The Selection By Whispering Stone is a religious rite held in the town of [[Deep Gourd]] by [[The Church of The Thought Collector]]. In the Selection by Whispering Stone, all youth in the town of [[Deep Gourd]] on the verge coming of age are given one simple task: to touch the [[Whispering Stone]], for as long as possible, as maddening, deafening whispers fill their minds. Unknown to the participants, the purpose of this ritual is not to determine who can remain in contact with the stone the longest. Rather, it is to determine which will succumb to the mad whispers of the stone _soonest_, and by extension, who is most susceptible to the influence of [[Orzith Ilix, The Thought Collector]]. The individual most susceptible is involuntarily taken into the service of [[Orzith Ilix, The Thought Collector]]. Their names, and memories of their former names, are stripped from them, and they are given a new one: