Day of Illumination[6th Millenium Festival/OPEN]

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Lady Spriggan

Lady Spriggan

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Attan 1,Year 6000, Reign of Wen Mah​

The Day of Illumination is the start of the New Year in Iagreth. It is supposedly the day that the gods Antares and Sauda first came out of the create darkness and took the first steps towards creating the rest of the world. In years past it was a day when the light and darkness manipulators of the continent got to show off. There is an even larger gathering of people in the world today that treat the Day of Illumination as just the start of the new year. This year's Day of Illumination is especially large as it is also a celebration of the 6th millenium. There are events that are happening all over the city. This is the most massive gathering of traders that has happened in a while(most have set up in the green space surrounding the massive city square), but others are plying their trade among residential areas of the districts and at the universities. There are numerous entertainers(dancers, jugglers, theatre people, etc.) performing all over the city. Also games. There is a masquerade dance and fireworks being held in the evening.All of this is being presided over by the Imperial Princess Jian Mah, as her mother is the south negotiating a peace treaty for a recent conflict among the fire elves that includes a potential marriage alliance for her oldest daughter.
 
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Cassius Warridge
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It was a bright and sunny morning. It boded well for the day ahead. The Day of Illumination was much more enjoyable for people on days when it wasn't raining. Cassius had awoken very early that morning out of necessity. Fesitivies began very early in the morning after all; 6 am. Commoners could have afforded to take part in the celebrations at any point in the day, but as a member of the Conclave the lord had duties. The Imperial Princess was presiding over everything as well with her mother away and everything. Cassius was to be a member of her main party, which included him as well as three other members of the Conclave, as she was still underage. Princess Jian and her selected advisors began the day by touring the two districts to either side of the palace along with an entire retinue of guards. They would ask about their families and allow them time to ask favours of the crown.

"I don't see why we don't start among the commons with this. Surely their need is greater then that of the nobility,"Jian commented, as the party moved towards the central square. Cassius sighed. She had clearly been having discussions with the Ashemark boy again.

"This is the way it's always been done child. Those lords are your families most stalwart allies, and they preside over your commons."Cassius replied. "Does it matter truly? The commons do get to ask things of you as well after the demonstration of the square. Besides you are representing your family today and you can't go around breaking any traditions."

"I suppose not..."Jian trailed off. She probably wouldn't question anything for a while now. He knew she had been instructed by her mother to follow the Conclave's advice in her absence. The Imperial Princess had always been a dutiful child.

The party at last reached the city's square. The market stalls that usually dotted the vast expanse of the square had been temporarily disassembled and reset up into the green spaces surrounding the area. Others would be put up in other parts of the city depending on where people thought they could make the most profit. There was a dias set up with a throne and two chairs to either side of it. Cassius took the princess's arm and led her up to the throne. He took the chair to her immediate right. The other councillers took the other seats. In the front of the dias was a large roped off area for entertainment. While this wasn't the only area that would have shows put on, it was the area where the top performances were.

The performances weren't Cassius's favourite part of the day, but it was required of him so he sat their smiling with all the rest. There were a group of singers from the north. They were suprisingly good considering the little amount of culture that went on up there. There were jugglers and then a tumbling group. The group they were watching now were a troup of dancers. They had a bunch of fire manipulators that were turning tricks along with normal dancers. He felt the princess sit up straighter next to him and her eyes were riveted towards a dark-skinned dancer, who had the look of a half-dwarf half-human, with long braids dressed in blue.

Cassius placed a hand on the princess's arm.

"Careful princess,"Cassius murmered quietly. "She's here to work, don't draw attention."

To her credit she did listen. She looked towards the other dancers, people milling about the square, and cast the occassional glance towards the moved market stalls where even now her younger sister Lee was going about with her own smaller escort that included Jerrot and a few of the others of the Conclave. The princess was doing her best, but there was still a child inside of her.

Cassius sat back in his chair. Only three more performances to go before they could move on to the rest of the tour.
 
