Bharana

A bharana is the sacred piece of jewelry given to a young Elvirim at the time of his or her Ceremony of Ascension. The bharana is not a specific type of jewelry. It can take many forms, a bracelet, earrings, hairpin, necklace, ring or some other type of jewelry. Any piece of jewelry given to a young Elvirim at the Ceremony of Ascension is referred to as the Elvirim's bharana. Bharana have designs engraved or inlayed into them that indicate the Elvirim's tribe and his or her adult name, or in the case of the bharana earrings often given to Elvirim girls at their ceremony, the design of the earrings themselves is unique to her tribe and incorporates her adult name.

Significance

The bharana is sacred to every Elvirim and to his or her tribe. Losing one is considered disgraceful, even insulting, to the tribe. Stealing an Elvirim's bharana is a mortal insult to the Elvirim's tribe, and the entire tribe will look for and kill the thief when found, often using brutal methods as a warning to others.

Item type

Jewelry / Valuable

Rarity

Most every Elvirim has a bharana, so they are not exceptionally rare; however, they are never sold or given away, as they are considered sacred. Losing one's bharana is a disgrace to the Elvirim, and any Elvirim that does so feels deeply ashamed.

Raw materials & Components

Most bharana are constructed of "heavy silver," a metal known only to the Elvirim. Heavy silver is incredibly rare and only used by the Elvirim to make bharana jewelry. Many bharana also have inlaid jewels and gold.