These Flimsy Rituals

"Regardless, we weren't in there long... A couple of nights, as best we could tell, before we were dragged out down Mawk's Mantle. That leaves us back where we started, I guess - the flickering dawn, the stage, the bismuth nooses, that bloody heron. Funny what your mind notices in the direst moments." ~~~ Our ritual fades, our story ends. Behind the fallen arras, twenty years of asking and wondering. Nilkat and Belka stare into the cooling fire. They trace the knot and growth of exhausted timber, with only ash and ember to shape the phantoms of the trees that could have been. ~~~ A finale, then. We play the HISTORY IS GONE BUT WE REMEMBER by Ben Roswell as we let ourselves drift from our tale of Ginnels and Swifts, the bastard nim Shifs and the defiant Maybes. We study the city from a distance, imagine the stories that could have been, those loose ends ready to be woven into our greater tapestry. ~~~ Episode title from Camp Adventure by Delta Sleep ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Chat to us on Discord ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson. Series art by Ben Swinden. Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin.

cw: betrayal, death, violence, arrest   "Boctive Deign, Xenarus Crow, Neah nim Gorse - they’d fill the air with blood and smoke. Their treachery had already claimed Boleth and Serrivomer, they came for us next. There are those that rightly call the Lodge a sanctuary, but I will never step foot there again. For me that place is nowt but a tomb, in its halls our revolution is buried." In an instant, the violent arc of Galena's pistol brings down Embrace's dawn-blessed son and with it the revolution's fault lines are seared into reality. Oken lies dying, Ivar is fractured, Ezra faces an assassins blade, Neah frays at the seams, and Ash must decide where his true loyalties lie. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Altara nim Shif: Scion of the nim Shif family and their trusted enforcer. Boctive Deign: A charismatic member of the Wolves, whose radical treatises on Embrace are widely distributed and eagerly read. Crik Rise: Leader of the Flint Street Knappers. Once a friend of Ezra and Nilkat, but life has taken them on a different path. Flint Reccan: A former Jackal and companion of Oken, who stayed in Eolith as envoy to Bregu after the slaying of Relict. Galena nim Ovid: The imposing head of the Umbral Provenders and Ash’s aunt. She has ambitious plans for the city. Xenarus Crow: The cynical leader of the Triumphant Maybe and member of the Wolves. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ nim Shif: Embrace’s newest great family. Plotting to take over the city with silvered tongues and bloody blades. Trusted: A small cell of revolutionaries loyal to Neah, headed by Ido Ozk Erut. ~~ PLACES ~~ The Cut: A ghostly echo of Embrace. Caerdroia’s labyrinth unspooled into unknowable maze. Winter’s Lodge: A place pulled out from the cut. A shifting collection of mismatched architecture. A shell for the gall. ~~~ Episode title from Loyalty Festers by Onsind. ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w body horror, family conflict, betrayal “Embrace is a hole. A rip in the heart of the world. It’s like the gardens of Crown’s Ait - petal and green cloistered by wall from the world around. Ordered sweeps of fragant colour and soft, useless lawn. Beautiful, I’m sure, but that beauty belies the effort put into maintaining it” As the Gall blossoms into new life within Winter’s Lodge, betrayal and despair bury their roots beneath it. Hidden out of sight of the revolution, long laid plans break and new purposes are found. Duty and despair clash violently as those drawn to the Gall’s new beginning are at odds over what it means. Oken, Neah and Ash each find themselves grappling with destiny and choice. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Altara nim Shif: Scion of the nim Shif family and their trusted enforcer. Galena nim Ovid: The imposing head of the Umbral Provenders and Ash’s aunt. She has ambitious plans for the city. Mel: Once an envoy of the remnant, Relict. Brought to Embrace with Oken, she rebuilt her gestalt consciousness beneath the city. She now resides within Oken, dormant but attentive. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ nim Shif: Embrace’s newest great family. Plotting to take over the city with silvered tongues and bloody blades. Trusted: A small cell of revolutionaries loyal to Neah, headed by Ido Ozk Erut. Umbral Provenders: A legitimised organisation of smugglers, who use the cut to smuggle contraband into and out of the city. Based in Atrium, they use criminality to enforce their hold there. ~~ PLACES ~~ The Cut: A ghostly echo of Embrace. Caerdroia’s labyrinth unspooled into unknowable maze. A broken assortment of bismuth lined tunnels that runs over, under and parallel to the physical city. Winter’s Lodge: A place pulled out from the cut. A shifting collection of mismatched architecture. A shell for the gall. ~~~ Episode title from Nothing Fades Like The Light by Orville Peck ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w gore, loss of identity, body horror (ghosts) “As we lay entangled, fingers on each other's throats, the roots and tendrils of something new grew around us.” There are few options left, but choices must be made. Regrouping in the streets of Tail's End, Ezra and Ivar put the weapon stolen from the Pale Lanterns to use. They risk their selves to defend their cause. Meanwhile, back in the labyrinth, Ash arrives at Rodella's Heart. Carn leads him to the Tender's sacred, grisly relic. It's time to become a Jackal.  ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Altara nim Shif: Scion of the nim Shif family and their trusted enforcer. Carn nim Daker: The ancient founder of the Tenders, the slayer of Caerdroia and Rodella. Body mythologised, sai rule the Jackals still. Dorish nim Shif: A younger member of the nim Shifs. Still a child, appears as a Jackal in Tiding. Galena nim Ovid: The imposing head of the Umbral Provenders and Ash’s aunt. She has ambitious plans for the city. Trilvo: The matriarch of Tail’s End. A doctor, used to working on ghosts and spirit. Valour nim Shif: The leader of the nim Shifs who now stands on the precipice of fulfilling all of her family’s ambitions. Virtue nim Shif: The brother of Valour and Vigor. Has a reputation for not quite matching his sibling's ambitions. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Jackals: More formally known as the Tenders of the Dawn’s Embers, the Jackals are an organisation of remnant hunters guided by strange divination. Likelihood Lads: A group of bookmakers and petty thieves who run the Loven Street races. nim Shif: Embrace’s newest great family. Plotting to take over the city with silvered tongues and bloody blades. ~~ PLACES ~~ Hinter Ward: Embrace’s southernmost ward. The north is dense tenements, while the south has been abandoned to marsh and spirit. Winter’s Lodge: A place pulled out from the cut. A shifting collection of mismatched architecture. A shell for the gall. ~~~ Episode title from Arsonist's Lullabye by Hozier ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w thought invasion, injury, explosions “If we had one advantage, it was that we faced them on our own turf. Most of the fighting would take place amongst the gambling dens and race courses of Hinter Ward. If there were anywhere suited to turn the odds, it were there.” ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Ahste Whist: One of the seven, a group of revolutionaries who mutinied on a warship during the time of the People’s Ward. Branch & Fleece: The chaotic leaders of the Likelihood Lads. The lasses have an ongoing love/hate relationship with Ivar. Carn nim Daker: The ancient founder of the Tenders, the slayer of Caerdroia and Rodella. Body mythologised, sai rule the Jackals still. Crik Rise: Leader of the Flint Street Knappers. Once a friend of Ezra and Nilkat, but life has taken them on a different path. Dorish nim Shif: A younger member of the nim Shifs. Still a child, appears as a Jackal in Tiding. Eviron Eaves: A prominent member of the Winter’s Lodge who the others look to for leadership. Galena nim Ovid: The imposing head of the Umbral Provenders and Ash’s aunt. She has ambitious plans for the city. Valour nim Shif: The leader of the nim Shifs who now stands on the precipice of fulfilling all of her family’s ambitions. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Jackals: More formally known as the Tenders of the Dawn’s Embers, the Jackals are an organisation of remnant hunters guided by strange divination. Likelihood Lads: A group of bookmakers and petty thieves who run the Loven Street races. nim Shif: Embrace’s newest great family. Plotting to take over the city with silvered tongues and bloody blades. Pale Lanterns: A group once founded to guide stray spirits, but over time their purpose has slipped from benevolent, to enforcers, to oppressors. Trusted: A small cell of revolutionaries loyal to Neah, headed by Ido Ozk Erut. ~~ PLACES ~~ Hinter Ward: Embrace’s southernmost ward. The north is dense tenements, while the south has been abandoned to marsh and spirit. Winter’s Lodge: A place pulled out from the cut. A shifting collection of mismatched architecture. A shell for the gall. ~~~ Episode title from Science/Visions by CHVRCHES ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on Patreon  Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w intense peril, kettling, implied death “From Crown’s Ait, three columns of nim Shif soldiers marched on us, followed by Ministers and the Lanterns and the fucking Swifts. And at their head Valour and Vigor themselves, armour gleaming and spears in hand, come to remove the last bit of grit from the shine of their ambition. The second siege of Tail’s End were upon us and we welcomed it.” ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Ahste Whist: One of the seven, a group of revolutionaries who mutinied on a warship during the time of the People’s Ward. Altara nim Shif: Scion of the nim Shif family and their trusted enforcer. Boctive Deign: A charismatic and cunning revolutionary, whose radical treatises on Embrace are widely distributed and eagerly read. Boleth Erul Cater: A long-prominent revolutionary from Calvary. Sai are one of the leaders of the Ginnels. Carn nim Daker: The ancient founder of the Tenders, the slayer of Caerdroia and Rodella. Body mythologised, sai rule the Jackals still. Eviron Eaves: A prominent member of the Winter’s Lodge who the others look to for leadership. Galena nim Ovid: The imposing head of the Umbral Provenders and Ash’s aunt. She has ambitious plans for the city. Ido Ozk Erut: A prominent member of the Winter’s Lodge, who manages a lot of the day-to-day functions. Rhian Fetch-Grimoire: A former member of the Shepherds of the Roil. Ivar’s sister. Roan nim Ovid: A former Umbal Provender who left to study the strangeness of the Cut. Ash’s cousin, Galena’s child. Serrivomer Glass: The “Warden” of the people’s ward of Atrium. Along with Boleth and Boctive, one of the three representatives of the Assembly. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Jackals: More formally known as the Tenders of the Dawn’s Embers, the Jackals are an organisation of remnant hunters guided by strange divination. nim Shif: Embrace’s newest great family. Plotting to take over the city with silvered tongues and bloody blades. Pale Lanterns: A group once founded to guide stray spirits, but over time their purpose has slipped from benevolent, to enforcers, to oppressors. Syndics: Clerks and government officials, embroiled in extortion, corruption and conspiracy. Trusted: A small cell of revolutionaries loyal to Neah, headed by Ido Ozk Erut. ~~ PLACES ~~ Hinter Ward: Embrace’s southernmost ward. The north is dense tenements, while the south has been abandoned to marsh and spirit. Winter’s Lodge: A place pulled out from the cut. A shifting collection of mismatched architecture. A shell for the gall. ~~~ Episode title from Pokémon City Limits by Onsind ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w mindreading, manipulation, surveillance, betrayal, break-ups “But then our triumph broke, torn asunder not by those whose noses we’d bloodied to build it, but those who’d helped us fight for it. Boctive Deign, Xenarus Crow. They’d always held fear in their hearts. That fear would poison our fragile course.” ~~~ The day before the march on the Arrad Chambers and the liberation of Lastreah, Neah Gorse finds saimself alone in the Winter’s Lodge. Below them, the fragile machinery of the revolution whirrs. Messengers run to-and-fro, delivering news to the leaders that sit in council, and return with news and schemes. More than anyone knows, Neah has been building sair knowledge of the revolution’s machinery. As sai comes under other’s dangerous influence, sai might be persuaded to turn the machine to  fouler purpose. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Boctive Deign: A charismatic and cunning revolutionary, whose radical treatises on Embrace are widely distributed and eagerly read. Darjan Hask: A poet, writer and part of Embrace’s elite. Sai are a childhood rival of Neah. Elif: Apprentice of a fashion house, leader of the Indifferent Maybe (focused on espionage). Eviron Eaves: A prominent member of the Winter’s Lodge who the others look to for leadership. Ido Ozk Erut: A prominent member of the Winter’s Lodge, who manages a lot of the day-to-day functions. Renna: A former Dodger. Joined Roan’s gardens after she found the strange caves beneath Atrium during the first earthquake. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Ginnels: A revolutionary faction formed by the workers of Calvary that use the Maybes as their direct action groups. Wolves: A revolutionary faction that formed in the early days of the Assembly. They believe that acting to secure the revolution’s safety is paramount. ~~ PLACES ~~ Winter’s Lodge: A place pulled out from the cut. A shifting collection of mismatched architecture. A shell for the gall. ~~~ Episode title from Victory by Janelle Monae ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w murder, assassination, heavy wounds, explosions, jailbreak, unreality “Already, there were tears forming in the fabric of our banners. Soon, we’d all be grasping at them, each claiming that we should be the ones to hold them aloft. We’d tear the whole canvas apart.” ~~~ Slipping through the cut, Ash tries to linger amongst the chaos of Lastreach. The revolutionaries have stormed the inner fort and the stubborn remnants of the Hellebore Guard stand between them and the prisoners. Ash can feel something clawing at him though, pulling him elsewhere. Can he hold on long enough to find Mariana, to free his mum? ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Anancrik Rise: Leader of the Flint Street Knappers. Once a friend of Ezra and Nilkat, but life has taken them on a different path. Carn nim Daker: Captain of the Hellebore Guard, personal bodyguard of Strau nim Callad and a deathly efficient soldier. Cloak’s Danse: Captain of the Hellebore Guard, personal bodyguard of Strau nim Callad and a deathly efficient soldier. Crooner: A former Jackal, turned Minister of the True, turned apparent radical. Despite his outward joviality, sai come with a bloody reputation. Galena nim Ovid: The imposing head of the Umbral Provenders and Ash’s aunt. She has ambitious plans for the city. Lena Fisher: The self-declared Tether of Rialla’s Harbour. A former sailor turned radical priest, who teaches a doctrine focused on community. Mariana Pinder: Ash's mum and co-owner of their shop. Arrested for standing up to the Swifts. Rinsaya Cinalo: A former Minister, who served as second to Crooner. Has a reputation for pragmatic idealism. Status Raglan: A political darling of Embrace, jailed after he took credit for Atrium getting a vote. Strau nim Callad: New-crowned head of the nim Callads, following the death of their father Harnal. Fearing nim Shif assassins, is in hiding on Lastreach. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Hellebore Guard: The elite private army of the nim Callads. The house’s money has ensured that their skill hasn’t waned, even as the house’s power has. nim Callad: The former monarchs of Embrace, who refuse to release their grip on their burnished gold. They own most of the city’s land, extracting extortionate rents. ~~~ Episode title from Marigold by Mother Falcon ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w blood, threats, major injury, prisons, jailbreak “I imagine in their heads, they were biding time and collecting their forces, ready at any moment to take the fight to the upstart nim Shifs. In truth, they were kidding themselves. Their doom were writ on Fate’s tapestry, their line would soon be done.” ~~~ Hopeful, but unsure, the would-be abolitionists stand before Lastreach's inner keep. They debate the best way into the heart of the island-prison. Do they try to convince the garrison to side with them? Do they force a breach in the prison’s defences? Do they work with the apparently revolutionary ministers, Rinsaya and Crooner? ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Anancrik Rise: Leader of the Flint Street Knappers. Once a friend of Ezra and Nilkat, but life has taken them on a different path. Cloak’s Danse: Captain of the Hellebore Guard, personal bodyguard of Strau nim Callad and a deathly efficient soldier. Crooner: A former Jackal, turned Minister of the True, turned apparent radical. Despite his outward joviality, sai come with a bloody reputation. Jossa Stoic: Crik’s second in command. Tough and trustworthy, respected by all the Knappers. Rinsaya Cinalo: A former Minister, who served as second to Crooner. Has a reputation for pragmatic idealism. Status Raglan: A political darling of Embrace, jailed after he took credit for Atrium getting a vote. Strau nim Callad: New-crowned head of the nim Callads, following the death of their father Harnal. Fearing nim Shif assassins, is in hiding on Lastreach. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Flint Street Knappers: A gang operating out of Limbus Ward, who use gliders to get around. Most are from families with heritage in the Rushes. Hellebore Guard: The elite private army of the nim Callads. The house’s money has ensured that their skill hasn’t waned, even as the house’s power has. Ministry of the True: Agents of the council who wield extra-judiciary powers and private militias. nim Callad: The former monarchs of Embrace, who refuse to release their grip on their burnished gold. They own most of the city’s land, extracting extortionate rents. ~~ PLACES ~~ Lastreach: The island furthest downstream at the confluence of the Trill and the Callad. It currently serves as the city's notorious jail. ~~~ Episode title from The Guillotine by The Coup. ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w prisons, jailbreak, murder “We declare now the institution of the Common Government of Embrace and proclaim immediate: The dissolution of Embrace’s council. The institution of an Assembly representative of the city’s common citizenry. That this Assembly establish a constitution by which a future government will be formed. It will provide governance during this transitional period, and no person shall hold it back from these duties. Citizens of houses Callad, Daker, Prilicent, Shif, their invested lesser houses and those serving the former council are forbidden from sitting in the Assembly.” ~~~ In the dark hour before dawn, a fleet of ships—fishing ships and trade barges, rowboats and one-person yachts, narrowboats out of the canal’s comfort—break the harbour of Laceport and sail purposefully towards Lastreach. That final island, downstream on the Trill, has served Embrace with a multitude of purposes. Holy ground, watchpost, fort, arable hills for goats, neutral ground, a villa. Now though, it stands as a symbol of tyranny. There is found the city’s jail, and too many languish forgotten on that craggy redoubt. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Anancrik Rise: Leader of the Flint Street Knappers. Once a friend of Ezra and Nilkat, but life has taken them on a different path. Jossa Stoic: Crik’s second in command. Tough and trustworthy, respected by all the Knappers. Nilkat: A former factory mechanic, turned revolutionary. A member of the Ginnels and our story’s narrator. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Flint Street Knappers: A gang operating out of Limbus Ward, who use gliders to get around. Most are from families with heritage in the Rushes. Laceport Beneficiaries: An illegal, roaming co-op dock that feeds the people of Calvary. Ministry of the True: Agents of the council who wield extra-judiciary powers and private militias. nim Callad: The former monarchs of Embrace, who refuse to release their grip on their burnished gold. They own most of the city’s land, extracting extortionate rents. ~~ PLACES ~~ Calvary: The most densely packed ward, filled with too-small houses and windmill factories. There are rumours that you can disappear into the Cut if you take the wrong turning. Lastreach: The island furthest downstream at the confluence of the Trill and the Callad. It currently serves as the cities notorious jail. ~~~ Episode title from Salem by Bon Iver ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Chat to us on Discord ~~~ Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin Paper sound effect by GJOS on freesound.