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[Meredith]
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Pre-Day of Illumination was always a busy time.
Invitations to join and meet at a certain place, small business locations being settled between stalls, flower arrangements, decoration placement-- You'd be surprised just how many people rely on letters to sort all of that stuff out in the weeks beforehand. Meredith certainly wasn't shocked. No, the ruby-feathered Harpy was rubbing her talons in comedic greed. It all worked out perfectly: she took on more than the usual amount of delivery work leading up to the celebration, collect a decent handful of change, and blow it all on whatever eye-catching trinket she could snatch.

She loved The Day of Illumination.

Meredith fluttered above the bustling marketplace keenly, amused at the passersby who secured their helmets or gripped their hats when they took notice of her. Hat-snatching was a popular youth game amongst the Harpy delinquents; she was flattered that she could be mistaken for one of them. Alas, shopping could not be done in the clouds, and Meri eventually had to land with a soft clink of talons scraping against cobble. Where should she even start? There were many more traders today, and the location of where they set up changed each year. Maybe she could get herself a new scarf? Something softer. That would be lovely! Or perhaps--

Thoughts were interrupted when Meredith bumped headfirst into someone, not seeing them in her daze.
"Gah, sorry there, friend. Can't fault a girl for getting distracted by the illumis!"
Meredith blurted out quickly with a chuckle.

(HKdsk feel free to have your character be the one she bumped into if you wanna interact with this feathered mess)
 
Fable walked steadily toward the nobility area of what the humans called the capital area. One year she happened to go there on this day and saw the people performing in the streets. So ever since then she has come every year to perform in the streets to earn some extra money. She has never really needed money but on those rare occasions that she did, it was very useful. She was extremely flexible so she performed this. One person called her... a contortionist if she could remember correctly. She found that the rich folk found it more enjoyable then the common people. She honestly didn't see the difference between them other than the fact that the rich had nicer homes and clothes. And they smelled different too. She scrunched her nose remembering that she would have to deal with the pollution. Oh well... She thought to herself. I'll survive. It's only one day. She took a deep breath as she approached the bridge leading to it. She would only spend a few hours there since she would end up getting kicked out if she stayed too long. She still couldn't understand why. She would then go to the square area in the middle of the city. She nodded at her plan and continued her day.
 
Jerrot Ashemark
interactions: @bittersuite
​
"Come on, come on, come on!"Lee Mah cried, as she pulled her governor along by the hand. Jerrot could only shake his head in amusement at her. The girl may have been a princess, but she sure didn't act like it. She acted like any young child would. She didn't find any use in royal protocol or anything like that. After all Lee may have to make a great marriage of state one day, but she wasn't the heir. Also, she was only nine. In fact if not for the eight guards that surrounded them as they moved through the stalls, she could have been mistaken for any other child.

"Hurry up Jerr I want to see the clothes from-"Lee started. The nineteen year old boy never did here what she wanted to say next. The girl suddenly let go of his hand and darted out between the legs of two of the guards. Apparently she had decided they were all two slow.

"Hold on princess-"one of the guards began.

"I've got her. There's nothing to worry about."Jerrot said. He moved out of the protective barrier and chased after the princess. It didn't take long. The poor girl had apparently darted out in front of some harpy girl, got knocked down, and fell over.

"Ow,"Lee said.

Jerrot slowly made her way over to her and helped her to her feet.

"Well, maybe if you weren't so wound it wouldn't have happened. You need to relax sprite,"Jerrot said. He turned them towards the harpy girl, smoothing the young girl's hair as he did.

"Now, apologize please."Jerrot commanded.

"Sorry Miss Harpy,"Lee said, loudly, and with a huge smile. She stuck out her hand to shake as way of apology.
 
[Meredith]​

Meredith registered that it wasn't a dwarf of fae she'd ran into, but rather a child (she'd mixed up the two once, and safe to say she never wanted to do it again.) An expression of polite courtesy turned to one of delight, taking her hand and shaking it with glee.

