Festivals
The Thiravelic Games
Every four years, the Strighel host a gathering known as the Thiravelic Games (Olympic Games). The event is held within Thiravel Wood and is intended for the creatures and peoples of the forest. It consists of multiple competitive disciplines testing movement, perception, endurance, and adaptation. The exact set of disciplines varies from cycle to cycle.
One recurring event is a contact ball game formally called Conker Ball (football). It is played by two teams in a forest clearing with shifting boundaries and minimal fixed rules.
The Lethari always win the Conker Ball tournament. During play, their ability to avoid direct visual resolution prevents opposing teams from reliably tracking position or possession. This outcome is accepted as intrinsic to the game and has never resulted in rule changes.
The 72 Hours of Alrenfjell
The 72 Hours of Alrenfjell
Once a year, Alrenfjell hosts the 72 Hours of Alrenfjell, a three-day sporting festival centered on a continuous series of downhill trolley races from the upper quarries of Mount Helvar to the lower slopes above the settlement. The event is held after the quarry season’s main work is complete, when the mountain rails are clear and the weather is most reliable.
On the night before the festival begins, loaded trolleys are hauled up the rail lines and staged at multiple starting points along the mountain. At dawn, riders begin a rolling sequence of descents that continues for three days with only brief pauses. Competitors ride the trolleys directly, standing or seated, steering and braking by body weight, leverage, and coordination rather than mechanical control.
The race is open to participants from all clans. Grand Helvars frequently place high due to their strength and familiarity with the rails, but victories are far from guaranteed. Teams from other clans often compete successfully through careful training, coordinated riding, and techniques that involve multiple riders leaning into bends together, similar to motorcycle racing.
The festival is as much social as competitive. Music, food, and drink flow continuously in Alrenfjell during the event, and spectators line the lower slopes and rail junctions. While winners are celebrated, the endurance of participation itself is considered an achievement, and many riders return year after year regardless of result.
Kelmar Quay Rodeo
Kelmar Quay Rodeo
Once a year, during the great farmer’s market at Kelmar Quay, the Capren host the Kelmar Quay Rodeo, a multi-day competition centered on the handling of Neys and Kelmar. Held alongside auctions and trade, the rodeo turns the working pens and corrals of the quay into temporary arenas of skill, endurance, and nerve.
Events include lassoing contests, timed herding runs, and saddle-bronc riding on unbroken Neys, as well as control trials involving full-grown Kelmar. Success is measured less by force than by balance, timing, and the ability to bring animal and rider into calm cooperation under pressure. Riders compete individually or in small teams, with techniques passed down locally rather than formally taught.
The rodeo is loud, dusty, and competitive. Spectators crowd the rails, wagers are placed openly, and reputations are made or lost in a single run. For the Capren, the Kelmar Quay Rodeo is more than entertainment: it is proof of competence, authority, and belonging — the one time each year when skill is displayed rather than assumed.