Hikari no Matsuri

Hikari no Matsuri
Happiness is just a Jingle Bell (or several thousand of them) away!

Premise

Hikari no Matsuri (Japanese: "Festival of Lights") is a winter-themed, weeklong event that is held either at the end of every year or the very beginning of the following year, and is designed to be a large-scale entertainment venue filled with games, attractions, vendors, and other involvement vectors. Most everything about the festival is automated, allowing players to come and go as they see fit, and there are a variety of themes and difficulties (with appropriate rewards) from casual to heavily-vested. Unspoken secrets also await players to find and discover for themselves, as well as a small-scale storyline each year further detailing some of the returning characters' backstories and their relevance to the festival itself. 'Hikari no Matsuri' and 'Festival of Lights' are used interchangeably as direct references, and it is style heavily in the overall theme of Japanese-style festivals, with some obvious twists and differences to keep it original. The Festival of Lights typically runs for a full week, opening in the morning and running until the gates are closed at midnight, Eastern Standard Time. Players utilize a wristband while traversing and engaging with the festival and its attractions/occupants, which helps keep track of certain progressions and, in some years, depicts them as a member of a specific team for competitive games. During the time spent there, players can accumulate currency, typically in the form of different types of 'Jingle Bells,' which are then exchange for a large variety of prizes, many of which cannot be obtained anywhere else. Each year expands upon the pre-existing festival, and new attractions, characters, rewards, and other things are inclined to show up with each new instance that follows. Occasional game-staff-hosted events are also known to take place during the week, sometimes predetermined and sometimes spontaneous.

'Kindness and Generosity' tends to be the running theme throughout Hikari no Matsuri from year to year, with players finding themselves in more-gracious favor from various NPCs as a result of actions they take in this direction, but certain things, while limited in scope, are also available to those players who decide to be the opposite.

Story & History

In 343, Kouchi Fukawa of Fukawa Industries had a winter-themed festival boardwalk constructed as a northwestern extension of the city of Viorar, citing his desire for a place that hard-working people and their families could go for a week at the end of the year to unwind and relax from the toil and turmoil that the year's efforts induced. The construction, and subsequent upkeep of the festival, was funding wholly out-of-pocket; this turned out to be a gambit on the part of Fukawa Industries, as Kouichi saw it as a move to try and garner trust from external companies and agencies who might commit themselves to the company and its vision, and provide commensurate business ventures. It turned to be a massive success over the years that followed, turning Fukawa Industries into a corporate powerhouse with many allies around the business world outside the festival itself.

A bit deeper than that, though, was the fact that Kouichi's only daughter, Hikari, had fallen gravely ill that year and was not expected to survive her illness. Faced with the inevitable, and as a means of coping with the apparent loss of his child, Kouichi fashioned the Festival of Lights as a 'memorial' of sorts and gave it her namesake accordingly, citing his desire to bring the same happiness to people all over the Cleft that his daughter had brought him and his wife, Kaede. Miraculously, Hikari actually did not pass away and instead made a full recovery, eventually becoming the festival's mascot in 347 when her presence and story was made known.

In 349, it was determined that Hikari no Matsuri's growth (and plans for continued growth beyond) had exceeded what Viorar was capable of hosting. Kouichi would opt to then make Hikari no Matsuri an independent entertainment source at that point, finding a new home near Todo, nestled deep within the Frosty Forest.

In 353, construction began on a new amusement park named 'Fun City,' under the leadership of Randal Simmons, CEO of Intention Industries. Though not meant as such, both he and Kouichi realized the competitive ramifications of having such a large-scale entertainment avenue against the already-well-established Hikari no Matsuri. Rather than slug it out through business practices, the two came to a merger agreement and began implementing some of Fun City's ideas into the Festival of Lights' future construction scope. This event brought Randal's daughter, Persephone into the picture, and she began (begrudgingly) attending the Festival of Lights each subsequent year that followed. In this same year, a shrine of sorts was erected in a cave a short distance to the north to pay homage to the spirits of Hikari no Matsuri and as thanks for their watchful eyes over the festival and its inhabitants. Some people have stated that, at certain times during the week, a representative of these spirits will reveal herself and grant a wish to any individual who happens upon her during this limited appearance.

In 355, Kaede also fell ill with the same strange sickness that had plagued her daughter over a decade prior, and it also seemed as though recovery was not possible. However, with help from Persephone and a childhood friend of Hikari's, travelers to the Festival of Lights that year were able to piece together an alchemical process and created a unique plant that was stated to provide miracle cures to otherwise-incurable illnesses. Leaving this plant with Kaede in her home, she did indeed make a full recovery, and would show up, herself, at the Festival of Lights on the following year.

Hikari no Matsuri has grown substantially since its inception, and no small amount of whispers speak of those spirits that reside within the festival grounds, watching over the people who invest their time there and providing occasional 'miracles' to people with good hearts and strong wills who fall upon hard times or harsh circumstances. Rumors speak of Hikari's original resuscitation as one such miracle, as well as the presence of those travelers who happened to be able to save Kaede in the year that she fell ill, as well.

The Festival of Lights remains a eagerly-anticipated event each and every year, both from the people who look forward to it throughout the year and also from the Fukawa family itself.