"It's quite alright, dear. I wasn't watching where I was going-- Better I run into you then straight into a fountain."
The Harpy laughed jovially with a dismissive wave of a wing, sending a few stray feathers floating to the ground. Despite the current conversation holding her attention Meri could never stop shifting her eyes to catch every bit of movement going on around. She had a knack for spotting those out of the ordinary, and although the presence of many new traders messed with that knack a little, she could still pick out people from a crowd. People who looked interesting.

One such person being a woman draped in animal furs and that alone, sticking out from the crowds of people with far too many bags they could handle. She'd have to make a mental note to check the whereabouts of the direction she was heading- Meri was never one to miss an opportunity to meet interesting folk, and it was at events like these she felt at her most...Charismatic.

However! For now she was occupied with something else entirely. Her blue gaze tore away from the woman and back to the two people in front of her. It was easy to deduce who she was talking to: a child being accompanied by someone looking like that? It practically screamed importance. Yet, she feigned naivety and regarded the boy with a nod and a warm grin.
"Quick reactions there, my boy. You can easily lose a little one in these crowds. Dear, try not to stray too far from your...Brother, is it?"
 
She glanced over at the commotion of a little girl falling to the ground. But then shrugged it off continuing to her destination on the street. She set up an animal fur on the ground and stripped off her over layers of fur, leaving her in thinner hide clothes. This usually gave her more mobility for her performance. She set up a raccoon hat on the ground. She sat down stretching herself out.
 
Jerrot Ashemark
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Jerrot was only a little taken aback by the brother comment. After all he and Lee looked nothing alike. His skin after all was light brown where hers was pale, and his hair was a kind of faded out brown colour while hers was black. Not to mention his eyes which were a very light blue colour, while his charge's were very dark. The nineteen year old's next thought was that his grandfather's version of the myth of the gods where the species of Iagreth were blood relations of the gods might have some merit. He wondered if there was just some more ethereal or magical about fae and elementals. He was part elemental and though he looked most human there was something lighter and more graceful about him.

"Oh, I'm not her brother. Just her governor,"Jerrot explained.

"Jerrot's human. He was from the Plains first and then he wasn't. His new mum's a orc, and his father's human. He called it deading or something like that. It was confusing. Oh, he's also part fury, and part dwarf....but he can't tell me about how he's those as well, something to with how his old family doesn't exist for him any more. I'm fae, we're not related although I wish we were. He looks after me, though he also makes me learn maths and stuff and protocol which is stupid"Lee summed up, over top of him.

"Yes, what she said. I wouldn't put it quite in those words."Jerrot said. "This is Lee. And that catch wasn't so much quick reactions of dealing with this one's impatience for three years,"he added, gesturing towards her.

The guards converged on the two of them. They glanced warily between their princess and her minder and the harpy. The young man turned towards them and mouthed the words 'fine' and 'making a new friend'.

"It's Lee Zypha Mah. That's my full name. My mother and sister are royalty, but I'm not. They can't make me be a princess really. I want to be an archer in the army core instead once I get big enough. Anyway, Jerrot's taking me around the festival because mother said I was allowed to because it's important that we know our people and we have to celebrate our creation. I can get presents for all my family and a lot of people we know. I wanted to go around with just me and him, but they wouldn't let me. Mother, Lord Warridge, all the Conclave, and Jerrot said I couldn't go without an escort. It's really stupid because I'm not the heir, that's my sister Jian and she's the one that has to be all official,"Lee said. "You're a harpy, can you do air magic like Jerrot can? Also what's your name?"

Jerrot wrapped his arms around the young princess and smoothed back her hair again.

"Nice to meet you,"he said softly.


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Hayfa Ashemark​

It may have been the New Year, but that didn't mean that Hayfa's job stopped. Her duty was to assess potential dangers to the crown first of all and also to provide the crown with information. This was how she had found herself performing in the middle of a dance troupe for her Imperial Princess. They had received information about potential of attacks to the members of the crown during the Day of Illumination. This had come from a trader Lizardman who had recently been traveling in the Arid Wastes where the conflict with the fire elves was going on. The claim was that not everyone was fully satisfied with the peace talks the Empress proposed and they wanted to strike back at her heirs. The Conclave had said that their was no reason not to trust the informant, as he was an old friend of Lord Warridge's. Anyway the supposed assassin was rumored to have been sent under the disguise of someone in a dancing troupe. Lord Warridge had arranged to have one of the dancers poisoned with some herb that were make them temporarily sick and they had managed to slip Hayfa inside as a replacement.

