The Sylvan Spring Festival

Facility Event: The Hunt for Harmony

Episode 1

The Sylvan Spring Festival

Next Quest

Old Rivals

Summary

The sylvan spring festival—known as the Vernal Banquet—has arrived! Luca reunites with his childhood friends Laranoa and Sylas, before deciding to try for the win in the festival's main event: the egg hunt. The winner is granted one wish, so there's everything to play for!

Dialogue

As warmer weather arrives, so too does the bounty

of spring. To mark the occasion, the sylvan people

hold a lush banquet.

This here's a cottage pie—pride'a mah village! Care to try one? Come, frolic with me as I dance to celebrate the onset of spring! So this is the Vernal Banquet? You told me the sylcan spring festival was a big deal, but this is more than I imagined. Isn't it awesome?! You almost NEVER see this many sylvans in one place. They come from all over the continent, and with their best local foods! My tum is PUMPED. UP. Well yeah, so's mine, but are ya really sure it's okay for us to crash yer festival like this? Of course! Besides, I've been meanin' to teach you guys more about sylvan culture. Perhaps you could begin by explaining the decorations dotting the village. Are they...papier-mâché animals? Those are wishing dolls! First you make one, then you make a wish. What would YOU wish for, Euden? Hm... Victory and peace, I suppose. Well shoot, now we GOTTA make one! Then you can make your wish, and we can decorate the castle with it after. What kind of animal should we base it on? I guess "victory" means you have to win a battle, right? So... Hmm... How about a dragon? They aid us in our fight, after all. Perfect! As much as I appreciate the making of wishes and dolls, perhaps we can continue this discussion after we have taken in more of the festival? Right. You might showin' everyone around, Sarisse? Huh? What about you? I'm gonna grab what we need for our dragon. A wish this big calls for a super-sized doll, so I figured we'll need a ton of materials. You mind helpin' me out, Euden? Huh? Oh, sure. Uh huh. What are you REALLY up to? Hey, come on! You think I'd leave the prince hangin'? How about a little trust for your big bro? Ugh, whatever. I guess if the prince is with you, it's fine. Later. Annnnd she's gone. SO—all kinds of rare herbs and stuff show up for sale during the Banquet. There's gotta be some that'll make for good pranks! Huh? I thought we were collecting supplies for the dragon doll... Oh year, totally! But first: prank stuff. C'mon, let's get goin'! S-slow down, Luca! Ooo, some exotic numbing herbs! And—whoa... I've never seen a mushroom like that! It's pretty amazing to see so many sylvan specialties in one place. Right?! Okay, let's check out the— OH. EM. GOODNESS! LUCA?! Laranoa?! Holy cannoli, how long's it even been? Actually, hold that thought... HAAAH! OOOOF! What the—she tackled you! Luca, are you okay?! Nya ha ha! Glad you can still take a hit. Heh, you're the same as ever. How'd that training of yours go? It's over, finally. I'm goin' around greeting the other village chiefs today. I take it you two know each other? Lemme introduce you. Euden, this here is— Wait, Euden? Like, the famous one? With the castle and the army and the dragons? Whoa, nice to meetcha! I'm Laranoa. And me and Luca, well... We were once all each other had in this cruel, merciless world. At one point we almost flipped a coin to see who lived... Wait, what?! She's messin' with you, don't worry. Me and her are just old friends—no coins o cannibalism about it. Hah! What an earnest guy. I like you, Euden. *ahem* Yes, well, anyway... Luca mentioned you were training? Yeah, to become the next chief of her village. She's an amazing hunter, so the elders nominated her to take the mantle. I know what you're thinking; she's got jokes AND she can hunt?! Heh, you ain't see NOTHIN' yet! By the way, how's Sarisse? I was thinkin' you two'd make a great pair'a lackeys. She's great. A little too good with a bow, if ya ask me, but—wait, come again? Was that...another joke? Nope, I'm as serious as a head wound. C'mon, what do you say, Luca? The three of us would make a helluva team. I'll even throw in a year's worth of apples! That's a pretty sweet deal, but right now I'm kinda tied up takin' on the entire Empire with Euden. Ain't that a human squabble, though? Why're you gettin' involved? The Empire doesn't care who it hunts. Human, sylvans—we're all affected. And I can't just let that happen, ya know? Sarrise feels the same way. Well, dang, look who went and got serious? All right, I get it; no more recruitment talk. But