Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rules


- Fiamma Eterna members are neutral no matter what.
- Fighting is not allowed, self defense is acceptable.
- Only those with Lanterns are allowed to walk The Ways as a member of the herd.
-------------- * Lanterns are not required on certs for horses that already exist or come from breedings. However it would be preferred but given the limitation of custom item slots it's not required. - Custom in horses are required to have lanterns on certs.
- Respect for all members no matter what role they play.


Herd Traditions
- Each new moon the herd has a feast.
- Each Solstice the herd gathers to offer prayer to the Eternal Flame for it's light.
- The night before the new constellations come the Herd gathers with their Flames to guide them to the sky.
- The Lantern Ceremony - Details explained further down
- The Flame's Food Taboo - It's a great grievance to feed your flame a different Food/item. It changes the color of your Flame and you become tainted. This means you have to be purified by the Seer and loose your lantern for 6 new moons before you'd be able to even ask to enter the cave again and receive your Lantern and new flame; assuming that you're granted this request.

The Herd members believe that if your flame changes color that you've become tainted. Your Flame as well as your heart are no longer pure. This is what led you to feed your 'sacred flame' another type of food in the first place. It's important that you are well stocked with the food supply that your flame requires.

Colors of the flames as mentioned hold deep meaning to the lantern holders. They were guided to the food/item that creates this color however the horses are unknowing that the items have some kind of compound on that that create the colors. They believe that the White Flame granted them this color.

- Purification - If you become tainted you will loose your Lantern for 6 new moons -at least-. The Seer will determine if you can go to the Cave for another Ceremony. While you loose your lantern you are confined to the Herd, you do tasks around the living area and anything else asked of you. It's suppose to teach you responsibility.


Breeding/Baskets Traditions
Breeding outside the herd isn't exactly encouraged but rules have been set in place.

- If a horse mates with an outsider they are asked to either have the mate join the herd.
OR
- If the mate chooses not too, one of the baskets is to come back with the herd member. (They are still welcome to visit with their mate, however there herd duties generally take up much of their time.
- Any gifted baskets will be cared for appropriately.

OOC Note: I was first considering having Lantern/Flame colors belong to a certain rank and there would be expectations to be met. However I wanted everyone to feel happy with what they choose for a color, be it for looks/aesthetics, or a meaning, nor do I want someone to think that just because the lantern color isn't the same as the rank's they can't be part of it. I don't want people to feel limited by that.

Flame/Lantern colors need to have a special meaning to that horse. And even if more then one horse has that color doesn't mean it's the same meaning or feeling.



Foals are kept at the Herd location, they are taught/trained/raised for this herd. When they become an adult ( Aka when your horse goes from foal to Adult stage ) they go through The Lantern Ceremony.

During this Ceremony there is a special dinner that occurs, the Herbalist will give the horse coming of age an herb to eat. This herdopens the horse's mind and make them 'inviting to the spirits'. The Seer along with Lutra escort the horse to the foot of the path and let the horse go forth with a lantern that they have chosen.

What happens inside if the cave is different for every horse. When they look into the flame some see something, ( No, they can't see the future, but the flame could bring forgotten memories back ) some feel something, others hear something, they believe this is a result of the spirits. The experience is very personal and most horses won't share what they saw, felt or heard. ( The reason this happens is because of the herb they've eaten before going in. )

At the end, the horse chooses 'food' for the flame. They take a part of the flame into the lantern and that's when everything happens. They look down and they'll see that they have a colored flame, granted to them by the Eternal Flame. And they'll understand the meaning of the color and how it's important to them.

The experience can last a few minutes to a couple hours. -Very- rare occasions it will last a day or longer. When the horse exits from the cave with their flame, the celebration begins. Lutra allows the Seer, to come forward she will then gave the nod of approval that the horse has been graced by the flame, if it's been granted. Lutra then comes forward to welcome the horse into Adulthood.


- It is taboo to use a different 'food' for your flame after your initial Lantern Ceremony. ( Please see traditions for further explanation. )

- The Flame's food - This is a substance that can burn, something like bark or two leg fabric. There's an array of them inside of the cave for the Lantern Ceremony. The idea is that after you have your spiritual encounter with the Flame you'll know what you need to feed your flame to keep it burning. These items have something about them that when they burn create colors, hence the colored flames.

Members and ranks/positions

How to Join

For existing horses


For Baskets/Foals
- Have a basket/foal that popped and you decided you wanted them to join? Use this form. Unless the foal is brought to the herd as a foal ( Ie, a parent brought it or the foal found it's own way ) It's assumed the foal arrived as a basket.



Want to Custom In?

Reserved

Aaand I think that's it for post reserving ^^

Things are slowly starting to pull together.

Once I get everything posted / finalized, I'm planning to Uta to look everything over for approval.

Just need few more forms and some information.