Maveren religion
Maveren religion
The Maveren venerate, in a rather genteel way, a group of ocean spirits whom they see as “ancestors,” probably in a more symbolically than literally. Maveren households might have a shrine and conduct occasional rituals of respect, but there are no temples and there’s no such thing as a Maveren cleric.
Sea-priests
There are generally some people who conduct rituals and take care of the shrines in a household; these are usually called "dedicants" if they have no other function in a Maveren household, or aren't thralls (many other Malfa residents also venerate the ocean ancestors). It's a lay practice, that is also a fairly typical duty for a skald. However, there's another level of dedicant, those who "hear the ancestors"—that is, they have a natural sensitivity to the ocean spirits, and sometimes communicate with them directly. These people are sometimes called sea-priests or sea-speakers, and are treated with respect. A sea-priest cannot be either a thrall or a Maver; their only social tie is to the ancestors. If a thrall is spirit-sensitive, they are immediately freed (or at age 14, if they become spirit-sensitive in childhood). If a Maver is spirit-sensitive, they cease to be a member of their House. In either case, sea-priests are owed a welcome in any House whatsoever. Still, some people who start to hear the ancestors don't really welcome what it means for them. The ocean spirits really exist, though they're not "ancestors" except perhaps in a broad spiritual sense. They don't care about mortal politics or similar issues, but they are good sources of information about the weather (always crucial in a seafaring culture), and can sometimes be called upon to alter storms and such. It's said that some sea-priests can listen through the ancestors to other parts of the world that the oceans touch, and receive visions this way. Sea priests are rare, and though respected, they have no secular authority. Advice from the ocean spirits is sometimes sought through them, but otherwise they generally have the position of Sufis in Islam. They live individual existences, a little outside the rest of society. In game terms, sea-priests are always druids of the homebrew Circle of Seas.
