Travelers move between the tribes with an assigned guard, treating the sick and carrying news across the valley.
Responsibilities
- Treat the sick and injured cats of all tribes.
- Deliver messages and important news between the vast territories.
- Travel continually, stopping only for a few days at a time before moving on.
- Advise Stars based on their accounts of learned history
Having Kits
When born to a traveler or guard, kits are not often raised by their journeying parents and are instead entrusted to one of the tribes. It is considered an honor to take in these kits, commonly called starlets. They often inherit the Sign of the Stars from their kin, and leave the tribe to train at the Spire when they come of age.
Appointment
Sign of the Stars
A prominent star-shaped marking usually found on a cat's head, though occasionally elsewhere on their body. This marking signifies a strong instinctual connection to their ancestors and the spirit of the earth.
Kits born with the Sign of the Stars are raised within their birth tribe until they reach 6 moons old. At that point, their connection to their tribe is severed and they are sent to the Spire to train as traveler wanderlings. Once their training is deemed complete by the overseer, the wanderling is given a guard and the title of traveler. The guard may be from any tribe, and is chosen by the overseer according to their ancestor's will. Unlike tellers, once their training is complete, travelers do not remain at the Spire.
Training to be a Traveler
When the wanderling arrives at the Spire, a teller volunteers to be their overseer and guide them through their training. They are expected to learn many things including: medicinal herbs, treating injuries and illnesses, the histories of the tribes, diplomacy and navigation.
Guards are protectors dedicated to a single traveler and accompany them across the valley's dangerous routes. Despite their title, guards are not only physical protectors. Relationships between guard and traveler frequently evolve into something deeper than friendship, though not necessarily as mates. No matter the dynamic, relationships between guard and traveler are celebrated as a fated and sacred connection.
Responsibilities
- Ensure the traveler's safety on long and dangerous journeys between tribes.
- Serve as trusted confidants and counselors.
- Act as navigators, hunters, intermediaries, and companions.
- Alleviate the isolation that accompanies a traveler's calling.
The Death of a Traveler
If a traveler dies or is otherwise unable to continue their duties, the guard returns to the Spire and spends their life serving the tellers by hunting, scouting, and assisting their daily routines. Though not nearly as strong as the connection of a teller, many guards who outlive their travelers report sensing their presence or hearing their voice in passing.
Appointment
Guards tend to be selected from the ranks of experienced adepts, cats respected for their exceptional combat skills, loyalty, and judgment. They are chosen based on signs recieved by tellers at the Spire once a new kit is born with the sign of the stars.
Tellers reside permanently at the Spire and commune directly with their ancestors. The process of connecting with the spiritual world is highly personal and the effectiveness of methods vary from cat to cat. Some cast stones, bones, or carved objects with symbols that provide meaning based on their formation. Others interpret celestial signs like falling comets or constellations. Others experience vivid dreams where they walk with forgotten spirits or receive whispered omens in waking visions.
Spirit Guides
Most tellers have a handful of ancestors that serve as their guides. Though countless spirits roam the earth, not all have the best interests of the living at heart. It takes a perceptive mind and healthy sense of skepticism to navigate the riddled aid of the valley's ancestors.
Tellers pride themselves on being a living library of knowledge, always seeking to better understand the past and pass along all the secrets the valley has to offer. Stories are passed from overseer to wanderling and swapped between tellers like prey. The result is an encompassing history of the tribes, tracing countless lineages back through the decades.
Responsibilities
- Commune directly with their ancestors.
- Advise the tribes through the messages of their ancestors and their own accounts of history.
- Preserve and pass along the valley's knowledge like a living library.
- Continue their duties until death, not leaving the Spire and relying on guards for support as needed.
Appointment
A traveler retires to the Spire and becomes a teller when they are no longer able to travel between the tribes. This can be due to their guard's death, an injury, or simply old age. Once their guard joins their ancestors, the teller's spiritual connection intensifies, allowing them to connect with the guard's spirit and interpret their signs more clearly. In rare cases, some travelers can see and hear the deceased guard as clearly as if they were still alive.