Chương 52: 5.ii

When dealing with gods it is important to first identify what is the character and numena of the prospective deity. I have in my practice as a Monk seen numerous kinds and each bears a different approach in ritual and requisite favors. When acting as mediator for your charges it is vital to first identify what manner of gods they encounter in their daily lives. Many gods are either benign or even when driven to wroth are fickle and easily distracted, appeased or driven off through the proper ritual.

In the day to day the biggest concern with any god is to identify the size but again this is usually made simple by the pride of the divine. However the Fortune is a kind which is neither easily identified or driven off when its attention is roused. All the worse, many common men tragically misunderstand their nature and as such often seek them out! Fortunes whatever the size are thankfully difficult to draw the attention of initially. They should never be given any enticements to change this.

Discourage all under your guidance from ever seeking out a Fortune as the best and most likely outcome is time and offerings left abandoned and in waste or eaten by another god. The worst is if they do draw a Fortune's attention and it is an iresome one such that now they and quite possibly all of their line will be burdened by its attention and agitation unto their deaths.

A Fortune's stubborn focus can easily be mistaken as loyalty when it is pleased but the manner of its attention on families even when the intent of a Fortune god is benign can prove disastrous. Unlike most gods the Fortune will not boast or proclaim its presence. As such it must be identified through other means. The most reliable I have found to detect one's presence is with the throwing of weighted knuckle bone dice by the object of its obsession.

I find gryphon or eagle are best for this as the size makes them more manageable while remaining hollow. But if you cannot afford either then a far smaller chicken bone can be fashioned although this requires great care in preparation. After you have procured the bones the initial fashioning and preparation ritual is required: Take the bone and polish it down to flat on six sides then drill a hole in one side and daub within its hollow spaces heavy redclay and allow it to dry.

Then test the balance and repeat this process until it falls more than nine out of ten with the clay burdened side down. When you tumble the bones you are preparing make sure you are outside the aegis of the sky, the minimum of which should be performed in a deep cellar closed from the stars and in mid day when their presence is most diminished but all the better to be as far down an underway as is safely achievable during their construction.

If you have a trusted Temple who fashions such Fortune finding bones it is safe to have them made elsewhere but the sanctity and absence of starlight upon its construction is paramount. Once fashioned, keeping them stored in a sealed box except when in use should suffice to preserve their unhallowed nature for years to come. Once you have properly made dice clean from interference, you are ready to perform the ritual.

To test for the attention of a Fortune upon a family or individual have them tumble your bones in a trifle but still onerous bet. Record the result and dispense the winnings or losses (make sure not to absolve the impact of the bet as this will spoil the trial). Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. It is best for you to perform this ritual thirty times, but they need not be within the same day. Best this is done at night with clear skies overhead.

If they should win (or lose) half the time on a bone you have proven should only allow it for once in ten then this is near certain sign of a Fortune at work. The measure of greater success (or failure) should give you a sense of the severity of the attached Fortune and denote the care that one must take in treating with it and the necessary sacrifices. For the ritual offerings suggested later add an additional portion of every offering to match for every two out of thirty games won upon your dice over fifteen.

If you should find that a member of your congregation never loses upon your weighted bones no matter the number of tries? if after their handling the dice become fair when handled even by other hands? Do not test them further, this is not a Fortune. Cease all inquiry of the nature presented and refer to my words on deep sky divinations as previously listed to inquire too the proper terms for clearing any debts or insults owed for your trespass immediately!

After verifying a family or individual is under the aegis of a Fortune god it is next most vital importance to identify its favored star if it is not already known. Check with the Fortunate for particularly pleasant days, significant events in the Fortunate's life that seem to occur each year or times of great toil or calamity can help to narrow down which portion of the sky or even the specific star that may be of special significance to the Fortune.

Birthdays, Weddings, First Kisses, Loss of loved one, Pet or the day of a grievous injury are all good candidates for either the day of the favored star or its antithesis. Unless the favored star and Fortune's name has been verified beforehand A proper sky ring of hard stone (or wood if a mason of sufficient skill is unavailable) should be consulted to refine the exact celestial portent.

Every night at sundown and sunrise for the next year place an offering of a single grain of barley, a single drop of honey and a single chip of bone upon the stone for that night's star. Provide the thanks to the star for all that has been good for the day and plead forgiveness for all that has gone wrong. A single circuit through every stone of a sky circle should be sufficient to determine the Star or Stars favored by the Fortune.

Do not cease the circuit unless accident, disaster and illness begins to grow sharply. This is a strong sign of a Jealous Fortune In the event of a Jealous Fortune a sharp downturn in the health or calamities of ill fate may begin to take root as one moves along the ring, if this is the case immediately make a turn to the opposite side of the ring and then make offerings once every night at sundown with profuse apologies for the insult until conditions improve.

Once the favored star of a Fortune is known a more consistent and general ritual can be prescribed to appease and guide its influence in the Fortunate's life. Fortunes as a rule favor acknowledgement first and a token portion of the fruits of their blessings second. They do not speak except by mishap or coincidence. They abhor being seen or sought and as already mentioned some can be jealous.

If one is finding attempts at love failing or children suffering more than usual accidents while under the aegis of a fortune it is best to include the child or lover into rituals of appeasement, supplication, acknowledgement and thanks. If acknowledged or even thanked for the blessing of a child or luck in life a Fortune can often be appeased and turned away from such jealousy.

If this does not remedy the situation with a Jealous Fortune a banishment may be the only recourse, however as mentioned all Fortunes are incredibly stubborn and it may require a costly prayer to another God to dismiss one once attached. In such a situation some fools recommend that performing a supplication of your charge as sacred property to the Fortune is a solution. However this is not wise.

Though it may bring relief to the community it is a life of servitude for the Fortunate, can complicate legal obligations and will also certainly encourage the Fortune in its Jealousy and drive it to greater demands on others in future. The gifts and protection offered may seem great but this is never a story I have seen end in any way but tragedy. -On the treating with Gods and Grain Watchers by Brother Ordelain, naturalist and Monk of the Hrothfield Monastery in middle Egelheimvin.