The Ashlina Festival of Rebirth

I understand now why my hosts were so eager for me to stay longer than I had initially planned. I'd heard stories of the Ashlina Festival before, but I never thought I'd be able to witness it in my lifetime! Pavilions covered in blankets of flowers and the finest silks, the Kitainese in their best, multi-layered vests and tunics. The Daughters of Rebirth were there! I've never been so close to a Priestess before. And the river... I never thought I'd see so many flowers in a country as dry as Kitain. My hosts say the Festival will last a full week... I know I must get back to Shikahn and my studies, but I've heard tell of fruits that taste of the Goddess of Rebirth's joy! Oh Gods bless me, the Academy can wait another week!

— A Shikahni student in a letter to his family

History

Each year, the Southern country of Kitain goes through a significant cycle of death and rebirth along the western mountainsides. In the winter, the western scrublands go silent, becoming much more like the eastern deserts or the badlands of Nissayria to the southeast. With the first rains of the spring, water begins to flow once more along the hundreds of riverbeds in the scrublands. As a result, the land becomes vibrant with life once more, as it will remain throughout the spring and summer months.

Origins

In years past, the festival was a small gathering of Priestesses of the Goddess of Rebirth. These so-named Daughters of Rebirth left the winter-long seclusion inside their temples, returning to the public eye. The Daughters of Rebirth would make a pilgrimage to the Great River Ashlina in the center of Kitain, and perform a small ceremony to thank the Goddess of Rebirth for her yearly blessing of life to the Niela (the Kitainese word for the scrublands to the west).

To this end, the Daughters would cultivate flowers that bloomed spectacularly as the first rains came to the western mountains. They would bring these flowers with them on their pilgrimage, runic magic keeping them alive as they visited each village, city and town as they made their way to the Ashlina. Once there, the flowers were offered to the Goddess in an offering to the river itself.

As time went on, nobility and common folk saw the hard work the Daughters put into the small offering, and wished to help in any way they could. As they joined in with offerings of their own, the Ashlina waters grew to be filled with many-colored blooms. This so moved the Goddess of Rebirth, that she blessed Kitain with a rare fruit that would ripen only during this festival, and would give them a taste of their Goddess' joy.

Present Day

In modern times, the Ashlina Festival is celebrated by all walks of life, up and down the Great River. The Daughters still complete their pilgrimage, but now make their offering in a different location each year. It is considered a great honor to host the Daughters during the festival. Local nobles are in charge of providing the food and materials for each festival to keep strain off of the common folk.

Execution

The Ashlina Festival is a full week of celebration that takes place in pavilions along the Great River Ashlina. The pavilions, decorated in flowers and bright bolts of silk, specifically sit where the smaller rivers that feed into the Ashlina connect to it. Festivities begin when the first small river makes contact with the Ashlina, heralding the coming of spring. Young men and women, talented in runic magic, will then travel up and down the Ashlina to deliver the news of spring's arrival.

The largest and most extravagant festivities take place in the Ashlin Delta at the southern tip of the country where royalty and nobility gather to celebrate the change in seasons.

Once all know of the start of the festival, offerings are made by all who attend to the Goddess of Rebirth as thanks for the return of their lands. The person leading the celebration in each particular area offers a ritualized prayer to the Goddess before the offerings are presented. These offerings consist of placing flowers in the Ashlina, allowing them to drift down the river as the festivities continue. When the last flowers are washed out to sea a week later, the festival is considered complete.

Festivities usually include music, various forms of entertainment, food, and the consumption of the rare fruit known as Aylani. Aylani fruit are blessings from the Goddess of Rebirth herself, and their bushes only bear fruit in this short window of time. The fruit has an effect similar to alcoholic beverages, as well as inducing euphoria. Careful attention is paid as to not eat too many of these tiny, potent fruits.

Overall, it is a joyous festival of life that any can participate in. Travelers often flock to Kitain in the days and weeks leading up to the Ashlina Festival, eager to experience it for themselves.

Participants

All are welcome to participate in the offerings to the Goddess. The prayers that are said prior to the offerings are either carried out by a Daughter of Rebirth, or a local 'God-Touched'. God-Touched are mortals who have either garnered the favor of the Gods through their deeds or actions, or mortals who have made deals with the Gods to become their warriors.

These prayers must always be carried out by these individuals as the weight of the magic behind them can be too much for mortals unused to the Gods' magic to handle.

by CrimzN

by CrimzN

Type

Festival

Date

Yearly, after the first rains of the season reach the western mountains.

Purpose

Celebrating the Goddess of Rebirth, and the annual rebirth of the eastern scrublands.

Components and Tools

• Flowers for offerings
• Aylani fruit
• Pavilions along the river Ashlina
• Boats powered by Runic magic to spread the word

by ChaosTearKitsune

Aylani Fruit—a Blessing from the Goddess of Rebirth