[open] wake up, it's time to gather now

[cointosser]

Who: ALL OF THE FREE CITIES.
What: A glorious celebration and a Summoned-powered festival!
When: The second week of May.
Where: The Old Public Hall, the outlaying plaza, spilling into the streets of Cadens.



The Reopening Celebration

[The flyers appear all at once overnight among all of Cadens, with the front text reading: GRAND RE-OPENING OF OLD PUBLIC HALL. FIVE DAYS OF CELEBRATION WITH MERCHANTS FROM ACROSS THE FREE CITIES AND NOCWICH, ALL TO CELEBRATE THE REOPENING OF ONE OF CADEN'S ARCHITECTURAL MARVELS AND THE FREE CITIES'S OWN FORM OVER FUNCTION FESTIVAL! with the dates given underneath.

The back of the flyers will list the precise details, including the topics of each day of the festival. This festival is to act alongside and celebrate the native Free Cities celebration Form Over Function week that the Cities host every year. As with most things Jaskier and Alucard touch, it has to be a little Extra.

New to the city? Want to change careers? As suggested by the mods, the Summoned can use this festival to look for work or make new connections in the Free Cities with the locals displaying their craft. Artists, artisans, playwrights, theatres, inventors, and scientists will be looking for the next wave of brilliant minds and talented individuals.

Also acknowledged on each flyer are the equipment and food donated by the various Free Cities governing bodies.]

The Aquila Portal

[A big celebratory announcement during the first day of the festival will be made in front of the Hall once the market opens. This is the grand unveiling of the new portal that is being permanently opened to Aquila, agreed to by the Free Cities government. The announcement comes from several of the Free Cities' very own Summoned: Jayce, Claude and Sam.

The portal is intended for leisure and business travel and will have a crossing fee. A portion of the proceeds from the festival will go to providing those of lower incomes with a single paid-for trip to and back from the Aquila portal. Please make use of such generosity, Summoned!]

The Lunae and Ikorr

[Most of the festival is meant to feature the local artists and artisans of the Free Cities. However, many artisans from Nocwich have also been invited and provided with their own space, with water misters set up to keep the wolves and vampires (and visitors, of course) cool in the desert air. Long, shaded walkways keep visitors safe from the sun.

The Lunae have a history of traveling to Solvunn to attend celebrations, so they will arrive in Cadens in greater numbers. While the vampires have less of a presence than the werewolves, they will still offer their wares like blood-infused wines, glowing flowers, and unique meat dishes - similar to what was provided last year!

All three Nocwich ambassadors will make an appearance for at least one of the days.]

The Festival Days

[A large open-air market will be open throughout the celebration, which will feature retailers and artisans from Aquila, Cadens, Libertas, the Lunae, and the Ikorr, all set up in the plaza that leads up to Old Public Hall itself. Advertisements will be posted to entice new tourists to Aquila, in the interest of Fallon Marsh's new push for tourism to the coastal city.

Each "day" features a special theme:

• Book and Literature Day includes a seller's market inside and on the steps of Old Public Hall, along with book signings throughout, starting off the five-day celebration. The latest and the greatest works that have come from Free Cities minds are featured, sold, and autographed. If you're an up-and-coming writer, there are small podiums and stages set up on the outdoor stages for you to provide readings of your own work and advertise any exciting new book clubs. There is no promise of quality for the open-mic readings, and there's no withholding criticism when it's bad either.
  
  Large presses and the self-published all share their wares, ranging from the latest scientific journals to the unsurprisingly long line to meet the author of the popular Onion James mystery novels. Near the new bar in Old Public Hall, an informal bookclub will open will be hosted. The evening will feature authors in conversations with each other, offering book signings and writing workshops for nervous young novelists. If you're curious, feel free to join in and show off your newest writing piece!



• Painting and the Visual Arts Day marks the second day, which will see the Old Public Hall transform into a gallery for a day. Featured artists are lesser-known independents, working to create monumental-sized paintings, glass sculptures that refract light, tiny drawings that show skill on the smallest scale possible, and more. The Hall provides the ground for artists to lay out sales of local paintings, sculptures, woolen arts, and even the services of artists themselves. All matter of art will be set up for sale in the Old Public Hall, as well as works organized on the main floor of the Hall as a gallery. Clothing designers from Aquila will be showing off the latest fashions, as well as looking for new models among the visitors. Libertas's artists will once again be pushing their counterculture art, supported by Quilleth Kaur and the Arts Restoration Committee.



