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All I Want for Winterfest by kate__writes
Fandoms: Realm of the Elderlings - Robin Hobb, Farseer Trilogy - Robin Hobb
22 Dec 2025
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Summary
"You know, what you get under the tree each year isn’t really what matters. What matters in the festival is something else entirely. It’s not about presents, or a beautifully decorated hall, or a lavish feast, or even the great hunt. I told you this morning — the winter solstice is a special time of year. It’s change, a turning point, the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next."
The Winterfest in Buckkeep is fast approaching, along with the great hunt in which Fitz is to take part for the first time. The boy watches the days pass with excitement and restless anticipation, longing for the moment when he will set out with the other men into the snow-covered forest, where the sound of hunting horns and the scent of blood on the snow carry the promise of a long-awaited step into adulthood. At the same time, within the fortress corridors filled with festive cheer, a far quieter — but no less important — matter unfolds. Largely unnoticed by others, always lingering at the edges of shared joy, the Fool remains alone throughout the week of the winter solstice week, and Fitz is the only one who notices it.