Scribes of Beisen

The Scribes of Beisen (pronounced BEE-zen) are an order of oracles from the halfling temple of Mynid Mar at the peaks of the Starseer Summit. While many revere and respect them for the value of their work, still many criticize their methods and induction rituals as being akin to kidnapping and enslavement.  

Members

Scribes

Membership as a scribe is not something that is applied for or can be attained through rigorous study and practice. Rather, oracles are selected at birth for those who are born under the right conditions. The midwives of Honeyhall and Merrymead have been instructed to recognize the omens of an oracular birth and have word sent immediately to the Mynid Mar. These long observed omens include the following:  

The child must be pureblood halfling

The child is born under a new moon

The child is born with the Caul

The child does not cry immediately following birth

Many people wrongly believe that the oracles were blind at birth, but this is not the case. Their blindness is a side effect of the potent teas consumed to enhance their vision. The Scribes of Beisen maintain their membership to the temple until death.  

Leadership

Scholars and archivists operate with a single, democratic voice, though there is often little that needs to be done from a leadership perspective. Only one halfling a year is welcomed into circle of scholars, and even then their yearlong apprenticeship ends in a test that is renowned for its difficulty.  

Caretakers

The caretakers are comprised of volunteers, often family of one of the scribes. They are responsible for ensuring the continued care of the scribes and that they are able to work without interruption.  

Groundskeepers

Similar to the caretakers, the groundskeepers are comprised of volunteers and oversee the upkeep and provisioning of the temple. This includes tending the garden for food and Starflower, as well as seeing to any repairs to prevent the temple from falling into disrepair.  

Training and Methods

In addition to the innate sight of the chosen members stemming from the nature of their birth, the Scribes of Beisen draw their oracular powers from an ancient brew of sacred flowers, known as Starflower, believed only to grow in the highest peaks of the Starseer Summit. The flowers are said to be infused the ability to enhance one's prescience due to their proximity to the heavens. Starting from birth, the oracles are entered into the fold of rigorous training and conditioning to prepare them for a lifetime of prescience. They are dosed with the powerful drugs of sight at gradually increasing levels as they age, so as to prevent a deadly coma that has claimed the lives of many uninitiated. Initiates are trained to interpret their visions while being conditioned to the drug, but the process strips them of their personality and desires, as well as stripping them of sight.   In addition to the physical conditioning that they are exposed to, the young initiates must also undergo constant schooling of an ancient script which is used to convey their interpretations of their visions. Writing for hours on end, the students must be prepared to translate their visions without break for the rest of their lives. Even the shortest gap in scrivening can result in the loss of invaluable premonitions. Because brushes or quills would break down over time and need replacement, which would result in a loss of portents, the script was developed to be written with the scribes fingers. On the eve of a student's tenth birthday, they are given a full dose of Starflower tea, placing them into a near catatonic state to scribe the remainder of their lives, a ritual that has claimed the lives of many would-be scribes.   Once an initiate becomes a full-fledged scribe, they are no longer capable of caring for themselves. The catatonic state prevents the scribes from dying of exhaustion or lack of sleep and enables them to scribe without rest, but several caretakers are required to ensure that they are fed, bathed, dosed, and supplied with ink and scrolls for their scriptures. Each scribe is staffed by three types caretakers at a given time:  

Scrolltenders ensure that the large scrolls of parchment are always moving, keeping up with the writing of the scribes to prevent overlap.

Quartermasters ensure that a scribe has adequate levels of ink and parchment and is responsible for replacing them without interruption.

Scribetenders are responsible for feeding and bathing the scribe, as well as any other duties of care that may be required.

Interpreters are responsible for reading the output of a scribe and reporting any significant predictions and premonitions to the temple's Matriarch

While the scribes do no need to break for rest and sustenance, the caretakers do. As such, there are several caretakers who work in shifts for any given scribe.