Blood Moon Burning
The Blood Moon Burning is the most sacred and feared ritual in the Flame Creed, held on nights when the full moon turns crimson with ash or omen. During this celestial event, flame priests, infernal cultists, and fire-seers gather to offer sacrifices—living or symbolic—to the gods of Emberfall.
Execution
1. The Crimson Gathering:
As the blood moon rises, masses gather around towering pyres built from obsidian, bonewood, and offerings. Flamebearers circle the altars, chanting hymns that blend infernal tongues and draconic invocation.
2. The Sacrifice:
Sacrifices vary based on region and deity:
- To Ignarath, war captives or oathbreakers are burned alive.
- To Valkyra, the willing offer themselves in fire-death seeking rebirth.
- To Molgrazh, warriors engage in ceremonial duels to the death, their bodies thrown to the flame.
- To Serathis, items of great knowledge or personal significance are burned, releasing secrets into the smoke.
3. Prophetic Flame Reading:
High seers and ash-priests watch the behavior of the sacred fire—its color, shape, and smoke trails—to divine omens for the year ahead. Flickering shadows and fire-wrought symbols are said to be the voices of the gods themselves.
4. The Purging Flame:
The ceremony ends with the lighting of the Pyreway, a chain of sacred torches stretching through the city or countryside, symbolizing the cleansing of sin, weakness, and betrayal by fire.
Observance
The Blood Moon Burning is a moment of reckoning, renewal, and reassertion of Emberfall’s covenant with flame. It is both feared and revered—seen as a test of loyalty, strength, and willingness to suffer for divine favor. Survivors often gain social prestige, divine marks, or temporary boons of fire-magic.
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