The Cult of the Hand

Quite some distance into the thicket of the Bridgehand, a colony of a few hundred people live in a small makeshift village. This is the Cult of the Hand, the remnants of a previous religious sect worshipping the Bridgehand for it’s bountiful resources, now a small commune of naked hippies that attempt to commune with it in thier psychedelic ceremonies. They don’t often find themselves with visitors.

Culture

People living here are known as ‘members’ rather than ‘citizens’ and take the lineage name Handeland. Members mostly refrain from speaking verbally, and communicate to the extent necessitated by their simple lifestyle using gesture and a system of sing-song tones which has been preserved from the older tradition of worship poems, and extensively documented by Eloryn. Members believe the Bridgehand is sentient and intelligent, and attempt to communicate with it using seeing tea, a hallucinogenic mix derived from the seer’s slime found in the Underneath. Despite lack of direct evidence, they are actually correct; the Bridgehand is in fact intelligent and attempting to influence their visions.

Seer Troupes

Seeing ceremonies are conducted in troupes; small groups of about ten lead by one person known as First, assisted by one or two Seconds whose expertise is in preparing the seeing tea. Each ceremony begins and ends with a song, and consists of all seers sitting in a particular arrangement, consuming the tea, followed by a discussion of the visions lead by the First in which they try to piece together a coherent picture of the Bridgehand’s intentions. Apart from coordinating the group, First’s job is to assemble, revise and remember this picture, and propose methods of communicating back to the Bridgehand. Seer Troupes may be started and joined by anyone, and there are currently three or four regular troupes, with the oldest and largest troupe being the most active.

Seeing Tea

A hallucinogenic mix prepared from the Seer’s slime found in the Underneath below the Bridgehand. It is used by members of the Cult of the Hand to induce visions in which they attempt to communicate with the Bridgehand.