Revel to Riches
Since the days before the Great Shift, citizens of the communities of Buya and Koguryo have enjoyed the art of Poetry. In the early days after the Great Cataclysm, the princess PearBlossom of Han journeyed to the land of Koguryo, bringing with her an interesting concept; the noblemen and women of the court of Han seemed to take a sudden shine to the art of poetry, and had made an event out of it. She offered to the best writer of poetry a rare and elusive item: the Calligraph, and, for the ten other poems that would win her heart, sheets of Moon Paper. These were placed on a newly created board, the Poetry board, and the original poems which made PearBlossom swoon remained there until the 37th year of Yuri, when the scum NBT vandalized the Poetry board among many others.
Years passed since the voyage of PearBlossom, and the citizens of the community grew in number. Finding themselves bored with the violent repitition in Carnage, the members of the community longed for a weekly event that would bring culture and stimulate the community. A small group of dedicated community members, with the assistance of Archon Hroth, created the Lazy Sundays poetry contest. A tiny new haven for poets was discovered: the Poetry Corner, amidst the many buildings of the Buyian palace. The most notable feature and eventual downfall of Lazy Sundays was found in Alston, the manic host of Lazy Sundays, whose constant mood swings and outbursts earned it a reputation for shoddiness. With the resignation of Hroth, consistently bungling leadership, and an insane on-and-off resigning game from Alston, the Lazy Sundays eventually faded away.
Towards the end of Lazy Sundays, which was held in Buya, the Kugnae Culture Council offered their own alternative, held in the Koguryo Poet Guild each Saturday: The Prince's Revel to Riches. Culture Minister Universe, Hostess Glenda, Prince Mhul, and the dedicated members of the Koguryo Culture Council worked their hardest to ensure a fair and fun event each week. Using the same system as Lazy Sundays, but free of its burdens, the Revel was a well-organized, fun, and cultural event. By the Great Shift of Yuri 23, Lazy Sundays had faded away entirely, replaced by the Revel to Riches. After the Great Shift, a special branding for Revel winners was given as a gift from the gods.
However, all was not well with the Revel. Culture Minister Universe and Revel Hostess Glenda departed the kingdom, resigning from their positions and leaving. KeiChi was named successor to the Culture Ministry, and Inktomi was appointed Revel Host in Glenda's place. However, Inktomi, dedicated as he was, was in dire circumstances. He often missed the Revels, having master-of-arms FantomX host instead; not such an uncommon thing, except it was around the time that Inktomi was absent most that aspiring Ee Sans found out they needed a Revel win to complete the Trial of Culture. Furious that Inktomi, who had the ability to brand winners, was scarcely around, they banded together to create a ruckus, ceaselessly shouting vulgarities and earning the reputation for nastiness that Ee Sans hold to this day.
It was too much for Inktomi, who resigned, weary from the community accusations and FantomX's quest for power. FantomX insisted he was the worthy successor to the hosting position, but his actions suggested otherwise; after a bitter battle with many of the same people who had worked to push Inktomi out, FantomX found himself without the power he swore Inktomi wanted him to have.
The Revel fell into chaos. Often Prince Mhul would show up to find he was the only one there. Many Revels were cancelled; others were simply planned and then forgotten, week after week. At one particularly disgraceful show, Kiyone, Mizu, Alliep, and JaydePhoenix attended to find four others, the Prince included, and no hosts. The contest intended for that week was never held, but it was an eventful failure of a Revel nontheless, with Kiyone's poem "Harlot!" and JaydePhoenix's colorful destruction of the roof of the Kugnae theater. (Subsequently, all Muse events are now held in the Buya theater.)
The Revel was dying, and the way things were heading, it would soon go the way of Lazy Sundays. Prince Mhul had given up, FantomX had disappeared, and the gods were perplexed. Inktomi, in a final labor of love for what he had once given his livelihood to, met with Archon Primogen RabSha to decide what would be done about the Revel. The decision: To prevent a burden on simply one person, the Revel must be operated by a group of people. And what better group of people than the lovers of culture themselves, the Muses?
RabSha approached Elder Kiyone soon afterwards, with a request (or command) that came as a surprise to all: The Muse Guild would take over the operation and running of the Revel to Riches. Kiyone immediately contacted a friend she had met in her recent voyage to Ilbon, a Muse from the West named Revelle. Revelle (or Revels, as she came to be known) was more than happy to host and run the event, overseeing the diligent Muses who work hard each week to ensure a plethora of poetic presents to the community. In the Muses taking over, the Revel also lost all Kogurian ties, becoming a truly universal event for all to enjoy, from the northmost reaches of Sanhae and the Arctic to the southern reaches of Nagnang.
Author: Kiyone