Arcana: Everway Family Legends Project

A Host Story

A Host Family Legend

by Jonathan Tweet

One year the plague came, and no one would let it in. It had to sneak in through windows and over courtyard walls. It was angry at being snubbed. To get even, it overstayed its welcome. But one of our grandmothers said that even the plague deserved an open door. After all, it was an old traveler from far away. She opened her door and invited it in.

The plague came in and it got to know her family and her family got to know the plague. Many of her children and grandchildren died, and she died before any of them. But by the time the plague had taken its leave of her home, those children that survived knew the plague well. They had learned its name, "Rat-Rot," and they had learned its habits. Most important of all, they had learned how to make the plague feel uncomfortable.

When Rat-Rot returns, as he often does, a Host is chosen to invite him in. It is her duty to show him hospitality so that he is not angered but also to bore and subtly irritate him, so that he leaves quickly. Thus the Host family saves the lives of thousands whenever the Rat-Rot returns to Everway for a visit.

Note: The Hosts have a little understood and vastly underrated skill for making visitors feel like leaving without ever doing anything that seems inhospitable. They can make unwanted visiting dignitaries leave early, all the while convincing the guests of the Hosts' hospitality. Conversely, of course, they can make visitors loath to leave, if such suits the needs of the city.

A Host Story copyright © 1995-2000 Jonathan Tweet, used with permission.