Anchoring Ritual
The Anchoring Ritual occurs once a year when the Plane of Arcana is at the furthest skew from the Material Plane. At sundown, the guardians of the seven lodestones begin performing a ritual to re-anchor the Plane of Arcana to the Material Plane, resulting in 3 days of unpredictable magic as the Plane of Arcana is rotated back by the few tenths of a degree that it tilted throughout the year.
As this ritual always occurs at the start of the year, many residents of Scalespiral celebrate it as a holiday festival. Use of magic is discouraged during these three days, because of the potential for unpredictable effects.
As this ritual always occurs at the start of the year, many residents of Scalespiral celebrate it as a holiday festival. Use of magic is discouraged during these three days, because of the potential for unpredictable effects.
History
This ritual began when the ancient adventurers defeated the Lich King and stabilized the Plane of Arcana. For the first few years, it was a fairly secretive ritual, as the guardians of the lodestones were concerned that someone might try to interrupt the ritual and destabilize the Plane again. But the effects that the ritual had on magic across Scalespiral were impossible to hide, so it quickly became a widely known occurrence, and now only the location of the ritual is kept secret.
On the seventh anniversary of the Plane of Arcana being stabilized, the Rogue King's court in The Gem of the Copper Isles threw a massive festival for the three days of the ritual, as a way to disincentivize people from using magic and causing chaos on those days. He opened his coffers and had his cortiers set up feasting areas across the city that would be free to all. He also encouraged spontaneous performances across the city that were entirely devoid of magic. This festival was so popular, and extremely successful in suppressing magic use, that it quickly spread to other settlements, and now most people in Scalespiral celebrate the Anchoring Ritual with feast days and parties.
On the seventh anniversary of the Plane of Arcana being stabilized, the Rogue King's court in The Gem of the Copper Isles threw a massive festival for the three days of the ritual, as a way to disincentivize people from using magic and causing chaos on those days. He opened his coffers and had his cortiers set up feasting areas across the city that would be free to all. He also encouraged spontaneous performances across the city that were entirely devoid of magic. This festival was so popular, and extremely successful in suppressing magic use, that it quickly spread to other settlements, and now most people in Scalespiral celebrate the Anchoring Ritual with feast days and parties.
Observance
Feasting and non-magical performances are the mainstays of the Anchoring Ritual for most people. Adventurers will often camp down, or even spend the time in the nearest town, as they know their magic will not be reliable for whichever quest they are currently on. Construction and other manual labor jobs are usually halted as well, so that everyone gets to participate in the festivities. Unlike all other times of the teleportation is strictly prohibited.
Of course, these are the rules and norms for adults. Kids, being contrary, will often sneak off and attempt to perform minor magics during the Ritual, in the attempt to activate the unpredictable effects. As there is usually a 1/20 chance of the magic going haywire, most kids will achieve this at least once before they reach adulthood, but as kid magic is low powerd and low stakes, few children have ever been harmed by this. Parents will still attempt to prevent their children from doing this, in part because they don't wish to deal with the fallout, and in part because how ever small the chance is, there is still a chance of danger - after all, this is magic in it's most unpredictable form.
Of course, these are the rules and norms for adults. Kids, being contrary, will often sneak off and attempt to perform minor magics during the Ritual, in the attempt to activate the unpredictable effects. As there is usually a 1/20 chance of the magic going haywire, most kids will achieve this at least once before they reach adulthood, but as kid magic is low powerd and low stakes, few children have ever been harmed by this. Parents will still attempt to prevent their children from doing this, in part because they don't wish to deal with the fallout, and in part because how ever small the chance is, there is still a chance of danger - after all, this is magic in it's most unpredictable form.
