[Image credit: Part of number 6 of the Holy Grail tapestries woven by Morris & Co. 1891-94 for Stanmore Hall. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Unknown source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=251121.]
The following five objects are bound to our line in some way and should rightfully be in possession of the family before the eve of the great Inauguration of 2028.
Eastern Screech Owl figurine of J.B. Shane
- Figurine of the Eastern Screech Owl bequeathed to Chieftain-Elect Jonathen Daniel Shane by John Burton Shane, his great-grandfather and the father of Harlan, sire of the Filii Harlani (“Sons of Harlan,” the first Shane dynastic house). The owl was incorporated into the Shane coat of arms by Chieftain-Elect Jonathen to represent wisdom and the Shane motto, which is Vide Ultra (“see beyond”). Owls of course are known for their keen eyesight and their association with knowledge of the unseen world. This item is in possession of the Sept.
Example of a torc, to be worn around the neck (open end facing front)
- Royal Torc handcrafted by the mother of the Chieftain-Elect. Patricia Shane, Mistress of Sept Metalcraft and mother of Chieftain-Elect Jonathen Shane, is working a torc out of fine metals to serve as the hereditary marker of authority for Shane chieftainship. It will be finished and blessed prior to the Inauguration Rite in 2028.
The Rock of Cashel
- Stone of Cashel (Irish: Lia Chaiseal), quarried from the Rock of Cashel (a hill and castle in County Tipperary, Ireland). The Rock of Cashel was the seat of power of the Eoghanachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster for nearly a thousand years. The Rock sits on a great limestone hill, which was deposited there by the infernal one himself, Satan, after being chased from the Devil’s Bit mountain twenty miles north by St. Patrick. The spot is the site on which our patrilineal royal ancestor, Conall Corc, was instructed to found his kingdom in a dream given him by angels. And it was later the place that King Óengus mac Nad Froích of Corc’s Eoghanacht dynasty was baptized by Saint Patrick. The rocky hill is the holy place from which our family’s power emanates, and any man that would take the mantle of authority in service to the Sept must be inaugurated upon a piece of it. (Celtic kings, including the current British monarchs, have always been and are yet still coronated upon sacred stones; see the Stone of Scone.) A rock from this site is not yet in the possession of the family.
An ancient yew tree
- Landed estate sown with the body of a Shane and planted with the sacred dynastic yew tree. The landed estate of the Filii Harlani is Neon Passion Farm, in picturesque Cheatham County, Tennessee, atop the rolling hills of the Western Highland Rim. A Shane-built home still stands and houses the Chieftain-Elect and his family. On the grounds, the remains of J.B. Shane are buried, sealing the family’s connection to the soil and increasing its fruitfulness. At the time of inauguration, a sacred yew tree must be planted on it. The yew tree is the symbol of Eoghanacht power since the time of Conall Cor, revealed to him in a dream by the angels. The cutting down of the sacred yew coincided with the downfall of the family from power. The establishment of Shane authority after so many centuries of dormancy must also be accompanied by the planting of a yew and its preservation. The estate is secure but the tree must still be planted.
B.F. Shane rifle owned by the collector
- Percussion Kentucky rifle crafted by the hand of Benjamin Franklin Shane in the Cacapon River Valley, circa 1856-61. B.F. Shane rifles, normally signed “B.F.S.,” were instrumental in settling the wild western frontier. Pioneers heading west purchased them from B.F. Shane in the middle of the nineteenth century and carried them to the great beyond. They are a tangible artifact of the Shane Sept’s taming of the North American continent. As these are battle objects of great antiquity forged by a Shane, a Shane chieftain must possess one to rightfully hold authority. There are several specimens still extant, and the going rate for them is upwards of $4,000. A collector in West Virginia has offered to sell the family one if we can put together the funds. Securing one will be our most difficult endeavor.