The Primary

History

Of the four leaders of the Shiften country of Tinobi, the Prishiften has been the longest-standing of them all. While each family has distinct and individual ways of choosing its leaders, a Shiften's ability to perfect forms has always been considered a reliable way of determining rank and power in Shiften society. As such, when the families came together at The Treatise, to protect their families against the spread of the Enthar Empire, the choice of electing the most powerful Shiften was an easy one. For a hundred years or so, the Prishiften was the sole leader-of-all at the biannual Treatise, and although was considered important by most family atriarch's, still had little influence on the day-to-day lives of Shiften families. While the Prishiften's vote on family matters has been formalised, they still cannot overrule any decisions beyond Sandstep. 
The Primary is representative of many battles or competitions among Shiften to prove their power compared to another. After the election of the Head, the Heart and the Soul, the three leaders of The Library outlined the Primary and how it was to take place. No longer would a Shiften merely claim the title of Prishiften, or challenge the previous for the honour. They would compete. In a set of carefully constructed challenges (that aren't without their own dangers and risks), but far less chaotic. The Shiften who emerges is, thanks to the carefully designed Primary, without a doubt considered the most powerful of Shiften.

Execution

The Primary consists of two major components known as 'Proving' and 'Waging'. The first, the Proving, is a formal process where potentials for Prishiften stand before the Head, the Heart, and the Soul (and typically a few hundred or so witnesses) and demonstrate each one of their forms. The current Prishiften is required to attend such Provings, as it had been known for the Heart to call upon the standing Prishiften to compare the purity of forms. While Head, Heart, and Soul are the three voters on whether a form is pure enough to add to the count, they can also call upon experts - typically Archivists, to give opinions on function, form, or colouration. Prishiften-hopeful Karzyn's Proving took nearly seven days, as expert witnesses from across the globe were called upon to give their opinion on the foreign Shifter's many non-native forms. In the end, three of Karzyn's forms were discounted, and Karzyn did not ascend to Prishiften.
'Waging' is where these forms are put to the test. For each form, the challenging Shiften must face another in a feat decided by the Head, Heart, and Soul. While these are typically battles to submission, they can also be races, agility courses, or even, as evidenced in a rare water-based Waging, a hunting competition. Whereupon the otter-formed-Shiften that returned with the most crabs was classed the winner. A challenger for Prishiften may not necessarily have to beat their opponent, but it is a rare Waging where the Head, Heart, and Soul would vote for acceptability despite a loss.

Observance

While technically a Primary can be called at any time, tradition has it typically being held at the two-yearly meet of all Shiften families, known as The Treatise.

Primary Related Location

Tinobi

Important Locations

• The City