Fire Breach Festival

As the hot season progresses and the lands grow dry, the eucalyptus of Levis and the twisted undergrowth becomes a risk of bushfire. The lands of the continent have always had adventure in their heart, and the breach festival is a way of securing Vertus from the flames of some of the drier summers.

Under the watchful eyes of the Grandmother, the people gather at the edge of the town and light a long line of spot fires into the underbush. Mages then push the fire deeper into the forest. Should a fire grow out of control the procured mages will bare the brunt of the extinguishing, though volunteers will be on hand with sand and spells of simple kinetic push to keep them safe in manual extinguishing the fire before it goes from simple bushfire into raging inferno.

To compliment the burning itself, a small ditch is maintained between town and forest, on all sides, and during the morning before the festival, the strongest few spend time clearing the ditch of any dry kindling that might enable the fire to double back.

On dry years, the burning is then followed by drinking and eating until the wee hours of the night. The next few days are spent heading into the burnt scrub, checking for injured animals to tend to, and growing seedlings to coax into growing stronger. The image of Infertanis that lines the wall of one of the buildings of Vertus is often touched up during this night, a silence pledge by those who believe in a prayer for new life and new growth.

In the damper years, a ceremonial fire is lit, for the festival itself is a preventative method so that the natural rebirth of the forest does not take Vertus itself.

The lands around Levis are prone to long periods of drought, the Starfall River shrinking, the topsoil drying into a crusty dust. The floods that often break the droughts often provide their own problems, but rainwater tanks and ground set collection tanks hold the populace safe, but also restrict how big the towns and cities are want to get.

Red bean char

A common snack after the burnoff, the dish consists of an ash cooked leavy green (like kale for the humans). Added to this are char grilled acretia leaves, pepper medallions, and button mushrooms. The vertus chilli mix is mixed through a red bean blend, and a mushroom puree is poured overtop the entire mix.

Post-bushfire recovery in Australia by Neal Herbert

Primary Related Location

Vertus