A young apprentice was summoned by the acting ruler. Upon entering his quarters, the temporary ruler tried his best not to look stressed. The apprentice could tell he was, however, and the badly-hidden paperwork only helped further proved this. Pretending not to notice, the apprentice politely asked what he was summoned for.
"A-ahh yes… Um… Dominic, was it?"
"Y… yes sir," Dominic responded, still scouring the room for more evidence of the ruler's lack of organisation. Dominic didn't think too highly of the new ruler, and still hadn't learned his name. This was easy to fake, however, by just calling him "sir".
"I've called you here to discuss some… events that have been brought to my attention. Now, as you may or may not know, I have not lived in Zyarhelm for very long; in fact I have only lived here for 10 months. However Queen Zyardran has held me in high enough regard to put me in this position."
"Yes sir" the stand-in ruler had stopped to gather his words, so the reply was merely to fill the periodic silence.
"Due to this, I am mostly unfamiliar with the apparent upcoming festival."
"The Baric Festival, sir?"
"Yes, yes. What does this festival entail?"
"In this is the history of our nation, that which the festival is based upon" Dominic says, putting an envelope on the ruler's desk.
Spoiler for The History of Zyarhelm:
The citizens of Zyarhelm are a proud race, seeking to distinguish themselves from the cruel and greed-driven country they originated from, Baric. Originally they were just another band of settlers, sent out to establish a foothold over the mountain range for the Baric kingdom to spread its influence and power. The leader of the settlement was a court official, who made them work and build until many of them fainted or dropped dead. This official had been given a magical helmet, that slowly turned whoever looked at the wielder to stone. One day though, a brave worker named Zyar stopped working, and, before she was paralyzed, picked up the bag she had been hauling and placed it over the official's head. Even as hands choked her neck, she held on tightly, which gave the rest of the settlers the courage they needed to grab whatever they could and beat the official to death.
Having revolted, they set to putting out the word about their plight to many other nations, and by the time the army from Baric had arrived to quell their mutiny, they found not a creaky small shantytown, but a well-fortified city. Unable to counter the varying attacks from the different peoples of the city, they retreated. Even though they continued to send forces over the mountain for several seasons, they never learnt enough to conquer the city walls, and eventually stopped trying.
Thus do they remember what they escaped from, and always strive to put the people first.
Thus do they remember the aid they received from the countries of others, and always try to give help in return.
The ruler reads to himself the letter, while Dominic opts to discuss the events held at the festival. As he starts, the ruler quickly summons an amateur scribe to write down the information.
"As you can see, the event is based off us diversifying from the Baric. As such, we dedicate 2 days of the festival to diverse culture, where people from other lands tell us tales of what their homeland is like"
"How long does the festival last, exactly?" The ruler queries, emphasising his foreign background.
"The festival lasts 6 days, with the seventh day being used as a holiday, where we commemorate the people who died to make all this possible."
"I see, and what happens on the other days?"
"The culture diversity show happens on the last two days, allowing us to showcase all different parts. The first day is generally arts, with music provided by bards and showcases of armour and weaponry throughout. The second day is more for stories, provided by scribes, with other warriors telling tales of wars they have been a part of. Foreign cuisine is, of course, served during these days"
"Is there enough of a showing to handle this?"
"There are many people living here from different places, however we get a lot of visitors during this time, many of which are aspiring scribes wanting to learn stories from other nations."
"And what of the other days?"
"The first 2 days are much like the last 2, only just encompassing our own culture. As such, there are foods, arts, songs, and stories from our people. We get a lot of visitors here as well, not quite as much as the international days, but still plenty."
"And on the other 2 days?" The substitute ruler puts down the letter given to him, having now finished reading it. He was only half paying attention to what Dominic was saying, but the scribe was writing down everything anyway.
"The third and fourth day of the festival include some things for, or by, the youth. The third day has many parades, with young bards playing songs. The fourth day is the scribe showcase for the youth, with drama pieces, the speaking competition, and the short stories."
"Do visitors stay for those days?"
"Yes, definitely! People love watching the future of our world, and there are a lot of people who even help the kids with some of their works! Providing feedback, and some tips to improve." "Wow… I never knew…" his voice trails off for an instant, Dominic is trying to hear what the temporary king is muttering, but to no avail. "Thank you…"
"Dominic, sir"
"Y-yes, Dominic. I will take this into consideration and hopefully prepare one of the best festivals we have ever held"
