Legends of Belariath
The Quest of Festivals Common
Layne - Festivals of Oakleaf Treetown
In the deep forests of Sylvaneth dwells the Oakleaf treetown (45 miles NE of Nanthalion). Like all sylvan elves, this band loves song, music, and nature. The speaker who led them from a nomadic tribe found this fertile land with tall trees and proclaimed it to be the heart of the new Oakleaf treetown nearly four generations past (elven generations that is).
Newtide
During the vernal equinox, elves celebrate their gift of song. They believe this time of year to be a new beginning. It is a time to celebrate the shifting from the cold of winter to the time of spring and new hope. During this period, elves take one week to be kind to one and other. They make great musical instruments and exchange them with elves that have been randomly appointed. These elves believe that their strength lies in their unity, and the Newtide brings them new hope and helps them realize how lucky they are to have one and other. For this week, they will be polite, they will make gifts to their loved ones, they will spend the week in nothing but merriment, and on the last day they will exchange their instruments. In that night the elves gather up under the stars in the center of their tree town and each will play a tune or sing a ballad. With the song and music they greet their Goddess Kanara and thank her for creating them and giving them the gift of song and music. This time of celebration of their love of music and song this brings them closer for they share their most inner emotions—a gift made by oneself. Because of this, the elf may not have assistance with the crafting of the instrument or the writing of song and tune.
Elfling Rise
Elfling rise is the time of transition from childhood to adulthood. At this life point, the elf is asked to perform a quest. This quest could be something simple and is most often chosen at the suggestion of the elf’s parents to test the young elf's wisdom. The elf will not be informed of it. Instead, his parents will go to the Speaker and tell him that their elfling is no longer a child. Together, they will create a test that could be as simple as sending the would-be adult out into the woods to gather up some rare and exotic flowers, spices, or rocks. The task is never too dangerous and the elf will be followed and watched at all times. If the elfling passes the test, there will be a great celebration and his parents will introduce the new adult into their Oakleaf society. The new adult will get many important lectures about nature, balance and the cycle of life. These elves value wisdom greatly, so after the celebration the elf will be lectured for up to an entire week before being sent to a secluded place so he may meditate on the year past and things to come and the things he learned.
Bladesong
During winter solstice the elves of the Oakleaf band celebrate one of their greatest warriors, Amaranth Oakleaf. This great warrior defended their first camps from the hordes of goblin that endangered their forest. His style of fighting is now called the Bladesong. The bladesong mesmerized every opponent. Amaranth would hum a tune while his blades sliced through the wind with a whistling sound. For this festival, the Oakleaf elves try to honor him by making contests of skill with sword. Although these elves are peaceful, they are well aware of the many dangers in the world, and so they value their fighting skills greatly. Before the contests is held, the Speaker tells the tale of Amaranth Oakleaf in their Tree town center to all the elves while actors perform as Trolls and ogres and other monsters. It is a play to reenact the events that took place and demonstrates the value of the bladesong. At the end of the contest, naturally the fey elves celebrate with song and dance and the young apprentices perform choreographed battles to the sound of music.
Day of the Hunt
This Oakleaf elves honor their God of hunting Halesar by forming small hunting parties. This takes place during fall before the great winter. At this point the skins and meat of animals are greatly valued as a reminder to the elves of their troubled times when they were still a nomad band. They do not hunt for sport because they respect every creature in the forest and they know well the harsh conditions of the cold winters. Because of this, they offer moments of prayer and sacrifice to their God Halesar. During this celebration, the hunters wear their unique ceremonial hunting clothes while they mimic all aspects of the hunt—representing both the parts of the hunter and the pretty. The day ends with a ritual that is seem feral and wild and uses rudimental instruments like the drums and has wild and chaotic dances.
Lethlal nathlan
Another celebration from these fey elves is Lethlal Nathlan that means “Land we call Home” in their sylvan elvish. This celebration takes place every second full moon of the year and celebrates the founding of the Oakleaf treetown. Thanks are given to the gods and the day is spent in meditation and prayer so they may appraise the things they have and thank the gods for blessing them. At the end of the day, they gather up in celebration and enjoy a nice dinner that they share at the town center. At nightfall, they have a ball and practice their famous dance: Rysh o' doon, which consists of trios, dancing entangling them selves and disentangling them selves. It's more complicated than it seems, the dancers start by standing in front of each other and holding the others hands, they spin in a circle and then they work with their high dexterity and as one crouches the other jumps over him and that's when the entangling begins. The trio who gets more entangled is the one that moves ahead and the tune quickens the pace and the real test comes when at the end of the tune they have to disentangle from each other. The music is soft at first and quickly gains speed and rises to a loud beat as the dance progresses.
Lavender wish
This celebrated by some of the more superstitious elves; they consider twins with blonde and lavender eyes to be a good omen. So when twins are born that have this physical traits, the elves make a wish This wish is usually nature bound and might be for good health or to meet true love. Totems are gathered to represent these wishes and are then placed upon an altar to Leassa, the goddess of fertility. Time is spent in communion and prayer to the goddess. They believe that the goddess will let them know, in some strange way that she was pleased and will grant them their wish. This began as a way for females who could not bare children to pray for the gift of motherhood. Over the years, the elves changed that and started praying for things other than children. This celebration has no standard day or month. It occurs only upon the birth of twins with lavender eyes.