Often called an 'adventuring triathlon' by observers, the Virtuous Symposium is a grand contest held over the course of the month of Haymond as part of the city's celebration of its founding. Although Founder's Day is only a singular holiday on the first of Haymond, the associated festivities and the famous Symposium last all month long, spanning from the first opening ceremonies on Founder's Day and the awarding of the Grand Prize at the end of the month.
The Virtuous Symposium consists of three trials, or 'virtues', that test three facets of character that the people of Revelmoore prize most in their heroes and popular figures; Reverence, Allure, and Gallantry. Adventuring parties from all corners of Lloegyr are encouraged to seek sponsors and make the trek to the Jewel of Akados to participate in the virtues, in order to win the Grand Prize and bring fame and glory to their homes and allies. Small villages, political factions, knightly orders, mage colleges, martial monasteries, and even foreign kingdoms are known to send competitors to participate and seek victory in the Three Virtues.
The Virtue of Reverence
The Virtue of Reverence exemplifies the respect and honor deserved by the heroes of the past. An adventurer must be aware of those who came before them, and learn from the mistakes and victories of yesterday's paragons.
As a trial in the Symposium, the Virtue of Reverence involves a gauntlet of conjured scenarios that emulate great battles, puzzles, or decisions weathered by adventurers of legend and myth. This acts as the first elimination round, trimming the fat of the competitors. Few are able to succeed in the Virtue of Reverence, for raw bravado and martial skill are not enough to overcome it; true strength of character or determination is required to prevail.
The Virtue of Reverence is the most varied of the three, and differs greatly from year to year. It is typically specially devised by the High Dragon of Revelmoore themselves, and since the High Dragon is disallowed from sponsoring a team for the Symposium, it is nigh impossible to prepare for what the Virtue of Reverence may hold.
The Virtue of Allure
The Virtue of Allure is a reminder that with heroics and adventuring come the center stage and the attention of the masses. It is not enough for a fabled adventurer to have slain many beasts or conquered the deepest dungeons; to be truly remembered, they must also be able to command the hearts and minds of the citizenry that witnesses their deeds, and prove themselves worthy of memory.
Taking place a week after the Virtue of Reverence, the Virtue of Allure is a grand ball held in the heart of Ilvastarr Palace. The ballroom is transformed by way of illusory magic, and the competitors attend as honored guests. During the ball, the competitors must do what they can to impress those gathered at the event, including the anonymous judges hiding in plain sight. Revelers adore flashy and loud personalities, and thus do subdued and passive personalities rarely make it past the Virtue of Allure.
Sponsors are expected to outfit their contestants in properly lavish attire and afford them education in the matters of etiquette. However, natural talents go much farther in the Virtue of Allure than courtly manners, and even brusque and rude barbarians from far beyond the city walls have distinguished themselves in the Virtue of Allure by impressing the judges via committing entertaining social faux-pas.
The Virtue of Gallantry
Once the first two Virtues have eliminated a majority of the competition, the third looms over the horizon: the Virtue of Gallantry is a contest of arms that the citizens look forward to every year, for it is one of the pinnacles of spectacle in the City of Splendors. The victorious team is decided in a series of battles held in a conjured arena in the center of the Field of Triumph in the Sea Ward.
To allow for a visceral but ultimately safe battle, each combatant is enchanted with a specialized death ward spell crafted by the priests of Jamboor, allowing a combatant to fight with all they have but ejecting them from the arena via teleportation the moment the death ward is breached. Each team fights in equal matches, and the contest carries on for multiple days until the grand finals, where the ultimate winning team of the Virtuous Symposium is decided.
Symposium Contestants
The Symposium is not entered on an individual basis; because traveling parties are a crucial aspect of adventuring, every contestant in the Symposium participates as part of a team decided upon before signing up. The number of entrants allowed on a team varies from year to year, but the most common team size is four. Each team is also allowed one official sponsor, often an influential individual representing a particular faction, noble house, ward, or political entity, who acts as a 'coach' of sorts and receives the Grand Prize alongside the team.
A team's sponsor cannot be a known governmental official in Revelmoore; specifically, the Open Lord, High Dragon, and Crown of the Flaming Anvil are all disallowed from sponsoring teams in the Symposium. The Masked Lords, however, are allowed to act as sponsors under their publicly known personas. A sponsor is expected to provide funds to equip, educate, advise, and prepare their sponsored adventuring party for each individual event, in addition to being responsible for maintaining public relations and introducing their competitors to influential figures in the city.
