The Festival of Ōhgūs

by

Finley Vorden


Harvest celebrations trace back to pre-Fragmented Age customs, though you wouldn't know it from the way neighboring villages squabble over whose ceremony best honors Ōhgūs. My first Festival of Ōhgūs as a mature Gālyntrān found me in Ārdmerian farmlands, where I naively accepted an invitation to judge a pie competition. Twenty-seven pies later, I emerged from a food coma to discover I'd been volunteered for the “Running of the Harvest Hogs,” a tradition I'm convinced exists solely for the amusement of local farmers watching city-folk flee from surprisingly nimble livestock.

For travelers experiencing their first Festival of Ōhgūs, I offer these hard-won tips:

  1. Bring a gift for your hosts that showcases your homeland.
  2. Accept all offered food with gratitude, but develop a discreet method for handling local delicacies that might kill you.
  3. Participate in at least one ritual or game, preferably one unlikely to result in injury.
  4. Under no circumstances volunteer to judge any competition.