Through the ritual consumption of Europa’s worms, wormseers become temporarily possessed and deliver messages from the collective ecological consciousness of the archipelago. This role is not a formal one, but rather one borne of folk knowledge passed down within communities.
In truth, many of the worms of Europa are mildly poisonous and produce psychoactive effects when consumed. This does not explain, however, how the messages of the worms are reliably presented in poetic meter.
Ritual Process
After a supplicant approaches a wormseer with a query, the seer begins a period of fasting. Towards the end of this period, a worm is called; the soil is sprinkled with libation while the seer poses the query, rephrased in poetic meter. A tool—traditionally a hoe, but others are also used—is driven into the ground, and the handle is rapped or rubbed to produce vibrations in the soil. These vibrations reliably draw worms to the surface, open_in_new though in the event that none appear the petition is dismissed.
The worm is removed from the ground and cleansed in fresh water. The wormseer seats themselves in a warm, quiet room and dons a blindfold before consuming the worm. The process of fasting and the sensory deprivation of a blindfold makes the seer more susceptible to the psychoactive effects of consuming the worm. Over the next few hours, the seer is slowly possessed by the consciousness of the worm, who is hopefully encouraged by the familiar environmental conditions to convey their message in a comprehensible way. Messages of the worm are differentiated from the speech of the seer in that they are always presented in non-rhyming anapestic tetrameter.
I comprehend the language of silence, the voiceless plan. Bronze holds the cauldron’s weight, bronze forms the cover tight.
Once the worm’s message has been delivered, its consciousness must be encouraged to leave so that the seer can return to themselves. The seer is led into the light and has their blindfold removed, and may have their face splashed with cold water to further ground them. After returning, they break their fast with simple, mild meals; the possession process is enormously taxing and they must recuperate for several days while experiencing side effects such as disorientation and nausea.