The Year and Festivals: THE TWELVE SONGS
The twelve months of the aether's year are called Songs, and each is seen as a part of the natural cycle of the six elements. Every even song has one element reigning dominant over the aether, where it determines the weather and climate, affecting the changing of the seasons. The songs in between are transitional songs that mark many elements working in tandem to shift the seasons.
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The song of one's birth determines one's elemental affinity and connection to one of the Six Sisters. Choose a song for your character to be born under, and consider the elements and Sister associated with it. For transitional songs, a character may have one or more of the listed elements.
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Each song also features a festival celebrated by all the major mortal cultures of the aether. These are times in which diverse peoples come together to honor the passing of the year and those they love.
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I. Dawnsong (January)
Winter. Element/s: Aether, Water, and Void. Guardian Sister: Gaia.
The song of new beginnings and reawakenings. On the first day of the year, the Dawnrise, the first day of the year, ends the Aethersong Festival with a reverence of past bygones and embracing of new futures.
II. Watersong (February)
Winter. Element/s: Water. Guardian Sister: Omaia.
The song of peace, purpose, and acceptance. The Watersong Festival celebrates Omaia's departed spirit by the drinking of blessed water and small gatherings of song and prayer.
III. Lifesong (March)
Spring. Element/s: Water, Air Aether. Guardian Sister: Omaia.
The song of birth, nature, beginnings, and beauty. Its festival Miracula represents praise to all creation and is a time of deep prayer to one's deities. The Mogi are said to only emerge during Lifesong, where they appear as a symbol of the festival.
IV. Windsong (April)
Spring. Element/s: Air. Guardian Sister: Aria.
The song of freedom, happiness, and personal liberation. The Windsong Festival praises Aria and the life-giving winds of change, frequently celebrated with song, dance, and kite flying.
V. Heartsong (May)
Spring. Element/s: Air, Water, Fire. Guardian Sister: Aria.
The song of compassion, love, and kinship. The Devotional is a quiet festival about sharing handmade gifts with loved ones. This is also a frequent time to confess one's love for a potetial mate, or make wishes to future love.
VI. Firesong (June)
Summer. Element/s: Fire. Guardian Sister: Agna.
The song of passion, energy, and determination. The Firesong Festival is a wild nighttime festival of light, passion, revelry, and lust, celebrating Agna and the ferocity of life. It is during Firesong that the Rukora host the Tournament of the Crimson Lily once per decade.
VII. Sunsong (July)
Summer. Element/s: Fire, Air, and Earth. Guardian Sister: Agna.
The song of aspiration, courage, and time. The Sun's Passing is a one-night festival of reverence to the passage of time, observing the dusk and dawn of the summer solstices of the pearls. This is a deeply personal celebration of meditation and pause.
VIII. Earthsong (August)
Summer. Element/s: Earth. Guardian Sister: Tierra.
The song of comfort, security, bounty, and plenty. The Earthsong Festival celebrates nature, hearth, and home, usually with a grand feast shared with neighbors and loved ones. This festival is the most important to the Capry of Fable, who celebrate the Harvest King's arrival at the end of summer.
IX. Evensong (September)
Autumn. Element/s: Fire, Earth, Void. Guardian Sister: Tierra
The song of dreaming, wonder, reflection, and travel. Wanderlust, a time of self-exploration and discovery, of travel to new places or new thoughts. This festival also marks the union of the Sylori nations and the celebration of the Progenitors' liberation of their kind.
X. Voidsong (October)
Autumn. Element/s: Void. Guardian Sister: Nihila.
The song of death, decay, endings, and passion. The Thirteen Nights of Voidsong celebrate death as a part of the cycle of life. Across the aether, people engage in all sorts of dark debauchery in celebration of the Void - a subject rarely broached at any other time of year. While other cultures celebrate dark and wild parties, Vacivian Sylori and Nebulon tend to treat Voidsong with deep reverence.
XI. Moonsong (November)
Autumn, Element/s: Void, Earth, Aether. Guardian Sister: Nihila
The song of quiet reflection, memory, and reverence for the dead. Moon's Vigil, held on the first full moon of the month, is a lantern-lighting festival to honor the departed.
XII. Aethersong (December)
Season: Winter, Element/s: Aether, Guardian Sister: Gaia
The song of generosity, altruism, spirituality, and kindness. The Twelve Days of Aethersong is the largest of all festivals, centered around twelve days of gift-giving and love with each day reflecting the experiences of the previous songs. On the final day, feasts are held across the aether in reverence to the memories, loves, and losses of the past year.