There was no crazier time at the Citadel Preparatory Academy for Rite & Sorcery than the Welcoming Festival. It introduced students to the wonders of life at the ancient magical fortress. In many ways it was the last chance for fun before the serious approach to studies was enforced by the teaching staff.
All in all the Welcoming Festival was quite compact. It lasted from the time students arrived on the locomotive to an official cutoff point of about 10 pm (22 hrs) although several students had their own ideas for festivities that could easily last until midnight.
The Citadel did not disappoint during a party. There was a grand feast, the first big meal of the year. There were numerous displays and marvels, from swarms of trained bats to choirs of nymphs, performing ghosts, dancing skeletons and other such supernatural entourages. In the center pavilion there would be tents with demonstrations as to the varied courses in magic the Citadel offered. Student leaders also had booths for various student organizations and clubs. New students were typically lead into icebreaker games at whichever of the five dormitories they had been assigned. The festivities were closed off by a spectacular fireworks show at 22 hrs.
Although the more rambunctious students had their own plans for the Welcoming Festival, activities that were never effectively quashed. Smuggling in booze was quite common, the magical world having several strange and potent brews. Those longing in their freedoms would sneak into unauthorized areas or plan elaborate pranks against a disliked teacher or student. Some would try to find a private area for impromptu make out sessions.
All Phineas Fortescue knew was that the Welcoming Festival was loud. It wasn't a celebration one could sit out (he'd tried before) as the noise and atmosphere from the event permeated the whole Citadel. Anyone hoping for a slow progression into academy life or someone as introverted as Phineas wasn't going to find much of interest in the various distractions of the Welcoming Festival. At its worst, all the hullabaloo was just annoying to experience.
Going into his penultimate year at the Citadel, however, Phineas had finally settled on the notion of not trying to fight the festivities. True, the Welcoming Festival was not his cup of tea but this was one of his last festivals. Perhaps this outlook was a sign that Phineas was finally coming out of his shell.
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