Festival of Artistry, Craftsmanship and Lore
You'll not find a happier time amongst the Tiamacle than the week of the festival.
The latter spring months bring the arrival of many things. Heat waves that bother anyone that isn't a Red Dragonborn (or living in Briggs), new ales and lagers to be sampled at pubs and the ever-so joyful experience of retiring to Litore for summer vacation. While these are all things that would get any normal person excited and ready to desert their job as early as possible, the students living within the Tiamacle are just a little bit different from the rest of those people. Excitement still exists in the air, ripe enough to slice a piece for yourself, there is no doubt about that. But the frivolity and anticipation are directed to something else entirely; the yearly Festival of Artistry, Craftsmanship and Lore, otherwise known as the ACL.
The festival serves many purposes for the students and even the staff of the religious headquarters. For the students, it's the best opportunity to display the culmination of their year of learning before they enjoy their break. Each school decorates their district with appropriate embellishments, usually things like the emblem of their school, their motto, or imagery depicting the Wyrm that represents their school. The students who wish to showcase their learning sign up with their Head Priests to reserve a spot within their district that will be where their display is. This display takes many forms and is often dependent on the student, how they wish to demonstrate their knowledge and what aspect they are going to show. Some students make plays, others create blueprints for weapons they are designing, while some offer a live demonstration of their talents if they are vocal, such as the art of subterfuge or manipulation. It all depends on what they wish to do, but one thing is for certain: This is the best start to your summer!
The day of the festival begins just like any other. Students wake up (if they were even able to sleep the previous night) and have their breakfast. Then they gather at Central Temple and await the Opening Ceremonies. As they wait, spectators gather outside the gates of the citadel, including parents, friends and former students, ready to mob in once the doors creak open. The Spirit makes their way to the altar and greets everyone. After a brief sermon, they discard the formalities and embrace the excitement that everyone else has spread to them. "Unlock the doors! Let those people in!" they say, as the door swing open to reveal the mob of people, all rushing in like animals to a feeding frenzy, filled to the brim with eagerness and energy. The Spirit gives one last speech that thanks the students for the dedication year-in and year-out to their religion, then dismisses everyone to enjoy the festivities they've worked for through the year.
The displays are organized across the campus, with each school having their entire district to accommodate their exhibits, with the exception of their temple, which is reserved for the school's display that the president decides on.
After the awards are handed out, everyone is dismissed to the Central Courtyard, where lengthy tables that fill the halls await, food piled high on every plate to fill the eager stomachs of the festival enjoyers.
After stomachs are filled to the brim, it's time for the second round of displays!
Purpose of the Festival
The most obvious reason behind having the festival is that students desire an outlet to demonstrate their talents and acquired skills after a year of hard work. Without some kind of outlet there would be nothing that allows them to show of what they have learned and it would wither away without proper application. While this is true, another purpose that the festival serves is to simply be a way for the students to experience what it is like to be jovial again. They spend years of their lives studying the vast subject of Tiamat's will, guidance and virtues, with some never leaving the Tiamacle until they're elderly years. For those who spend that lengthy amount of time here, especially the ones who have served since childhood, this gives them the chance to have those memories that they never got to have due to their dedication.Build-Up
I look forward to preparations every year. Seeing the smiles across the students' faces brings one to my own. While some say that we teach the virtues of maniacs and tyrants, I say that we take what's present in these people and refine it into something great. We show them how to take control of their lives and mold themselves into their best version. This festival is proof enough of that.Students begin preparations for the festival over the course of the last month before summer. Each school nominates one student to be the president who will be responsible for creating the floor plan of what will go where, what kind of display the school will put on and where each performing individual will be placed at on the floor plan pending Head Priest approval. Other students start to decorate their courtyards, living quarters and utility rooms with festive decor, ranging from flowers, illuminated glyphs to enchanted fireworks that never dull. While the students prepare, the facility staff are hard at work themselves. The kitchen crews work at a break-neck pace in order to prepare enough food for the festival, as no one wants to wander around a massive citadel gazing at artistic displays on an empty stomach. Extra shipments of food are delivered three times a week and shoved into a cold room, where they will await the week just before the festival to be turned into delicious, mouth-watering food. The teaching staff await the festival with unrelenting enthusiasm. For them, this is a moment of pride. They view each student that they guide as extensions of their own selves, so being able to see them work as hard as they do, day in and day out, and see it all pay off. It's a heartfelt feeling for the ones often labeled as extremists that corrupt the minds of children.
The Festival
The morning sun creeps over the horizon, bringing with it a glimpse of the heat to come. But with it also approaches the best day of school EVER! EVERYONE GET UP, I KNOW IT'S 6 AM BUT IT'S THE FESTIVAL DAAAAAY!Hurry and grab your event brochure before we run out!
| Program/Attraction | Times | Location |
| Opening Ceremonies | 8-9am | Central Temple (CT) |
| Student Displays | 9-11:45am | School Zones, CT |
| School Awards Ceremony | 12-12:30pm | Central Temple |
| Lunch | 12:45-1:30pm | Central Courtyard |
| More Student Displays | 1:45-3:45pm | School Zones, CT |
| Fantastical Parade | 4pm-5pm | Central Courtyard |
| Festival Awards | 5:30-6:15pm | Central Temple |
| Closing Words | 6:30-6:45pm | Central Temple |
| Parting Fireworks | 7pm-8pm | Across the Event |
Holy crap! Yogo really just conjured a blue dragon! Wait, what do you mean that was the Blue Wyrm?!While displays are free to be decided on by the students as they please, students generally have similar ideas depending on what school they hail from. Endurance students exhibit their knowledge of forging via live demonstration, hand-drawn schematics or displaying a weapon they are proud of. Brutality students channel their inner energy to create imagery in the form of storytelling. Subterfuge students commonly create plays or one-take scenes that will often involve a member of their audience as an unbiased source to present their talents of manipulation.