c/w political unrest, takeover of government building, protest, violence “For one moment, the night before, I’d known something like peace. For hours half-a-dozen of us had written and debated and drafted, putting words to the cause that carried our bones. LV was the one to set it and I remember the clacking of their presses as they created copy after copy. The smell of the heat and the paper and the ink lives with me even now. I remember thinking that I should sleep, we should sleep, for the day ahead of us. But how could we, when the future long fought for was being given life before our eyes.” ~~~ As the march reaches the Arrad Chambers, Oken, Ivar and Rhian make their way higher up Marrow to the great temple on top. They hope to make the most of the distraction caused by the unrest. The Pale Lanterns, that faction of ghost hunters that nest beneath the temple, have a weapon that’ll be useful in the struggle to come. They mean to steal it. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Altara nim Shif: Scion of the nim Shif family and their trusted enforcer. Boctive Deign: A charismatic and cunning revolutionary, whose radical treatises on Embrace are widely distributed and eagerly read. Leader of the Wolves. Boleth Erul Cater: A long-prominent revolutionary from Calvary. Sai are one of the leaders of the Ginnels. Parsib nim Corvanus: Recently elected Warden of Holm and nim Shif lackey. Rhian Fetch-Grimoire: A former member of the Shepherds of the Roil, sworn to keep envoys from Embrace. Ivar’s sister. Serrivomer Glass: The “Warden” of the people’s ward of Atrium. Along with Boleth and Boctive, one of the three representatives of the Assembly. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Pale Lanterns: A group once founded to guide stray spirits, but over time their purpose has slipped from benevolent, to enforcers, to oppressors. ~~ PLACES ~~ Marrow: A ward at Embrace’s heart, built over Caerdroia’s maelstrom. A hill rises to dominate the city, both geographically and politically. The Winter’s Lodge: A place pulled out from the cut. A shifting collection of mismatched architecture. A shell for the gall. ~~~ Episode title from Up the Wolves by the Mountain Goats ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

“The early sessions were long and chaotic, stretching through night and dawn. We slept on the hall’s pews, rather than leaving. Fuelled by a freedom centuries hoped for, it would take time to find our structure and rhythm. There were proposals about fundamental rights alongside those for docking permits, debates about abolition of the swifts alongside those about local bridge tolls.” ~~~ The people of Embrace march. A number greater than the city has ever seen, drawn from across Limbus and Holm, Hinter and Acreage, Calvary and Limbus. The streets, ever hot and humid, fill with their press of body, banner and song. At their head is the Assembly, that council of the revolution whole. They lead the march up the winding streets of Marrow Hill, clutching their declaration. They mean to declare the people’s right to self-rule. Meanwhile, hoping to make the most of this distraction, Ivar, Rhian and Oken move on Marrow with their own purpose. At the top of the hill is Parsant’s great temple of the maelstrom. The Pale Lanterns, holding a cache of spirit weapons, make their nest inside. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Carn nim Daker: The ancient founder of the Tenders, the slayer of Caerdroia and Rodella. Body mythologised, sai rule the Jackals still. Rhian Fetch-Grimoire: A former member of the Shepherds of the Roil, sworn to keep envoys from Embrace. Ivar’s sister. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Pale Lanterns: A group once founded to guide stray spirits, but over time their purpose has slipped from benevolent, to enforcers, to oppressors. Parsant: The main religion of Embrace, founded on a rejection of the remnants as divine and a centring of human importance. ~~ PLACES ~~ Marrow: A ward at Embrace’s heart, built over Caerdroia’s maelstrom. A hill rises to dominate the city, both geographically and politically. Temple of the Maelstrom: Along with Rialla's Harbour, one of Embrace's two main temples. It is built atop the Marrow and is rumoured to be constructed over Caerdroia's body. The Winter’s Lodge: A place pulled out from the cut. A shifting collection of mismatched architecture. A shell for the gall. ~~~ Episode title from Take Me To Church by Hozier ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w bribery, death threats, family conflict “Within a matter of weeks all manner of scandal and blackmail, violence and assassination incident brought the council to its knees. And we were left unsure as to whether to celebrate its demise, or fear what appeared in its place. The nim Shifs ascendant, a dictatorship ruled by Valour and Vigor. The Sunspear banners like summer’s flowers blooming on near every corner.” ~~~ The streets of Acreage are broad and open. Despite the many-storied towering of the terraces, golden light always seems to bathe the ward. There was a time when living in this ward wasn’t much coveted. It was a place of field, farm and vineyard; most of those who lived here worked on those estates. Limbus and Holm, both close to the bridges and markets, were the preferred wards of Embrace’s burgeoning middle classes. But as fortunes grew and the city’s economy shifted, as political power diffused from Crown’s Ait to the Marrow, houses amongst the greenery seemed preferable to those amongst the new-raised factories. It’s inside one of Acreage’s terraces that Neah Gorse waits. A trap closes around saim. Power’s hand extends from Crown’s Ait, to place a dagger against sair neck. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Altara nim Shif: Scion of the nim Shif family and their trusted enforcer. The nim Gorse’s (Cherib and Zedek): Neah’s parents. They are respected members of Embrace’s upper-middle class. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ nim Shif: Embrace’s newest great family. Plotting to take over the city with silvered tongues and bloody blades. ~~ PLACES ~~ Acreage: Filled with farmland and vineyards growing crops for the city’s elite. Terraces on the riverbank house the upper-middle classes. ~~~ Episode title from Lofticries by Purity Ring ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w arrest, difficult parent/child relationships, lost pets “You ever done much gardening Belka? You know how you never really see a sapling appear out of the soil. Just one morning it’s there? It was like that and, honest, it was hard to believe that it hadn’t always been there.” ~~~ For the first time that anyone living has known, the dawn breaks perfect across Embrace. Glorious, amber rays carry with them a new day. The Jubilant Maybe watch it unfold from above the city. Ezra, Ash, Neah and Ivar exit the cut amongst the familiar bone-rooted buildings of Skulltop; meanwhile Oken, brings with him the unfamiliar. He’s hauled the Winter’s Lodge, in its entirety, back into the city. What to do with this misplaced piece of geography isn’t the only issue the Jubilant will have to contend with, as they catch up with friends and family. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Altara nim Shif: Scion of the nim Shif family and their trusted enforcer. Amris Graft: Ezra’s mam. A community organiser and member of the Painted Hands. Boctive Deign: A charismatic and cunning revolutionary, whose radical treatises on Embrace are widely distributed and eagerly read. Eviron Yves: Highly involved with the Winter's Lodge, Eviron helps guide and counsel those seeking refuge in the Cut. The nim Gorse’s (Cherib and Zedek): Neah’s parents. They are respected members of Embrace’s upper-middle class. Nilkat: A former factory mechanic, turned revolutionary. A member of the Ginnels and our story’s narrator. The Pinders (Avery, Dalton and Mariana): Ash’s family, a group of Atrium shopkeepers. Rhian Fetch-Grimoire: A keen-eyed member of the Shepherds of the Roil. Ivar’s long-lost sister. Sirus: Deputy of Tail’s End. Trilvo: The matriarch of Tail’s End. A doctor, used to working on ghosts and spirit. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ nim Shif: Embrace’s newest great family. Plotting to take over the city with silvered tongues and bloody blades. Swifts: Embrace’s police force. Once a ragtag militia, formed of ward locals, they have been armed and outfitted by the nim Shifs. ~~ PLACES ~~ The Winter’s Lodge: A place pulled out from the cut. A shifting collection of mismatched architecture. A shell for the gall. ~~~ Episode title from The One to the East and West by Cinder Well ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w insect-like envoy “Lilylium was the second. Envoy born before there was Embrace, before there was Alamire. In many ways we were lucky that it was the Jubilant that faced them, even if it was to be in the labyrinth they’d made their hunting grounds.“ ~~~ Hi! A quick announcement: we are now on Patreon! If you enjoy the show and want to support what we do you now can at patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals. We’ve got a few tiers. Anything over a £1 a month gives you access to our episode notes (which are excellent and entertaining and written by Thryn each episode), through to our £8 level which lets you watch our monthly livestream where we talk about our prep and worldbuilding. Thank you all for continuing to listen to and support the show! ~~~ Lilylium comes. The envoy’s forces, arranged around the Winter’s Lodge, move in to attack. They mean to take the gall for themselves. The various allies inside the lodge can do little but attempt to buy enough time - to move the lodge’s inhabitants and the gall beyond Lilyium’s reach. The Jubilant Maybe face Lilylium themselves. They mean to distract the ancient envoy, to draw their attention away from the lodge. Little do the Jubilant know that the gall is actually in their midst, carried inside Oken’s body. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Foible: A former member of the Ginnels, a protest prepper. Killed by the Swifts on the night of the earthquake. Midrib: One of Atrium’s dodgers, who sells the scrap, trinkets and treasures they find in the Castings. Ash’s pal. Lilylium: An ancient and powerful envoy, rumoured to have survived Caerdroia. Seems desperate to claim the Gall and has allied with some of Embrace’s most powerful to do it. Renna: A former Dodger. Joined Roan’s gardens after she found the strange caves beneath Atrium during the first earthquake. Rhian Fetch-Grimoire: A keen-eyed member of the Shepherds of the Roil. Ivar’s long-lost sister. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ The Winter’s Lodge: A group of weavers and spirits who call the lodge their home. They provide a halfway-house to those who need it, largely ghosts new to the Cut. ~~ PLACES ~~ The Cut: A ghostly echo of Embrace. Caerdroia’s labyrinth unspooled into unknowable maze. A broken assortment of bismuth lined tunnels that runs over, under and parallel to the physical city. ~~~ Episode title from Fighting My Way Back by Thin Lizzy ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w arrest “But while we fought for the right to weave our own fates, the Jubilant stood defiantly against the forces of regression. The Cut has always been the domain of the dead and the ghostly, weighed down by the heft what came before. The labyrinth echoed with the siren song of glories past." ~~~ The Jubilant Maybe arrive at the Winters Lodge besieged. The displaced gardeners of the Green, and other strange allies beside, in tow. Their intent is to check in on the weavers who call the lodge home and the revolutionaries who have sought shelter here. However, they meet a familiar face, Oken, who can’t quite believe that his new-found friends haven’t been lost amidst the irregular beat of his timeline. The crew is back together again. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Boctive Deign: A charismatic and cunning revolutionary, whose radical treatises on Embrace are widely distributed and eagerly read. Eviron Yves: The imposing head of the Umbral Provenders and Ash’s aunt. She has ambitious plans for the city. Ido Ozk Erut: A prominent member of the Winter’s Lodge, who manages a lot of the day-to-day functions. Lilylium: An ancient and powerful envoy, rumoured to have survived Caerdroia. Seems desperate to claim the Gall and has allied with some of Embrace’s most powerful to do it. Mariana Pinder: An Atrium shopkeeper with a warm smile and a love for a good argument. Ash’s mum. Rhian Fetch-Grimoire: A keen-eyed member of the Shepherds of the Roil. Ivar’s long-lost sister. Roan nim Ovid: A former Umbal Provender who left to study the strangeness of the Cut. Ash’s cousin, Galena’s child. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ The Fettled Green: A community within the cut, created by Roan. A boundless garden, thicketed with experimental growth. The Winter’s Lodge: A group of weavers and spirits who call the lodge their home. They provide a halfway-house to those who need it, largely ghosts new to the Cut. ~~ PLACES ~~ The Cut: A ghostly echo of Embrace. Caerdroia’s labyrinth unspooled into unknowable maze. A broken assortment of bismuth lined tunnels that runs over, under and parallel to the physical city. ~~~ Episode title from Lord, Beer Me Strength by Onsind ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w possession, injury “It shouldn’t be a surprise to hear that for some, the Cut were a better home than Embrace above. There were many who’d take dangerous strangeness over the hatred and oppression of the city proper.” ~~~ The Jubilant find themselves outside the Fettled Green, the lush garden in the Cut grown by Roan nim Ovid. Getting in is a problem though. It has balled itself up, roots knotted, the Cut folded around it. And, they are not the only ones trying to find their way into the Green. There are people here, scratching and scraping at those twisted walls. Amongst them is a familiar face, Midrib, the dodger sent down here to find out what had happened to the garden. Ash sets off an explosion, Ezra gets protective, Neah communes with a ghost, Ivar gets told off and Topaz has her loyalties tested. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Galena nim Ovid: The imposing head of the Umbral Provenders and Ash’s aunt. She has ambitious plans for the city. Midrib: One of Atrium’s dodgers, who sells the scrap, trinkets and treasures they find in the Castings. Ash’s pal. Mikaja Stave: A member of the Death’s Defiant, fancies himself a gun-slinger. Has taken a (dis)liking to Ivar. Renna: A former Dodger. Joined Roan’s gardens after she found the strange caves beneath Atrium during the first earthquake. Roan nim Ovid: A former Umbral Provender who left to study the strangeness of the Cut. Ash’s cousin, Galena’s child. Winter’s Yawl: An ancient ghost, plotting in the gaps between the cobbles. Allied with Lilylium. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Death’s Defiant: A group of spirits, hijacking bodies to further their plans. They are led by Winter’s Yawl and yoked to sair ambitions. The Fettled Green: A community within the cut, created by Roan. A boundless garden, thicketed with experimental growth. ~~ PLACES ~~ The Cut: A ghostly echo of Embrace. Caerdroia’s labyrinth unspooled into unknowable maze. A broken assortment of bismuth lined tunnels that runs over, under and parallel to the physical city. ~~~ Episode title from Everyone Up to the Wall by Blackbird Raum ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

