-Noctuni Festival-
The Noctuni Festival is a celebration of the changing seasons, the transition of Autumn into Winter. While there are many who gather for the passing of the season at this time, including fairs, festivals, and worship, this period is dominantly taken up as a time to remain at home with close people.
Within the Empire the end of Autumn is celebrated with a feast on the Oudas of Nova, a celebration that is meant to convey thanks for good harvests through the seasons and a time to reconcile any trespasses before entering into the harsh period of Winter. Through the night of the last Oudas of Autumn, it is considered bad luck to host any fire within a dwelling as it may awaken the wrath of the now slumbering Morganna. Upon the morning of the Inndas of Deca, the first day of the Noctuni Festival, it is customary to light the hearth of the home for the first time after dawn to welcome in warmth and security as the first task of Winter. With the worry of the threat of Winter, it is also a time for the citizens of the Empire to join together within the Church of Christianna and celebrate the end of the year with a Life Celebration, often celebrated officially across the Imperial regions on the third Sundas of Deca. This celebration is an offering to the Goddess that a citizen's intentions are renewed as the new year comes and that any foul deeds that smudge the soul may be forgiven and left in the past year. While this is the true meaning among clergy, most Imperials take this time to enjoy their good nature throughout the year and revel in a bit of debauchery before being forgiven. When this practice is done then there is more to celebrate as the citizen's soul becomes cleansed. Most nobility among the Empire join in with the masses during this annual tradition which can last for several days.
Within the Dwarven Kingdoms the season of Helena gets ushered in. The cold months bring more ice and snow to the high elevations of the dwarven mountains which are signs that the Goddess is present and that the spring will have plenty of water. Although the weather is a reason for celebrating good fortune, it does tend to drive the mountain folk deeper into their underground halls where more revelry in the name of Helena can be had.
The Elven Dominions view the Noctuni Festival as a period of death. Plant growth begins to dwindle in the colder weather and the trees become bare, reminding the long lived elves that all things have ending. The elves of the woods officially begin the coming of winter with the last falling leaves in their forests and will welcome plants that are not resistant to the cold months into their dwelling trees. This practice has been adopted by rangers and elven friends and is at times practiced in places throughout the Empire. For the elves this has magical meaning, that through even the harshest winter, life will endure. Often times, wood elves use the darker months as a period of longer rest and meditation. Plainer elves also view the period as a time of death in the grasslands. During especially hard winters it is not uncommon that the plain lands north of Southrunn or across the Great Plain will become blanketed with snow, causing most creatures to go into hibernation or adopt new forms of camouflage. Because of this, plainer elves do not tend to practice meditation as wood elves, but rather they begin the Period of Strife, a trial that not only acts as a coming of age event, but also a celebration of unity among tribemates. While the Period of Strife sounds traumatic to outsiders, it is viewed as a celebration of willpower and strength among plainer elves.
The Noctuni Festival is observed through all cultures and peoples across the lands of Nhearn as the seasons change from Autumn to Winter, Fire to Earth, and the nights begin to stretch their furthest as the year comes to an end.