History
Known as
The Day of Understandings, and more literally translated as
A'os'el os'Ul'rento, is a
Myrenvellian tradition dating back hundreds of years, when the Myrenvel were exiled from Aeoleyn'Mir and were searching for a home amidst the other forests of Alterra. This understandably resulted in tension between the Myrenvel,
Satyrs, and
Dryads for a short time- but an accord was reached and the previously two peacfully coexisting Satyrs and Dryads now existed in kind with their new Myrenvellian neighbors. To mark this era of unity, the three races held a ceramony in the various Vales, where they would come together to plant tree seeds and saplings in reverence of this peace.
Eventually, as the years marched on, as with all societies, unrest would cultivate and begin to spread. Brother would anger brother- sister would resent sister. And the Myrenvel would bicker as many of the races of Alterra- of any world- are to do. However one village of Myrenvel deep within the Lonevale Forest, who maintained some of the closest ties with their Dryad and Satyr brethren, spoke out. They urged their fellow kin to see reason- to accept peace- to
understand their troubles from the point of the person opposite them, and hopefully allow the past to pass and the future to be brighter and kinder as it was the day the Dryads and Satyrs accepted an entire new species of people into their borders.
Word spread to the other Vales, and slowly but surely, the tradition of taking a day to air grievances and move past them came to be recognized. Similar to the origin of the holiday, it was to be in the middle of autumn- during a time of wilting leaves and cooling air; mirroring the wilting of grudges and cooling of tempers. November the 18th was chosen- the day the original ceramony was held so many moons ago when the forests became Vales and understanding took root far deeper than conflict could reach. On this day, those who held disagreements come together to discuss and hopefully find common ground regarding them. Should they be successful, they join in planting a tree with hopes it germinates in the springtime.
Superstition holds that, should the tree fail to grow, someone involved in the disagreement the seed represented has not let go of their animosity, or still harbors some degree of ill will. Others simply come together on this day to plant trees for the coming year, doing so alongside mutual or individual resolutions; believing that if they hold true to their words, the tree will flourish after the thaw and reflect the strength of their discipline and earnestness to their cause.
Traditions
The Day of Understanding falls on the 18th of November every year, and is recognized in particular by the Myrenvel. They will oftentimes invite close friends to join in the tree planting ceramony, but otherwise use this day as an important time to clear the air with anyone in their lives from lingering misunderstandings to egregious sleights.
- Those with greivances to air will do so before even considering planting any trees- even if only personal resolution trees.
- Should a seed planted to symbolize moving past a disagreement fail to sprout, therefore potentially symbolizing lingering resentment- this does not often lead to increased hostility, but in fact a need for clarification and reassessment of connections, values, or even relationships, depending.
- Some who observe the holiday plant a smaller bonsai tree instead of a full outside tree, so that they may care for and remain attentive to it as a constant reminder of past mistakes and avoiding them in the future; be they from others or enacted themselves.
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