For the day she was calling herself Lorelin Thunderheart and even had a whole backstory to go with the name. She was bearing a wig that made it look like she had dark brown hair and she was wearing a dress that was not at all her usual style. It was lucky her replacement arm was unadorned plain steel, because it made it harder for people to see through her disguises.

Anyway she had spent the last couple days getting to know the people in the group, practicing with them, and even did their grand performance with them and none of them seemed to be an assassin. They were just ordinary dancers. Hayfa felt obvious relief that the information was wrong. Once the dance was done she bowed with the others towards the dais.

"You want to get drinks with us at the nearest ale house Lorelin?"one of the troupe asked.

Hayfa shook her head at her.

"It's kind of you to offer, but I promised a friend I'd partner with them for a relay race involving blow torches or something,"she replied. Now that she was 100% sure they weren't any threat to the princesses she was done with them. No use getting attached to people who would just be moving on as soon as the festival was over anyway. Without another word she began weaving her way through the crowds. These ones she may be sure of now, but with so many strangers gathered in the city, there may be more people looking to ruin everything that was going on here.

Her aim was to check out the lower districts since Princess Jian was safe here with her guards and the replacement spies that just arrived for this area.
 
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[Meredith]​

If it was anyone else, Meredith might've made a snide remark about not asking for a life story. But, she had to admit, the pair were endearing enough to ward off any negative comments. She wasn't in a particular rush today: plenty of sunlight left for the festivities, and that wasn't even counting her agenda she had planned for after the sun had set.

Still, for as enthralled as she was, a lot of the descriptions failed to sink in. Names and ranks were all she needed, though the insight on the Royalty situation and how the child wasn't eligible for the throne did make her ears twitch. They couldn't make her a princess? My, that information could certainly paint the family in a bad light for some, provided it was told in the wrong way. Not that she would: Meredith held a level of respect for the Mah family, and would bite her lip on any foul-play rumors about them.

"Aha, forgive my assumption! It's not every day you run into a future army archer and her guardian. It's a pleasure to meet both of you, Lady Lee and Sir Jerrot." To mimic the act of tipping a hat, Meredith tugged at the bandana wrapped around her head with a wink.
It was masked well, but the Harpy felt a sting of uneasiness at the arrival of more guards. Even though they had been assured, it was hard to be friendly when you ran the risk of saying something wrong to someone who could have you jailed.

"Harpy is correct! What gave it away?"
Another laugh, this time paired with a semi-dramatic pose to show off the crimson hues that adorned her flight-gifted limbs.
"And yes, magic is something I can do! Learned straight from the elders of Hollow mountains! Don't let the title fool you; those old crows only taught me the boring stuff. Why learn the serious tomes when you can do fun stuff like this?"
Meredith dug a coin out of her pouch, flipping it up into the air in one swift motion. Instead of it landing back in her hand though, a small gust of wind sent it flying over the small crowds and landing with a small tink. Where did it land? Inside the raccoon pelted headgear set out by the performer Meri had her eye on, of course. She wasn't going to waste her money!

"Oh! And my name is Meredith!"
 
Fable soon began her performance. She danced, waving her arms through the air and then she clasped her hands together. She brought them behind her head, her back, and pulled her feet though them without unclasping her hands until they came forward in front of her. She then bent backward until her head was between her legs. She smiled as people stopped and watched, beginning to toss her coins. She continued doing cool tricks for several hours. Making sure each one was different or a combination. She even made herself fit in a small glass box that she had asked a store owner if she could borrow. She promised to pay them later.

