Legends of Belariath
The Quest of Festivals Common
Scott Monroe - The Rituals and Celebrations of Spire Annis, City of Men
Spire Annis located 50 days walk Northeast of the Lonely Inn, at the base of the Rinsdale Mountains.
Dates in Spire Annis are done in 4 quarters:
1st Quarter: 9th January - 12th April
2nd Quarter 13th April - 19th June
3rd Quarter: 20th June - 10 October
4th Quarter: 11th October - 8th January
And the No. of Day (i.e. the 2nd Tuesday of the 3rd Quarter)
Ah lad, what is it you want to know? My hometown? About it? Well lad, it'll cost ya. No, I'm in a fine mood today, so a couple of glasses of this fine elfish vintage should do the trick. No, where was I? You want to know about the celebrations and feasts? Well, I'll need to give you some background then.
Spire Annis is a large city, split into 3 main parts. Now, there's high and fancy names for each, and vulgar and common names as well, but I'll give you the most common names: The Pit, where the poor and the downtrodden live, The Run, where the middle classes abide and The Spire, where the Spire itself and the rich folk live. Now, ya see, some festivals are celebrated strongly in some areas, and hardly at all in others. Only two festivals are celebrated equally in all 3. And that's your Birthdate and the Feast of Hestletine. Of course, marriages and funerals are celebrated, if you could call it that, but they're pretty routine affairs, and very generalized. But, onto your Birthdate.
Birthdate
Now, I've traveled around a bit now, and the thing special about humans is, we seem to change the most. I've seen elf ladies of 300 years old looking like a fragile 21 year old maiden. I guess that's why we celebrate our birthdays so much… compared to other races, we've got so few.
Now, a couple of men I've seen have started calling this festival birthday… don't make that mistake. To a Spire Annis man, it's your Birthdate and nothing other. It's quite simple lad… it's the day you were born. You normally get given presents by your family, and have a huge meal. Of course, the presents and the meal are different between each family, and wildly different between each area... in The Spire a boy may get a stallion, or a sword, or a suit of armor, where as a girl may get diamonds and rings. In The Pit, you'll be lucky to get a wooden sword, and that'll probably get stolen from you by the end of the day. There was a big thing about having candles stuck in a cake, if you could afford cake or candles, but after that poor merchant burnt his house down, I thing the Spire-master… yeah that's the rulers name… banned it as a public danger. But your Birthdate is a very important day, and you should well remember it. Of course, the presents are greatest to children, but in adult hood you still get the presents, and there's still a fuss. Of course, as it's a private holiday, there aren't any displays or marches, unless it's the Spire-master or his family.
Feast of Hestletine
Now my boy, we're into history. About 150 years back, all told, the Spire-master was called Hestletine. Now, he was a wise king, and kind, yet strong willed and a mighty warrior. Now, that was the year that a huge goblin and Orc invasion occurred. Down from the mountains they poured, thousands of them. Every army sent against them was washed away. So they came to the very gates of Spire Annis. Now Spire Annis has no army of it's own… for military force it relies on lords of the surrounding lands to provide troops. Instead, for security and policing, we have the 4th Watch… 4th Watch because of they were the 4th group to try to establish a city at Spire Annis (but that’s a tale for another day). Nicknamed the Reapers, on account of the fact they all carry a hand held scythe, and in public executions they decapitate the victims with them. So the 4th Watch held our outer walls as best they could… which wasn't that long. The Orcs and goblins were without number, and even Hestletine himself fighting with the men couldn't stop them. Now the Spire area has another wall, so the Reapers fell back there, leaving the Pit and the Run to deal for themselves. The Orcs tried to take the Pit, but the thieves guild is down there, and it wasn't good for the Orcs to realize that if they turned their back for a second they were likely to get a knife in it. So they ravaged the Run… completely destroyed it. So skirting the Pit, they made for the Spire. And the Reapers held the walls to virtually the last man. It's said the Orcs finally broke through after a wall of dead or bodies 15 foot high allowed them to wander over the wall as they wished. Thing is, inside The Spire area, is the actual Spire… a huge tower built before the city existed. And Hestletine and the Watch fought the Orcs to the very top, where Hestletine and The Orc warlord clashed. And that's another legend lad, but it ended with Hestletine casting the Orc warlord from the Spire's ramparts, and sending him crashing to the ground below. That broke the army's spirits, and they ran back to the mountains from which they came. So, every year on the 1st Sunday of the 3rd Quarter, the entire city has a huge feast in his honor. The 4th Watch parade round the city in ceremonial dress, the Spire-master gives a public speech, the pubs open earlier and close later, and generally everyone makes merry.
