Hail, Sapience.

The blood still dries upon the grassy plains of the Dardanic. The air echoes, occasionally, with the memory of battle's roar. The Conclave now has a new Fifth, and the Second Reckoning is over.

Yet time waits for no one. So it is that scarcely two months from now, the inaugural Asterian Festival of History begins on the first of Sarapin, 828 years after the fall of the Seleucarian Empire, in honour of the 150th anniversary of the Asterian Restoration.

The Year
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In the Reckoning, you fought champions and factions to advance the agenda of your candidate. In this Festival, you will battle only your own ignorance and inertia as you strive to expand your mental horizons in an individual journey of learning. While there are multiple ways to learn, we will concentrate on two: study and experience.

On or around the first of every month in 828AF, a post to the Public boards will detail a month-long history-based task to complete, as well as standalone events and/or showcases that will happen on specific dates of that month.

Completion of at least six (6) months' worth of either tasks or event participation will earn you a unique keepsake after the year ends.

Regardless of how you intend to experience the year, you will need to establish a journal for this year to track your progress.

Monthly Journal Task
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If you choose to complete the monthly task, you will record your submission for that task in your journal. Indicate the month, the task details, and your answer on a new page. You should use this same journal to complete any tasks for the Festival.

Monthly Individual Events
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If you participate in or attend a Restoration-organised event - as marked on the calendar - for a particular month, this will count as completion for that month in lieu of the written task.

Simply note the month, the event you participated in that month, and what the outcome was in your journal.

Special Notes
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You can complete the written tasks of prior months if you happened to sleep through a month, as long as the required items to complete your tasks are still there.

If you are an organiser or executor of a city showcase, you are exempt from completing the monthly task of your showcase month. Note this in your journal under the appropriate month.

Completion of more than one task or event participation per month will not carry over to the next month, i.e. if I attended an event and completed the written task in Aeguary, I cannot use the 'extra' task to count for Miraman.

Year End
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There will be a submission box to place your journals in near the end of Mayan 828AF. This box will remain until 1 Aeguary 829AF for late submissions. Past that date, no submissions will be considered.

Upon submission, your journal will be reviewed by the Restoration. If you have completed enough months, you will be granted your reward. The more monthly completions you have, the more interesting your reward will be, with full completions awarding the best possible reward.

Your journal will be returned to you once review is complete, a memento of the year in itself.

To reiterate:

- You must undertake at least either one written task or participate in one individual event in that month to count that month as completed.

- You must submit your journal via the submission box at the end of Mayan 828AF to qualify for the reward.

- A modicum of effort is expected in your responses, though they can be casual. If you choose to fill your journal with nonsense unrelated to the tasks, you disappoint only yourself.

I strongly encourage that you attempt to complete and participate in as many tasks and events as you can. This Festival will cover an extensive range of Achaean history, inviting you to relive it in multiple unique ways.

Preparation
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It is in your best interests to familiarise yourself with the following:

- The History of the Seleucarian Empire, Vol 1-3
- The Mythos
- How to search the news

Be aware of new posts upon the Public boards, and check UPCOMING often.

Opening Ceremony
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The opening ceremony of the Asterian Festival of History will be held in the Hall of Visionaries in the Asterian Athenaeum come afternoon of 25 Mayan 827AF. Early attendance is encouraged as we will not wait.

I look forward to a year of revelation. Any questions may be directed to myself.

Regards,

Jurixe S. Nithilar
representing the Asterian Restoration


Penned by my hand on the 16th of Chronos, in the year 827 AF.