Sky March of the Iyntali
The ritual of the Sky March is a decennial practice of the Iyntali tribes-people of the Iyntali plains. It marks the gathering of a vast majority of the Iyntali tribes in a singular location in the center of the Iyntali plains, where the tribes can mingle, share stories, prepare for the coming decade, and celebrate their common heritage. Although the Sky March is the name of the specific ritual practice performed at the height of the gathering, the overall gathering has taken the ritual as its namesake.
On the fifth day of the gathering the many tribes each construct bonfires, spread throughout the meeting plains. Those who intend to participate in the ritual spend the days leading up to the ritual night constructing paper lanterns, scrawling glyphs and writings across the surface of the paper of deeds they wish forgiven or fortunes they wish to attain. They also spend the proceeding days visiting other tribes, asking friends and rivals to scrawl their own messages upon the paper. Messages of favor or condemnation are valued equally, as a perceived balance is prized during the Sky March. A lantern alight with only praise and favor will burn before it reaches the clouds above. A lantern weighed down by condemnation and curses will never lift off.
During the night of the ritual those attending take fire from one of the many burning bonfires (not necessarily the bonfire of their personal tribe) and send the lantern into the air where it is believed the fire and air will take their message to Ik-Anj-Bala, an ancient god of the Iyntali tribes, who is believed to live beyond the clouds of the Occultation.
Although it is an honored tradition amongst the tribes, strife and conflict has been known to besmirch the gathering and the ritual. The days leading up the ritual night are often chaotic and marked with wild song and dances, bloody and straining challenges, and even combat. Such chaos can lead to true fights that strain the bonds of shared cultural and tribal understanding. Iyntali history is filled with decades marked by a "Bloody Sky March" where the ritual is besmirched by infighting amongst the Iyntali tribes. A Bloody Sky March is believed to mark either a decade in which the Iyntali plains will be plunged into war, or when tragedy will strike the Iyntali tribes, often both.
In opposite of a Bloody Sky March, history of the Iyntali tribes remarks the rare occasion when the ritual provided an auspicious omen. When the lanterns filling the sky are numerous and impossible to count, with numbers equal to as many of the Iyntali on the ground. When the sky is filled with the twinkling light of flames carrying messages of hope and worry to the clouds above, and not a single lantern burns to early or fails to lift. During such a ritual the Iyntali claim the clouds of the Occultation will open and show the truth beyond. The night sky in its eternal darkness lit with the impossible beauty of countless stars long forgotten. And amongst the stars, the Iyntali can see Ik-Anj-Bala, with his wings unfurled against the backdrop of blackness and stars, shining bright in the heavens.
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