Empire! 7 Event: Carnival at Cadid Santuario

[Frostwander]

Carnival has evolved from its roots as a purely religious festival. Though iconography of the seven Divines is still broadly included, and each of the three temples in Palacia hold special services on their namesake’s day, the broader focus is on socializing, feasting, and ostentatious exhibition. The seven day annual celebration has become the by far the largest, loudest, and most acclaimed event of the region. The waters are warm, the sunlight plentiful and the rains gentle, and the currents are mild this time of year.

The city is decorated in bright colors, flora placed or grown across the exteriors of buildings accented with strings of phosphor lights and woven tapestries. The swimways are constantly flush with celebrants talking, trading, watching, and dancing. Friends find each other, families mingle, and new acquaintances are made constantly. Street vendors weave among the crowd, selling refreshments or bead and shell jewelry. Others hawk and provide cheap costumes for those who lacked the time or creativity to make their own. Overhead, platforms of flowers and coral are drawn by teams of seahorses, with entertainers and onlookers floating in the currents.

Spoiler: Festival Mechanics

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Any attending representatives are invited to participate in the events of Carnival and show off their people’s grandeur. There are three events. If your people participate, include a description of how they bring their culture into the celebration and make the accompanying roll 2d6 + 1/2 leader’s stat (unless leader themself is present), round up. You may participate in any or all events. The highest totals between all events will suitably impress key figures of the costa to secure a cultural exchange.

There is an undercurrent of subtle missives hidden among the pomp and opulence, alluding to deeper opportunities for those who can decipher them. If you find this text, message me privately for more information.
The Grand Spectacle: Parties abound throughout Carnival with attendees bedecked in their best finery, showing off their costumes (and bodies) in all their colorful splendor. The largest of these is the Grand Spectacle, a massive parade through the streets and crevasse that ends with the parade dispersing into the crowd of onlookers at the high shelf. The celebration and feasting last far into the night, with sunlit colors giving way to phosphorescent lights. Demonstrate your culture’s fashion and display in the promenade.
Roll: Economy

Masquerade: Masked dances are commonly held throughout the festival. The most prestigious is that held by the heads of the costa. A different family hosts each year. This year, with the first large influx of foreign visitors during Carnival, the Alverna costa holds this honor, with Madrina Uschi herself presiding. It is an event of fun, music, dance, and food, but also an unsurpassed opportunity for mingling with the social elite. Up-and-comers vie for chances to schmooze with the influential and wealthy.
Mingle with the elite, discuss politics, and advance the case for your people’s preferred status.
Roll: Diplomacy

Forum Philosophical: The origins of the Carnival in the Brilhinte religion still hold strong for many of the sereia. One common tradition since the earliest records of the event is the open public forums at the Temple of Desderia. Individuals of any status, from the priests themselves to the lowest destitute, may take the forum to engage in lecture, debate, satire, or other philosophical discussion. At times, this can grow quite heated, but an enforced prohibition against physical quarrel keeps altercations to a minimum.
Come here to discuss the meanings of Virtue (the most popular debate topic this year), or expound on other principles.
Roll: Faith

[Feathersnow]

The Carnival- The Sakura-Jin Delegation

Junium and Peregrina were, at first, horrified at the idea of attending a pagan festival glorifying the wearing of clothes. But their orders were clear, and it was known the Primarch was dangerously liberal and results-oriented.

Junium, the cleric, flatly refused to participate in the Grand Spectacle. As a neuter, the idea of their body being shown off as an object of splendor was a sacrilege and an insult to the priests that engineered them.

This led Peregrina to go alone. As a female, the idea of her attending was merely wrong-headed, not blasphemous. With much grumbling, Junium helped do her make-up, all carefully blended from either stone or live algae. She carefully carried a single live crinoid in her big claw as she trundled the length of the parade, trying to emote humble elegance.

