[EVENT] THE SHANGPAR RACE

[ironwood]

Characters: ALL!
Date: January 20th to January 24th
Location: Various.
Situation: It’s time for the Shangpar Race!
Warnings/Rating: Add warnings as needed.

The day is here, the day is here, the day is here! Though not every shop is closed and not every kedan is on the streets, it’s a near thing. The race is slated to begin early in the morning, and the city rises for the occasion. Shops open late and workplaces allow for a late start to the day to give everyone an opportunity to watch the starting festivities.

It begins with something almost like a parade. The riders -- there are fifty-five of them, thanks to negotiations during the forum -- are escorted from the shangpari holding pens to the starting line just outside the city, using the most circuitous route available in order to take the riders through every sector.

The starting-line is located just outside a set of the city’s gates, while the finishing-line is at the set on the opposite end. It leads off away from the city, traversing through several of the shell’s terrains, from burgeoning woodland, across a ‘river’, to an area of wasteland leading into mountains, and then down to the shores of the shell’s edge.

While the usual daily processes continue during the race, there are runners at supply checkpoints who, thanks to the efforts of Stark Industries and a handful of Foreigners, are able to report the race statistics via audio directly to the consoles. Groups of children hired as criers run from place to place without access to consoles to carry those reports to the rest of the city. In this time the kedan already begin preparations for the feast which follows it, regardless of who the actual winner might be.

The winners begin trickling in on day four to a crowd already prepared. Thanks to the runners, the residents of Keeliai already know who’s in the lead and when, roughly, they will arrive.

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LINKS
Parade | Betting booths | Starting line | Finish line | Feast

OOC
In the related forum thread the family leaders were open to the idea of Foreigners participating in the race as long as they possessed no abilities that would provide an unfair advantage and were able to front the cost of 500 juulan. If your character has no such abilities and would have wanted to participate, and you feel you have reasoning for their being able to finance their entry, please PM the mod journal so we can work out the details.

No Foreigner who enters will be able to OOCly apply to win the race -- this event is about the cultural experience, not the winning or losing! More details regarding the race are available on the itinerary here.

Please also do remember that IC actions will have IC consequences. This is a huge, huge cultural event for the kedan; disrupting it in any way will cause a negative reaction. That's not to say don't do it -- but do be prepared for the consequences.

Comments

PARADE

[ironwood]

The riders are in no particular order as they leave the holding-pens, which results in a bit of jostling to claim the lead. Many of them have colourful, home-made banners and ribbons tied to their chariots to represent themselves. Some have even spared the expense to have family members parade with a large banner before them, and the most comfortable behind the reins play up in front of the crowd.

Kedan line the streets to cheer and watch them pass, calling encouragement to their favoured riders. A good crowd follow them boulevard to boulevard, and a few race ahead to draw attention. The streets are packed, even more than they usually are; it’s almost impossible to get anywhere without using backstreets. Forget about shopping and the like--nowhere is open, at least as long as the parade.

Better watch out for pickpockets, though -- it’s impossible to tell whether they’re affiliated with anyone in particular, but with these close quarters and the rampant wagering, there’s a few cunning folk filching from pockets.

BETTING BOOTHS

[ironwood]

The betting booths are temporary places stationed around the city’s gates, food stalls and console cafes, in prime locations to attract attention from kedan gathering to discuss or view the race. Though the rates change somewhat, these booths have the most comprehensive information on all the riders -- as well as opinions upon each and, of course, the betting odds. Hidden among the booths are the financiers -- loansharks looking for a good mark.

In these places money flows freely. Some kedan don’t even bother with the booths, and make bets with one another, usually sealed by a witness with a piece of knotted string to count off the amount of juulan being offered. Even the Foreigners will find themselves approached.

STARTING LINE

[ironwood]

Upon reaching the starting-line the riders draw up in one long row before the initial stretch of track. It leads between the nearest farms and it’s lined with people; though a number of the Woodsmen are still at work, as many of them as can be spared have also stopped to watch the race’s kick-off.

Starting the race is nearly as prestigious a position as participating in it, and is selected at random from a sack full of names. The lucky kedan on this occasion is a young girl whose face is red from beaming and needs to sit on her father’s shoulders just to be properly seen. A hot-air balloon is released over the riders, floating up into the sky until it bursts in an array of fireworks and the riders surge forward in an initial rush for the lead.

Soon enough the riders fall into comfortable positions, with a group in the center and outliers strung out before and behind.

FINISHING LINE

[ironwood]

The finishing gates were specifically chosen for space -- space for the welcoming crowds, space so the shangpari can be led off and tended, space for the riders to receive food and all their relations’ smothering attention. Dirty, footsore, triumphant -- the winners are led to the podium constructed for this occasion, where they’re given seats and the best food and drink available until the rest of the riders arrive.

Already, some of the bettors are exchanging money with varying degrees of glee, resignation or even devastation -- for those who literally bet the house. The stalls here run more along the lines of gimmicks and souvenirs than food, though there are a few snacks available -- small fishballs, tiny dumplings, bags of roasted nuts. The good food is reserved for the exhausted riders and for the feast slated to begin just as soon as the last rider has arrived and the winners have been awarded.

Once the final riders are in the shangpari are led away for slaughter and the riders return to their chariots to be pulled through the city by cheering fans -- in order of their winning, of course. The awards take place in the Courtyard of Public Opinion, where the winner receives their prize from the hands of their sponsor.

FEAST

[ironwood]

The feast is strung out all among the city, all open-aired; it clutters the boulevards and the courtyards like a giant picnic lit by paper lanterns. People sit on benches, bring their own rugs, pool their resources. The best cooks in the city have been working tirelessly for the last few days to feed their assigned quadrants.

The highlight of the feast takes place in the Courtyard of Public Opinion, where the winners are seated and the best portions of the shangpari roasts are located. Here the celebration is raucous, full of toasts and hugs and quite a few drinks. All of the riders are in high demand for stories and play-by-plays, and although there’s a handful of arguments -- aided somewhat by the freely flowing drinks -- none of them reach any further than the participants needing to be sat down somewhere quiet for a little while.

Even the Foreigners will find themselves welcomed, offered food at nearly every turn, invited to sit with families whom they might know. Though a great deal of the time this seems to be an excuse for the kedan to boast about the race and its tradition, a fair few of the kedan are curious about what analogous races the Foreigners might know from their own worlds.