"Everyone on this ship is here for a reason. Erevard wants to restore his family, Reigus is following orders, I think the captain is just the type to risk it all for fun, Ahriin was called by the winds. Me, I'm here to throw some dirt into the sky."— Eryen Gostolva to Oyun Zayany
Origins
Long ago, before the
Fahraean people had taken on that name, before they had left their home, a time when they still lived near the edge of
Breharan, they had a ritual to praise the
Lifemother. At the age of sixteen, each person would go to the edge and look out over the open sky, speak a prayer of thanks for having soil to stand on, and return a bit of soil from the village to the sky so that the
Lifemother may create more skyislands.
After this ritual, an individual was accepted as an adult by the community and allowed to make their own decisions regarding their future.
The Long Way Home
After the
Fahraeans left their ancestral homeland and settled in one of
Grara's many landlocked counties, the ritual continued but not quite like it was before. The prayer, the offering of earth, and the social acceptance of adulthood remained the same but what was once a simple walk out of town became a journey.
Often taking the better part of a season, this pilgrimage takes people from
Fahraea to any edge of
Breharan. They travel through unfamiliar towns, meet unfamiliar people, eat unfamiliar food, and sleep in unfamiliar beds.
This has allowed
Fahraean's to establish friendships, find work, and even meet soulmates all across the skycontinent - though mostly in
Grara. Their presence is commonly accepted by people who recognize them as pilgrims and they often come easily across accommodations on their journey.
As the rite is now considerably more dangerous it is sometimes performed in pairs or small groups by children of a similar age. Those who have completed their rite alone think this is a poor decision and prevents them from interacting with as many people leading them to not gain as much as those who did it alone; however, the people who say that are the ones who did it alone and also made it back.
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