. “I guess I ate too many kids.”

When the wolf bent down to the water, his belly full of stones pulled him down and the wolf plumply fell straight into the river and drowned! And the Goat and the kids jumped for joy!

The evil dire wolf was dead and the happy kids ran home joyful.

A wolf and seven kids. End.

Wolf and seven kids watch

"Mama" - The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats, musical film

A fairy tale based on real events!

Once upon a time there lived a goat with kids. The goat went into the forest to eat silk grass and drink cold water. As soon as he leaves, the little goats will lock the hut and will not go out themselves. The goat comes back, knocks on the door and sings: - Little goats, kids! Open up, open up! Your mother came and brought milk; Milk runs along the groove, From the groove along the hoof, From the hoof into the cheese earth!

The little goats will unlock the door and let their mother in. She will feed them, give them something to drink and go back into the forest, and the kids will lock themselves up tightly.

The wolf overheard the goat singing. Once the goat left, the wolf ran to the hut and shouted in a thick voice: “You, kids!” You little goats! Open up, open up, your mother has come, brought milk. The hooves are full of water!

The kids answer him:

The wolf has nothing to do. He went to the forge and ordered his throat to be reforged so that he could sing in a thin voice. The blacksmith reforged his throat. The wolf again ran to the hut and hid behind a bush.

Here comes a goat and knocks: - Little goats, guys! Open up, open up! Your mother came and brought milk; Milk runs along the groove, From the groove along the hoof, From the hoof into the cheese earth!

The kids let their mother in and let us tell how the wolf came and wanted to eat them.

The goat fed and watered the kids and strictly punished them:

Whoever comes to the hut and begs in a thick voice so that he doesn’t go through everything that I laud to you - don’t open the door, don’t let anyone in.

As soon as the goat left, the wolf again walked towards the hut, knocked and began to lament in a thin voice: “Little goats, guys!” Open up, open up! Your mother came and brought milk; Milk runs along the groove, From the groove along the hoof, From the hoof into the cheese earth!

The kids opened the door, the wolf rushed into the hut and ate all the kids. Only one little goat was buried in the stove.

The goat comes; No matter how much she calls or laments, no one answers her. She sees the door open, she runs into the hut - there is no one there. I looked into the oven and found one little goat.

How the goat found out about her misfortune, how she sat down on the bench - began to grieve, cry bitterly: - Oh, my little children, little goats! What did they open up and open up to, did the Evil Wolf get it?

The wolf heard this, entered the hut and said to the goat:

Why are you sinning against me, godfather? I didn't eat your kids. Stop grieving, let's go into the forest and take a walk.

They went into the forest, and in the forest there was a hole, and in the hole a fire was burning. The goat says to the wolf:

Come on, wolf, let's try, who will jump over the hole?

They began to jump. The goat jumped over, and the wolf jumped, and fell into the hot pit.

His belly burst from the fire, the kids jumped out, all alive, and yes - they jumped to their mother! And they began to live and live as before.

Once upon a time there lived an old goat, and she had seven little goats, and she loved them, like any mother loves her children.

One day she had to go to the forest to get food, and so she called all her kids and said: “Dear children, I need to visit the forest, so without me you will beware of the wolf! After all, if he gets here, he will eat you all, skin and fur. This villain often pretends that he is not a wolf, but you will now recognize him by his rough voice and his black paws.”

The little goats answered: “Dear mother, we will be careful, and you can go without worrying about us.”

Then the old goat bleated and calmly set off on her way. A little time passed after she left when someone knocked on the door of their house and shouted: “Come away, dear children, your mother has come and brought each of you a gift.”

Then the wolf ran to the shopkeeper, bought a large piece of chalk from him, ate it - and his voice became thin.

He returned again to the same door, knocked on it and shouted: “Get out, dear children, your mother has come and brought you all a gift.”

But he leaned his black paws on the windowsill, the children saw this and shouted: “We won’t give up, our mother doesn’t have black paws like yours!” You are a wolf!

Then the wolf ran to the baker and said: “I hurt my leg, smear it with dough for me.” And when the baker fulfilled his wish, the wolf ran to the miller and said: “Sprinkle white flour on my paws.”

The miller thought: “That’s right, the wolf is up to some kind of trick,” and began to make excuses, but the wolf said: “If you don’t do this, then I will eat you.”

