Aladesh

Aladesh is a Degeshi word used to both describe their biological need to hibernate and to the semi-mythical subconscious realm of the same name that the Degeshi believe they travel to whiles sleeping during this period, on their homeworld of Gardesh the entire period is put into a single month known as Aladeshan.

The name of their planet is thought to mean "Out of the Dream" and 'desh' can correspond roughly with the words dream/dreaming/dreamy in variety of contexts.

Personal Experiences
Some Degeshi claim to do not actually dream while in Aladesh, others are said to have lived entire lives in a fanciful dream, reliving childhood memories and some even claim to live a nightmare until they awake, most actually have several million separate dreams that interweave but are remembered as one single event.

Aladesh is sometimes referred to as "the desh" and commonly pops up in Degeshi language to describe being dreamy, unfocused or stupid; common phrases like "get out of the desh" seems to emulate the human term telling someone to "wake up and smell the coffee". It's also behind the phrases "that guy was so deshed" and "i'm gonna desh you", phrases that have been spread throughout the galactic community, although particularly in the Confederacy.

Some Degeshi believe they are all linked by one 'hivedream' like that of the Nhar, but this is not the case, each Degeshi's mind remains solely in their own head the entire time and emit no greater psionic alpha-rhythm frequencies, as the Nhar do as they sleep, enabling them to do otherwise.

Biology
Gedeshi begin to enter Aladesh during the start of their autumn months, particularly the end of Gamasha and the start of Aladeshan when their pre-hibernation Dreshu Gadma (Closing Feast) takes place; Gardesh undergoes a global freeze so intense their entire society stops for winter.

This pull to hibernate is a very powerful biological process that effects all Gedeshi weather they are on their home planet or not, although many prefer to be home and celebrating their Dreshu Gadma with family and friends, those Degeshi out in the galaxy that cannot be planetside will still sleep for just as long in hibernation pods aboard their starships, stations or colonies.

The neural response and reason behind the vividness of hibernation dreams are controlled by a third hippocampus in the brain of the Degeshi that only sees activity during hibernation and is a completely different dream-state than regular night dreaming, this state in sentient beings is rare and is agreed by most researchers that their hibernation is much more developed than nonsentient animals who go through similar needs, pertaining more to a coma than a hibernation. The state of Aladesh literally transfers every memory and thought to the third hippocampus to protect it from oxygen deprivation of the outer-brain during the process of slowing down their metabolism.

Their biological systems slow down to such an extent that some may appear clinically dead, with only a single heartbeat per minute, their digestive systems eventually shut down as do any unneeded parts of their body, this entire process may take up to two days and take plenty of time to get settled. During Aladesh their bodies are very delicate but are well-protected with their modern technology, ensuring safety measures and maximum comfort at all times.

Waking from Aladesh can also take two or three days after which they will have a second feast known as the Sashad Gadma (Opening Feast).

Customs and Traditions
Degeshi traditionally eat a large feast called the Dreshu Gadma (lit. “The closing feast”) and sing songs and chants of good luck to "the Fate",often referred as Muhs or Muh (pronoucned "mu") in some ancient texts, a formless being who controls the Scales of Fate.

Food is comprised of seridu berries and teiles nuts, traditionally baked in a large pie or cake, which sits as the centrepiece to the meal. The meal is also somewhat of a necessity as fattening up before the sleep helps in their bodies 'slow burn' at a cellular level and continue to provide bare-minimum nutrients for the entire winter season whilst their digestive system is inactive.

Adults often partake in a particularly powerful alcoholic drink called "Seshedi" that comes out only on the Dreshu Gadma.

Traditionally the horns of a sedurha, a now-extinct and particularly large and aggressive beast are hung on the doorframes of houses and reams of its fur are strung along the hallways. This dates back over 4000 years to times when the beast,now extinct through hunting, commonly broke in to the houses of and ate the hibernating Degeshi; putting up horns and fur was supposed to discourage the sedurha from breaking in. After they were hunted the tradition carried on, these creatures were believed to be the spawn of the Fate, who went bad and tried to tip the Scales of Fate in the opposite direction. The first, oldest and wisest sedurha was said to be called Gubi and impossible to see or kill and would send out the spirits of the hunted Degeshi to cause nightmares. Continuing to put up the decorations in this instance would act to ward away the spirits of Gubi during the Aladesh.

Today, even those Degeshi away from Gardesh will feel the need to hibernate, and will put up these decorations.

When they awaken, they have a much larger meal called the Sashad Gadma ("opening feast"), using their storehouses of food; they traditionally use everything, until their cupboards are bare, giving thanks to The Fate. Using everything and clearing out the house is also thought to be a kind of cleansing and representative of starting anew.

Because they are inexorably linked to this system, even Degeshi who are away from the planet feel the urge of hibernation and many of their starships have hibernation chambers and take a small pair of sedurha horns with them, although most Degeshi like to return to Gardesh as the traditional feasts are usually family-orientated.