Snowfall

The world of Tumulus is always in some state of turmoil and war. Even at it's most peaceful, the machinations of power are relentless. Yet, the World itself does not follow that same method, as with many other places in the grand web of existence they too experience the season of rest, of cessation, of preservation.

Despite the ignorance of war for the natural cycles, there was one time that Winter did not let them ignore it, and in it's a wake a mere moment of calm and peace did in fact come to the people as it did to the land.

History

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Many Primordials live throughout Tumulus, even if not all are as influential as those that created species. They are outlets of nature and natural elements, making them as plentiful as the world itself, and so much like nature, they too can become dangerous in sudden ways.

In the year 124, at the eve of Winter as marked by the stellar calendar, the Primordial of Ice, Imperator Crystallus, suddenly went berserk. They were typically reclusive, only sighted on rare occasions marked by a luminescence in the sky and typically off of cold coastal waters. But, on that day, those colors became bands of sharp crystal, raining down upon the people of Tumulus.

While mostly centered around the main continents of Domus Angelorum and Terra Coccinea, dark clouds would spread this event even to Ao Akua and potentially further beyond Tumulus.

Those with skills in speaking with these entities tried to reason with the primordial, but found not success. Eventually, the further threat become obvious, as not only was this storm raining dangerous crystals, but a deathly chill that choked out even the hardiest of life.

The Valkyrians and Voxaureans, who were in the midst of a more brutal campaign before this disaster began, decided that a truce was necessary to end this calamity, and joined their powers together in order to slay the Primordial.

With assistance from the Ao Akuans who knew how to move through the waves easier than anyone else, the armies met Imperator Crystallus in the middle of the northern ocean, attacking Their glacial fortress and loyal lesser primordials.

It was a titanic conflict, one that brought the nations to the brink even fighting in harmony. Luckily, they had the aid of the Stellar Isle and their faithful, who had their trump card. This was before the Firmament Disaster, when the Astral Divinities were more directly connected to the people of Tumulus, so with the power of the faithful and the necessary cost, the Gods themselves joined the battle.

Even in the mad state of power that possessed Them, Imperator Crystallus was no match for the full might of the Astral Divinities, especially with their people banded together.

It is at this point a key figure enters the story, Columbina Ur. She was a young girl who had only recently joined the military of Valkyria, but she was a lucky child. Throughout the battle while her company was beaten and bruised, she remained standing, and when the death throes of Imperator Crystallum were buffeting even the Gods, she remained steadfast and marched through them. In her fortune, she found a spear created by Dux Ursi, the Amber Goddess of War, that had escaped her grasp.

Perhaps the most fortunate thing, though, was that she had not lost her heart. Even as combat raged, and the Primordial seemed all but monstrous, when Columbina Ur had stepped close enough to pierce the weakened primordial's heart, she stopped to ask the simplest question one can ask.

"Why?"

While none would hear the answer from the primordial's lips, They did speak it to the spear maiden. And then, Their core was pierced, and the disaster ceased, the piercing daggers of crystal turning to soft dots of snow around the world, and the deathly chill replaced with a cold yet gentle touch. As the world returned to a hushed state, Columbina Ur passed along the truth behind Their actions.

Imperator Crystallum loved the world, even to Their last moment, but found it harder and harder to do so with the core of the people embroiled in senseless war. The snow coated in blood, the ice cracked to drown enemies, the beasts of winter slaughtered in their prime and in excess to feed armies, or the countless losses that were just collateral. They could not bear it any longer, and so sought to encase the world in ice and winter, uniting them in an eternal sleep, preserving them in purest crystal.

While the woes of the Primordial were not enough to step the tensions or desires between the two powerful nations, it did move them in this moment. For the several weeks the campaign against Imperator Crystallum took, the armies slept together, ate together, tended each others wounds, and shared songs, stories, and mementos of their homes. It was hard to ignore what they had in common.

