Sireing Season

Uravszak

Kardakouk is a warm planet most of the time, with heat coming from volcanic activity at the planet core and absorbed in from above the crust of the planet with the endless rays of the sun of the Hela system meaning that the oceans are often warm and inviting. When the colder periods do come they are often short and intermittent. Nevertheless these times play an important role on Kardakouk both for the natural world and the social world. Sireing season refers both to the cold months as a whole and specifically the week long period at the end of the winter months where the majority of seasonal mating animals have their young hatch. After unification the week-long period of celebration came to be known as the Uravszak.

The lowered temperatures mean less activity from the wildlife and many spend the warmer seasons storing up energy for this period. As such many creatures are adapted to require less food during this period and as a result there are much fewer predators actively hunting prey. As such the periods of cold which are often a time of death on other planets are Kardakouks spring. Utilising the stored up energies creatures endeavour to find mates to reproduce during the winter months where the young offspring have a much higher chance to survive predation, which is a much higher threat to the young then the temperature changes. As such the end of the siring season, as the oceans begin to regain their natural warmth sees many pods and schools of fish, sharks, crustaceans and all other manner of fauna to have their young released into the ocean which become teeming with life. Hunters, fishermen, conservationists and tourists alike all flock to the various breeding grounds to witness these great spawnings and fresh meat is plentiful bringing a festive mood.

The cold months bring life to nature but also in a twisted way to the denizens of Kardakouk. For just as lowered temperatures meant less activity from predators it also meant less work from the Queltl and Tar’et. Whilst they would not be fully idle they would certainly reduce their activities in the winter months. And in the time before the humans arrived on the planet that meant reduced hostilities. When the power of communication was still foreign to the warring people of Kardakouk the near constant hostilities would only see maintained lower levels during these winter months. Sireing season was a chance for both sides to take stock of the dead, lick their wounds and prepare for the battles to come. The Uravszak came to mark a fresh hunt, first to fill their bellies, then to hunt their foes. In the world after Concord the period has come to represent a full festival period, to celebrate life as a whole. Beginning with a day to celebrate birth, proceeding through to finish on a day representing death.

The celebration of life is a true spirited festival celebrating the natural world, where great festivals are held in major population centres with great hunts being held to prepare for the following week of celebration. Food is abundant and many travel to the spawning grounds of different animals to witness the huge numbers of hatchings and births that create a swarm of wild animals similar to the Kapszulacrity on its busiest of days. The streets are hosted with banners and ribbons and people of all races take to the streets to celebrate. Almost all of the celebrations on this first day are held outdoors in the ocean, embraced in the natural world it celebrates.

Following this is a week-long celebration of various stages in life during which it is considered the most apt time to search for a mate. Not that people are restricted from finding a mate at other times but the celebrations during the Uravszak are considered the most romantic and many displays of affection and plans to procreate are started during this period. There are many proposals that occur during this period as the social world celebrates the natural world's equivalent period of love and life. It is during these days that events are held within buildings and many shops will have special sales to celebrate the period. The Szalamandra Corporation regards this period as one of its most profitable in any given year.

Finally comes a day of remembrance. Not the most important day in regards to paying respects to the dead but a necessary end to the week celebrating life. Death is celebrated on this day, rather than sorrow the day is filled with quiet remembrance that seeks to remember the dead as they were while alive. It is a communal day more to acknowledge the event of death than to remember specific people. Death on this day is simply another part of nature and the natural end to the Sireing season's celebration of life. Just as on the first day of the Uravszak people take to the streets to celebrate death with one another. This is when the banners from the first day are brought down and songs are sung in the multitude of voices within the ocean. With the sound of music filling the streets many people take to dancing as they see off the week of festivities.