Bloomrise (Early Spring)
Season: Early Spring (first full moon after the thaw) Other Names: The Night of Desire, Festival of Petals Main Themes: Renewal, fertility, lust, rebirth, creation, nature’s awakening, celebration of imperfection. Presiding Deities: Yphnis (Night & Desire), occasionally Metia (Dreams)
Origins: Bloomrise began as an old fertility rite among rural folk who believed that the land would only bloom if the people themselves stirred passion and laughter into the air. Over centuries, it became a grand, citywide festival — part revelry, part holy chaos. Priests of Metia and Yphnis preach that during this night, the veil between dream and flesh weakens and desires long buried can surface freely.
Even the gods, it’s said, walk the earth in mortal guise to partake in mortal pleasures and witness their creations’ joy.
Colors: Blush pink, gold, deep violet and green — representing flesh, sun, night and renewal.
Symbols: Flower crowns — each bloom representing an emotion (lust, sorrow, hope, defiance). Vines & ribbons — often used to “bind” lovers or friends together for a night. The Twin Moon — the reflection of the full moon in rivers or fountains, believed to reveal one’s truest self. (symbols of godly twins Yphnis and Metia)
Rituals and Celebrations: The Night of Petals (Main Eve) Citywide bonfires are lit — each representing the heart of spring. People dance around them wearing flower crowns, silks and masks of beasts or spirits. Couples and friends leap over small flames together — a promise of loyalty and joy for the coming year. Musicians play flutes, drums,and lyres; taverns spill out into the streets. At midnight, petals are released into the river, carrying whispered wishes.
Dance of Yphnis: A nighttime masquerade where participants wear masks of animals, stars, or gods and perform sensual or artistic dances. It’s said Yphnis herself once danced among mortals, choosing a new lover every Bloomrise to bless with eternal passion.
In modern Udrury, it’s part religious, part wild street performance — with poetry, music and body paint glowing under lanternlight.
Dawn Bath: After the night’s chaos, many gather naked by rivers or fountains to wash away the dyes and dust, symbolizing the cleansing of the soul. The cold water marks the end of revelry and the beginning of renewal. Small offerings of seeds or flower petals are cast into the water for the spirits of the land.
Superstitions: If you fail to smile during Bloomrise, the coming year will wither your heart. Finding two petals stuck together means you will meet someone who mirrors your soul. Pouring wine on bare earth during the festival ensures good fortune and bountiful year. Refusing to join the festivities is seen as an omen — those who do often suffer isolation or heartbreak before the next spring.
Day of Cinders (Late Summer)
Season: Late Summer (last waning moon before the autumn equinox) Other Names: Mourning Flame, Night of Ghostfire Main Themes: Remembrance, grief, resilience, rebirth through loss, collective mourning, fire as both destroyer and purifier. Presiding Deities: Sunir (Light & Mischief) and The Maker (Silence & Renewal)
Origins: The Day of Cinders began in the years following the Great War, when countless cities across End Land burned. Udrury, one of the few that endured, lit its first Mourning Fire to honor those lost — both soldiers and innocents — and to remind the living that flame does not only consume, it also cleanses. In time, the practice spread. The people learned to see the burning of cinders as a sacred cycle: destruction gives way to rebirth, grief to endurance. Priests of Sunir and Maker preach that every soul carries its own ember — fragile, yet immortal.
Colors: Ash grey, ember red, soot black and silver — representing ruin, pain, endurance and the light that survives the smoke.
Symbols: Ash marks - grey smudges drawn on foreheads, symbolizing humility and remembrance. Lanterns of Smoke - paper lanterns blackened with soot, released into the night sky. Charred tokens - pieces of burnt wood or metal kept from old homes, battlefields, or memorial fires — reminders that nothing is ever truly gone. The Ember Spiral - sacred mark of Makers renewal through destruction; drawn in ash or carved on memorial stones.
