Twist Fate Festival!
“How exciting! Today is Twist Fate, the holy day of Istus, one of our great and beloved deities. Followers from all over Hegeahend will be traveling to Arx to witness the festival celebrations. Although I’m sure many of you believe this festival will be filled with nothing but meditation, hymns and the clergies’ somber chimes music, it also consists of very lively celebrations! This is the one day of the year that the clergy seek reprieve from the seriousness of their divination tasks. The halls of the Siang Institute of Circumstance will suddenly become bustling as the normally quiet, complacent priests shed some of their gloom and pretense to celebrate.
The clergies of each Istus temple across Romera come together as teams and compete to see who can produce the most beautiful calligraphy and illuminated texts, tell stories, and demonstrate their magical skill and prowess. However, the main contest is seeing which temple predicted the most accurate prophecies from the last year. Some of the priests get so very riled up when they lose. I know they find great pride in their divination, but sometimes their predictions are just so absurd.
Personally, I find it quite amusing to see this other, more fun side of the priests. They’re usually so dull and glum and locked away in their temples. I believe most of us are so used to their customary gloom that we’ll be startled by their merriment today. I’ve heard that many of the local fishermen in Arx believe that worshipers of Istus preserve their sense of humor all year to prepare for Twist Fate.”