Event #09: THE FETE OF KNOWLEDGE

[vivalamods]

EVENT #09: THE FETE OF KNOWLEDGE

As the month wears on, the Imperial forces withdraw, tired of scouring the seas in attempts to pick off individual Corsair ships, have slunk back to their masters. During this time, the Corsairs were hard at work finishing the Crimson Portal in Asphodel, and for the first time ever the Corsairs now have four waypoints - an enormous gain as they welcome the refugees from Vindess.

The refugees themselves are settling about as well as can be expected. Tension is still high, while the people are grateful for being saved from certain doom, a lifetime of propaganda doesn’t fade away in an instant and they remain wary, upset at the loss of their homes and way of life. Struggle is natural, and thus, the Corsairs have prepared for the second phase of the resettlement operation - the Fete of Knowledge.

As Asphodel residents stream into the Vault, music - the kind never permitted under Imperial auspices - echoes through the halls. Although the hammering of munitions is ever-present, this music is meant to reverberate through the caverns, echoing upon itself to build into even greater harmonies. This is music of the Crimson Corsairs, made to suit their purposes and circumstances. A salve for aching hearts and a beauty to bring a tear to the eye, the Vault is ready to prove that as the last repository of forbidden knowledge in the world, the wonders they hold welcome all who have the minds to seek it.

With the spring thaw well underway there is still much to be done, but the Corsairs have worked to complete it as best they can. Thus, most everyone within the three, no, four cities should find some time to partake in the Fete. As the week-long festivities commence, Corsairs are welcomed to take a much-needed break and celebrate their triumphs.

Join the Performance

The music of the day is a beautiful choral arrangement, repeated on the hour to echo through the halls, the verses building upon each other. While not enough to drown out the bombing, it’s a gorgeous piece and one that somehow provides a measure of peace and comfort. Any and all are welcome to lend their voices, there are several parts for any vocal range with the more complex vocalizations being handled by experienced musicians. And, best of all, any who aid in the song are gifted a jug of honey wine, a salve for a sore throat and a delicious delicacy besides.

Debate Hall

The Debate Hall is often lively, and during the Fete it has been repurposed to serve as the center of introduction to rhetoric. Debates between people of roughly equivalent skill are held throughout the Fete, and the topic of debate can be anything the participants choose. Debates over best foods, fashion, or even the odd lyrical exchange of truly hair-raising insults, just about any kind of confrontational discourse is currently on display for the amusement of refugees and Corsairs alike. Corsairs are free to join the stage, so long as they honor the traditions of the hall - settle disputes with words, not blades. At least while you’re in the hall, anyway.

Banquet Hall

The Corsairs have tapped their stores to create a truly enormous feast of delicacies only found in the Eternal Ocean. Aquatic creatures of all sorts grace the tables, as well as some of the native flora and fauna of Elysium’s fields, prepared to absolute perfection. And then, of course, there is the grog, free-flowing and plentiful to help take the edge off the trauma of the resettlement. The mood is mostly festive, with sober bouncers on hand to eject any Corsairs who might get a bit too belligerent while soaking in libations.

Dueling Hall

Sometimes words are not enough, and the Corsairs have set up a dueling hall within the Vault for people to test their skills against each other in controlled environments. Ether is dampened in the Dueling Hall, so while one can cast spells as they might, the lethality is far reduced, a once-searing flame is now a gentle warmth and a block of ice a pleasant mist. This, along with padded weaponry, make for a fine way for Corsairs to both test their skill and show off for the masses, with any number of interesting rules in play to make the contests of strength more interesting and enjoyable to watch. With many a pair from the Debate Hall making their way to the Dueling Hall to continue their disputes, the hall is busy for the entirety of the Fete.

Story Hall

A Story Hall has been set up near the library for actors and orators to read and sometimes act out the books and stories found within the library. While the townsfolk of Vindess are not entirely illiterate, their lower class nature as mine workers means that many cannot read, or read well, and this hall gives them an opportunity to experience the wonder of the written word, of story and legend, and to hear the histories the Empire has long suppressed. The Story Hall is always looking for more orators and actors to read or act out books and plays, and it is one of the most heavily trafficked areas in the Fete, with the Vindess residents hungry for these once-forbidden tales.

