I am participating in the Orangeberry Summer Splash blog tour to promote The Spiral Tattoo, which is somewhat funny for me being in winter. Anyway this guest post will be appearing on a number of blogs soon…

Tradition is the cord that binds the fabric of society…
“What are you writing Elanore?” I asked as I flew into her kitchen through the window.
“A short treatise on tradition,” Elanore replied.
“Why?” I asked setting down on the table and glancing at the neat handwriting on the page before her.
“The answer to that my friend as that he requires it.” Elanore carefully dipped the quill in the ink pot, the feather held firmly in her clawed hand.
“Who requires it?”
“Him,” she said and arched her great bushy black eyebrow at me.
“O Him,” I said and sat down next to the page. “What does he want?”
“He requires that I write what tradition means to me.”
“How far have you got then?”
“Tradition is the cord that binds the fabric of society together as a homogenous whole,” she read from the page.
“That’s an interesting point of view for a Troll to have,” I said. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather play a game of dice.”
“I would rather be sewing my new dress however needs must,” Elanore said. “Now if will excuse me I need to finish this.”
“All right don’t get your leathers in a twist,” I said leaping from the table and darted out the window as behind me the sound of quill scribbling on paper filled the kitchen.
Tradition is the cord that binds the fabric of society together in a homogeneous whole. All cultures and folk within the lands have strong traditions that they hold to. Even my more simple cousins amongst the Trolls hold strongly to tradition. Otherwise the clans would fracture into anarchy.
That being said, there is room to challenge traditions. Tradition would have had me killed as a young cub, my body left to feed the vultures. I cannot say that I am upset my grandfather chose to overturn and ignore that tradition. Yet he instilled in me a strong respect for tradition. This conflict had formed a great part of the conflict that has informed my formative years.
 Now, as I sit here, tradition means strength and cohesion, it also means restrictions and bondage and fear. The battle in the mind and within society is to respect those traditions that can still have meaning and help hold us together, while challenging those that are wrong without upsetting the balance of society.
 Elanore Fursk, Corporal, Delvenport Guard.