The Feast of Commons

Three generations before the current rule the King wished to speak more closely with his subjects and set a national holiday in motion that took up the better part of a week. He decreed that each year at the end of Summer, just as the weather turns cold but before the harvest truly began any and all of the citizens of Estrye would be able to travel to the capital city of Cirian. There from sunrise to sunset for three days, they were encouraged to come before the King and present any of their grievances and he would do all in his power to assist them. On the third and final day from sunset to sunrise, the following morning all who came before the King was presented with a feast prepared by the Castle staff within the castle walls themselves. Where common and noble would all be together as one people, with no concern for the class system that divided them.
This tradition continued through each subsequent ruler and lead to a great time of prosperity and unity within the country. But it was at this celebration marking the end of the Feast of Commons that tragedy struck ten years ago. An explosion, of origins no one is certain of but seemed magical in nature the population of Estrye was decimated. No witnesses survived to recount precisely what took place in the banquet hall that night leaving only one surviving member of the royal family to place a claim on the throne. The young nephew of King Walter, but with him too young to be crowned his other uncle, Rowan, stepped forward as Regent to rule until his nephew came of age and his coronation could be held.
It was in the weeks following these events that he took steps to ensure that the study, practice, and worship of magic were outlawed under the penalty of death. And also sealed the castle gates so that no harm could come to his nephew before his eighteenth birthday.