Committing Unto Blood
The Thaner ranks of Ras and King base their legitimacy upon the idea that their holders are descended from the rulers of the most ancient dwarf culture, the Imperial Dreamers of the Shaftbuilders. To be accepted, a Thaner King or Ras must prove their descent, and be committed to the blood of the Imperial Dreamers of legend. Thus, each coronation is also a study of genealogy, and any prospective ruler must come well prepared to claim their birthright.
The last time this ceremony was performed was in 493 to pronounce Yaner as the new Ras Gafhi, and it was conducted by the Learned Voice of the Temple of the Agbithan Gafhi.
Execution
The Committing Unto Blood is a coronation ceremony, officiated by either a Learned Voice in the case of a Ras or the Voice of the Mountain for a Thaner king. To begin the ceremony, the prospective King or Ras must provide a list of their descent, dating all the way back 6000 years to an Imperial Dreamer. In most cases this list is a stele on which the The Learned Voice reads out this list, and the crownee is added to the bottom of the stele. In theory it is possible to object to the coronation at this stage by arguing that the stele or the list provided by the crownee is not legitimate. However, this virtually never happens.
After the protracted process of going through the crownee's entire ancestry to verify their descent from the Imperial Dreamer, the Learned Voice (or Voice of the Mountain) officiating pronounces that the crownee's lineage is legitimate, and they may be committed unto the bloodline which authorizes them to rule. The final step of the ceremony is for the crownee to stake their claim in blood, ritually pricking or cutting their hand to spill a small amount of blood.
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