Aenar retreat

A 100 years ago, at the beginning of the war for freedom for the people of Gaipia from the rule of the Orgesian Dynasty, they sent their women and young girls into the forests with a local Tudic guide. The women stayed there until the end of the war, 12 months later. This was to protect them from King Steffan, who wanted to take them away. The year after the war ended, many women wanted to show their appreciation for their protection during the war. Started what they call the Aenar retreat. Called such because they had discovered the Aenar temple during their 12-month hiding. This is where they would follow a Tudic guide into the forests and survive for 12 days. Each day represented a month that they had been hidden during the war. On their return, there is a huge celebration. It is in honor of the women who survived, to those who kept them safe, and the end of the war.
  Slowly over the years, this ritual has changed from a way to remember the sacrifice and war to a coming of age for women.
  This change started when many of the older married women of Gaipia decided that they just couldn’t or didn’t want to make the journey. Instead, they stayed behind and prepared a fantastical celebration for when they would return. The second change came when the Tudic guides put an age limit on these trips. They wouldn’t allow girls under the age of 12 to come. The reason was that it wasn’t safe for them, as more and more mothers did not join their daughters on these trips. Next, the celebration became more of an opportunity for the young males to see if they could find a wife. So now the only women who made the 12-day journey were unwed.
  It was not just the celebration and who went that has changed. The days in the forest have also changed. They went from having to completely figure out how to live off the forest to camps with classes and activities to help understand how to live in the forest if need be.