The Gathering

"and of millenia this village was a safekeeper of safe passage to Ædeos, by transpiring through the roots of the Tree of Void and uniting with the land by its nourishing fruit."

Considering Tæn-ĭ-Sáveni, Aš-Šúrúkh

Synopsis

The Gathering ritual exists to form a temporal collective mind by those admitted to take part in it. Due to long tradition, the ascendence to Ædeos is made by forming a resonant connection with Tanitris - the City or the Land of Æterial Form. It was special to the ancestors, who found it to be the most complex and rich among other places in Ædeos.

The ritual evolved over time due to the changes in Tanitris itself. Its current form involves a sacrifice to be made - the minds of the bearers of the Thirteen Arts of Tanitris. The Tree of Void admits the collective mind into the ritual and chips away the Core, slowly rebuilding what was lost.

The journey to Ædeos is of sensational character and not physical. Thus, everything at stake is ones mental state, and all that can be gained are the thoughts, ideas and sensations never before thought and felt. The progression of arts, culture, crafts can all be traced back into the ventures to Ædeos.

History

Before the awaking of life, the time and form were entwined in an eternal dance. Many deemed it chaos and only after seeing the first patterns emerging, spoke of the rise of the order. And all this time, Ædeos remained steadfast in its motion.
The oldest known records of Ædeos appear in the oral tradition of Tæn-ĭ-Sáveni, who described it as dim, colorful shadows dancing on the mist. This first encounter was called the Birth, where they played the role of the children, born from the stable darkness into the realms of senses. The world was as it's always been - they said - but we have Awakened and surfaced the Void. Into sound and silence, constrained and immense, fixed and moving. Into the True World - Ædeos.
When did their eyes open? Who can tell?

The ritual is supposedly 2-3 thousands years old. The locals call it The Gathering or The Bloom, for the ritual space resembles a blooming flower with a fiery center.

Timing

It takes place once a year starting one week before the Winter Solstice and lasting two weeks.

Admittance

The ritual is considered a high honor and a clear evidence of ones hierarchy in the Tæn. As such not all people are admitted.

Hierarchy

The Core

The thirteen seats in the central place of the ritual space are called the Core. They create a fundament upon which the ascend through the Tanitris is possible. The thirteen are considered masters at their specific Art.

The Petals

Starting from the two leaders of the ceremony the Petals are formed. Usually comprised of artists and craftsman, and fairly often of those who once formed the Core. The first Petal sits behind the two leaders and rests the dominating hand on the first, the other on the second. Every next Petal proceeds in the same fashion until a Full Crown is formed. The hierarchy drops with the distance from the bonfire and the Core. It is said that the Fourth Crown does not permit one to Ædeos. Even though this is technically not true, the shapeshift of the Æter gets really violent, and the induced synesthesis is making it very difficult to maintain the orientation in the space-form of Ædeos. The Fourth Crown is thus called the Sacrificial Crown and more often than not is used as a shield against the Æters' currents. The sacrifice of being a Fourth Crown Petal is often called Nourishing.

The Steps

The Budding

The first week before the Winter Solstice is known as The Budding, i.e. the time when the flower of The Gathering Ceremony is being formed. The Core is formed by thirteen Tænfolk, who excell above others in one of the 13 Arts of Tanitris:

1. The Shadow of Evermore Complex
2. The Shaper of Sound
3. The Whisperer of Light
4. The Sentinel of Inner Garden
5. The Sentinel of Void
6. The Sentinel of Intact
7. The Seeker of Eternal Motion
8. The Seeker of Uncharted Form
9. The Weaver of Form
10. The Weaver of Stone Firmament
11. The Weaver of Symmetry
12. The Tamer of Depth
13. The Tamer of Æter

The custom insists that there be only one representative of the Art and it is necessary for the stability of the Core to be peace between the representatives. The respective groups are formed in the week preceeding the Bloom to make a blind journey to Ædeos. By blind it is meant, they do not start their ascend to Ædeos at the Tanitris, but rather venture to an unknown place in Ædeos, a one that best describes the collective soul they form. It is then expected of them to remain there for one consecutive day and night. Depending on the Art, this determines the mode of the trial - the weavers, shapers and tamers engage in an active role, while others remain passive and must withstand the chaotic flows of Æter.

The Bloom

There's a bonfire in the centre, the atmosphere nice. The Artbearers form the Core, the Petal start the Bloom. The fun part begins. By ascending through the roots and the trunk of Tanitris, the Gathering enters through the sapling and becomes one with the fruit of the tree. As the fruit bursts, forming a flower, the Gathering is freed into the Ædeos. This stage is called the Full Bloom. The collective soul is then free to travel the waves of Æter and enter the 13 realms, characteristic of the Arts and remaining in the Ædeos.

The Harvest

During the week after the Winter Solstice the ritual is still alive but slowly fades away. The journey is possible and enabled by the Bloom, but everything seemed or seen is becoming less and less apparent. The first people to drop out from the ritual are usually the Fourth Crown Petals. The Bloom is seen to be slowly wittering and by the end of the aforementioned week only the Core remains. The bonfire is left to burn out when only the First Crown of Petals remains and when the ashes cool down the ritual is officially over.