Tokikiche'el

A female in a Vordun community that is tasked with the care of Vordunni younglings, commonly called a podmother

Description
Like the amphibians that they resemble, the Vordun lay eggs in still water. Each female lays between one to two eggs at the same time annually (usually in the spring). Their young hatch fully-formed and are cared for communally in che'eli, or "pods." As the young grow, they are trained in their tribe's ways and customs by their "podmother" until they are old enough to be apprenticed.

Although the Vordun are remarkably egalitarian, the Tokikiche'el is always a female. She is normally widowed or has never paired, and is usually older and more experienced. She is not so elderly as to be unable to defend her charges, however. Strength is a key trait in podmothering.

It is considered a great honor to be a podmother, and many women vie for the honor. Ultimately, the community as a whole must come to some consensus in the choosing of a new one, although opinions of the Tokikiche'el AnyikHa is given considerable weight in the selection process.

Once selected by the community, a woman is Tokikiche'el AnnoHa (apprentice podmother, commonly translated as "honored aunt") until the Tokikiche'el AnyikHa (elder podmother) is rendered unfit to mother by age or death. A Tokikiche'el AnnoHa will then advance to Tokikiche'el AnyikHa. However, a Tokikiche'el AnyikHa may have several apprentices and only one may advance. If there is no clear line of succession, the others may continue as apprentices or they may be asked to establish new colonies if the community has reached too large of a size for their hunting area.

Duties
Before the mating season, the community's Tokikiche'el AnyikHa will identify a suitable laying pool. This will usually be a clean, still pool of water. She will then prepare the area, removing anything that might cause harm to the eggs and young. Apprentices will be posted to keep an eye out for predators by land and sky, and the help of Fishers will be enlisted to construct fish traps to keep underwater predators away.

When the time comes for laying, fertilized females from the community come down to the pool and deposit their eggs. These are fairly large, usually 8-10 inches in diameter. they are also jelly-like and covered in mucous until they harden somewhat. The Tokikiche'eli assist the tribeswomen in anyway possible. Each female deposits one to two eggs in the laying pool. The eggs of all the females forms a mat in the middle of the pond that stays submerged just below the surface of the water. As communities are small, there are usually no more than sixty eggs in a season's clutch. It takes around ninety days for the eggs to reach maturation.

Out of all of the eggs laid in a year, only a small number actually hatch. From a large clutch of, say sixty, it would be unusual for more than twenty young to survive. Much of this is due to the fact that many eggs are not fertile. Out of the perhaps half that are, some will not fully develop and will be unable to break the shell's membrane. There are often, despite precautions, predators that slip through, or unaccountable changes in the weather. If a clutch is completely lost, sometimes the community will drive the podmother and her apprentices away into exile. There have been cases of podmothers being killed by angry tribes folk when a clutch has been lost as well. Most of the time, the tribes folk understand that birth is difficult, and a good Tokikiche'el grieves every bit as much as the rest of the community over such loss.

As the young hatch, the Tokikiche'el AnyikHa and her apprentices are on hand to assist the younglings out of the water. As they breath air at birth, it is necessary to do this quickly so that the babies do not drown. Baby Vordun can eat as an adult from birth, but are unable to hunt for themselves, The Tokikiche'eli provide them with care and sustenance for the next ten years or so of their lives.

The che'el is home to the young until they have lived for about ten summers. During this time, they learn the ways of their tribe and assist the podmothers in their duties. They are also assessed for aptitude, and at the end of their time within the che'el they are apprenticed out to people within the community. Sometimes when the community has grown too large, they are sent elsewhere within the tribe for apprenticing. Since they do not know their biological parents, they may even be apprenticed out to one of them.

Vordun are usually sexually mature by age fiteen. They pair for life, and live for around fifty years. They are generally unable to reproduce by about forty.