Galanasta

Purpose

The Galanasta was a druid or seer in charge of performing the ritual sacrifice of animals during religious ceremonies. The practice is now mostly obsolete and there are very few Galanastas still practising in Alven these days.

History

Historically being a Galasnasta was an honour bestowed on a family of Druids within the clan. Each clan had one or two Galanasta families. Among these families were chosen the next generation of Galanastas, carefully trained by their parents or grandparents.

Some of these families still exist but most have found new purposes within the clan organisation. When the Druids were disbanded and persecuted at the end of The War of the Adders by Thane Thingor Gremane, many Galanasta families changed allegiance to Brigand and The Sanctuary and became Seers.

Very few went into hiding and continued to practise The Old Ways. The Sanctuary was a much more spiritual order than the Druids and did not look favourably to the Yield(animal sacrifices). Slowly, under the influence of the Seers,  the Yield became obsolete replaced by more humane rituals.

The Galanastas were not needed anymore and the millennia-old traditions nearly went instinct when fewer and fewer Galanastas were trained within the clans. However, there are still two families that honour the traditions: the Velins and the Ralstons.  they do not publicise their ancestry and only trusted allies know about the family training.

The two families live in Highfort and are clansmen of Clan Deeryant. Maybe belonging to such a powerful clan would have helped the families in maintaining anonymity and providing protection during hard times. 

There are three fully trained Galanastas for the whole in Alven and they still perform their sacred duties when asked: Mirel Ralston, the matriarch of the Ralstons and her son Graol Ralston and Cerden Velin, at the head of the Velins. 

N.B.: there might also be other Galanastas still practising in other parts of Alven. In remote areas of the continent, the Galanasta is still a reality. However, after three centuries of expansion, the influence of the Sanctuary and The Arkivon is profound in all regions of Alven, and Galanastas, if they exist, would be very discreet among their community.

Social Status

Before the War of the Adders and the creation of the Sanctuary, the Galanasta families were very well-regarded within the clan. Their sacred duties put them on a par with the Druids and, fully trained were regarded as an integral part of the religious men and women of Alven.

However, when the Druids were chased out, their status became more problematic. Associated with the Old Ways, the Galanastas quickly found out that they were not always welcomed within the Sanctuary's organisation. Their very existence reminded the new triumvirate of power in Alven: the Thane, the Arkivon, and the Sanctuary about what went before.

Losing their status and livelihood, the Galanasta families quickly faded away, went underground or reinvented themselves. Many young clansmen from Galanasta families embraced the new changes in Alven and joined either the Sanctuary or the Arkivon, forsaking their family traditions, and forged brilliant careers for themselves and their descendants.

Others applied their knowledge of the sacred and their family's special skills in darker ways. It is thought that the Narils, one of the most secret and brutal criminal families of Highfort were first attached to Clan Botterfyre and one of the clans' Galanastas. Darien Naril is now the head of the family and manages an empire of bars, game halls, and brothels throughout the capital.

Demographics and Wealth

Galanasta families were part of the upper crust in their own clan - often being themselves The Clanbearers. They were wealthy as they commanded lands and had high remuneration for their services.

Today, the Galanasta live on the fringe of Alven society. Being associated with the Old Ways, they look suspect to Arkivens, and they keep their profession secret. They can still command a sizeable fee for their services but most Galanasta and their family exercise other professions that both provide a front and another source of income. 

In Highfort, the Ralstons deal in antiques and rare objects. Their familial and well-guarded knowledge of religious paraphernalia helped them to set up shop and make a good living out of the relatively new craze for ancient objects. Their boutique 'The Bloodsword' is well known for its eerie and ghoulish atmosphere - making it of course very popular with the wealthy Alven elite.

The Velins have opted for a series of high-end inns. When their religious calling did not feed their children anymore, the Velins decided to transform their Highfort palaces into a money-making concern.  Their flagship is 'the Golden Dragon', a luxurious establishment, not far from the The Thane's Keep, catering for wealthy Clanbearers. 'The Golden Dragon' is well known to be a hotbed of intrigues. Many pacts between clans have been made and unmade in the inn's salons. 

Tools

Galanasta only used sacred knives to perform their duties. The Galan Knives are, maybe, one of the most sacred relics of the Druids. These ancient weapons were made of silver and incrusted with gems and runes. It is thought that the heel and edge of the tall knife were made of the strongest steel, always kept very sharp. 

Galan Knives are very rare. Only one is on public display. It can be seen in The Brynwin Sanctuary Gardens and is the property of the Sanctuary. 

There used to be two knives on display but two years ago, burglars managed the extraordinary feat of breaking into the Gardens and stealing one of the Galan Knives. Since then, security has been reinforced around the last knife.

It is not on display anymore but is kept in one of the Garden's vaults. The Garden's visitors can admire a life-size painting of the knife instead. Arkivens of The Circle of the Blaze have been investigating the theft, but no culprits have yet been apprehended. The Highfort Gazettes have seized on the story and have brought up gory, apocryphal stories about the knife's history, one of them being that the knife was used for human sacrifices and is a cursed relic of the Druids.

Type

Religious