Lore of the Alchemist Caligula of the Marsh

I must begin by sharing that although they have come to be known as the Alchemist Caligula of the Marsh, this is not their real name, but a name placed upon them by the colonizer. The indigenous name given to them by their grandmother, clan mother of the Forever Bat Clan of the People of the Marsh, descends from an oral language that is untranslatable beyond mnemonic symbolism. What their name loosely translates to is, “They help the Worldshaper,” or “They carry the fluids to become.” When the Worldshaper created all life, s/he first created the world from fluids to become.

In the traditional ways of the People of the Marsh, a person does not choose one’s life calling at will. The People of the Marsh are a humble people who do not lead their lives driven by ego. As one grows into their life gifts it is the community who nurtures and witnesses that person’s gifts unfold. No one person possesses all of life’s gifts and there is a reason for that. It forces society to rely on each other reciprocally.

Medicine teachings are passed down to those who were once ill and have been ceremonially doctored by someone in one of the sacred and secret medicine societies. That person’s spirit forms a special bond with the spirit beings of those medicines that have made the person well. It becomes the responsibility of that person who was once doctored to join that medicine society and help heal others for the good of the community.

An important teaching passed down to "They help the Worldshaper" speaks of how, "with every poison exists a remedy." As it was passed down to me by my elder, near every plant that has the power to make one unwell, grows a plant that has the power to be a medicine.

The Forever Bat Clan is a most ancient clan descending from the time when wizards and animals were first molded by the Worldshaper. During this time, when the Runiverse was populated by very few animals, little sustenance for both wizard and bat was available for nourishment. A blood ceremony was needed between the original people and bats to feast from each other without depleting one another. Over generations, this interdependent bond between the People of the Marsh and their familial bats developed into powers of ageless immortality. Less frequent are blood ceremonies conducted among the Forever Bat Clan of the People of the Marsh today, as a plenitude of sustenance has replaced blood as a feasting food.

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