Festival of Wayward Whispers
The Festival of Wayward Whispers is a yearly festival in the city of Wati surrounding traditions of Soft Whisper and a past city many practitioners of the religion pilgrimage to in hopes of making contact with their ancestors.
History
Practicing under the tenants of Queen Soft Whisper, the festival itself was originally created to honor the past ancestors of those who follow in her guidance in hopes of being able to talk to those who came before them for advice and wisdom. Soft Whisper, being the god of death and repose, keeps those safe who have passed into the next life, and guides them into paradise if they choose and have followed her tenants justly. Those spirits who stay behind to pass their wisdom onto those who come after are protected in her domain, and following her deification, found the abilities to be able to speak to them through the temples within her birth city of Wati.
In later years after the disaster that had caused the original city to perish, new temples and settlement was erected around the holy site to continue the practice, though with the new practice being in memorial to those who had died in and on the holy grounds of what would be known as the Necropolis of Wati.
Execution
In old Wati, practicing members would look to the high priest to announce the ceremony's beginning, wherein practicing members from all through the desert and few from beyond make the pilgrimage to Wati with the hopes of meeting their ancestors to glean wisdom and life advice from them, as well as to pay their respects and reverences to Soft Whisper, the first Queen of Wati.
After the event that destroyed old Wati, the ceremony itself was shifted to be a celebration to commemorate the lives that were lost. The practicing High Priest of Wati is given the responsibility of communing with the spirits in order to allow the Necropolis of Wati to open for the spirits within to escape into the temples of the city to meet their descendants
Components and tools
The Necklace of Whispers is an important component to the ceremony; typically passed down, either in family design or directly to ancestral descendants. The necklace itself more often than not is meant to be guarded by families, and even enhanced with age with the ability of detecting those of ill intent around the wearer. This ability, however, comes from the connection a wearer may have to family ancestry, and therefore, does not work with those who may find themselves stealing the necklaces for their own gain.
Necklaces of Whispers are typically finely made, with silvers and golds, and highlighted with stones from mines of the deserts. Gems from elsewhere is considered heretical, and therefore are not typically used. In addition to this, it is considered anathema to the practice itself to steal a necklace from another practicing creature, or selling ones own for personal gain.
Participants
Participants of the ceremony is almost strictly reserved for those who carry a Necklace of Whispers. This religion and practice typically only happens between the cat races of the deserts, but does have other practicing races show as a rarity.
Once participants have gathered, all look to the high priest of Soft Whisper to commune with her in asking her and the spirits of their ancestors to open the necropolis, allowing the spirits of their past ancestors to freely inhabit the temples so that practices may be able to hear the whispers of their ancestors and, if they are dedicated enough, perhaps even Soft Whisper herself
Observance
The rites of the ceremony are practiced on the first of every Bright Moon
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