Article 12: Cultural Center
Many planets and even most galactic factions like to refer to themselves as "melting pots" where people of different races from different cultures can come together to work in harmony, but these notions are generally discarded when compared with Mahou City. Never mind that nearly every galactic race is represented within an area only a few miles squared while your average planet is considered diverse if it has more than half a dozen races living in its rural areas, Mahou City has citizens from different sectors, planets, and even time periods residing within its borders. While this provides for a level of diversity that's literally unattainable in the outside galaxy, and said diversity is a great boon for the students of the school that serves as the city's centerpiece, it does mean that there's oftentimes simply too much culture.
Between literally hundreds of different histories, religions, and other sources of tradition, it's impossible for the school to celebrate all of them in the traditional way--on average, were Kasumi to cancel school during every "major" holiday, she'd need to do so an average of eighteen times a day--, and so students are allowed a number of holidays off per year that they can take whenever they feel the need to celebrate something. Of course, many of these celebrations require specific preparations, whether it be a return to some sort of homeland, space to pray or dance, or certain clothing, food, or music to fit the mood. All of this is available at the city's Cultural Center, and while anyone is free to practice whatever sort of remembrance or celebration they desire, the center's first rule is that anyone who wishes to participate is welcome to do so.
Located to the southeast of the school, the cultural center is one of the larger buildings there, a single-floor structure with a huge storage room, a couple of relatively tiny offices, and an enormous central chamber. Most days, the center has an appearance not unlike an enclosed flea market, with booths and stalls of varying sizes, each with materials needed for a particular holiday that lines up to the current Mahou City day. All of this can be difficult to parse, which is why the largest wall of the slant-roofed building is home to a giant digital display showing where each cultural happening is, what day on its native calendar it corresponds to, and the general mood expected for the particular section. Holiday areas are generally grouped by whether they are celebratory, mourning, gift-giving, or the like. Students are welcome to help set up and bring extra authenticity to any cultural exhibit that they have experience with, as though the curators of the building are extremely knowledgeable about hundreds of cultures, there will always be specifics that slide under their radar.
The center is run by a pair of Elementals, Thoth and Ma'at. Thoth in particularly is fairly withdrawn, but after he's seen a person a few times, especially if he's noticed you going from booth to booth taking in the various exhibits for anything other than the potential for free food samples, he becomes more willing to open up. According to Thoth, he and his wife were Elementals on a primitive Altearth along with a number of contemporaries. The only survivor of a war between opposing conceptual Elementals, he was sealed away in a magical artifact by the remaining servants of the other side. Centuries later, his vessel was discovered by an inept tomb raider, who sold it to a crackpot conspiracy theorist. That theorist learned how to channel Thoth's vast knowledge, but decided that rather than use it for good, he could abuse the trapped Thoth's abilities to lend false credence to his ridiculous stories for the purposes of selling fake artifacts that he claimed were charged with Thoth's power. When the charlatin's ruse was discovered, the vessel containing Thoth was lost again, this time to be found by the one person he knew he could trust--his wife, Ma'at, who had become a student at the school. After her graduation, the pair endeavored to help those who showed genuine interest in learning about the cultures of the galaxy around them, which directly lead to their creation of the cultural center.
There are many reasons that a student might have for wanting to visit the Mahou City cultural center other than observance of one of their own holidays. More caring new arrivals will take the opportunity to learn about their new friends' backgrounds, and those who arrive without all of their memories intact or with a body of a different race may wish to learn about their own heritage. This is easily possible thanks to the center's massive library, located in the very center of the building. Others may need help deciphering runes on a piece of treasure they've acquired, and both Thoth and Ma'at are incredibly skilled translators. Still more might want to expose themselves to new art, music, storytelling, and food, whether to relieve boredom after a long day of schooling or to assist them in locating inspiration for a new cultural creation of their own. A few seek out employment within the center, categorizing, setting up, and dismantling the various booths to earn a little extra spending cash. Whatever their reasons, it's hard to come to this place and not learn something new. It's also considered a sign of friendship to be invited there, as anyone who cares enough about you to ask you to partake in their ceremonies is someone worth hanging out with. If you are new to Mahou City, or especially to the galaxy at large, I would recommend a visit to the cultural center as soon as possible to get your primer in what sort of things the galaxy has to offer.
