Alyaii Order
| Alyaii Order | |
| Religious Smithing | |
| File:Flag.png | |
| Stats | |
| Established: | 1718 |
| Founder: | Shimizu Akihito |
| Region: | Ragavalli |
| Active: | Yes |
Contents
Hierarchy
- Forge High-Priest/ess
- Forge Priest/ess
- Forge Maiden / Bachelor
- Hem/et
Joining
Most members to the Alyaii Order are indoctrinated from a young age as their parents are already practicing members, making succession within the guild largely hereditary but not the default as those who are married to a member of the Alyaii Order are not automatically members themselves. However outsiders are often brought in on a voluntary notion and can only be accepted by a priest/ess or higher before they can begin the lengthy training period to get them up to speed and prove their devotion to the forge they cater to. All outsiders begin as Hem (m) or Hemet (f) whereas those who grew up with the guild's ways as their default will likely start as Forge Maidens and Bachelors, another incentive for those with Alyaii Order parents to stay within the Order.
Promotions
- Based on proficiency and dedication.
- Promotions are granted yearly to those who meet qualifications for the position they are rising to. All promotion-eligible members take care of the year's Ema-burning as a means of cleansing their hands of the role they had performed thus far to prepare them for a fresh start as the next.
- The highest position is the only position obtained by being chosen. This choice can be overridden or made by Ragavalli's head guild's leader or the Prima Famiglia, but this usually only happens when there is no clear indication of who the intended successor would be in the event of a sudden death. Or even rarer, should a transgression arise that forces the region's authority-- or the Tapestry's-- to step in and make the change.
Life in the Guild
All members start their day with a morning prayer at the forge, before the sun has risen and performed often as a group. To start, a person of standing such as the Forge High-Priest/ess themselves or any of the Forge Priest/esses will ring a brass bell. The group then bows at the waist once then claps once in unison, getting their hands in prayer position. Silence is held for internalized prayer. The process only takes a few minutes, and the guild then breaks for breakfast before returning to the forge space where they engage in slow meticulous motions akin to Tai Chi, each position held for the length of the reverberations of a gong sounded by the same leader of the morning over the course of the next hour.
From there they depart to do their duties, as by now the sun has come up.
Forge High-Priest/ess
Their days are spent overseeing the processes from a bureaucratic standpoint as they are considered the leader of the guild. They lead the more important religious events, from the public coming-of-age ceremony, to the guild's own promotion ceremony. Most of their work otherwise is delegated to Forge Priests and Priestesses.
Forge Priest/ess
Divided depending on their assigned placement by the Forge High-Priest/ess.
- Cheriheb: They impart the teachings and establish the routine for new trainees and report to the Forge High-Priest/ess who is ready to be promoted. This duty is often given to pregnant or new mothers. They are also most likely to lead morning prayers. If not given a specific part in a ceremony they provide music through various unique string instruments ranging from kotos and shamisens to drums.
- Ka: Their duties center around providing smaller services to the public and are often the ones that preside over marriages and death rites. They also monitor the use of the forge by those outside the guild who have achieved their coming-of-age. They also may be weapon-bearing as physical guardians for the forge and make the decisions in how to protect it-- high winds or sandstorms may have them order for the shields to be brought down, for example.
Forge Maidens / Bachelors
Their days are spent in study and practice, offering constant prayers to the forge and interacting with those around them. Their shining moments are usually at festivals and ceremonies where their long hours of practice bears fruit in the form of perfected dances. While not fighters they are also in basic-training should they eventually choose to rise to priest/ess positions. Bearing with the roots of the guild, they are also fine tuning their forge-experience and continuing to learn to read the flames to know what is best for it.
Hem/et
The uninitiated, they spend their days as servants to the rest of the guild. They are in charge of the cleaning and care of the forge's shrine tower as well as running any given errands. All the while they are expected to be dutiful and studious and are often pop-quizzed on anything from forging to reciting a ceremonial chant or a verse from the Oratorio on the spot. They are largely under the care of Forge Priests and Priestesses with the Cheriheb denotation.
Rules
1. The flame is all. Do what you must to keep it burning and bright.
2. The unworthy may not interact with the forge. Guard it from impurity.
- The unworthy is defined as anyone who has not passed their coming-of-age trial.
3.
History
Shimizu Akihito was a skaldborne under the guidance of Maestro Cecily and present during the Virtuoso War that brought about the violent end of his beloved master of craft. Angry and watching Anvil Rose split up into specialized guilds he took what skills and knowledge he had as a blacksmith and journeyed out to continue her work. He agreed to the monarchy's establishment and utilized the permissions and aid of future king Leone Arturo to establish the Ragavalli region, named for the colorful sands and sediment that made up the canyons and desert, in exchange for the an exclusive armoring and weaponry deal for Battaglia Militancy.
Over time he drilled into his apprentices not only the Oratorio with a twist to keep Cecily's praise alive-- in a time where the maestros were getting wiped from history slowly and subtly-- and the Alyaii Order became more religious than craft-oriented over time with each succession. Some years after his death his students, now masters themselves, started referring to themselves as priests and priestesses and adopting more traditions from other skaldborne to include dances and other practices that continued to push them away from being masters of the forge, to be servant-guardians of it.
Traditions and Relevant Lore
Hi-no-Kami and the Order
Whether it is true or not, it is believed that the flame in the forge is the very one started by Cecily-- or the one that burned her body. For this reason it is even more precious and important to them that the fire does not go out. This is the most important aspect for the guild, and Ragavalli as a whole. Most traditions, therefore, are centered around it and preside over most, if not all, important events in Ragavalli whether the guild is currently the Head guild or not (unless reigning head guild disagrees, but this has not happened yet).
Products for Prayer
In addition they sell 'Ema' made of pressed and layered rice-reed in the shape of an anvil where pilgrims can write their wishes upon. At the end of each year the Ema are fed to the forge during a guild-private ceremony which also acts as the 'graduation' for any lower-tiered members that may qualify.
Omamori are also made by Forge Priest/esses on request and usually consists of bits of shavings from products made at the forge or horseshoe nails wrapped in imported silk painted with a one-word representation of what the charm is meant for, such as 'safety' or 'love'.
Guild-Special Ceremonies
Promotion Ceremony The ceremony is performed in minimal clothing for the applicants, those not changing roles remain in their respective ceremonial robes. The current High Priest or Priestess will guide them through the process and provide the bulk of the chants while Forge Maidens dance to appease the flames, their fans in a specific motion and harmony to feed the fire rather than risk it from blowing out of the forge or out. This wind they create causes a funnel upward that brings the burning smoke and ash up the tower and into the sky, blessing the wishes on their way.
When all of the ema have joined the fire, the applicants dip their fingers into the soot and ash and draw on each other's face (or themselves if the number of applicants is an odd number) the symbols for 'promise' on the forehead and 'fire' on the chest. The symbols do not last long as the rest of their face is smudged next, rubbing it in. They are then lead away, the whole guild procession moving to the temizuya, a water basin, where the soot is then cleansed off by guild members for the applicant as an act of their guild-community bringing them from the old and born anew into their role-- which is then announced as they step out of the bath and given their new robes by a priest or priestess, completing the promotion ceremony.