Then the miller got cold feet and whitened his paw with torment. That's how people are!

So the villain went for the third time to the same door, knocked and said: “Get back, kids, your dear mother came back and brought each of you a little treat from the forest.”

The little goats shouted: “First show us what kind of paw you have, so that we can know if you really are our dear mother!”

Then he showed them his paw through the window, and when they saw that it was white, they believed his words and unlocked the door. And then a wolf came in!

The little goats got scared and rushed to hide. One jumped under the table, another hid in bed, a third climbed into the stove, a fourth ran into the kitchen, a fifth hid in a closet, a sixth - under a trough, a seventh - in a case for watch weights. However, the wolf found them all and did not treat them very well: one after another he swallowed with his mouth, and only the youngest could not be found in the watch case.

Having eaten his fill, he calmly left the house, stretched out in a large meadow under a tree and began to fall asleep.

Soon after that, the old goat returned home from the forest. Oh, what did she see there! The house door is wide open: chairs and benches are overturned, the trough is smashed to pieces, the blanket and pillows are thrown out of the bed.

She began to look for her children, but could not find them anywhere. She began to call them by name, but no one responded.

Finally, when she reached the youngest, a thin voice shouted to her: “Dear mother, I have hidden myself in a watch case.”

She immediately got her child from there and heard a story about how the wolf came and devoured all the other kids. You can imagine how she mourned her poor children!

Finally, the old goat, in her great sadness, left the house, and the little goat ran after her. As soon as they entered the meadow, the goat saw that the wolf was lying stretched out by a tree and snoring so much that the branches above him were swaying from his snoring.

The goat walked around and examined him from all sides, and saw that something was moving in his swollen belly. “Oh, Lord,” she thought, “aren’t these my poor children? He dined on them, but they are apparently still alive.”

Then she sent the little goat home for scissors, a needle and thread.

Then she cut open the monster’s womb and as soon as she cut it open, one little goat already stuck its head out; and as she began to cut further, all six kids jumped out one after another from the wolf’s womb, and they were all alive and intact, because the monster in its greed swallowed them whole.

That was joy! And they began to caress their mother and dance around her, like a tailor at a wedding.

And the old goat said: “Now go, collect more stones for me, we will pile them into the womb of this damned beast while he sleeps.”

Seven little goats hurriedly dragged cobblestones and stuffed them into the wolf’s womb, as much as they could fit. And even more quickly, the old goat stitched up his cut, so that he didn’t notice anything and didn’t even move.

When the wolf finally got enough sleep, he rose to his feet, and since the stone load aroused a strong thirst in his stomach, he decided to make his way to the spring and get drunk. But as soon as he took a few steps, the stones in his belly began to knock against each other and jingle one against the other. Then he exclaimed:

What rumbles there, what rumbles there,
What pulled my womb apart?
I thought these were six kids,
Now I can hear the stones rattling there!

And when he came to the spring and bent down to the water, intending to drink, heavy stones pulled him over, he fell into the water and died an evil death.

And the seven little goats, seeing this, ran to their mother shouting: “The wolf is dead! The wolf drowned himself!

And together with their mother they joyfully danced around the key. Here we go

Faith in Seven is the most widespread and official religion of the united Westeros. This is the religion of the Andals, which they brought to Westeros thousands of years ago and spread everywhere. Only in the North and the Iron Islands do other, more ancient religions hold their positions. Seven - Father, Mother, Virgo, oxbow, Blacksmith, Warrior And Unknown- not seven different deities, but seven faces of one single deity, which, however, are worshiped separately. Faith in the Seven preaches mercy, asceticism, the frailty of earthly life, justice and retribution for sins. The number 7 is sacred to this faith, and its practitioners use a seven-pointed star and a seven-faced crystal as symbols.

There is a large ecclesiastical organization of septons and septons in Westeros, led by the High Septon in King's Landing; their seven-walled and seven-towered temples are found in all major settlements and castles, and small villages are visited by wandering septons. During the era of fragmentation of Westeros, the church was very powerful and independent, but the Targaryens, having united the country, crushed religion under their own control, banning military-spiritual orders and church courts. Chivalry, also brought to Westeros by the Andals, is closely associated with the belief in the Seven, and followers of other religions avoid taking vows of knighthood.

