Cyrodiil — H/F
Holidays and Festivals of Cyrodiil
Cyrodiil, the heart of the Empire, moves to a rhythm of faith, pageantry, and power. Its holidays are not merely moments of leisure — they are mechanisms of unity, instruments of legitimacy, and rituals through which the Empire sustains its identity. In every district, from the vineyards of Skingrad to the marble terraces of the Imperial City, the calendar of the Divines shapes the people’s lives. The Empire’s festivals bind farmer, noble, priest, and soldier alike beneath the banners of the Nine.
New Life Festival
Time of Year: Morning Star 1
Description:
The dawn of the Imperial year begins not with silence, but with resounding bells from the White-Gold Tower. The New Life Festival marks both renewal and obligation — the Emperor’s divine right reaffirmed by the rising sun.
At sunrise, the Imperial Cult holds the Ceremony of Light in the Temple of the One, where priests release hundreds of lanterns into the air to symbolize the breath of Magnus returning to Mundus. Across Cyrodiil, towns decorate streets with garlands of winter-green and gold thread, and commoners gather for public feasts.
In the Nibenay Basin, the people float candles down the rivers toward Lake Rumare, sending their wishes for prosperity into the current. In Colovia, families burn effigies of the old year in great bonfires, dancing in the embers as drums thunder against the cliffs.
Atmosphere:
The day thrums with energy — merchants shouting, children laughing, priests chanting. Even the watchful Legion allows leniency in the streets. It is a day when strangers embrace, grudges are forgotten, and the Empire remembers itself.
Scour Day
Time of Year: Morning Star 2
Description:
The excess of New Life gives way to Scour Day, a time of cleansing both literal and spiritual. Streets are swept clean, temples washed, debts paid, and sins confessed. Civic officials lead public works to restore order after the revels — a reminder that renewal without discipline is chaos.
In the Imperial City, squads of acolytes in white robes march through the Market District sprinkling holy water on merchants’ stalls. Citizens hang white banners over their doors, inviting blessings from Stendarr and Arkay. In rural towns, families gather to repair fences, clean homes, and discard broken tools, symbolizing the shedding of misfortune.
Atmosphere:
Scour Day carries a mood of calm after storm — the Empire’s heartbeat steady once more. The smell of soap and incense lingers in the air. Bells toll in measured cadence, signaling a collective return to order.
South Wind’s Prayer
Time of Year: Morning Star 15
Description:
A festival of fertility and hope, South Wind’s Prayer marks the Empire’s transition from winter toward spring. Farmers bring the first seeds to temples of Kynareth, where priests bless them with water drawn from sacred wells.
In the farmlands of the Heartlands, processions weave through fields, led by children scattering petals and grain. In the Nibenay Basin, fishermen anoint their nets and boats with oil mixed with river silt for good fortune. Temples host open healing sessions — a gesture of generosity symbolizing the Divines’ favor.
Atmosphere:
A warm, gentle festival — bells replaced by wind chimes, laughter replaced by song. The countryside hums with optimism. It is a moment when Cyrodiil breathes deeply after winter’s long hold.
Festival of the Dragonfires
Time of Year: Sun’s Height 15
Description:
The most sacred patriotic festival in all Cyrodiil, honoring the Dragonfires — the divine flame that once sealed Mundus from Oblivion.
At sunrise, the Emperor’s priests relight ceremonial braziers in the Temple of the One, symbolizing the Empire’s eternal vigilance. Legionaries parade through the Imperial City in precise formation, their armor reflecting sunlight like molten gold. In Colovian fortresses, horns echo across the highlands as soldiers renew their oaths to the Dragon Throne.
By nightfall, the Imperial City glows with hundreds of bonfires lining the walls. Children carve dragons from clay, nobles wear crimson cloaks, and poets recite odes to Reman’s glory.
Atmosphere:
The day feels heavy with grandeur and pride. Banners ripple like flames, voices rise in chants, and firelight dances off marble towers. Even the poorest citizen feels the pulse of something vast and ancient — the idea of Empire itself.
