Furrow Maker's Blessing

Spring brings much activity to the temples and and shrines seeking the assistance of Grudas's clerical adherents, but the Ploughmen who can perform the Furrow Maker's Blessing are among the most highly sought after during the pivotal planting season. While many smallholders perform the laborious task manually after offering their own prayers, the caste of adherents possessing the ability to perform the ritual casting will cut straight furrows across acres of farmland in a moment. Skilled Ploughmen will spend days or weeks repeatedly casting the ritual for their community, moving from one plot of land to another.   Within the reach of the Sovereign Host rituals to Grudas Hoe-Handed are some of the most widely observed, with families or work teams gathered with baskets ready to sow the crop after the ritual is complete. The blessing is generally harmless to animals in the affected area, although it often triggers a feast for observant birds, and a minor variation of the blessing is quietly known by the clergy as a subtle way of detecting young Sparks who may not have actualized their gift yet. It is through this method that small rural holy sites acquire suitably talented apprentices, and occasionally uncover Nightmaker covens.   An influx of offerings to Sovereign Host temples and rustic shrines to Grudas precede the rush of activity surrounding the weeks of ritual castings, making it one of the most economically important for some sites. Many minor community celebrations following the completion of the Furrow Maker's Blessings for the season are led by the Ploughmen who often slip by unnoticed for much of the rest of the year, although many are also involved in the Harrow's Hammer Blessing at the end of the season. In areas where worship of the Sovereign Host, Celestia, and Wind Runners may overlap there can be healthy competition between the clergy over who performs the furrow making rituals on the most productive land or over the most acres. While the followers of Grudas are typically very community minded there have been known to be occasional violent clashes during the planting season with followers of Arare the Verdant Lord and Dam Bey Earth Breaker where some perceive a slight or contamination has occurred during this crucial agricultural phase, especially in years following a shortage or famine.