Wildcard

The Fete of Knowledge is all about sharing, so there are any number of activities, and Corsairs are encouraged to come up with their own to keep the Fete moving. You may use this prompt to do whatever you wish. Enjoy the party!

back to navigation
code credit

Comments

[singlemilletgrain]

[1. story hall]

The stories of old Esthere are fascinating to hear. Dragons and gods of old who once dwelt upon this land, ruling their territories and guiding the people of this world. Who knew what was true and what was legend? Shu cannot contribute to this storied history, regretfully. But she does not mind telling a few stories of her own.

"A story? I see..."

She thinks for a bit.

"I have many tales to tell. Perhaps you may pick one that is of interest to you? Why don't I name a few. There is the Tale of the Demon Wastes. The Farmer and the Xian. The Story of the Shattered God. The Ascent Beyond the Heavens."

[2. banquet hall]

Well, obviously. Anyway who has sampled Shu's cooking in the past will recognize a few of the dishes laid out in the banquet hall. This is nothing new. What might be different today is that Shu has set up a little table with an enormous pot of cooked rice, a large number of thick, dark green leaves, and twine.

She beckons you over.

"Come. Make some zong zi with me."

[3. misc]

Need her for any other reason? When not partaking of the festivities, Shu can be found during the days of the Fete tending to her crops in the Vault. It is the middle of the season for growing wheat, after all. Her two non-flying oxen work placidly beside her as she clears the fields of weeds and pests.

2

[bearsperminute]

"Zong zi?" She asks, quiet but ready. She knows a few different ways to prepare rice with those sorts of thick leaves, but the Chinese names die pretty horrible deaths in her mouth. "Very well. What exactly goes on in this?"

[singlemilletgrain]

"Zong zi."

She emphasizes the tonal accents of the words, a downwards drop for the first time and a dip for the second.

"It is glutinous rice and other fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed. You may pick what you prefer. Usually the meat is pork, but I have prepared a variety of options." Shu gestures at the table. "You may even make it sweet, if you wish."

There is only the faintest, most indiscernible tone of judgment that suggests that Shu frowns upon sweet zongzi.

[bearsperminute]

"Zong zi," she pronounces, better this time. "We used different leaves, but it sounds like the principle's similar; I'll take the pork on your recommendation."

Still, she does have an especial treat. "I also brought bird chilies, like I threatened last time."

[singlemilletgrain]

"Oh?"

Shu examines the offerings before her.

"Yes, this variety grows far to the southeast. Thus, it is... not traditionally something that is included in zong zi. Or in Yanese cooking in general. But you are welcome to put whatever you wish into your own creations. Perhaps it is not surprising that an adventurous person would prefer adventurous eating as well."

Shu thinks for a moment, then reaches under the table for something.

"Food preparation gloves. Better safe than sorry."

1

[newmemorywhodis]

As Shu prepares to begin her story, Link drags himself over - crutches and all - to sit before her. Hands on his knees, he looks up, quiet and attentive.

"...Shattered God, please." he says.

[singlemilletgrain]

Shu has already made it quite clear to Link how she felt about his... overextension in combat. This mostly took the form of deep, sorrowful sighs and covered dishes of food appearing outside his door. From the way Shu behaved, it somehow feels as if Link ought to feel guilty about getting seriously injured, despite being the victim in all this.

Guilt was, after all, a vital part of Yanese culture.

She will spare him the theatrics this time as she gives a nod.

"The oldest story I know. Very well.

Before I begin, you must know a little bit about the land of Terra and its inhabitants. Long, long ago, before the races came to Terra, there were no creatures that dwelt upon the land. Instead, the land itself took form as life. These were called the Feranmut, the oldest inhabitants of Terra. Part living creature, part primordial force, the Feranmut had no conception of all the wonderful things that humans understood today. Judgment, ration, emotion, hope. They simply... were."

[newmemorywhodis]

Link feels no guilt. He didn't overextend at all. He'd just faced an enemy with an ability he...hadn't known how to counter before it was used on him. And Gaurus was dead now anyway, so in the end Link was still the winner of that encounter.

But Shu wouldn't be the first person to have fussed over him. He quietly allows it.

Now though, he sits and listens to Shu's story. At her description of the Feranmut, he cocks his head to one side with a faint frown as he tries to relate them to something more familiar to him. If they were the land itself as life...were they like taluses? But then she said they were part primordial force, so...maybe they were really closer to Calamity Ganon?

In the end, Link's not sure he really understands just what they were. But he doesn't interrupt; he just stays quiet, and continues to listen.

[singlemilletgrain]

Shu doesn't entirely expect him to. The concept of a Feranmut is not entirely equivocal to god, nor to spirit, nor to personification. It is something of a mixture of those things and several other undefinable things, besides.

