Good Hap to the Lunar New Year!

 and the Feasts of Investiture

With the close of Urodas-Bayzadis 1 and the beginning of the new lunar year, it a time for feasting and celebrations. The clash of timbrels and the winding of horns at sundown at the end of the lunar year herald the coming of the new year, and denote the beginning of a night of feasts Cities-wide.

At the top of society, the Souffets feast in their palace and re-invest their officers in the offices they have held for the past year--or choose to invest others in their place, as the case may be. They dine on fine dejeja meat, delectably roasted in butter and stuffed with dates; and eat pickled ninyelu, and rice pudding, and drink lassi, spiced or sweet, and fine wines.

Among the houses of Gadeed, the feasts are no less sumptuous, and mirror rituals of investiture are performed for the various officers of the banu houses. But even in humble households of Gadeed, or even of Cothon, feasts are still held--families take mowaj haunches from the markets for great roasts, or slaughter hmelu for themselves, and even they repeat the ritual for their humble servants of investing them with their responsibility within the household.

For player-characters:

Those who wish to partake in the festivities may spend 100 dinars (gp) per level to participate in a feast, as sumptuous as their means allow--and thus earn experience points equal to the gold they spend.

If they describe their festivities in detail, either below in the comments or on our Discord server, the experience they earn will be increased by 10%.

For Iqtadar Sesel:

In addition to the option above, Sesel, as a citizen, may also be called to perform some further office, into which he would be invested, if selected in particular, or if selected by lot. 

Let Sesel roll a d100 and consult the following table:

1 - called to serve as one of the Thalatheen (a panel of judges)
2-3 - called to serve on the Bem (the popular assembly)
4-10 – no office
11 - Katib to the Harbor
12 - Katib to the Knights Pylaea
13 - Katib to the Censors
14 - Katib to the Poor Brothers
15 - Katib to the Migdol of the Dyers
16-29 - no office
30 - Katib to the Court of the Moon
31 - Katib to the Court of the Mount
32 - Katib to the Souffets
34 - Katib to the Armory
35-49 - no office
50-51 - Hamladdir to the Mahanet (General)
52-63 - no office
64-70 - called to serve the army
71-92 - no office
93 - Katib to Alagadrein
94 - Katib to al Zaytun
95-98 - envoy to the Xolda Princess
99-00 - envoy to the Attine Spire

Thalatheen – the Thirty
A panel of thirty judges who review the conduct of civil and military officers. A citizen selected for this office should roll 1d6 at the beginning of each month; a 1 indicates a review is afoot, details to be generated by the referee

Bem – the Popular Assembly
The Bem is responsible for voting on certain proposals of the Souffets. If the Bem is summoned, the player-character must spend their downtime for that week attending the assembly to listen to debate and vote on the proposal

Katib – Scribe
A minor official assigned to a variety of offices to assist operations. Very much like the quaestors of ancient Rome, the Kataba's chief function is as auditors and assistants. A player-character performing such duties must spend one downtime per month attending to said duties; on the upside, this will entail some familiarity with the officer they are assigned to, and to the arena they are engaged in

Hamladdir – Shieldbearer
No longer literally the shieldbearers/bodyguards of the Mahanet (General), this is a junior military officer who acts as an aide de camp or sometimes a quartermaster. A player-character chosen for this office must either attend the Mahanet in person, or supply a person of character and skill in their stead (e.g. a son, a trusted servant, or perhaps a cousin, &c.). While the Mahanet is in the city it requires only one downtime per month to fulfill this duty, but if the Mahanet marches forth, then his Hamladdir must perforce go wither he goes

Army Service
A player-character called to serve the army as a citizen must supply armsmen to the army according to his rank and wealth. This does not necessarily mean personally serving (many nobles outfit their own Gilmani or men-at-arms to serve), though citizens of lesser means are expected to outfit themselves with arms and serve in the heavy infantry.
An iqtadar of a smaller holding might be expected to send a heavily armed infantryman and his shieldbearer, plus ten archers/skirmishers, and a slave or servant or two to serve their camp.

