Soul's Solstice

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Okay, I'm using this as a workspace to plan out the big festival that will kick off my new D&D campaign. Feel free to comment as much as you'd like!

The Soul's Solstice
A Brief History
Many generations ago, the kingdom of Hallow Crest was plagued with war, two dukes fighting viciously over the right to rule the kingdom after its king suddenly passed away. On the eve of the winter solstice, the Duke Jermaine arose victorious; in a close victory, he was able to rally his troops against the Duke Anas upon realizing that Anas had set up the king's death. Hallow Crest, under King Jermaine's leadership, was sent into an era of prosperity.

One year after the war came to an end, King Jermaine declared that there would be a great feast for all of the people within his kingdom to honor the soldiers that had died in the struggle against Duke Anas. The festival, at this point, only lasted one day, but the brotherly love shared by the townspeople was so strong that the spirits of many fallen warriors returned to celebrate with their loved ones.

Ever since that first year, the kingdom has continued the tradition of holding a festival in honor of the fallen warriors. It has since expanded into a week-long event, with great warriors from one sea to the other coming to participate in great tournaments. Nearly every continent is represented in the festival, proudly displaying artifacts from their culture and all honoring their own fallen warriors. The visitation from fallen warriors, however, is something that the people of Hallow Crest keep as a guarded secret; this has become an incredibly sacred event that is only to be experienced by those living in the kingdom.

I'll be back later with more detailed information! Let me know what you think!

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The Tournament
The tournament originally started as a simple contest between friends in the kingdom; allies would spar and the winners of these spars would gain a certain level of local notoriety. As the years progressed, certain warriors began to stand out as steady victors in these contests. Fueled by some kind of thirst for more adventure, many of the winners would begin careers as adventurers. As a result, Hallow Crest became known as a veritable breeding ground for strong warriors.

It wasn't long at all, naturally, that foreigners started to show up for the festival. Greeted wearily at first, they were eventually embraced. Elgar Turinth, a Dwarven cleric of Moradin was the first foreigner to win the tournament, but his humility caused the people of Hallow Crest to fight their urge to hate him. Instead, he was welcomed into the kingdom and was greeted warmly every year that he would return.

Many years after the tournaments first started, the first magician appeared. A strange Tiefling going only by the title of Passion entered and swept the contest using his fiery magics. Many opposed this, as it did nothing to show his physical might; Turinth, however, convinced the people of Hallow Crest to think otherwise. "Warriors," he told them, "are not only men of the sword. A warrior exists through his soul. It is the spirit of a warrior, the drive to constantly better oneself, that defines a true warrior." From then on, the tournament tested both might and mind.

As time passed, the tournament became an even bigger event. So many warriors began arriving from so many different lands that it was rethought completely. Warriors would enter the tournament and would be randomly placed into teams. This creation of teams furthered the idea of uniting all nations, forcing men from across the world to work together for a single goal.

Now the tournament is a grand spectacle, indeed. Spanning nearly the entire festival, the tournament puts teams of warriors into different trials. Those that perform the best on each day progress onward with all others left behind. The prizes are generally items enchanted by local wizards, but prestige still stands as the biggest reward.

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The Competing Lands[/u]

Hallow Crest
The creators of Soul's Solstice, Hallow Crest values physical might over all others. In the eyes of warriors from Hallow Crest, champions are defined by their skill on the battlefield; a man able to slay hundreds of orcs armed only with his axe is considered a more valuable than a wizard taking just as many out with a single fireball. The warriors of Hallow Crest generally lack the cunning of those in other lands, but are not simpletons. Brilliant warriors have graced the land, although they must be able to fight just as well as they can think in order to truly be legendary.

The gods look favorably on many of Hallow Crest's people, frequently imparting some of their power on these men. While most of the divinely blessed are not soldiers, the gods will frequently give a promising warrior power to test him at the tournament. Should the warrior fare well, he will then become an agent of whichever god as selected him and will usually continue into a life of adventure.

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The Competing Lands, cont.

Storm Peak
Barely visible from the edges of Hallow Crest, Storm Peak is a city built around the top of a mountain. Few people travel to and form Storm Peak, as those who enter are rumored to rarely return; those that do go through so drastic a change that family and friends barely recognize them. Storm Peak is a mountain plagued with dark magics, these energies coursing through all of its people. Cruel agents of dark gods rule, keeping the people of Storm Peak at a constant level of disadvantage. That aside, all that live in Storm Peak have some control over magic, be it arcane or primal.

Storm Peak sends a handful of warriors to the Soul' Solstice tournament, all highly ranked knights to the king. These knights are always feared competition, as they care little for the well-being of the other competitors. Although officials have always been able to intervene before a contestant has been killed, these warriors clearly have no qualms against slaying an opponent.

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The Competing Lands, cont.

Rallakah
Just west of Hallow Crest is Rallakah, a deep forest that is home to many elves. The wood elves (standard Elves in 4E) live on the ground, creating infrastructure from fallen leaves and twigs from the trees. These elves live in harmony with nature, having a symbiotic relationship with the forest around them; as a result, primal energies are very strong within this forest. In the tree tops live the high elves (Eladrin in 4E), having created exquisite cities connecting the trees. The high elves have magic in their blood, as their first ancestors in this realm come from one in which arcane magic flows freely. The high and wood elves live peacefully with one another, although minor squabbles over territory do come up from time to time.

The first contestant from Rallakah, Ardonis, has since changed the way the tournament at Soul's Solstice has been run. Ardonis was a wise swordmage, using his arcane powers to defend his family and friends. After coming in as runner-up in the tournament, Ardonis continued to support Soul's Solstice and has done his part to make it the event that it is today. Using his immense knowledge of Arcane magic, he devised spells to create magical arenas for combat. No longer do the warriors battle in barren fields, but in ornate dungeons and magical temples.

The elves of Rallakah value intelligence and wisdom over all things. While physical warriors do exist in this forest, most warriors use magic to aid them and act with great deliberation when determining to act violently and attempt to end all conflicts as quickly as possible.

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The Competing Lands, cont.

Tussevor
Far to the east of Hallow Crest is the grand city of Tussevor. Isolationist by nature, the people of Tussevor worship a single deity that has long-since been out of favor in most civilized regions. The values of this city are tied very strongly to faith and any who stray from the way of light are banished from the city and forced to survive in the wilderness. Value is placed on piousness, as the god of this city reward the most pious greatly. As a result, the leaders are all divinely influenced and wield their power with force when necessary.

The Dragonborn have taken hold of Tussevor for quite some time and, although not the only race of people to live here, they certainly control all that happens. Tieflings, too, live in Tussevor, and are treated as second-class citizens. The Tieflings originated in this city, you see, and their past has never escaped them. Because of this, a Tiefling is a rare sight within Tussevor during daytime hours.

In regards to the Hallow Crest tournament, Tussevor has only recently entered. Shedinn, a great champion of Tussevor's god, journeyed to Hallow Crest on a quest to prove his god's might. Indeed, Shedinn entered the tournament and won, although he was nearly defeated. Returning to Tussevor as a hero, Shedinn started a precedent of Tussevorian warriors entering the tournament. Although none have fared as well as Shedinn, Tussevor has started to earn a reputation as being a place where powerful holy warriors come from.