The Order of Dana
As the hierophant of the Order Of Dana, you are in charge of the equinox ritual. You've set up shop at the top of second-tallest hill in the parish, and the clock will strike midnight in three hours and thirty-three minutes. However, your bumbling acolyte has forgotten to set up the necessary equipment! You don't have much time, so you'll have to improvise the ritual as best you can. The sacred texts of the Order specify exactly the requirements for the ritual, as follows:
- The ritual involves the manipulation of runestones.
- Runestones are inscribed with marks of the Three Sisters: oregano, hollyhock, mistletoe.
- Runestones hold up to 7 marks, read from left to right.
- The Three Sisters progress in rank: oregano begets hollyhock begets mistletoe.
- A runestone can, in turn, progress in rank. To do so, the leftmost symbol is progressed once. If that symbol were to be mistletoe, it is regressed down to oregano and the next symbol to the right is progressed in turn.
- If the rightmost symbol would be progressed and the rightmost symbol indicates mistletoe, the runestone regresses to seven-times oregano.
- The number of progressions from the seven-times oregano runestone is the degree of the runestone.
- The goal of the ritual is to gather offerings.
- Offerings are given as runestones by acolytes.
- The intention of the ritual is knowledge.
- At the end of the ritual, a greatly-evolved runestone will record the teachings.
- The nature of this evolution depends on sigils inscribed on the earth.
- No devotee is aware of the complete pattern of sigils.
- Each acolyte brings their sigil and presents their sigil to the practitioner in a preordained order.
- The nature of the sigils is an instruction.
- The instruction provided by the sigils dictates your action as the conductor of the ritual.
- All possible sigils must be accounted for in your preparation.
- The instructions provided by the sigils will require equipment to be ready.
- The equipment must be prepared to exact specifications.
- The first piece of equipment is a basin for discarding contaminated tuning forks.
- A large supply of clean tuning forks must be readily available.
- The second piece of equipment is a rotating altar (in the margins a note is scrawled: LAZY SUSAN).
- On the west side of the rotating altar shall be placed a wooden bowl.
- On the east side of the rotating altar shall be placed a stone bowl.
- From the second-tallest tree within fifty paces from the ritual site must be slung a textile bag.
- Any textile will do.
- If less than two trees are available, the ritual has no hope for completion.
- A brass weighing-scale with two beveled sides shall be placed near the altar.
- A ritual circle, a pentacle, shall be drawn from chalk on the ground.
- A wooded bowl must be placed on each point of the pentacle.
- Any deviation from this process is an insult to the Order of the worst kind.
- A citrine shall be placed near the northernmost point.
- All of this equipment must be made ready and available for the purpose of the ritual.
- The sigils dictate the manipulation of the ritual.
- The practitioner of the ritual must evolve the sigils in order, starting with the first sigil offered by the acolytes and proceeding temporally, and perform the ritual accordingly.
- The first sigil, ♈︎︎, the Aries-sigil.
- To evolve the first sigil, collect the first offering from the acolytes and place it in the bowl on the point of the ritual circle marked by the citrine. Empty the bowl first if it contains any other stones. Move the citrine counterclockwise to the next point.
- The second sigil, ♉︎︎, the Taurus-sigil.
- To evolve the second sigil, procure a new runestone and inscribe seven-times oregano. Place this runestone in the bowl on the point of the ritual circle marked by the citrine. Empty the bowl first if it contains any other stones. Move the citrine counterclockwise to the next point.
- The third sigil, ♊︎︎, the Gemini-sigil.
- To evolve the third sigil, consult the runestone placed in the bowl on the ritual circle at the point directly clockwise from the point indicated by the citrine. If the bowl contains no stone, the ritual is a dire failure and a violation; the practitioner and all acolytes must seek purification immediately. The degree of progression of this runestone indicates an intensification of the evolution of the next sigil. The next sigil should be evolved a number of times equal to the progression of that runestone.
- The fourth sigil, ♋︎︎, the Cancer-sigil.
- To evolve the fourth sigil, procure a clean tuning fork. Strike the tuning fork three times while walking clockwise around the ritual circle, and then discard it in the unclean tuning fork basin. Consult the runestone placed in the bowl at the point of the ritual circle marked by the citrine. If there is no such runestone, this is a dire violation and there is no hope. Consider the degree of that runestone, and regress the runestone currently held in the eastward bowl of the rotating altar a number of times equal to that degree. If the eastward bowl of the rotating altar is empty, this is a minor violation; even so, the ritual cannot be completed.
