Asheindae

Asheindae are the disciples and acolytes of the Order of Scripts. The goal of most asheindae is to become majuyue when they have completed their training, something that often takes decades to achieve.

The Order of Scripts
All Order of Scripts shrines are staffed by a total of twelve asheindae and a single (rarely, two) majuyue. The asheindae play a vital role within these shrines, as they are the primary contact between the shrine and the people in the communities around it.

Asheindae are considered devotees to the gods. While most shrines are dedicated to a certain god, many are not. Asheindae must be able to serve all of the gods, as well as the people, in order to be successful.

Training
All asheindae follow a similar training protocol. Their progress is measured in a series of beads and necklaces comprising 144 beads each. These are called shiveren. They are tasked by the majuyue of their shrine to complete various tasks. When a task is completed, they earn a bead. In order to complete their training, they will have to complete nearly 21,000 tasks.

Much like the shiveren beads themselves, the training tasks are divided by their guiding principle. The four principles are life, death, justice, and darkness.

The ideas of life and death are converse to what many cultures might expect. For a death-related training task, an asheindae might be asked to prepare an herbal remedy to heal an illness, or see to an expecting mother. They are, in effect, handling death by both addressing the possibility (the ill patient might die, for example) and overcoming it.

There are no shortcuts through training, and many asheindae retire before completing their full regimen of tasks.

Ascension to Majuyue
Simply completing training and receiving the full muster of shiveren beads is not enough to automatically guarantee a promotion. However, it does qualify an asheindae for consideration if they wish to move into the role of majuyue. Promotion may become a possibility when a position becomes available, or they may be given the opportunity to act as a secondary majuyue for a shrine if it is particularly busy. Because the number of majuyue is far smaller than that of asheindae, openings are rare and an asheindae must be willing to travel extensively if they hope to find a position.

Retirement
For many asheindae, their career ends long before the completion of their tasks. Retirement is the most common cause for someone to leave the Order.

Former asheindae may choose to leave the position behind for a number of reasons, but family is the primary motivator. Many asheindae became involved with the Order of Scripts as young girls. When they reach the sovereign marriage age, they frequently leave to settle down and have a family of their own. Others may retire to provide care for a loved one, or to assist a relative in rebuilding a homestead.

Retirement is considered a natural part of an asheindae 's life, rather than being viewed as quitting. Former asheindae are held in great respect by most miranen. They also traditionally retain part of the asheindae uniform, as they typically continue wearing both benaha and a portion of their shiveren beads, usually the Shiven beads. Many are superstitious and believe that removing the beads, even if only for an instant, would bring them a swift death.