Mirror Lake Sorghum Festival

Sorghum Festival

In many respects, this seasonal event takes on the appearance of a normal late-year fair in the Westerlands. There’s music and dancing, buskers and entertainers, peddler stalls selling an eclectic array of wares. Competitions of skill and strength are to be had including mule pulling competitions (including man against beast), riding competitions, javelin throwing, archery, and animal husbandry and calling.

Then, there is the crowning of a sorghum queen during the post-harvest full moon. The sorghum queen is an extremely prestigious position in the Red Mountains, one that entitles the holder to a seat on the Red Court. The queen is given a crown that is as old as this tradition. It is said the queen is also blessed by the World Tree for the duration of her reign, and gains ‘old world abilities’ to influence the sorghum crops and succor her court.

The current Sorghum queen is Lexia Yronwood. Attending Houses to the Sorghum Festival are: House Dayne, House Blackmont, House Yronwood, House Qorgyle as well as the Werata Kon, the Dornish tribal Wemics.

Of course, the real attraction is the sorghum itself, as all good gully dwarves will tell you. While the merriment is underway, mule powered presses set up in the midst of the fairgrounds squeeze juice from the plants’ stems. Later, the juice is cooked over a fire until it reaches a syrupy consistency, at which time it is ready to be poured over warm biscuits or used in local delicacies such sorghum cakes.

Lexia Yronwood

Other products include Black Diamond Apple Wine. A rare sweet vintage, because it can take up to eight years for the Black Diamond Apple to mature, is brought down from the Monks at High Hermitage as well as exotic honey and alchemical bees wax from the rare bees that pollinate the pesh cactus flowers. Finally there is the rare pesh cactus that only flowers once every seven years and are only pollinated by giant bees. Nobles, Lords and Madams who appreciate the effects the pesh flower produces come from all around Dorne and Westeros to not just purchase pesh (drug), but the god-honey, alchemical quality bees wax and all the fine products wrought from both the cactus and the bees.

Vendor Lane: 

Alchemist services provided the One and the Five of Starfall. 

Doctor and Nurse with salves and bandages for injuries. 

Blacksmith with valuable stones, metal goods and the Doomhammer. 

Exotic horse and land-strider trader and breeder from Sandstone.
A bower, also from Sandstone, here with a collection of Ablemalle bows and crossbows and uncommon arrows.
A Farmer's Market where one can treat themselves to fruits and vegetables from the monks. 

Personages:

Paxton Trinner: Local proprietor of The Mercantile

Radko Sands: Wide ranging merchant and trusted courier. Paxton's main competitor. 

Bother Kerith: sells the rare bees wax products for the monks of High Hermitage
Chief Dasan: Chief of the Dornish Wemics, the Wemics are here for their Althing and to trade.

Theodin Rivers: The cleric of Starfall, involved with the Sorghum Queen Coronation.

Mel Leah of Yronwood druggist and seer of House Yronwood, offers access to antitoxins, removing curses and restorative magic.

Maester Aldo Dayne: keeps a small menagerie of rare creatures, some are for sale. 

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The Red Court: A council of Noble Lords who’s clan stronghold lies within the Red Mountains. This unofficial and unsanctioned court was formed in secret when Aegon Targaryen, first of his name, attempted to conqueror Dorne. Old feuds from Nymeria’s War were grudgingly cast aside for the sake of Dorne. Most of these seats controlled passes into Dorne. 

• House Dayne, King of the Torentine
• House Yronwood, King of the Stone Way
• House Fowler, King of Stone and Sky
• House Wyl, King of the Boneway
• The Fifth seat is for the Queen who can be of any house; she has an equal voice in the Court.