Luck Shedding

May the terrible fate visited upon us now find its end, as all things eventually do. And may the Death see fit to let us live in peace and quiet now that the terror has passed.

— traditional Vitlesh prayer during the Luck Shedding

The Vitlesh, for all of their pronouncements about the ephemeral nature of life and death, are terrified of bad luck. The number 8, water that smells off, and seeing the corpse of a Vegegator are all part of this superstition. It is believed that the built-up bad luck of people eventually leads to death or injury in the family, so the tradition of Luck Shedding was devised to regularly remove this bad luck.

Cleansing Evil

The ceremony is held whenever a family group has a death or grievous injury. It is always held the day of, or the day immediately following it, for the belief holds that the luck may still cause harm to those around them unless it is dispersed soon.
This tradition, like many Vitlesh prayer practices, centres around an animal. In this case, one of the family’s herding animals - or one purchased from someone else if they do not own any - is brought into the family home. Once it is inside, the family confesses any “bad luck encounters” they have had while holding the animal’s head. Afterwards, they release the animal into the desert, chasing it away if need be so it does not return.

CW: animal cruelty, death and injury

Important Locations

• Vishe Steppes
• Vitinji Desert

Related Ethnicities

• Vitlesh

Sending The Evil Away

But why send the animal away into the desert? Why not sacrifice it, or give it away?
The reason is because the belief holds that the bad luck has been given to the animal by confessing it. But the animal cannot be kept in the house, lest it bleat or otherwise communicate the bad luck back! As for sacrificing, it would die in the house, causing it to pass the bad luck onto the owners.

All images in this article were created by me, EmperorCharlesII, unless otherwise indicated.