• Science Day will feature a symposium on the current state of technological developments in Cadens and how they relate to artistic practice on the third day. Within the Hall itself, the maze of the books from the previous day has been replaced with an open floor plan, allowing for a horseshoe-shaped display of inventors and their wares -- and a surprising amount of artisan fashion work. Two large areas feature in-depth talks about recent developments in both fabric production and sewing machines, resulting in more unique fabrics and dyes that will be displayed later that evening.
  
  
  
  
  Keep an ear out, as the names "Jayce" and "Viktor" float among the populace as Summoned inventors to keep your eyes and attention on. Provided by these two fame-collecting talents is a display of their fantastic revolving armillary sphere, modeled after the astronomy of Abraxas, which casts an atmospheric starry light over the area once night falls. This new permanent installation is now available for viewing in front of Old Public Hall as a navigation point and to show the union between art and science.
  
  Further into the night, garments will be shown, with a discussion about new techniques used and how they were made. The beauty of asymmetry is lauded, with the use of coraline plant fibers for boning, experiments with structure and bright fabric dyes, accented with fine details. Shapes and textures are exaggerated and celebrated. A large screen behind the stage allows for some projection magic to focus on all the little details for the whole crowd to see.



• Theatre Day arrives on the fourth day. Indoor and outdoor stages will be set up, featuring short plays and costume shows. There are several morning workshops available for perusal; some are writing-focused, led by some of Libertas's leading playwrights.
  
  Outside of the Hall is the brand new romantic comedy All The Wolves You Loved Before, commissioned for the grand reopening by one "J. Alfred" to be performed for the first time ever. It tells the story of an exceptionally handsome, white-furred werewolf from Nocwich with a charming and surprisingly funny demeanor, falling into scraps and eventually into love. Inside the Hall is the classic Murder Among Thieves, a mystery featuring a group of bandits that are picked off by a killer one by one.
  
  That night, Old Public Hall will host the three-act play It Happened In Section 600. The horror piece sells hard on its exquisite special effects (made with a combination of science and magic), telling the story of Miss Harker, a new librarian at the University in the early days of the Free Cities. Ghosts supposedly haunt the library, but just exactly why remains a mystery until Miss Harker starts her first day. The mystery features spirits and a tale of revenge with the early days of the Free Cities as the backdrop.
  
  Local theatres will provide backstage access and classes on special and visual effects. Playwrights will provide signings and host writing workshops as they scope out new or aspiring young actors. For those brave enough, you can find others to help practice your audition or even aid others in theirs!



• Concert Day, which marks the end of the event, features live, performed music from 3 p.m. until midnight, acting as a tour de force of the restored Hall's acoustic capabilities where both technology and magic work together. Smaller, independent bands will be highlighted and enhanced with magical special effects, with -- unsurprisingly -- the night ending with a special performance by the Gem of the Phoenix himself, Jaskier! Rumors have it that the appearance of a real phoenix itself may appear, granting supreme luck to all who see it in the future...
  
  The magic of the Old Public Hall is in use for this concert series, where magic birds will explode and fly among the eaves of the Hall's roof, the roof will disappear in view of the night sky, or small explosions of color — named "fireworks" — pop off with every growing crescendo. The final show will feature a performance of Jaskier's ballad to Lfybringr, ballads of bravery in the Free Cities sands, and exciting tales of forbidden lovers meeting in the eternal night of Nocwich.
  
  
  
  The final song of the night, ending the Festival, is "The Phoenix Always Rises From The Ashes," a loud and explosive power ballad that sounds strangely like modern rock to some ears, meant to invigorate and inspire all of those who have lost hope. This show features magnificent displays of wildfire magic, echoing the unrestrained strength of Libertas's people. When the final line echoes through the hall — And the people, like the phoenix, will always rise! — a gigantic, illusionary phoenix will appear, covering the roof of the Hall, giving a beautiful, defiant screech before exploding into feathers. These feathers are soft to the touch, quite real, and can be taken home as souvenirs.

As always, thank you for your patronage and interest in the arts, Free Cities. Remember that, in the end, the people will always rise.]

Comments

[cryptsleeper]

[He wins about sleep. That's good.]

That's good enough for my purpose--hm?