(2d6+3)[12]

Junium and Peregrina both attend The Maskerade, covered in stingless anemones attended by specially bred clown fish. Junium enjoys the dancing, and Peregrina, the merchant, attempts to further the Sakura-Jin cause.
(2d6+2)[13]

Junium really lets loose on the virtues of purity and humility to the crowd at the Forum Philosophical. They are frankly a little drunk, utterly terrified, and in a emotional state after a tryst with Peregrina following the dance the night before. Though Sakurado only requires celibacy, not abstinence, they never thought they would fall in love, especially not with a merchant! The conflict of emotions feeds into their speech.
(2d6+2)[7]

[Volthawk]

Compared to the diverse group of families that had made the short trip to the Heights of Dashasham, the Cyphiri who arrived at Cadid Santuario were almost entirely from one of two families - Ulnesh and Hallus. Those keeping an eye on the rumours around the Union may be aware of the situation between the two groups - how the Hallus have been building up their power base and gaining greater influence over the other Cyphiri families, causing great concern among some Ulnesh while others dismiss the threat, and how Pelir Hallus' recent breakthroughs may well have shifted the scale. Speaking of Pelir, she is among the Hallus attendees (Baran, the head of the family, was apparently sticking to past trends and staying within Cyph-Arel, leaving these kinds of engagements to Pelir and other interested Hallus) and from word sent ahead to Palacia and other countries she thought would be interested, was here to exchange her latest advance - the ability to survive in the brackish areas that had been obstacles for so long. The Ulnesh delegation meanwhile was quite typical - Garren had also once again declined to attend (no surprise, given the situation at home), while Werran had eagerly accepted the offer, happy to see more of the world and hear more of its stories, although this time rather than Chelat he was accompanied by Relas, a relative unknown to foreign interests (she was a part of the Ulnesh leadership, that was for sure, but her precise duties were unclear, even to most Cyphiri besides the fact that she was Garren's preferred success). In any case, if asked neither family would have a bad word to say about the other, apparently having both decided that a united Cyphiri front was the way to go - that said, anyone taking an interest could definitely pick up on a competitive air between them, as if they'd all decided that if they can't put down their rivals they'd simply do better in every way so there wasn't any need to say anything. The scattered members of other families who'd managed to attend generally seemed to want to stay out of it, with the general feeling seeming to be that they weren't too concerned who ended up on top - apparently, most Cyphiri believed that either way business would go on as usual.

The Grand Spectacle
The Cyphiri were doing well at the moment, so they had no problem putting the resources together for their part of the parade. They were dressed broadly in the typical Cyphiri style, long and flowing robe-like clothes with no sleeves (allowing their various tentacles full mobility), with the Ulnesh outfits focusing more on being simply high-quality and elegant, while the Hallus outfits were more ornate and elaborate, particularly in the cases where they could put their new gold supply to good use. In their tentacles, the Cyphiri held banners with the symbol of the Union and those of the families of the Union Council (and some others, who had members there with their own banners or who had snuck their symbols into the main set and hoped nobody noticed and cared), topped with the new bioluminscent invertebrates they'd began acquiring (the Kelad family didn't have much of a presence there, but they were happy it was happening with the amount of money selling the things was making them). Some of the Cyphiri, the storytellers and followers of the Way of the families, took the opportunity to tell the stories they knew of the Cyphiri, the other peoples of the sea they'd encountered and learned from, and the collection of sereia stories they'd hastily collected together after learning of the event.

Masquerade
The Cyphiri as a people weren't particularly adept at the games of diplomacy and intrigue that most of the other peoples of the sea played - their thinking was usually always economically-slanted, thinking in terms of deals and obligations from those deals when interacting amongst themselves, which is why most of their dealings outside of Cyph-Arel had been focused around acquiring and negotiating with local merchants and businesses. With that in mind, the Masquerade was a rather new experience for the Cyphiri attending, and one where the Hallus did much better than the Ulnesh - their leader had been studying up on how the other species around did things, and a little of that had rubbed off on his family. Pelir, meanwhile, was...either a detriment or a help, depending on who you ask. Enthusiastic, definitely, particularly when she learned that one of the sereia she'd met during the coronation was here - after all, the things she'd learned as a part of the exchange of knowledge agreed to back then had been a big part of her research over the last decade - but not particularly subtle.