Traditionally, well-known and decorated adventurers with established fame and renown are discouraged from entering the proceedings. Sponsors prefer new faces and lesser-known groups, as it makes it easier to create personas, manipulate narratives, and create a 'spin' to get the public on the side of their competitors. With familiar faces, there is recognition, preconception, and history - to say nothing of the public decrying the unfair advantage that storied heroes may have over hometown heroes. However, this tradition is by no means a rule.
Although the Symposium is a celebration of adventurers specifically through the lens of Revelmoore culture, foreign competitors are allowed to enter the Symposium on the same terms as a native-born Reveler. The contest makes no distinction on who is allowed to endure the three Virtues, disregarding all matters of species, wealth, nobility, place of origin, or any other factor. A competing team can only be disqualified from the Symposium by way of a three-fourths majority vote by the Council of Lords, with the Open Lord acting as the tiebreaker in the event of a close vote.
Neighboring governments are invited to participate as an act of good faith, though in the rare event that a team from outside Revelmoore manages to grasp the Grand Prize, they are quite often watched judiciously by the Council of Lords, who remain wary of the power and status afforded to foreign champions of the Symposium.
However, despite the championed equality of the Symposium's entry process, the truth of the matter is that not all entrants are created equal. Every team is allowed a single official sponsor, but the support offered by these sponsors are quite often unequal - the Dock Ward has far less wealth to fund a team than the Sea Ward. Furthermore, sponsoring organizations have been known to funnel significant resources into their contestants before they are officially sponsored - they may also endow their chosen representative with wealth well beyond their ordinary means, with which they can provide their chosen champions through decidedly official channels.
The Symposium is also viewed as an opportunity for actors in bad faith. Since the Grand Prize brings great influence and legal protection, some teams in the past have been sponsored by hostile foreign governments or criminal organizations, often under false identities or shell institutions. Denying such entities entry or the privileges of the Grand Prize is difficult, for it often risks diplomatic scandal and international hostility. The Xanathar Guild in particular has been known to try to get a team on the roster nearly every year, but has thus been unsuccessful to the present day - though the far more organized Xanathar Syndicate of today might just defy this record of failure.
Thus, the Symposium's roster of contestants mirrors the city of Revelmoore itself. It is nominally open to anyone regardless of origin or status, but the affair is greatly impacted by outside intrigue, and the stark division of wealth is impossible to ignore.
The Grand Prize
Emerging as the victors of the Virtuous Symposium comes with fame, adoration, status, and influence. What's more, the winners are afforded the Champion's Favor; a deal of temporary legal leeway and exemption from the Code Legal on par with a noble of the city, until the next Symposium. While they are not allowed to literally get away with murder, champions of the Symposium can count on the preferential protection of the City Watch, the affection of the common folk throughout the city, and even the favor of affiliated nobles and Masked Lords.
This immediate boost in social standing and legal protection opens many doors both literal and figurative for the champions. This has been used for both good and ill in the past; some champions hold their title gracefully and use it to give back to their communities, while others have used it to access records and areas previously restricted to them, or even curry political favors for their own causes and sponsors.
In addition to this intangible reward, the winning team is awarded specially forged rings - the Bands of Triumph - which act as a trophy and proof of one's victory in the Symposium. The Bands of Triumph are forged from mythril mined from Mount Ilvastarr, inlaid with mother-of-pearl gifted by the merfolk of Thalqualnaar in the Deepwater Harbor, and adorned with star sapphires said to have come from Open Lord Reverie I's personal collection. Each Band of Triumph is enchanted to correspond to the individual victor for which it was created, and will crumble to dust if an attempt is made by any other individual to attune to it.
Interim Festivities
Each Virtue's opening ceremony is held a week apart from the last, and the first and third Virtues last for several days (so as to not overwhelm the spellcasters required in carrying them out, and to give competitors days to rest in between matches). The awards ceremony is also held a week after the opening of the Virtue of Gallantry, thus making the entire affair typically last the entire month of Haymond.
During this time, the streets of Revelmoore are abuzz with festivities, packed with both long-time residents and tourists looking to take in the best of what the city has to offer. Art galleries and museums open their doors at discounted rates, Blitzball teams hold expedition matches, restaurants run specials, and theaters reserve some of their best performances for the festivities.
In addition, the two minor holidays of Somyn (a festival that celebrates the brokering of business deals and ventures) and Oghma's Night (a night of drinking and watching fireworks) both occur during early Haymond, adding further occasions to make merry for the already merry-making Revelers.
The month of Haymond is thus the longest-running festival that the city holds, and a source of great economic booms for Revelmoore's business concerns. The one-day Grand Revel during the end of Winter every year may eclipse the Founder's Day festivities on an individual day basis, but nothing compares to the sheer magnitude and staying power of the Virtuous Symposium and the burst in activity that comes with it.
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