Striðkunnandi
Description
The striðkunnandés are - together with the líkgjallandés - the highest religious and political leaders of the Skaura Orohlen. While there is only one Líkgjallandi at a time who is responsible for matters of settling, cultivation, health, rites of passage pertaining to biological life stages and collective memory, the striðkunnandés are always two. They govern military and justice related matters, migration, architecture and rites of passage connected to the organisation of society. They are also advisors to hunters and smiths.
Acquisition
The title of striðkunnandi is one that can be partly earned, other than the title of líkgjallandi. A striðkunnandi has to have demonstrated great prowess in battle, fighting or hunting. It is no wonder that many striðkunnandi were former Fremstveiðr or Fremstveiði, as they are the best hunters and huntresses of their respective settlements.
This is where personal influence on whether one can obtain the title or not ends. Whenever one of the striðkunnandi dies, the other one takes on the task to find a worthy successor. He is aided in this cause by the líkgjallandi, who arranges for worthy candidates to gather around a place called the Békanja Hrauk, a dolmen of unknown origin in the eastern Skaura Hrís. There a ritual is held, in which each of the participants are given a cryptic divination by the striðkunnandi. This holds encrypted information on an object of some kind the candidate has to bring to the Békanja Hrauk within a three days time frame. The objects are placed in the dolmen and the striðkunnandi retreats inside to meditate. Eventually the objects all perish but one. That indicates the one who has successfully passed the ritual. The striðkunnandi calls the candidate into the dolmen. It is unknowns, what happens inside, but the other candidates all leave the place immediately before the two emerge from the inside.
Role in society
Striðkunnandés are always on the move. They never travel together, although they sometimes meet on their travels to exchange information face to face. As they are also inclined to use supernatural powers, they can also converse over distances, but use this ability only seldom. Their duty lies in giving advice to individuals or settlements, to which they are guided by divine inspiration. Thus there is no fixed schedule to their travels, apart from places that have to be visted regularly for cyclical events and rituals. For their advice the striðkunnandi are highly revered and respected. They have a deep understanding of many areas of daily life, which most likely derives from a spiritual link to the gods. They appear less spiritual than the líkgjallandi, but their connection to the gods and spirits is nonetheless equally as deep.
Type
Religious, Military
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