Forum Philosophical
While many followers of the Way among the Cyphiri delegation took the chance to talk and listen as a part of the forum, in the typical curious and relaxed style of the Cyphiri - it was hard to anger them on matters of faith, fate and the universe, given they were always willing to take other people's opinions and work them into their worldview (even it was just sometimes shrugging and simply telling them they'd misunderstood the stories they had), and even accusations of everything they believed being wrong usually got a shrug and a maybe, given their belief in the search for truth being as important as the answer. On the whole, the Cyphiri do a lot more listening and asking follow-up questions than taking the floor themselves, but Werran Ulnesh does take one moment to explain the details of their beliefs - after all, back home they were finally making progress on a unified understanding of the Flowing Way, so he was excited to share it with the other attendees.

Spoiler

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Event rolls - note that I used full leader scores there but the totals here are using the half totals, since I changed my mind about having Garren present.
The Grand Spectacle: 14
Masquerade: 9
Forum Philosphical: 11
Total: 34

[Aerin]

The official Lux-Glossian delegation was quite small, numbering a mere three Matriarchs. Unofficially, the proximity of Costa Sereia to the Glossian Sea meant that a decent number of individual Lux-Glossians were present among the crowd.

Chief among the three Matriarchs of the delegation was Ramira of the Viridian Shade, second eldest of the Matriarchs (and thus next in line for Grand Matriarchy). He was the Matriarch of a large Shade based in Holy Ovum, a recent convert to the Flowing Way, and a bit of a political outcast.

Laestrika of the Carmine Shade, on the other hand, was a Matriarch of a far smaller Shade, though also well-respected. About a decade back, she had gathered up men on the cusp of transition from many Shades and set out to found a new colony in the Glossian Sea near the Costa Sereia border. Nearly her entire Shade is in attendance.

On paper Lia of the Cerulean Shade was assigned to transcribe all the diplomatic proceedings of the delegation, a task which she performed with considerable dedication despite her youth. However, those more familiar with cutthroat Leriander intrigue would tell you that she was a son of the Magenta Shade by birth and is still on friendly terms with their leadership, primarily Grand Matriarch Lirix. Lia's presence meant that Ramira would not accomplish anything on this trip that Lirix would not eventually hear of.

Grand Matriarch Lirix had declined to attend in person, citing the difficulty of making the long trip at her advanced age. Instead, she sent a token of friendship to be gifted to Madrina Uschi Alverna. It was a circlular token finely carved from glowing crystal. One side depicted the flowing mermaid with an outstretched arm of Costa Sereia, and the other the six original crystals of the founding Shades of Leriander.

The Grand Spectacle
Ramira, being a Lysimia (sea slug race, offshoot of the Pfith), was able to finely control the color of his body and tendrils to show exotic geometric patterns, mostly viridian and lime green in color. Clothing-wise, his garb was a rather simple tunic and staff, which had the founding crystal of the Viridian Shade mounted on the end.

Laestrika and Lia, both Mer, wore much more delicate laces and robes bejewelled with hundreds of tiny glowing crystals. Laestrika had her Shade's crystal embedded in a tiara, while Lia wore hers as a necklace.
(2d6+3)[11]

Masquerade
Lia, being a Leriander native where intrigue is more common than sunlight, shines at this event. It isn't long before she has a flock of admirers hanging on her every word as she speaks of the need for detailed surveys of the surrounding waters.
(2d6+3)[8]

Forum Philosophical
Ramira takes the stage here, opening a lengthy discussion about the many aspects of virtue under the Way. His tendency to wander off-topic meets with mixed success.
(2d6+2)[9]

[Frostwander]

The Grand Spectacle
As she join the procession, Peregrina may have found of interest that she was not alone in her shunning of clothes. A significant number of sereia present also forsook clothing, parading in their own resplendent colors and patterns or showing off decorations of makeup and dyes. Many of the nearest merfolk compliment the Sakura-Jin on her makeup, inquiring about its origin, and sharing details of their own. On inquiry, it is discussed that some sereia's biomodifications make clothing unnecessary by adapting them to their climate, and many forego them altogether except in extreme circumstances.

While the Ulnesh outfits garner some attention to their clear quality and elegance, the general favorites of the crowds seem to be the more eye-catching of the Hallus family. Those around listen raptly to the stories told by the followers of the Way. The various colorful banners also draw some inquiry, being seen as similar in function to the icons adopted by the various Costa. A few members of the Peixoto family in particular approach the Hallus in the aftermath of the parade to learn about the gold metal and its potential uses.