[Alucard doesn't know what that sigh was. He did not associate Sypha with the theater in the way Jaskier did. She was so, so much more than that.]

But you know they have, and er. Technically yes to Sypha. But....[hold on. He pauses, slight frown on his face.] I may have certain preferences I am just realizing.

[cointosser]

[Jaskier doesn't think to explain. Hoenstly, he's lost what little filter he has between his thoughts and his mouth, and he's tired enough to let subjects go even more easily than usual.]

Knowing is far different than watching it. Especially from the top of their head. [Yes, he may have failed to mention he was a bird desperately clinging to Hilda's head as she murdered men. That doesn't seem terribly important to mention right now.]

What? [Jaskier looks at him, leaning up.] You've only just realized you're attracted to women who murder? Alucard, for fuck's sake. Of course you are. There is nothing less beautiful and no less attractive than a dangerous woman.

[cryptsleeper]

[That? That gets the bard a pointed shove because fuck you.]

No. Women with overly cheerful or boisterous personalities that either hide or compliment immense physical strength. [The murder part doesn't enter into it.] And are usually not obnoxious. [Sypha could be a little, depending on the situation.

Oh.

Shades of his mother.

Fuck him, this is not a realization he needs to be having right now.]

Are there any wine bottles near you? I need to process this thought.

[cointosser]

What, you think most people would rather enjoy the company of women with terrible, stormy personalities? [He laughs -- the exhausted laugh of the completely spent, airy and dry -- and the shove actually makes him laugh harder as he finally sits up, leaning back on his hands. Mog gives a stretch beside him, eventually pawing at Jaskier's leg before hopping onto his lap.

His owner being exhausted does not trouble the gryphon.]

Alucard, you know you can learn new things about yourself without it being some terrible revelation? [Yes, there is wine, but for once, perhaps the dhampir should process without the aid of alcohol.] It doesn't even have to do with much else. Strength is simply attractive. It's not so deep.

[Yes, he got a "it's not that deep" from Jaskier. Maybe he needs to hear it.]

[cryptsleeper]

[This may be making Jaskier laugh, but there's something a little bit more finally dawning on the dhampir. He sits up as well, but it's as he is blurting out:]

I think I want to attempt a romantic relationship again.

[cointosser]

[Jaskier quiets and stares at him.

Oh. Well, as happy as he is to give Alucard sudden deep, meaningful revelations, did he really need to do it now? He's so damn tired.

It's almost as if he can barely comprehend how monumental that is. Which it obviously is, but...]

Perhaps not with Gideon. [He elbows Alucard gently, jesting.] I think that would be very wonderful for you, Adrian.

[cryptsleeper]

[Jaskier, all meaningful revelations happen when you're exhausted.]

Well, obviously. [He and Gideon have joked about it before.]

It's not like I want to rush in for the sake of just doing it but...[there's a little pause.] It doesn't make me terrified either, like it used to.

[cointosser]

[No, many happen in the shower.]

You don't have to reassure me. I know well precisely how careful you are about such things. [Things that involve matters of the heart, he means; especially after Sypha's disappearance, especially when Jaskier had been there to witness, even from the stage, what was happening between them.

He doesn't let himself think of Hector. In the moment. Over a year, and it still stings.]

Are you -- dare I say it? -- growing? As a person? After all this time? [He kids. His hand lands on Alucard's shoulder, squeezing.] That is possibly the best sign of all. And you should know, however you go about it, you will have me supporting you.

[cryptsleeper]

[Okay, point.]

Perhaps? [Alucard doesn't know. All he knows is that he didn't have a total break down while helping Lenore with her clothing design process which involved her using magic to adjust the tailoring while garments were on him. That made something click.]

I can't rightly say. Just that it is a sudden realization and I think brought upon by exhaustion.

end around here? then I can hit the new tl!

[cointosser]

Certainly I agree with that. With no energy left to keep your defenses up, you're left only with the barest truths of yourself.

[Or Jaskier is merely saying things through his own exhaustion. To himself, he sounds very deep and meaningful indeed. And like his back is beginning to get sore, actually. And he is very full of wine.

He sits up, carefully cradling a now-sleeping Mog in his arm. It is time to start the long road of cleaning up. To indulge in the final step of a celebration that went swimmingly.] Keep laying here. I'm going to start putting our things together, but -- I think we can indulge in one more bottle of wine now.

[As in, he's sobered up.]