Holy Days of the Sovereign Host
"The feasts and tournaments write themselves into the bones of a city. Long after the doctrine fades, people still close their shops on Aureon's Crown and still exchange gifts on Sun's Blessing. The Sovereigns persist in habit as much as in faith." — Morgrave University Calendar of Observances, prefatory note
The Sovereign Host does not maintain a rigid liturgical calendar imposed from a central authority. Vassal practice is too varied — too regional, too personal — for any single institution to govern all of it. Yet certain holy days have become so thoroughly embedded in civic life across the Five Nations that their observances shape the rhythms of court, commerce, and community whether or not the celebrants consider themselves devout. Many of these days have become effectively secular, their religious origins receding behind the traditions they spawned. Even people who are not Vassals recall the names of the Sovereigns, know many of their songs, and will celebrate Wildnight or Boldrei's Feast without thinking twice about the theology behind them.
Sovereign Holy Days
Sun's Blessing
Deity: Dol Arrah, Sovereign of Sun and Sacrifice
Date: 15 Therendor
Themes: Honour, peace, reconciliation, restraint in conflict
Sun's Blessing is one of the most solemn holy days in the Vassal calendar and, in practice, one of the most politically fraught. The day is dedicated to Dol Arrah's principles of honour and self-sacrifice, observed as a time when enemies set aside differences and commune. Throughout the Last War, most armies maintained truces on Sun's Blessing — a tradition so entrenched that its violation was considered deeply shameful.
In 916 YK, Thrane broke the truce and launched a major assault on the Brelish city of Starilaskur on Sun's Blessing. The betrayal seared itself into Brelish collective memory and has never been forgiven. Many Brelish curse Thrane on this holiday to this day, and the event remains a live grievance decades after the Treaty of Thronehold. In Karrnath, Sun's Blessing is taken particularly seriously: gifts are exchanged between those who had conflict over the past year as symbols of moving past bad blood.
In Sharn, a grand celebration takes place at the Pavilion of the Host in Sovereign Towers. It is one of the safest days to move freely through the city — rivals attempt peaceful resolutions to ongoing disputes, and street violence drops sharply. Followers of the Mockery and the Shadow sometimes go out of their way to cause disruption as an affront to the goddess, but they are the exception.
Dawn vigils, oath renewals, and memorial services for those lost in conflict are common across all regions. Clergy of Dol Arrah teach that the holiday does not celebrate victory but examines its cost — a reminder that force is only just when it remains bound by conscience.
Aureon's Crown
Deity: Aureon, Sovereign of Law and Lore
Date: 26 Dravago
Themes: Knowledge, law, scholarship, civic ceremony
Aureon's Crown is among the most widely observed holy days in the Five Nations, and one of the few that has become nearly entirely secular in practice. It is a celebration of knowledge — a day when the elders of a community share their wisdom with the young at evening feasts and the institutions of law and learning mark their most important transitions.
In Sharn, priests of Aureon gather at the Great Hall of Aureon in the University District in Upper Menthis throughout the day, delivering public sermons and lectures on topics ranging from history and philosophy to the nature of the gods. The lectures draw as many curious citizens as devoted Vassals. Morgrave University holds its graduate services on this date, and the tradition extends even to the monastic schools of the Silver Flame, whose graduating students advance on Aureon's Crown regardless of their faith.
In Karrnath, the holiday carries particular ceremonial weight. Rekkenmark Academy — the finest military academy on the continent — holds its graduation ceremonies on this date, and coronations are traditionally scheduled for Aureon's Crown when possible. When King Kaius III was crowned in 990 YK, the academy pushed its graduation back a single day so that students could attend the coronation in Korth before cramming the lightning rail to return to Rekkenmark. Accolades, judicial appointments, and public readings of legal statutes are common across all Five Nations.
The tone of Aureon's Crown is formal without being solemn. Celebration is present, particularly at the evening feasts, but the day prioritises record and reason over spectacle. Aureonite priests teach that the day exists not to praise knowledge for its own sake but to renew the responsibility of those who hold it — a reminder that law without wisdom becomes tyranny, and wisdom without structure dissolves into chaos.
Boldrei's Feast
Deity: Boldrei, Sovereign of Hall and Hearth
Date: 9 Rhaan
Themes: Community, hearth, hospitality, civic unity, governance
Boldrei's Feast is the most broadly inclusive holy day in the Vassal calendar — a day on which religious devotion and secular participation are nearly indistinguishable. It is the festival of community, and the communities of the Five Nations celebrate it with exactly the competitive generosity you would expect.
In Sharn, the wealthiest members of each district compete to throw the grandest parties, seeking social standing through extravagant displays of hospitality. House Ghallanda and local merchants donate goods for a great feast held at the Pavilion of the Host. The competitive element does not undercut the spirit of the day — competition for who can be most hospitable to the most people is, in its own way, exactly the point.
