Bottle Shaker

First appearance and context

The term is used by Fraa Orolo during a conversation in the Refectory kitchen, offered while contrasting such figures with a Throwback who has adopted the stance of a Mystagogue. The example arises as avout consider external risks and the kinds of people who may react to unfamiliar artifacts.

Definition and rationale

A “Bottle Shaker” is exemplified by a witch‑doctor‑type figure in a society that cannot make glass: a bottle washes ashore, and he mounts it on a stick and brandishes it to suggest that he shares in its mysterious powers. The label thus describes a pattern where authority is claimed through spectacle using found artifacts rather than through understanding. As explained in the same discussion, such people are not considered dangerous to the maths, being too easily impressed to pose a serious threat on their own.

Relationships and references

In the kitchen exchange, a peer counters with the case of slines who killed Saunt Bly; Orolo acknowledges the point but notes that Bly had been living alone on a butte after being Thrown Back, separated from the artifacts and auts that tend to impress Bottle Shaker–producing societies. The term is contrasted with more troubling types, such as a Throwback who turns mystagogue.

Current status

So far, “Bottle Shaker” appears as an informal, descriptive label used by avout in conversation. It functions as shorthand for a predictable charlatan pattern observed in low‑technology cultures and carries no formal standing within mathic classifications.