Emberwake
Each year, at the turning of the season when the last snows melt and the world stirs with new life, the Blood Knights of Hakaran observe the Emberwake, a sacred festival of renewal, resilience, and remembrance.
The Emberwake begins at dusk. Fires are lit in great circles around the Hall of Ash and Flame, the heart of the Blood Knights' stronghold. Every knight, from the youngest Kindled to the eldest Dracoguard, casts a personal token into the flames, symbolic of the burdens, failures, or fears they have carried in the past year. A broken blade, a piece of worn armour, a scroll bearing regrets.
As the flames rise, the knights gather solemnly around the fire. In complete silence, they recount their past deeds, honouring victories and mistakes. At the stroke of midnight, the Exalted Wyrm leads a procession through the fire, each knight walking barefoot across the smouldering embers (safely designed for LARP with heat-safe effects), emerging cleansed and renewed on the other side.
Upon crossing, they receive a mark of the Rekindled Oath, a smear of sacred ash across the brow or the heart—and swear anew their loyalty to Hakaran, to their brothers and sisters, and to the cause that binds them all.
The meaning of the Emberwake is clear:
"Strength is not born of never falling. Strength is forged by rising, again and again, from the ashes of what once was."
For the Blood Knights, it is not weakness to fail, it is weakness to refuse rebirth. Each Emberwake reminds them that they are more than soldiers; they are the eternal flame of Hakaran's will, forever rekindled.
The Emberwake begins at dusk. Fires are lit in great circles around the Hall of Ash and Flame, the heart of the Blood Knights' stronghold. Every knight, from the youngest Kindled to the eldest Dracoguard, casts a personal token into the flames, symbolic of the burdens, failures, or fears they have carried in the past year. A broken blade, a piece of worn armour, a scroll bearing regrets.
As the flames rise, the knights gather solemnly around the fire. In complete silence, they recount their past deeds, honouring victories and mistakes. At the stroke of midnight, the Exalted Wyrm leads a procession through the fire, each knight walking barefoot across the smouldering embers (safely designed for LARP with heat-safe effects), emerging cleansed and renewed on the other side.
Upon crossing, they receive a mark of the Rekindled Oath, a smear of sacred ash across the brow or the heart—and swear anew their loyalty to Hakaran, to their brothers and sisters, and to the cause that binds them all.
The meaning of the Emberwake is clear:
"Strength is not born of never falling. Strength is forged by rising, again and again, from the ashes of what once was."
For the Blood Knights, it is not weakness to fail, it is weakness to refuse rebirth. Each Emberwake reminds them that they are more than soldiers; they are the eternal flame of Hakaran's will, forever rekindled.
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