The Way of the Artist

The Way of the Artist is the coming of age ceremony performed by every member of a clan in Peregrine when they are ready to show that they are adults of their clan. The ceremony itself is simple and lasts a single day, but the whole journey can take a year to accomplish.

When a young man or woman is ready to begin the process, they are given basic supplies and sent out to live in one of the few neutral territories in Peregrine to live on their own for several months. It is during this time that they are expected to listen to the nature around them and percieve its beauty, even as they must take from it to survive. Every full moon, they gather materials for use in a craft or other artwork that represents what they have learned throughout the past month. As they go on for another month, they begin to create their vision and repeat the process until they believe this piece of their art is complete.

On the full moon of the following month, they enter into a smaller cave in the Belina Caverns that is completely dark and spend the night contemplating what they have learned over their journey and what they will do when they become full clan members. Then, they annoint their piece with the water from the pool in the cave and make their way out to the fires, where they burn what they have created.

While the journey can start at any time after their sixteenth year, the ceremony itself can only be held during the Gealaí Festival, so it varies how long the journey may take each man or woman to complete. When finished, however, they are accepted as full members of the clan and can give their preferences on what job they will take on.