The Stew Of Life - Hunter's Rite

Mammoth Crossing

Mammoth Crossing is the largest settlement created by Umera's Shepherds to serve a central location for rituals, rites, and governing. The settlement is arranged in a concentric ring with staggered foot paths and a medium sized rotunda at its center. The small settlement is home to the very young before they head to Virstas, the newly graduated, and the elders who guard the traditions and teaching of Umera's Shepherds. The settlement could be considered the size of a large town if compared to a standard development but Umera's Shepherds shun the idea of towns and permanence preferring to consider the possibility that like the mammoths they guard they could need to pick up and leave. The small dwellings are wooden framed with thatch roofs, but the rotunda is constructed with stone and would be the only thing to last as a reminder of the settlement should they need to leave.

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The Rotunda

The Rotunda lies at the heart of Mammoth Crossing, both spiritually and physically. Its stone walls stand out with a sort of solidness that the rest of the settlement seems to lack, acting as an anchor for its people. The Rotunda is always lit at night with candles and soft singing can often be head coming from its depths as those devoted to learning and preserving the most intricate rituals are housed here to keep vigil over stone tablets that outline the songs, stories, recipes, and rites passed down from the first Shepherds. The most significant of these rites is that of The Hunters.

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The Hunter's Rite

MidJourney, RandoScorpio

The Hunter's Rite begins with a nomination from an elder of The Shepherds and a vote to decide who will undertake the rituals. Those who are nominated are always consulted to ensure that they are willing to take on the role in the tribe, as the loss of any of the mammoths is considered cause for grieving. Some have turned down the role simply because they could never kill a mammoth, the decision is respected as reverence for a mammoth is never discouraged.

Next The Hunter Candidate is sent out into the herds to gather the materials for the central feature of ritual: a stew to bind them to their role. They must navigate the herds and gather mammoth beetles, mammoth saliva, plants that only grow along the migration path, and a few other ingredients that have never been divulged to those outside the village. The ingredients are put together by the elders while they chant spells and entreat Umera for her blessing over a sacred flame that is kept alight at the centre of The Rotunda.

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The Stew of Life

The stew is made using some less than appatizing ingredients, and central to The Hunter's Rite. Each item in its cooking has significance, including the awful flavour. The mammoth beetles signify the nature of the relationship between The Shepherds and the mammoths, just like the beetles they require the mammoth and render services in return. The mammoth saliva represents the lifeblood of the mammoths and provides the liquid for the stew. Nothing about the dish is designed to be appetizing because it represents the difficult task ahead, to swallow any fears, doubts, or personal feelings to complete the task of hunting mammoths to provide for their tribe. An unpleasant food to mark an unpleasant task.

Hunter Candidates that do not drink the stew are never shunned or looked down for their inability to perform the rite, indeed the unpleasantness is designed to test the individual. Those that complete the ritual often say that The Stew of Life is easily the worst food they have ever eaten, and some even joke that it could be called The Stew of Death as most who dare smell it first are half convinced the concoction will kill them.

The chants and rituals used in the cooking process cause the stew to become a conduit to deeper magics that connect the mammoths and The Shepherds. Along with the stew Hunter Candidates are made to recite careful oathes, promises, and incantations before consuming the stew. These measures ensure the new Hunters will not abuse their ability to kill mammoths for their tribe and the health of the herds. Should an oath be broken the magic that is connected to The Hunter will cause a reaction that creates violent illness and severes the connection stripping The Hunter of their position and branding them a traitor.