Hammerfell — H/F

Holidays and Festivals of Hammerfell

Hammerfell’s calendar follows the pulse of its deserts and the discipline of its people. The Redguards, proud heirs of the Ra Gada, view celebration not as indulgence but as remembrance — of triumph, endurance, and divine balance. Their festivals blend the austerity of the Alik’r with the exuberance of their coastal cities. They honor gods, ancestors, and the endless duel between storm and sand. Each gathering serves purpose: to train, to remember, or to thank the Divines for survival beneath the unrelenting sun.

Ovank’a

Time of Year: Morning Star 12

Description:
When the dry winds of the Alik’r begin to warm, the Redguards observe Ovank’a — the Day of Mercy. In the desert towns of Lainlyn and Sentinel, the streets fall silent as dawn rises. Temples to Stendarr open their gates, and priests pour bowls of cool water into the sand, offering drink to the spirits of travelers who perished between oases.

The faithful wash their faces and hands in blessed basins, then fill amphorae with that same water to carry home. At midday, public readings recount the “Mercies of the Wanderers” — tales of those who gave their lives to aid the lost. Merchants donate water and food to the poor, while caravans deliver supplies to outlying villages.

As the sun sets, families gather for simple meals — dates, bread, and goat’s milk — eaten in silence to honor the thirsty dead.

Purpose:
Ovank’a renews the Redguards’ vow of compassion amid harshness. The desert teaches that survival without mercy is savagery, and mercy without discipline is death.

Atmosphere for Play:
A solemn, reflective day. The desert wind carries the sound of distant hymns; every drop of water feels sacred. Encounters here lean toward reverence, revelation, or acts of penance beneath an unforgiving sky.

Day of Lights

Time of Year: Morning Star 16

Description:
As Ovank’a’s sobriety fades, the Day of Lights brings celebration. Lamps, braziers, and crystal lanterns fill the cities of the coast — Sentinel, Taneth, and Rihad glow like jeweled stars upon the sand.

Families decorate rooftops with glass beads and polished shells, reflecting torchlight into the night. The purpose is both festive and spiritual: to draw the attention of the Divines, who are said to look upon Hammerfell most closely during this night of brilliance.

Musicians fill the plazas with oud and drum, and fire dancers whirl beneath the moonlight. Ships anchored in the harbor light their masts in gold, and the air smells of citrus, smoke, and sea salt.

Purpose:
The Day of Lights symbolizes enlightenment following mercy — the light of wisdom that guides through darkness.

Atmosphere for Play:
Vibrant and full of color. Perfect for encounters in crowded marketplaces, secret meetings hidden among revelers, or moments of introspection beneath glowing lanterns.

Drigh R’Zimb — The Sun Prayer

Time of Year: Midyear, first week of Mid Year

Description:
When the sun stands highest and the desert burns, the Redguards honor the Sun Father with the Drigh R’Zimb. In the Alik’r, entire caravans pause their travel at noon. The people kneel in the open sand as priests raise mirrors to catch the sunlight, casting bright flashes across the dunes.

Temples conduct the Rite of Reflection — a ceremony of endurance and self-control. Each participant stands in the heat, eyes closed, breathing with the wind, offering sweat and strength as sacrifice. Children learn discipline here: to bow, to endure, and to rise without complaint.

After sundown, cool nights bring celebration. Drummers gather around fires, and families share dried fruits and spiced meats. Warriors display sword-dances that mirror the arcs of the sun, ending each movement with the blade’s reflection turned skyward.

Purpose:
Drigh R’Zimb reminds the Redguards that the sun, like honor, sears but also strengthens. The desert’s heat tempers their spirit as steel is tempered by flame.

Atmosphere for Play:
A moment of grit and spiritual endurance. Ideal for character trials, desert visions, or demonstrations of faith tested by the elements.

Fiery Night

Time of Year: Sun’s Height 29

Description:
When the heat of the year peaks, Hammerfell ignites with Fiery Night — a desert celebration of passion and vitality. Bonfires are lit on every dune ridge, visible for miles. Young warriors prove their courage by leaping through the flames or dancing within the sparks while musicians pound rhythmic beats on hide drums.

In Taneth and Sentinel, this is a night of music, wrestling, and revelry. The people wear red cloth and gold jewelry, and street performers breathe fire into the sky. Lovers exchange copper bangles engraved with flame motifs — promises of loyalty forged in heat.