The Pit
In the Pit lad, there isn't that much to celebrate about, unless you like a harsh living. So what they do celebrate, it's normally celebrated very well. And that my lad, normally means riots.
The Chimes
This comes from a religion that got set up at Spire Annis about 40 years ago. No one remembers the religion, but one ritual got stuck in everyone's mind. On the 4th Sunday of the 1st Quarter, a huge bell was rung 3 times. Now for some reason, it's stuck in The Pit. So, on that Sunday, you'll see the entire population of the Pit (who want to be seen that is), running round swinging either home made bells, bells that they've stolen, or just crashing pans and pots together. And that more or less sums up that festival. Main problem is the men go out to drink some time during the day… and when they go to stagger home that night, some idiot wills till be yelling away, and probably get a punch or knife for his trouble. And then you normally get a huge fight, which normally turns into a riot. This brings the 4th Watch down, and they're scythes normally get pulled out during that night for some on the spot justice.
Doran Quickstep
Now this is celebration for the thieves amongst us, but seeing as the population of the Pit pretty much is entirely thieves I'll mention it here. It’s said that a thief called Doran Quickstep broke into The Spire tower itself, where the Spire-master lives, stole his symbols of office, and brought them to the Pit, where he pretended to be the Spire-master. I don't believe a word of it, as the reapers would have got him in days, but on a different day each year, normally sometime in the 4th
Quarter, the Thieves Guild holds a contest on who cans teal the richest prize from around the city and bring it back to the thieves guild. I've seen everything from 4 men dragging in a statue of Hestletine, to a Reaper scythe, to a brood mare the thief swore was the Spire-master's own stallion. So for that one night, all hell breaks loose.
The Run
Now in the Run, the merchants normally live. And they celebrate 2 things… themselves, and money. So you can guess what they're celebrations are about.
Night of Counting
This is the festival which makes most merchants wet at the mouth. Spire Annis controls trade along a profitable valley. So merchants are always rich here. But one merchant… a Mr. Henry Squall… he did damn well. And in the same way that the Chimes isn't really a festival about anything, this festival celebrates Mt Squall's accountants spending the night counting his money… and in the morning declared him the richest man in the city. And for some reason, all the merchants have their money counted the night before, and in the day declare how much money they have, and thus, who is the richest man in the city. The festival stopped making sense when hostilities broke out as merchants claimed others were cheating, and the Spire-master passed a law claiming that technically everyone was the richest in the city. So the merchants return home, declare themselves richest in the city, and get drunk. You understand it? Me neither.
Grain Day
This festival celebrates the day before grain is brought in from the fields. Originally only the grain merchants celebrated it, but, now it's spread to the entire merchant population. A foul drink made of grain called Mapenzi is drunk, and parties are thrown. It's a fairly simple affair, mainly for the family and close friends of each merchant.
The Spire
Now the Spire is where all the truly rich people, the Lord this and Baron that live. So of course, they can throw the wildest parties. And some of those parties can get very wild indeed. Trust me lad, you haven't seen a party until you've seen one the Spire-master throws.
Forbidden Night
Now, this is a festival no one will admit to. Ya see, most of the time, the young folk in the Spire are pretty straight edge… no wildness, no nothing. But, once a year, at roughly the 6th Saturday of the 4th Quarter, they let it all go. They're given a night to do as they wish. So lot's of pretty young maidens and men get very drunk, very naked, and very sexed. The morning after, all the women take a potion which kills off any pregnancy they might have, and the night isn't spoken of (if it can be remembered). There have been many a story of young men sneaking into the Spire from the Pit or the Run to try to join in, and that has turned into an urban legend. The 4th Watch do their best to stop this, and with instant execution as a punishment, very few man are willing to try their luck.
Last Watch
This is another celebration linked to Hestletine. This time on the last Sunday of the 2nd Quarter, the 4th watch celebrate the last full watch held before the Orcs stormed the walls that fateful night. Originally all this consisted of was all members of the Watch who were off duty arriving at the Watch-house and holding a nightlong vigil. However, as time went on, the members of the nobility wanted to be included as part of this festival, and so the celebration has been diversified. There is still the night long vigil, but also the next day tournaments are held to find the best archer, swordsman, wrestler and poet in the Watch and populace of the Spire. Finally, the Lord of the 4th Watch challenges any member of the watch to come forward and take his place as leader. Any who do must first fight each other till one submits and then, after a break long enough to refresh themselves, takes on the leader of the watch in a first blood on the torso contest. If they win, they take over as leader, if they lose, they lose their rank and a punishment for foolhardiness.
There you have it boy… the main festivals of Spire Annis, the City of Men.