She looked up when she heard an unusually loud tink of a coin landing in her raccoon pouch, she glanced around in question, but saw nobody, it almost sounded like somehow had thrown it. She shook her head wishing she could thank the person who was so busy they had to run by but took the time to pay her. Or that's what she thought happened at least.
 
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Hayfa Ashemark
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Hayfa kept with the crowd as she moved over the Western bridge and into Siwot district. If she was just one of the crowd then she was just one more unremarkable face. Once she was clear of the bridge she slipped down one of the side streets of Siwot that wasn't often used by the general public. It would save her a lot of time crossing over to the area that held the hostels. Her plan was to slip into the celebrations inside the hostels. They were good information sources. They functioned like inns but unlike the inns they were free to use. A lot of refugees and poorer travelers made use of them. The hostels were a lot more free with alcohol and other substances...which also made for more loose tongues.

She picked up her speed.

Jerrot Ashemark
​
Jerrot was honestly hoping that the harpy hadn't managed to catch all of what Lee had been rambling about. Parts of it were just slightly mortifying, like her giving away practically his entire life story. Well, a slightly confused child's version of his life anyway. Not that he was ashamed of any aspect of it, but it wasn't something that he just blurted out all at once to anyone he had just met. Plus, all that stuff about wanting to be an archer in the army? Jerrot just knew that a lot of people that heard that would make some wrong assumptions even the one voicing them was a small child. So yeah, he really hoped the harpy lady hadn't caught most of that. He also hoped the shoppers had also been too busy doing their shopping to pay much attention to them.

He gave a little sigh when it seemed the part she had caught was about the archery.

"See even she says-"Lee began.

"Hush, Lee. No one said you couldn't be in the army some day....but you're still an heir to the empire for a little while. You might be able to do some tours later on in your life. When Princess Jian is married and if she has children, but until then....you're close enough to the throne that you have to learn how to rule,"Jerrot interjected quietly enough, that most people wouldn't be able to here.

"Fine,"Lee replied, rather dramatically. The young governor wasn't sure she had been listening too closely to him. It sounded more like the tone she used when she had been expecting a lecture and agreed with him to make the lecture stop. Plus, she seemed to be paying rather more attention to the harpy-Meredith's magic then anything else.

"And no more running off capiche? Or I'll make the guards bring us to the palace. You're too important to lose,"he added.

Lee nodded to him. She retook his hands and started walking towards a stall with dresses that was right next to one with an assortment of different range weapons. The princess was showing a lot more self control now with the threat of going back home.

"Bye Meredith, it was nice meeting you but I really need to find presents."Lee called back, waving to her new friend.
 
[Meredith]​

Meredith found herself torn. The Jerrot lad had a point about the throne, and discipline was important to young children...But the pressures of having your life decided never sat right with her. Likely the reason her respect for any sort of royal family only went so far. Giving this little girl the idea she'll never be crowned, but still holding her to the responsibility of that life? Bah, it was madness! She didn't agree. But what was one woman's word against a generation of successful rules?

"Farewell you two. Enjoy the festivities!"
Seeing them off, Meredith waved back. And, hopefully to the detection of no one else, the Harpy whispered words into her 'palm', and sent them traveling on a magic breeze to little Lee's ear. It wasn't anything malicious- She wouldn't dare! Just a word or two telling her to disregard the path expected of her, and to follow her heart. Meredith didn't encourage defiance: she encouraged free spirit!

Words of eventual carnage aside, Meredith went about her business. Her business being none other than scoping out everyone else's business! The stalls held items of splendor (and price), so there wasn't too much she spent her money on. Eventually, she circled the market to find herself close to where she began.
Seeing that the before-mentioned performer was still there, Meredith decided to loiter around until it looked like she was taking a break. Then she approached, waterskin in hand, with a less excitable and more collected grin.

"Your bones'll be brittle by the time this festival'as hit noon. Here," Meredith held the waterskin out to the contortionist expectantly, "take this. It's warm out today."
 