- The fifth sigil, ♌︎︎, the Leo-sigil.
- To evolve the fifth sigil, make an accounting of the number of discarded (unclean) tuning forks in the basin and progress a seven-times oregano runestone an according number of times. Place that runestone atop the left side of the brass scale.
- The sixth sigil, ♍︎︎, the Virgo-sigil.
- To evolve the sixth sigil, make an accounting of the number of discarded (unclean) tuning forks in the basin and progress a seven-times oregano runestone an according number of times. Place that runestone upside-down in the hanging textile bag. Remove all discarded tuning forks from the basin, as they have now been cleansed and may be reused.
- The seventh sigil, ^, representing the heavens.
- To evolve the seventh sigil, consider both sides of the brass scale. Identify whichever side is weighted by more runestones, and move the runestop atop that side to atop the less weighted side.
- The eighth sigil, ♎︎︎, the Libra-sigil.
- To evolve the eighth sigil, consider the brass scales. Remove the runestone atop whichever side is less weighted, unbalancing it further still. If both sides of the scales are unweighted, or if the scales are equally weighted, this is a violation of medium severity. If only one runestone is placed on the scale, that runestone ought to be chosen regardless of the emptiness of the other side. Place that runestone upon the westmost side of the rotating altar.
- The ninth sigil, ♏︎︎, the Scorpio-sigil.
- To evolve the ninth sigil, consider the runestones atop both sides of the brass scale. If either side of the brass scale is empty, this is a violation of grievous character. Prepare a new seven-times oregano runestone. Account for the degree of the left runestone and also for the degree of the right runestone. To progress rectangularly is to progress a runestone a number of times equal to the degree of another runestone. Progress the new runestone rectangularly according to the degree of left runestone a number of times equal to the degree of the right runestone.
- The tenth sigil, ♐︎︎, the Sagittarius-sigil.
- To evolve the tenth sigil, procure a new runestone and inscribe seven-times oregano. Onto this runestone, copy the marks from of the runestone in the westward bowl of the rotating altar. If there is no runestone in that bowl, this is a moderately severe violation and you must not despair, although the ritual is unsalvageable. Place this runestone in the bowl on the point of the ritual circle marked by the citrine. Empty the bowl first if it contains any other stones. Move the citrine counterclockwise to the next point.
- The eleventh sigil, ♑︎︎, the Capricorn-sigil.
- To evolve the tenth sigil, procure a new runestone and inscribe seven-times oregano. Consult the upside-down runestone in the hanging mesh bag. If there is no such runestone, the ritual has experienced catastrophe. Copy the marks from this runestone upon the new runestone, but in a reversed order corresponding to the upside-down reading. Place this new runestone in the bowl on the point of the ritual circle marked by the citrine. Empty the bowl first if it contains any other stones. Move the citrine counterclockwise to the next point.
- The twelfth sigil, ♒︎︎, the Aquarius-sigil.
- To evolve the twelfth sigil, remove the runestone from the bowl at the point of the ritual circle marked by the citrine, and place the citrine at the next point following a clockwise order. If there is no such runestone, the consequences will be dire. Place that runestone upside-down in the hanging textile bag.
- The thirteenth sigil, ♓︎︎, the Pisces-sigil.
- To evolve the thirteenth sigil, remove the runestone from the bowl at the point of the ritual circle marked by the citrine, and place the citrine at the next point following a clockwise order. If there is no such runestone, the consequences will be dire. Place that runestone atop the left side of the brass scale.
- The fourteenth sigil, ⏚, representing the earth.
- To evolve the fourteenth sigil, procure a new runestone and inscribe seven-times oregano. Consult the upside-down runestone in the hanging mesh bag. If there is no such runestone, the ritual is unrecoverable, but only barely so. Copy the marks from this runestone upon the new runestone, but in a reversed order corresponding to the upside-down reading. Place this new runestone atop the right side of the brass scale.
- The fifteenth sigil, ©, the Susan-sigil.
- To evolve the fifteenth sigil, rotate the rotating altar such that the bowl formerly on the east is now on the west and the bowl formerly on the west is now on the east.
- A note on the operation of the scale: if ever the scales are tilted in one or the other direction by such a weight corresponding to more than three runestones, both sides of the scales must be emptied entirely and all runestones previously upon the scales discarded entirely or the ritual will be a grave violation of the Order.
- Sigils must be evolved until all acolytes have presented their sigil. The ritual has now been completed, and the culmination of the ritual is contained in the bowl upon the ritual circle on the point marked by the citrine.