Benediction Tablet

Prized by the Namers as the first source of their rituals, this tablet consists of a series of prayers, or recitations that they use when conducting their naming ceremonies. New Namers are required to memorize them in their entirety and can be called upon at any time by a Senior Namer to recite any one of them to demonstrate their mastery.
The current caretakers of the tablet are the Egg Island Sisters, the society of Namers on the island. How it came to be in the hands of this small group among all the branches of the profession world-wide is a mystery, but they guard it zealously and protect it from theft. Pressure is placed upon them to relinquish possession from the larger societies as well as others who are interested in its value as a one of a kind antiquity.
Even with the most assiduous of care, the tablet is worn, bits are missing and the text around the edges is nearly impossible to read. Copies have been made, both printed and hand-written, to try and preserve the words. It can no longer be guaranteed that any of these reproductions is entirely accurate, both as the language it is written in is no longer used, and those who can read and understand it are rare and becoming rarer and because errors will always slip in when copying, both accidental and deliberate.

Manufacturing process

The construction appears to have been thus: Wet yellow clay was formed into the shape of the tablet, probably in a mold. While wet, a sharpened stylus, wood or metal, was used to inscribe the letters of the prayers into the soft surface. Once the tablet was dry enough, it was removed from the mold and fired to remove the rest of the moisture and preserve the written word.

Significance

One of very few ancient artifacts still known to exist. The fact that this has been preserved for so many centuries has only added to its mystique. The older it gets, the more valuable it becomes. The Sisters have taken good care of it, but the words are becoming harder to see. While the benedictions used by the Namers elsewhere may have changed, the Sisters have been able to remain pure to the original, at least those who are committed to doing so.

See Summercamp 2020 for all my articles.

by Public domain at Wikimedia Commons

Item type

Religious / Ritualistic

Current Location

Teller Town

Owning Organization

Egg Island Sisters

Rarity

No other example of this is known to exist.

Weight

5 lbs

Dimensions

12 x 12 x 2 inches

Raw materials & Components

Formed of yellow clay fired into rock hardness.

Tools

The characters appear to have been inscribed using a pointed stylus to press into the wet clay.