The Great Hike

Within the country of Pagrad on the continent of Rethium, there exists a bird-like race known as the Karasu. 

A bird-like race comprised mainly of females, they are an Amazonian tribe and are known to live in secluded forest villages and camps throughout the country, but those who have been born and raised in different types of environments can become more cultured and connected to the world around them as well as the cultures and lifestyles of those they grow up with.

One of the most well-known tribes of Karasu live in a deep forest, miles away from the expansive plains of the surrounding country, with their numbers in the thousands.

They live a quiet and secluded lifestyle, and are raised to hunt and forage for their food and resources.

 With a lifespan of sixty years of age, there are many events during their life that may act as a coming of age or a rite of passage for them, but amongst the many moments of life that may become so important to the race, one great tradition has lasted for thousands of years, possibly beginning from the first Karasu, the alpha female Nerora and the beta female Laeria who were born at the peak of the branches of a massive tree within the Pagrad territories, long before the countries had even been charted and formally declared by the other countries and mapmakers.

This tradition is a coming of age for the Karasu, and takes place on the fifteenth birthday of every Karasu. They are told by the leader of their tribe to venture from their home and to this great tree from which the Karasu were rumored to have originated, and to climb from the roots of this tree to the great peak standing high above the ground. They must remain at the peak for a full day, praying to the gods for the strength to return home and for a blessing of peace, fertility, bravery and protection for themselves and for their tribe for the remainder of their lives; They also pray for a long life for their tribe's leader in order to provide them with leadership, guidance and continued blessings of bounty for crops and other resources. Depending on which tribe the young Karasu comes from, the journey to this tree can take anywhere from a week to a month at most, during which they are given provisions that may last the duration of this first leg of their journey.

Afterwards, they must rely on their hunting and foraging skills to keep them alive, as well as their given instincts for navigation by the stars and other methods to guide them in the right direction. They are taught to use the four cardinal directions in order to navigate, as well as two other directions that the Karasu believe in, these being Of and Dealm, which translate literally to 'Up' and 'Down' respectively. 

The great tree to which they venture is called The Mother Tree.

Also known as The Great Nest and also The Faithful Tree, this massive plant towers some thousands of meters above the ground, possibly even to a height of over fifteen-thousand feet tall at it's highest recorded point. The descent and return is often regarded as the most treacherous part of the journey as any issues encountered along the way could result in fatal errors or accidents for the party involved, from any rank of injuries to even the possibility of death. For this reason, it is estimated that a total of fifteen percent of those who journey to and from the tree die somewhere along the way to and up the three or on their way away and down from the tree.

Those who do return are tasked also with finding a silver leaf and a small solidified droplet of golden sap from the uppermost parts of the tree in order to prove that they had indeed made the journey to and from their destination.