Event/Holiday/Legend/System (whichever apply-- I'm not quite certain): The Matching
Date: Sporadic, as determined by the Stone (detailed below)
Details:
The Matching appears to be a divine interlude in the lives of the Akalak and Konti people. This tradition, which seems to occur 'according to need', is best described through the story of its founding:
Up near Mura, a group of Konti women had taken to frequenting the sacred Crystal Cavern in the hope of invoking Avalis' aid. These Konti implored the goddess for children, for the sake of the Konti race, for the opportunity for the all-female community to expand their families and successfully bring more new daughters into the world.
One day after prayer, a Konti with the gift of opportunistic intuition (a seer of sorts) found herself compelled to go further, further into the caves than she had ever been before. The other women followed, trusting her gift, but became concerned when they traveled deeper and deeper into the chill, damp depths, bypassing even the most resilient of the caves' flora and fauna. Some wished to go back and return later with light and warmer clothing and other supplies, but the seer insisted that the task be done. The others complied faithfully, following the seer's every seemingly-random twist and turn, though it was very possible they might all be lost in the expansive caverns.
Eventually the seer came to a pool of water in the near pitch-dark coldness of the caves, which appeared shallow. But, stepping forward into it, she found that the water was much deeper than first thought, and soon most of her body became submerged. Despite the others' reservations, the woman continued to follow the signs of her gift, swimming forward in the unnaturally-freezing water and leaving the others behind, until some time later she came to a halt at the icy back wall of the cavern. There she dove, and swam straight down along the wall.
The others remained in the dark silence of the crystal caves at the edge of what they now knew to be a gigantic underground lake. Some prayed, knowing this to be the will of their mother-goddess; others were restless at the amount of time their friend stayed underwater, and they wondered if something had happened to the seer beneath the still, flat surface. What felt like a bell passed, then another, and still the seer did not return. Finally, the women decided gravely to enter the water themselves, in order to locate their lost companion.
No sooner had the first approached the waterside than the seer returned to the surface. She swam slowly back to the others, who urged her to come from the cold and share in their warmth and dryness. They were astonished to find that when the seer returned to the shore the water did not ripple around her but instead seemed benign, as she emerged from the lake neither wet nor cold. With minimal discussion the group turned to leave, simply glad that they were all reunited again.
Once they had finally found their way outside of the Cavern, the Konti were astounded to discover that an entire year had gone by while they wandered within the caves. Even more amazed were they when the seer turned towards them and held aloft a stone she had discovered laying gently on the very bottom of the chill cavern lake.
The stone, appearing to be made of the same vision-water-imbued crystal of the rest of the Cavern's formations, was a perfect sphere, and likewise perfectly clear when viewed in the bright light of day. Unlike glass it would not break or shatter when tested, nor would its flawless surface become marred by scratches. All of the stone's qualities were otherworldly: it at once seemed both ponderously heavy and wondrously light, it gave off a radiating aura of well-being, security, and peace, and it was warm to the touch and smoothly soft like a newborn baby's skin. At once the women knew what it must be: a gift from their goddess, a blessing that was the answer to their many prayers.
With a combination of observation and the use of the Konti's natural abilities, the group soon encountered the vague purpose of the stone. The seer was a wife of an Akalak, and when they both pressed their hands to the Stone, they felt alight with a glow of mutual affection and compatibility. The Stone promised them that their love was true, and seemed to affirm in their hearts that they were a perfect match for the production of both Konti and Akalak children. Oddly enough, though other couples in Mura tested the Stone in a similar way, it was only the visiting Akalak and their wives that gained such a reaction. It was determined then that the Stone was not merely from Avalis but was surmised, also, to be a gift from Laviku (considering the manner in which it had been found) and intended not only for the Konti but also for the Akalak, their brother-race.
Many theories were thrown out about which gods and goddesses had had a hand in the making of the Stone, and why the Akalak had been blessed along with the Konti. Most agreed that the Akalak had been favored due to their own yearning for healthy children in order to further their race. Some insisted that Laviku's hand in the matter was due to a debt he felt for his Sea having swallowed up the first Akalak city Valkalah, and others were certain that this indicated that the loss of the Akalak city was somehow linked to that race's subsequent impotency and stunted reproduction. Whether or not these rumors were true was never settled; what was settled was that the Akalak would share equally in the rewards of the Stone, and that the Konti and Akalak would devise a method of determining its true use.
But before the two races were able to organize a meeting of city leaders to discuss the matter, the Stone presented the answer itself. While remaining untouched it began to glow, and after trial and error it was determined that the Stone brightened when it was transported in the direction from Mura towards Riverfall. In an attempt to understand its workings, the Konti and Akalak relayed the Stone all the way to the glorious waterfall city, where the Stone shone stunningly bright until finally it was quenched in the waters of the Suvan.
The Konti seer who had swum to discover the Stone then had another inspiration, and ordered that all interested and eligible Akalak and all similarly-spirited Konti (a large number of which had made the journey from Mura) might gather in two separate lines in the Suvan, centered on either side of the Stone. When the lines were formed, she then ordered the first Konti woman to hold the Stone in her hands, and for all the Akalak taking part in the ritual to approach one by one, and similarly place their hands upon it. For a while there seemed to be no response from the Stone, and some voiced doubts about the method. But the seer was infinitely patient and self-assured, and instructed the two races to continue... until the eleventh Akalak male laid his hands on the Stone above the Konti's, and the Stone began to glow.
The seer then declared the Stone's true purpose: the perfect fate-Matching of an Akalak and Konti. The Stone, born of the vision-water and guided by Avalis' own powers of divination, seemed to have its own magical properties. It had been given in order to grace both races with the knowledge of the Akalak-Konti couples that would be most compatible for reproduction, and even for life-long love and relationships.
In this way, the Stone might help both races bear more healthy children, and increase their meager populations (as there were only 5000 current Akalak, and 2000 current Konti). In the Matching, each Konti woman would take a turn holding the Stone and be approached by the line of Akalak; this would happen until her Akalak Match came forth and the Stone glowed. It was possible for no Match to be found for some Konti or Akalak, though many were successfully paired.
After the first Matching, it was determined that the Stone would reside in Mura until the time came again that it awakened. The Konti would watch over the Stone, and when it showed signs of soft luminescence, their race would know it was time again to bring the Stone down from their city to the home of the Akalak, where the Matching could take place once more. The Matching was not required as mandatory for every member of either race, as that was thought to bring bad fortune on the pairings; only Akalak and Konti willing and able to search for their Match were included. Similarly, the Stone only initiated the Matching when there seemed to be a greater need to repopulate, often skipping years. Typically, however, the Matching (if it was to happen that year), would occur sometime approximately midway between the Konti's celebration of Lover's Day (on the 65th of Spring) and the Akalak's Festival of Love (on the 45th of Winter).
