(Autumn Forest

You are standing on a small clearing in the southern forest. Trees
surround you, grand and ancient, the withered bark peeling away, the
work of the elements over innumerable years.

The leaves are painted in the colors of autumn, from a soft yellow and
brown to a flaming red. In the middle of the clearing rises a large pile
of dead branches and dried leaves. On its edges four wooden stakes are
plugged into the ground, carved with the symbols of the elements. )

Thank you all for coming. And a special welcome to the foxes in the
audience, you are an important part of Ateraan, too. This is the opening
of the nature faith's fall festival, and I have prepared a little sermon
and a small ceremony to celebrate the change of seasons.

The changes of the seasons are a good opportunity to have a look at the
gifts of nature and see what we can learn from them. Fall is the season
of harvest. It is also the season and of change. It is associated with
the element which is in constant move, water. It represents the west,
the direction of the sunset. For the water nymphs among us, this is your
season. And of course the season of all you water elementals in the
audience.

It is the season of beauty, the leaves of the trees are covered in
magnificent colors. But it also also reminds us of that all beauty must
end, as fall is followed by winter, the season of death.

(A gentle breeze is moving the branches of the trees, gently blowing
single leaves to the ground. The last sun rays of summer immerse the
clearing in a soft golden light.)

We all know the trees won't die when they drop their leaves. It is just
one of the many cycles of Ateraan - after the winter, spring will come
and they will be reborn again. The reason why they are dropping their
leaves is to be protected from the hash winter weather. A tree carrying
leaves might break under the snow, while a bare tree simply let drop the
snowflakes between its branches and doesn't worry about them. We can
take this season as an opportunity to drop some of our old things we are
carrying around, and which hinder us from making progress. Or even from
being reborn in spring.

I am not only talking about the old rusted scalemail that gathers dust
in your vault, but you keep it because maybe some day you could have use
for it. It is an opportunity to drop old memories, leave the things
behind which you can't change anymore. But most important, it is a
chance to drop and change old perceptions and adherences. Why not try to
see the world from a different view? Try something new? Try to do things
differently?

The dropping leaves also blanket and isolate the ground. And they give
the trees nutrition for their rebirth in the following spring. And so
can do the things we leave behind us, as they can teach us things for
the future. But they only can do that if we drop them and see them from
a distance, just like the trees have to drop their leaves first.

 (Clouds are gathering in the sky cutting off the sun rays, while
the wind increases, shaking more leaves from the trees.)

But there is more to learn from the trees. If we observe a forest in
fall, we see that not all trees are the same. There are the conifers
which never drop their needles. But the deciduous trees drop their leafs
at different times, too. Some earlier, some later.

Both strategies have their advantages. The early droppers are on the
safe side - winter can come, they are prepared. The late droppers are
able to catch the last rays of the late summer sun and can produce some
more supplies for the winter, but if the first snow should arrive early,
they are in literally heavy trouble.

So you could say, the early droppers are the weak trees, the cowards,
they are very careful and won't be that strong because they produced
less food, while the late droppers are the strong and brave ones. But at
the end of the day - it all depends on when the snow arrives.

It doesn't make any sense at all to look at the tree and say that
it's weak or strong. It makes sense to look at the forest. And the
forest is only strong if it contains all kind of trees. It is able to
handle every situation, early snow, late snow, storms, whatever. The
forest will survive. A forest which will accept only one kind of tree
will die at some point. It will may happen sooner or later, but it will
happen.

And this is what our tenet of unity says - diversity is our
strength. We all are different, but we are strongest if we stay united.
Our victory against the great destroyer, against the portal guardians,
was reached by unity, not by the strength of single persons. We should
always remember that.
 

(Faldu takes a torch and lights the fire)

( In the middle of the clearing a fire burns brightly, sending sparkles
to the clouded sky, embracing the whole clearing with it's warmth. The
soft crackles of the burning branches fill the silence of the night. )

So for the end of this ceremony, I would like to ask you to drop some of
your old thoughts, things that bother you, maybe some of your
preconceptions, to gain some free space in your mind for the future.
Write then on a parchment and burn them, speak them out loud, or just
send them to the pyre in your thoughts.

(Faldu takeshis lute and adjusts the tuning. He smiles to the audience
before he starts to talk.)

And while you think and write, I will play a little song for you. This
is one of my favourites, an old feline folk song about fall. It is
called "Autumn Leaves"...