She looked up at the lady with the kind smile. She reached for the water skin gratefully. "Thank you. That's really kind of you. You have really beautiful wings. What's your name?" She asked as she took a drink. "I'm Fable. What brings you to the... Capital today?" She had to think of what it was called again, she wasn't used to the way humans spoke, her voice seemed more growly and gruff as she became more unsure of herself.
 
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[Meredith]​

Aha. This woman must've had dealings with Harpies before: complimenting one's wings was one of the few surefire ways to get on one's good side, and Meredith was no different. Could she be blamed? Appreciation was worn so thin nowadays...

"It's not a problem. I saw you walking past to set up, and would have stopped by sooner if I hadn't of been caught up- Admittedly, I enjoy the street performances far more than the ones onstage."
Meredith explained it a close-to apologetic tone, disregarding any thank-yous with a shake of her head. Her name was Fable, how quaint. A dainty name for a less than dainty person. She looked rugged, and talked rough: likely not from one of the main cities. A rural traveler.

"I'm Meredith, pleased to make your acquaintance. And, if you somehow haven't caught on-"
Meredith threw her arms out wide to gesture at the surrounding area.
"I'm here for The Day of Illusions! Not for performing or vendor business, though. I'm just here to meet interesting folk: like yourself! Because despite the city being big, faces get old fast."
 
It was gnomes luck that falkas arrived in town just A week before the new years ceremony. He quickly found A gig working for the town alchemist setting up the fireworks for the show that was to end the night. Being the only person with experience working on this section of launchers Falkas has been kept busy most of the day. "No! No!" He shouted running over to his co-workers side "This on goes here, That one goes there!" He pointed at the fuse timers and was about to explain himself when he paused, Falkas proceeded to shake his head, "where's Philip? he said he was going to take A piss and he's been gone for fifteen minutes". Little did he know Philip became A victim of A traveler that has taken A liking to town. Falkas placed A leaf in his mouth and began to chew. Across the way he spotted what looked to be A harpie talking to A street performer. A barely visible scowl formed on his face as he remembered hearing stories of harpy raiders that would hunt and kill travelers, A century of modernity doesn't rid A species of their killer instinct.
 
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Although Fable had no idea that complimenting one's wings would get a person on a Harpy's good side, she did really find her wings beautifully fascinating. She also found that compliments made people happy from what she could gather from her interactions with people and she loved making friends, despite not liking staying in the city for too long. "Pleased to meet you too Meredith." She bowed her head in greeting. "Yes this day does seem to get busy for the capital and I honestly haven't watched many performers, I've been too busy trying to do my own." She continued to talk while picking up her things and shoving her over-furs into a bag, the day was beginning to get hot and she wouldn't want to be wearing the warm furs. Her body was muscular for a woman and her complexion was dark compared to most people's. She was left in a tank top thin skin and pants that cut off at mid-shin length and no shoes. She didn't really need them, especially on the smooth roads of the city. "Well I gotta head to the square and do the rest of my performance there. I hope we meet again soon!" She walked by where the fireworks were being set up and tried to remember how to get to the square.
 
As his heart rate began to rise Falkas began to rappidly tap his foot, looking around he saw the street performer passing. He suddenly pointed at her smiling "Hey! You!, Have you seen A Guy, brown hair, kinda lanky?" with A sigh he slams A fist onto the wall of the house his demeanor changing from one of excitement to anger "that son of A bitch is gunna get me fired!" Shaking his head he spit the plant leaf onto the ground he looks back up to the tan skinned performer, he spoke apologetically "sorry, it's been stressfull day and now one of my assistants has disappeared".
 
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She stopped at the sound of a voice calling to her. She turned and looked at him listening to his question. Fable shook her head. "No I do not recall seeing anyone like that. I have been pretty focused on my performance today." She jumped when he slammed his fist. "No it's ok..." She thought for a moment. "If you have something of his I could probably help you track him down... I still have some time."
 
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Falkas thought for A moment "just forget it, if he don't work he don't get paid, thanks for the offer". He turned, pausing just before walking back "you should be wary of harpies, many people forget not that long ago they were monsters" he continued back to the launch area.
 
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