Welcome to Gaia! ::

Solo or RP Format
Counts as 5 RP growth Points
Solo word minimum is 750, RP post minimum is 7

Bane wasn't one who enjoyed celebrating in the many festivals of Tendaji. However, there was one thing she could appreciate, and that was the spiritual practices that came with the turning of the tides. Both the Moakai and the Hapuna respected the ocean, in different ways but still based on the same currents. As a result, the summer festivals of Tendaji were something she looked forward to, both for their symbolism of the coming hunting season and the opportunity to reflect and thank the Mother Ocean, Iokaila. While others see the festivals as an opportunity for the diverse community to come together and celebrate their respective gods. To Bane, these festivals represent humility, appreciation for nature, and a chance to honor the gods of the sea.

For the Moakai, summer is a time when our underwater world becomes even more vibrant and teeming with life. As the sun's rays penetrate the surface of the water deeper than before, the corals bloom in a riot of colors, and the aquatic creatures become more active. The Moakai offer gratitude for the bountiful harvests of fish and other underwater treasures that begin to thrive under the warmth of the summer. The Mother Ocean, Iokaila, represents the sustenance the Moakai derive from the ocean and the harmony they share with it. To Bane, Iokaila embodies the interconnectedness of the people with the sea, reminding them to be stewards of their aquatic home. As a huntress, it was not just gathering the best kill, but also giving back to the ocean so they could thrive for years to come.

The summer festivals also serve as a time for personal reflection and spiritual connection. Bane always spent a significant amount of time in the water, and the hunting festivals provide a chance to seek guidance and blessings for a successful season. Bane prays for safety, abundance, and a deep understanding of the sea's mysteries. Some of the festival rituals, including lighting bioluminescent lanterns and singing hymns in harmony with the ocean's gentle currents, create a profound sense of peace and belonging that even she cannot resist being drawn to.

The final act of the festival of the hunt is to go out as a group in a hunting competition. Many of the Moakai compete to see who can bring in the biggest, or the most kills. Bane used to find herself drawn in to the competitive spirit, but now she prefers to go for skill over quantity. Her weapons were sharp, but she lacked the skill to shoot down creatures with a bow. Instead, she used the darkness of the deep to sneak up on the glowing creatures, and finally snagged a kill she would dress in honor of Iokaila. The other hunters returned, some cheering and others a bit at a loss, but all ate well that night as they celebrated another year of a bounty from their mother goddess.

In the past, when Etana was still around, Bane would occasionally be dragged toward the lands of the Hapuna to celebrate with Pello and his family. Now that the two of them had traveled the world, she felt a bit lonely. It wasn't necessarily an emotion she encountered every day, but the sickness would come and go whenever she thought about her sister. Maybe next year, she would find a way to get to Etana and celebrate together, especially if her sister was set on living in the mainland of Tendaji. Bane would never settle there, at least not in this lifetime, and so she would need to make the trips to ensure Pello was treating her sister right.

Heaven's forbid if the two ended up having their own clutch of children. Such a thought was not unwelcome, but Bane wanted to drown herself in the thought of being an aunty that took care of her sister's kids. At least until they were old enough to hunt, then Bane would make sure they knew their way around the ocean and the tools necessarily to make a clean kill.

Smirking at the thought of raising a brood of hunters, Bane was much more optimistic at the concept of children, and maybe even found it tolerable of a thought for her own brood. Shaking her head, she found herself wandering away from the final celebrations, fire explosions in the sky mimickng the colors of the sea, instead sitting farther in the waves and just loosing herself in the pull of her great mother goddess. A festival tradition she shared with none.