The Grawcht is the central leading body of Birtish Shamanism. It is based in Trwe Birts (Svalbard).
Makeup[]
The Grawcht is made up of the ten most important Shamans in the United Birtish Territories. All ten Shamans are equal, and there is no single leader of the Grawcht. The Shamans take it in turns to chair meetings of the Grawcht. Members remain a member until their death, and new members get coopted in by the existing members. Although once inducted, Shamans have to officially revoke their tribal status, living beyond the protection of all tribes, the Grawcht still must have at least one member from each of the six Birtish tribes.
Members:[]
The following is a list of the ten current members of the Grawcht, including the tribe to which they originally belonged.
- Shaman Carrsenn - Marjn
- Shaman Greetaq - Tabrn
- Shaman Sel - Aanllyn
- Shaman Barse - Nwrt
- Shaman Holllyia - Tllnwa
- Shaman Weertr - Xhas
- Shaman Grentan - Tabrn
- Shaman Wilkasqes - Marjn
- Shaman Zet-Xi - Nwrt
- Shaman Dsaft - Xhas
Role in Society[]
Modern[]
In every day life, the Birtish people are generally unaware of the Grawcht. However, in modern United Birtish Territories, the power of the Grawcht in politics is extreme. The Grawcht negotiated first the agreement between Princeps Senatus Qrt and Great Khan Achtoma that allowed them jointly to defeat Khanta Wilkasenn's occupation force of Fort Chgra Mynara. They then met Khanta Wilkasenn, just two days before he flees into self-imposed exile. Finally, they drew up the terms of the current power sharing agreement. In this, they also secured themselves the role as abitrators in any disagreement between the Princeps and the Khan. The two of them also rely heavily on the favour of the Grawcht for their ongoing position of power.
Historical[]
Historically, the role of the Grawcht has varied greatly. It was only founded in the late 1300s. Its purpose was to provide a central structure in order to help resist the beginnings of the wave of Christian missionaries that started to arrive from the south. It only grew in influence after the Scandinavian wars of the 1540s. After this, it did manage to gain influence over the warring tribes, and many a peace agreement between the tribes was negotiated through the Grawcht. They reached a peak in influence in the 1820s.
In 1837, they were displaced by the founding of Birtsmorton, and the introduction of Daoism as the central religion of the new City-State of Birts. A strong leader who wouldn't listen to the Grawcht soon meant that the other tribes followed, and their influence over tribal policy waned. This was made worse with the founding of the Theocracy of Birts-Dao. Early in the theocracys life, the Shamans, and in particular the Grawcht, were persecuted in a way that the Christians wouldn't be until much later on. Indeed, in 1876, the Grawcht was scattered, with four members left dead by the unexpected Daoist attack. Its influence was completely broken. It didn't recovene until five years later, by which time a fifth member had died. At this time, they coopted themselves back up to strength.
Following the fall of the theocracy, the Grawcht quickly reinstated itself back into a position of influence, helped by the mass conversion back to the Shamanistic religion of the Birtish. They greatly supported Great Khan James Wilkinson I, and were very useful in getting the tribes to accept his united rule over all Birtish people. However, they were later sidelined by Great Khan James Wilkinson II, who was a great believer in the secularisation of the state - a move made particularly to try to reconcile the Christian south.