Šiḫṭu gabbû - rag sewing

We suffered many losses during war but the more decimated were those of the slave caste. Limbless, blind, swimming in pain... We, of the Abdu caste praise king Ardorach for his kindness. Should he not share the spell, all these people would become useless and surely would be disposed of.

— Akkûēnu, previously blind slave

Origin

Šiḫṭu gabbû roughly translates as rag sewing and is a technique utilized by Ašarēdu to eliminate disabilities in slaves. It originated in the aftermath of war with one of the Southern Dāpinu tribes, were thousands of slaves were injured. Common practice dictated that a useless slave, whose injuries were inflicted during battle could be disposed of and exchanged for a fully functional one by the king. But since the cost would be great, Ardorach, who reigned over Aškar at that time decided to share his demonshaping spell. Ašarēdu have modified it to their needs and the slaves recovered to everyone's joy.

A consequence of the wide spread of the spell was a formation of a specialized profession in magi, called Mugabbû, which focused solely on removing the disabilities.

Common use

Rag sewing became popular in two forms: Abdueṣpu and Abdubūlu, the first one involving two slaves and the second one a slave and an animal.

Abdueṣpu

Commonly referred to as Anūt gabbê, sewing materials, involves transplantation of a body part, typically a limb from one person to another. While in the beginning it was used to relieve a dying slave from arms or legs to make use of the other, decades later it was used to enhance the productivity of some abdu at the cost of other or others. Still, up to this day it is being used on battlefield, especially on mutilated Ašarēdu.

Abdubūlu

After the war with Southern Dāpinu, human slaves were not easy to obtain, so their missing eyes or limbs were replaced with animal parts. Such abdu gained a new name, which referred to their new feature, e.g.:

• Akkûēnu - Owl-eyed, shortened to Ak'ēnu
• Akkannuḫallani - Horse-legged or Donkey-legged, shortened to Ak'lani
• Ḫulmiṭṭutillī - Dragon-armed, shortened to Ḫutillī

Preparations

Rag sewing needs special preparations since it is supposed to sew two living tissues. The transplanted parts must be living and fresh, therefore forcing magi, who perform the operation to remove the parts on spot. Anaesthetics may be used to ease the process of removing, since any unnecessary struggle may damage the part or postpone the sewing.