Envoy to Klackons
An unusual post, but Sesel's reputation precedes him enough that he is in consideration. He helped spearhead the crusade against the creatures haunting the Sixth House in the Spire of the Attines, after all. This post would entail service similar to that as a Kitab, although with the additional responsibility to act as a liaison between Souffets and Klackons under extraordinary circumstances (details to be determined by the referee)

Endings and Beginnings: the Solar New Year

Eid of the New Sun (Eid al Shams Gadeed)

It is the middle of winter, and the sun is at its weakest in the northern hemisphere, however vast it is in the heavens; ice and hoarfrost have the northern lands in their dread grip, covering the land and driving all but the hardiest creatures south. Here on the southern coast, winter is certainly less severe, but there are ocean storms to hammer the shores, the air has grown noticeably chill, and rains swell the streams of the Gana River and her tributaries.

Days have been waning in length, and the shortest day, the winter solstice, comes at the end of the year, when the sun seems at its weakest. The day after this, with the lengthening of days again, marks the beginning of a new solar year. So it is on the solstice that the Eid of the New Sun begins, and continues through the next few days to celebrate the coming of the new sun and the new year.

This is a time of high sacrifice of grave importance. This is the time of the king-priests, the Priests minal Muluk, who maintain the last true remnant of Tsurrian royalty, having of old given over their rulership duties in order to focus only on certain proper sacrifices. The former high priest of these, Kayl minal Muluk, died two lunar years ago, and so this will be the first Eid presided over by the new high priest, Kathir minal Muluk.

At the shrine of the king-priests, the Souffets will present seven perfect hmelus, either black or white, at least two donated specifically by the Souffets while other great houses vie to provide the remaining five. The king-priests will then take the victim-animals up the steps to the top of the shrine where they will offer them as kourbaneia to the sun, slitting the victim’s throats and letting the blood flow across the altar and then down runnels on either side of the steps to a channel at the base of the shrine. There, lesser priests will splash the fresh blood over the Souffets and their gathered entourage, while above Kathir minal Muluk will divide the animals, casting the heads down the stairs, taking a third of each animal for the shrine, giving a third of the animals away to the poor, and delivering the remaining third back to the Souffets for a feast in their palace, and burning the entrails for the further strengthening of the sun.

The Souffets return to their own palaces blood-smeared, and have hmelus from their own herds sacrificed in imitation of the rites of the king-priests, the beasts roasted on spits over the fires and a great feast held within their halls. The blood of the hmelus is painted over the great doors of the palace and sprinkled over the guests of the feast, and the poor of the city come to the gates to receive a portion of the meat of the sacrifices.

All around the city, lesser versions of this sacrifice will be taking place, in large public plazas where many families gather together to slaughter hmelus (and many families will have saved up their fals in order to purchase as good a hmelu as they can). Great bonfires in the public spaces are set up for the burning of entrails and fat and bones, all to send the nourishment of the feast to the sun. Meanwhile, the blood of these sacrifices will be painted over the doors of houses, and splashed over hands and faces, and traditionally the meat of all these animals is divided similarly to the king-priests’ kourbaneia, so that everyone in the city will have plenty to eat for the next few days of feasting.

The reason for these sacrifices is threefold. Chiefly, the great fires burn the entrails and send the nourishment of the feasts as smoke to the sun above, to help its renewal on this, the shortest of days. Secondly, the sacrifices also allow everyone in the city to eat during this part of the winter, when the poorest might have the least. But the blood that is spilled--and painted over doorways--is another important reason for the sacrifices. For it is this blood that distracts the demons of the Bayt al Aswad, "the Black House", and most especially the great Devourer, who would otherwise overwhelm the sun, and after that, devour everything. But with all the blood flowing on the earth below, the Devourer will drink it down and become drunk on it, and thus turn away from the sun when it is at its weakest; and having done so, will lose another chance to devour the sun. So the sacrifices are an important ritual in keeping the world safe from the evils of the Devourer.

There is also an ancient memory of human sacrifice that took place during this time--a memory perhaps older than even Old Tsurr. There are perhaps cults or sects elsewhere in other cities that still practice that terrible ritual, but there have never been public rites of human sacrifice Cothon-Gadeed, and so it shall hopefully remain.

For Player-Characters:

It would be a simple enough thing for the barbarian-adventurers of Cothon to spend 3 or 4 gold dinars on a fine hmelu and have it sacrificed and butchered, thus to take part in the feasting; but if they wish, those with means may spend quite extravagantly to make their feasting wonderful, and as the feast continues for several days after the sacrifice, there is ample time to spend thusly.

