Once a year, the Dashani celebrate the Festival of Words to praise their deity in the sky:
Aziz. They start their day by singing traditional songs, eating small and soft cakes that are only made during the festival days and visiting the
Hall of Aziz in
Parafifi. For a few copper coins, they get a handful of
Words of Aziz each from the priests to receive some advice from their deity and get a glimpse into their future. At dusk, they light small fires inside paper balloons, write their greatest wish onto them and let them raise towards Aziz above them, which is so bright that it is visible even during daytime. Then everyone shares a late meal, where women hand out a special spicy soup from huge pots.
Even people living far away from Parafifi travel the long way to visit the temple, grab their "Words", and meet other family members they do not see the whole year.
Since
Lobal started writing the Words all by herself without letting the
Mungoom influence the result, the tone of the Words has become lighter, and Words with catastrophic advice or dooming prophecies got removed. That also had a positive effect on the festivities. The number of incidents during the official ceremonies has gone down, and fewer people leave the city in ire or fear.
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