tootmistee

Tootmistee is a fictional term used to describe a ceremonial wind-and-drum performance in the fantasy setting of the coastal city-state of Lirinth. In-universe, tootmistee operates as both a noun (the ritual itself) and a verb (to perform the ritual). Etymology, within the fiction, blends an onomatopoeic wind sound with a suffix from the imagined Ellaran language meaning gathering, signaling a communal event centered on breath and sound.

Practice typically involves seven performers: a horn player, two drums, and four wind players. The group assembles at dawn in a public plaza, lights resin lamps, and proceeds through a sequence of breathy whistles, interwoven drum patterns, and coordinated hand claps. The ritual ends as the sun climbs, after which a community chorus joins in. Traditionally, tootmistee is performed to honor weather spirits at the start of the rainy season and to reaffirm social bonds within the town.

Regional variants exist: some districts favor brisk, bright whistles paired with sharp drum accents, while others prefer slower, breathier tones with sustained drum rolls. In some stories, tootmistee is linked with a ceremonial dance that imitates the progression of clouds.

Reception in fiction notes tootmistee as a defining element of Lirinthian cultural identity, used by authors to establish mood and world-building. Scholarly discussions within these works often explore its symbolic connections to memory, communal breath, and renewal. Outside of the fictional context, tootmistee has no real-world meaning or established usage.