Congua

[Androcles]

I came upon the cave in a dream, a burial place of fallen warriors hidden in the most beautiful box canyon I had ever seen. With those fallen warriors were riches that I could scarcely comprehend, golden jewelry, ingots and coins… jewels of all shapes and sizes, some as big as my fist. In my dream I had been wandering through a canyon I knew, the trail I always followed carried me around that box canyon…

When I awoke, I remembered the dream with unusual clarity. I decided that the next time I traveled through that area I would abandon the trail and instead travel through the canyon down to the cave I saw in my dreams.

Two days later there I was, making my way down the canyon… in my mind’s eye I saw untold treasure and mystery, with my eyes I saw the canyon walls white and smooth as marble, painted with a reddish orange, the water was clear and blue, there were flowers of every hue and color so as to make the canyon almost painfully beautiful. It is hard to describe with mere words, as I descended into the canyon the walls eventually closed into the point that I would have to enter the stream to keep going.

The water was flowing fast, but it was also cool and refreshing, I slid down one waterfall and then another surely the cave must be close… the box canyon twisted around the mountain and the water, no longer warmed by the suns light became colder. I was chest deep in water at this point and the last waterfall I had descended was eight feet high. I swam to the next drop off and looked down, this time a 12 foot drop, and it looked like the canyon was starting to widen again… I jumped down, this pool was about ten feet deep and I swam thirty feet to the next drop off and fear chilled me even more than the water. The next drop was at least forty feet and this pool wasn’t clear… logs, branches and debris I couldn’t identify filled the pool. If I jumped down, I would be lucky not to impale myself. I realized that I had been in the cold water for far too long, and that I was struggling to stay awake as I continued to tread water. I looked up at the cliff walls, there was nowhere to climb. I was going down the next fall conscious or unconscious; my only hope was to go down awake.

I made the jump trying to clear the worst of the debris. I was impaled by two branches, one though my lower stomach the other through my right shoulder, the last thing I remember was being kissed by a beautiful woman with very sharp teeth.

Congua the Shaman sighed with pity, “follow my bear to the river you must cross, I will tell your family how you passed and warn others of the Siren in that canyon.”

[Serpensio]

Oh, most curious. I would very much like to glimpse a sight of this siren, though, hopefully while staying alive.

But who is this Congua? A Shaman of the Dead?

[Androcles]

Congua is a Psychopomp... it's his job to deal with restless spirits of the dead, to help members of his tribe pass smoothly into the afterlife and to secure the blessings of the ancestors on their decedents. Ancestor worship played a big role in most tribal cultures and even today it plays a much larger role in many cultures than people realize.

[Serpensio]

Ah, ok. Though, Psychopomp is a term I've never heard before.

I have no problems with Ancestry Worship, I think it would be a very healthy dynamic to have in game.
Though not all cultures actually worship, just place a heavy emphasis on them.

[Androcles]

Worship is a very broad term... honor them would probably be a more appropriate term in most cases.