Day of Winds

Performed since the founding of the Stormkeepers, the holiday started as a humble prayer (now known as the First Prayer) to Artival to protect them from being destroyed by a particularly bad storm. Artival intervened and in thanks the men and women whom Artival saved constructed a temple to him and repeated the prayer every year during a storm. The prayer eventually turned into a ritual involving washing ones hands in blessed rainwater, reciting several pieces of script from the Wavewind Parables, and lighting candles which are then exposed to the elements as the storm reaches its zenith.

At the beginning of the church service, all attendants light a candle and place it on one of the stone mantles that line the church. Then the High Priest of the church leads the rest of the group in a recitation of the story of the origins of the holiday, and ends with a prayer to Artival. After this, priests bring in buckets of rainwater that are collected from the storm and pour them into a special basin. The High Priest blesses the water and all present wash their hands in the basin while priests chant the First Prayer of the stormkeepers. Finally, the attendees all wait for the storm to reach its most violent point, and then they take their candles and rush outside to have the rain and wind put the flame out. The High Priest releases the congregation. Usually people stay at the church and talk while the storm passes.

The holy water basin that holds the rainwater before it is blessed by the High Priest, enough candles for the entire crowd of people celebrating the holiday, and a flame to light the candles with.

The High Priest is the only person actually required during the service, as they are trained to perform all rites by themselves. Additional priests and followers of the religion can help ease some of the work that they have to do though.

During the Spring in first storm in Juq.