SCALBRANER CLASS:

DARSHA

(SPIRIT TALKER)

The Darsha is the Scalbraner Spirit Talker, the worker of Manc, the principle teller of stories, healer, wiseperson and respected spiritual guide.

Darsha use Manc in the form of rituals, dances, unguents, potions, skin scarring, skin painting, items of attire, symbols and poultices. They can also commune with spirits of nature, either plant or animal and can even, if powerful enough, summon elementals to do their bidding. Darsha may also use spirits to determine future events, but only in the far, distant future or within a very short time frame. The Darsha must be imbued with Manc and then be taught it by another Darsha, or by a spirit Darsha, called a Valoosh. The Valoosh is the spirit of a previous Darsha that can either be summoned by a Darsha or comes of its own accord, primarily to teach or warn a tribe's Darsha of some event to happen in the near future.

Darsha worship nature spirits and hold in high regard fire, water, ice, stone and blood, although they have no religion. They also revere any icon or picture. Reproduction of an image is considered a power and the Darsha has the right of destruction of any work carried out by other tribe members, if they deem the work disrespectful or dangerous. Many Scalbranians make small paintings or scar-markings on their skin and these are rarely considered bad by the Darsha.

A Darsha may be trained from any age, and are almost exclusively male, but females have occurred in some tribes. Natural potency of Manc is the main requisite to being chosen as a Darsha. Training is strict and usually taught by another Darsha. Training involves learning all the many rituals that are needed in day-to-day living and dying, and the more spiritual and Manc-based rituals. Also to be learnt are all the tenets of the tribe, their laws, tales and history and the ability to placate disagreements if the Hoskeg is not there or not able to do so. The Darsha usually lives separately from the other tribe members and has no companions unless they be pupil and then only one at a time is allowed.

The table below represents the default table for Darsha in any Scalbraner tribe. Individual tribes may have certain advantages or differences but are usually unique to that tribe.