Both the Mer and the Lysimia from the Glossian Sea were well received. Ramira found themselves and their chromatic display the center of much attention, as controlled chromatophores were a rarity among even the most advanced grafts. Lia and Laestrika as well receive praise on their style of jewelry, the Shade crystals in particular.


Masquerade
In an unpredictable pattern of ebbs and flows, the guests of the Masquerade meet, mingle, and disperse, then reconnect into new groups to discourse again. All of the sereia wear masks with the exception of the hostess, Madrina Uschi Alverna, who makes a point to introduce herself to every guest and share at least a few words with each. A bit more time than average, perhaps, is afforded to each of the foreign visitors in turn, both in interest of their politics as well as in recognition to their travels and efforts in attending. Discussions of trade and influence are had, of course, as well as lighter pleasantries about home and family. Upon excusing herself, to each of the visitors Uschi leaves the following words to consider with a smile, "Carnival is my favorite time of the year. There are always more things to see and hear, if one has the inclination to look and listen."

Junium's anemones and attendant clownfish make for quite a show in the dance gallery. Peregrina finds herself surrounded by a steadily increasing group of young sereia, mostly from the Louro costa, who listen with interest to her discussion of trade and opportunities with eagerness. With relative ease, some of the Hallus attendees end up involved in the conversation as well, as discussion of exchange expands from material goods to knowledge and crafts.

Pelir Hallus is greeted warmly by Uschi as she makes her rounds. The fruitful conversation of years ago is still well-remembered, and she is happy to discuss how the sereia have benefitted and hear how their techniques have been built on in turn.

Lia in her turn seems to garner her attention from the Mascerena family. One of the older members, Rain, nods along with the tales of surveys and the potential for wealth, expansion, and discovery the Leriander native unfolds. Two of Rain's scions takes notes of interest as well in the description of the specialized vessels the Lux-Glossian's have developed to extend these excursions into more treacherous waters.


Forum Philosophical
Each of the guests who wishes to share their beliefs are afforded time in the forum, and while crowd shifts like the tides in the temple, there is always someone attending and curious. In the spirit of the debate, there are questions, disagreements, and counterpoints.

Werran Ulnesh's presentation of the unified understanding of the Flowing Way is met with interest. Similarities in the title of such a faith are noted in the temple of the Goddess of Currents, whose specific graces include both fair and foul turns of fortune. Given the nature of philosophy and dissent here, there is heavy skepticism that any true 'unified understanding' that everyone will agree upon, as that would imply there was a singular end-truth that could be found. (Or, as some of the more vocal questioners imply, that the beliefs will become stagnant and outdated.)

Ramira's rambling discussion of various virtues of the Way receives less challenge and discussion, perhaps due to his lack of a singular focus or argument. Still, an old priest named Havardr Perna takes interest. With his granddaughter Earlee translating, he engages the Matriarch for several hours in a meandering conversation that leaves him thoughtful and quiet for much of the rest of the week.

Junium's vociferous oratory attracts a crowd of the more colorful party-goers. Some seem amused but enthralled by the discussions of Sakura-Jin virtues - while humility is not a favored aspect of Carnival, purity is a topic that gets greater debate into its meaning. A few individuals remember Junium from the Masquerade or other events; these react with both interest at the potential for gossip (what caused this wild fervor from the more restrained Sakura-Jin they met previously?) as well as some genuine concern and enthusiasm for the topics to encourage the cleric.

Toward the end of the week, Havardr Perna gives his own discussion on Virtue. In traditional Brilhinte beliefs, intrinsic to the concept of Virtue is living up to one's full potential. Havardr expounds how cultivating this potential will lead to a good life of happiness and prosperity. Developing Virtue is not limited to just one aspect of a person or their faith, but refers to the improvement of all aspects of one's existence. Those who deny who they are cannot truly exhibit Virtue, which is found by embracing and understanding oneself in totality, and then striving to build up that whole. The ultimate state of this improvement is called Arete, a perfection of excellence. However, the importance is not on the attainment of this impossible ideal, but the striving to reach the unreachable that itself purifies a being's soul.