The Banahogg

The ritualistic punishment of the Dai-Yukai

History

The history of the Banahogg, or "The Deathblow" in the Giant tongue, is one that dates back into the distant past...before the the Jotunhunts when the Dai-Yukai ruled over a large empire. In olden times the Banahogg was used as a ritualistic punishment for those citizens, prisoners, or criminals who had committed some great wrong and needed to be punished far in excess of any normal punishment for their actions, but also needed to kept alive afterwards to live with the memory of their failure. Back then, it was a rarely used ceremony that saw use only when a truly heinous or vile act was committed and one saw as a fate worse than death.
Now, the Banahogg is a tradition that has completely permeated the Dai-Yukai culture as the ultimate humiliation for Dai-Yukai and an ultimate symbol of proving one's dominance over another, as well as a ritualistic punishment for smaller races to break them in and mold them into a being more suited to servitude and slavery. It has lost much of its old cultural value and is instead treated as the ultimate punishment for any creature...a sign of their ultimate defeat and complete submission to the one who claimed victory or mastery in some way over them...whether that be from a fight they lost or challenge they failed.

Execution

When the Banahogg is judged to be necessary, the subject being "punished" by the execution of it is shrunk down to the size of an adult human through the magic of the tribe's shaman, and is subsequently "prepared" for the Banahogg through magical enchantments that ensure they will survive the harsh damages the Banahogg involves.
Once the subject is "prepared", the one who will carry out the execution of their Banahogg(Generally the one who proved victory over them in some way, or who brought their shameful actions to light) will prepare thick, lightly enchanted ropes inscribed with the name of the subject as well as tales of their inferiority and shamefulness. The subject is then bound many times over by the ritualistic ropes to the bottom of the foot of the one who will carry out their Banahogg's execution until they cannot move a muscle, facing downwards towards the ground. Once bound in this manner, the subject is left to be trampled beneath the footfalls of their titanic jailer until such a time as they are deemed free to go.
Their bodies are constantly crushed, pulverized, and shattered beneath the immense weight of the Dai-Yukai whose foot they are tied beneath, their faces smashed into the ground with each step to remind them of the sins they committed to be the subject of a Banahogg in the first place...but thanks to the magic of the tribe's Shaman, the subject's body will slowly piece itself back together after each footfall, ensuring they survive the process no matter how long they remain trapped...though their minds are a different story, and often break before their bodies do.
The length a Banahogg can last varies depending on the severity of the punishment, but a week is the commonly observed length for a Banahogg to last. On extremely rare occasions when a member of the tribe or a slave has committed an extremely, unbelievably heinous crime, greatly shamed themselves or their tribe, or committed an act that the Dai-Yukai believe is worthy of eternal punishment, a Banahogg can be declared "ævi", or "Eternal"...these Banahogg are never-ending, and once tied and bound the subject is never released from their now endless torment. Otherwise, once the duration is judged to be over, the creature is removed, unshrunk if it was previously shrunk, and reintroduced to their tribe in shame or, if they were a slave or potential slave, introduced as a slave to the tribe's slave population where they are worked until death.

Components and tools

The Banahogg requires several magical enchantments for both the ropes used to bind the subject and the subject themselves. These enchantments are to ensure the survival of both the rope and the subject.
The Banahogg also requires several feet of thick rope, inscribed with the failures and stories of the subject undergoing it which earned them the place in the ritual in the first place.

Participants

The entire tribe of the offending subject is present for the beginning of the Banahogg where the subject is bound to the foot of their better if the subject is a valued member of the tribe in some way. If the subject is a mere slave or some other low-ranking creature in the tribe, the Chieftain and Shaman will be present to witness.
The one who carries out the Banahogg on the given offender or subject is generally the one that the subject offended, insulted, or lost to in a duel or challenge. If there was no clear being who was the victim or winner of the subject's actions or duel, then the right to carry out the Banahogg is given to the youngest adult of the tribe as further denigration and humiliation for the subject; by being strapped to and tramped beneath the footfalls of a younger tribes-member, their punishment is reinforced all the more.

Observance

The Banahogg takes place on no set timeframe or date, but when one is called to take place the binding and initiation of the Banahogg itself is typically begun at Dawn's First Light.