Reckoner society
Reckoners are keepers and arbiters of matters of history, custom, and law. They are of any gender and are separate from matters of religion and theology, which are managed by the Corps priests. Some reckoners occupy very traditional roles within lineages and communities, while others are bureaucrats, tax collectors, mint officials, administrators, and judges within much more complex social institutions.
There were certainly reckoners in the Omban monarchy and throughout the transition to Empire - i.e., for a thousand years or more. Before the Omban Empire, reckoners were mostly local lorekeepers and judges, but became incorporated into the Imperial administration because their many abilities suit a variety of bureaucratic roles well. Reckoners, or things quite like them, were also part of the social life of various non-Omban communities, as well as Hulti - the profession is neither limited by language, culture, or religion. Nonetheless the classic suite of responsibilities and powers of the reckoner are local to the region.
Reckoning is a craft and is treated as such. Reckoners are trained in a formal apprenticeship and are more or less completely integrated into Omban social life, as they have been for centuries. In small communities, apprenticeship is normally one-on-one, not infrequently through lineages. There are many craft lineages (okhi) whose members specialize in the profession of reckoning. In these families, there are particular pieces of lore that are guarded like guild or trade secrets, and these lineages can be highly territorial if new competitors enter their territory. In urban settings, reckoners are still usually drawn from craft lineages, but are specialized and trained within specific institutions (law, history/folklore, land tenure, coinage / metrology, etc.), and in these sorts of settings, multiple apprentices may be working at a site at any one time, learning different aspects of the craft.
A reckoner's professional life is governed by the principle of salaf, which roughly translates as 'neutrality' and literally as the Razor. This does not imply that a reckoner has no biases or interests, but rather, simply that they are expected at all times to act with fairness and honesty, even in a matter where they may represent one party in a dispute. To knowingly lie as part of their professional duties is punishable by removal from the profession or, in egregious cases, death.
Reckoners are supported financially by a form of redistribution known as the tally (uznun), which is essentially a tax levelled on all lineages based on their headcount, that is distributed to local reckoners. Notionally, at least, one should not be able to purchase justice by simply hiring more or better reckoners. In practice, reckoners of great esteem receive many additional gifts, lodging, or other forms of payment in addition to the tally, but usually not in cash.
It is a matter of some dispute and interest among both reckoners and mystics as to whether the former's powers derive from some access to Source, or whether apparently magical abilities are simply due to some preternatural but nonmagical power. There is some tension between the two orders, both of which have some authority over knowledge and history. Similarly, there is sometimes tension between reckoners and the Corps priests, whose magisteria are similar in some ways. Nevertheless, the general principle is still widely upheld that reckoners ought to be treated with the utmost respect and violence against a reckoner in the performance of their duties is a capital offense.
