You see them everywhere, groups of women dressed in hues of deep purple, with their long hair braided into sculpted coiffures as elaborate as those of the wealthiest nobility. Sometimes you see them alone, but usually three or four are together. Something more than mere beauty commands attention. Their skin is smooth, and their posture is straight. They carry no extra weight but are well-fed and healthy. Young or old, they seem able to see into your soul. That’s not surprising, since the Sisters of Skura are well known for reading both the stars and tusks to tell the future.
The Sisters of Skura, because they worship and study at night, usually don’t surface until late in the day. When they emerge, streamers of purple wooden stars are hung from awnings throughout the tiers and on stalls near Diamond Lake and the Market, as fortune-tellers open for business. But, while best known as tusk readers and astrologists, the sisters are much more. They make and sell fragrant oils for the skin and hair, scented with jasmine and gardenia. They are top hairstylists and serve many of the nobility in this capacity. Many are among the top scholars of astronomy, mathematics, and optics at the Moon Dome. Some study or teach at the School of Herbalism and Spore Sciences. Don’t underestimate their powers of persuasion or diplomacy, either; Head Sister Sulon is the current Ambassador to Saffa and a savvy negotiator.
Like other followers of Skura, the sisters worship their deity under the stars. They consult the stars on all matters, and — although their study of star movements enables them to do so on overcast nights — can become irritable and erratic after several nights of cloudcover. There is a sacred grove of starflowers in the foothills west of Moru Kel where followers celebrate Skura through silent rituals and dance; the sisters often do so in the nude! The path to the Star Cairn is protected, as the site is sacred, but anyone with the honest intent to pay tribute to Skura can worship there.
The Sisters are one of the oldest religious sects in Moru Kel, Oldest is right — more like the Grandmothers of Skura! though they’ve had trouble attracting new members over the last generation. Members of the sisterhood are not allowed to marry or have children. This doesn’t mean they don’t have lovers, for they are well-versed in herbal prevention of pregnancy. However, marriage and procreation have been elevated in importance ever since the plague of fever that swept through the city in 504 K.S., killing nearly one in five. The nobility have pushed the importance of repopulation for the past two decades, in popular puppet shows and songs. While the Sisters of Skura are respected by the nobles and protected by their close relationship with the Sentinels, there are a growing number of commonfolk who denounce the sect as unnatural and counter to the well-being of Moru Kel.
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