Hearth Mother

The Hearth Mother is an ancient and venerated figure in Balazar myth and religion. It was she who kept a desperate band of frightened humans alive during the Great Darkness, nurturing them on her own hope and magic after the world died. She found a young mewling godling alone in the waste and raised him to be a great warrior with her three famous meals. This was Foundchild, also called simply the Hunter. They had one child here, named Votakni, who populated the region with the tribes-people. Hearth Mother's cult is restricted to the women of the tribes. She is an idealized model for them and epitomizes their carfts. She is cited as the course of Coooking, Find Food Platns, Sweing, First Aid, and Treat Disase,. and so her worshippers are adriot at those skills.

She also teach Ignite, Healing, Bladesharp, Befuddle, Glue, Detect Enemies, Mobility, and Shimmer at half price, and so these spells are common among them.

In general each clan has a single leading elder, called Grandmother, rather like a Priestess. She is the only clan representative of the cult to have an allied spirit and to perform the appropriate responsibilities. Magic is not learned by the women in the usual manner, but instead they learn a point of magic every year of adulthood from the Grandmother. This knowledge is passed on in group ceremonies each autumn which are part of the women's secret rites. Elder women form a band of teachers and officials for women and are always treated with care and respect. However, when an elder feels herself to be too much of a burden to her family, she will often go off into the grasslands to die. It should be noted that the Grandmother also sits on the clan council.

The women usually gather about 60% of the daily food, except in Fire season when it is about 45%, and Dark season when it is about 15%. They also care for orphans and whelps.