Festival of the Wave Callers
At the height of summer's sweltering heat, people flock to the sandy shores of the Kingdom of Lysandre for the pageantry and magnificence one of the most anticipated annual events on the Elven calendar. For three awe-inspiring days every year hopeful mages come together at the Festival of the Wave Callers. There, they compete against one another fusing magic, song, FASHION, choreography, and the majestic ocean, in an effort to be determine who will named the world's "Top Wave Caller".
Festival History
758, 1A
Founding
Around 145 years ago, Elven devotees to a celestial known as Barukh would gather along the shores of the Upanje sea annually to honor him. They would sing songs and give thanks for the bountiful resources provided by the sea, Barukh's favored domain, and seek his blessings in the coming year. The celebration became more elaborate over time and, as it was always held at the same location and time of year, began to draw observers. Barukh's devotees saw this as an opportunity to share their culture and knowledge of the celestial.
788, 1A
The Rising Tide
Over the 30 years that followed, the number of annual observers and attendees had steadily grown. Local merchants reaping the financial benefits to the annual influx of visitors, became invested in the event by doing things such as preparing special meals and offering rare items that could only be purchased during the festival weekend.
A secondary impact caused by the increased attention on the event spurred the devotees to further expand in the complexity and intricacy of the rituals. They infused arcane elements into their celebrations with the intent of inspiring the awe of the sea. These arcane rituals involved weaving beautiful song-based magic to shape the waves and were referred to as "Calling the Sea."
793, 1A
The Transition
Much to the devotees surprise, the introduction of magical elements was met with great fanfare by the growing crowds. Within five years, the celebration to honor Barukh had become a friendly competition among his devotees to see who could elicit the greatest response from the spectators. Thus is was around this time the ritual to honor a celestial turned into a small competition. The growing entertainment value continued to bring more and more spectators year after year.
834, 1A
Impacts of the Great War
While the Great War raged (834-842, 1A), and for nearly a decade following the official end of the war (1-9, 2A), the festival was not held.
10, 2A
Rebirth of the Festival
After the war, Rolighav was no longer under the control of the Elves. So a group of entrepreneurial Dwarves convinced leaders of the school of Elven sea-song magic to reinvigorate the ancient festival (with their investment, of course). It reemerged on the Elven shores of Lysandre, re-branded as the "Festival of Wave Callers" and billed as a formal judged competition. The judging would take into consideration originality, creativity, song, fashion, choreography of the waves and overall stage presence of the performer in order to determine who would be named the "Top Wave Caller" annually. Winners would receive a small fortune in coins.
57, 2A
The Kynekin Controversy
Three years ago scandal rocked the Festival when, under increasing pressure from its Dwarven investors, the restriction to only Elven competitors was stricken. Thus the Festival of Wave Callers became accessible to any species who had learned water-oriented magical traditions. Elven attendance dipped marginally in 57 2A, but was offset by an influx of younger Elves and non-Elves to the crowds.
Mellisande Nassry, Top Wave Caller of 60, 2A by dream by WOMBO
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