Jelbe

[Zanz]

Faith Keeper "lights signal fire" to "anchor the soul" of ailing Hobrazian President

21 February 5689 (OOC: Backdated)

JEZTRIDOMURA - From his jezkustalkota (grand temple) in the steppe west of Jeztridomura, Baonazrnmlmojadkai (Faith Keeper) Shlajkai Intrsmorsrmko offered an unprecedented service for the ailing president of Hobrazia, Vasil Khimshiashvili, after reportedly being "incredibly moved" by the revelation yesterday by Khimshiashvili's daughter on live television that the president is critically ill despite previous assurances to the contrary. The Faith Keeper has long been rumored to watch broadcast television in his private quarters despite his public insistence that television and other modern electronics corrupt the spirits of Jelbek viewers.

In a ceremony organized by the Faith Keeper on the banks of the holy river Rj near the Sacred City, a ceremonial signal fire with a height of 30 feet has been lit as a means to anchor the soul of the Hobrazian head of state to Terra. Tahnrist belief holds that such a fire is visible to the spirits of the sick and dying, and that the light can serve to aid the sick on their journey back to the world of the living.

For his part, rival Triumvir Zamojetakjadkai (Fire Stoker) Azi Azisrmko decried the move by the Faith Keeper, noting that "superstitions aside, the Khimshiashvili regime in Hobrazia is a brutal and repressive one. No fires need be lit for those who ought to join the spirits." The Fire Stoker's remarks were made to a collection of reporters as Azisrmko left a conference with Zardic and Wrnukek businessmen in Baofluz. The two are engaged in an ongoing war of words as they seek an end to the budget impasse in the Lower House that has brought the government to a standstill.

It remains unclear whether the signal fire will aid the ailing despot.