Elsweyr — H/F
Holidays and Festivals of Elsweyr
Elsweyr’s year turns not by the Imperial calendar alone, but by the rhythm of the moons — Masser and Secunda, the twin lights of Azurah’s design. Every Khajiit, from the desert-dwelling nomad to the jungle planter, lives by their phases. The moons govern birth, form, and fate; they determine when to hunt, when to mate, and when to pray. Festivals here are luminous, fragrant, and dreamlike — equal parts worship and celebration, mirroring the balance of instinct and intellect that defines Khajiiti life.
Festival of the Moons’ Harmony
Time of Year: The night when Masser and Secunda rise full and balanced in the sky, once or twice a year.
Description:
When both moons reach their perfect alignment, Elsweyr transforms into a kingdom of light. Every city, from Senchal’s cliffs to Rimmen’s golden domes, dims its torches to let the moons bathe the streets in silver. The Khajiit believe this harmony renews the Lunar Lattice — the divine structure that binds Mundus and shapes their souls.
Temples of Azurah fill with incense smoke and chanting. Monks of the Moon-Bishops lead processions through the streets carrying mirrored bowls of water, reflecting the moons above. Nomadic tribes in Anequina mark the alignment with dances around dune fires, tracing the motions of the heavens with their tails and claws.
Those seeking spiritual clarity fast during the daylight, then partake in sweet moon-sugar milk and sugared bread under the night sky. Musicians play glass chimes tuned to the lunar frequencies — delicate, resonant tones that shimmer like the light of the moons themselves.
Purpose:
The festival celebrates unity — between body and spirit, between Khajiit and the moons, between fate and freedom. Many young Khajiit take oaths or begin apprenticeships on this night, believing the moons’ gaze seals their path.
Atmosphere for Play:
The light is ethereal, the mood reverent yet joyful. Silver dust glints on fur, music hums through the air, and conversations drift like prayer. Beneath the surface beauty, secret rituals of prophecy and rebirth unfold — a night where destiny itself feels malleable.
Moon Sugar Harvest Festival
Time of Year: Mid Sun’s Dusk, after the final cut of the cane.
Description:
When the moon-sugar fields of Pellitine are heavy with crystalline sap, laborers, merchants, and priests gather to celebrate the bounty that sustains all Elsweyr. The Moon Sugar Harvest Festival is equal parts thanksgiving and indulgence — a rare moment when every Khajiit, no matter their station, may feast on the sweet fruits of their land.
The air smells of honeyed alcohol, roasted fruit, and jasmine smoke. Workers pour libations of fermented sugarwine into the earth to thank Khenarthi for gentle winds and Azurah for the gift of sweetness. The plantations hold open feasts, and songs recount the myth of how Azurah wept silver tears that fell as sugar crystals upon the desert.
At sunset, a great bonfire of sugarcane husks is lit, burning in shades of blue and violet. Couples dance in spirals around the flames, and children toss sugar dust into the air to watch it shimmer like starlight.
Purpose:
The festival honors both labor and leisure — the belief that joy must follow toil as night follows day. It is a moment of gratitude, excess, and renewal, a reminder that sweetness must be shared to remain sacred.
Atmosphere for Play:
Golden haze fills the air. Fur glitters with sugar dust, tails sway to the rhythm of drums, and laughter rolls like thunder. Beneath the revelry, deals are struck, smuggling routes arranged, and old debts quietly repaid — for moon sugar fuels not only celebration, but the economy and shadow both.
The Festival of Two Moons Dance
Time of Year: First Seed, the dawn of the warm season.
Description:
When Masser rises crimson and Secunda pale, the Khajiit perform the Dance of the Two Moons — a ceremonial reenactment of their creation. Dancers representing the moons weave in graceful spirals, joined by masked performers embodying the various Khajiiti furstocks. Each form — Cathay, Suthay, Senche — enters in turn, bowing to the balance of the lunar light that shaped them.
In Rimmen, temple courtyards fill with incense and moonlight; in the deserts of Anequina, nomads perform the dance barefoot on cool sand beneath the stars. The performance is accompanied by flutes and hand drums, the rhythm mimicking the slow orbit of celestial bodies.
At its climax, the dancers pause, arms raised to the heavens, and the eldest priest speaks: “As the moons turn, so too does the Khajiit — many in form, one in soul.”
Purpose:
The festival reinforces unity among the furstocks, reminding every Khajiit that diversity is divine, and that the same Lunar Lattice gives shape to all.
