The Childish Ritual of the Netragrednik

    

The teacher has become so familiar with the diversity of ways in which different students behave in similar situations that they are not to be surprised by the most playful customs. The magical beliefs of the Netragrednik can be an example of the extremes to which child behavior can go. 

The Netragrednik live surrounded by a knowledge enriched environment. Most of the children’s lives are dedicated to creating a foundation in which they can excel and grow. Yet part of their day is dedicated to the development of personal relationships and past time. 

The fundamental beliefs of the Netragrednik is that they are alone and are prone to being left out and forgotten. The only hope of avoiding this predicament of the Netragrednik is to participate in ritual. Every child shares a community temple with their groups, sometimes worshipping with other groups with common interests. Children once they have come of age, leave the worshipping grounds for another temple or even leave together due to their level of enlightenment. 

The center of the Temple is a statue made of metals and movable features. The statue is guarded by who the Netragrednik call “Whistle People”. Whistle people protect the worshippers from hurting themselves while practicing the ritual. They also have the power of setting the amount of time for worship. While the ritual can be dangerous, some can practice it with no danger of harming themselves. 

The Netragrednik begin their worship by congregating at the base of the statue. The leader known as the “Favored Child” by consensus, becomes divine, able to pass this divineness through the touch of another person. As a result, the “Favored Child” seeks out others, in hope that they will feel this divine sensation for themselves and become the “Favored Child”.

People of the Netragrednick that perform amazing acts of divineness, become socially prefered among the others in their groups. By not performing this ritual, some children become outcasts, lonely and misunderstood. Year after year the Netragrednik continue this ritual and pass it down to younger generations despite the risks of being a social outcast.