As the weather begins to warm and the island begins to unfreeze, the inhabitants of the Isle of Xaaida celebrate the First Thaw’s Fest.
The islanders celebrate the unfreezing of the rivers, the return of warm weather and easier access to food, and farming season’s beginning. There are certainly many important events that happen during this time, but one of them is the return of the Heart Bettas to the Isle of Xaaida.
Every January, the betta migrate all the way across the ocean to the mainland of Kladeon to seek out a place to spawn, arriving by the time of Heartsgiving. They then make their journey back to Xaaida, returning to the rivers of the island just in time for spring. The islanders, particularly the ones who live in the East Isle village, assist these fish upon their return by breaking the ice in the rivers to help them. As they do, they catch sight of the fishes’ altered forms… The cute Heart Betta seem to hold a much more vicious side to them, brought out of the need to survive during their ocean migration.
Of course, this isn’t the only thing to do during the First Thaw's Fest! Both villages will do spring cleaning, clearing out any clutter they obtained over the winter for a fresh start in the warmer months. And of course, it’s time to prepare for fishing and farming. The islanders clean and prep boats for fishing and clear out and prepare fields for the first planting. At the end of the month, fields of Weeping Pods, Three-Pearled Blooms, and Boulder Squash will all be planted, so they need to make sure everything is ready.
Other villagers will forage for the last of the herbs, fruits, and nuts found only during the cold season, and particularly those of the West Isle village will scout out herds and flocks of animals for hunting.
At the end of the month, all the islanders get together for a festival, celebrating the year ahead and the return of the warm weather. There is a small feast and plenty of dancing as the Isle of Xaaida welcomes the year.
Prompts
All images must include shading and a simple background!
You have until March 31st at 11:59 EST to submit your images!
1 - The Heart Bettas are returning! Draw your character helping break the remaining ice in the rivers to help the bettas in their return. Do they catch sight of the fishes’ larger forms in the river?
2 - It’s time to clean up! Draw your character helping with spring cleaning in the village. Is there some junk they’ve gotten over the winter? Maybe it’s time to clean out their homes, or maybe they need to fix stuff up around the village that got damaged by the frost.
3 - There’s a lot of work to do to prepare for fishing and farming. Draw your character helping prepare boats or preparing the fields for farming. If they’re preparing boats, what do they do? Do they help clean them or make repairs? If they’re preparing fields, how are they helping? Do they help clear away old plants and weeds, or are they helping till the fields?
4 - And there’s still a few last things to collect, and some animals to observe. Draw your character foraging for plants or, if they are an adult, scouting out herds or flocks of wild animals. Do they have any luck finding plants? If they went scouting, did they catch sight of any Elyks herds, or maybe some Xaaidan Csirkatrice roaming around? If you don’t have an adult character, but would still like to go scouting, you can accompany Laisa! The Hunting Elder certainly would love to help teach interested kids, as long as they keep safe!
NPC Mentioned: Hunting Elder, Laisa
5 - Having reached the end of the month, it’s time for celebration! Draw your character at the festival! How do they celebrate? Are they dancing, enjoying food, bonding with their companion animal? It’s time to celebrate the year ahead!
Rewards
For completing at least one prompt, you receive 5 Capella. This reward stacks with each prompt completed, up to a maximum of five times. This means you can earn a maximum of 25 Capella from this event in total.
For completing 2 prompts, you may apply to any islander character one of each:
Icicle Ears [Draken]
Fruitful Mane [Nyulop]
For completing all prompts, you may apply to any islander character one per species of:
Cupid's Mask [Universal]
Lovely Horn [Universal]
Heart Whiskers [Universal]
These upgrades, and their application details and rules, can be found in each species' respective Rarity section.
These upgrades may be applied once you have completed the prompts. You have until April 30th, 2022 at 11:59 EST to apply your upgrades!
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