Desert nomads celebrate differently: they raise temporary camps lit by braziers, telling stories of the Ra Gada crossing the sea of stars, their ships burning with divine light as they reached Tamriel’s shores.

Purpose:
Fiery Night honors the Redguards’ vitality — their courage, temper, and joy in the struggle of life. It is both remembrance of their ancestors’ burning ships and a reaffirmation that their spirit still burns unbroken.

Atmosphere for Play:
Loud, passionate, and energetic. A perfect backdrop for celebration before conflict — or for chaos to erupt amid flame and laughter.

Koomu Alezer’i — The Harvest of Honor

Time of Year: Last Seed 11

Description:
When the first grains and dates ripen in the fertile coastal valleys, the people of Hammerfell gather for the Harvest of Honor. Farmers bring offerings of food to the temples of Zenithar, thanking him for labor rewarded. In smaller towns, offerings are placed directly into the earth as thanks to the spirits of soil and rain.

Military orders also mark this date with tournaments. Knights of the Hall of Virtues assemble to compete in swordsmanship, endurance, and archery, dedicating their skill to the balance of work and war.

In villages, harvest songs echo across fields, and artisans hold fairs where crafts are sold and displayed. Children weave garlands of dry grass and hang them over doorways to invite good fortune for the next season.

Purpose:
Koomu Alezer’i represents the unity of toil and honor — that strength in peace is as worthy as strength in battle.

Atmosphere for Play:
Peaceful and golden. Fields shimmer beneath a setting sun, laughter fills the air, and the smell of bread and spice drifts from open markets. An ideal setting for rest, reflection, or unexpected intrigue beneath a veneer of celebration.

Serpent’s Dance

Time of Year: Sun’s Dusk 3

Description:
Once a ritual of the old Yokudan serpent cults, now reimagined as a performance of wisdom over chaos. The Serpent’s Dance is led by priestesses wearing veils of silver scales, moving in hypnotic patterns to the sound of slow drums. The serpentine motion represents Satakal, the World-Eater, whose endless shedding of skin creates the cycles of existence.

Audiences sit in silence as dancers form spirals around a central fire, tracing the shape of infinity in sand. At the climax, the lead dancer casts a golden scale into the flame, symbolizing rebirth.

In Rihad, scholars attend the dance to meditate on the cycles of history; in the desert, nomads use the night for communal storytelling about the first shedding of the world.

Purpose:
To acknowledge that destruction is the womb of creation — that endurance comes from accepting change.

Atmosphere for Play:
Mystical and haunting. A slow-burning night of flickering flame and chanting voices. Perfect for prophetic encounters or introspective moments before upheaval.

Baranth Do

Time of Year: Evening Star 18

Description:
As the year closes, Hammerfell celebrates Baranth Do, the Festival of Rebirth. In cities, families extinguish all lamps at dusk, plunging the streets into total darkness. For one hour, the people remain silent — a symbolic death of the year. Then, as the moon reaches its zenith, every home relights its lamps in unison. The resulting blaze of torches and lanterns is breathtaking: a thousand fires reborn across the night.

The tradition stems from an ancient Yokudan belief that every year must “die” before the next can rise. Children carry candles from house to house, spreading the new flame, while elders recite blessings for longevity and courage.

Purpose:
Baranth Do teaches renewal through discipline — to extinguish one’s pride, regret, and weariness, and begin again as tempered souls.

Atmosphere for Play:
Quiet intensity followed by triumph. The darkness feels absolute, then the light floods every corner. Ideal for symbolic renewal in story arcs or for resolving a year’s burdens.

Chil’a — The Feast of the New Dawn

Time of Year: Evening Star 24

Description:
Following Baranth Do, the Feast of the New Dawn begins. It is the joyous closure of Hammerfell’s year. Great tables are set in streets and courtyards; bread, meat, and honeyed drink are shared freely among neighbors. Musicians perform the Dance of the Ra Gada — a circular step that mimics the waves of their ancestors’ journey across the sea.

The day ends with the Rite of Sand and Flame: each family mixes a handful of sand with a coal from their hearth, symbolizing endurance and warmth, and casts it into the wind while reciting, “May we endure as the desert endures.”

Purpose:
Chil’a embodies joy, endurance, and unity — the Redguard’s defiant celebration of survival in an unforgiving land.

Atmosphere for Play:
Bright, communal, and filled with gratitude. The final laughter of the year echoes under the stars. It’s a moment of warmth before the turning of fate — the calm before whatever storms the next season brings.