The Festival of Bonding

The festival of bonding is a months long celebration in the desert territories of Aravia. During this festival, cities are decorated with vibrant colors indicating the homes of couples destined to be wed during the Bond Mage's pilgrimage around the territories. Art, often viewed as a waste of time, is welcomed by the people once work is done. Homes gain intricate patterns of paint and cloth, flowers made of ribbon or clay are hung from every surface, and the normally drab settlements of the desert come alive with song and dance.

History

The first Bonding festival was established long after the tradition began. The first pilgrimage of the Bond Mage met with no fanfare, color, or art. The mage wandered into each settlement, rested for a few days, and moved on. During the stay, they gifted newly weds they noticed with a gift of simple rings with a pale stone in the center. After several years of repetition, one couple asked the mage to perform their wedding ceremony. The Bond Mage agreed and decorated the homes of the two intended with cloths dyed in vibrant colors, wrapped in intricate patterns and shapes. Other couples mimicked this, and too were wed and gifted rings. Once the ceremony was over, the mage gifted the cloths to the town and impressed upon them to decorate the homes of couples to be wed every summer, so the mage may know who shall be wed. 
The word spread to other territories, and every summer became a festival to celebrate love and commitment.

Execution

At the start of spring, the couples begin to prepare for their new lives together, creating or commissioning their wedding garments to be as colorful as possible. It is not uncommon for close knit communities to contribute to the design by donating extra materials, work in the individual's stead, or contribute to a piece of the garment themselves. As summer draws near, the homes of those to be married are decorated with fabrics left long ago by the Bond Mage and paints brought to them anew each season. Once the homes of the intended are decorated, other buildings and surfaces become a canvas, the remainder of the paint used to bring color and life to the settlement.
The fabrics celebrate the tight bond of family and community, the joining of new families, and the ties that bind us all.
The paints represent life itself, vibrant and fresh, something to admire and have fun with. 
On the last day of the Bond Mage's visit, the bonding rituals are performed, and each couple given a set of rings. After the last bonding, a large feast is held celebrating the years bonding.

Components and tools

Cloths spun of the silks from caterpillar Invertus and dyed with the most vibrant hues, then enchanted to remain vibrant, strong, and fresh. Paints created from the discarded chitins of Invertus and underground plants. Rings created from simple metals and smokey or white colored quartz stones, enchanted to act as a pair. The stones change color with the health and wellbeing of the opposite's wearer reflected in the color. Upon death, the stone cracks and goes dark.

Participants

The Bond Mage plays a key role in this tradition, traveling from settlement to settlement to perform the ritual. 
Other important roles belong to the apprentices, who learn the magics to perform the ritual as well as the crafts to create the materials used.

Observance

The rituals begin at the start of the summer and do not end until the season shifts again, even after the Mage has left a settlement.