reading poems in the flames
T
hey come in the night, with Caligo’s full moon lighting their way. It stands as their only witness, as the procession from Denocte descends upon the quiet Illuster Meadow like a handful of fallen stars.The sovereigns of both courts meet in the moonlight. Antiope and Morrighan have led the Night Court to their friends in Delumine, bringing with them a festival meant both to share their culture and to form deeper bonds with their neighbors. Let this be a new era, they say, as the smoke of the first fire washes over them, one where we are unafraid to join in celebration.
They say the Night Court is a land of dreams and dreamers — it is fitting, then, that her people come now with hopes in their eyes and songs in their hearts. As the moon sets and the dawn draws nearer, the light of a single bonfire can be seen from the castle. It flickers and glows in the distance, and as the first child of Delumine wakes and looks from their window, blinking the sleep from their eyes, they see a second fire start. As more and more of the citizens awake they find the fires are still flickering, still dancing, still multiplying until a thousand hungry flames make the horizon glow like a beacon in the early morning light.
And as their eyes turn north, they see the colors begin to change. Reds and purples, greens and golds, blues and silvers, all of them spinning like so many colored ribbons as if to say, come.
And so they come.
As the dawn breaks over Delumine, her people make their way to their meadows where Denocte’s bonfires burn like a thousand dreams.
This event will be open the entire spring season, until November 3oth! Participating in this event will allow you to claim IC Event Experience, as well as some event-specific prizes. There will be three prompts for you to participate in, as well as an interactive race. Simply post a new thread in the corresponding board with [fire] in the title!
the bonfires.
For those not bold enough (or sane enough to stray far from the race), a few small fires have been set up at the edges of the course. Youth, and those youthful at heart, can already be seen leaping over the fire jumps and through the fire hoops. The air is almost chaotic with their challenges to each other. As the night progresses, and the youthful tire of their games, the crowds around the fires seem tamer and almost holy. Someone whispers about the blessings the old fire-clan brought to the Eira long, long ago. Horses start to gather closer to hear the story with their bodies still decorated in the painted stories of spring. As the story starts again, for the third time that night, someone throws copper and pouches filled with strange magic into the fire.
And when the flames turn purple, and black, and violet, the challenges the horses call to each other as they leap through the smoke and flames seem far more serious than those of the youth in the sunlight.
fire & fertility.
Spring brings with it more than new leaves, fledglings, and small prey animals stepping out from the thickets on unsteady legs. The air is ripe as a seed with the taste of life. It twists between the lingering smoke on the fires, and the gardens freshly sowed and watered. Musicians sing poetry to long forgotten gods of springs. The trees join them as the breeze whispers melodies between their new and fragile leaves. In the forest, children are gathering the offerings of the trees left behind from the winter. Each of them races to fill their basket first as the master of ceremonies has promised a prize to the fastest of them. And while the children gathering other horses have already begun to weave the offerings together in the shape of baskets, crowns, and other such shapes to burn in the night-time bonfires.
On the edges of the forest, where the meadow brushes the dark tree-shadows, buckets of paints and jewels have been laid out. Paintbrushes and twine are laid out almost haphazardly between the supplies. In the middle of them a poet sings a song and promises to name his next epic ballad after the horse who can decorate themselves in a story befitting those forgotten gods of springs.
divining in the flames.
The Shed Stars of Denocte have traveled to Delumine and brought their many mysterious customs with them. If you find yourself interested, there will be many readings available. Perhaps you have a question to ask the tarot cards? Or you might be interested in learning what the rune stones have to say? There is also the art of oomancy, or divination by eggs. If you were to ask a Shed Star nicely, they might agree to a cleansing ritual by rolling the egg around your body to absorb negative energies. They will then crack the egg open into a bowl of water to determine whether you have been cleansed or perhaps need more help than oomancy can offer. Of course, don't forget to give the Shed Stars a tip before you leave or else you may find yourself with more bad luck following you.