"Now, let us not judge the Feranmut too harshly. Having no conception of human existence, they can have no conception of human values, either. When the first people started to walk upon the lands - walk upon their bodies, in a sense - they did not particularly... care. For them, it was about as interesting as you find... your body hair.

"And so the Ancient races - the people of Terra - came to Terra and began to live, populate, and dwell in this world. And when they brought their human ideas and beliefs, it was inevitable that some of it would seep into the Feranmut. Some did not care. They continued to slumber or to exist wholly separate from human society. Others grew fond of their little colonies of creatures and chose to become guardians. Some of these began to be seen as gods - even worshipped. Over millennia, a few Feranmut even took on human form to dwell with their people. Some went the opposite direction and were seen as great, vicious monstrosities who devoured the bodies and souls of people who dared to cross them.

"Our story, however, considers a Feranmut that called himself Sui, who took on the human ideas of greed, selfishness, and ambition."

[spacetogrow]

Ilphyl was adapting to the curse. Discovering racoon paws could hold a piece of chalk was a marked improvement to using a parrot's or raven's ability to mimic words, or carry a communication device around and try to type. The raccoon was becoming one of the forms they tended to socialize as until they could figure out a way to break the curse. That and the cat, on the general principle that people like cats.

Ilphyl also has taken pains to make themselves still recognizable -- their tattoo is visible as a pattern on fur, and they have their spell focus around their neck, in addition to hauling a slate and chalk around, and whatever supernatural senses could pick up a druid in wild shape. 'The Farmer sounds good'.

[singlemilletgrain]

Shu smiles in approval.

"This is my favorite story. Very well. The Farmer and the Xian. ...To begin, you will need to know what a Xian is. It is a word in Yanese that means something like god, or spirit, but has slightly different connotations. 'Immortal,' perhaps, is the best translation. It is an immortal who knows very little of humanity.

"Once, long, long ago, when the land of Yan had just gone through a great war, the people of Yan in the northern wastes were starving. Though the farmers worked the land, they did not have the agricultural knowledge that we hold now and struggled to grow even the most meagre of grains. Starvation was common. And the rulers of Yan, the nobility far to the south, were too preoccupied with rebuilding after the war to care for some peasant farmers in the far reaches of their land.

"So it was that these people lived harsh and tragic lives.

"One day, wandering through the fields, a farmer came upon a figure with the form of a girl. Thinking she was a lost and hungry child, the farmer took her in and fed and clothed her. But this child was strange. She spoke of strange things, asked strange questions, and did not understand the most simple of facts. Finally, one day in frustration, the farmer declared...

'You must be a Xian.'

And so it was that an immortal came to Earth."

[spacetogrow]

Ilphly listened. Their world has plenty of 'outsiders' -- beings from other planes, like elemental and celestial and fiends who just had their own assumptions about what was normal. They usually were pretty obvious.

And, well, they themselves, mortal though they may be, was proof that where one grew up mattered. The World Above was confusing to someone native to the Underdark.

They nod for Shu to go on.

[singlemilletgrain]

"For some time, the farmer and the Xian dwelt in peace. The Xian did not seem to understand anything of human customs. She had questions about everything. Why did the farmer work this dry and desolate earth? Why did she not go elsewhere? Why did she rise before the dawn? Why did she give her life to coax out such meagre plants from the soil?

"The farmer answered as best she could. This was all she had. This was the life she knew.

"Finally, in frustration, the Xian declared: 'Once, I was ten thousand li and the mountains grew tall upon my back. In a single stride, I could cross an entire continent. I will make it so that you will no longer need to labor so uselessly.' And with a single gesture, she made the earth bloom beautifully with acres and acres of crop.

"What do you think the farmer said?"

2

[freearcadia]

"Zong zi?" He asked as Shu calls out before giving a half-laugh. "I am not sure if me and food prep belong in the same category." Though he didn't exactly outright decline the offer.

[singlemilletgrain]

"Nonsense."

Harlock is beckoned over, and Shu thrusts some food preparation gloves upon him.

"If you can pilot an airship, you can make a zong zi. It is so simple that even children help. All you need to do is pick the fillings you prefer."

[freearcadia]

He held his hands up, well he can't argue with that logic. "Well now I can't walk away," He moves in closer, looking over the fillings.

"I generally stay out of the galley and out of the chef's way."

[singlemilletgrain]

"Here."