This is also a time of charity for those who have less--the third of the meat given to the poor, for instance--and so charitable giving of other kind, of alms, perhaps, are also looked at favorably in this time.

Therefore, player-characters who wish to partake in this time of sacrifice and feasting may spend up to 100 gold per level, with a short description of what their gold is buying--or where or how it is being donated--and earn that amount of experience. This does not require the use of a downtime roll, as the entire cities are celebrating this great ceremony, and it would be quite easy to join in the feasting.

For example: Najm ibn Marwan will spend 700 dinars to purchase a pair of hmelus for his ship and Confraternity of Saint Iskameen, as well as paying for a good selection of wines, and good flatbreads and a pottage of fish and root vegetables to accompany the roasted hmelu. Blood will be painted on the mast, the bow, and keel, and a third of the hmelu meat will be sent to Fahra's Hole-in-the-Wall to be distributed to the poor from there. In doing this, Najm receives 700 xp.

Please post actions in the comments below, or in the downtime section of our Discord channel.

Intercalary Days

[player-characters, look to the bottom for effects on downtime during this period (ending 4 February with the Solar New Year)]

As the solar year winds down toward its end, the intercalary period approaches, a time "inserted" into this lunar year (Urodas-Bayzadis 1) in order to "stretch it out" to fit three lunar years into one solar year. These days are traditionally a time of rest or of tying up loose ends or finishing projects left unfinished in the last years. It is a little unusual that such a time occurs so quickly after one of the stretches of Long Times (wake, peace, or march), but because of the way the intercalary is inserted, it will actually rotate through the solar year, essentially advancing one month every three lunar years.

Every lunar year is of course 360 days, divided into 12 months of 30 days each. The solar calendar, unfortunately, is not 1080 days, but about 1103.02, leaving 23 days unaccounted for (plus an odd day every few years). Some calendars append the extra days to the lunar months piecemeal (e.g. months of varying length, from 29 to 33 days); or ignore lunar years altogether; but the Ten Cities follow a calendar that blocked all the intercalary days into one length of time at the end of each solar year.

Lunar-Annual vs. Solar-Annual Events

This approximately three week period will be represented for us by the month of January, and the normal lunar year will continue in February (along with the beginning of the Solar New Year at the same time!). This means that in the future, events tied to the lunar calendar in the next three years will occur one month later than they have for us in the past few years (e.g. the Long Wake and Coreguyi Games will occur next January, not this December).

Solar-annual events, on the other hand, will continue to occur during their solar month, so for example the next Masquerade of the Immortal Dead will occur in late March/early April of 2024 (Urodas-Bayzadis 2)

A Time for Rest or Focus

The approximate three weeks of the Intercalary are considered a time for rest or for focusing on doing what one has left undone, i.e. finishing projects. It is considered bad luck to begin any new undertaking, though there is no official taboo against it.

To represent this, there are certain modifiers to be applied to various downtime activities during this time (ending 4 February):

• Characters attempting to build an institution during this time roll at -2 on the dice, representing the unwillingness of Cothoni and Gadeedi to help with new projects during this time
• Similarly, player-characters beginning a new "clock" with any downtime roll at -1 on the dice during this time; e.g. starting martial lessons for a new technique will be rolled at -1, or attempting to develop a new potion through alchemy likewise
• However, player-characters continuing work on an already established "clock" may roll at +1 on the dice for their downtime; for instance, if one had previously begun learning a martial technique, even last month, they will roll at +1 during this time when attempting to perfect the technique for themselves, &c.

The Miat have Spoken

 As the year Khusra-Fadhlan 3 ends, year Urodas-Bayzadis 1 begins.

All hail the new Souffets, Urodas al Arasqiy and Bayzadis al Othmani!

Though the people clamored for Dalinar al Khalid, the bani of Gadeed were still wary of what the general would do if he wielded the power of the state in conjunction with the adoration of the people and the soldiers of the cities. Instead, they turned to Bayzadis, an aridani woman of Banu al Othmani—for the Othmani have had recent successes against the Red Cloud and his hordes, in the hiring of certain barbarian adventurers to be thorns in the paw of that villainous Kzin warlord. And so the bani hoped to assuage the people, in that, though they did not get Dalinar as Souffet, they did get one whose house has been prosecuting the conflict with the Red Cloud even as Dalinar would.

