FEK315, on 13 February 2014 - 07:19 PM, said:
The Clawing Ritual is not an honour given to cadets. Only one un-clawed warrior from each Cluster in CGB is invited to participate in the Clawing. The Clawing is ritualistic of our founders Sandra Tseng and Hans Jorgensson. They were originally to be placed in to two different Clans, but being married and together since before the exodus, they painfully decided to leave the newly forming society of the father, Nicholas Kerensky. They travelled to Strana Mechty's arctic, and after three weeks their supplies ran out.
Near death they found a cave and entered it to seek shelter. There they came upon a slumbering Ghost Bear, who awoke to their presence. It circled the couple and then rose upon its hind legs and let out a mighty roar! The founders, made themselves seem as fierce as they could and returned the roar collapsing afterward from exhaustion.
They awoke to finding themselves warm, the Ghost Bear currled around them. Feeling the two awake, the Ghost Bear rose, left the cave and returned moments later with a fresh kill, which it tore in half and threw half to the couple, who devoured it down. This happend for a few days as the founders regained strength. Finally they left the saftey of the cave and noticed that it was not a single Ghost Bear who had been keeping them warm, giving them food and nursing them back to strength, but a family of Ghost Bears. This is what stirred the founders to return to Nicholas Kerensky and inform him, that they need to be kept together.
On their return to the warmer lands of Strana Mechty they witnessed an awesome sight. A clash of Ghost Bear's over territory. It was a fearsome sight and enforced to them the might of the Ghost Bear. Upon returning, Kerensky realized the logic of the couple and placed them in the same Clan, and gave that clan the totem of the mighty Ghost Bear.
On the year anniversary of their embarking to the Strana Mechty Arctic, they gathered their new Warriors of Clan Ghost Bear and returned to the cold plains of their namesake. They came across a huge Ghost Bear, transfixed by the aurora borialis of the Strana Mechty arctic skies. The party could have ambushed the Ghost Bear, but it was not the way of the Warrior, and the founders wanted to respect the creature that had inspired them so. Hans Jorgensson stood tall and let out a mighty roar, snapping the Ghost Bear from his reverie. The founding father broke in to single combat against the Ghost Bear, with his warriors forming a circle. The two tested each other, with Jorgensson finally landing a killing blow using only a crude spear.
The party moved on, and came across another Ghost Bear, the mate of the Bear Hans had slain. Sandra Tseng challenged this Ghost Bear, taking it down again in single combat, and respect with the bear, using only a simple spear. No other Bear was found in the weeks in the arctic, almost saying, only the founders were worthy of this momentous event.
This is the ritual of Clan Ghost Bear's Clawing. Many of the parties that head out to the Strana Mechty arctic during the month long event never return with Ghost Bear. The ones that do are destined for the upper echelons of the Touman, and are respected through out the Clan. A party that does find and slay a Ghost Bear are all awarded the honour, regardless if they are the member of the party who performed the killing blow.
So, you can see that this in no way endangers the Ghost Bear population, and is done with the most respect and honour for our totem.
I hope you enjoyed the retelling of our founders and the first Clawing Ritual.