Story

The belief in the Seven originated outside of Westeros - in Essos, in the territory of the so-called hills of Andalos, east of Pentos. This land is considered the ancestral home of the Andals, although in fact they came to it in even more ancient times, knocking out of Andalos its former inhabitants - hairy people similar to the present-day Ibbenians. Once upon a time, followers of this religion believe, the Seven set foot on the hills of Andalos and revealed themselves to mortals.

Strictly speaking, seven gods are seven faces of one and the same deity, one and all-encompassing. These hypostases are completely equal in rights, they act together and complementarily; each of the Seven personifies one or another side of human nature, activity, and various phenomena of the surrounding world. The Septons emphasize that each of the Seven embodies all the others: “The Elder is no less beautiful than the Maiden, the Mother can be fiercer than the Warrior when her children are in danger.”

Perception of the Seven as gods, not god, goes back to ancient times and is firmly entrenched in the language - not only the common people, but lords, kings and the septons themselves speak of gods in the plural.

Seven: Blacksmith, Warrior, Father, Unknown, Mother, Maiden, Old Woman. Fragments of an illustration by J. Fullerton (Other-in-Law).

Father

Father- the embodiment of power, justice and justice. He is depicted as a bearded, middle-aged man, sometimes wearing a crown, which, whenever possible, is made of precious metals. They say about him: “The Father rules,” and when knighting the dedicatee: “in the name of the Father, be just.” The Father also judges the dead in the afterlife, strictly and impartially; he is also called “the terrible judge,” and about people, both deceased and living, they say “let the Father judge him fairly.” It is believed that he is the one who judges the judicial duels, determining who wins the trial. The Father has golden palaces where the righteous feast forever. It is said of the Father that he bestows gifts on all his children.

Mother

Mother is considered the personification of mercy, kindness and care. She embodies motherhood and fertility, patronizing mothers and children. She is imagined as a tenderly smiling middle-aged woman in rich clothes. They say about children that they are given to spouses by the Mother. First of all, married women pray to mothers, asking them to protect and protect their sons and daughters, even adults. Husbands make a sacrifice to the Mother when their wives are about to give birth. In the face of a threat, peaceful people pray to the Mother for mercy. The mother not only protects the weak, but also pacifies the strong, calming the anger that consumes them. The hymn to Mother is dedicated to Mother.

Blacksmith

Blacksmith is considered the personification of strength, health and hard work, the patron of crafts and all peaceful work, as well as the people involved in it. He is depicted as a strong man with a blacksmith's hammer in his hands. Prayers addressed to the Blacksmith usually ask for strength. They say about the Blacksmith that he fixes everything that is broken - this also applies to people’s health. Sailors make a sacrifice to the Blacksmith when they launch a new ship, and they believe that it is the Blacksmith who keeps the ships intact. Knights preparing for battle are blessed not only with the name of the Warrior, but also with the name of the Blacksmith, praying to him to put strength in the hands of the knight and give strength to his weapon. According to the statement of His High Sparrow, “Work is the prayer most pleasing to the Blacksmith.” The Brown Brothers, who worship the Blacksmith, wear small iron hammers around their necks. The pious King Baelor Targaryen (reigned 161-171) once appointed an illiterate stonemason as the High Septon, having seen how he skillfully processed stone, and deciding that this was the incarnation of the Blacksmith. They say about the horses that the Blacksmith gave them to people to help in their work. The Seven Pointed Star states that the Blacksmith forged an iron suit of armor for each of King Hugor's forty-four sons. The planet, known as the Red Wanderer, is considered the sacred star of the Blacksmith.

But I, at my age, love the Blacksmith: Without his works, the Warrior would have nothing to defend. Every city and every castle has its own blacksmith. They forge plows to plow the land, nails to build ships, horseshoes for our faithful horses, strong swords for our lords. Everyone respects the Blacksmith, which is why we named one of the Seven in his honor... but he, God that is, could be called a Peasant, a Fisherman, a Carpenter, and a Shoemaker. It doesn't matter what kind of craft he does. The main thing is that he works. The Father rules, the Warrior fights, the Blacksmith works - together they get what a man should do. The Blacksmith is one of the faces of the deity, and the Shoemaker is one of the faces of the Blacksmith himself. It was he who heard my prayer and strengthened my legs. A Feast of Vultures, Brienne V

Virgo

Virgo. She is imagined as a young girl with her hair down, sometimes with her arms outstretched, as if for a hug. Virgo is considered the personification of beauty and innocence; she patronizes lovers and, in general, all young and innocent creatures. She is said to give love and dreams to mortals. They say about very beautiful women “as if the Virgin herself had descended from heaven.”

