After witnessing nearly a dozen or so clan battles, the Seattle Farmers have noticed that most healing, first aid, etc., is performed by the women of the clan. When the fyrd musters and the "bronze battle-briches" form a thin shield wall before which would-be heroes challenge their enemies, where do you think the clan women are? At home? Nonesense, they are there on the field, behind the shield wall, encouraging their husbands, brothers and sons to stand and fight. When their kin falls, it is the women who succor them. When the battle winds turn ill, it is the presence of their mothers, wives, sisters and daughters that keep the men from fleeing.
So what does this have to do with Humakti? Well, these women aren't Chalana Arroy cultists with their weird obligation to heal the world - they are good solid Ernaldan women who are there to heal their kin and their friends. Those who have taken the Humakt rites are often kin to no one, and have even fewer friends. When one of the chieftain's hired killers goes down, does the wife of Illig succor him? No probably not, unless he is kin or a friend. Does the magic that reenacts Ernalda's succoring of Orlanth heal Humakt? Probably not. It is the responsibility of the clan chief to look to the welfare of his hall-warriors, not the clan members. The warriors who have taken Humakt's rites are very useful to the chief - they are doggedly loyal, fierce men who do not fear death. But that doesn't mean they are well-loved by the rest of the clan.
Jeff
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