Pembroke's Flute

Mocrioca's defense against evil spirits

Cornelia Pembroke's flute is the most famous work of Xurugwi bone art. It is housed at the Kedos temple (also known as The Temple of the Almighty) in Mocrioca.

Cornelia Pembroke

by Artbreeder

Cornelia Omun was a Pelan woman from Mocrioca who married Sima Pembroke, a Xurugwi man from the city of Kedos. Her husband hoped to be appointed a Trickster-Trapper, but struggled, as he was only a mediocre musician. Upon his death, Pembroke took up the mantle and many assumed that she would fail, as she had not grown up in Xurugwi tradition, but she proved to be the greatest trickster-trapper of Mocrioca. This led her to bring together the two traditions, creating a new variation of the Xurugwi faith which remains common in Mocrioca.

Creation of the Flute

I do not pretend to understand the Almighty's will, but I understand now that she brought me to Mocrioca so that I might learn how our lives continue past our deaths. And though I have never identified myself with the Xurugwi religion, if my neighbors should find it fitting, I request that my body be returned to Nideon in their fashion, and death beads made from my bones. I do not know if I should be reborn again, but I know now it would be a disservice to prevent my future self such a connection

— Diary of Cornelia Pembroke

Though she identified as Pelan all her life, including wearing the traditional Pelan headscarf, more common to men, Pembroke requested traditional Xurugwi Funeral Rites upon her death. The Xurugwi community leaders complied. As tradition dictated, they left her body in a wild area, and when they returned to look for bones, all they found was a single femur. Many Xurugwi followers in Mocrioca, including Pembroke's children, took this as a sign that Pembroke's soul had reached the afterlife, but that her goddess had left a bone for them to fashion into a flute.
Holding with tradition, Pembroke's femur was fashioned into a flute, so that future trickster-trappers could call on her abilities as well as their own when they played it. It was carved with symbols that represented both Pembroke's great musical talent as well as her duel identity as Pelan and Xurguwi. Though Xurugwi bone art is most commonly decorated in teal, Pembroke's flute is decorated in purple, the Pelan holy color. It is the only Xurguwi flute to be decorated in this color. The decorations are also evidence of the way in which Pembroke's presence saw the merging of the Epaluno and Xurugwi faiths in Mocrioca.

Present Day

Since its creation, the flute has been housed as the Kedos Temple, in Pembroke's hometown. Though it has been used since her death, most notably by trickster-trapper Danielle Accoroso, when no known trickster-trapper is known Mocrioca, the flute stays in a locked glass case in the temple, where visitors can see it and learn about Pembroke's work any time they visit. Many also believe that Pembroke was such a good trickster-trapper that the very presence of the flute in Mocrioca continues to deter nearby evil spirits.

Item type

Musical Instrument

Current Location

Kedos Temple

Manufacturer

Xurugwi

Owning Organization

Mocrioca

Raw materials & Components

human bone