Midsummer Gathering

In old Eltiri tradition, midsummer was a celebration of the sun who came to rest atop the world for days on end. It was a time of magic, for it was the time for wishes and divination. It was a festival for life and light and all that was good, and the healthy rains which would follow. And it was a private affair for the salwënëï, who sought guidance and balance for the coming year alone within the bounds of a sacred pala.

Not so for the Merientei, for whom midsummer had become a celebration of community. People gathered from all corners of Ullonwï for many reasons, not the least of which was simple socialization. Meeting of families, telling of tales and learned knowledge. Sharing of their lives to each other, and learning from others in return.

The salwënëï of Merientei gathered to quiet places not alone but together, to convene and hold meeting among each other where others had no business entering. They still sought for wisdom of the woods, though rarely received an answer, and thus confided more in each other than the land and sky around them.

But the highlight of the year was the Anëhtoma, the Assembly, held on top of the hill where the first casualty of the short conflict known to them as Ullonwï Upset came to lose his life. Here the Assembly of Clans met before the people, and for the people, to hear and speak and judge and rule.