Meanwhile, the bani also voted for Urodas al Arasquiy to succeed Khusra of the same house, swayed at least somewhat by the influence of Banu al Rashid. The Arasquiy are a notable merchant clan, who compete broadly with the Hanse across Dirac’s Sea, so it will be interesting to see how things develop when the Hanseatic campaign against the pirates resumes in the east after winter's end. Meanwhile, Urodas will most likely see to domestic and trading affairs, while Bayzadis marshals the forces of Cothon and Gadeed against the Kzinti threat.

The Feast of Investiture

With the closing of the lunar year and the beginning anew, it is at the Feast of Investiture that the seals of office for the Souffets are transferred from those outgoing to those incoming. After the feasting, the new Souffets would then receive oaths from those currently in lesser office, and either affirm them by reinvesting them with their authority, or take back their office, so that another might be invested in their place.

The great feasting in the palace of the Souffets in Gadeed had more solemnity this year than in years previous, given the looming threat of the Red Cloud. Though nevertheless a grand affair and wondrous spectacle—into the court were brought whole roasted hma, sewn back into their skins, and dejejas stuffed with dates or plums, pickled smelts and ninenyelu, small gilekites steamed in wine, all delivered on silver and gilt platters—there was a seriousness in the air that subdued the merrymaking that young wine usually engenders.

At this feast as well, Chir'dirine the Princess of the Xolda Klackons, who share Cothon with humans, was a prominent guest with her entourage of pale-carapaced dores and gilt-carapaced sister- and cousiness-courtiers. Her own carapace oiled and perfumed and darkly gleaming, she watched the rites of investiture with great interest, and presented herself to both pairs, of departing and of incoming Souffets. In this, she is not really partaking in any ritual of fealty, but presenting herself as an equal to reaffirm the ancient alliance between the men of the Dual-Cities and the Xolda Klackons who dwell amongst them.

Urodas and Bayzadis recited the ancient oaths to the Dual-Cities and the Ten Cities' League, and thence received the chains and seals of their office from their predecessors. So then did they in turn receive the oaths of the chiefs of the bani-tribes and other officers of the state, and give unto them their offices. Not all who were in office retained their office, however, for it is the prerogative of new Souffets to install to their courts their own loyal followers.

And there are other offices to be filled by election or lot, thence to receive their authority from the hands and the seal of the Souffets. Some of these posts are to be held by those of noble birth (such as the Adirim, Council of the Mighty), but there are many offices of the state and the league that are held by ordinary citizens.

For Sesel

Who as a citizen is eligible for certain offices, by election or by lot. Sesel should roll d100 and consult the table below to see if he is called to any civil office for the next year:

1 - called to serve as one of the Thalatheen (a panel of judges)
2-3 - called to serve on the Bem (the popular assembly)
4-10 – no office
11 - Katib to the Harbor
12 - Katib to the Knights Pylaea
13 - Katib to the Censors
14 - Katib to the Poor Brothers
15 - Katib to the Migdol of the Dyers
16-29 - no office
30 - Katib to the Court of the Moon
31 - Katib to the Court of the Mount
32 - Katib to the Souffets
34 - Katib to the Armory
35-49 - no office
50-51 - Hamladdir to the Mahanet (General)
52-63 - no office
64-70 - called to serve the army
71-92 - no office
93 - Katib to Alagadrein
94 - Katib to al Zaytun
95-98 - envoy to the Xolda Princess
99-00 - envoy to the Attine Spire

Thalatheen – the Thirty
A panel of thirty judges who review the conduct of civil and military officers. A citizen selected for this office should roll 1d6 at the beginning of each month; a 1 indicates a review is afoot, details to be generated by the referee

Bem – the Popular Assembly
The Bem is responsible for voting on certain proposals of the Souffets. If the Bem is summoned, the player-character must spend their downtime for that week attending the assembly to listen to debate and vote on the proposal

Katib – Scribe
A minor official assigned to a variety of offices to assist operations. Very much like the quaestors of ancient Rome, the Kataba's chief function is as auditors and assistants. A player-character performing such duties must spend one downtime per month attending to said duties; on the upside, this will entail some familiarity with the officer they are assigned to, and to the arena they are engaged in

