[Nell du'Galle]

Over the first cycle of Kalendryas, Autumn of Era XI (pf): Era II of the Celestine Mandate.

Despite the wine and liquor which had flowed the previous darkening at the Masked Ball, there was a most excellent turnout of citizens to the first day of magery competition for the Versian Arcana Festival. The air was sweet and fresh as summer melded with autumn and the grounds of Ludstone Manor were at their finest to behold. As well as the central events of the actual Arcana tournament, tents and stalls had been erected to provide sumptuous and hearty refreshment to the festival-goers. The air was filled with the tasty aroma of well-seasoned pies, honey roasted drumsticks, spiced meats and other such fare, whilst the aural senses were pleasantly lulled by wandering minstrels who plucked their lutes and piped their flutes in delightful cadences. Bards serenaded those who passed with eye-catching distance, whilst jugglers and clowns entertained the younger members of the crowds.

And although colourful banners and bunting had been erected, the greatest colour came from the Versians themselves as they paraded and strolled about the gardens of Ludstone Manor, resplendent in brilliant clothes from the tips of their pointy-shoes to the swirls of their exotically decorated hats. They were a fine complement to the autumn colours of the trees which were dotted about the gardens, nature’s own jewels of reds, oranges and yellows. All in all a vibrant scene against the backdrop of Ludstone Manor, painted a lush purple to appear as an unpolished amethyst overlooking the prepared stage for the contest.

The young man who had been present at the sign-ups for the contest was striding about the competition area, having been elevated to an official for the occasion. He fussed over the seating which had been set out for the Mages of the Imaden School of Higher Learning, consulted his clipboard which detailed the various contestants expected on each brightening and altogether wound himself up into a tizzy when he discovered that the flowers intended as a presentation to Lady Ludstone had been sat on by a thoughtless and rather rotund halfling.

Each brightening that came with this cycle of Magery competition would be thus for him, a new catastrophe which would be up to him to solve. But it appeared that the rest of the officials were happy with the arrangements and the various Master Mages attending would watch with a keen eye for students who had passed through their halls of learning, to see if they had fulfilled their initial promise.

Before them, a lawn was laid out as the competition area, roped off with silken ribbons to keep the spectators at bay – partly to not distract the competitors, but also to keep them out of range of any misdirected spells cast, particularly on the first day where the junior battles would commence. Judging each competition was a Master from the Imaden School who specialised in those particular spheres and great respect and applause was afforded these Mages as they took their seat on a cushioned chair, raised on a slight platform.

OOC: When peermodding, do feel free to add whatever details are needed for your particular battle and alter anything if required. Details of the npc judges in each sphere can be found in the Hygh District threads, but also create other npc’s if required. The timestamps for the various events are:

B2 Kalendryas - Junior battles
B3 Kalendryas - Elementalism battles
B5 Kalendryas - Ikos battles
B6 Kalendryas - Mysticism battles
B10 Kalendryas - Final Battle

This thread can be used, or if you want to create a separate thread for your event, go ahead. Poke me if you need me! Details of who is peermodding which event can be found in the OOC thread for Vers. I’d recommend PMing your contestants if you suspect they might not know this is going ahead.