The Great Astral Chalice at the time, leader of the faith, decreed that a week-long ceasefire and mourning period would be enacted on behalf of the Primordial, and those lost in the conflict. After that week, all armies would depart their unified location, and return to their homes for yet another week, and only after that would any military movement begin again. Begrudgingly, the powers that be accepted, as it was hard to argue with not just the will of the people, but the mortal voice of the Gods while those entities were still in summoning-distance.

And so, with the threat of an eternal winter culled, and a week of divine mandated peace, the citizens of Tumulus shared merriment and joy with one another with a belated celebration of the Solstice, in all the various ways those people celebrated it. Despite schemes and tensions festering in many a mind, the ceasefire held, even as the armies packed up and went their separate ways.

A decade passed before this fond memory of unity would become a pan-Tumulus holiday, with the Stellar Isle declaring it from the 10th to 24th of every Erudite Month, honoring those dates of peace and the Primordial who wished for them.

There is another legacy for this story as well, as once the battle was over, one of the powerful Clans among the Valkyries, the Randgriz Clan, saw the strength of Columbina and her mercy, and embraced her as one of the branch clans, creating Clan Uruz, known for their skills as great Healers.

Execution

As a broad holiday, there are few strict Snowfall traditions. Mostly, it is just a time where peace is mandated, and people gather. Other than that, it is seasoned by the various cultures different solstice traditions, although community feasts and gift giving are ubiquitous.

There is one social tradition that is a part of Snowfall itself, and that's The Dawnspear. To begin the festivities, or the ceasefire in the case of active battlegrounds, a simple spear with a wooden handle and metal point, typically silver or iron polished to a shine, will be raised into the sky at the first light of dawn on the 10th, and the last light of dusk on the 24th. What happens to the spear afterwards is left up in the air, either being kept by the wielder to use throughout the year, bestowed on a celebrated member of the community, or used for other ceremonial purposes.

Cultural Variations

Snowfall, as a broad holiday period which only has a mandate of peace as it's core necessity, has a lot of variety in different parts of Tumulus, and generally folds in other winter traditions.

• The Valkyrians largely spread their tradition of Vinterskal throughout the period of Snowfall, with various feast days to highlight certain tales or foods, and the communal sharing of specialized mead in village longhouses.
• The Stormriders and the Beastfolk of Gens Populi both have traditions and tales about The Wild Hunt, a horde of spirits, primordials, demons, you name it, that blows through the first winter winds on a massive hunting expedition. Where they differ is their place in that hunt, as the Stormriders engage in hunting and feasting exercises, while the Beastfolk perform to deter the hunt from coming their way and gather indoors for celebrations to ride the time out.
• Winter is less harsh on Terra Coccinea, so their traditions largely center around the longer nights as the most prominent change. The Voxaureans celebrate with fire shows and emblems of gold, the Giants hunt massive Fireflies and paint luminescent murals, and the Dwarves come together to craft suncatchers and stained glass art to catch the fleeting light. Even the lower non-citizen classes keep lanterns lit and mark the winter stars as traditional celebrations.
• Ao Akua also doesn't feel the winter's sting as harshly, but the waters do tend to get choppier in their neck of the proverbial woods, and so they make final grand fishing voyages, tell stories of divine monsters in the water wrestling to stir up the waves, and dance on the beaches to say a light goodbye, as they won't be as safe to spend time there during the rougher season.
• The Stellar Isle, the territories controlled by the church that is, largely do not respond to the changing of the season in environmental ways. Instead, their traditions focus around tales of the Lunar Court, who reach their greatest time of influence in the winter months as their Asterisms move into view across the "firmament". Meanwhile, the Fae become the literal Wild Hunt, engaging in a storm of revelry and ferocity to shake off the energy of their Seelie states as the cold changes them to the Unseelie, where they become much broodier and sullen. It also serves to gather a whole smorgasbord of delights for them to feast on to celebrate this change as well, as despite their small size many a Fae has appetites beyond other mortals comprehension.