The Firefly Solstice

Ten thousand of them. Each with an idea. A spark, a thought. May Lady Erialla bless us with how to make them. And maybe one day, another ten million will soar upwards, and join our ideas with ones of their own. One day, my darling, one day.

- Junior Artificer Seltia, to her daughter, Emolta

One every year, a month before the Solstice, all students within engineering, arcana, and any other creative course are given a formal invitation to the a garden located in one of the upper courtyards of Erialla's capital. Here, fireflies that have fed off of FlameStone are placed into singular jars, with one given to every student who decided to show up. These fireflies are given out for a week, and then the next three weeks are ultimately spent dedicating these fireflies to being taught ideas and innovations that each student has come up with. Due to the flamestone that was fed upon, these Fireflies have unlocked the proper sentience that reflects the creativity and memory capabilities of an adolescent human. It is the caretakers, the students, of these insects to teach them their idea. The way it works, why it needs to be made, et cetera. Then, by the Solstice, they are all released in the high streets of every settlement in Erialla. The fireflies soon rise to the sky, attracted to up above, where the ideas they were given are said to be analysed by an unnamed God, simply known for their title as the Innovation God. Popular belief suggests that this God would then hand-pick the greatest ideas they could find, and return it to the most prestigious of laboratories and universities, where the student that had taught the firefly would be awarded a scholarship.

The courtyard that this event begins in is known as the Feltia courtyards, named after the Elf that had planted the first seeds inside of the area. She was said to be a swarmkeeper, venturing into the dark tombs beneath the sands of the kingdom's land, illuminating them with her fireflies. Some even believe that she was the one to discover flamestone, thanks to her swarm's attraction to it. Alas, this is unclear on if it is true. Nobody truly knows who discovered Flamestone, but Feltia herself was born into a world where Flamestone was in it's boom of popularity in the nation. Her swarm simply was attracted to it. Her garden that she made, before her death, was formed to replicate both the gardens she's seen across the world, and also the caverns where the fireflies of her swarm had been attracted too. This resulted in large, red crystals embedded in the ground, surrounded by vines, trees trimmed to create artistic depictions of many different portions of the world that she has travelled too, including a depiction of a Scion of the Psyche , the House Vargas crest, and even a subtle mention of The Red Moon , as a warning to all members of them who wish to invade Erialla's society.

With Rhazaadia, Angel of the Exiled's conquest of the greater reaches of the continent, the Solstice had been delayed to instead fund the military acts caused by the Angel. Where most students that harboured physical strength got conscripted into the militaries that Rhazaadia sent outward. Most of the designs already made would be turned into artifacts capable of combat, or anything that could aid her conquest and war with Croma, Goddess of Light and the New Gods. Ironically enough, her death came on the day of the Solstice, along with the destruction of many of these altered inventions. Since then, each year has held celebrations to the end of the rule by Rhazaadia, many of the new designs given have been blessed by the Innovation God, a lot more than before. Many see it as the god giving blessings due to the return of worship. They were a potential enemy of Rhazaadia, making the returned worship a welcomed sight. 

Notable Inventions

The Ocelot Repeater was a schematic designed by a weapon expert in his youth, known as Cera Kyvant. This design was for a functional fire arm, powered by two small chunks of flamestone, instead of the traditional one. He had engravings of a wild cat upon the barrel of this item. The handle was textured for greater grip, and to avoid jammings thanks to sand, small circular holes could be found across the firearm, both for cooling and cleaning. These spaces were intentionally chosen so that the Repeater could be compressed into a smaller device, able to be fitted into a pocket.

God of Innovation

Said to live within the sky, this nameless god is only known for their role within the Erialla culture, and is not often worshipped outside of this area. Their purpose is not of aiding people, but of blessing ideas with fortune of their ideas becoming true. Some see this being as a swarm of fireflies given a physical form, others believe them to be a branch of another god, made just to see ideas from this world. As a minor deity, this God has their domain be within the skylines of above, with tales telling that the fireflies join their body amongst the clouds, as a paradise.

The exact meanings to this being being a god is unknown. It is worshipped as one, technically given the right of divinity but they hold no power in comparison to the likes of Sol or any other New God. With no control over anything except bestowing ideas and luck onto those they choose. It's theorised they could be an Old God, given the choice of death or becoming a minor deity for Aitso. They picked, obviously, the latter.