Hamladdir – Shieldbearer
No longer literally the shieldbearers/bodyguards of the Mahanet (General), this is a junior military officer who acts as an aide de camp or sometimes a quartermaster. A player-character chosen for this office must either attend the Mahanet in person, or supply a person of character and skill in their stead (e.g. a son, a trusted servant, or perhaps a cousin, &c.). While the Mahanet is in the city it requires only one downtime per month to fulfill this duty, but if the Mahanet marches forth, then his Hamladdir must perforce go wither he goes

Army Service
A player-character called to serve the army as a citizen must supply armsmen to the army according to his rank and wealth. This does not necessarily mean personally serving (many nobles outfit their own Gilmani or men-at-arms to serve), though citizens of lesser means are expected to outfit themselves with arms and serve in the heavy infantry.
An iqtadar of a smaller holding might be expected to send a heavily armed infantryman and his shieldbearer, plus ten archers/skirmishers, and a slave or servant or two to serve their camp.

Envoy to Klackons
An unusual post, but Sesel's reputation precedes him enough that he is in consideration. He helped spearhead the crusade against the creatures haunting the Sixth House in the Spire of the Attines, after all. This post would entail service similar to that as a Kitab, although with the additional responsibility to act as a liaison between Souffets and Klackons under extraordinary circumstances (details to be determined by the referee)

Good Luck to the Lunar New Year

Another lunar year has ended--Khusra-Fadlan 3--and the new year begins with the investiture of the new Souffets, after whom the next lunar years will be named (their ascension explained in a separate post). Meanwhile, the end of the solar year is fast approaching, as this hemisphere of Ardha falls ever deeper into winter (however mild)--and the changeover of the solar year will be no less a time for celebration than this beginning of the new lunar year!

As to this beginning, however, it is a time of feasting and celebration. While in mother-city Gadeed, the grand Feast of Investiture is held, all throughout the Dual-Cities lesser feasts are held for citizens and denizens of less grandiose means. Guilds gather to recapitulate their founding myths and reinvest their members with their offices and obligations; households gather to remind each other of familial responsibilities; all celebrated by feasts mirroring the grand change of office held throughout the cosmos at this time of year.

These feasts customarily include a dish of slow-cooked field pease with hmelu-bacon, mixed with a pottage of greens simmered in savory broth, all washed down by sparkling young wine, corked early to maintain its effervescence. To these traditional foods, those with money add further dishes and delicacies according to their means--shishu fruits and sherbets, roasted mowaj haunches, fine cheeses, &c.--but every household makes sure to include at least a pot of the traditional pease, for its taste brings luck to the new year.

For Player-Characters
Just as last year, this is a chance for player-characters of means to spend conspicuously in order to earn a little extra experience. Any character may throw a banquet for their friends, acquaintances, employees, or servants (or attend a banquet in style) by spending up to 100 dinars (gp) per level and thus earn an equivalent amount of xp.

Those who wish to add a little flair and describe their expenditures and feast, either in the comments below or on our Discord channel, will earn an additional 10% xp for their lavishments.

 

The Feasts of Investiture

[the Scribes note that this post was supposed to go up at the end of November, which was the actual end of the lunar year in Cothon-Gadeed. Unfortunately, life got in the way; but the changing of the year is an important time and shouldn't go unnoted, as it is a time of feasting and important symbolic bindings ...]

The Lunar Year is over! Good luck to the new Lunar Year!

As the old year comes to a close, and the new year is sounded in by the clash of timbrels and the winding of horns, it is a time for feasting and celebrations, and for the renewal of the symbolic bonds that hold society together.

A great feast is to be held in Gadeed--the Feast of Investiture--whereat the Souffets will ceremonially reinvest the high officers of the state with their authority.

(technically, at this time they could also rescind offices from disfavored servitors, and invest the authority in new officers; and though that may have been done historically, it is not now the custom--rather, the current custom is to rescind offices at the time of a serious breach of trust or major failure, rather than to wait for this feast at the end of the year)

This is also the time for the selection of citizens to perform various offices for the city-state through the next year; many of these officers are selected from all citizens by lot, which ensures that though the Souffets are the executives of the city, they do not control all the levers of power, and must at times compromise with those selected for them by the will of fate. This too will be done at the great feasts.

