CALL TO CONVENTION

[Shaman 244]

CALL TO CONVENTION

[Gathering of shamans, circa 1700 FA.]

[!]
Several dozen copies of this missive are left throughout the sacred savannah; nailed to doors, left at altars, found sailing on the wind. Each detailed the same contents:

I.
There have been few instances throughout our history in which the position of high-shaman has existed by absence alone. It is not made available because a shaman has embarked on a spiritual journey, or has fallen silent. It is unwise to confuse our fears and worries with necessity in these times of uncertainty. 

Many claims would name themselves high-shaman without council, without rite, or without sanction of the ancestors, staining the walls of the capital. There is no exemption to tradition, no matter what clan an orc may claim to come from. If I were to do so  it would mean that every word that I have ever spoken of heritage and honor would have been wrong long before being drawn from between my tusks. 

The position of high-shaman is conferred, by a gathering of elders shamans, through actions and rites, or by the bestowment of an ancestor, and not through seizure. Anything less  than this would be an invitation to Spirits that relish in the emptiness of the tiles we bear. If the convention decides that no high-shaman should rise until Ghoraza'Akaal returns, then that ruling should respected, even if it is uncomfortable for many. Though justified by situational urgency, disorder is still disorder, and we cannot afford succumbing to chaos in these trying times. 

If the convention decides that only an ancestor, who once bore the responsibilities of high-shaman in their life, can offer insight in these times, then the living must step back from the wreath they were never meant to wear. Only until the time in which a council has been properly convened does any name, my own included, deserve any measure of consideration for the position. 

II. 
Many of you have come to know me, as a Yar by blood, but my efforts have never belonged to my ancestor alone. I am an archivist, collector of memory, preserving names, rites, decisions, and failures that many prefer remain forgotten. These undertakings have been quiet; memory does not continue to survive if it is continually paraded around as a novelty and thing of commerce.  If there is to be judgement, then my bindings must be laid bare, for all the Uzg to see;

The Bugduga'Dhaar, keeper of names, and tether of titles. A Spirit who responds little to the ambition of his shamans, and looks upon exploitation and misassignment more than he does his faithful few; crowns taken, not earned, and done so improperly, open wounds festering with infection. If I were to appoint myself as high-shaman, then in taking this position I do not only dishonor the Bugduga'Dhaar, but invite the very disorder and instability our enemies would use against us. 

The lessons learned in the shadow of jungle's canopy were slow, suffocating, and unforgiving to any shortcuts. It was Zagbal, Gundol'ob Barogh, that I had first bound myself to as a young shaman. Beneath the branches, any authority that is not rooted can be easily reclaimed, and eventually will be if given enough time. The Jungle Lord  has always guided his faithful toward the foundations that survive his overgrowth. 

Dlimbok, though an ancestor, has been the most influential relationship, but also the most constraining. Many of us have dedicated our craft to small-scale basins, limiting our offerings, and restricting the reverence the Dlimbok is due. Down deep, somewhere beneath the stones the capital, many devoted have sought the council of Dlimbok, at the very monument I had constructed for him, communing in ways and means not thought possible with minimalistic pools and pots. Though this is an honorable feat, and one of my greatest accomplishments, it has ensnared both my mind and body; never permitted far from our borders, and always tethered to capital.

III.

I, Zag, son of Yar, set my name forward, for the position of high-shaman, only under these conditions: 

 

• That the proper council is convened, consisting of notable elders, shamans and pillars of our society. 
• That the rites and procedures are observed, in light of living or dead, before any title is spoken.
• That all petitioners, Zag'Yar included, are measured by the service, restraint, and adherence to tradition - not by fear or sense of urgency. 
   

In doing so, I am calling upon the convention, to gather one year from now, during The First Seed of 272, in which we may find a way forwards, together. Let us gather in the library, and the pit be opened - let the brothers and sisters gather before the blood of our ancestor, Dlimbok, and step into the judgement of The Bugduga'Dhaar. 


Signed by

Zag'Yar,
Aztran's Smile, 271 SA.

Spoiler

Taking place on February 13th, at the Library of Yar. 

 

[TheWaffleEater2 176]

Brakaz'Lak nodded at this missive... "Lup'Bugduga'Dhaar"

[Panashea 3323]

An Akaal thinks upon his kin back home, their warmth still present however far he nay be.

[Pieman 1134]

Gurak’Yar heard da call.

“Zpirits stir in bone agh ztone. Klanz zhout, windz anzwer. Mi stay. Mi peep. Mi blahz when zpiritz puzh mi’z mouth. Weak blah fall tuh ground. Strong blah feelz fire in blood.”