Sunburst Festival

The Sunburst Festival is a tradition nearly four hundred years old, growing up around the Initiate Trials held by the Knights of Mystic Fire as it increased in public popularity. In its early years, a separate tournament was founded by the Wizard King that was open to the masses, which spurred a number of prominent guilds to host adjacent tournaments -- including science fairs, cooking challenges, and even popularity contests.

The celebration begins each year on Erastus 1st, opening with the Initiate Trials, and leading into a number of games and small challenges that are free to the public. It is often called the Sunrise Day of the festival, and sets the pace for the rest of the festivities.   Day 2, also known as Noon Day, marks the beginning of most guild-supported challenges, including the vaultbreaking challenge hosted by the infamous master Razapan, and the spell debates held by the Arcanamirium. At noon, the exact middle of the festival, the Sunburst Tournament begins, which regularly sees thousands of hopefuls attempt to climb the bracket. The winners of these massive combats are filtered into the latter half of the tournament, which typically include local heroes like Chandra, Ricard Hatamash, and even Kesil himself.   Sunset Day, the last day of the festival, is dominated by the one-on-one duels in the tournament, which are more akin to a games than coliseum bouts. Contestants are pitted in all manner of challenges against their opponents, with the cash prize for each participant increasing as the climb up the leaderboard. The final bout, which is always some variant of a combat, is ritualistically performed at sunset. The result is often the talk of the realms for months, and is celebrated in the ensuing night with wild parties, free drinks, and fireworks.   Of note, if the Wizard King wins the Sunburst Tournament, his winnings are split among the common folk of Avistan, which often equates to a gold piece per citizen. This had made him a crowd favorite for decades, although he has been defeated dozens of times in the past, most notably by his second-in-command, Chandra.

Unlike most other festivals held in modern-day Golarion, tourists come from all over the globe to see the Sunburst Festival, and to capitalize on the opportunity present in Absalom. This is funded directly by the Swords of Absalom, who increase patrols along the roads in the weeks surrounding the festival, and extend the routes supported by their Gatestone Tram network.