Tapukeah
Tapukeah is an old Draconic word that has permeated into Elven and Common. The closest analogy to real world Earth English is "Saint".
Tapukeah are men or women (or dragons) who are especially blessed and holy in the eyes of one of the Nine.
In the vast majority of cases, the title Tapukeah is applied to people posthumously.
Qualifications
A would-be Tapukeah needs to be remembered fondly as a figure of great piety by many people after his or her death, or be remembered fondly by a small number of people of influence and power.
Most Tapukeah were not just pious, but effective, advancing the goals of their divine patron or patroness on the material plane.
Many Tapukeah were favored souls or anointed, but this is not a requirement.
History
In the First Age, the title Tapukeah was applied to dragon priests and priestesses of very high rank, but over the centuries the title "Tapukeah" evolved from a title denoting political leadership into a title denoting spiritual holiness.
The term became widely applied to every major religious group fairly early in the Second Age if not sooner.
It is not clear who was the first to adopt and who was the last, but many speculate that the Children were the last to adopt the term.
Cultural Significance
Every major religious group uses the title Tapukeah, but not everyone judges potential Tapukeah by the same standards.
A Tapukeah that is holy to Mera and one that is holy to Maylar are going to be nothing alike.
Tapukeah Nicola was a gentle healer and was an obvious Tapukeah candidate for the Tenders since she embodied Mera's ideals so well.
Mordock the Destroyer, the most famous conqueror of the Third Age lived by Maylar's ideals.
Google-based Etymology
I created the word by "tapu", combining the Maori word for "saint" with "Kêā", the Thai word for "nine".
Type
Religious, Beatified
Form of Address
Tapukeah
Source of Authority
popular acclaim of holy figures
Length of Term
forever
Current Holders
Related Locations
Comments