there are other ways... Nya ha ha... Huh? You say somethin'? Nope. Oh hey, know who I saw earlier? Sylas, dude! Huh, really? He never seemed the type to leave the village. Another old friend? Yep. He's an aromatics researcher. Knows all about flowers and junk. We're from different villages, but we met him at the Banquet as kids and we've kept up ever since. C'mon, let's go find him and say hey! Wow, what a lovely smell. Is this jasmine? Or maybe ylang-ylang? It's an aromatic of my own design. There is jasmine, yes, but I blended it with a fragrant herb native to my home forest. Please, help yourself to some oil. Theeeeere he is! Still got that same messy mop on his head, too! Luca? And Laranoa too? That's RIGHT Laranoa too! DOUBLE TACKLE! KAAA-POOOW! ...Are you all okay? Ain't no thang! Just a light and breezy greeting, right Sylas? Hmph. I expected you would have grown some since our last meeting, but I see now that was foolish. What's up man? Don't tell me you went and forgot to have fun. Some of us have outgrown childish horseplay. Aw, wittle baby is all gwowed up? I still remember that time I beat you in a race and you cried so hard we— *AHEM* Pardon me, but who is this human? I'm Euden, a friend of Luca's. Nice to meet you. And he invited you here? Ever the unconventional sylvan... Inviting an outsider to an event of this significance is unprecedented. It presents...difficulties. Well, now it'll be precedented, right? The elders look less than pleased. You should take the prince away from here before tensions rise beyond repair. Sylas, the chief of the western wood would like to—goodness, is that a human?! Who brought a human here?! It seems we are too late. You DARE intrude upon our customs? Wait, please—calm down! Elder, what's so wrong with outsiders joining in on the Banquet? It has been the way of things since long before even my time, boy! We cannot bend tradition so lightly. Hold a moment. Unless I am mistaken, this is the prince who saved the village of Myriage. He came to the aid of our brethren; has he not earned his place here today? Rrgh... Fine then. We shall make an exception. ...Reluctantly. If you have a moment, elder, I would like to discuss the research topic I brought up to you earlier. Hm? As I said, your research is—no, wait. Let us continue this discussion elsewhere. Until next time, Luca. Do try to keep out of trouble, yes? *sigh* Man, Sylas has gotta lighten up. Laranoa, I assume you have a good reason to be neglecting your chiefly duties? Ahah, well, about that... Um... You must be diligent, and think beyond yourself. Your actions impact not only your own future, but that of the entire village. You're right, elder. I'm sorry. Welp, gotta get back to the ol' meet and greet! I'll catch up with you guys later! And you, human—know that the exception made today is for today alone. We are in your debt, but that does not erase the history of our traditions. Rrgh! Why can't we all just get along?! Whoa, Luca—what's got you all worked up? Well, you see... Hmm. Isn't it pretty common for the elders to say that kinda stuff though? It's not exactly the norm for sylvans to welcome humans like you do. But if we just keep to ourselves and our forests, how are we ever supposed to advance? I mean, what's the point of a festival like this if we're just gonna turn away people we don't know?! It's not that I don't agree, Luca, but it's not super easy to change the elders' minds... Tradition can be hard to break. Yeah, well tradition is DUMB! Everyone! Your attention, please! The annual egg hunt will soon commence! Many of you would claim to be skilled hunter of game—but what of eggs? Steel yourselves, and chase your dreams! I'm not just gonna chase them, I'm gonna make them come true! This is my YEAR! Holy happenstance, that's it! We'll win the egg hunt, and everything'll be rosy! What's this egg hunt about? It's the main event of the Vernal Banquet. There's eggs hidden throughout the forest, and everyone competes to see who can find the most within the time limit. The winner gets one request, and the elders grant it. Can't believe I forgot about that. Heh. So here's the plan: we enter the egg hunt, win it, ask the elders to allow everyone in the whole world to participate in sylvan events, and we all go home happy. Foolproof, right? I hate to say this, but...that actually might work. IF we can win. Relaaaax, you heard the elder—we just gotta steel ourselves! And nobody steels themselves like Euden. Heh, hard to argue with that. Okay, I'm in. As am I. The cause is a good one. Then it's settled. Let's win this thing, people! Yeah!