Warrior

Warrior- the personification of courage and loyalty, firmness and self-confidence, readiness to protect others. This is the patron saint of knights and soldiers. The warrior is depicted with a sword in his hands. They turn to him with a request to give mortals spiritual strength and courage, to protect and preserve, including in battles, to give strength to resist temptations. Since the Warrior favors the knights, they pray to him and light candles for the knights in trouble, hoping that he will stand up for “his own.” Many knights consider it quite appropriate to call the Warrior their only god, and not pay attention to the other six: for example, Jaime Lannister said about himself and Davos Seaworth said about Rolland Storm. According to Septon Meribald, he has never met a boy who didn’t like the Warrior. In King's Landing, before the Battle of the Blackwater, the fighters on the walls prayed silently to the Warrior. In battle, you can ask the Warrior for luck - for example, turn an enemy ship on its side under the blow of a bow ram. It is believed that in judicial duels, the Warrior, by the verdict of the Father, invests strength in the right hand, helping him defeat the wrong opponent. Devout knights bring weapons to the sept, asking the Warrior to bless them for battle. The spiritual-knightly order of the Sons of the Warrior is dedicated to the warrior.

oxbow

oxbow- the personification of wisdom and insight. She is depicted as an elderly woman with a wrinkled face, holding a lantern held high in her hands, often of gold. Staritsa statues are sometimes given mother-of-pearl eyes. According to legend, it was the Crone who released the first raven, opening the door to the kingdom of death, so it is appropriate to pray to the Crone for the successful forwarding of the crow's mail. The Old Lady is asked for wisdom; a person who is uncertain about the future and does not know what to do usually asks the Elder to “light the way for him,” and about a predetermined and clearly visible future they say “The Elder illuminated the path for me.” As stated in the “Seven-Pointed Star”, the Elder predicted to King Hugor that his God-given wife would give birth to 44 sons, which happened. In the skies of Westeros there is a constellation called the Lantern of the Crone - four stars and a golden nebula between them.

Unknown

Unknown- the personification of death, the most sinister and mysterious of the seven gods. Although this is also one of God’s faces, akin to all others, they do not like to mention it in vain. The spiritual song “Seven” contains references to only six of the Seven gods: “no songs are sung about the Unknown. The face of the Unknown is the face of death." It is believed that the Unknown One escorts the souls of the dead to another world, and they say about a deceased person that he was taken by the Unknown One. The unknown is neither man nor woman, but both together, “an eternal outcast, a stranger from distant lands, less and more than a man, unknown and unknowable.” Most often he is depicted as a half-man, half-beast with a hood pulled low - this is how he looks in the septs of Dragonstone and the Red Keep; in a village sept near Storm's End, where instead of statues there are only charcoal drawings, the Unknown is depicted as a painted black oval with star eyes. Of all the Seven, candles are lit and prayers are offered to him least often. The Unknown is associated with the seven hells or even controls them - when deifying they say “I swear by the Unknown, and if I lie, may I fall into hell with him in this very place.” In the song "Lord Renly's Ride" the Unknown - "Lord of Shadows" (more precisely, the Lord of Death - Lord of Death) sits on a throne of bones. The Silent Sisters are considered dedicated to the Unknown. In the Black and White House in Braavos there is a statue of the Unknown - worshipers of the Many-Faced God also consider the Unknown to be one of the incarnations of their deity.

Sins

Belief in the Seven is quite concerned with the concept of sin. In the belief in the Seven there is no concept of original sin lying on all people, and no Christ-like figure redeeming with his sacrifice strangers sins. Sin involves personal responsibility before the gods. The gods can punish people for sins during their lifetime, sending troubles and misfortunes, or even cleanse the world with heavenly fire.