Atmosphere for Play:
Elegant and symbolic — the festival feels less like a party and more like a living myth. Perfect for moments of reflection, spiritual visions, or hidden omens disguised as dance.
Clan Unity Day
Time of Year: Midyear, after the first monsoon.
Description:
Clan Unity Day is a time for reconciliation. Representatives of the desert tribes of Anequina and the jungle houses of Pellitine meet in neutral grounds — often Rimmen, Riverhold, or Dune — to reaffirm peace and kinship.
Each clan presents a symbolic gift: carved ivory, silk, spices, or heirlooms from ancestral caravans. Negotiations over trade and territory take place beneath colorful tents while outside, performers tell stories of ancient heroes who bridged the divide between sand and leaf.
The day ends with the Breaking of Salt, a shared meal where salt-crusted bread is dipped in honey and passed from hand to hand. Each bite represents trust renewed.
Purpose:
The festival sustains the fragile unity of Elsweyr — a realm perpetually balancing between its desert austerity and jungle abundance. To the Khajiit, peace is not an absence of conflict but an act of will renewed each year.
Atmosphere for Play:
The air hums with diplomacy and tension. Laughter covers careful words; dancers distract from political maneuvering. It’s an ideal moment for intrigue, alliance, or betrayal.
Shadow’s Eve
Time of Year: Hearthfire, under the new moons.
Description:
A night of quiet reverence for the ancestors and spirits who walk unseen. Temples extinguish all lights, and the Khajiit wander the night guided only by candles placed in carved gourds or shells.
Families gather at ancestral shrines, burning fragrant oils and whispering names into the smoke. The priests of Azurah say that when both moons vanish, the veil between worlds thins and the departed walk beside the living. It is not a night of fear, but of gentle remembrance.
Those seeking guidance leave small offerings of milk and moon sugar at crossroads or riverbanks, hoping their ancestors will whisper wisdom through dreams.
Purpose:
Shadow’s Eve preserves the bond between the living and the departed. It is a night of stillness and humility — a reminder that even the most radiant Khajiit must fade into the moons’ shadow one day.
Atmosphere for Play:
Soft, eerie, and beautiful. The only sounds are whispers, wind through palm leaves, and distant chanting. Perfect for scenes of reflection, haunting, or ancestral communion.
The Moons’ Departure
Time of Year: Evening Star, when the moons are faintest and the year ends.
Description:
This closing festival marks the temporary fading of Masser and Secunda, symbolizing rest before renewal. The Khajiit believe that during this time, the moons withdraw to dream, carrying the souls of the year’s dead into Azurah’s embrace.
In Pellitine, the people fast during daylight, then gather at twilight to sing lullabies to the moons. In Anequina, nomads climb the dunes to watch the sky, their silhouettes framed against the dying light.
As midnight approaches, each Khajiit lights a single lantern, holds it aloft, and whispers a hope for the next turning of the moons. When the lanterns are released, hundreds drift upward, reflecting starlight like souls returning home.
Purpose:
To let go — of grief, failure, and burden. It is both an ending and a promise, the soft silence before the next alignment of light.
Atmosphere for Play:
The mood is dreamlike. The horizon glows faintly blue, lanterns ascend into darkness, and all sound fades but for the low hum of prayer. Ideal for quiet closure, forgiveness, or omen.
Cultural Significance
Elsweyr’s festivals are extensions of its cosmology — cycles of light and shadow, joy and discipline, instinct and reflection. The Khajiit do not separate the sacred from the sensual; every song, every sip of sugarwine, every dance beneath the moons is an act of devotion.
These holidays also mark the tempo of Elsweyr’s divided soul. Anequina’s deserts honor endurance, meditation, and the purity of the moons’ light; Pellitine’s jungles celebrate abundance, music, and the intoxication of life. Yet both look upward to the same sky.
For Franz’s campaign, these festivals can shift tone dramatically. The Festival of Moons’ Harmony might fill the night with luminous awe, only to be shattered by omen or betrayal. The Moon Sugar Harvest could host laughter by day and conspiracy by night. Shadow’s Eve can turn a conversation with spirits into a revelation of destiny.
In Elsweyr, every celebration is layered — joy and mysticism, beauty and danger intertwined. Beneath the scent of spice and sugar, the moons’ silent gaze reminds all Khajiit: fate may change shape, but the Lattice endures.