Spirit rune Local Spirits

by David Dunham

Every East Ralian clan worships localized spirits. A few of these are known to more than one clan, but most are limited in range. Many are probably spirits worshiped since before time began. Typically one spirit is worshiped each season, and there's also some sort of local trickster.

The following local spirits are known to the Mokevogi clan of the Ajim tribe.

Bowbreaker
A tall, thin standing stone, said to be a huge javelin thrust deep into the earth, is home to the spirit Bowbreaker. On his holy day in Fire Season, people can learn the 2 point spirit magic spell Break Bow, which breaks a bowstring. They must also abide by the geas, never use a bow.

Hungry Nose
In late Sea Season, people propitiate Hungry Nose by leaving offerings of blood at a petroglyph shaped something like a mosquito.

Lorakal Lar
Lorakal Lar is also known as the Dry Wind. She is contacted on a hilltop during Storm Season, and teaches a spirit magic spell Dry Wind, which blows a cloak or other garment dry in a matter of minutes.

Narent Mudman
Narent got his name because he tended pigs, which liked to wallow in mud. He is believed to be the first Mokevogi to raise pigs. All the local pig tenders worship at Narent's Oak, the base of which has had the bark peeled off and been carved into a face.

Narent teaches a spirit magic spell Detect Oak, which points to the nearest oak tree or acorn.

During Stasis Week of Earth Season, people gather acorns, and on Wildday they're ground and baked into flat cakes. This is the only time they're edible by humans.

Robber-Nall
On the first day of Sacred Time, people who have lost something valuable during the year get drunk, have a kinsman spin them around a few times, and stumble out. If all goes well, they will blunder into a cache of treasure: cloak clasps, earrings, hair pins, ornamental mirrors, ribbons, sword buckles, and the like. Among them will be the lost item, which they may retrieve. There's always some item to tempt them, but anyone who takes something that's not his will suffer terrible luck.

Soothing Touch
Soothing Touch is a gentle spirit of healing. She can only be contacted at night, and her powers are best against fevers. She's also known for the ritual which transfers childbirth pains to the baby's father. Many outsiders identify her as the troll goddess Xiola Umbar for this reason, though the Mokevogi vigorously deny this. Her statue of crudely carved stone lies in a sacred grove. Healing spells cast here are more powerful than usual.

See also Michael Raaterova's essay on local spirits.

Copyright ©1996 David Dunham. Last updated 15 Jul 99.

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