Nioblot

Nioblot or niodagarsblot as it also is called is a festival in the Æsir faith. It comes every ninth year and is celebrated as autumn arrives. The festival goes on for nine days and the people give blot in the name of all the gods for this is their greatest festival. They hold grand feasts and retell the stories of the gods as well as stories of Mihr itself while giving blot offerings that are as precious as they can be. Some offer gold while others offer tokens of the gods such as wooden carvings covered in runes. The towns themselves offer lives as it is custom for them to hang nine of every living species that they can find close to their home and pierce them with spears in a ritual sacrifice to Odin and Yggdrasil. This sacrifice applies to citizens as well as each town as they either have a draw about who will be sacrificed or take whatever criminals that happen to sit imprisoned when the festival begins. They say nothing pleases the gods as much as when blood flows. This is why the festival is so important in Mihr now that it is in an age of relative peace since it is the only way for the to continue to please the gods and recieve their boons. The only ones safe from the sacrifice are children as the potential still left in their lives is worth more than the little bit of blood they have to give.
The festival is celebrated in three phases where the first three days are spent with friends and family only. All of the shops close for these three days and nobody except for those that have to work, such as guards, will do any work. These days are spent quietly thinking and pondering over the world and the divine. Parents teach their children how to carve wood to make small tokens for the later part of the festival or to create runes that are meant to ward off evil, or grant wisdom and prosperity. Many give gifts to their friends as well during these days since no one knows who will be one of the unlucky sacrifices. Others make amends to those that they have wronged to make sure that neither comes back as an evil spirit with a grudge. It is a time of humility and understanding that encapsulates the first phase of nioblot and is therefore called the quiet days. The next three days is the second phase of blot where people are expected to come out of their homes and participate in smaller festivities. There are modest feasts held in the evenings with gothis giving out lectures and blessings to all that come. Preparations are made for the coming nights as market stands are put up and scenes are prepared for dancing. People carve great runestones during these days where they make promises and goals to fulfil until the next nioblot arrives. They also document notable events since the last blot on these stones. It is also now that the ballots are drawn to see who will be the sacrifices. Some towns have a grand event in the town square where they pull out the ballots for all to see while others handle it more subtly and inform the unfortunate ones in the privacy of their home. Some try to run from their fate. Families are compensated for their terrific loss and the blot person is treated with the highest respect as a means to discourage fleeing. The second phase of nioblot is often called the slow days as people wait for the fun to commence. Lastly comes the third phase of the festival, the bloody nights.

The bloody nights are three nights consisting of feasts, festivities, and sacrifices. The only rule for the sacrifices is that the people are sacrificed last to give them a proper farewell. A bloody night for a commoner might consist of watching a play of an old story such as when all the gods attempted to hurt Baldur but could not for everything in this world had promised to never harm him. Then they might go to the markets, that smell of leather, smoke and alcohol, to buy offerings, trinkets and even exotic goods from far away before finally sitting down for a feast. Finally they might end their night dancing around one of the dance floors around a grand tree, and not minding the warmth of blood that drips down on them from the pierced and hanged sacrifices. Piled around the base of the tree lies other offerings to the gods such as small statues of them. The moon often turns red during these nights as the All Father looks down at his servants with his one eye as they honour him.

"Not a flinch as he sacrificed his eyeball

Runes of power became his to wield

How can anyone other protect us all?

A spear through his side and yet he stood,

How can anyone other stand as tall?

  Trusting in him is what we should

  For nine days he hanged to know of all,

  The tree whispered to him all it could,

  For nine days we honour his sacrifice to us all"                                                                                           - Hjalmar Rödson