Post by FennecFyre on Nov 3, 2013 13:53:36 GMT
Seasons
Ilrea's seasons last for one and a half RL months each. The second week of each season is when that season's holiday takes place. Characters and groups may have their own celebrations as well.
Winter: Each Ilrean year begins in the winter. The whole continent cools drastically, and snow is found is all but the hottest lands, such as Corona Desert. In the most northern areas, it becomes bitterly cold and the snow reaches avalanche and blizzard levels. Starvation and hypothermia become more dangerous. Yuletide takes place in this season.
Spring: The land begins to warm up, and the snow recedes from Ilrea's temperate zone. Hunting becomes a bit easier as the herds replenish themselves. The Bloom Festival takes place in this season.
Summer: The days are long and the nights are warm. The thaw has even reached all but the most frozen regions of the land. In Ilrea's hotter regions, however, lack of water or shade can quickly become an issue. The Midsummer Night Festival takes place during this season.
Fall: Ilrea is cooling down once more. Deciduous trees turn beautiful colors before dropping their leaves, heralding the end of the year. The snows return to Ilrea's northern climate. The most eventful festival of the year, Samhain, takes place in this season.
Holidays
With the return of common speech to the three races, holidays have been set for each season. Detailed information for each holiday will be provided during the actual events.
Yuletide: The Ancient Shrine receives a visitor in the form of Niccholarn, a caribou. Old, wise, jolly, and utterly unafraid of the resident carnivores, he comes to the shrine each year with his gilded sleigh and gives gifts to the creatures of Ilrea, no matter who they are. He can pluck out any sort of item, and there seems to be no bottom to the bags on his sleigh. He will not, however, give weapons as gifts, nor can he grant Traits or Abilities. Some believe he is simply a strange old deer with crafting magic, but others think he might be something more.
Bloom Festival: An odd but nevertheless fun tradition. The beasts of Ilrea welcome the return of color and life to the world by bombing eachother with clumps of petals, dye, and colored powder over the course of several hectic, laughter-inducing days. A supernatural force seems to have taken a liking to the festival. Many participants find that their coats, while retaining their original patterns, become bright and colorful during this celebration. This effect wears off after the festival is over, and those that do not wish for the change are not affected by it.
Midsummer Night Festival: For several nights during Summer, shooting stars can be seen above Ilrea from anywhere on the continent. Fighting will usually slow down during this event, which culminates in a ceasefire at the Ancient Shrine, where enemies and friends alike gather to watch the meteor shower at it's brightest, orchestrated by Zephyr. Some will bring food, and those with the magic to grow and brew certain plants into alcoholic drinks may find a customer or two here during this revel.
Samhain: The week when the world of the living and the world of the dead are close enough to intersect is called Samhain. For a short time, the souls of the departed may return in order to meet their living relatives or haunt old enemies. These ghosts are transparent, often have a ghostly blue glow, are incorporeal, and their voices have a noticeable echo. They cannot attack, or be attacked, but can turn invisible and float. Touching one produces a very noticeable chill. Many of these ghosts simply come back to reunite with their families, but some, driven by either hate or vengeance, can surrender their sentience to join the ranks of the Shades. The majority of these creatures are demons and evil spirits, but a good deal of them were once alive. Shades, unlike ghosts, are corporeal, merciless (especially to those they originally intended to kill) and very dangerous. There are three varieties:
Ilrea's seasons last for one and a half RL months each. The second week of each season is when that season's holiday takes place. Characters and groups may have their own celebrations as well.
Winter: Each Ilrean year begins in the winter. The whole continent cools drastically, and snow is found is all but the hottest lands, such as Corona Desert. In the most northern areas, it becomes bitterly cold and the snow reaches avalanche and blizzard levels. Starvation and hypothermia become more dangerous. Yuletide takes place in this season.
Spring: The land begins to warm up, and the snow recedes from Ilrea's temperate zone. Hunting becomes a bit easier as the herds replenish themselves. The Bloom Festival takes place in this season.