Sin in the face of the gods must be expiated, first of all, by asceticism, fasting and prayer; By torturing his flesh, the believer feels purer and closer to the gods. Good deeds, such as giving alms and protecting the weak, are pleasing to the gods and can serve to atone for sins. Septons accept confessions from believers and absolve sins. Sins cannot be forgiven without repentance. Serious sins may require public repentance. Unrepentant sinners will face eternal punishment in the seven hells after death. There is a dogma: “Sins can be forgiven, but crimes require punishment” - in other words, repentance deserves remission of sins, but not exemption from punishment.

Underworld and afterlife

For your crimes, you are destined for a place in the deepest of the seven hells, if the gods are at all just. A Clash of Kings, Catelyn VII

The septons teach that after death the Father judges people. Sinners, especially those who are unrepentant, go to the seven hells. Different sins assign sinners a place in different hells; the worst criminals must end up in the seventh hell, the deepest. The underworld is associated with pain, and one can say about severe pain “it hurt like hell.” Punished sinners in hell scream in pain. Hell is located somewhere underground. Deep black abysses, in which the bottom is not visible, “surely lead to the underworld.”

Hell is associated primarily with hot, unbearable fire. The smell of smoke and burning is reminiscent of the underworld. If you want to say “for a very long time” or “never,” you can say “the seven hells will freeze first.” Old tales claim that Dragonstone is built from hellstone, and therefore its walls always keep warm.

In the underworld, especially in the seventh hell, there are horned, beast-like demons, which, according to superstitious people, can be summoned from there using black magic. The master gunsmith Salloreon offered Tyrion Lannister to make a helmet in the form of a demon's head with golden horns. Some wildlings paint scary demon faces on their shields. The songs say that demons can be killed with edged weapons.

Much less is known about the seven heavens, where, according to the septons, the righteous go: there are the golden palaces of the Father, “the land of light and honey,” where the dead feast forever. Here the dead meet the gods. Brienne of Tarth tells Catelyn Stark about Bran and Rickon: “your sons are now with the gods” (translated by Wilenska: “Your sons are now in heaven”).

The septons sing of a sweet ending, a deliverance from our mortal existence and a journey to a beautiful faraway land where we can rejoice, love and feast until the end of days... A Feast of Vultures, Samwell III

Temples and symbols

The sacred scripture of the faith in the Seven is the “Seven-Pointed Star”, apparently consisting of seven books according to the number of the seven hypostases of God - thus, the “Book of the Virgin” was mentioned. There are other religious books in Westeros, such as the Book of Holy Prayers. No saints or prophets are mentioned in the books; the saga mentions only King Baelor Targaryen, known for his piety, and the legendary Andal king Hugor, crowned by the gods themselves.

It is not surprising that for admirers of the Seven Gods, the number seven is sacred. For all who grew up in this tradition, it is customary to take seven vows during church rites, to observe the presence of precisely seven minstrels at the feast; King's Landing was built with seven gates, etc. It is also not surprising that the generally accepted peace banner in the south is the rainbow, with seven long tails and a seven-pointed star crowning the staff.

The place of worship of the Seven is a temple called a “sept” and has a heptagonal shape. In each of the corners of the sept a painting, sculpture or any other image of the corresponding god of the Seven or their attributes is installed. The sept must certainly contain at least one seven-sided rock crystal crystal, which, when light hits it, scatters rainbow reflections in all directions. Also in the sept there is a bell or bells, the ringing of which calls for services and notifies of important events. In the richer septs, the statues of the gods are decorated with precious stones, faceted crystals stand on each altar, bright stained glass windows are inserted into the windows; simple village septs may simply have the attributes of the seven gods crudely painted in charcoal on the walls. Worship in septs is accompanied by the singing of hymns and readings of sacred texts, as well as the burning of incense. When offering a prayer in a sept, it is customary to place a candle on the altar of the god to whom you are addressing. Since the sept is a sacred building, it is forbidden to threaten anyone with weapons or shed blood within its walls.

In cases where prayer takes place outside the sept, the servants of the Seven take out small seven-sided crystals (so that they fit into a belt bag) and raise them above their heads.

Church servants

Septons and septa

The servants of the Seven are called septons(men) or septa(women). Each temple has its own septon, but many provincial septons do not have their own temple and make the rounds of small villages over a large area, sending demands at stopping places. Septons name babies, conduct weddings and funerals, and hold daily or weekly services in septs; they accept confessions and absolve sins, bless soldiers before battle and call the gods as witnesses at trial. The knighting or coronation of a new king is usually carried out with the participation of a septon.