Taverns
As with all great tales, we begin in a tavern – but this is no humble inn like those found in the small villages peppering the Crownlands countryside… In truth it once was, but legends and songs have grown it into something else altogether.
Where once stood the humble stones of the Windchaser Tavern now there is the sprawling streets of Windchase Hold, and throughout Avereaux’s history taverns have served as the starting point for many great adventures. This has led to the taverns becoming part of the legends themselves, just like how a bladesmith is revered for a sword of their creation being used to slay evil, taverns themselves are lauded for the stories they play a role in.
This in turn has led to people from all walks of life flocking to these famed establishments; Chevalier seeking new comrades to share in quests, musicians travelling between freeholds to perform their ballads, to Freeholders utilising the fact that these community hubs prove rich with opportunities to find new stock for their shelves.
As such, what once was merely a small Inn for patrons to fill their bellies and slake their thirst, now sprawling marketplaces stretch from the beer gardens, academies bustling with practicing magicians and archives housing the ancient chronicles. Some of these Freeholds have even erected walls and defences in reaction to the increasing concerns of the last few decades of unrest, inviting groups of adventurers to steady employment in town defence.
National Festivals
The Freehold Games
The four great Freeholds all stand in support of one another, providing trade between them and serving as bastions for the surrounding villages should the need arise. Yet there is a sort of friendly rivalry between them, with adventuring parties competing to bring the most adulation to their homes with another legend for the archives.
This rivalry is probably best shown during the “Freehold Games”, a yearly festival where adventurers from each hold gather to compete in a variety of games and challenges. It is not all about strength and skill – the challenges change regularly and many are won by those who are adept in wits and wisdom. Alongside the games themselves, the festival serves as a chance for celebration and to make plans between the holds for the next year.
The Freehold games originated in Windchase Hold, with some Averlaise making the bold claim that Windchase was the greatest Hold in all the land. This was, of course, challenged by the other Holds and thus the Barley Barons proposed a festival with challenges and games to prove that their Hold was greatest. Each hold takes it in turn to host, with Riverside making space for the games in its meadows in the present year, 1025.
At the first games, the challenge of choice was “Fell the Pheasant”, based around an old hunting practice. One volunteer agrees to play the role of the pheasant for their team while the rest of their hold team becomes hunters for another Holds pheasant; the unfortunate pheasant is given a hat with resplendent plumage and tasked to avoid capture by the hunting team for as long as possible. This game has remained a favourite of the festival goers ever since, amongst many new challenges that have been cooked up in the meantime.
At the conclusion of the games the victorious Hold is declared and they are given centre stage to speak of the great stories of their Hold to all gathered. It is also customary for the victors to offer words of gratitude to the other Holds for helping in the story of the year’s festival – at which points toasts are given and songs sung into the late hours of the evening.
Realm Festivals
Reaper’s Renewal Festival
While the Valdrae and Wonderfolk celebrate the Harvest, and Summersend, the bounty of autumn and the expectation of longer nights to come, the Averlaise prefer to consider the deep connection between the harvest and the Reaper, God of death and mercy.
At the end of the Harvest, to celebrate a job well done, the people of Avereaux gather in the fields, share the bounty of that year’s crops, and share stories of those they have lost along the way. It is common to write the names of their dead on scraps of cloth or paper, and tie them to the chaff pyres made from the inedible portion of the harvest.
These pyres are burned, and songs are sung to remind those present of their losses. Over the course of the evening the sombre atmosphere turns to looking to the future, music gets faster and everyone is encouraged to be cheerful about the challenges that have been overcome.
The Reaper’s “renewal” is twofold – renewing the people in their purpose, their community, and renewing the soil with the ashes of the chaff, so next year’s harvest will be even more bountiful.