Feast of Cier

The Feast of Cier is a quadrennial festival that takes place over the course of a week. The festival starts with the long night and finishes with the great dawn that comes 6 days later. During that time, the entirety of Velruun is covered in persistent night as a second moon (Elena) appears in the sky. Because of this the people of Gaelerad believe that this period is when the lunar goddess Cier turns both her eyes to the world of man.

Celebration Of Shadows

During this time, the cities and villages of Gaelerad are filled with floating lanterns, and fireworks displays are common. There are feasts throughout the long night with people waking and sleeping as they desire. No work or war occurs during the duration of the festival, without exception. Those that would dare make war - even in self-defense would risk attracting the ire of Cier.

Children will commonly wear costumes during the long night - both for fun at the festival, but also due to the long-held belief that the long night attracts creatures closer to the edges of civilization. These monsters are often however - merely the flickering shadows of the inhabitants themselves. Still - even as this has become more apparent - children continue to enjoy running around with creative masks.

Bathe In The Light Of The Moon

As the week reaches its end, the two moons in the sky are almost on top of each other. Their combined luminescence seems almost like that of the day. It is tradition that on this final night before the second moon returns to whence it came - to bathe openly in the light of the moon. While in some locations in Gaelerad, this is done more symbolically with a dousing of the head in water - in more remote locations large gatherings of people will take the rivers and lakes to bathe under the final light of Elena. The people of Gaelerad believe that this will wash away any bad luck or hexes that have been upon them for the previous four years - allowing them to start the next four with a clean slate.