The Solarpunk Kingdom

Welcome to TSK's official Lantern Festival event.
Are you excited to see the floating lanterns gleam? I sure am!

During this event, we have a special forum topic (Mhm, this one!) located in the City Square dedicated to the festival. Not all members have to attend as it's optional, but you'll be glad if you did! Be sure to have your lanterns ready and your excitement ready too, because this Lantern Festival is a lovely event you won't want to miss.

The event officially starts January 14th, 2023 at no specific time and will last until the 30th of January, 2023. There is plenty of time to join in on the wonderful fun!

UPDATE:
The event's over, but for those who have roleplayed in the event and still haven't finished up their RP can still finish up.

If the City Square hadn't been busy before, it certainly is now with the Lantern Festival arriving to the town. There were extra marketplaces set up around the area than usual, some selling lanterns, some selling small version flags the Kingdom's Flag. Near the statue of the King and near the statue of the Queen, there was colorful flags and lights hanging from them and around the place.

In the middle of the City Square itself, the court had been painted with a beautiful, big sun with Eco-Friendly paints. It was the dancing court for couples that wanted to dance, or just solo-dancers wanting to have fun.

There were also areas that people could paint their own small little paintings if they didn't want to dance.

Music played around the whole City Square, with people and their instruments, solar-powered phonographs and singers having fun singing songs revolving around the Lantern Festival itself. This festival was originally to call the lost princess back home, but now that the princess was home, it was for the princess herself. She was enjoying it a lot, high from her bedroom balcony, her boyfriend by her side watching.

---

Varian was currently looking around the place. He had been to one of these as a little kid with his dad, but this was the first time in a long time he's went to one of these. His dad had told him that he could go alone, but Varian insisted he enjoy the festival too. So Varian and Quirin were together, exploring the marketplaces while waiting for the night to fall for lanterns to release into the air.

They did this every night, the lanterns, but the Rudiger Family could really only afford a few lanterns despite Quirin's income from his pumpkin-farming back in the Farmland outside of the Kingdom's city. Varian still enjoyed it, no matter how many lanterns he had, because he enjoyed the people and the music, the sights, the sounds, the lights... Everything.

Ever westward the wanderer walked.

He followed the setting sun wherever it led, and it led now to a city of wonders unlike any the man had seen before ... that he could remember, at least. There was much activity in the city, and from what he could tell, it was because of some kind of festival. The cheer in the air was infectious. The singing, the dancing, the boundless creativity--it made him smile. Alas, his smile was a grim thing, pulled into a sneer by the ugly scar that crossed his face.

The wanderer stuck out like a sore thumb in this crowd. He was armed and armored in an antique fashion, his clothes patched and faded, his face dusty and battle-worb. Against the colorful and lively backdrop of the festivities, he looked like a lost specter. He paused at a crossroad, looking up and down the two streets, unsure which way to take.

Varian passed by the wanderer, smiling brightly, his bucktooth showing. He then noticed the wandered and backed up, "Hey! Are you from out of the city too?" He asked, nodding.

"You look lost, and I can imagine why. This place is huge!" Varian laughed.

"I come from the farmlands outside the city, but...I frequent here often. It's just usually the festival isn't going on." He added.

The Hanged Man blinked and looked down at the boy who addressed him. He smiled, but again, it was a haggard and war-weary expression, and may not provide reassurance to anyone who saw it.

"Aye, cully, I hail from far afield," the stranger said. His voice was gentle, and heavily accented with some archaic dialect. Every now and then he stuttered. He raised a gloved hand to gesture vaguely towards the festivities. "What, pray tell, art thou celebrating?"

Varian found the hanged man's way of speaking quite fascinating, it was definitely clear to him now that this wanderer was from somewhere different. "We are celebrating for the Princess of this Kingdom. She had once been lost, and around this time, every year, the King and Queen, along with the villagers, would send lanterns into the sky in hopes she come back." Varian explained.

"She's returned now, so it's now more of a celebration of her return years ago." He added with a smile.

Hangman listened to the story, ending it with a satisfied nod. "Thou must care for her greatly to continue such celebrations after her return."

The traveler adjusted the weight of the great shield that was slung across his back. He seemed not to be bothered by its bulk. After Varian mentioned lanterns, he scratched his stubbly chin, then frowned up into the sky. "How doth one send lanterns to the heavens?"

