Valos' Rest

Sometime in mid-August, varying each year according to astrological calculation, falls a series of three Church holidays in honor of Valos’ marriage to Andorra.

The first, Almsday, is a day of penance in which clergy men and women travel door to door seeking donations of food and coin for the church. All donations collected in Travance will go towards the Sunday celebrations and to the Mission Houses in each of the lands, which help the poor, the needy, and the displaced.

The second, the Day of Accordance, is a reverent celebration of the actual marriage of Valos to Andorra, which is often reenacted symbolically by members of the clergy and followed by a prayer vigil throughout the night. At some point during the day we will have a public reading of the Marriage of Andorra and Valos. As we approach the feast a specific time and place will be posted. [oog possible Liturgy for IG buffs]

But while the first two holidays are honored closely within the Church itself, it is the third holiday, Valos’ Rest, that is most prevalently celebrated by the common folk of Kormyre. Commemorating the joyful period of time following the marriage of Valos and Andorra, Valos’ Rest is a day where all menial labor is put on hold, grudges and grievances are forgiven and great jubilation and feasting takes place – often provided in part by the donations made to the church two days before. Because Valos’ symbol is that of the sun and of light, a great oil lamp is lit upon the altar of Valos and left lit all day, so that laypeople may come, light their own candles from its flame, and return it back to their own oil lamps at home. There, each home leaves that one oil lamp burning, and it is said celebrations will continue until the light grows dim. Tables of food are spread out for all to share, and bonfires are often lit to keep the festivities going long into the night. The Church will have the Altar Lamp, which normally is placed in the Adventure's Guild altar, available in the Dragon's Claw Inn for all to draw from this flame.

Yours in the Light

Father Ephrem, Primus of the Church of Light in Travance,

The Heart of Valos