Iron Feast

Considered blasphemous in most mainstream religions under the Manifold Sky, an 'iron feast' is a spiritual rite by which a dieseltech machine operator - often, but not exclusively, an auto-armor operator, motorcyclist, pilot, or systems intrusion specialist - communes with his or her machine by the mutual imbibing of vital fluids. Participating in an iron feast evokes dedication to ones craft using that machine or desperation in the cause one faces such that only the abilities of that machine offers any hope of success going forward. Many last stands in history, from gangsters in their pinstripe punishers facing capture by police to armored cavalry units in the War of Reunification reaching the last of their reserves, have been preceeded by iron feasts.

History

The exact origin of the iron feast tradition is not clear, but variants of it cropped up across several cultures with access to dieseltech technology at some point in the 9950's AR. The practice may have had origins in ancient Native Ovinex bonding rituals which were subject to adaptation mutation when the practice was adopted by rostran technicians working in the nearby waters, but it is just as likely that the ritual sprang up under the Leather Jacket Nomads as an initiation rite. Iron feasts are known to occur regularly at the Bleak Pillars Arena, where the auto-armor suits are considered characters and develop names and reputations in their own rights, so this is yet another possible origin story for the tradition.

Execution

During an iron feast, celebrants extract fuel, lubricant, or coolant from the machine to which they wish to be bound. This fluid is then smeared across the tongue or sprinkled in small amounts over a libation and drunk. Considering that many of these fluids are posionous or come from unwholesome sources, only small amounts should be used unless the celebrant suspects that death is eminent in any case. In return, the celebrant sheds some of his or her own blood into the associated fluid receptacle or anoints parts of the machine in that blood.
After an iron feast, the celebrant is considered spiritually bonded to the machine. Rostran Esotericists in particular consider this element of the iron feast blasphemous because this 'polluted bond' is, in effect, predestining the creation of an Ixulova Tun wherein the spirit of the operator possesses the machine upon death rather than returning to the natural cycle of death and rebirth. Those who consider the tradition ritually efficacious will make no attempt thereafter to separate the operator and this machine except upon the death of one or destruction of the other.

Participants

In cases where multiple celebrants are partaking in an iron feast simultaneously, one person may be appointed an 'officiant' to ensure that the proper rites are observed. This officiant may be a person interested in esoteric occult practice or otherwise tied to the deep traditions of an organization to which all celebrants claim membership, though he or she is seldom a member of a more orthodox religion's clergy due to the somewhat outre nature of the ritual. Indeed, officiating or participating in an iron feast may endanger one's membership in the Way of the Biocosm due to its apparent rejection of communion with the organic Biocosm for communion with the machine, while Servants of Ironies aligned with Cosmeon will not participate because, in many cases, an iron feast suggests 'preparing to fail' in contradiction of that deity's dogma. Others not partaking in the iron feast may still participate as witnesses prepared to declare that a given celebrant has been bonded to a given machine should the matter ever come into question.

Important Locations

• Bleak Pillars Arena

Related Organizations

• Avarix Corps
• Craterhold
• Hexon Assembly
• Leather Jacket Nomads
• Twilight Legion