Emberlight Festival

Twice a year, a large celebration throught Esteneth marks the end of a harvest cycle and the start of the next one. The Emberlight Festival is celebrated in every village and settlement to accompany the cleansing by fire of the fields. With this ritual the people of Esteneth make sure the invasive and ever present moss doe snot infect and overgrow the fields.   The festival is celebrated over several days, after the harvest has been brought in. The preparation and conservation of most of the harvest leads to a big celebratory meal in the plaza of the village. The food is simple and as typical for Esteneth, a lot of Whitebitter Roots is prepared with othe rvegetables to create many types of dishes.   The meal typically turns into a great dance spectacle, where everybody is taking part in. Apparently, most couples in Esteneth can trace their origin to one of these festivals - as well as the origins of their first offspring.   The following day focuses on preparation of the fire cleansing. Part of the village will spend the early day cleaning the village while others are preparing small effegies on top of the fields the fields as well as a barrier of treated planks along the fields. The planks are treated with various substances that allow for a controlled burn without typically endangering the village. On the other hand the Effigies are doused in a substance that apparently increase the heat and speed of burning immensely.   After a small ceremony in the evening, the villagers spread out to light all the effigies. Watching the fields burn is a surprisngly somber moment, especially after all the celebrations. Most adults stay awake until the last ember has been extinguished.   The next morning, many villagers dressed in black dance across the field in silence - the Ashen Dance. With this, they welcome the new harvest cycle and thank for the chance to keep their fields free from the threateniung moss for additional months.  

Observations

We believe this fire cleansing is one of the main contributing factors, how Esteneth was able to fight of the spread of moss for so many centuries.

We also believe this festival explains the high fertility and birth rate in Esteneth. There is not necessarily any magical influence beyond this mundane factor.

It is remarkable how the villagers control the burns. Specificly treated planks border all fields and are able to hold off the flames for several hours.