The Safe Passage Ritual
Travel through the StarSet Kingdom is especially dangerous - between Shark Dragons in the water, the UniBear in the mountains, and poisonous Skullweed on the ground - the people of StarSet have become very superstitious about leaving their homes. They will perform the Safe Passage Ritual any time they need to travel, either to the capital of the continent for Festival or even travel in between cities for trade.
History
This tradition is hundreds of years old, dating back to the end of the First Human Wars. Once peace was finally attained the priestess gathered and researched through all of their old sacred texts, certain their must be a way to promote safe travel. Some scattered evidence was found and the people of the time clung to it like a lifeline. They started promoting priestesses just for the preforming of this ritual, certain that it would keep them safe.
Over time, as peace has softened the continent, StarSet has hardened in its religious ways becoming more conservative and fundamentalist, more closed-minded to change. The majority of the people, led by their very religious ruling family, will not even think of leaving their small villages for the village down the road without being blessed by a priestess. They’ve stopped eating pigs, because the use of pig’s blood in the protection ceremony has made the animal sacred. Meanwhile, more worldly travelers and traders look down on their traditions as silly superstition, just another sign of StarSet being the strange other kingdom.
Execution
The Safe Passage Ritual begins with the burning of sage grown in the church’s blessed garden. It is waved over the traveler’s three times by the priestess. She will then hand the still burning sage to the travelers for them to wave it three times over the goods they will be bringing with them. Pig’s blood is then used to mark the foreheads of all the travelers by the priestess, before the blood is then blessed and the vehicle used for transport will be smeared by everyone with a handprint.
The more important the traveler, the fresher the pig’s blood. When the ruling family travels, a fresh pig is slaughtered to immediately provide the blood needed.
Related Organizations
Related Ethnicities
Comments