Day of the White-Gold Accord
Time of Year: Last Seed 30
Description:
This day commemorates the ancient reconciliation of Colovia and Nibenay, the forging of one Empire under a single crown.
The Imperial City hosts elaborate pageants in which actors portray the rival lords of East and West laying down arms before the Emperor. Across Cyrodiil, banners of blue and gold fly together, symbolizing unity between river and mountain.
Feasts are communal: Nibenese wine shared with Colovian bread, river fish with mountain game. Diplomats, merchants, and commoners alike use the day to settle disputes, believing that agreements struck on this day will endure.
Atmosphere:
A day of diplomacy and revelry. Streets alive with markets, flags, and song. Political tension simmers beneath the surface, but for one day, Cyrodiil pretends to be one heart beating.
Reman Commemoration Day
Time of Year: Frostfall 12
Description:
Reman Day honors the first Reman Emperor, unifier of Tamriel and father of the Second Empire. It is a martial and stately occasion, marked by parades, tournaments, and scholarly recitations of Reman’s campaigns.
In Chorrol, jousts fill the fields; in Bravil, war chants echo from the riverbanks; in the Imperial City, the Elder Council convenes a public session beneath the White-Gold Tower’s shadow. Children craft toy spears and wooden crowns, and retired soldiers tell tales of loyalty and sacrifice.
Atmosphere:
The tone is proud yet somber — a remembrance of valor and loss. The air smells of oiled leather and bonfire smoke. The sound of trumpets cuts through the morning like blades.
Saturalia
Time of Year: Evening Star 25
Description:
The final joy of the year, Saturalia is a festival of unrestrained pleasure. It began as a day of tribute to Magnus but evolved into a celebration of mortal indulgence — feasting, gift-giving, and merriment unbound by class or creed.
In Cyrodiil, nobles host masquerade balls while common folk crowd taverns and marketplaces. It is the one day of the year when servants and masters switch roles, when laughter replaces law, and even the sternest priests set aside piety for wine.
Children receive small gifts of sweets or copper trinkets, and traveling performers flood the roads, juggling and singing for coin.
Atmosphere:
Light, warmth, and decadence. The city glows in candlelight, snow catching the shimmer of fire. It is a night when secrets are whispered, debts forgotten, and alliances quietly formed beneath the din of joy.
Old Life Festival
Time of Year: Evening Star 30
Description:
Where New Life celebrates beginnings, Old Life honors endings. Citizens gather in temples of Arkay and the Divines to offer prayers for those who passed in the year. Lanterns float across Lake Rumare, each one bearing a written message to the departed.
Throughout Cyrodiil, the Empire falls silent for a few hours before midnight. Streets are empty save for the tolling of bells and the flicker of oil lamps. Then, as the final hour of the year begins, the silence breaks — taverns reopen, horns sound, and the people welcome the next dawn with renewed vigor.
Atmosphere:
A haunting beauty pervades the night. Mist drifts across the water, bells echo from distant towers, and the air feels thick with memory. It is a night of quiet reflection before the wheel turns again.
The Pilgrimage of the Nine Shrines
Time of Year: Variable; traditionally every tenth year or following a coronation.
Description:
The grandest of Cyrodiil’s religious journeys, this pilgrimage honors each of the Nine Divines. Pilgrims depart from the Imperial City and travel across the province, visiting every major shrine — from Dibella’s chapel in Anvil to Julianos’s temple in Skingrad.
Each stop involves rituals, prayers, and acts of penance. Travelers wear white robes stitched with gold thread, and priests accompany them to ensure ritual purity. Upon returning to the Imperial City, the faithful gather in the Temple of the One to receive final blessing and an Imperial writ marking them as “Touched by the Nine.”
Atmosphere:
Long, arduous, but radiant in tone. Processions snake through cities like rivers of light. Inns are crowded with pilgrims, beggars, and mystics. Even the most cynical onlooker feels some spark of reverence as the banners of the Divines pass by.