Cherry Blossom Gala

Time: Annually, during the last week of Ascending Air.

Location: Cherry Blossom Garden (Imperial City)

Host: Tepet Chotei

Invitations: Invitations to the Cherry Blossom Gala tend to come in two varieties. The first set, befitting the nature of the event, go out to talented Dynastic poets and orators. The second set is reserved for those involved in politics, whom Tepet Chotei considers to share either his military background or his conservative views.

No sorcerers are invited, though occasionally an outcaste Legion officer might be summoned into the fold.

Theme and Activity: The Cherry Blossom Gala occurs in the last week of Ascending Air, when cherry trees across the Realm show their first round of pink blooms, before the changing of the month strips their branches bare of flowers. It is seen by many younger or more hedonistic Dynasts as a waste of the season, for as functions go it has its share of starch: while wine and spirits are consumed in quantity, neither intoxication nor sexual gratification are featured here. Instead, in the gardens of Tepet Chotei’s villa, Dynasts gather to converse and watch the blossoms fall, spinning intrigues and sounding-out potential alliances for the coming year.

The event also champions the Dynastic art-form that is ‘spontaneous poetry’, the composition of word and meter on the spot, in response to natural inspirations.

History:

766 – Tepet Shogo causes a stir when he launches into a recital of seditious poetry during the Gala. Tepet Chotei, his father, has him tossed into the street.