First Apple

On Bayyat (Masabay Yatla), the first day of the eighth month, Southport and the surrounding villages host a festival celebrating the harvesting of the first apples of the season called First Apple, or Yatringa.   First Apple is a day of revelry, with the breweries and pubs handing out free pints of Applewine, beer, and snacks. In Southport, stages for musicians and entertainers are set up in Center Green and Weston Green. The merchants in the market behind Southport City Hall display their finest wares. After dark, the streets are lit with hundreds of colorful lanterns, street performers and artists put on shows, and the stages in Center Green and Weston Green host famous troupes putting on plays, singing, and dancing. A colorful night market is set up, with merchants selling snacks, drinks, and souvenirs of all kinds.   The Vestry of Valamarashe, Druikminster, Chantry of Laidleshe, and The Sanctuary of Baiyamuta sponsor a very popular lottery. Throughout the year, the people of Southport and the surrounding region are able to buy tickets for the lottery from the temples. The winning ticket is drawn at a ceremony held at Weston Green at sunset on First Apple. The winner splits the proceeds from the lottery with the temples, with 50% going to the winner, and 50% going to the temples, with each of the four temples receiving an amount proportional to the number of tickets sold by the temple. The amount won by the lucky person is typically several thousand Dorla, enough to provide a comfortable living for several years. Of course, the odds of winning are actually infinitesimal, so buying the lottery tickets for most people is a waste of money. The temples have faced some criticism for sponsoring the lottery, but the proceeds they earn have outweighed the criticism to this point.   During the week after the First Apple festival, several tournaments and competitions are held in Southport. Archery, wrestling, fishing, baking, and other competitions are judged, with the winners presented medals by Duke Severin Tachibana Larssen, Baron Minoru Tachibana Meiling, Sir Asmund Johansen, and Mayor Mai Tachibana, as well as other prizes sponsored by prominent businesses and guilds in the area, including Southport Mercantile Bank, Appleton Chateau, the Southland Cartermen, and the Harbormasters.   The crowds at the shows and markets, of course, draw thieves, pickpockets, and other unsavory types. The gang of thieves and pickpockets led by Dorrie Lightfoot Paine looks forward to the First Apple festival. It is one of their most profitable times of the year, as the inebriated revelers are easy marks. The Weston Guards, Easton Guards, and Royal Southport Constabulary do their best to police the city during the First Apple festivities, but some crime is almost inevitable.