Tamers of Æter

There is a lot of pressure coming along with the posiiton to balance out the respect and social status, possibly more than many can chew, said Llawenaid.

Grandpa said, the training sessions were quite memorable, said Hithean.

Aye, your grandpa was a killer with the skalds mead. And a quite memorable indeed.

— Hithean and Llawenaid talking about the past

Summary

Tamers of Æter are the representatives of one of the Thirteen Arts of Tanitris, which is important to hold the integrity of the Gathering. Thus, their strongest representative is granted a place in the Core and very often more than one more will be present in the First and further Petal Crowns. After all, tamed Æter is potentially a valuable source of new forms and ideas, which could be used by the Saveni.

Responsibility during Gathering

Tamers of Æter form a unit, which serves the sole purpose of guarding the Bloom from the destructive forces of Æter. When the ritual starts and the collective mind of the Bloom enters Ædeos around Tanitris, so does the great responsibility of the Tamers of Æter. In the beginning of the ritual a great deal of effort is put to synchronize the efforts with the Sentinels of the Void. The latter inform on the closeness of the Void, which could cut thruogh the hive mind and erase the Bloom, eroding the Petals and inflicting the Core.

With the Void out of the way, at least on the start, comes the fun and dangerous part — navigating through the Ætereal waves and keping the Bloom from falling apart. The Sacfrificial Crown is always the first to wear out, but since there is no coming back, once the Petal falls off, the mental defense of the Core is depleted at this spot. Hence, the Tamers of Æter need to guard the Petals, especially those of the Sacrificial Crown, because the moment they start to fall, the higher the probability of the whole Crown falling apart.

During the entire time of the Bloom, which spans over the period of one week, they are to guard the Core and provide protection from the Æter and the Void. And one week is a long time...

Training methods

The most notable training method used by the Tamers of Æter are the so-called sessions, involving the skalds' mead. The students gather around a fireplace, very often fed with herbs or spices — it is common to bring a distinct one to increase the complexity of the smoke, so people consult one another beforehand. Then, one after the other they take a small sip of the mead and work their best to tame the Ætereal waves mixing their senses and thoughts.

Over time, one increases their potential to the destructive force of Æter and is able to withstand more severe and unpredictable waves. The practices involving the skalds' mead immerse one mostly with the predictable Æter, i.e., there are no or almost no new forms (thoughts or feelings), except for the ones involving the people who shared the mead.

Type

Support