Varian nodded a bit, confused by what he meant by heavens. "Welllll, if you mean the sky... The lanterns are filled with a special, eco-friendly chemical that when lit up by flame, they float into the air. They're also made of biodegradable paper, so they'll go back into the earth instead of littering the place they fall." Varian proudly said, he was a dork for this kind of stuff. Science, alchemy, engineering...

The stranger's face went slack, like a deer caught in torchlight. This place was strange, almost alien. "I ... gramercy, young master, though I do not full well understand." He ran a gloved hand through his hair, which was messy from his long journey. "Thou art familiar with this city? Prithee, couldst thou mayhap aid an old traveler?"

Varian awkwardly rubbed the back of his own neck, "Ah, sorry I...like to use big words sometimes." He nodded, "I'm somewhat familiar, I could help you and show you around. There is so much stuff here that's just so fascinating!" Varian explained.

"Anything specific you want to see?" He asked.

Nowun chuckled as the boy apologized. "Nay, nay--forgive an old antique ..." He lowered his hand from his head to rest it on the hilt of his sword. It didn't seem like many others in the street were armed as heavily as him. "I need room and board whilst I'm in the city. Alas, 'tisn't likely to be terribly, ah, fascinating ..."

"Room and board, forgive me if I'm wrong, but that means somewhere to stay while in this kingdom, right? Sure, I can handle that." Varian began to walk, then beckoned the wanderer with his hand; "It's not too far away from here, and there's so many places to choose from, hotels, apartments, houses, to stay permanently or temporarily." He said, walking along the roads.

The stranger bowed his head. "Aye, young master, 'tis my meaning." He fell into step behind Varian, the rim of his shield clinking quietly against his armor as he moved. He walked with a limp, which slowed his step. "Alas, I have little in the way of coin," he said. "Wherever I may lay my head for cheapest shall do."

"Understandable. I'll find you something." Varian nodded with a wink, "Me and my dad don't have much currency either." He said to the wanderer. "As I said before, I come from the farmlands. The specific area I live in is less advanced than the city here." Varian explained as he walked. "What's it like where you come from?" He asked.

"'Tis certainly a sight to behold," the stranger said softly, his eyes raising to marvel at the architecture. Varian's question brought them back down again, and he chuckled. "O, master--when an old axe such as myself begins to reminisce, 'tis quite a feat to get him to button his lip." Despite this, he sighed and didn't speak right away. "... I cannot ... remember it well. There was a great weald, and cliffs over an iron sea ..."

Varian found the description of what the wandered somewhat remembered. It sounded very, very interesting and he was curious where it could be. Varian smiled, seeming to enjoy hearing the man talk. He loved hearing stories, as he was the type to read the Tales of Flynniagan Rider books constantly.

Judging by the way the boy smiled, the traveler figured he was interested, maybe even wanted to hear more.

"There was an arch ..." He traced the shape in the air with his hand. "... under which slumbers a great stone beast. When it roseth from a sleep of centuries, 'twas full wroth." There was a glazed look in the man's green eyes as he reached back into the rummage-sack of memories rattling around in his head, trying to piece together which ones went together. "Imagine it--waking one morn in a world unbeknownst to thee, where all has changed and thy loved ones are no more."

He watched as the wanderer traced the shape and explained the land. The great stone beast reminded him of his previous work of making automatons, but that...was in the past. "That's kind of crazy... I bet it was a shock." Varian frowned a bit.

The man bowed his head, grateful that Varian understood. Though this was a story of stopping a monster to save the lives of innocent people, it was not a heroic saga but a tragic one. "Aye, young master. The beast rampaged for a o'er a fortnight, crushing dwellings, wailing into the night, slaying shepherds and their flocks ..." He closed his eyes. The troll had lain the bodies at the heart of a tormentil patch. For a moment, the old traveler could see the yellow flowers catching the dim light of torches. He was quiet for a long time and may need to be reminded he had been saying something.

Varian looked down, thinking about the automatons he made, again, and then shook his head.

He looked up to see the Living Quarters. "Ah, here we are." Varian smiled a bit forced. "Plenty of places to stay here! Various prices high and low, good qualities too." Varian turned to the wanderer and held his hands towards the entrance of the area filled with apartments, hotels, houses and much more. "There's a lot to choose from." Varian said to him.