She gently presses several bamboo leaves into Harlock's hands.

"First, lay them down flat, slightly overlapping. Take one end and fold it down and around so it creates a natural cone shape. ...I will guide your hands if you cannot follow."

Shu demonstrates slowly.

1

[testygirl]

Aira has had a quiet, wistful energy since her rescue—or maybe it would be more accurate to say that she's been low-key anti-social, particularly in the way that she's been avoiding the brave folks that had all come to save her and Donnie. She finds the whole thing kind of embarrassing, frankly.

Still, the warm air of celebration all around as loosened her up some. She also has plans to read stories to some of the displaced children from Vindess, and she could probably learn a thing or two from how Shu goes about her telling. But anyway, it's obviously hard to determine which story will be the most interesting based on title alone. She tilts her head a little.

"Which one's your favorite?"

Is it the one with the farmer? It is, isn't it.

[singlemilletgrain]

Obviously.

Shu smiles.

"Need you even ask? But you need not indulge me. The history of Terra is vast and storied. If you are interested in something else, you do not need to hear the tale of a simple peasant farmer and the spirit she unknowingly raised."

Shu has given Aira her space. Though she cannot exactly empathize with the position, she knows enough about humanity to understand pride and embarrassment. And as far as she can tell, Aira is a young woman with a great deal of pride.

[testygirl]

Good read, Shu. Aira used to have such an engorged ego that it felt natural for her to make wild, personal assumptions—then doubling and tripling down on them. So, you know. She's trying to jump to fewer conclusions these days.

Anyway, she might as well be upfront about her main motive.

"It's not really for me," she admits. "I'm gonna be reading to a group of kids later, and I want to do a good job. So this is sort of, like, research?"

[singlemilletgrain]

"Oh!"

wow aira
are you just gonna plagiarize her story

"Well... what if I told it to you like a fairy tale then? It is fairly suitable for that style. Once, long, long ago, in the great land of Yan, there was a war. In its aftermath, though Yan survived, the people were left in difficult straits. There was little food and little money. So it was that the peasant farmers worked the harsh land to grow their meager crops - at least enough to sustain themselves.

"One day, one of these farmers went out into the fields and found a little girl. She was standing in the middle of the grain fields. Thinking that the girl was a lost child, she brought her home, fed her, and clothed her."

2

[supersmashbrother]

Nothing draws Raph faster to a table than a bunch of delicious food. And to him, all food is delicious.

He's been wandering about the banquet hall several times now, but his attention perks when Shu waves him over. He perks even more when he sees the pot of rice on her little table, hustling over in anticipation for another meal.

...That is, until he learns he's not going to be eating just yet. "Making? Is it not already made?"

adorable turtle babies

[singlemilletgrain]

Shu resists the urge to beam too brightly, for fear that her radiance will blind her visitors and scare them away. It is with great effort that she affixes her usual neutral expression on her face instead.

"How lucky I am to receive two such honored guests at once."

Although... Raph might be too excited about the possibility of food to notice, but there's a small chance Donnie will catch the rapid once-over Shu performs with her eyes as her exceptionally large guest approaches. Shu might be slightly psychic, but one does not need any powers to know that she is thinking she might need more rice.

Fortunately, she bends down beneath the table and retrieves her Backup Pot.

"This is a mid-spring activity in Yan, in celebration of a festival on the fifth day of the fifth month. We make these rice dumplings in honor -- " As she is speaking, she realizes that the explanation is a bit strange, but it's too late. "...of a great poet who drowned in a river. To save his body from being eaten by the fish, the people hastily made these offerings of rice and threw them in the river for the fish to eat instead."

...OK yeah that was downright morbid.

"Would you like to try? Take some bamboo leaves first and overlay them like this. And tell me what sort of fillings you prefer. I have all kinds of meat, mushrooms, shrimp, chestnuts..."

...because somehow I deleted the original c_C

[purplexing]

Donnie's been trailing in Raph's wake when not being toted around by the large snapping turtle. He's been a bit more clingy after the rescue, but it's with fondness that he watches his not!brother take in the festivities, and certainly of no surprise when he's drawn to the food.

It's of no surprise to find Shu here, as often as she has a hand in preparing such delicacies, and Donnie can't help but wonder what she has in store for people at the table. He comes up beside Raph to have a look, unable to help for a faint smirk at the larger one's dismay.

"Pretty sure she just said," he points out, giving him a bit of a nudge before he looks to Shu. "So, what do we have to do?

*Resumes here