The Great Fall
The Great Fall is one of the most sacred festivals among the Withered Elves, celebrated during the height of autumn when the forests are ablaze with color and decay begins its sacred work. It marks the start of the rot season, when the veil between life and death thins, and the fungal gods are closest to the mortal world.
History
The Great Fall is not a mourning of death, but a celebration of surrender—an acceptance that all things must pass so that others may rise. It is both funeral and feast, a time to honor the fallen, nourish the earth, and commune with the fungal spirits that guide the cycle of decay.
It is also the time when the Whispering Rot is said to bloom most vividly beneath the ground, pulsing with the memories of all that has died in the past year.
Execution
- Fleshfeeding Offerings: Deceased loved ones or animals are ceremonially laid in shallow earth beds, overgrown with sacred fungus. Their decay is seen as a gift to the pantheon, and their bones may later be woven into reliquary trees or memory totems.
- The Leafburn Liturgy: Elders and Rot-Speakers conduct a public burning of brilliantly colored leaves gathered over weeks. The resulting ash is mixed with soil and fungal spores to consecrate new life—often sprinkled over crops, graves, or children.
- Spore Communion: Participants don spore-laced masks and inhale specially cultivated Whisper Spores, entering brief trances where they claim to speak with ancestors, fungal spirits, or the Rot itself.
- The Hollow Song: Performed by the Hollow Choir, this haunting chant rises at dusk and continues into the night. It mimics the tone of falling leaves and cracking bark, calling the spirits to gather and witness the passing of the season.
Observance
The Great Fall is not merely a local observance—it defines the Withered Elves’ worldview. Outsiders often find the celebrations unsettling, but to the Withered, it is the most honest festival in existence: a time to embrace change, honor decay, and feed the future.
Children are taught that “to fall is not to fail, but to prepare the soil.”
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