Lanternes (Lan-tern-iss)
A local Grasmerean celebration. It primarily features a festival atmosphere taking place in the Waterfront District, but is often thought of as just an excuse for drinking. There is a heavy lantern theme to the event, with many participants carrying lanterns, wearing lantern-themed clothing or costumes, or—most commonly—drinking from lantern-shaped novelty mugs. Often there are treasure hunts for children, discounted food and drink, and heavy debauchery as the night proceeds.
History
Stemming from a long-forgotten pirate religion tradition, the common tale suggests that hundreds of years ago when pirates first settled Grasmere Island, they found the land shrouded by a mystical darkness that no moon, nor torch, nor candle could penetrate. The pirates thought that would make the island a perfect place to hide their booty, but they needed some way to navigate the darkness. They prayed to their pagan pirate gods who provided them with a magical ember held in a glass cage. This ember drove away the magical darkness and guided the priates to the most perfect hiding spot. The gods' one condition on providing this gift was that the pirates must toast the ember before each pint of ale. But as time went on, the pirates got lax and began to take the ember's gift for granted. They forgot their promise and began toasting to themselves or other gods. Furious, the pagan pirate gods revoked their gift and as a result, the pirates could no longer find their way back to the treasure. To mourn their loss, the pirates vowed to never forget to toast the ember—which evolved over time to be represented by glass lanterns—in hopes that one day they would regain their pirate gods' favor and be shown the path back to unimaginable wealth.
Observance
Occurs on Lavanda-25.
Primary Related Location
Important Locations
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