Lore Fact of the Week #69
CW: Please be aware that this lore post discusses a practice involving gaslighting, torture, and confinement.
The banishment ritual practiced by the Adherents of Rukhmar was an exceptionally brutal custom. Designed to punish those who spoke up against the Adherents’ rule and discourage others from doing the same, the arakkoa exiling ceremony was a highly public, yet gruesome affair that lasted over the course of several days [Short Story: Apocrypha]. The ceremony, in which dissenters among the arakkoa were sentenced to a life as outcasts on the ground, was practiced for at least 600 years before the Adherents of Rukhmar were finally ousted from power [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume II, pg. 44, Short Story: Apocrypha, Page: Order of the Awakened].
The elaborate ritual began once an arakkoa suspected of treasonous behavior was captured. To justify the victim’s impending banishment from high arakkoan society, the Adherents of Rukhmar would publicly denounce them as a heretic afflicted with the Curse of Sethe. They maintained authoritarian control over their people in this way by dictating that “heretical” activities – such as questioning one’s elders – were a sign of the curse. Moreover, although the curse could only be contracted by coming into contact with Sethe’s blood in Sethekk Hollow, the Adherents claimed that it was contagious, allowing them to swiftly silence and permanently exile any who dared challenge their leadership [Short Story: Apocrypha, pg. 2, 4].
Following the victim’s apprehension, their beak was bound, and their head covered with a blinding hood so they could not speak or see [Short Story: Apocrypha, pg. 2]. They were then placed in a cage hanging over Skyreach’s highest terrace. A dark cloth magically enchanted to keep out all heat and light was draped over the cage, which served to prevent the arakkoa within from feeling the grace of the arakkoan sun god, Rukhmar. This part of the ritual sometimes drove arakkoa mad, causing them to pluck out their own feathers [Short Story: Apocrypha, pg. 3-4].
After several days, the sound of windchimes during sunrise signaled that the victim was to be exiled the following day at the break of dawn [Short Story: Apocrypha, pg. 3]. Once that time had come, the arakkoa, still bound, was removed from the cage and taken to a ceremonial chamber in the Grand Spire, where all of the Adherents were required to attend and witness this final part of the ceremony. As soon as everyone had gathered, the High Sage, leader of the Adherents of Rukhmar, publicly condemned the victim as a heretic and cut off both of their wings for all to see [Short Story: Apocarypha, pg. 4]. The wingless arakkoa was then dropped into the pools of Sethe from a great height [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume II, pg. 45].
Assuming they survived the fall, the newly made outcast would then actually contract the Curse of Sethe. The magical curse tormented the fallen arakkoa, ravaging their mind and causing them a great deal more pain. Many died or went insane as a result, but some of the strongest persevered and went on to join the outcasts [Quest: Banished from the Sky, World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume II, pg. 45].