Fortunately for Sesel, newly minted citizen of Gadeed, his status is too new for his name to have been entered into the lots, and so he will not be assigned any additional office beyond his iqta'; but, barring assignation before then, at the feasts of investiture next year his name may yet be drawn for the assumption of some city- or league-office. And who knows? Perhaps by then others among the barbarians will have attained citizenship for themselves.

And, as the highest officers of the land have their great feast, so all of society down to individual houses have their own, and perform their own smaller feasts of investiture. The Guilds call their members to their halls to perform again the mysteries that tell their myths and stories to themselves, so that everyone is again invested with the import of their Guild duties; and masters call their households together, and feast their servants and slaves, and reestablish the order that must exist within by again handing out the duties and "offices" of the household.

So this is a time of great feasting and celebration, from the top levels of society, all the way to the bottom rungs of the great ladder; even the Heroes and Demons above must too be feasting, in the halls of the Fortress Moon and beyond!

A traditional dish prepared in many households of the Dual-Cities is a dish of field pease slow cooked with morsels of hmelu-bacon, served alongside greens simmered in savory broth, all washed down by draughts of young wine, corked early to keep its effervescence. Though in the palaces of the mighty and the halls of the great guilds are to be found great hma roasted whole, and pickled ninenyelu, and shishu-fruits and sherbets, and all manner of delicacies, still nearly every kitchen will also provide at least a pot of humble field pease and savory greens--for good luck to the new year.

For Player-Characters

I had intended to supply another carousing table or something to go along with this feast, but I fear the moment has passed, as the new lunar year in Cothon-Gadeed began 4 December (with the sighting of the new moon, the Fortress Moon dimmed in its otherwise greenish glory).

Instead, I offer a simple way to have had your player-characters participate in the feasts:

Characters may spend up to 100 dinars (gp) per level in attending or throwing a feast, and earn an amount of experience equal to the amount of gold spent. No need to roll saving throws,  complications, or the use of any downtime action--it would be unseemly to party so hard during this auspicious time, and surely it would incur bad luck when thus entering into the new year.

Additionally, if a player describes the nature of their character's contribution, or how they went about throwing their feast--in the comments below, or in the downtime thread on our Discord channel--then that character earns additional xp equal to 10% of what was spent. For example:

Najm ibn Marwan, owner of the small sailing dhow the Saint Iskameen, will throw a small feast of investiture for his own crew, which constitutes the (very) minor Confraternity of St. Iskameen. It will be held aboard ship, of course, and while it includes the customary field pease and greens, Najm spends 500 dinars (he is of 5th level) to put on a lavish spread that includes a variety of smoked fishes, fine cheeses, olives, and dark breads, all washed down with the aforementioned sparkling wine.

As part of the feast (and his expenditure), he will ceremonially install Fa Mei as his first mate and second-in-command, providing her with a fine cloak of dark blue hmelu-wool, pinned with a silver fishhook; and then ceremonially install Alianor Drake as his bosun and third-in-command, with a similarly fine cloak of grey hmelu-wool, pinned with a red-brass fishhook. And naturally, he gives his crew the next day off for liberty in the city and its taverns.

With that (overly long) description of Najm's involvement in the feasts, he thus earns 550 xp (500 from the gold, +10% from the account)

Alas for poor Kzin-Friend (the Referee's unlucky first character), he has but 2 dinars to his name, and cannot spend them. But he is content to remain outside the city in this case, eschewing the symbolic renewal of civilization for the living tradition in the tales he is sharing with the Fremen shaman Kynes.

A Final Note on the Solar Year

Though the Lunar Year has ended, and a new one begun (it is now year Khusra-Fadhlan 3, the last year of the office of Khusra and of Fadhlan as Souffets), the Solar Year has approximately 370 more days before it ends, and the next Solar Year begins. The feasts at that time will be of quite a different character--grander even than these!--for that is the time of the selection of two new Souffets to lead the Gadeed, Mother of Cities, and the Ten Cities League.

But that is something that can surely wait. Let us enjoy this Lunar Year as it begins, and whatever fate it holds for us unfolds in the coming months.