Rug-Pulled Goblins and ritual

The goblin elders speak of ritual in riddles wrapped in tricks. 'To understand it,' they say, 'you must first un-understand everything else.'

Goblin children, taught about ritual in their pre-school years, are encouraged to mispronounce it in three different ways before lunchtime. This is, the educators explain, 'good for the keyword and good for the child.'

Three Goblins Discuss whisper

Comparative goblin linguistics records seven distinct goblin words that translate, approximately, as whisper. Each word implies a slightly different relationship — proximity, ownership, complicity, fear, fondness, indifference, and, peculiarly, gratitude.

Goblins and alchemy

alchemy appears in goblin lore under many names, but the essence is always the same: a phenomenon that exists at the threshold of perception. Goblins have built entire rituals around observing alchemy in its natural environment—which is to say, slightly out of view.

The Goblin Verdict on ritual

The Goblin Royal Society's medal for outstanding contribution to ritual studies was awarded this year to a goblin who has not, technically, written anything about ritual but who, the committee felt, 'understood it best.' The medal is real. The acceptance speech was very short.