Rituals and Celebrations: The Mourning Fires (Main Eve): At dusk, every household and public square lights a single bonfire, fed by tokens of the past year’s pain — old letters, failed crafts, dried flowers from graves. The fire burns until midnight, representing the endurance of spirit through devastation. Families gather around in silence first, then in storytelling — recounting names, memories and tales of survival. As the fires dim, the ashes are scattered to the wind or saved in urns to bless gardens and graves. March of Silence: A slow procession through the city streets, lit only by lanterns. No one speaks during the march; instead, people carry the names of the dead written on ribbons or paper charms. When the march ends, the names are dropped into a central brazier — their smoke rising as a prayer to the heavens. Sunir’s Flame: At the first light of dawn, priests of Sunir relight the city’s central pyre using a single spark preserved from the night before — symbolizing the persistence of light even in ruin. This act marks the end of mourning and the promise of new beginnings.
Superstitions: To let your fire die before midnight is to invite misfortune. If you cry into the flames, your lost ones will find peace sooner. If a cinder lands on your skin without burning, it means someone you mourn forgives you. Never sweep ashes from your home until dawn — the spirits still walk among them.
The Gilded Hands festival (Late Harvest)
Season: Late Autumn (final week of harvest before the first frost) Other Names: Honey Hog Day, Golden Harvest Main Themes: Gratitude to nature, abundance, feasting, community, survival, honoring the spirits of the land and beast. Presiding Deities: none, it celebrates the nature, harvest spirits and the livestock
Origins: The Gilded Hands festival began as a rural offering to the wild boars that roamed the forests — powerful symbols of endurance and plenty. Hunters once sacrificed a portion of their kills to the forest, pouring honey over the carcasses so that nature would “taste sweetness and not vengeance.” As villages grew into towns and towns into cities, the offering transformed into a celebration: a promise that no one would go hungry as long as the earth still gave. In Udrury, the tradition became a massive citywide feast marking the end of the harvest season, when grain bins are full, meats are cured and honey flows freely from the last combs of the year.
Colors: Amber, gold, deep brown and red — representing fat, warmth, fire, and ripe bounty.
Symbols: The Honey Boar - centerpiece of the feast, glazed in honey and herbs. Bee sigil - symbol of gratitude and community — embroidered on banners or painted on doors. Corn wreaths & apple garlands - hung in homes to invite prosperity through winter. Wooden tankards - carved with boars or bees, used only during this holiday.
Rituals and Celebrations: The Feast of Golden Bellies (Main Day) From sunrise to sunset, the city becomes one endless table. Families, taverns and strangers share food in the streets — honey-roasted pork, baked apples, spiced mead and shaped loaves. The first bite of meat must always be offered to the ground or the fire, honoring the circle of life that sustains all. At sundown, the “Bell of Plenty” rings across Udrury, and the feasting begins anew — this time with songs, games and contests. Kragg’s Honey Hog day Contest: A tradition started by Kragg Blackhorn, the orc tavern owner of The Blackhorn Tavern. Contestants compete to eat the most honey-baked pork before the final song ends. The winner is crowned with a wreath of barley and earns the title “Boarheart” for the year — believed to bring luck and good harvests along with some other wins like free barrel of ale etc. Sögthirry Frørberg, infamously, has held the title two times and is said to have once eaten an entire boar leg in under two minutes. Last year a gnome won, Sogthirry has been bitter ever since.
Offerings: At twilight, families gather outside to leave portions of their meal — bread, meat, honey and cider — at crossroads, gardens, and forest edges. It’s said invisible harvest spirits, collect these offerings to ensure the soil’s fertility next year. Children often sneak back at dawn to see if their gifts “were accepted.” If the food has vanished, it’s a sign of blessing (or just a clever fox). Night of Fat and Fire: After dark, bonfires are lit throughout the districts. People dance, sing, and tell stories of abundance and folly. The fire symbolizes the hearth of the world — a reminder that warmth and food are humanity’s oldest magic. Drunken songs fill the night, and even the gods, it’s said, laugh from the smoke above.
Superstitions: Breaking bread without sharing it curses your home with hunger. Dropping a piece of pork into the fire at the beggining of feast ensures your ancestors dine with you. If a bee lands on your meal, it’s said to be a spirit in disguise — never harm it. Means good omen. To refuse food on The Gilded Hands festival is to reject the earth’s mercy.
Veilfall
Yule