Approved Lore The Talay Grimoire

[Jorah zos Darnus]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: Create a religious text for a SW Chaos unique Dathomiri Witch Clan.
• Image Credit: Ancient-origins.net
• Canon: N/A
• Permissions: N/A
• Links: Book of Law | Book of Shadows

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Media Name: The Talay Grimoire (archaeological or secular identification)
  • Also known as The Book of Shadows (internal to the Mistwalker Clan)
  • Also known as The Book of Mists (external to the Mistwalker Clan)
• Format: Book
• Distribution: Rare
• Length: Medium
• Description: The Talay Grimoire contained the sacred texts of the Dathomirians of the Mistwalker Clan. Originally a sect of the Nightsisters, it was not the intention of their forebears to create a new text or interpretation on the Book of Law, which the Book of Shadows was said to be the definitive, or original, version of. However, because of the duress of fleeing Dathomir amid the chaos and massacre of the Clone Wars, the progenitors of the Mistwalker Clan settled on Talay without a complete copy of the Book of Shadows. This gave rise to an oral tradition, passed down through generations, which was eventually codified into the book that came to be known as the Talay Grimoire. However, to the Mistwalkers, the Talay Grimoire and the Book of Shadows are one in the same. They assume their version to be THE version and others to be incomplete or inaccurate translations of the Book of Law.

SOCIAL INFORMATION

• Author: Derivative authorship. The book compiles oral histories and traditions gathered over several generations, which were based upon the Book of Shadows by Gathzerion (which had earlier been based upon the writings of Allya).
• Publisher: Witches of Dathomir (Mistwalker Clan)
• Reception: The Talay Grimoire was a sacred text of the Mistwalker Clan, being based on the earlier writings found in the Nightsisters interpretation of the Book of Law. As a result, it generally received negative treatment from both the Sith and the Jedi, as well as critical treatment from those Witches of Dathomir who followed different interpretations of the Book of Law.

FORMAT INFORMATION
The Talay Grimoire was a sacred text authored in the tradition of the Witches of Dathomir, primarily serving as a book of spells. The cover was made of cured rancor hide, embossed with runic symbols and arcane circles over which the iconic emblem of the Winged Goddess can be seen intertwined with the tree of life. The pages of the grimoire were composed of loub-paper, upon which indelible ink had been transposed with exacting detail by hand, in order to carefully replicate the markings in the original.

As with the Book of Shadows, the spirits allowed the reader to read the text in their own native language, but those spirits could also confuse the reader and render the writings within nonsense. The ability to decipher the knowledge contained in the Talay Grimoire depended entirely upon the spirit of the one who picked it up and then attempted to read it. This also meant that those who touched it were subject to the whim and whimsy of the spirits, and may have found themselves lost in a hallucination or vision as a result.

CONTENT INFORMATION
The Talay Grimoire was organized into five distinct parts, which can be broken down into a dedication to the Winged Goddess; a treatise on the spirit realm; an illumination of the spell to invoke the green spirits; followed by a metaphysical interpretation of Force Healing; and, finally, an appendix on holistic remedies and the spirits that should be either called upon or avoided, depending on the needs of the witch.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Part I: In the Name of the Winged Goddess, to the Sisters of Talay, greetings...

The opening article contained in the text was an epistle by the anonymous author to a covern of Dathomiri faithful dwelling on Talay. It contained similar religious interpretation of the spirit ichor as had the Book of Shadows, reinforcing its identity as a Nightsister text and continuing the Nightsister spiritual principles and understanding of the Force through application of spirits and magical ichor, or spell casting, to create the fundamental building block of Nightsister mysticism -- the Waters of Life.

• Part II: On the Nature of the Mind, Body, and Spirit

The second part of the compilation work was an examination of nature through the metaphysical and allegorical lens of traditional Dathomiri belief structures about spirits. It contained illustration of various flora and fauna spirits, Force entities, and other mythical creatures of the spirit realm. It contained guidance on the communion with the spirits of the dead, adopting many principles of ancestor worship alongside animism.