CW: possession, body horror, use of corpses, insects, uncertain reality "But you know what unites the theories we had about that place? In all of them, the Cut is subject. It’s something attached, a barnacle lodged to the city. But the Cut is not addition or reflection or parasite. It’s not mirror, but window - mud-caked, fogged and frosted. If we’re lucky, we can spy glimpses of the silhouettes inside. We can see the wonder, a whole ecosystem - spirit-grown and built from alien perspective." ~~~ For millennia, the Winter’s Lodge has sat as anchor in the midst of the Cut. An enormity of forlorn architecture, stubborn and static. In that time it has been multitudes - temple and estate, battleground and meeting place, staging-post and hideout. For the last few centuries though, it has been home to a covenant of weavers and spirits. They have turned it into a sanctuary, a halfway-house, a home. It is here that Oken wakes. He finds himself in a room unexpectedly warm and comfortable, but this is not to last. The weavers of the lodge have taken on uncanny housemates. Mel is here - amongst her rebuilt hivemind - and she means to hold Oken to his promises. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Carn nim Daker: The slayer of Caerdroia and Rodella, the founder of the Jackals. Eviron Yves: A weaver. The Winter’s Lodge, look to their wisdom for guidance. Lillylium: An ancient and powerful envoy, rumoured to have survived Caerdroia. Mel: Once an envoy of the remnant, Relict. Brought to Embrace with Oken, she has rebuilt her gestalt consciousness beneath the city. Soka: A teenager who tried to rob Oken’s sanctum. She is now a part of Mel’s hivemind. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ The Winter’s Lodge: A group of weavers and spirits who call the lodge their home. They provide a halfway-house to those who need it, largely ghosts new to the Cut. ~~~ Episode title from Leisure Bees by Tacocat. ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak and special guest Nate Crowley. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

CW: possession, bothering animals "I sent them to the Cut because it seemed like the best place for them. It's obviously not a safe-house, but it were out of the authority's control. As close to out of the city as I could get the Jubilant.  They'd still have to survive, to be canny; but at least there wouldn't be half a city baying for their blood. If I'd known what was waiting for them down there... I don't know. I' don't think there was any other choice to make..." ~~~ The Jubilant Maybe lay low in the Cut. While they look for clues about the whereabouts of Oken, they have a chance to catch their breath and pay attention to their surroundings.  First on the agenda is finding a way to the strange garden that Roan nim Ovid had been cultivating under Atrium. The Ginnels have had no word from them since the Earthquake. The messenger that they sent out, Midrib, has gone missing too. The Jubilant begin their search, trying to trace a path through the unmappable. Ash looks for familiar markings, Neah plays with strange light, Ezra recruits new messengers and Ivar finds a pub (kind of). ~~~ PEOPLE ~~~ Foible: A former member of the Ginnels, a protest prepper. Killed by the Swifts on the night of the earthquake. Midrib: One of Atrium’s dodgers, who sells the scrap, trinkets and treasures they find in the Castings. Ash’s pal. Roan: A former Umbal Provender who left to study the strangeness of the Cut. Related to Ash and Galena. ~~~ FACTIONS ~~~ The Garden: A garden cultivated by Roan nim Ovid and Renna under Atrium. They grow strange plants inside the Cut, experimenting with its weird natures. ~~~ PLACES ~~~ The Cut: A ghostly echo of Embrace. Caerdroia’s labyrinth unspooled into unknowable maze. A broken assortment of bismuth lined tunnels that runs over, under and parallel to the physical city. ~~~ Episode title from Guising by There Will Be Fireworks ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w psychological trauma, eyes “I wouldn’t let Ezra be the middle of that blaze. They would not be our revolution’s effigy. I couldn’t… I wouldn’t… They meant so much more than that.” ~~~ The Jubilant Maybe gather. Their latest scores have made them prey for the city’s authorities. The Ministers, the Provenders, the Swifts. All want their blood. There’s nothing to do but run, to get to the Cut - that second, ghostly city - and lie low. Getting there though, poses its own problems. They slink through Calvary’s dark streets trying to avoid all those hunting them, not knowing that there’s a different predator waiting ahead. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Altara nim Shif: Scion of the nim Shif family and one of their enforcers. Galena nim Ovid: The imposing head of the Umbral Provenders and Ash’s aunt. She has ambitious plans for the city. Midrib: One of Atrium’s dodgers, who sells the scrap, trinkets and treasures they find in the Castings. Ash’s pal. Nilkat: A former factory mechanic, turned revolutionary. A member of the Ginnels and our story’s narrator. Scran: A radical pamphleteer and Ezra’s mate. Roan nim Ovid: A former Umbal Provender who left to study the strangeness of the Cut. Related to Ash and Galena. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Swifts: Embrace’s police force. Once a ragtag militia, formed of ward locals, they have been armed and outfitted by the nim Shifs. The League of Gunsmiths: An organised body representing the manufacturers of Embrace’s spirit guns. They hold a monopoly on their trade which they ruthlessly enforce. ~~ PLACES ~~ Calvary: One of Embrace's Wards and resting place for Rodella's colossal skull. A tight knuckle of ginnel, snicket, and factory.  The Cut: A ghostly echo of Embrace. Caerdroia’s labyrinth unspooled into unknowable maze. A broken assortment of bismuth lined tunnels that runs over, under and parallel to the physical city. ~~~ Episode title from The Void by Martha ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Chat to us on Discord  ~~~ Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson. Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin