Walpurgis Night

Walpurgis Night (ヴァルプルギスの夕べ, Varupurugisu no Yūbe), or also known as Night Party (夜会, Yakai) and as well as referred to as a "Banquet of Strife", is a periodical feast held once every four years, on the Year of the Magic Eclipse (魔蝕の年, Mashoku no Toshi), at the Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart to select the premier puppeteer of its generation wherein young and talented mages vie with one another for supremacy, partaking in a series of blood soaked battles involving the clash of Machinart until there is only one person left standing; the winner, who then will be granted the title of the Wiseman by the Mage's Association.

Etymology

In German tradition, Walpurgis Night (Wikipedia) (Walpurgisnacht in German) was a German festival celebrating Saint Walpurga (Wikipedia) before becoming associated with paganism and Satanism, as it was said to be a night for major gatherings of witches for spring celebrations.

Entry

Entry (参加資格(エントリー), Sanka Shikaku (Entorī), lit. "Entry Qualification"): The Gauntlet, signifying the eligibility of a person to participate in the Night Party. Qualifiers are chosen based on a meritocratic system wherein students have to prove their worth through their abilities; by intelligence, through grades, and or by talent, through Machinart battle, therefore generally, students with the best grades belonging to the top one hundred of the Academy are the ones qualified and issued a Gauntlet; however, because of the said system, students who were not able to may still prove themselves better qualified than the qualifiers by taking scheduled entry tests or by challenging a qualifier into a Machinart battle and defeat one, but only until before the Night Party commences.

Known Participants

See: List of Gauntlet