The Festival of the Winds
Referred to simply as "the winds" or "the Grand Festival", the Festival of the Winds is a yearly tradition in the territory of the Tsardom of the Vaegirs that has been attributed to the worship of Saint Aethelstan. The festival is held at the same time as a natural phenomenon known as the "Northern Lights", which is a 1-2 week period in the depth of Felnight (Seasons) during which the currents of the winds of magic coalesce across the Northern peninsula of the continent to create bright prismatic lights from the sky at all times of the day.
The Fesitval of the Winds is such a momentous occasion in Vaegir society that, while officially the new year beginnings on the first day of Raimunt, most Vaegirs believe that it truly starts on the first day of the "Grand Festival".
History
The beautiful hues of Blue, Green, and Volet light that shine from the Northern Lights have mesmerized mortals since time immemorial, and the phenomenon is known to spread far to the North to the traditional homeland of the Vaegir peoples. The Vaegirs once worshipped the lights as a sign from their old gods that they were still favoured, as it would empower their druids to be able to perform the most spectacular magical miracles. Of course Vaegir druids and scholars now know that this is simply because the lights are caused by a particularly strong flow of the winds of magic. This growth of knowledge, combined with the conversion of the Vaegirs to the worship of the Pantheon of the God of Order has led to an evolution of the celebrations to being in honour of Saint Aethelstan as the patron saint of holy magics.
Execution
The festivals every year are preceded by a day spent by most entirely indoors, avoiding all lights to the best of their ability. This is done for two reasons. The first is that it makes the lights seem that much more brilliant when seen. The second reason is to provide time to reflect on the past year, and the ways in which the next can be better, to maintain hope for the future through the rest of the dark and cold Felnight. It is considered a great honor to be invited into a family's home to take part in their preparations for The Winds.
Whereas Vaegir society is often heavily focused on warfare, the Festival of the Winds is used as a chance to explore the more creative and peaceful sides of their culture. Many towns and cities hold grand art exhibitions, where the creations of the artists, artisans, and musicians from across their realm are showcased. The largest of these is the Grand Exhibition held in Balgard, where one can find the most beuatiful art, the most soothing music, and the best of all kinds of Vaegir crafts from bone carving to ale brewing.
In addition, the druids of the North use this as the best time to showcase their abilities not related to combat or survival, and will often try and out-do each other in creating miracles for the betterment of all using the intense magical winds. For example, a druid named Festimir managed to weave a spell that created a small localized micro-climate in what is now the royal gardens of Balgard. While the climate of the North is still bitterly cold and inhospitable during much of the year, in the royal gardens it is always warm and humid, perfect for growing fruit trees and other exotic luxuries. The royal gardens are open to all, and are safeguarded closely so that all the people of the city can have a chance to take a stroll through it's lush vegetation and even pick a fruit or two.
The Druids will also take turns to conduct a festival-long spectacle called "the shaping of the winds", during which they will use their control of the winds to form the lights into the shapes of the great beasts and creatures of the North, like Polar Bears, Whales, Sabre-tooth Tigers, and Elk. After this shaping though, the magical creatures will often take on movements and actions of their own, creating almost a living ecosystem in the sky. On occasion, a sorcerer of the North will discover their attunement to the winds when a great creature formed in the sky will come down to Earth to touch them. Such sorcerers are known as "spirit touched", and it is said that their future magics and temperament will forever be shaped by the magical spirit that chose to come down from the sky to meet them.
Participants
The Druids are the leaders of the festivals, and many will even travel into towns and cities from their wilderness homes to take part in and lead the celebrations. Northern druids are in many ways like the Wizards of the The Calradian Empire, except that they grow their magical power not by study, but by learning to shape and form the magical winds that flow through the trees of the North, hence their deep attachments to Nature. They are not Fey worshippers though, and are adamant that they instead tune into a kind of magic left to them by the Saints to discover.
Each city will normally have a chief Druid who will be in charge of the preparations for each year's festival. This individual is usually an elder who has deep connections to the entire community, and who is exceptionally talented in shaping the winds. This role is so important that powerful Druids fighting wars have been recalled to their home city to run the festival, rather than fighting at the front.
Observance
Due to the winds never coming at exactly the same time each year, the druids will assess the winds and inform everyone as far in advance as possible of when they anticipate them to come. In the current day, the Druids have become accurate enough to accurately estimate the day the Winds arrive as early as 2 weeks in advance.
with very few exceptions, The Winds usually arrive between the 25th and 33rd of Felnight.
Important Locations
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