Legends of Belariath
The Quest of Festivals Common
Howard Alan Treesong - Festivals of the Magi
The Magi have 6 main festivals, These are not annual but depend upon a complicated 19 year cycle of the sun, moon and other heavenly bodies. At the end of each cycle the heavenly bodies have returned to the positions occupied at the beginning of the cycle. The festivals are held in succession. Each festival then is held once every 57 years. Since the Magi are distributed worldwide from their continent the festivals have no set place for most Magi. A specific class of Magi called Chrons, perform functions which celebrate the festivals at various places on the surface of Belariath and this is their main and only duty as Magi. The Magi continent however is suspected to be more of a floating Island. Its location never set, and the debate as to it being sea borne or a mystical island of the sky debated to this day.
The first festival is called Tran or Beginning.
Each Magi is required to forgive all debts owed him, end all projects on which he or she is working, release all slaves and sell all his goods. He may do as he wishes with the proceeds but must dispose of them too by the end of Tran. Most give it to friends or the poor or have a large celebration. A particular weakness of many Magi is erotic dancers and many are known to become rich at the time of Tran. The Chrons celebrate Tran at the North Pole of Belariath. The ceremony performed is a very long and involved erotic dance with slaves brought along for the purpose. This culminates in an orgy lasting about a week. All the slaves are freed at the end of this and then transported to wherever they choose to go. A Magi does not have to relocate at the time of Tran but many choose to.
The second festival is called Heltran or Continuance.
At the beginning, all Magi must write a Review of what he has done in the last 19 years and a Plan of what he means to do with the next 19. He then holds a large festival, a huge celebration which must include many Magi whom he does not know. The guest of honor at this celebration is usually his worst enemy. At the celebration the two will exchange their plans and reviews. The guest is then bound to hold a return celebration for the host at which these documents are returned to their original owners. After this the guest Magi, who must be unfamiliar to either Magi before the celebrations, are polled as to who held the best affair. The loser is honor bound to tear up his Plan and adopt that of the winner as his own (but only insofar as goals are concerned, as to his means of accomplishing these goals these are his own concern). Any means of influencing the judging Magi, including bribes or threats, is considered fair. The Magi is only obligated to return the host's celebration if he receives the invitation within the year that Heltran occurs. Many Magi consider this festival nonsense and either ignore it entirely or make arrangements with a friend to become "enemies" and have plans which are compatible with each other. The Chrons hold a two week long ceremony at an undisclosed location on the Magi continent. This is secret and little is known of it since the only ones who have seen it are Chrons and the slaves that help them. These slaves are given their freedom afterwards but only on the condition that they undergo a series of spells which remove all memory of the ceremony. Since the slaves used are all erotic dancers it is speculated that the ceremony is sexual in nature.
The final and most extensive celebration is called Festivolo, or Becoming.
Festivolo begins at the end of Heltran and continues for the next entire 19 years. It has two aspects. The first aspect is a series of athletic contests in the form of a game called Flutney. Flutney is played only by Chrons, these Chrons are specialists within the Chron faction of the Magi and do nothing but play Flutney. The Magi continent is divided into areas and each has their own team of Chrons. Each Magi considers his relation to that team a part of his identity as a Magi. Flutney is a game complicated even for a race which delights in complexity. It is played on a five sided field with three teams. The objective is get a huge ball, about 6 feet in diameter and weighing several hundred pounds, to the center. Beyond that is beyond the scope of this narrative. Volumes have been written on the rules and proper play of Flutney and will continue to be written as they change constantly. Disputes about rules are a constant and ongoing part of the games themselves. The series of games culminates in a contest between the three best of the several teams according to a formula even more complicated than the games themselves. The winners here are given nothing whatsoever. Each Magi has his own opinion of Flutney. Some seem obsessed by it, following the games (which are themselves conducted in secret and then chronicled by another specialist class of Chrons) in great detail and wagering large sums on the game's outcomes. Others regard it as nonsense. Most have some interest but not an extreme one. The second aspect of Festivolo is Ferros Frond, or the Contest of Steel. Ferris Frond is a series of contests held by Magi in different areas of the world to see which is the better at magic wielding. Any magi can join. A committee selects the subject of the contest and then all entrants are judged by the same committee. The winners play against each other until a champion of all Magi is selected. These contests take place in a specially constructed amphitheater before large and cheering audiences. The prize is reputation, nothing more. The vast majority of Magi do not participate in these since it involves the loss of their secrets, but it is avidly followed for that same reason.
The Magi also recognize three elemental substances in all their alchemy. Fire is one, Ether another and the third and greatest is Force. All things are vibrations of Force in Ether and Fire is the relationship of one to the other. Each festival of the elements is celebrated instead of Tran to mark the passing of a complete 57 year cycle and in succession one after the other, so that each elemental festival is celebrated only once every 171 years.
U'tha Tirol is the festival of fire. The Magi in an area must go to the highest point accessible and light a large fire. Substances are added to turn the fire different colors on successive nights. Blue the first, Red the second and Yellow the third, then the fire is extinguished.
U'tha Minas is the festival of force. All the Magi in a specified area meet in specified areas. Belariath's is a point approximately 4 days journey south of the Inn. The areas are determined by a survey of Gaea's ley lines. Once there each makes a unique set of sounds, the characteristics of which are determined by a formula both secret and arcane. After 4 days they cease and the instruments used to make the sounds, if any are destroyed.
Trania is the festival of Ether. At the time of Trania all Magi must find one other. That other will judge him and then be judged by him in turn as to the proper celebration. One will then go to a high, flat and unobstructed area and erect a stick. He will draw a circle around the stick, the shadow of which must intersect it during the day. The Magi will greet the sun there and sit in the circle until the sunsets. After this, the other Magi repeats the ritual. They then give each other a score and this is sent to the Magi continent. The formula by which the score is derived and what significance it has is probably the most closely guarded secret of this secretive race. The only other thing known about Trania is that it is considered by far the most important festival/ritual, which the Magi have