retourSociety : The Admiral and the Priestess in the Rightarm Islands
Article Card:
Title:The Admiral and the Priestess in the Rightarm Islands
Identifier:47
Created on:2004-03-15 at 10:43
Created by:Eliane Jaulmes
Modified on:2004-03-15 at 10:43
Modified by:Eliane Jaulmes
Credits :
Abstract:The human rulers of the Rightarm Islands.
Contributors:Jérôme Blondel (author), Jean-Michel Armand (proofreader), Philippe Sigaud (proofreader), Edern Rio (proofreader), Eliane Jaulmes (translator)
Subjects:Rightarm Islands, society
Keywords:admiral, ceremony, Choralinthor, Daliath's Cauldron, divination, fishing, government, Great Admiral, Great Admiral of the Ships, Great Priestess, Iluriad, island, ludoch, magic, merchant, Pelaskite, Pelaskos, pirate, Priestess, Rightarm Islands, ritual, sacrifice, Seapolis, senate, society, trade, Triolina, village, Waertagi
See also:The village council in the Righarm Islands(41%), Life in a Pelaskite village(31%), Fishing and Picking in the Rightarm Islands(31%), Trade and Exchange in the Rightarm Islands(31%), Occupation Keywords for the Rightarm Islands(31%), The Ludoch's place in the Pelaskite society(28%), Role of the Wise Ones in the Pelaskite society(24%), Ships and Navigation in the Rightarm Islands(24%), The Hexarchs(17%), Description of the Pelaskite family(17%)
Appears in:-
Rightarm Islands
Rightarm IslandsThe Admiral and the Priestess in the Rightarm IslandsRightarm Islands

Admiral is a title going back to the Waertagi. The title of Great Admiral designed the commander of the local Waertagi merchant fleet. The Waertagi were good sailors, both merchants and pirates, cousins to the Ludoch. The title stayed in the islands and became that of the man commanding the ships in a Pelaskite village, but also designs the friend of the Ludoch and the privileged intermediary between the village and the outside world: that is the sea, most of the time, but also strangers come from the dry land.

In the village proper, the role of the admiral is mainly turned towards the organisation of the fishing groups with the help of the council. He also plays Pelaskos' part in all the ceremonies, and carries out the sacrifices to Choralinthor, god of the bay. Outside of the village, under the supervision of the Ludoch, the admirals of neighbouring villages gather each season, in certain sacred places, and discuss the villages business and several broader subjects such as deep-sea fishing expeditions, trade, etc. They report the results of the meeting back to their village. They elect among them a Great Admiral. This takes place at the death of the previous one for a Great Admiral is elected for life, unless he is so clearly incompetent that all the others agree to replace him (this means that young ambitious try very hard to prove his incompetence).

A Great Admiral represents a group of small islands or one single big island at the senate of Seapolis. His village often enjoys a great prestige and riches, for it is offered many gifts to honour Pelaskos. Among all the Great Admirals is chosen the Great Admiral of the Ships, with the consent of the Sea Queen, who sends her representative on those rare occasion to signify her agreement.

The role of the Priestess is simpler to understand. She represents Iluriad, conducts all the sacrifices to this goddess and, with the help of the village old women, organises the women-only activities. Her authority is reduced concerning material matters. However, she has a powerful magic, for she is supported by her community to better devote to her goddess. Part of her role consists in eating herbs and plant mixtures in order to weaken her own consciousness and to hear the voices of aquatic creatures, when she dives and speaks with them. When old men choose to stir Daliath's Cauldron, the old women bring herbs to the Priestess and sacrifice to Iluriad the shells they brought back from their dives. In spite of how things look, under appearances typical of Iluriad's worshippers, the Priestesses cleverly rules the huts life of the village, leaning on the counsels of the old women.
When a Priestess grows old, she decides that time has come to elect her successor. The apprentice is elected among the prettiest girls of the village and, at the beginning of her learning, she is little more than a pretty face following her old mistress and half dazed by the new divinatory diet which she is not accustomed to. However, along her apprenticeship, she will grow aware of her powers and prepare to take the lead at the death of the old Priestess.

As for the Admirals, the Priestesses elect Great Priestesses during secret meetings in the night. Outside the Priestesses themselves, no one is allowed to assist to those gatherings. The village Priestess could well be a Great Priestess but no one would know it! The power and exact influence of Iluriad's Great Priestesses are something quite mysterious. Their power comes from the great goddess Triolina, and they are principally concerned by fertility magical ceremonies linked to the most ancient myths of Iluriad, as a subcult of Triolina, those preceding the birth of Choralinthor himself. They are far from the political plots of the Admirals! The Ludoch know all this, of course, and treat these women with the greatest respect, according to their own culture, even if the humans are totally unaware of it.

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