The Blessings from the Sky (Ya-mash-ka)
Ymask, the Blessings from the Sky, is a Gnomish cultural and religious ritual that occurs each spring all over Ymir. It is especially important in the Goldenfields region where agricultural crops are vital to the region's economy and way of life.
Execution
Preparations prior to the date of the ritual can take anywhere from a week to a month. Each village in the Goldenfields region decorates a special "Village Wagon" with colorful paintings of flowers, growing plants, bees, and other signs of spring. These Ymask wagons are large, typically twice the size of farm wagons, and pulled by the finest draft animals in the village. Loaded down with barrels of food and drink, carefully saved over winter for that purpose, village elders make a pilgrimage to the nearest Monastery, or other specified sites near dragon lairs with their offerings. While the elders make their journey, the village farmers and herdsmen prepare their lands for the Blessings. Seeds are sown, weeds are removed, orchards pruned, and livestock moved from winter barns to pastures. Their work is timed to ensure it is completed before the elders arrive at their destination, and if needed, the entire village will turn out to make sure every acre of agricultural land is ready in time.
Unless tasked with specific duties by the Five, many dragons gorge themselves before winter and sleep through the cold months deep within their lairs. During that time their fall feasts are slowly digested, sustaining their sleeping forms until spring. Like a bear emerging from its den, dragons awaking at the end of winter are famished. The Ymash wagons provide their first meal of the spring. By tradition, the gnomish elders time their arrival to the first day of the month of First Greening (the second month of Fere’ca by the elven calendar). The dragons likewise time their awakening to the smell of the arriving wagons of food. Once they have feasted, the dragons repay the gnomes' kindness by flying over their respective fields, pastures, orchards, and forests and ... relieving themselves.
Deemed crude and demeaning by the first Seranese ambassador to witness the ritual, the gnomes are quick to correct this misperception. Having spent months within the dragon, soaking in the life-giving magical energies, the draconic droppings are a potent fertilizer. Beyond their natural nutrient content, the magical energies spread far through the soil and affect all manner of plant life. Seeds in Blessed fields sprout and grow quickly. The plants are hardier and yield in quantity and quality. Likewise Blessed vineyards yield the plumpest grapes and Blessed orchards the most scrumptious apples. The fecundity of the Goldenfields region owes much to centuries of Blessings from the Sky. This breadbasket of the world, that feeds the bustling cities of Simpra and Seran, would yield far less were it not for this ritual of mutual cooperation between Gnomes and dragons.
Unless tasked with specific duties by the Five, many dragons gorge themselves before winter and sleep through the cold months deep within their lairs. During that time their fall feasts are slowly digested, sustaining their sleeping forms until spring. Like a bear emerging from its den, dragons awaking at the end of winter are famished. The Ymash wagons provide their first meal of the spring. By tradition, the gnomish elders time their arrival to the first day of the month of First Greening (the second month of Fere’ca by the elven calendar). The dragons likewise time their awakening to the smell of the arriving wagons of food. Once they have feasted, the dragons repay the gnomes' kindness by flying over their respective fields, pastures, orchards, and forests and ... relieving themselves.
Deemed crude and demeaning by the first Seranese ambassador to witness the ritual, the gnomes are quick to correct this misperception. Having spent months within the dragon, soaking in the life-giving magical energies, the draconic droppings are a potent fertilizer. Beyond their natural nutrient content, the magical energies spread far through the soil and affect all manner of plant life. Seeds in Blessed fields sprout and grow quickly. The plants are hardier and yield in quantity and quality. Likewise Blessed vineyards yield the plumpest grapes and Blessed orchards the most scrumptious apples. The fecundity of the Goldenfields region owes much to centuries of Blessings from the Sky. This breadbasket of the world, that feeds the bustling cities of Simpra and Seran, would yield far less were it not for this ritual of mutual cooperation between Gnomes and dragons.
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