Beep Candles (It is pronounced beep as in sleep. They are so named because of the components used to make them, a combination of bee's wax and sheep's milk. Combining bee and sheep gives you beep.)
Candles are used throughout most of the Fae realm. They light a shadowy night providing light and comfort through the darkest night. While most of the gentry uses rushlights, certain plants soaked in melted animal fat or grease, the problem with them is they are quite smokey and often smell of burning fat. They are inexpensive, but not very pleasant. Most ‘clean’ candles are expensive and only used by religious sects or noblemen. However, there is one particular candle that costs less than the average candle, or rather the wax to make it costs less.
Most candles for purchase are made from tallow or bees wax. There is one particular type of candle that is only made in one place in the Fae realm. It is made from the milk of a Bond-like sheep only found on one farm. The milk is mixed with wax from a special honeybee, raised only on the same farm. Besides burning hotter and longer than almost every other candle, these candles, known as beep candles (being made from bees and sheep by-products) produce a unique fragrance when they are burned. The smell is that of milk and honey, but of a very rich and sweet kind. When the candles are burned and someone sits near one, it is said their hunger can be satiated as if they had eaten a light meal. The smell is so lifelike and real that when people have fallen asleep next to one, their dreams are filled with bowls of milk and honey, also dispelling their hunger for the following day.
Properties
Material Characteristics
Beep candles have a swirled yellow and white color to them, almost producing a gold color where the colors mix the strongest. These colors are from the wax and milk used to make them. Farmer Sanderson refuses to use any colors, natural or otherwise, in his candles, insisting they remain in their natural form. Any beep candle that is dyed any color, is not a beep candle.
Compounds
Sheep's milk, bees wax, and a long wick, sometimes 2 wicks
Geology & Geography
The wax and milk Farmer Sanderson uses for his candles are made from a guarded recipe only known to him. His father knew it and passed it on to him, as did his fathers' father and so on. He has said he will pass it on to his eldest son when the time is right. But for now, he is content to say that the grass and clover he feeds the Beep sheep and the nectar/pollen mixture he gives his Beep bees is what gives his candles their unique properties. What is in the clover/grass or in the nectar/pollen he refuses to say. And he keeps it a secret. He has been offered large amounts of money to give up the secret, but he says it is a family tradition he will keep to his family. He does promise that there is nothing dangerous or poisonous in his candles. as such, no one has ever died from using a beep candle.
What IS known about the food mixtures for the bees and the sheep is that he only uses products grown on his farm. Where it is the soil, a water additive, or even magic, only products from his farm are ever used to create beep candles.
Origin & Source
No one really knows when beep candles first appeared but Farmer Sanderson says, his grand daddy's great grand daddy used to make them. No written or oral tradition exists about beep candles.
History & Usage
Everyday use
Beep candles are rarely used for common occurrences, being held mainly for special occasions
Cultural Significance and Usage
Beep candles are widely known as special candles. When one is given as a gift or burned at a dinner or gathering, it becomes a special event. While not overly expensive, the purchase of beep candles is not cheap. The average household will only have a pillar candle that may have been in the family for years, if they even have one. Some families use taper beep candles to signify a special occasion such as a milestone birthday, a birth, a marriage, or a death.
Adventurers or traveling types are less ceremonial when it comes to beep candles. They often use them as a tool when they are traveling. Some will bill their patron for them or even demand they get a half dozen stack for short trips or a full dozen for longer trips.
Refinement
Only Farmer Sanderson knows the secret of beep candles and he isn't sharing. he says it is a time consuming process to mix the milk with the honey in just the right amounts to produce the beep candles. On the off chance the mixture is not precisely mixed, he will sell them as beeped candles, saying they were not correct. He sells these at farmer's markets only.
Manufacturing & Products
Farmer Sanderson says he only uses all natural ingredients in the production of the beep candles. he insists that only the wax, milk, and wick are used to make his candles. Jokingly (maybe) his wife has said that the most important ingredient that goes into making beep candles is love; love for the candles, love for the animals, and love for each other. Farmer Sanderson has not disputed or endorsed this.
Hazards
None, save for the fact that the candle does have an open flame that can cause burns.
Environmental Impact
Burning beep candles is very environmentally safe. They produce less smoke than normal candles and burn much cleaner due to the purity of the wax, milk and wick.
Reusability & Recycling
As the candle burns, the milk and wax separate into their individual components. However, they can be remelted together with a new wick, though the potency of the beep candle will be drastically reduced.
Distribution
Trade & Market
Beep candles can only be bought on the Sanderson Farm just south of the Fae court. Because of the popularity of the candles and their seeming magical properties, they may also be purchased at the farmer's market by farmer Sanderson every Fall and Spring. Unless they are sold second hand (and at a large mark-up) they are probably forgeries. It is important to look for Sanderson's seal on the candle. It resembles a sheep with 6 legs, 2 wings and 2 antenna.
While beep candles are not a luxury item per se, they are not run of the mill candles. Most households will buy a pillar candle and keep it for special occasions. Adventurer types buy taper candles usually by the half dozen before embarking on a quest.
Storage
Beep candles have a high melting point, 170-185 degrees. This is one of the reasons they burn much hotter and for a longer time than other candles. They are usually stored in individual containers in darkened glass to protect them from direct sunlight. Unlike other candles, beep candles generally only come in two styles, pillar and taper. The pillar candles can burn or up to 36 hours while a taper has a max burn time of 12 hours. Any other shapes are either forgeries or specialty made by Farmer Sanderson, but they will bear his seal on them.
As with other candles, it is important to keep them from direct sunlight or extreme heat until burning them. Some adventurers talk of tossing a taper candle into a campfire when they first set up camp to help rejuvenate the party. Other, less fortunate ones relate stories of keeping the candles on the outside of their packs and on hot summer days, find themselves followed by bears as the candles begin to melt and give off their honey milk scent.
Comments