Kin's Banquet

Word of the new cooperation between the East and West Kingdoms travels rapidly across both nations. While the trigger for the thawing relations causes a ripple of unease - what threat did Delverne and its old Oracle still pose? - the mood amongst the commonfolk is buoyant. The civil split two years ago had divided many families and friends without warning, leaving them stranded on one side of the border, and they cannot wait now to reunite with their loved ones at last.

Sensing the growing anticipation, the leaders of both the East and West move rapidly to secure the peace deal. On the 10th Stars, whispers leak from inside the Mirian court that the peace has been signed and sealed. And so - without waiting for any official confirmation - an excited crowd begins to gather on the west side the border. The guards at the checkpoint try to explain that it will be several more days before the border is actually ready to open, but there is no stopping it now - people settle in with picnic blankets and tents to wait, and soon enough the east side joins in by camping out on the other side.

The impromptu gathering turns into an impromptu festival on the 12th Stars, a day which was beloved for decades as the King's Banquet. Food, stoves and tables are assembled, and a haphazard but hearty feast is cooked up by the people on both sides of the border. Despite the no-man's-land separating them, they can feel each other's cheer through the delicious smells, bright decorations, and distant rumble of laughter and music. The communal banquet continues for days, until on the 16th Stars, the border is finally, officially reopened. A flood of overjoyed kin finally rush back into each other's arms, just in time to see through the new year together.

Features: Tents and campfires, barbeques, spiced wine, giant pans of paella, colourful pennants and 'welcome home' banners, excited families, guards who have given up on being killjoys and are lowkey enjoying the party too