New characters begin Avalon at the age of their majority (20 years old) with birth registered in one of the four cities. The new Avalon player is considered 'on the cusp' of glorious graduation from their neophyte years, just about to attend their own Graduation Day ceremony. The Graduation Day is the first red-letter day in a new player's life: it is where the city and usually apprentice guild is chosen, it is the first true meeting with high ranked officials and representatives from cities and guilds with an interest. Public Relations minister or deputy, Guild head tutor or undertutor, City Aristocracy, Guild leaders, military recruiters, sometimes even royalty: the Graduation Day ritual is on everyone's radar and early promise brings early attention and sometimes difficult choices as rival groups vie to win the young adult's pledge.
Graduation Day happens potentially each Avalon day (one RL hour) but we try to gather up prospective graduates so many are timed to celebrate together. This ensures Graduation Day is a place to meet your fellows but also makes it attractive to city/guild representatives who'll have looked over graduate histories to know in advance which graduates to court when it comes to attracting pledge of future city and/or professional loyalty.
How can the graduate have a history when he or she has only just been created? How is it possible to be attending a graduation day without having done anything to earn it? Is this world insane?