Summer: The days are long and the nights are warm. The thaw has even reached all but the most frozen regions of the land. In Ilrea's hotter regions, however, lack of water or shade can quickly become an issue. The Midsummer Night Festival takes place during this season.
Fall: Ilrea is cooling down once more. Deciduous trees turn beautiful colors before dropping their leaves, heralding the end of the year. The snows return to Ilrea's northern climate. The most eventful festival of the year, Samhain, takes place in this season.
Holidays
With the return of common speech to the three races, holidays have been set for each season. Detailed information for each holiday will be provided during the actual events.
Yuletide: The Ancient Shrine receives a visitor in the form of Niccholarn, a caribou. Old, wise, jolly, and utterly unafraid of the resident carnivores, he comes to the shrine each year with his gilded sleigh and gives gifts to the creatures of Ilrea, no matter who they are. He can pluck out any sort of item, and there seems to be no bottom to the bags on his sleigh. He will not, however, give weapons as gifts, nor can he grant Traits or Abilities. Some believe he is simply a strange old deer with crafting magic, but others think he might be something more.
- Niccolarn can give out any non-weaponry item.
- One item per character. You may not use multiple characters to get gifts for one character.
- Items given in this event cannot be traded between one person's characters.
Bloom Festival: An odd but nevertheless fun tradition. The beasts of Ilrea welcome the return of color and life to the world by bombing eachother with clumps of petals, dye, and colored powder over the course of several hectic, laughter-inducing days. A supernatural force seems to have taken a liking to the festival. Many participants find that their coats, while retaining their original patterns, become bright and colorful during this celebration. This effect wears off after the festival is over, and those that do not wish for the change are not affected by it.
Midsummer Night Festival: For several nights during Summer, shooting stars can be seen above Ilrea from anywhere on the continent. Fighting will usually slow down during this event, which culminates in a ceasefire at the Ancient Shrine, where enemies and friends alike gather to watch the meteor shower at it's brightest, orchestrated by Zephyr. Some will bring food, and those with the magic to grow and brew certain plants into alcoholic drinks may find a customer or two here during this revel.
Samhain: The week when the world of the living and the world of the dead are close enough to intersect is called Samhain. For a short time, the souls of the departed may return in order to meet their living relatives or haunt old enemies. These ghosts are transparent, often have a ghostly blue glow, are incorporeal, and their voices have a noticeable echo. They cannot attack, or be attacked, but can turn invisible and float. Touching one produces a very noticeable chill. Many of these ghosts simply come back to reunite with their families, but some, driven by either hate or vengeance, can surrender their sentience to join the ranks of the Shades. The majority of these creatures are demons and evil spirits, but a good deal of them were once alive. Shades, unlike ghosts, are corporeal, merciless (especially to those they originally intended to kill) and very dangerous. There are three varieties:
- Shuckhound: Resembling black dogs with ice-blue eyes and jagged, knifelike fangs, the Shuckhound is said to have an painfully-cold bite, breathes a blood-freezing mist, and leaves frosted pawprints wherever it goes.
- Cait Sith: They are black felines with red, burning eyes. In comparison to the Shuckhound, a Cait Sith can breathe fire, burn someone with it's fangs and scorches the ground it walks on.
- Harpy: A scrawny black gryphon with bright green eyes, a Harpy's powers are far more subtle than those of a Cait Sith or a Shuckhound. While able to use their beak and talons, they are also able to negatively influence the emotions of those around them. This can range from anything to filling their prey with cold terror before swooping in for the kill, or hiding in the shadows and manipulating the emotions of two lovers to drive them apart with anger and distrust.
Shade Random Events will frequently strike during Samhain, where one or more Shades attack a living character or a group of them, and players can earn Glyphstones by signing up to use the NPC accounts for each kind of Shade in order to fulfill these REs. Shades can also start threads on their own for characters to come in and fight them. Those playing Shades must specify how many Shades there are, and obviously be okay with playing NPCs that are there to be defeated. If you don't want a thread to be disturbed, you may mark it with [No Shades] in the title.
