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Postfest V, Part II: Wikrhys
Posted on Mon, August 08, 2005 by Dongul
Duicarthan writes "The chill breezes of autumn carry with it the holiday of Wikryhs. A wondrous night when Luna shines full in the sky, while the inhabitants share in celebration or lament throughout the Flanaess.

Wikrhys
By: Duicarthan
Used with Permission. Do not repost without obtaining prior permission from the author.

On the 18th day of each Patchwall the first chill breezes of autumn mark the holiday of Wikrhys, or Oidche Samha, as the Flan call it. On this night the veil of the supernatural world dips closer than any other. Most races and clans celebrate or shun this holiday according to their region. The Baklunish, for example do not celebrate this holiday as they consider it evil. Baklunish women make their children come inside early on this night to pray to Al’Akbar for safety and security.

In the Pale, children are locked inside and told that this day belongs to dark forces, that no man may enter the darkness at these times or be swallowed whole by it. Their souls forever lost, their bodies vanished into the very mists that brought it.

In Geoff, the Ulek states, and other southern regions with strong druidic traditions, the holiday is called All Hallows Eve. People in this area dress as spirits, faeries, and other haunts and revel until dawn. Their hope is that the undead will not harm them on this day so long as mortals show their respects.

In large towns, special crumb cakes and other treats are traded throughout the community. Large cities such as Greyhawk often host a great mummers' play in which the actors and audience both feign death for a brief time but are born anew when the lament ends.

The Suel often refer to this day as Remembrance. Many Suel consider this a holy day of Wee Jas, and the Suel people. The holiday marks their passage in time and honors the dead and what they have left to the living. In some ways it is the legacy of their very ancestry. A day to reflect the millennia past, celebrate and remember the dead who fell and why they fell. Remembrance is celebrated during the early part of dusk until the moon Luna can be seen fully in the sky. During such solemn times clerics of Wee Jas distribute white and black-striped candles carved with special pictograms detailing the trials and rigors they have suffered in the years past. In some areas, clerics of Wee Jas have been known to allow wizards to bring in their works for cataloguing so their legacy is not forgotten. In return, they are allowed a one-night vigil within the archives of the clerics, so long as they respect and acknowledge the clerics personal and holy space.

The elves of Celene call this day All Soul’s Day and mark it day as a day of passing. As the leaves of summer fall the elves honor their dead in solemn candlelight vigils. Such revels are held with specially prepared lotus flowers sewn into velvet vests and dresses. Several dances involving slow movements and gentle lying on of hands are performed. Dirge-singers and veiled dancers tell the story of the elves throughout time. Veiled dancers play the part of the drow and to a lesser degree the valley elves. At the end of the ceremony, the flowers are placed on the graves of elves that have fallen during violent times, especially those of the Hateful Wars.

Dwarves of the Flanaess have always been fickle and in many cases too stubborn to admit their own superstitions. It is no surprise that dwarves honor this holiday as a repast dedicated to their fallen comrades. Much of the evening is spent drinking and celebrating the life they have and all that they have earned in the following years. Dwarves in the Ulek states still mourn the loss of their fallen in the Greyhawk Wars and some even further to the bitter Hateful Wars. While some celebrate this holiday others mourn it and spend it in solitude drinking away the tears of years past.

Halflings and Gnomes of the Flanaess spend this holiday celebrating the years harvest, a good years work, and new innovations found (whether in whatever profession they may have). Halflings often enjoy pony and pig races, hero stories, brewery sampling, and large feasts that can last till the next dawn. Gnomes, however, enjoy sharing new innovations in arcana, mechanics, linguistics, and other vocations. They too share in stories of dark underground caverns filled with monsters with teeth like pickaxes and claws like splintered branches. During this time much feasting and revelry also occur, many gnomes enjoy competing in culinary arts. Various candies and sundry goods are about to be enjoyed by all.

"
 
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