The Order of God-Butchers
Even amidst the city as bustling as Salt in Wounds, the God-Butchers are hard to miss. Hugely muscled men and women grown strong from a working life of toil and diet of some of the freshest, most choice cuts from the ever-providing body of the Tarrasque. Most carry their stylized greats-words nearly everywhere but contrary to popular belief these weapons turned tools are not exclusively adamantine many nowadays are forged of Tarrasque horn that better cuts through its armored carapace. Still, those who dismiss the butchers as dumb brutes wholly underestimate the order; these are hard-eyed resilient people who must be intelligent enough to understand the beast’s intricate and shifting anatomy, able to regularly deal with crafty merchants, domineering aristocrats, and suspicious laborers all to per-form their duties. While greatly connected to the economic flows of the city and perhaps not wholly immune to the in-fluence of the coin, the God-Butchers (as a whole) nonetheless take their sacred charge of keeping the beast bound very seriously. Their reputation has been tarnished of course by the tragedy of the 12th Meridian Crisis over a decade ago, their damaged reputation prompting a surge of popular support for the Marrow Miners (further exacerbated by the lesser group’s greatly eased selection criteria).As an organization the Order of God-Butchers are fairly egalitarian although relative prestige can usually be determined by their Meridian assignment (1st-13th excepting 12th which is on assignment to the Marrow Miners). While legally the 13 Binder-Lords each have the duty of keeping their Meridian bind functioning and overseeing the section of the Tarrasque assigned to their house, this as a practical matter has been contracted out to the God-Butchers and (recently) Marrow Miners as the Binder-Lords have turned their attentions to the economy of Salt in Wounds, games of political intrigue with respect to their rivals, and the pursuit of their own pleasures. The God-Butchers recruit heavily irrespective of class or station (ensuring that they are generally well-liked by the public and quietly mocked by the aristocracy) and most enrollees are drummed out within several months due to the intense rigors of the training regimen. They also promote based on a more or less functioning meritocracy with only a minimum amount of nepotism. Most members of the God-Butcher Order are not fully-fledged Master God-Butchers around 95% of the order’s roster only complete their basic requirements, reaching no higher than Apprentice or Journey-man levels. Despite their lessened titles these members are nonetheless highly esteemed by the community and well compensated. Moreover for most city residents a God-Butcher is a God-Butcher and there is little distinction. The order selects recruits and advances those evaluated to be exemplary in the criterias of strength, intelligence, and the ability to lead and organize others.
THE RITE OF MUTUAL-RECOGNITION
If a God-Butcher has distinguished themselves in strength, intellect, and leadership they are invited to take part in the most sacred rite of the order, that of Mutual-Recognition. The difficulty of doing so explains why the number of fully-fledged Master God-Butchers has remained fairly low (and perhaps why the order has remained largely effective and honorable in a city not known for such qualities).An hour before the rite begins all work on the beast stops. The Tarrasque is allowed to heal, regaining as much consciousness as the God-Butchers dare before the aspirant approaches the 1st Meridian: the creature’s head. As the workers, curious citizens, and their fellow God-Butchers watch, the aspirant must stare into the eye of the Tarrasque for a full minute. In so doing they are supposed to gain a fuller understanding of the beast they keep bound. Staring into the creature’s eye as it roars and snaps, many a promising aspirant flees perhaps leaving the order (or even the city) forever. The mindless destruction and hate they see within the beast’s eye can unman even those who have lived in Salt in Wounds their entire life. Those who manage to continue to gaze into the creature’s eye will note a change in the beast’s behavior. Gradually, its endless screaming and thrashing slows. Its vision changes, massive pupils focusing as, for a moment, it sees them, this man or woman who would keep it bound, who would cut it and serve up its strength to a hungry city. Then the Tarrasque ceases to roar and takes a single moment to inhale through its nostrils, wind whipping past the aspirant towards the Tarrasque’s maw as it truly marks the God-Butcher’s scent. The accepted wisdom is that the Tarrasque is committing these individuals to memory should the monster ever gain freedom the God-Butchers expect that it will hunt all such aspirants and their families, any of those who resemble the aspirant’s smell, even unto the seventh generation descendants. In turn the God-Butcher takes in a long breath through his nose to mark the smell of the beast. As it roars, the endless thrashing against its bonds resumes, and to achieve Master rank the God-Butcher then ventures between its snapping jaws, timing a single strike to sever its tongue and heave the mass of flesh clear. The order then has a huge feast that evening from the hard-earned prize, welcoming another fully-fledged Master God-Butcher into the fold.
NOTABLE GOD-BUTCHERS
Guild Master: Dangany Farcine is a giant of a man with pale skin and straw colored hair, known for speaking only when absolutely needed. His knowledge of Tarrasque anatomy, ability to inspire loyalty, and raw physical strength make him respected by all.
Journeyman Briddu Yittano: This journeyman God-Butcher spectacularly failed the Rite of Mutual-Recognition and has begun mutating extensively following his alchemical treatment. Briddu has been taking more and more jobs away from the God-Butchers, though he is wearing thin his superiors’ patience as they consider expelling him from the order.
Former Master God-Butcher: Helenie illegally used the 12th Meridian Command word to stop the 12th Meridian Crisis. She was punished with truncation and now lives out her days at the Pewter Cup where she is regularly visited by God-Butchers who buy her drinks, help care for her body, and generally treat her as a living saint.