The Red Shadow Festival

-How should we honor Zari?

-Follow her example.

-Live the life she couldn't.

-And celebrate her legend.

Karan is a little town at south of Gaella. This was the birthplace of Zari also know as Zari - Red Shadow. The people of this town celebrate their most famous hero with a festival in her honor once a year in the night of the tenth new moon. This tradition started the year after Zari's victory. Karan's citizen continued with this celebration ever since.

-Our child will be Zari!

-I had no doubt he will be choosen. That kid is been obsessed with her since we told him her story.

The preparation for The Red Shadow Festival begins a few months before when the town choose the individuals that would play the part of Zari and her comrades. The group of rebels who defeated the invaders. It's a high privilege to represent Zari and her group, because it means the people choosen to take part in the main activity of the festival are people know for following their example to defend justice and their land.

Although only a selected group is the central atraction of the festival, almost everyone is involved somehow. People make contributions in different ways: building the spaceship mockup, making real size dolls to represent the invaders, preparing accomodation for the tourist that visit the town to be part of the festival, making food, drinks, building stands, etc.

-This year I will go to Karan to be part of The Red Shadow Festival!

-And you only had to wait ten years?

-You're jealous because they rejected your aplication.

-I didn't know following The Red Code was so important.

-That's because you're dumb.

On the tenth new moon, as happened when Zari sacrificed her live in order to defeat her enemy, the choosen people to play their part as Red Shadow and her soldiers perform the same movements around the town and the forest killing the enemies. Of course no one is killed. The enemies are dolls moved like puppets and the weapons are toys. That doesn't mean is less exciting. People all over the world waits years to get in the list of tourists allowed to observe this festival.

The grand finale of the representation is the explosion of the spaceship mockup. After the explosion participants set up many bonfires, dance and consume all kinds of food and drinks to celebrate the victory of their ancestors. The celebration extends until the participants are tired, usually a night and day after the explosion, But there has been some memorable occassions when the festival lasted five days.

Zari's glory will live forever in the fire of our hearts.