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First Light Festival 2023
Details
Spring may have been a leisurely season, a transition from winter and its standstill and back into the daily work life so many mhoats find familiar and welcome. Now, though it's time for the endless buzz of activity that comes every summer across the mhoat islands. The First Light Festival is looming and the largest event in the mhoat calendar is sending every mhoat into preparation mode. Craftsmen have been commissioned by the various islands to make various wares, decorations, and other such items that vendors during the festival sell. Meanwhile, temples have been crafting their finest decorations to create beautiful altars where mhoats can make special offerings to the deities during the festival. Needless to say, there isn't much rest happening for anyone in the month leading up to the grand festivities and even less at its onset.
Alongside the anticipation of the festival, there is also the slightest shift in the weather across all the islands. The turtonics have begun their migration toward the tropical waters of the mhoat world, to gather and perform the magic ritual that will bring a new island into existence. Many mhoats will find early festival activities being set up on the various beaches and cliffsides of the islands, as everyone gathers to watch the migration as islands meet and travel in groups with one another until they eventually gather in the location, marking the start of the festivities.
Below are some of the activities you can take part in for this seasonal event!
Offerings
Every year, a skilled sculptor is picked from among the islands to create depictions of the Celestials and creators of mhoat kind, Yel and Myn. While these statues vary from year to year they retain some recognizable details passed down through the various tales of these two deities. Their familiar visages are a cornerstone of the festivities as far back as the origins of the festival. Beside them, figures of legend are represented in all their flory, albeit smaller in comparison to these central figures.
Mynrosians of all types visit the many statues at the center of the festival, as well as smaller altars scattered throughout the festival to leave offerings. These are usually a show of respect and a request for blessings granted by the celestial the offerings are made to. Most festival goers will make offerings to Yel and Myn first, then to any other celestial they dedicate themselves toward.
Sweep the Sands
Warm waters and a large event centered around a view of the ocean mean Mynrosians of all types will be flocking to the beaches throughout the festivities. In turn, many volunteers spend time combing the beaches before the festivals and throughout to clean up any rubbish that may accumulate on the sands.
With so many spending their days at the beach for both swimming, experiencing all the fun the beach has to offer, and the many volunteers it is no surprise that these sandy areas can become quite busy. Alongside all these beachgoers, many summer-specific businesses pop up along the beaches to serve the various needs be they swim equipment, icy treats, or other services.
There are many different Mynrosians from all walks of life spending their time co-mingling during this period. The altruistic and those seeking fun, with both groups equally swapping back and forth with these roles throughout the season.
Grand Light Display
Second only to the turtonic ritual, the grand light displays are something Mynrosians look forward to for months before the festival begins. Every year the island leaders gather various masters in the use of light magic to create grand displays that will fill the night skies of Mynros throughout the festival season.
These displays tend to be visual displays that depict ancient tales directly related to the festival itself. Some common themes on display are the creation of mhoats with Yel and Myn at its center, visual depictions of the turtonic ritual itself usually meant to prepare the young for the ritual itself, or the tale of Asteria whose light magic vanquished an endless night.
While these larger displays are dedicated to well-known tales, there are various displays that happen on a smaller scale throughout the festival grounds. These are often dedicated to other celestials from the pantheon or important figures from each island's history.
Festival Fun
Beyond the core activities of the season, there is an entire sprawling festival covering the coastlines and main cities of each of the islands in attendance. The scale of the festival is so vast, that an individual could spend the entire season trying to experience all there is to offer and still not experience it all.
Stalls dot all the festival grounds with merchants selling various delicious foods, fair games, and a variety of goods created purely for the festival. It's common for friend groups to form and spend the day wandering the festival after making their offerings or viewing the progress of the migration. They may wander the food stalls trying the many foods on offer, some of which can only be eaten during this very festival. Full bellies lead to energy, so the festival games draw in the more excitable groups. Ring Toss, Dart Games, Dunk Tanks, and so many other games that one could hardly list them all are available for a bit of friendly competition.
Once energy is spent there are many places for sitting to rest while watching a variety of performers from singers, acrobats, dancers, and magic users for those attending the festival to appreciate. Or those who still wish to walk the festival may find themselves drawn to the various merchants selling festival-themed items, a trinket to take home to remember the occasion, from masks, charms, bags, and a variety of items.
This submission option is for all pieces related to the First Light Festival seasonal event!
Rules
- Please list which activity you are submitting before when submitting a piece to earn the seasonal currency.
- All participants in the creation of a piece must make an individual submission to earn rewards!
- You may make a submission no matter where your piece has been uploaded, they are all eligible for the Saltie Shell value of the art. (ex. DeviantArt, Twitter, toyhou.se, etc.)
- When making a submission, all characters included in the piece should be listed with the "Add Character" option by adding their code from the character masterlist (ex. M-0248, M-0069, V-0008, etc.)
- You do not need to manually add rewards to your claim, they will be granted by the mods when tallying the value of the art.
- The minimum required for prompts is a flat-colored halfbody in a clearly depicted scene or a written piece with a word count of at least 1000 words.