Snowharvest

The saying goes that when the snowpears can be harvested the winter is ending and new journeys can begin. These odd, squat trees appear dead for much of the year, but they leaf and flower briefly following the first thaw and produce their fruits quickly afterward. Growing in clusters, each snowpear is no larger than a grape. They have pale pink skin covering jelly-like purple flesh and taste like a ripe pear long soaked in honey. Unfortunately, they spoil quickly and have proved difficult to preserve or ferment into alcohol.

After long months of dried and smoked foods and long hours in their homes, Snowharvest is an opportunity for people to have something fresh to eat and an excuse to be outside. Town squares are often lined with snowpears so residents can gather the fruits while singing traditional songs, and so children—eating more than they collect and with purple juice running down their chins—can enjoy the year’s first opportunity to run and play under their parent’s watchful eye.

Others claim that wild snowpears taste better and travel out to heathland or woods to collect them. Where such plants are common, bears awaken early from their hibernation to consume them, and often a hunt is added to the celebration. No matter where one gathers snowpears, it is considered proper to leave a small offering at the base of the first plant one harvests from, usually a tree or simple holy symbol carved from wood or fashioned from bound sticks and twine. The days before harvest often involve art classes and small gatherings where the younger children learn how to make such offerings while the older children and adults fashion their own.

There is no defined timing for the harvest, as each household watches the plants for signs of fruit—and their neighbors, in case they start collecting first. Once the harvest begins, it can be a frenzied affair, typically lasting until the beginning of the following week when the feast is held. Snowharvest is a raucous event with whole communities bringing out the best of their remaining foods to celebrate the end of winter. Casts of rich and complex mead, prepared at the beginning of the season, are broached and consumed with relish and much toasting.

Snowpears are delicious raw, but they are even more so when cooked, and households compete to create the most fantastic snowcakes for the Snowharvest feast where they are shared with all. Filled with skinned snowpears, a family’s special blend of spices, and often a generous dash of brandy, snowcakes are covered in a soft and flakey sweet pastry and traditionally made to resemble a tree.

While some look forward to the celebration with nothing but excitement for the food and drink, others are apprehensive. Snowharvest also marks the beginning of a new year, and many young people leave their homes to start apprenticeships following the feast, while others choose this auspicious time to start a new journey or make a significant change to their life. Before taking the first bite of snowcake, it is customary to offer up a short prayer committing oneself to a journey or new challenge.

Game Mechanics

A person’s prayer before their first bite of snowcake at the Snowharvest feast produces different benefits depending on what they prayed for:

• Someone committing to a journey gains an expertise die on any check to overcome an Exploration Challenge. This feature can be used a number of times equal to their proficiency bonus and lasts for 1 week.
• Someone committing to a new challenge selects a skill related to that challenge and gains an expertise die on checks made using that skill. This feature can be used a number of times equal to their proficiency bonus and lasts for 1 week.

Additionally, those who leave offerings they have personally made at the first snowpear tree they harvest from gain an expertise die on rolls make to perform the Harvest or Hunt and Gather Journey activity for the next week.