Things are seriously gearing up for Summer Court this week, with Summer Solstice coming up. Typically, the Solstice itself is a fairly demure affair, with the Royals of Spring handing over control to the Royals of Summer and the nobles having a huge party over at Summerhall (the seat of Summer Court’s power). This year, however, is a little different.
The King of Summer, Ravadis, has taken a new Queen, a Vanic lady named Syrahnaia. She will be crowned this Solstice in the capital- the first coronation of a Royal in over four hundred years. It’s a pretty big event, with at least one or two diplomats (Loki for sure, and likely also someone from Vanaheim) acting as representatives of their realms for this.
If you want any hope of getting to see the coronation, you’ll need to make arrangements through Frey, and fast. The after party is a private affair, consisting of nobles, diplomats, and ambassadors from other realms, and lots of ritual and non-ritual sex. Summer Court tends to deal the most with outlanders, of the four Courts.
After the coronation and party, the Summer Processional begins. The Royals of Summer will travel seasonally through the four realms (Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring) before taking up residence in the Royal Palace in the capital. Several stops will be made along the way at the homes of various nobles, as well as the other Royal families. The processional takes about ten days to go through the realm, and if you know someone, you might be able to get in on one of the parties.
Then comes the big draw of Summer Court: The Grand Tourney.
The Grand Tourney is a two-week long festival of pure awesome. If you have ever been to a Renaissance Faire and loved it, then you will definitely enjoy this. It opens with a ceremonial joust between the Prince of Winter and the King of Summer, with the Prince unseating the King, marking the turning of the year. The blooded favors of Summer are gifted to the Princess of Winter, while the Prince of Winter gifts his favor to the Queen of Summer.
There are merchants from across Ljossalfheim and other places (usually Vanaheim and Asgard, though other vendors have been authorized in the past) selling their wares. There are food stands galore. There are bards and scribes and people of all sorts showing off their skills. There are contests of every kind, though the ones with the biggest draws are the cooking competitions and the martial tournaments. There are the lists (traditional jousts) that are Highly Anticipated, as well as melees and other events, including horse races and dragon fighting. It’s all a grand spectacle, and it is open to the public.
Nobles and knights and all manner of folk use this time to curry favor with the King and Queen, usually through entering the competitions, though they may also enter to pass favors over to their own lieges. The Grand Tourney is one of the most politically charged times of the year in Ljossalfheim, with every favor passed adding a new tally to the score of one of the four Courts.
After the Grand Tourney, the next major festival is at the cross-quarter (Lammas if you’re looking at the Wheel of the Year), which happens to be the Rite of the Kings.
The Rite of the Kings involves the King of Summer and the Princes of the other three courts being slowly roasted alive over the first sheaves of the harvest while the people sing and dance and drum around them. Yeah, pretty morbid. Their pain feeds the land, giving it strength and renewing the oaths given in millenia past. The Queen and Princesses tend to the King and Princes, and once they are released from the fires there is ritual sex and they are tended to.
When the Autumnal Equinox occurs, the King and Queen of Summer leave the Royal Palace and head to Autumnsgate to pass the crown to the Prince and Princess of Autumn.
The dates of the events are as follows:
Summer Solstice: June 21st
Summer Processional: June 22nd – July 1st
Grand Tourney: July 2nd – July 17th (extended for the Queen’s Birthday)
Rite of the Kings: August 1st
Autumnal Equinox: September 23rd
The Sacred Stag 