• Part III: On the spirits of the Briar

The third part of grimoire focused extensively on the Dathomir magic known as Surge of the Briar, applying the concepts of the two preceding chapters to form the Nightsister understanding of the metaphysics of what the Surge of the Briar was and how it functioned -- both in terms of external application to the environment and internal application supporting the health of the ritualist. The largest chapter of the collected tome, the Mandragora understanding of the magic inherent to Surge of the Briar contained elements that the Jedi or Sith would recognize as Detoxify Poison and Plant Surge, being capable of offensive use as well as a meditative foci for healing.

• Part IV: On the Revitalization of the Whuffa

The fourth chapter of the sacred text contained the anonymous author's view of Force Healing as a direct application of the Waters of Life through invocation of the spell Revitalization of the Whuffa. A small chapter than the others of the work, it contained more practical advice on the subject than lengthy discussion of the underlying philosophies. As such, it could be construed as the Nightsister text on the matter of healer-patient interaction or medical ethics.

• Part V: Appendix

The final part of the Talay Grimoire is a compendium that expands upon the plants and spirits listed in the second chapter of the book, and may have been a later or more recent addition to the grimoire. Listing the plants, their associated spirit form, rites for their invocation, and subsequent effect upon the mind, body, or soul, the appendix seeks to link the shaman with a recipe index of homeopathic remedies for the various diseases that the Mistwalker Clan encountered. Several pages remained blank, to allow space for later entries as new planets and forms of fauna were discovered and introduced into the Nightsister or Nightbrother practice. As a result, this part of the grimoire may appear differently depending on the local medicinal plants and associated notes taken by those shaman who had plied their hand to that particular copy.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Talay Grimoire was a religious necessity, created sometime between 122 ABY and 144 ABY, with the oldest known copy dating to the Second Imperial Civil War. As the Dathomirian ex-patriots that would (over several generations) become the Mistwalker Clan had fled their home planet of Dathomir amid the massacre of the Nightsisters and the Clone Wars, complete copies of their sacred texts were not available to them. Thus, the traditions of the Nightsisters and Nightbrothers were subject to oral histories and traditions that were passed down in the various families that formed the religious commune of Shaol'mara. Thus, to the Mistwalker, the Book of Mists and the Book of Shadows are one in the same, because they see themselves as continuing to practice the Nightsister religion of their ancestral forebears even while recognizing that their practice of the Dathomiri culture has evolved into a unique cultural identity that makes them distinct as Mistwalkers.

The Talay Grimoire is the Mistwalker bible, containing all the dogma of their religion and being the source of their secular conventions and cultural traditions. While its understanding of the spirits is based upon the beliefs of the Nightsisters, their culture has evolved away from a strictly matriarchal hierarchy to a more nuanced society that acknowledges males as citizens -- second-class citizens, but citizens with a role in furthering and being part of society. Thus, the Talay Grimoire treats gender and the role of men in a more nuanced light than traditional interpretations of the Book of Shadows, allowing Nightbrothers to serve as shaman and (in rare instances) as the Shaol'maka -- Clan Mother of the Mistwalkers.

For those Mistwalkers who are Force Sensitive and practice the tradition of Dathomir magic, the Talay Grimoire is the foundational book of spells. Initiates are expected to studiously apply themselves to the study of all five parts. As these spells forms the building blocks of Mistwalker practice, mastery of these spells is required before any Mistwalker can be acknowledged as a spellweaver, which carries with it additional responsibilities to the Clan and the spirits. The elders of the Clan serve as the legislators and guides for the community, with the eldest among them serving as Shaol'maka and being the ultimate arbiter of questions that seek to interpret the wisdom of this ancient knowledge passed down through their many storied generations.

 

[Judah Lesan]

Jorah zos Darnus

Everything here looks good to go! I love all the detail that you have included, and how you worked all the culture into it as well!

[APPROVED]