NSC221: the story in three acts
Greetings and salutations, esteemed attendees, to the splendid inauguration of the 221st Natia Song Contest! Behold, for the second instance, we stand within the illustrious realm of the Griffin Empire, an honor bestowed upon us by none other than the luminary Troye Sivan, architect of our triumph in the preceding chapter. Within the confines of this press convocation, we shall unfurl the inaugural fragments that illuminate the meticulous orchestration of our cherished competition. Without further ado, let us embark upon this cerebral odyssey...
No more fancy talk, let's get to business. You are already familiar with the fact that the theme of this edition pertains to mythology. The precise slogan is "a tale in three acts," which, of course, alludes to the semi-finals and the grand final, yet it also forms the foundation of our theme, as we shall guide you through "three acts" (or rather, three epics) of Griffin myths encompassing the world's inception, the birth of music, and the world's demise. For those who possess surplus leisure and harbour a penchant for worldbuilding, this may sound somewhat unconventional, for according to our Wikipedia, the Griffin Empire is not an overtly religious realm, and their national belief system of "Griffinism" cannot be entirely labelled as a religion in the strictest sense.
Indeed, in the early annals of Griffin territories, long before their unification, the Griffinians did revere natural phenomena and the world around them, utilizing these to elucidate the occurrences befalling them. In the early stages of Griffin civilization, their veneration of nature underwent a transformation, culminating in the worship of deities personifying various natural elements. Central to their belief system was the creation myth, which established a pantheon comprising 14 gods. And through our competition, we shall acquaint ourselves with all these narratives.
Further (more important) information
The competition will evidently take place once again in our capital city, Kralingslæting, within the iconic Kralarrenaa that you are already familiar with. We hope that you will enjoy it as you did last time. The theme will be accompanied by graphics inspired by volumes of poetry, and the very shows themselves will be sung through verses.
What currently piques your greatest interest is the schedule, and you can view the timetable of all events in our somewhat clumsily crafted calendar. What you didn't anticipate when voting us as the victor is that you are, in essence, bestowing upon us a birthday gift. Precisely on the 14th of September, the Griffin Realm (aka me) celebrates Dyctyonarytydaign, or the "Day of the Realm" (more commonly known as my birthday). On that day, or perhaps the day after, we shall unveil the results. Naturally, any alterations to the schedule will be timely communicated to you. Tomorrow, we shall present the initial update of the list of participants. Until then!