Man, Giorno is a hell of a talent! He can manifest little dragons with his rage!Patience students will often collaborate with one another to create areas for safe magical processes. As people funnel in to observe, they amp up their powers, eventually turning the attraction into a full-fledged magic show with sparks, flames and snow flying rampantly. Lastly, Supremacy students will design intricate castle and region systems based off of Chromaticos' own geography. These serve as representations of what will one day be "their" kingdoms. Do remember that these are just observations of what students typically do, and no students are ever forced into a specific type of demonstration.
School Awards and Lunch
After the first bout of displays, but just before lunch, the Spirit gathers everyone within the Central Temple to reveal the awards that are given to the students for academic and religious progress.
Tiamat's Light: This award is given to the student with the highest grades among all students over the course of the year. It is represented by a finely crafted statue made of gold, fashioned in the shape of Tiamat's five beautiful heads.
Draconic Manner: This award is presented to any student who has a record of perfect attendance. The statues given resemble the first Chromatic Dragon Overlords, with the appropriate color being given to students of the respective colored school.
Hand of Io: This award is given to the student who showcases respect, admiration and appreciation to the teaching staff. The statue is created from a combination of materials, mainly metals and minerals, and fashioned to look like Io's hand.
Chromatic Wings: This award is presented to the students who have taken the next step in their spiritual journey by becoming Polychrome Members. The award is a set of miniature wings, with the colors of the schools that the student has become a full-fledged member of.
The Parade
The Parade is my favorite display of them all, every year. I love to see my fledglings spread their creative wings with their own individual talents. But nothing warms my cold-hearted soul quite like seeing them all work together. Watching the unique ways they create the floats to symbolize the Great Wyrms and seeing how they overcome their differences to work to a common goal. I'm often asked whether or not the time I've spent reaching where I'm at now was worth it; if spending more time watching over the students is worth it. For the chance to see their brightly lit faces as they enjoy the childhood and familial bonds I never did? Yes. It was worth every single minute.The parade is often the star attraction to the festival. The students not participating in their own demonstrations band together to create a float that represents their collective version of their school's Wyrm mascot. They are encouraged to think outside the box in how they design their floats, especially with so many years of the tradition in the past for them to reference. While there is no rule against the outright copying of a previous year's idea, the general mindset is that each class wants to be remembered for the unique design they made. Once the second bout of individual displays are finished and wrapped up, the roads through the districts are cleared to make way for the floats. They enter in through the Central Temple and follow a route through the five districts, accompanied by the students who worked on it. Words of encouragement, praise and adoration fly through the air, along with cheers, magical applause and all other sorts of sound effects that one can think of. After touring around each district, the floats return back to Central Temple and are stored in the depths of the Tiamacle, memorialized for years to come.
Festival Awards and Closing Words
A small dinner is prepared for everyone still attending as the festival begins to wind down. The districts are fully cleaned, decorations are taken down and the citadel doors close to newcomers while the final act of the night takes place. Everyone awaits as the winners for the two festival awards are announced. First is the winner of the Individuality, Craftsmanship and Ingenuity award. The student with the most well-liked individual display takes home this award for displaying the virtues that the festival is all about celebrating. The other award to be given is one for not just one person, but a whole school. The Eternal Float award is given to the school that is judged to be the best of the five. Each student who participated towards the floats creation is welcomed to the stage, announced and given a miniaturized trophy of their float, something that they can treasure and remember for years to come. While the fervor of the awards dies down, the desserts are brought out to the tables, the last bit of sweetness before it's time to leave. As everyone enjoys this final treat, the Spirit returns to the center altar and delivers a speech of encouraging words not just to their students, but to everyone attending.As another festival comes to a close, I can't help but feel blessed by Tiamat as I stand here before you all. Seeing everyone in such spirits, celebrating one another's accomplishments and triumphs. I must thank everyone of you for attending, as without you, none of this would be possible. This year has been especially difficult what with all of the troubles that have plagued us in the past months. But, despite all of this, you have persevered and made it here. This is not a mistake, no, this is the sign of your light, your own power. In face of a threat to our very existence, you shone through the darkness like the beams of the sun, to stand here now. Nothing can ever take that power away from you, no act of foreign gods, not a tyrannical ruler and not even your own negativity. May you continue to shine your light on our world in our darkest days. And I hope to see you all again in three months. Until then, continue to express yourselves, day in and day out, let nothing stifle who you are. Spread your wings and fly to whatever corner of the universe is out there that you wish to find!
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Very nicely detailed article! Love the concept and the good use of formatting with the quotes and spoiler buttons! Keep up the good work! :D
I'm so glad you enjoyed! I was really happy with how all the formatting came together. Even happier when I realized how I could use the spoiler/table combo to make it into a little schedule thing.