Among the seasonal festivals that have arisen to honor the four Elder Gods, there is one that stands alone for its hype, attendance, and historical significance. When the bells of Dalaska and Resta City signal the first Chaotic temple sermons of the summer, a week-long festival is held in honor of Chaos. It takes very different forms whether its celebrated in Heron or Resta, but one thing is consistent with both versions: a tournament that draws warriors from across the country to compete for the ultimate prize. In the case of Heron, champions have traditionally received a valuable gift from each of the three houses, while those who participate in Resta's tournament compete for a rare honor called the Royal Boon-- the right to make any reasonable wish of the monarch. The purpose of the tournament isn't hard to guess, for Chaos values strength above all else and competition as a motivator for greatness.
In the First Age, during the Brokamac Clan's occupation of Coronos, the Pyrisians would host gladiatorial games pitting the locals against their own champions. To the Pyrisians, these fights were a test of honor; both their own and that of their new subjects while the Coronosians saw it as a constant attempt to assert the Brokamac clan's dominance. For many years, warriors of both peoples fought against each other for both glory and the Pyrisians' entertainment, with the eastlanders being motivated to win by promises of comfort and luxury to the champions. In this, the lesson the Pyrisians meant to impart to the Coronosians wasn't always clear. The Brokamac meant for their subjects to learn that only in strength can one live in comfort and safety, but they instead began to value the thrill of competition itself; in their minds, great satisfaction is owed to those who strive to be the best.
This tradition ended when the Coronosians discovered magic. With the ability to stand on even footing with even the Brokamac's pyromancers, they won a greater share of their matches until the Brokamac clan leader, Ivan the Relentless, called off the games to spare his warriors further embarrassment. Many years later, the liberated state of Coronos merged with their southern neighbors to form a newer, stronger kingdom. This was followed by a stern proclamation to the people of Heron that the newly formed Kingdom of Resta was ready for any further threats from the north. The lords of the Piers, Crowmont, and Karn clans responded to this challenge not with aggression, but with an invitation: one more tournament held with Resta and Heron's greatest champions. The Restans accepted this invitation and offered the grounds of their newly built castle, Sunburst Keep, as the arena for the competition.
Historians from both countries agree that the tournament was a political maneuver meant to demoralized the newly unified country. While the Heronites had recently undergone a series of reforms that promoted isolationism over the imperialism of their ancestors, they saw Resta's proclamation as a threat and wanted to prove that this nubile giant could fall. The Malorans who controlled Resta's throne at the time were well aware of this, but doubled down on their insistence that they would no longer feel threatened by the north. But in a strange twist of fate, neither country was able to prove their point when the tournament ended in a draw between the first phoenix spellwarrior, Gaius Maloran and Altan Karn, the last surviving pyromancer of the First Age.
Since the end of this tournament, the Heronites and Restans went their separate ways in amicable terms. The mutual respect that resulted from the tournament's result has stabilized relations between the two countries for the entirety of their respective existences. While their cultural differences cause them to keep each other at arm's length, their acknowledgement of each others' strength has foreclosed any potential hostility. At first, this tournament was a yearly tradition for which both countries traded the responsibility to host. Over the next decade, however, it became clear that the two cultures each valued something different about this tradition. So, each country formed its own version of the festival, offering praise to Chaos in their own distinct ways.
In Heron, the trappings of the Summer Festival are rooted in the theological purpose of the original tournaments. For the whole week of the festival, temple services are held every hour, which encourage attendees to reflect on Chaos' will for mortality. The tournament is the center of the festivities and encompasses four days out of the week. Games are held for children as well, including toy swordplay, archery, and wrestling. These allow children to prepare for the main event when they are old enough. The festival is catered with many of Heron's summer staples, including rabbit stew, sausages made with pork and smoked venison, fish cakes, and bread bowls.
In Resta, the Summer Festival embraces the competitive nature that their Coronosian ancestors found in the original tournaments. While Resta's own tournament, the RGT, only encompasses the final two days of the festival, the other five days are devoted to various other athletic events; namely track and water sports. One of those days is generally devoted to experimental events meant to expose spectators to new sports, such as the freeform cycling race known as Blitzroll. For everyone else, Resta's summer festival is a lure for the bounty of firecrab one can eat there, whether its deep fried, packed into sausage, or diced into chili. Various other forms of seafood, as well as the fruits of Blackstone Farm, can also be found for those who can't handle the spice of firecrab.
The beginning of summer is a time of praise for Chaos for giving people the strength to be frequently become better than they are. While this virtue takes two vastly different forms, the lesson is clear: when this festival comes around, everyone is in for a bounty of hearty food and gripping entertainment.
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