Seers of Ashtiri

The Seers of Ashtiri are the keepers of wisdom, history, ritual and tradition across the clans of the Uferbrech Goblins. Each kingroup across the four clans has at least one Seer of Ashtiri assigned to them, but often there are multiple Seers for a Kingroup (and many kingroups in each of the four clans. Seers are usually related by blood to the kingroup that they serve.

Masters and Apprentices

The core structure of the Seers is that of a collective of peers. Each Seer is considered equal, but a heirarchy of respect and deference has emerged, based mostly on age and experience.
As youth, Apprentice Seers learn their craft from a Master Seer. In some cases their apprenticeship may last most of their life. A Master will only ever take on a single apprentice, and an apprentice can only become a Master if their own Master dies. It has been known for elderly apprentices to carry out all the duties of a Master who has become senile or incapacitated with age, but can not take on the official mantle. In these cases, it will be accepted that a second apprentice be taken on, under the wing of the first, until such time as the official succession can occur.

Myth tellers and entertainers

The Seers are responsible for keeping the myths and oral histories of the Uferbrech Goblins alive, and to share these with the people. The many myths and stories are as much entertainment as spiritual, and the Seers are always accomplished musicians and singers.

During each Moontide, there are held festivals, known as Aetoras Plea, which remember and venerate the myths that bind the clans together: The Broken Dream of Wala-Kofa, Wala's Vigil, The Intercession of Aetora and other important myths of the Uferbrech goblins.
At these times the Seers take on oratory and performance roles for the clans, acting out the myths through theatre, song and music.

by Midjourney

Keepers of kith, kin and history

The Seers are also responsible for keeping track of the complex inter-relationships between members of clans that guide Kingroups and Kithweaving rituals. They each understand the multi-generational relationships and histories of the various peoples, and are tasked with ensuring taboo relationships are avoided.

Spirit bonding

Many Seers will bond themselves with one or more Kahi, Ancestor Spirits, and through those relationships have direct access to ancestral memories and knowledge.
This Spirit bonding is akin to God Tethering, where the living Seer establishes a magical symbiotic link with the ghosts of the clan's ancestors. Magical energy is shared, and the remembrance of the clans acts as a form of Blood magic which enables the Seer to utlise the collective will of the kingroup and clan.

by Midjourney

Shadowseers

It is very rare, but not unknown, for some Seers to bond with dangerous spirits such as the Kothkahi or the Nagakahi. These bonds give them access to truly ancient knowledge from the time of The Destruction, and magic of both extreme power and instability.
These Shadowseers are feared and respected in equal measure by the other goblin kin, and often live apart from the general populations. Other Seers will at times seek out their knowledge, but the knowledge is often cryptic and unreliable - having been filtered through the ages and through the long torment of the spirits who carry it.

The Renewal

The Seers are a loose organisation, and they mostly act independently of each other. Traditionally, they meet every 8 Moontides (2 years) in an event known as The Renewal. During the Renewal, the Seers share, update and correct their telling of the myths, they exchange knowledge, share the news, and update each with births deaths and other changes of Kithweaving. The Renewal ensures that the clans share a common history and understanding, and that the belief systems and knowledge evolve as the clans evolve.

Tenets of Faith

The Broken Dream

As spoken of in The Broken Dream of Wala-Kofa, the Seers believe that in the deeptime before the breaking, all people lived in an endless harmonious cycle of death and rebirth known as Ashtiri.
However, in their hubris, the ancients believed they could control Ashtiri to their own ends, and they became devils. Kofa in her anger burned the world and ended the cycle.

The Vigil

The ancestors of the Uferbrech Goblins were saved from destruction by Wala and taksed by the great Aetora to hold Wala's Vigil around The Uferbrech Gyre until Wala awakens and rejoins Kofa.
The point of the Vigil is three-fold: - To protect the ruins of the ancients from being disturbed by outsiders for fear of angering Kofa's wrath even further. - To provide the spirits of their dead a safe place to wait until Ashtiri begins again. - To be present when Wala awakens and rejoins with Kofa

Guardians of the dead

The Seers teach that those who die are doomed to wait until the restart of Ahstiri. They will go insane and become dangerous unless they are kept bonded to the living. These are known as the Kahi, Ancestor Spirits.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Successor Organization

• The Talons of Aetora

Ruling Organization

Mothers of Motu

Deities

• Aetora
• Wala-Kofa

Location

Uferbrech

Related Species

• Goblin Kin

Related Ethnicities

• Uferbrech Goblins

Related Myths

• The Broken Dream of Wala-Kofa
• The Defier