Hand of the Dead society
The Hand of the Dead is the all-female branch of the Corps whose formal roles include marriage and birth, but who, through their control of the bubun, have massively important military and agricultural roles in Omban and post-Omban societies.
The Hand, along with the Voice, came into existence in the decade or two following the Epiphany of Zunuga, just as the Omban Empire was beginning to take form. The early Hand were vitally important in the Imperial conquest of Taizi, Daligash, and Choradan. In 47 IE, the Treaty of Lekhi assigned the Hand key lands and responsibilities in Hasmala, ensuring the order's relative autonomy within the Imperial power structure. The Hand and Voice are co-equal branches of the Corps but the Hand became far wealthier and politically more significant because of the role of the bubun in agricultural labour and military service.
Hands are chosen from among local girls very carefully, and without much regard to social class. Having a daughter become a Hand can be a major source of social advancement for a lineage of modest status, and even among the nobility, it is widely regarded as not only virtuous but highly pragmatic to find a daughter to serve as a Hand. The initial training of Hands is done at temples over a course of one to two years, during which girls are increasingly segregated from their lineages. This is done not out of cruelty, but out of an awareness that a Hand's first duty must be to the order, not her own kin.
Every Hand is at least nominally affiliated with a temple that is considered her home. She will have access to the bubun of that temple, and to a basic expectation of food and shelter, barring some deep transgression. While living at or near the temple and enjoying its provisions, each Hand has daily labour to do, whether pastoral care, managing bubun, leading prayers and rituals, or other tasks. There are Hands who have little connection to their home temple but no Hand in good standing is considered homeless, and place is used to situate Hands in the giant worldwide network of temples.
The chief formal roles of Hands have to do with marriage and childbirth, which may suggest a traditionally feminine role. Nothing could be further from the truth, although as an ideology sometimes the maternal role is emphasized by the order. Hands are more military in structure than Voices, and because of their control of bubun, as well as their combat powers, enjoy political and economic control far greater than their male peers. Many lands formerly controlled by the Omban Emperors are now farmed by the Hand rather than reverting to some lineage. Some areas, such as eastern Hasmala, are almost fully controlled by Hand temples and their massive agricultural revenue is used to fund the Order's other activities. Naturally, this creates some tension between powerful and wealthy lineages and the Hand, which is mitigated by the order's pastoral role. In times of war, the control and management of bubun soldiers is an essential function and Hands work closely with military leaders in strategic capacities.
Another powerful role that Hands occupy in most of the post-Omban states is responsibility for meting out criminal punishments, particularly corporal and capital punishment. Executed criminals are generally rendered bubun. While the law falls to reckoners, bureaucrats, or military courts, punishment itself is a hallowed affair (perhaps to lessen culpability for the perpetrators of state violence).
Hands also have a special role with respect to corpseborn, which emerges from their interest and control over childbirth. Hands are in charge of the 'tide' - the flow of Corpseborn children from the tragedy of their birth to their corpseborn communities, and the corresponding flow of the children of Corpseborn to be adopted by good families. The children of corpseborn often become Hands themselves, and indeed, the current leader of the whole Order is such a child.
Temples are generally of three sorts. Local temples may be simple single-room structures, or a room or two in a larger building. Any Hand may be in charge of a local temple. They may serve ritual functions but may not have a major economic or political role. Above these are the major temples - generally associated with large towns or city districts. These are always led by a Hand who can create and control bubun, and the expectation is that they are productive - whether through agricultural labour, leasing bubun to lineages, or other arrangements. Above these are the full temples, of which there are fewer than one hundred, generally found in large cities or associated with major landholdings. Each full temple is led by a Hand known as the Heart, and Hearts are major political, economic, and social figures in whole provinces and countries. Finally, the central full temple is located in Kigraz, Hasmala. While it is technically no more than first among equals among full temples, the Heart of that temple is also known as the Great Heart, and is effectively the leader of Hasmala who selects the governor of that country.