Boldrei's Feast is the traditional date for elections and government appointments across Khorvaire. All major political appointments in Sharn fall on 9 Rhaan. The connection is deliberate: Boldrei oversees the forces that bind a community together, and decisions about who governs that community are made under her auspices. In Karrnath, the crown has placed great emphasis on this holiday since the end of the war in an attempt to highlight "the prosperity made possible through peace" — though unlike other nations, Karrnath has no elections to conduct during Boldrei's Feast, since it remains a monarchy.
There are few formal rites beyond the act of welcoming others, which Boldreites consider devotion enough. Many communities symbolically forgive minor debts or reaffirm mutual aid agreements. In Vassal theology, Boldrei and Aureon stand together at the centre of daily life: he provides the laws, she provides the community that makes those laws liveable.
Overheard at Boldrei's Feast in the Bazaar of Middle Dura, Sharn:
"Try the lamb — ir'Talan is paying for the whole district's supper tonight. He wants a council seat next year and figures five hundred galifars' worth of roast mutton is cheaper than a campaign. Boldrei would approve. So would Kol Korran, come to think of it."
Brightblade
Deity: Dol Dorn, Sovereign of Strength and Steel
Date: 12 Nymm
Themes: Martial skill, strength, competition, discipline
Brightblade is the most energetically observed holy day in the Five Nations — a day of honest physical contest that draws soldiers, athletes, and enthusiastic amateurs from every walk of life. Every temple district in Sharn holds festivals on this date, with prizefights, wrestling matches, archery contests, and jousts running throughout the day, culminating in a contest of champions at the Cornerstone arena in Middle Tavick's Landing. The prizes are generous, and a fortune can be made gambling on the outcomes.
The grandest Brightblade events in Sharn have included full-scale battles staged on the training grounds of Daggerwatch and free-for-all melees with hundreds of contestants. These spectacles draw crowds and coin from across the city and beyond.
In Karrnath, Brightblade is an incredibly popular holiday directly tied to the nation's martial culture. Local military commanders organise tournaments across a variety of martial disciplines, and a youth's performance on Brightblade influences the quality of their position during their mandatory two-year military service. It is one of the rare occasions when Karrnath's military hierarchy relaxes enough to allow friendly competition between ranks.
Dol Dorn's clergy teach that the day is about honest reckoning — measuring oneself against genuine challenge. Cheating, cruelty, and humiliating a defeated opponent are widely condemned, and many traditions hold that a warrior who spends Brightblade in training or instructing others is just as devout as one who competes publicly. Dol Dorn's strength exists to be honed and tested, not simply displayed.
The Hunt
Deity: Balinor, Sovereign of Horn and Hunt
Date: 4 Barrakas
Themes: The hunt, the cycle of predator and prey, stewardship of the wild
The Hunt is observed in both frontier communities and the largest cities of Khorvaire, though the form it takes varies dramatically depending on where you celebrate it.
In cities — most famously in Sharn — priests of Balinor arrange for a dangerous beast to be transported into the Lower City. The City Watch cordons off a section, and on 4 Barrakas the beast is released into the Depths. Anyone who wishes to participate can enter by making a donation of five gold pieces; whoever returns with the beast's head receives a prize of five hundred gold, the blessing of Balinor, and considerable fame. Over the years, the Hunt has taken different forms — sometimes multiple creatures are released and the winner is whoever collects the most skins. In practice, other hunters frequently prove more dangerous than the quarry.
In rural communities, the holiday takes its more traditional shape: Vassals of all ages hunt for the most impressive game, with the results compared and celebrated communally. In urban Karrnath, the holiday is usually an excuse for animal-themed celebration without requiring an actual hunt.
Balinor's doctrine holds that no kill should be taken without need, nothing wasted, and some portion of the kill returned to the land in acknowledgment of what was taken. Killing an animal purely for sacrifice — rather than for food, fur, or tools — is an insult to the Sovereign of the Hunt, and tradition holds that the better the cut of meat offered at his shrine, the more inclined Balinor is to hear the request.
Notice posted at the entrance to the Depths, Sharn, 4 Barrakas 997 YK:
CITY WATCH ADVISORY — BALINOR'S HUNT ONE (1) DISPLACER BEAST released into Sector 7 of the Depths at dawn. Entry fee: 5 gp. Prize: 500 gp and the Blessing of Balinor. Participants enter at own risk. The Watch will NOT intervene in disputes between hunters. Healing services provided by House Jorasco at standard rates. LAST YEAR'S WINNER: Tarek Ghaal'dar. Time to beat: four hours, eleven minutes.