Binding

Credit to Jeremy Wong Weddings for the decorations image

to Vishnu Prasad for image of golden chain

Sinthujan Thangavelu for image of white suit

and Yves Monrique for image of black wedding dress.

You sit, observing a scene familiar to many denizens of the cosmos, one in white, one in black. The connecting ritual. What is unfamiliar to your eyes and to your mind is that this ritual holds no "Love" in the traditional sense, they are not Lovers, they have no romance between them. Unlike on terra, this is not uncommon, they were not forced to be together, or simply scheming for power. No, what you witness is far deeper, this is an oath, to (and this is more familiar) to have and to hold, through the darkest hours to the lightest. Their hands are bound by rope, and then the simply hug. This is the Binding.

History

Origins

It is widely agreed throughout the cosmos that the origins of this ritual and tradition lies in the Many Faced One, who was initially several different respective Primordials, before a ritual not unlike this one unified them into the sigle Deity they are today. It is also believed that several other groups including The Saints may have used this ritual to firmly unify their founding members.

Modern

This ritual is used in many planes throughout the cosmos; in fact, it's used pretty much everywhere except for Elysium and Terra. In the modern day, this ritual is used to signify any number of mundane things and has lost its truly Magic imbued power. It is commonly viewed as essential milestone, finding a person with which to share your life. The practice of Unbinding is almost equally as common, with approximately 33 percent of initial binds being unbound.

The event

Set up

A not uncommon set up for the ceremony

Type: Ceremony/Oath

Referenced in: Summercamp 2026

The event itself is often a grandiose event, considering that goal is for it to be once-in-a-lifetime event this makes a lot of sense. Preparations include the saving phase. This is when the prospective bind collectively saves up to buy these festivities. This process varies by economic class and respective Planar Traditions but often takes a month minimum. Then there are the actual purchases. These include the respective outfits, for each of the bound, the decorations, which vary plane to plane, and the Chain, which is used in the Execution. There is also the effort of inviting the various guests and finding the person to conduct the ceremony.

Execution

A typical Binding chain is usually bronze, silver, or gold, depending on preference

The execution of the ceremony begins with the arrival of any required workers, such as food caterers or the person who will conduct the ceremony and take the vows. Then the arrival of the soon-to-be-bound, followed shortly by the arrival of the guests who will attend the ceremony. There is usually a short period where the guests are greeted, followed quickly by everyone converging on a central area. The ceremony conductor will read off the vows, usually either taken from a sacred text or selected by the bound. Finally, the bound say that they will take their counterpart by the vows, and their hands are bound in a rope, chain, or even simply twine. There is then typically a celebration involving singing, dancing, and food.

Tradition

The traditions surrounding this ritual often vary from plane to plane, such as in The Infinite Sea where the ritual is usually done at sea, and exclusively in the presence of one's crew. However, throughout the cosmos there are some typical traditions that are celebrated. Like the Terran tradition of marriage, it often involves the above-described ceremony, with an object to signify the Ritual, being the chain or the rope, and is expected that the bound where it for an albeit shorter period of time.

Several traditions throughout the cosmos have the bound wear opposite colors, such as these

What may seem different to Terrans are several factors in the function of the ritual rather than the execution of it. In the ritual known as marriage there is typically at minimum a romantic relationship between the two individuals, and sadly it is somewhat common to see it restricted to heterosexuality throughout the independent nations of Terra.

Within the binding ritual neither of these requirements are true. Binding is often used to signify intense friendship, and comraderie between two individuals, such as those who would lay down their life for each other. This is not to say it is never used in a romantic context, and when it is, any gender is allowed to be bound to any gender that they want.