#haven't 100% sorted out everything for this segment yet

[yuesya]

The Charmony Festival.

An event that is both festival and ritual all wrapped up into one grand performance, in order to spread joy in the name of Xipe, the Triple-Faced Soul, Aeon of Harmony.

There are many planets on which the Family performs this ritual, but the most extravagant and prestigious of them is the one held in Penacony, the “Planet of Festivities.” The Charmony Festival only takes place in Penacony once every Amber Era, and thus there are many who are most keenly interested in it.

In this, the Interastral Peace Corporation is no different, albeit certainly not for any of the conventional reasons that a starry-eyed tourist might have.

There is history between the IPC and Penacony. A long time ago, Penacony once functioned as a prison planet under the ownership of the IPC, before a Stellaron corrosion broke out and the prisoners rebelled –directly leading to the IPC losing control over Penacony.

But Penacony, even though it later came to be ruled by the Family, was still an asset that the IPC was interested in recovering in some manner.

There has not been a single time when the IPC was formally invited as an honored guest to one of Penacony’s Charmony Festivals. And yet–

Aventurine hums lightly, tilting the small music box in his hands. The invitation.

… His first reaction is to wonder if Lyra is the one responsible for this. But, that can’t be right. Lyra doesn’t hold any position of power in the Family from an organizational standpoint, so it’s unlikely that she would’ve been allowed to influence something like this. And even then, it still wouldn’t account for the fact that, apparently, numerous galactic factions had all received invitations to the upcoming Charmony Festival in Penacony.

There’s something curious afoot here. Of that, Aventurine had no doubt.

The young man glances down at his phone. His phone that’s still dark and silent, with no signs of any incoming response from Lyra. True, the girl isn’t always the best at giving timely responses –but she’s never outright ignored Aventurine before, either. It’s been almost a full day since he’d messaged her, asking about the Charmony Festival invite that the IPC received, and yet…

Aventurine sighs, forcibly tamping down on the small thread of worry that rears its head in his chest. Lyra is strong enough that there are few things that pose a direct threat to her, so at least he probably has nothing to worry about on that front.

(And yet…)

“I suppose I’ll just have to ask my questions in person, then,” he murmurs.